Selection and Identification of a Strain KT-10 Producing the Cathepsin B Inhibitor

An actinomycetes, KT-10 isolated from ginseng field in Kyongpook, Korea was selected based on its ability to produce a lysosomal cathepsin B inhibitor. The inhibitor purified from the culture supernatant of the isolate KT-10 showed strong inhibitory effects against cathepsin B as well as against papain when the activities were measured using synthetic substrate, -N-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-Iysine p-nitrophenyl ester (CLN) or -N-benzoyl-D,L-arginine 2-naphthylamide (BANA). The isolate KT-10 was identified as a species of Streptomyces based on its morphological characteristics and chemotaxonomic data. The TAXON program of Ward was used to identify Streptomyces sp. KT-10 as a strain of Streptomyces luteogriseus belong to cluster 18 of the genus Streptomyces with a Willcox probability 0.999388. The cathepsin B inhibitor was presumed to a novel material composed of a polyhydroxylamine.