Mass spectrometry based N- and C-terminal sequence determination of a hepatopancreas-type prophenoloxidase from the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus

We previously identified and characterized a novel hepatopancreas-type prophenoloxidase from kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus. In the characterization, this enzyme was indicated to have a feature of a signal peptide at its N-terminus. The putative primary structure was then proposed but its N- and C-terminal sequences remained undetermined. In the present study, the N- and C-terminal amino acid sequences of this prophenoloxidase were determined by de novo sequencing methods using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. The sequence analyses revealed that the N-terminus of the prophenoloxidase was processed, whereas the C-terminus was not. This finding suggests that this enzyme has a signal peptide, and that it is synthesized at the endoplasmic reticulum in hepatopancreas cells and secreted to hemolymph plasma, similar to the case of hemocyanin, another member of the class III copper proteins.