L-usnate-urease interactions: binding sites for polymerization.

L-usnic acid inactivates urease through a process which implicates the blockade of--SH groups in parallel to the formation of inactive polymers. Both L-alanine and L-proline partially reverses the inactivation and effectively diminishes the amount of highly polymerized protein. The amino acids also prevent the linkage of L-usnic acid on the sites of low affinity for the ligand, being then related to the sites of polymerization.