Complete amino acid sequence of a beta-galactoside-binding lectin from human placenta

The complete amino acid sequence of a beta-galactoside-binding lectin from human placenta was determined at protein level. The lectin consists of 134 amino acids and its N-terminal alanine is blocked with acetate. The lectin shows about 50% similarity with chick 14K lectin, which was the first vertebrate beta-galactoside-binding lectin completely sequenced. Only 14 residues proved to be different from those of rat lung lectin, the sole mammalian lectin of which the complete sequence has been reported.     

Evidence that Caenorhabditis elegans 32-kDa beta-galactoside-binding protein is homologous to vertebrate beta-galactoside-binding lectins. cDNA cloning and deduced amino acid sequence.

We have cloned a full-length cDNA for a beta-galactoside-binding protein with a relative molecular mass of 32 kDa (32-kDa GBP), recently purified from a nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (Hirabayashi, J., Satoh, M., Ohyama, Y., and Kasai, K. (1992) J. Biochem. 111, 553-555). The clone contained a single open reading frame encoding 279 amino acids, including the initiator methionine. Significant sequence homology to metal-independent beta-galactoside-binding lectins (25-30% identities), which had previously been found only in vertebrates, was observed. Moreover, the nematode 32-kDa GBP proved to have a unique polypeptide architecture; that is, it is composed of two tandemly repeated homologous domains, each consisting of about 140 amino acids. The internal homology was about 32%. Thus, this protein is constructed with a duplicated fundamental unit which is similar to the subunit of vertebrate 14-kDa lectins. In spite of the extreme phylogenic distance between nematodes and vertebrates (divergence greater than 6 x 10(8) years ago), both of the two repeated domains of the nematode 32-kDa GBP retained most of the amino acid residues conserved in vertebrate lectins. This means that members of the metal-independent animal lectin family are distributed much more widely than had been believed: from nematodes to vertebrates. The implication is that proteins belonging to this family have fundamental roles which are not restricted to vertebrates but are common to almost all animals.     

Complete amino acid sequence of 14 kDa beta-galactoside-binding lectin of chick embryo

The complete amino acid sequence of a soluble beta-galactoside-binding lectin (subunit MW 14,500) of chick embryo was determined. The protein consists of 134 amino acids beginning with serine and ending with glutamic acid, and its N-terminal was blocked with acetate. The agreement of the present result with that obtained from nucleotide sequence analysis (Y. Ohyama et al. (1986) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 134, 51-56) indicates the lack of a cleavable leader sequence. Internal homologies were observed in several regions along the polypeptide chain. The highest homology (55% identity) was found between residues 42-58 and residues 112-128. This suggests that chick 14 kDa lectin may have evolved via several gene duplications.     

Complete amino acid sequence of canine cardiac calsequestrin deduced by cDNA cloning

cDNA cloning was used to deduce the complete amino acid sequence of canine cardiac calsequestrin, the principal Ca2+-binding protein of cardiac junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum. Cardiac calsequestrin contains 391 amino acid residues plus a 19-residue amino-terminal signal sequence. The molecular weight of the mature protein, excluding carbohydrate, is 45,269. Cardiac calsequestrin is highly acidic, and a striking feature is the enrichment of acidic residues (60%) within the 63 carboxyl-terminal residues. No part of the sequence contains EF hand Ca2+-binding structures. The photo-affinity probe 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(m-[125I]iodophenyl)diazirine was used to localize the Ca2+-regulated hydrophobic site to amino acid residues 192-223. The cardiac and skeletal muscle isoforms of calsequestrin (Fliegel, L., Ohnishi, M., Carpenter, M. R., Khanna, V. K., Reithmeier, R. A. F., and MacLennan, D. H. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 84, 1167-1171), although the products of different genes, are 65% identical, are acidic, and share one glycosylation site. However, cardiac calsequestrin has several unique features. First, it has a 31-amino acid extension at its carboxyl terminus (residues 361-391), which contains 71% acidic residues and a second glycosylation site. Second, its mRNA contains a second open reading frame with the capacity to code for a 111-amino acid protein. Third, contrary to the restricted expression of the fast skeletal isoform, cardiac calsequestrin mRNA is present in both cardiac and slow skeletal muscle, but not in fast skeletal muscle. We conclude that the deduced amino acid sequence of cardiac calsequestrin is consistent with its ability to bind large amounts of Ca2+ (40 mol of Ca2+/mol of calsequestrin). The protein probably binds Ca2+ by acting as a charged surface rather than by presenting multiple discrete Ca2+-binding sites.     

Mouse ornithine decarboxylase. Complete amino acid sequence deduced from cDNA

cDNA containing the full coding region of mouse ornithine decarboxylase was isolated. The complete nucleotide sequence of the cDNA was determined by the dideoxy method, and the amino acid sequence of ornithine decarboxylase was thereby deduced. The protein contains 461 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 51,172. The isoelectric point is predicted from the deduced amino acid sequence to be 5.1. On the basis of its amino acid sequence, the protein is predicted to be comprised predominantly of alternating domains of alpha-helix and beta-sheet.     

cDNA cloning and amino acid sequence for human myelin-associated glycoprotein

cDNA clones of human myelin-associated glycoprotein were isolated and analyzed. The combination of the two overlapping cDNA clones covered the full coding region and the complete amino acid sequence was deduced. In rat and mouse, expression of the two forms of mRNA is developmentally regulated; the mRNA without exon 12 portion is expressed mainly in the actively myelinating stage of development. Although the cDNA library used here was prepared from adult human brain poly(A)+ RNA, all five clones obtained corresponded to the mRNA without exon 12 portion.     

Effect of amino acid substitution by sited-directed mutagenesis on the carbohydrate recognition and stability of human 14-kDa beta-galactoside-binding lectin.

The roles of selected amino acid residues of human 14-kDa beta-galactoside-binding lectin were studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Ten mutant lectin proteins were produced, in each of which one of the residues regarded as possibly related to the stability of the lectin (6 cysteine residues) or one of those highly conserved in the vertebrate beta-galactoside-binding lectin family (Asn46, Trp68, Glu71, and Arg73), was substituted. All the mutant lectins in which one of the cysteine residues had been substituted with serine (C2S, C16S, C42S, C60S, C88S, and C130S) proved to have sugar binding ability comparable with that of the wild-type lectin. In addition, one of the mutants in which Cys2 was substituted (C2S) was found to have become considerably more stable under non-reducing conditions. It retained asialofetuin binding activity for over a week in the absence of beta-mercaptoethanol, while the wild-type lectin lost it within a day. This suggests that oxidation of Cys2 could be a key process in the inactivation of human 14-kDa lectin. Substitution of highly conservative Trp68 to tyrosine (W68Y) slightly reduced lactose binding ability, but the mutant was still adsorbed strongly on asialofetuin-agarose. Other mutant lectins in which conservative hydrophilic amino acids were substituted (N46D, E71Q, and R73H) failed to bind to the asialofetuin agarose, with no sign of retardation. Thus, conservative hydrophilic residues proved to be more important in carbohydrate recognition than the cysteine and tryptophan residues, contrary to the widely accepted concept that these latter residues are essential.     

Complete sequence and expression of a cDNA encoding a chicken 115-kDa melanosomal matrix protein

A full-length cDNA clone encoding a 115-kDa melanosomal matrix protein (MMP115) was isolated from a cDNA library constructed from poly(A)+ RNA of the chicken pigmented epithelial cells. Sequence analysis showed that the cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 762 amino acids, including a hydrophobic signal peptide. There are no membrane-spanning regions, but there are five N-linked glycosylation signals. A cysteine- and histidine-rich domain is present near the C-terminus. A sequence of 24 amino acids is repeated three times in the polypeptide. A database search for homologies yielded no sequence similarities in other proteins. A plasmid containing the full-length cDNA was transferred into mouse cell lines by transfection. The transfected cells produced a protein that had the same size, 115 kDa, as the mature MMP115. When B16 mouse melanoma cells were transfected, the chicken MMP115 was expressed in the melanosomes. The presence of a specific sorting signal was suggested for localization of melanosomal proteins. Southern blot analysis has revealed that the homologues of the chicken MMP115 gene are found in many vertebrate genomes.     

Molecular cloning of chicken metallothionein. Deduction of the complete amino acid sequence and analysis of expression using cloned cDNA.

A cDNA library was constructed using RNA isolated from the livers of chickens which had been treated with zinc. This library was screened with a RNA probe complementary to mouse metallothionein-I (MT), and eight chicken MT cDNA clones were obtained. All of the cDNA clones contained nucleotide sequences homologous to regions of the longest (376 bp) cDNA clone. The latter contained an open reading frame of 189 bp, and the deduced amino acid sequence indicates a protein of 63 amino acids of which 20 are cysteine residues. Amino acid composition and partial amino acid sequence analyses of purified chicken MT protein agreed with the amino acid composition and sequence deduced from the cloned cDNA. Amino acid sequence comparisons establish that chicken MT shares extensive homology with mammalian MTs, but is more closely related to the MT-II than to the MT-I isoforms from various mammals. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region of chicken MT shares approximately 70% homology with the consensus sequence for the mammalian MTs. Southern blot analysis of chicken DNA indicates that the chicken MT gene is not a part of a large family of related sequences, but rather is likely to be a unique gene sequence. In the chicken liver, levels of chicken MT mRNA were rapidly induced by metals (Cd2+, Zn2+, Cu2+), glucocorticoids and lipopolysaccharide. MT mRNA was present in low levels in embryonic liver and increased to high levels during the first week after hatching before decreasing again to the basal levels found in adult liver. The results of this study establish that MT is highly conserved between birds and mammals and is regulated in the chicken by agents which also regulate expression of mammalian MT genes. However, in contrast to the mammals, the results suggest the existence of a single isoform of MT in the chicken.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence of rat liver arginase

Arginase (EC 3.5.3.1) catalyzes the last step of urea synthesis in the liver of ureotelic animals. The nucleotide sequence of rat liver arginase cDNA, which was isolated previously (Kawamoto, S., Amaya, Y., Oda, T., Kuzumi, T., Saheki, T., Kimura, S., and Mori, M. (1986) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 136, 955-961) was determined. An open reading frame was identified and was found to encode a polypeptide of 323 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular weight of 34,925. The cDNA included 26 base pairs of 5'-untranslated sequence and 403 base pairs of 3'-untranslated sequence, including 12 base pairs of poly(A) tract. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence, and the sequences of two internal peptide fragments, determined by amino acid sequencing, were identical to the sequences predicted from the cDNA. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the rat liver arginase with that of the yeast enzyme revealed a 40% homology.     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of a full-length cDNA for human 14 kDa beta-galactoside-binding lectin

A full-length cDNA for a 14K-type human lung beta-galactoside-binding lectin was cloned. The cDNA includes a 405 bp open reading frame coding 135 amino acids including the initiator methionine, and having a single internal EcoRI site and a polyadenylation signal. The deduced amino-acid sequence agreed completely with the sequence of a human placenta lectin determined by direct amino-acid sequence analysis (Hirabayashi, J. and Kasai, K. (1988) J. Biochem. 104, 1-4). It showed extensive sequence similarity with other vertebrate 14K-type lectins and a 35K-type lectin (carbohydrate-binding protein 35) of mouse 3T3 cell. Search of a Genbank sequence data base revealed significant sequence similarity between the beta-galactoside-binding lectins and the carboxyl-terminal half of an IgE-binding protein, the cDNA of which has been cloned from rat basophilic leukemia cells. Thus, 14K-type lectin, 35K-type lectin and IgE-binding protein appeared to form a superfamily of proteins. Almost all invariant residues are located in the central region of the 14K-type lectins, so this region may constitute an essential part of the lectins, such as the sugar-binding domain.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of cDNA and predicted amino acid sequence of rat acyl-CoA oxidase

cDNA clones for rat acyl-CoA oxidase were isolated. The 3.8-kilobase mRNA sequence of the enzyme was completely covered by two overlapping clones. The composite cDNA sequence consisted of 3741 bases and contained a 1983-base open reading frame which encodes a polypeptide of 661 amino acid residues. Two species of acyl-CoA oxidase cDNA were identified. They differed in their coding nucleotide sequences, only within a small region. They contained the same number of nucleotides and can be translated in a common reading frame. They are 55% and 50% homologous in the above region at the nucleotide and the amino acid levels, respectively. Both types of cDNA were isolated from a library constructed from mRNA of a single rat, thereby suggesting the occurrence of two species of acyl-CoA oxidase in each rat. The amino terminus of the enzyme was determined to be N-acetylmethionine, which corresponds to the initiator methionine, thus confirming the absence of a terminal presequence. We reported previously that a purified preparation of the enzyme contained three polypeptide components, A, B, and C, and suggested that components B and C are produced by a proteolytic cleavage of component A (Osumi, T., Hashimoto, T., and Ui, N. (1980) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 87, 1735-1746). We located components B and C on the amino- and the carboxyl-terminal sides of component A. Possible functional significances of several stretches of amino acids of the enzyme are discussed, based on the sequence comparison data between rat and yeast acyl-CoA oxidases.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of a cloned chicken alpha-globin cDNA.

Chicken globin double-stranded cDNA was synthesised from anaemic adult reticulocyte alpha- and beta-globin mRNA and ligated into the Hind III site of pBR322 using synthetic Hind III decamers. Transformation of E. coli x1776 resulted in the production of a number of alpha- and beta-cDNA clones. One of the alpha-type clones (pCG alpha-8) was fully sequenced and found to code for neither alpha A- nor alpha D-globin. Partial sequencing of the other alpha-cDNA clones indicates that they are all of the same type.     

Complete amino acid sequence of rat L-type pyruvate kinase deduced from the cDNA sequence

cDNA clones, containing the entire coding region of rat L-type pyruvate kinase, were isolated and their nucleotide sequences were determined by the dideoxy-chain-termination method. The predicted coding region, which spans 543 amino acids, established the complete amino acid sequence of the L-type isozyme of pyruvate kinase for the first time. The deduced amino acid sequence of the L type has one phosphorylation site in its amino terminus and shows about 68% and 48% homologies with M1-type pyruvate kinase of chicken and yeast pyruvate kinase respectively. Domain A exhibits higher homology than domains B and C. The residues in the active site of the L-type enzyme of rats, lying between domains B and A2, are rather different from those of the M1-type enzyme of chickens, but other residues constituting the active site are identical with those of the chicken M1 type except for one amino acid substitution.     

Complete amino acid sequence of rat liver alcohol dehydrogenase deduced from the cDNA sequence

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) catalyzes the rate-determining reaction in the metabolism of ethanol. We report here the complete nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding rat liver ADH, and the deduced amino acid (aa) sequence of the protein. The rat enzyme contains a cluster of aa substitutions and an aa insertion in the region between aa residues 111 and 118, which is near the intron-exon junction reported for the human ADH gene. It also contains an additional cysteine in the highly variable region from aa residues 108-125 which may account for the unusual lability of rat ADH compared with ADH from other species.     

Molecular characterization of the interferon-induced 15-kDa protein. Molecular cloning and nucleotide and amino acid sequence

We have isolated a cDNA clone for an interferon-induced 15-kDa protein. The cDNA clone was prepared from mRNA isolated from interferon-beta-treated human Daudi cells. The clone of 635 base pairs contains an open reading frame coding for a protein of 145 amino acids, and suggests for the mRNA a 75-base pair 5' untranslated and a 125-base pair 3' untranslated region. Approximately 85% of the amino acid sequence of the 15-kDa protein has been independently obtained from 2 nmol of material using microsequencing technology on the N terminus of the intact protein and on tryptic and chymotryptic peptides. The amino acid sequence of the isolated protein is identical to the amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA. Northern blot analysis confirmed that the mRNA for the 15-kDa protein is undetectable in untreated cells, but is greatly induced following interferon treatment.     

Complete amino acid sequence of Bombyx egg-specific protein deduced from cDNA clone

Complementary (c)DNA coding for an insect yolk protein, the egg-specific protein of the silkworm Bombyx mori was cloned and the nucleotide sequence determined. The sequence covers the entire coding region of 1,677 base pairs with 5′ and 3′ noncoding regions (21 and 115 base pairs, respectively). The deduced amino acid sequence of the egg-specific protein consists of 559 amino acid residues. The NH₂-terminal 18 amino acid sequence is enriched in hydrophobic amino acids and assumed to be a signal peptide. A sequence, Asn-X-Thr, a potential N-linked glycosylation site, is found at positions 191 to 193. A serine-rich domain is localized in the region from 63 to 90, in which phosphorylation takes place. Cys His motif in 405 to 415 is analogous to a proposed metal binding sequence. Lys¹³²-Asn¹³³ and Arg²²⁸-Asp²²⁹ are probably the sites cleaved by the egg-specific protein protease that appears during embryogenesis. The derived amino acid sequence has no appreciable homology to other sequenced proteins.     

Complete amino acid sequence of the thioesterase domain of chicken liver fatty acid synthase

The complete amino acid sequence of thioesterase domain of chicken liver fatty acid synthase has been determined by sequencing peptides produced by trypsin, Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, and cyanogen bromide cleavage. The thioesterase domain consists of 300 amino acid residues. All of the tryptic peptides of the thioesterase domain were isolated and sequenced, except the segment covered from position 109 to position 124. Peptides resulting from digestion by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease and cyanogen bromide cleavage filled the missing part and overlapped the complete sequence of the entire thioesterase domain. The NH2 terminus of the thioesterase domain was determined to be lysine by sequencing the whole domain up to 20 residues while the COOH terminus was identified as serine through carboxyl peptidase Y cleavage. The active site of the thioesterase domain of chicken fatty acid synthase was suggested to be the serine on position 101 according to its homology with other serine-type esterases and proteases which have a common structure of -Gly-X-Ser-Y-Gly- with the variable amino acids X and Y disrupting the homology.     

cDNA cloning and predicted amino acid sequence of Glycera dibranchiata monomer hemoglobin IV

The three major monomer hemoglobins from Glycera dibranchiata erythrocytes isolated in this laboratory were sequenced from their N-termini. A stretch of amino acid sequence identity was used to determine the sequence of a mixed oligodeoxynucleotide that would be complementary to all 12 possible mRNA sequences coding for the amino acids. A cDNA library was constructed by using poly(A+) RNA from G. dibranchiata erythrocytes, the library was probed with the oligonucleotide, and the longest positive inserts found were subcloned into a sequencing plasmid and then sequenced. The first one was 745 bases long, containing 85 bases of 5'-untranslated RNA, an open reading frame of 444 bases coding for 148 amino acids, and a 3'-untranslated region of 216 bases. The predicted amino acid sequence matches the first 25 amino acids of G. dibranchiata monomer globin component IV. The sequence contains an N-terminal methionine plus 18 other mostly conservative sequence changes compared to the published sequence of Imamura et al. (1972), which appears from our partial sequencing to be monomer globin component II. We confirm the presence of leucine in the E7 position, which is histidine in most myoglobins and hemoglobins.     

Complete amino acid sequence of a basic 21-kDa protein from bovine brain cytosol

The complete amino acid sequence (186 amino acid residues) of a basic cytosolic protein from bovine brain has been determined. It was previously described as a phosphatidylethanolamine binding protein. Computer analyses have been used to calculate its hydropathy profile and to predict its secondary structure. Comparison with other proteins did not detect any significant sequence similarity, except for a short region which presents 53% sequence homology with bovine phosphatidylcholine transfer protein.