The growth inhibitory factor that is deficient in the Alzheimer's disease brain is a 68 amino acid metallothionein-like protein

We have purified and characterized the growth inhibitory factor (GIF) that is abundant in the normal human brain, but greatly reduced in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. GIF inhibited survival and neurite formation of cortical neurons in vitro. Purified GIF is a 68 amino acid small protein, and its amino acid sequence is 70% identical to that of human metallothionein II with a 1 amino acid insert and a unique 6 amino acid insert in the NH2-terminal and the COOH-terminal portions, respectively. The antibodies to the unique sequence of GIF revealed a distinct subset of astrocytes in the gray matter that appears to be closely associated with neuronal perikarya and dendrites. In the AD cortex, the number of GIF-positive astrocytes was drastically reduced, suggesting that GIF is down-regulated in the subset of astrocytes during AD.     

Brain Injury and Growth Inhibitory Factor (GIF)—a Minireview

Growth inhibitory factor (GIF) is a small (7 kDa), heat-stable, acidic, hydrophilic metallothionein (MT)-like protein. GIF inhibits the neurotrophic activity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain extracts on neonatal rat cortical neurons in culture. GIF has been shown to be drastically reduced and down-regulated in AD brains. In neurodegenerative diseases in humans, GIF expression levels are reduced whereas GFAP expression levels are markedly induced in reactive astrocytes. Both GIF and GIF mRNA are present at high levels in reactive astrocytes following acute experimental brain injury. In chronological observations the level of GIF was found to increase more slowly and remain elevated for longer periods than that of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). These differential patterns and distribution of GIF and GFAP seem to be important in understanding the mechanism of brain tissue repair. The most important point concerning GIF in AD is not simply the decrease in the level of expression throughout the brain, but the drastic decrease in the level of expression in reactive astrocytes around senile plaques in AD. Although what makes the level of GIF decrease drastically in reactive astrocytes in AD is still unknown, supplements of GIF may be effective for AD, based on a review of current evidence. The processes of tissue repair following acute brain injury are considered to be different from those in AD from the viewpoint of reactive astrocytes.     

生长抑制因子(GIF)与G蛋白Rab3a直接相互作用

生长抑制因子(growth inhibitory factor, GIF), 又称金属硫蛋白-3, 为68个氨基酸组成的脑特异性金属硫蛋白, 具有广泛的生理功能; GIF可能与阿尔茨海默氏症(Alzheimer's)病理相关, 在Alzheimer's脑提取物存在下, 还对神经细胞具有特异的生长抑制活性.然而, 对其发挥生长抑制作用的分子机制并不清楚.运用酵母双杂交系统从人脑cDNA文库中筛选与GIF相互作用因子,从4.1×10⁶个人脑cDNA文库转化子中,首次筛选到Ras家族G蛋白Rab3a C端,包含87个氨基酸的片段能与GIF相互作用;用PCR自人胎盘总cDNA中获得包含完整Rab3a编码序列的cDNA;通过酵母双杂交实验表明,全长Rab3a蛋白亦能与GIF相互作用.免疫共沉淀和蛋白质印迹实验进一步验证了GIF与Rab3a在哺乳动物细胞中可以相互作用; 而且, Rab3a是以GTP结合形式(GTP-Rab3a)与GIF发生相互作用.     

神经生长抑制因子相互作用蛋白的分子克隆、鉴定及其生物学特性

为了探讨神经生长抑制因子(Neuronal growth inhibitory factor,GIF)与Alzheimer’s病(Alzheimer’s disease,AD)的关系,将GIF的cDNA全基因克隆到载体pHyblex中,运用酵母双杂交系统从Alzheimer’s病人脑cDNA文库中筛选出与GIF相互作用蛋白的cDNA克隆。免疫共沉淀和蛋白质印迹实验进一步验证了该蛋白在体内与GIF相互作用的特异性。克隆并鉴定了其中1个与GIF特异性结合的蛋白,与人细胞核dUTP焦磷酸酶(DUT)同源。进一步构建了重组表达质粒pGEX-4T-1／DUT,转化大肠杆菌BL21,经谷胱甘肽-Sepharose 4B亲和层析、凝血酶酶切和Sephacryl S100纯化,得到纯度95％以上的dUTPase蛋白。体外生物学活性检测表明,表达的dUTPase蛋白可以与GIF共同作用嗜铬细胞瘤株(pheochromocytoma)PC12,对细胞的生长产生抑制作用。     

早老性痴呆大脑cDNA文库构建及目的基因克隆

 取临床确诊为早老性痴呆 (Alzheimer’sdisease ,AD)患者的大脑组织 ,应用磁珠法直接提取mRNA ,电泳检测其质量 .经逆转录合成双链cDNA后 ,用碱性凝胶电泳检测其大小在 0 .2～ 9.0kb范围 ,主要集中在 1.0～ 2 .0kb之间 .层析除去多余的adaptors ,收集大于 4 0 0bp的cDNA片段 ,与载体pYESTrp2连接 ,经电转化后 ,得到克隆总数为 5.1× 10 5的AD病人大脑cDNA文库 .用PCR技术从该文库中扩增得到小肠三叶因子 (intestinaltrefoilfactor ,ITF) [1] 和神经生长抑制因子 (growthin hibitoryfactor,GIF) [2 ] 的cDNA编码区 .研究表明 ,所构建的cDNA文库质量较高 ,可广泛用于AD病研究工作 .同时 ,将所克隆的GIF编码区插入到载体pHybLex Zeo上 ,构建成带饵基因的质粒 ,为进一步通过酵母双杂交方法搜寻与GIF相互作用的神经因子提供了必要条件     

Metallothionein genes from hydrothermal crabs (Bythograeidae, Decapoda): characterization, sequence analysis, gene expression and comparison with coastal crabs

Hydrothermal vent conditions can alter DNA and hydrothermal organisms may develop detoxification mechanisms and/or genetic adaptations. Hydrothermal vent animals notably synthesize a high quantity of metallothioneins (MT). Recent studies have revealed that the levels of MT within hydrothermal crustacean tissues are higher than those found in other vent animals. To improve our understanding of the environmental impacts exerted on the vent organisms, we characterized the metallothioneins (cDNA and Mt genes) of several members of the Bythograeidae (Bythograea thermydron, Cyanagraea praedator and Segonzacia mesatlantica) which is the only endemic hydrothermal crab family. In comparison, the isolation of metallothionein cDNA was also carried out in several coastal crab families. The results showed that the hydrothermal crabs possess Mt composed of three exons and two introns presenting conserved splicing signals. The cDNA sequences isolated from distinct crabs showed multiple substitutions. In spite of the unique environmental conditions, the protein sequence analysis revealed no specific amino acid residue for the MT of the three hydrothermal crabs. However, gene expression analysis performed by real-time PCR based on S. mesatlantica (hydrothermal crab) compared to Pachygrapsus marmoratus (coastal crab) confirmed the higher metallothionein induction in hydrothermal crabs suggested by others authors.     

人神经生长抑制因子β结构域的高效表达及性质研究

神经生长抑制因子（ Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ）是一种特异存在于哺乳动物脑中的金属硫蛋白（ｍ ｅｔａｌｌｏｔｈｉｏｎｅｉｎ, Ｍ Ｔ）类似物,又称 Ｍ Ｔ Ⅲ．它与 Ｍ Ｔ 有相同的结合 Ｚｎ（Ⅱ）, Ｃｄ（Ⅱ）, Ｃｕ（Ⅰ）等金属的能力,但与 Ｍ Ｔ 不同的是它能够抑制神经细胞的生长,并发现在患 Ａｌｚｈｅｉｍ ｅｒ ｄｉｓｅａｓｅ（ Ａ Ｄ 症）病人的大脑中 Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ蛋白量和ｍ Ｒ Ｎ Ａ 的量均显著下降,研究证明 Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ对神经细胞的抑制活性主要存在于其 β结构域中．为进一步研究 β结构域结构和功能的关系,将 β结构域的 ｃ Ｄ Ｎ Ａ 克隆入融合表达载体ｐ Ｇ Ｅ Ｘ ４ Ｔ １ 中, Ｉ Ｐ Ｔ Ｇ 诱导并高效表达了 β结构域蛋白,通过氨基酸组成和质谱的测定,证明得到了目的蛋白．利用金属重组的方法,分别得到了结合 Ｃｄ 和 Ｚｎ 的 Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ 的 β结构域,并测定了其巯基和金属含量对蛋白量的比值,证明所得 Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ β与 Ｍ Ｔ β在结合金属能力上十分相似．用紫外光谱学的研究表明, Ｃｄ Ｍ Ｔ 的 β结构域在２５０ ｎｍ 处比 Ｃｄ Ｇ Ｉ Ｆ 的 β结构域有一明显肩峰,从而表明二者的金属—巯基结合簇的结构有明显不同,而这种结构上的差异有可能导致二者在功能上的不同．     

Cloning and identification of a novel human gene PDLIM5, a homolog of AD-associated neuronal thread protein (AD7c-NTP).

A novel human gene cDNA was successfully cloned from the human fetal brain cDNA library constructed by our lab, and this gene was termed PDLIM5 after acquiring the agreement of HUGO. BLASTX searching revealed that the hypothetical protein is a homolog of AD-associated neuronal thread protein (AD7c-NTP), which is over-expressed in Alzheimer disease (AD) beginning early in the course of disease, and over-expression of the AD7c-NTP gene would cause neuritic sprouting and cell death. SMART analysis showed that both our predicted protein and AD7c-NTP comprise BCL domain (only contains BH1 and BH2 regions). RT-PCR experiment revealed that the expression level of PDLIM5 in brain, skeletal muscle, prostate, colon and leukocyte is obviously higher than that in other tissues.     

菊芋类金属硫蛋白基因htMT2的克隆及其表达特征分析

从菊芋(Helianthus tuberosus L.)块茎cDNA文库中得到了一个新的植物类金属硫蛋白基因htMT2的cDNA序列,全长509 bp,包括240 bp的开放阅读框、62 bp的5′端非翻译区、207 bp的3′端非翻译区.通过PCR获得了2个htMT2编码区的部分基因组片段htMTG-1及htMTG-2,长度分别为986 bp和982 bp.分析表明两个基因组片段均包含3个外显子及2个内含子,编码一个由79个氨基酸残基组成的多肽,与从htMT2推测的多肽完全一致,该多肽具有植物类金属硫蛋白的典型结构特征,N端及C端结构域富含Cys,分别具有8个和7个Cys残基,上述两个结构域被一个无Cys的中间区分开.Southern杂交结果表明,htMT2在菊芋基因组中以小基因家族的形式存在.Northern杂交结果表明htMT2在叶片、叶柄、茎及块茎中均有表达,在茎中有较高水平的表达,但在根中未检测到杂交信号.经Cu2+处理后,htMT2在茎中的表达量显著降低.与其他2型金属硫蛋白的序列同源性比较及htMT2对金属离子处理的反应均表明,htMT2是一种新的植物类金属硫蛋白基因.     

Structure and regulation of the sheep metallothionein-Ia gene

Screening of a sheep genomic lambda library with a sheep metallothionein-I cDNA clone resulted in the isolation of a 13,200-base-pair fragment containing a metallothionein gene which DNA sequence analysis identified as the gene encoding the cloned cDNA. The two introns occur at identical positions to those in other mammalian metallothioneins but are considerably larger. The first intron contains a DNA element that is present in a related but not identical form in many places in the sheep genome. Comparison of the promoter sequences of this gene (sMT-Ia) with the promoters of metallothionein genes from other species identified a number of conserved regions which may be important in the regulation of this gene by heavy metals, glucocorticoids and alpha-interferon. In sheep fibroblasts, the levels of sMT-Ia mRNA was found to be maximally elevated (95-fold) in the presence of zinc or cadmium and elevated 30-fold in the presence of copper. Dexamethasone had no effect upon mRNA levels. Thus this gene shows a pattern of regulation similar to the human MT-If gene, but distinct from the other human and mouse metallothionein genes so far reported.     

Up-regulation of calcineurin Abeta mRNA in the Alzheimer's disease brain: assessment by cDNA microarray

Recent advances in cDNA microarray technology have made it possible to analyze expression of more than 8000 genes. Using this technology, gene expression in the hippocampus containing neurofibrillary tangle-associated lesions from an Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient was compared with expression in the parietal cortex from the same patient that lacked these lesions. We also compared gene expression using a control brain. The top 20 named genes significantly up-regulated or down-regulated only in the AD brain were determined. The most up-regulated gene proved to be calcineurin Abeta mRNA (CAbeta). In situ hybridization histochemistry revealed that CAbeta was significantly up-regulated in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus in the AD brain. RT-PCR analysis revealed that CAbeta was up-regulated in the hippocampus from two out of three AD brains while there were no changes in three control brains. Our study suggests that CAbeta may play a crucial role in the pathophysiological mechanisms in AD.     

Diversity of metallothioneins in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, revealed by transcriptomic and proteomic approaches.

Metallothioneins are typically low relative molecular mass (6000-7000), sulfhydryl-rich metal-binding proteins with characteristic repeating cysteine motifs (Cys-X-Cys or Cys-X(n)-Cys) and a prolate ellipsoid shape containing single alpha- and beta-domains. While functionally diverse, they play important roles in the homeostasis, detoxification and stress response of metals. The originally reported metallothionein of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica showed the canonical molluscan alphabeta-domain structure. Oyster metallothioneins have been characterized as cDNA and as expressed proteins, and here it is shown that the previously reported metallothionein is a prototypical member of a subfamily (designated as CvMT-I) of alphabeta-domain metallothioneins. A second extensive subfamily of oyster metallothioneins (designated as CvMT-II) has apparently arisen from (a) a stop mutation that truncates the protein after the alpha-domain, and (b) a subsequent series of duplication and recombination events that have led to the development of metallothionein isoforms containing one to four alpha-domains and that lack a beta-domain. Analysis of metallothioneins revealed that certain CvMT-I isoforms showed preferential association either with cadmium or with copper and zinc, even after exposure to cadmium. These data extend our knowledge of the evolutionary diversification of metallothioneins, and indicate differences in metal-binding preferences between isoforms within the same family.     

Isolation and structural organization of the Neurospora crassa copper metallothionein gene.

The Neurospora crassa copper metallothionein gene was cloned and its complete nucleotide sequence is reported. Enriched metallothionein mRNA was used as a template for cDNA synthesis, primed by a metallothionein-specific, synthetic undecanucleotide. The sequence of the cDNA obtained allowed the synthesis of a unique 21-mer which was used to screen a genomic DNA library of N. crassa. In agreement with the published amino acid sequence, the gene codes for a polypeptide 26 amino acid residues in length. The coding region is interrupted by a small intron (94 nucleotides). The gene structure is compared with those of mammalian metallothioneins. In both cases, the coding regions are split by introns, the intron-exon boundaries, however, are in different positions. The neurospora copper metallothionein gene is, to our knowledge, the smallest gene interrupted by an intron isolated so far.     

Detection of neuronal growth inhibitory factor (metallothionein-3) in polyacrylamide gels and by Western blot analysis

Neuronal growth inhibitory factor (GIF) is a small cysteine-rich metal binding protein downregulated in Alzheimer's disease. The protein belongs to the superfamily of metallothioneins (MTs) and was classified as MT-3. Although first identified as a brain specific protein, several reports now indicate a substantially broader expression pattern. However, currently available detection methods for MT-3 show low sensitivity in gel electrophoresis and Western blot. We have developed a fast and sensitive method for MT-3 detection in SDS-PAGE (detection limit approximately 10 ng) and Western blot (detection limit approximately 1 ng). The method is based on the chemical modification of cysteine residues with the dye monobromobimane and an improved blotting protocol.     

Metallothionein mediates gene expression of 3.1 mRNA (PTZ17) related to epileptic seizure

Genes differentially expressed in association with disruption of the metallothionein gene were screened using two hepatic stellate cell lines isolated and established from the livers of normal 129/Sv (IMS/N cells) and transgenic mice deficient in the genes for metallothionein-I and -II (IMS/MT (-) cells). We found one cDNA (tentatively named NM31) that was expressed only in IMS/IN cells. Transfecting IMS/MT (-) cells with the genes for both metallothionein-I and -II resulted in NM31 expression. These results suggest that metallothionein is essential for NM31 gene expression. The nucleotide sequence of NM31 (294 bp) was identical to the 3' region of 3.1 mRNA (PTZ 17), which is abundant in the embryonic mouse brain and is related to chemically induced seizures. The present study indicates that metallothionein mediates the expression of specific genes. This is a novel explanation for some of the functions of metallothionein.     

Stability and conformational dynamics of metallothioneins from the antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps and mouse

The structural properties and the conformational dynamics of antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps and mouse metallothioneins were studied by Fourier-transform infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy. Infrared data revealed that the secondary structure of the two metallothioneins is similar to that of other metallothioneins, most of which lack periodical secondary structure elements such as alpha-helices and beta-sheets. However, the infrared spectra of the N. coriiceps metallothionein indicated the presence of a band, which for its typical position in the spectrum and for its sensitivity to temperature was assigned to alpha-helices whose content resulted in 5% of the total secondary structure of the protein. The short alpha-helix found in N. coriiceps metallothionein showed an onset of denaturation at 30 degrees C and a T(m) at 48 degrees C. The data suggest that in N. coriiceps metallothionein a particular cysteine is involved in the alpha-helix and in the metal-thiolate complex. Moreover, infrared spectra revealed that both proteins investigated possess a structure largely accessible to the solvent. The time-resolved fluorescence data show that N. coriiceps metallothionein possesses a more flexible structure than mouse metallothionein. The spectroscopic data are discussed in terms of the biological function of the metallothioneins.     

The stimulation of metallothionein synthesis in neuroblastoma IMR-32 by zinc and cadmium but not dexamethasone

Metallothioneins are a class of cysteine-rich and low molecular weight, metal-binding proteins that are inducible by a wide variety of agents, including metal ions, such as cadmium and zinc, glucocorticoid hormones, interferon, and tumor promoters. In an effort to delineate the regulation of the synthesis of the recently identified brain metallothionein-like protein, a study was undertaken to compare the induction of metallothionein in human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells by zinc, cadmium, and dexamethasone using the human Chang liver cells as a control. Both cadmium (1 microM) and zinc (100 microM) significantly enhanced the incorporation of [35S]cysteine into metallothioneins isolated from both neuroblastoma and Chang liver cells. Dexamethasone in concentrations of 10 microM stimulated the synthesis of metallothionein in the Chang cells, whereas it had no effects on the synthesis of metallothionein in the neuroblastoma cells at concentrations ranging from 2.5--100 microM. The degree of stimulation of metallothionein synthesis in the Chang cells by cadmium and zinc was significantly higher than seen in neuroblastoma cells. The neuroblastoma IMR-32 exhibited less tolerance to the toxicity of both cadmium and zinc than the Chang cells, which may correlate with the inherent ability of these ions to induce metallothioneins in these dissimilar cells. The results of these studies are interpreted to indicate that the factors regulating the synthesis of metallothioneins in the Chang and neuroblastoma cells are not identical, suggesting also of the presence of dissimilar regulatory mechanisms in the liver and brain.     

Different protective roles in vitro of alpha- and beta-domains of growth inhibitory factor (GIF) on neuron injuries caused by oxygen free radicals.

It was well known that beta-amyloid (Abeta) and tau protein play an important role in pathological procedure of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a senile dementia. The growth inhibitory factor (GIF, also named metallothionein-3, MT-3) had been demonstrated to inhibit the outgrowth of cortex neurons in the medium with extract of the AD patient brain. In our experiments, it was found that the neurons of cortex and the PC12 (pheochromocytoma) cells could be protected from the cytotoxicity of beta-amyloid 25-35 in presence of GIF and its domains. Additionally, GIF can scavenge the hydroxyl radical efficiently in CytC-VitC radical producing system and its alpha-domain shown more effective potentials than its beta-domain. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra also show that the alpha-domain has more potential ability for eliminating reactive oxygen free radicals than its beta-domain. The results suggest that GIF could act as an efficient scavenger against free radicals in vitro and the alpha-domain in GIF molecule shows more potential in protecting against reactive oxygen species injury than the beta-domain.     

The role of Thr5 in human neuron growth inhibitory factor

GIF, a member of the metallothionein (MT) family (assigned as MT3), is a neuron growth inhibitory factor that inhibits neuron outgrowth in Alzheimer’s disease. The conserved Thr5 is one of the main differences between GIF and other members in the MT family. However, natural sheep GIF has an unusual Ala5, casting doubt on the role of common Thr5. We constructed a series of human GIF mutants at site 5, and characterized their biochemical properties by UV spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, EDTA reaction, 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) reaction, and pH titration. Their inhibitory activity toward neuron survival and neurite extension was also examined. Interestingly, the T5A mutant exhibited distinct metal thiolate activity in the EDTA and DTNB reactions, and also lost its bioactivity. Meanwhile, the T5S mutant had similar biochemical properties and biological activity as wild-type human GIF, indicating the hydroxyl group on the Thr5 was critical to the bioactivity of human GIF. We suggest the hydroxyl group in human GIF may help stabilize the biologically active conformation. On the other hand, lack of the hydroxyl group in sheep GIF may be partially compensated by its abnormal structure.Bin Cai and Qi Zheng contributed equally to this work.