Immunochemical identification of the serine protease inhibitor alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in the brain amyloid deposits of Alzheimer's disease

Two approaches--molecular cloning and immunochemical analysis--have identified one of the components of Alzheimer's disease amyloid deposits as the serine protease inhibitor alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. An antiserum against isolated Alzheimer amyloid deposits detected immunoreactivity in normal liver. The antiserum was then used to screen a liver cDNA expression library, yielding three related clones. DNA sequence analysis showed that these clones code for alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. Antisera against purified alpha 1-antichymotrypsin stained Alzheimer amyloid deposits, both in situ and after detergent extraction from brain. The anti-amyloid antiserum recognizes at least two distinct epitopes in alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, further supporting the presence of this protein in Alzheimer amyloid deposits. In addition to being produced in the liver and released into the serum, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin is expressed in Alzheimer brain, particularly in areas that develop amyloid lesions. Models by which alpha 1-antichymotrypsin could contribute to the development of Alzheimer amyloid deposits are discussed.     

The isolation of a clone for human alpha 1-antitrypsin and the detection of alpha 1-antitrypsin in mRNA from liver and leukocytes

A recombinant clone containing an insert complementary to alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) mRNA has been isolated from a human adult liver cDNA library. The clone was selected by direct screening of recombinants with a synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide 17 bases in length corresponding to the known partial DNA sequence of the gene. The insert size of the clone is 250 base pairs. The DNA sequence of the clone has been determined and agrees with the published partial DNA sequence. There is one nucleotide difference from the published sequence, causing a single amino acid change at position 376 where aspartate replaces glutamate. The clone has been used to detect alpha 1-AT mRNA sequences in human liver and in a mixed leukocyte population containing monocytes and lymphocytes. A single mRNA approximately 1,400 nucleotides in length is observed in both leukocytes and liver. Leukocytes contain only 0.15% as much alpha 1-AT mRNA as liver.     

The human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Isolation of cDNA clones for the E1 alpha subunit, sequence analysis, and characterization of the mRNA

cDNA clones corresponding to the entire length of mRNA for the alpha subunit of human pyruvate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.1), the E1 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, have been isolated from liver cDNA libraries. Two classes of cDNA clones were obtained and these correspond to two forms of pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha mRNA. Both mRNA species have been demonstrated in a variety of human tissues and cultured fibroblasts. The cDNA sequence has been determined and, from it, the protein sequence of the human E1 alpha subunit was deduced. The protein is synthesized with a typical mitochondrial import leader sequence and the peptide bond at which this sequence is cleaved after transport into the mitochondrion has been determined by direct amino acid sequencing of the mature E1 alpha subunit. The human pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha subunit contains identical phosphorylation sites to those found in the corresponding porcine protein. Preliminary studies of pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha mRNA in cultured fibroblasts from patients with severe pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency have revealed considerable heterogeneity as would be expected from protein studies.     

Primary structure of human alpha 2-antiplasmin, a serine protease inhibitor (serpin)

The plasma protein alpha 2-antiplasmin is the main physiological inhibitor of the serine protease plasmin, which is responsible for the dissolution of fibrin clots. We have determined the primary structure of mature human alpha 2-antiplasmin by DNA sequencing of overlapping cDNA fragments prepared from human liver mRNA. cDNA clones were identified by hybridization with a 48-base pair deoxyoligonucleotide probe deduced from the sequence of a 16-amino acid peptide of alpha 2-antiplasmin. Mature human alpha 2-antiplasmin contains 452 amino acids. It is homologous (23-28%) with five other proteins belonging to the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily. Its reactive site, i.e. the peptide bond cleaved by reaction with its primary target enzyme, plasmin, consists of Arg364-Met365. This dipeptide corresponds to the reactive site Met358-Ser359 of the archetypal serpin, alpha 1-antitrypsin.     

Polypeptide chain elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) from yeast: nucleotide sequence of one of the two genes for EF-1 alpha from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Messenger RNA for yeast cytosolic polypeptide chain elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) was partially purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Double-stranded complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized and cloned in Escherichia coli with pBR327 as a vector. Recombinant plasmid carrying yEF-1 alpha cDNA was identified by cross-hybridization with the E. coli tufB gene and the yeast mitochondrial EF-Tu gene (tufM) under non-stringent conditions. A yeast gene library was then screened with the EF-1 alpha cDNA and several clones containing the chromosomal gene for EF-1 alpha were isolated. Restriction analysis of DNA fragments of these clones as well as the Southern hybridization of yeast genomic DNA with labelled EF-1 alpha cDNA indicated that there are two EF-1 alpha genes in S. cerevisiae. The nucleotide sequence of one of the two EF-1 alpha genes (designated as EF1 alpha A) was established together with its 5'- and 3'-flanking sequences. The sequence contained 1374 nucleotides coding for a protein of 458 amino acids with a calculated mol. wt. of 50 300. The derived amino acid sequence showed homologies of 31% and 32% with yeast mitochondrial EF-Tu and E. coli EF-Tu, respectively.     

Structure of human alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor deduced from the cDNA sequence

We have isolated three cDNA clones for human alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor (alpha 2-PI). Two clones are from human hepatoma cell line, Hep G2, and cover the entire protein coding region plus the 3'-flanking region up to the poly(A) sequence, and the other clone is from human liver and contains the carboxyl-terminal half. The total length of the cDNAs is 2.29 kb, corresponding to more than 95% of the full-length mRNA. alpha 2-PI seems to consist of 452 amino acid residues plus 39 amino acid residues for the signal peptide. The amino acid sequence shows 23 to 28% homology to those of five other protease inhibitors, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), protein C inhibitor (PCI), alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT), antithrombin III (AT III), and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (alpha 1-AC). alpha 2-PI seems to be the most distantly related among these inhibitors. Comparison of the phylogenetic trees of proteases and their inhibitors indicates that four proteases, namely elastase (or trypsin), chymotrypsin, plasminogen activator, and thrombin, may have evolved concurrently with the corresponding inhibitors. However, alpha 2-PI and PCI seem to have evolved asynchronously from their substrates. The data suggest that alpha 2-PI may originally have inhibited some protease other than plasmin, and protein C may have had an inhibitor different from the present one early in its evolutionary history.     

Characterization of a cDNA for human protein C inhibitor. A new member of the plasma serine protease inhibitor superfamily

A cDNA library in lambda-phage lambda gt11 containing DNA inserts prepared from human liver mRNA was screened with monoclonal antibodies to human protein C inhibitor. Six positive clones were isolated from 6 X 10(6) phages and plaque purified. The cDNA in the phage containing the largest insert, which hybridized to a DNA probe prepared on the basis of the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the mature inhibitor, was sequenced. This cDNA insert contained 2106 base pairs coding for a 5'-noncoding region, a 19-amino acid signal peptide, a 387-amino acid mature protein, a stop codon, and a long 3'-noncoding region of 839 base pairs. Based on the amino acid sequence of the carboxyl-terminal peptide released by cleavage of protein C inhibitor by activated protein C as well as by thrombin, the reactive site peptide bond of protein C inhibitor is Arg354-Ser355. Five potential carbohydrate-binding sites were found in the mature protein. The high homology of the amino acid sequence of protein C inhibitor to the other known inhibitors clearly demonstrates that protein C inhibitor is a member of the superfamily of serine protease inhibitors including alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, alpha 1-antitrypsin, antithrombin III, ovalbumin, and angiotensinogen. Based on the difference matrices for these proteins, we present possible phylogenetic trees for these proteins.     

Differential regulation of the two mRNA species of the rodent negative acute phase protein alpha 1-inhibitor 3.

Screening of two rat liver cDNA libraries, one of which was constructed using an alpha 1-inhibitor 3 (alpha 1-13) specific primer, yielded overlapping cDNA clones which correspond to the full length cDNA for alpha 1-13 mRNA. On the basis of sequence microheterogeneity existing throughout the cDNA sequence we identified two alpha 1-13 mRNA species whose sequences are so grossly different in their bait regions that the amino acid homology therein is only 30%. Using oligonucleotide probes derived from their respective bait regions we investigated the regulation of the two alpha 1 I3 mRNA species and demonstrated that only one of them, alpha 1-I3 variant I, is regulated pretranslationally following experimentally induced inflammation.     

Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of the E1 alpha subunit of human liver branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase

A 1552-bp cDNA for the E1 alpha subunit of branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKDH) was isolated from a human liver cDNA library. The cDNA contained a 1134-bp open reading frame that encoded 378 amino acid (aa) residues of the enzyme and 418 bp of 3'-untranslated sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence of the human protein shows 96% identity with that of the rat enzyme subunit. Those 117-aa residues surrounding the phosphorylation sites are completely conserved between man and rat. BCKDH E1 alpha showed considerable amino acid sequence similarity with pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha, particularly in the region of the two principal phosphorylation sites of these proteins. Northern blots of human liver and skin fibroblasts demonstrated a single 1.8-kb mRNA band, with a higher level of E1 alpha mRNA in liver than in normal fibroblasts. Fibroblasts from a patient with thiamine-responsive maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) contained an mRNA of the same size and abundance as that of normal fibroblasts. Genomic DNA from normal and MSUD fibroblasts gave the same restriction maps on Southern blots, and the gene was approximately 10-kb in size.     

Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of the alpha subunit of yeast pyruvate dehydrogenase

A 413-base cDNA insert encoding a portion of the alpha subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1 alpha; EC 1.2.4.1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated from a lambda gt11 cDNA library by immunoscreening and by hybridization with an oligonucleotide probe which corresponded to the amino acid sequence around the phosphorylation site of E1 alpha. This cDNA was subcloned, sequenced and used as a probe to isolate two additional cDNA inserts which were subcloned and sequenced. These overlapping clones comprised the carboxyl-terminal part of E1 alpha. To identify the missing nucleotide sequence, the polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify yeast genomic DNA with synthetic oligonucleotide primers based on the amino-terminal sequence of E1 alpha and the 5' end of one of the cDNA clones. Three DNA fragments were isolated and sequenced. The composite nucleotide sequence has an open reading frame of 1260 nucleotides encoding a putative presequence of 33 amino acids and a mature protein of 387 amino acids (Mr = 42,703). Hybridization analysis showed that the size of the mRNA is about 1.4 kilobases.     

Sequence and acute phase regulation of rat alpha 1-inhibitor III messenger RNA

cDNA clones coding for the plasma proteinase inhibitor alpha 1-inhibitor III were isolated from an acute phase rat liver library. The isolates could be divided into four groups with characteristic BamHI restriction fragment patterns. The identity of the prototype clone pRLA1I3/2J was established by comparison with the published amino acid sequence of the purified protein. It codes for a 1477-amino acid precursor polypeptide with a 24-residue signal peptide. The mature protein shares 58% overall sequence identity with rat alpha 2-macroglobulin and contains a typical internal thiolester sequence. Twenty-two of its twenty-three cysteinyl residues are conserved with alpha 2-macroglobulin implying similar tertiary structure. However, the prototype alpha 1-inhibitor III sequence differed significantly from the rat and human alpha 2-macroglobulin sequences in its bait region suggesting alpha 1-inhibitor III possesses proteinase inhibitory specificities different from those of alpha 2-macroglobulin. The variant alpha 1-inhibitor III clone pRLA1I3/2J from a second cDNA group also differed from the prototype in the bait region coding sequence, although both specify similar signal peptides and NH2 termini. The observation of variant cDNA classes suggests that acute phase rat livers produce a heterogeneous mixture of alpha 1-inhibitor III mRNA molecules. Evidence was obtained for the presence of at least four different alpha 1-inhibitor III-related genes in the rat genome. During the first 24 h of an acute phase response the abundance of hepatic alpha 1-inhibitor III mRNA was decreased 3-4-fold. This decrease was of the same order of magnitude as the reported reduction of the corresponding plasma protein concentration, suggesting that in the early phase of the acute inflammatory response the plasma concentration of this protein is mainly controlled through the abundance of its hepatic mRNA.     

Molecular cloning of DNA complementary to rat alpha 2-macroglobulin mRNA

Rat alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) is an acute-phase protein synthesized in the liver. Using an in vitro translation system coupled with solid-phase radioimmunoassay, alpha 2M mRNA activity was found to rise to a maximum level in 16-24 h after turpentine injection. Poly(A)+ RNA from turpentine-injected rat liver was converted to cDNA by the method of Okayama-Berg, and about 50,000 transformants were obtained. From these transformants, clones containing alpha 2M cDNA were selected using the following criteria: 1) alpha 2M cDNA should hybridize with synthetic oligonucleotides encoding portions of the alpha 2M amino acid sequence, 2) alpha 2M cDNA should hybridize preferentially with RNA which increases during inflammation, 3) mRNA which hybridizes with alpha 2M cDNA should encode a polypeptide which specifically reacts with antibody against alpha 2M, and 4) the cDNA should contain the nucleotide sequences encoding the amino acid sequences of alpha 2M. We found clones which fulfilled these criteria. Using the cDNA clone as a probe, we demonstrated that the level of alpha 2M mRNA in the liver of inflamed animal markedly increased up to 1000-fold. The size of the alpha 2M mRNA was about 4800 nucleotides in length by Northern analysis.     

Human apolipoprotein A-II: complete nucleic acid sequence of preproapoA-II

The complete cDNA nucleic acid sequence of preproapolipoprotein (apo) A-II, a major protein constituent of high density lipoproteins, has been determined on clones from a human liver ds-cDNA library. Clones containing ds-cDNA for apoA-II were identified in the human liver ds-cDNA library using synthetic oligonucleotides as probes. Of 3200 clones screened, 4 reacted with the oligonucleotide probes. The DNA sequence coding for amino acids ?17 to +17 of apoA-II were determined by Maxam-Gilbert sequence analysis of restriction fragments isolated from one of these clones, pMDB2049. The remainder of the cDNA sequence was established by sequence analysis of a primer extension product synthesized utilizing a restriction fragment near the 5'-end of clone pMDB2049 as primer with total liver mRNA. The apoA-II mRNA encodes for a 100 amino acid protein, preproapoA-II that has an 18 amino acid prepeptide and a 5 amino acid propeptide terminating with a basic dipeptide (Arg-Arg) at the cleavage site to mature apoA-II.     

Isolation of a human cDNA for alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor and its identity with low molecular weight kininogen

A lambda gt11 cDNA library containing DNA inserts prepared from human liver mRNA has been screened with an antibody to human alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor that was isolated from fresh plasma. Eighteen positive clones were isolated from one million phage, and each was plaque purified. The cDNA insert of one of these phage was sequenced and shown to code for alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor as identified by a partial amino acid sequence of the light chain of alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor. This cDNA insert contained 1529 base pairs coding for the complete alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor. It included 45 base pairs of 5' noncoding sequence, 1281 base pairs that code for pre alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor, a stop codon, 160 base pairs of 3' noncoding sequence, and 40 base pairs of poly(A) tail. The noncoding sequence on the 3' end contained a potential recognition site (AATAAA) for processing and polyadenylation of precursor messenger RNA. The amino acid sequence of alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor deduced from the cDNA showed a striking similarity (overall homology at 74%) to that of bovine low molecular weight (LMW) kininogen, including two internally repeated sequences and a nonapeptide sequence of bradykinin. These data clearly indicated that alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor and LMW kininogen are identical. This was further supported by immunological cross-reactivity between alpha 2-thiol proteinase inhibitor and LMW kininogen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Construction of DNA sequences complementary to rat alpha 1 and alpha 2 collagen mRNA and their use in studying the regulation of type I collagen synthesis by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D

Type I collagen mRNA from fetal rat calvaria was used as a template for the synthesis of a cDNA that was subsequently inserted in the PstI site of the plasmic vector pBR322 and cloned. Three recombinant plasmids containing type I collagen specific sequences were characterized: p alpha 1R1 is 1600 bp and spans approximately 500 amino acid residues within the triple helical region of alpha 1(I) and p alpha 1R2 is 900 bp in size and covers the entire 3' noncoding and about half of the C-terminal propeptide region of alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA. The third recombinant p alpha 2R2 is 1500 bp and contains alpha 2(I) sequences specific for the entire 3' noncoding and C-terminal propeptide region. Partial nucleic acid sequence data revealed that the decreasing order of amino acid and nucleotide homology to similar regions of the rat cDNA was mouse greater than human greater than chick. Northern hybridization of mRNA after electrophoresis in 0.8% agarose revealed two distinctly different molecular weight patterns characteristic of alpha 1(I) (4.7 and 5.7 kb) and alpha 2(I) (4.2 and 4.5 kb) collagen mRNA when hybridized with the corresponding cDNA probe. Despite the high degree of sequence homology, DNA probes from rat or human produced a significantly reduced hybridization signal when used as an interspecies hybridization probe than to its corresponding mRNA. The rat cDNA probes were used in a dot hybridization assay to measure the type I collagen mRNA content in the fetal rat calvaria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Molecular cloning and primary structure of rat alpha 1-antitrypsin

A cDNA clone encoding rat alpha 1-antitrypsin has been isolated from a lambda gt-11 rat liver cDNA library using an antigen-overlay immunoscreening method. The nucleotide sequence of this cDNA clone is 1306 base pairs in length and has a coding region of 1224 base pairs which can be translated into an alpha 1-antitrypsin precursor protein consisting of 408 amino acid residues. The cDNA sequence contains a termination codon, TAA, at position 1162 and a polyadenylation signal sequence, AATAAT, at position 1212. The calculated molecular weight of the translated mature protein is 43,700 with 387 amino acid residues; this differs from purified rat alpha 1-antitrypsin's apparent molecular weight of 54,000 because of glycosylation. Five potential glycosylation sites were identified on the basis of the cDNA sequence. The translated mature protein sequence from the cDNA clone matches completely with the N-terminal 33 amino acids of purified rat alpha 1-antitrypsin, which has an N-terminal Glu. The cDNA encoding rat alpha 1-antitrypsin shares 70% and 80% sequence identity with its human and mouse counterparts, respectively. The reactive center sequence of rat alpha 1-antitrypsin is highly conserved with respect to human alpha 1-antitrypsin, both having Met-Ser at the P1 and P1' residues. Genomic Southern blot analysis yielded a simple banding pattern, suggesting that the rat alpha 1-antitrypsin gene is single-copy. Northern blot analysis using the cDNA probe showed that rat alpha 1-antitrypsin is expressed at high levels in the liver and at low levels in the submandibular gland and the lung.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding human liver serine-pyruvate aminotransferase

Cloned cDNAs for human liver serine-pyruvate aminotransferase (Ser-PyrAT) were obtained by screening of a human liver cDNA library with a fragment of cDNA for rat mitochondrial Ser-PyrAT as a probe. Two clones were isolated from 50,000 transformants. Both clones contained approximately 1.5 kb cDNA inserts and were shown to almost completely overlap each other on restriction enzyme mapping and DNA sequencing. The nucleotide sequence of the mRNA coding for human liver Ser-PyrAT was determined from those of the cDNA clones. The mRNA comprises at least 1487 nucleotides, and encodes a polypeptide consisting of 392 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 43,039 Da. The amino acid composition determined on acid hydrolysis of the purified enzyme showed good agreement with that deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA. In vitro translation of the mRNA derived from one of the isolated clones, pHspt12, as well as that of mRNA extracted from human liver, yielded a product of 43 kDa which reacted with rabbit anti-(rat mitochondrial Ser-PyrAT) serum. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of human Ser-PyrAT and the mature form of rat mitochondrial Ser-PyrAT revealed 79.3% identity. Although human Ser-PyrAT appears to be synthesized as the mature size, the 5'-noncoding region of human Ser-PyrAT mRNA contains a nucleotide sequence which would encode, if translated, an amino acid sequence similar to that of the N-terminal extension peptide of the precursor for rat mitochondrial Ser-PyrAT.     

Isolation of cDNA clones for human erythrocyte membrane sialoglycoproteins alpha and delta.

We have isolated almost full-length cDNA clones corresponding to human erythrocyte membrane sialoglycoproteins alpha (glycophorin A) and delta (glycophorin B). The predicted amino acid sequence of delta differs at two amino acid residues from the sequence determined by peptide sequencing. The sialoglycoprotein delta clone we have isolated contains an interrupting sequence within the region that gives rise to the cleaved N-terminal leader sequence for the protein and represents a product that is unlikely to be inserted into the erythrocyte membrane. Comparison of the cDNA sequences of alpha and delta shows very strong homology at the DNA level within the coding regions. The two mRNA sequences are closely related and differ by a number of clearly defined insertions and deletions.