Cloning and characterization of opticin cDNA: evaluation as a candidate for canine oculo-skeletal dysplasia

Opticin, a novel member of the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) family, has been reported to bind to collagen fibrils. Many members of the LRR family of extracellular matrix proteins have been reported to bind to fibrillar collagen and regulate the diameter of collagen fibrils and lateral fusion between fibrils. Collagen fibrils are important for the maintenance of the vitreous body in the eye and growth plate cartilage of joints. Oculo-skeletal dysplasia (OSD) is a heterogeneous group of heritable genetic disorders affecting humans and a few breeds of dogs. Labrador retrievers and Samoyeds affected with non-allelic forms of OSD exhibit vitreous dysplasia and dwarfism, and could serve as an animal model for the disorder. To test the opticin gene as a candidate for OSD, canine opticin cDNA has been cloned and characterized. The predicted 327 amino acid sequence is 77% homologous to human opticin, and maintains characteristic structural domains including seven LRR domains, two cysteine clusters and potential O-linked glycosylation sites. It shows highest protein sequence identity to epiphycan (37%) and osteoglycin (31%) and belongs to the Class III family of LRR extracellular matrix proteins. In addition to ocular tissues and cartilage, opticin mRNA and protein have been identified in ligament, skin, muscle, and testes. No alteration of opticin expression at the protein level was observed in OSD affected dogs relative to normal controls. Based on linkage analysis using a newly identified intragenic single nucleotide polymorphism opticin has been excluded from having any causal association with the OSD loci in both Samoyeds and Labrador retrievers.     

Opticin production is reduced by hypoxia and VEGF in human retinal pigment epithelium via MMP-2 activation

Opticin, a small leucine rich repeat protein (SLRP) contributes to vitreoretinal adhesion. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of hypoxia and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) mediated opticin production in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Primary cultured human RPE cells were treated with hypoxia (low oxygen and cobalt chloride) or VEGF (0-100 ng/mL). The mRNA levels of opticin and the protein levels of intra and extracellular opticin in RPE cells were examined by RT-PCR and Western blot assay, respectively. Furthermore, the MMP activity was analyzed by zymography, and EDTA was used as an MMP inhibitor. Analysis of the effect of MMP-2 on opticin was performed by recombinant human (rh) MMP-2 stimulation in RPE cultures and by human vitreous sample digestion with activated rhMMP-2. Our results showed that opticin was expressed by primary cultured human RPE cells. Hypoxia and VEGF stimulation did not alter opticin mRNA and protein expression in RPE cells, but markedly decreased the protein levels of extracellular opticin following increased latent MMP-2 activity. The VEGF- and hypoxia induced opticin degradation in the culture medium was blocked by EDTA. Together, opticin levels in the culture medium were also reduced after rhMMP-2 treatment. In addition, opticin in human vitreous samples could be cleaved by rhMMP-2. These results reveal that VEGF and hypoxia could decrease opticin protein levels in the human RPE secretome, and that opticin may be an enzymatic substrate for MMP-2.     

Opticin Exerts Its Anti-angiogenic Activity by Regulating Extracellular Matrix Adhesiveness

Opticin is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein that we identified associated with the collagen network of the vitreous humor of the eye. Recently, we discovered that opticin possesses anti-angiogenic activity using a murine oxygen-induced retinopathy model: here, we investigate the underlying mechanism. Using an ex vivo chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, we show that opticin inhibits angiogenesis when stimulated by a range of growth factors. We show that it suppresses capillary morphogenesis, inhibits endothelial invasion, and promotes capillary network regression in three-dimensional matrices of collagen and Matrigel(TM). We then show that opticin binds to collagen and thereby competitively inhibits endothelial cell interactions with collagen via α(1)β(1) and α(2)β(1) integrins, thereby preventing the strong adhesion that is required for proangiogenic signaling via these integrins.     

Molecular cloning and expression of two small leucine-rich proteoglycan (SLRP) genes, dspg3l and optcl, in zebrafish

Epiphycan (DSPG3) and opticin are two class III small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRP). We isolated two zebrafish cDNAs, dspg3l and optcl, that encode proteins homologous to epiphycan and opticin in other vertebrates. Like epiphycans in other species, dspg3l is exclusively expressed in the developing notochord and cartilage. optcl is expressed transiently in the developing nervous system, eyes and somites much like opticin. The zebrafish dspg3l and optcl genes are located in linkage group 4 and 11, respectively. The genomic locations for both genes in zebrafish are syntenic with the genomic locations of dspg3 and opticin (optc) in human and mouse. Synteny and the expression patterns of these genes suggest that the dspg3l and optcl are the orthologs to the mammalian dspg3 and optc genes, respectively.     

Translation of beta-tubulin mRNA in vitro generates multiple molecular forms

We describe the in vitro expression and characterization of the isolated beta-tubulin subunit in rabbit reticulocyte lysates and compare its assembly and chromatographic properties with that of the isolated alpha-subunit and the tubulin heterodimer. The beta-tubulin polypeptides, derived from a single chicken beta-tubulin cDNA, were found in three distinct molecular forms: a multimeric or lysate-associated form, beta I (Mr approximately 180,000); the free beta-subunit beta II (Mr approximately 55,000); and the hybrid heterodimer alpha(rabbit) beta(chick), beta III (Mr approximately 80,000-100,000). The hybrid heterodimers were 100% assembly competent, whereas beta-tubulin in the "associated" beta I and the monomeric beta II forms displayed only approximately 70 +/- 15 and 25 +/- 10% competence, respectively, in coassembly assays with bovine brain tubulin. This reduced functionality was not a consequence of diminished beta-subunit stability or protein denaturation. By comparing the elution positions of the three beta forms, the monomeric alpha-subunit, and tubulin dimer purified from bovine brain, we demonstrate that anion-exchange columns (Mono-Q) interact preferentially with the alpha-subunit and chromatograph tubulin dimer on the basis of alpha-subunit isotype. The rate of exchange of the free beta-subunit into bovine tubulin dimer was followed chromatographically. The exchange was slow at 4 degrees C and rapid at 37 degrees C where it is essentially complete in 40 min in the presence of 2.5 mg/ml bovine microtubule protein. Exogenous GTP, a potent effector of microtubule assembly, binds exchangeably to beta II and enhances the recovery of this form from the Mono-Q column, suggesting that GTP binding may occur at identical sites in the isolated beta-subunit and in the tubulin heterodimer.     

The expression pattern of opticin during chicken embryogenesis

We isolated the chicken homologue of opticin (cOptc), a member of the small leucine-rich repeat protein (SLRP) family. cOptc is expressed in the brain and the neural tube from stage 9 onward. At later stages, cOptc is expressed in the ciliary epithelium of the eye, optic stalk, Rathke's pouch, pharyngeal pouches, nasal pit and otic vesicle.     

Photo-crosslinking of proteins in intact cells reveals a dimeric structure of cyclooxygenase-2 and an inhibitor-sensitive oligomeric structure of microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1

We have characterized the structures of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and microsomal prostaglandin E₂ synthase-1 (mPGES-1) in intact cells using bifunctional and photo-activatable crosslinking agents. A dimeric complex was detected for COX-2 by both crosslinking approaches, consistent with the crystal structure of the enzyme. For mPGES-1, treatment of A549 cells with disuccinimidyl suberate yielded immunoreactive protein bands corresponding to a dimer (33 kDa) and a trimer (45 kDa), as observed for the isolated enzyme. Photo-crosslinking with photoactivatable methionine in intact cells generated complexes with molecular weights corresponding to the dimer (33 kDa) and two putative trimer forms (50 and 55 kDa). Treatment with the selective mPGES-1 inhibitor MF63 prevented the formation of the 50 and 55 kDa crosslinked complexes, while an inactive structural analogue had no effect. Our data indicate that COX-2 forms a dimer in intact cells and that mPGES-1 has an oligomeric structure that can be disrupted by a selective inhibitor.     

Purification of phospholipid methyltransferase from rat liver microsomal fraction.

Phospholipid methyltransferase, the enzyme that converts phosphatidylethanolamine into phosphatidylcholine with S-adenosyl-L-methionine as the methyl donor, was purified to apparent homogeneity from rat liver microsomal fraction. When analysed by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis only one protein, with molecular mass about 50 kDa, is detected. This protein could be phosphorylated at a single site by incubation with [alpha-32P]ATP and the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. A less-purified preparation of the enzyme is mainly composed of two proteins, with molecular masses about 50 kDa and 25 kDa, the 50 kDa form being phosphorylated at the same site as the homogeneous enzyme. After purification of both proteins by electro-elution, the 25 kDa protein forms a dimer and migrates on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis with molecular mass about 50 kDa. Peptide maps of purified 25 kDa and 50 kDa proteins are identical, indicating that both proteins are formed by the same polypeptide chain(s). It is concluded that rat liver phospholipid methyltransferase can exist in two forms, as a monomer of 25 kDa and as a dimer of 50 kDa. The dimer can be phosphorylated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Crystal structure of the biglycan dimer and evidence that dimerization is essential for folding and stability of class I small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycans

Biglycan and decorin are two closely related proteoglycans whose protein cores contain leucine-rich repeats flanked by disulfides. We have previously shown that decorin is dimeric both in solution and in crystal structures. In this study we determined whether biglycan dimerizes and investigated the role of dimerization in the folding and stability of these proteoglycans. We used light scattering to show that biglycan is dimeric in solution and solved the crystal structure of the glycoprotein core of biglycan at 3.40-angstroms resolution. This structure reveals that biglycan dimerizes in the same way as decorin, i.e. by apposition of the concave inner surfaces of the leucine-rich repeat domains. We demonstrate that low concentrations of guanidinium chloride denature biglycan and decorin but that the denaturation is completely reversible following removal of the guanidinium chloride, as assessed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Furthermore, the rate of refolding is dependent on protein concentration, demonstrating that it is not a unimolecular process. Upon heating, decorin shows a single structural transition at a T(m) of 45-46 degrees C but refolds completely upon cooling to 25 degrees C. This property of decorin enabled us to show both by calorimetry and light scattering that dimer to monomer transition coincided with unfolding and monomer to dimer transition coincided with refolding; thus these processes are inextricably linked. We further conclude that folded monomeric biglycan or decorin cannot exist in solution. This implies novel interrelated functions for the parallel beta sheet faces of these leucine-rich repeat proteoglycans, including dimerization and stabilization of protein folding.     

Isolation of two forms of carboxylester lipase (cholesterol esterase) from porcine pancreas

Carboxylester lipase (cholesterol esterase, EC 3.1.1.13) has been purified to homogeneity from porcine pancreas. The enzyme is isolated in two molecular mass forms, a monomer of 74 kDa and a dimer of 167 kDa. The dimer consists of two catalytically-active subunits which have molecular masses approximately 9 kDa greater than the monomers. The difference in size was not attributable to carbohydrate or lipid content. The catalytic properties of the two forms are comparable on a weight basis, the amino acid compositions are quite similar, and the N-terminal sequences are nearly identical for 24 residues. These similarities suggest a possible precursor-product relationship between the two carboxylester lipase forms.     

Analysis of the rat liver gap junction protein: clarification of anomalies in its molecular size

The major gap junction polypeptide in most tissues has an apparent molecular mass of 27 kDa with a 47 kDa dimer present in junction-enriched fractions. However, a 54 kDa protein recognized by gap junction-specific antibodies has been reported and a complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence for both human and rat liver gap junctions codes for a 32 kDa protein. In this paper we show that these are all forms of the same gap junction protein that can be observed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels simply by varying the concentration of acrylamide in the gels. A 64 kDa dimer is also obtainable. Antibodies to the gap junction protein or to a synthetic peptide constructed to match the rat liver gap junction amino-terminal sequence recognize all of these forms. Under some conditions a 54 kDa dimer is 'preferred', explaining the presence of this species in whole tissue homogenate Western blots. These results clarify several controversies and indicate that the protein forming the gap junction channel probably undergoes no major post-translational modification as the cDNA sequence codes for a protein of molecular mass 32 kDa and this protein species and its 64 kDa dimer are demonstrable on SDS-polyacrylamide gels under appropriate conditions.     

Signal peptide peptidase forms a homodimer that is labeled by an active site-directed gamma-secretase inhibitor

Presenilin (PS) is the presumptive catalytic component of the intramembrane aspartyl protease gamma-secretase complex. Recently a family of presenilin homologs was identified. One member of this family, signal peptide peptidase (SPP), has been shown to be a protease, which supports the hypothesis that PS and presenilin homologs are related intramembrane-cleaving aspartyl proteases. SPP has been reported as a glycoprotein of approximately 45 kDa. Our initial characterization of SPP isolated from human brain and cell lines demonstrated that SPP is primarily present as an SDS-stable approximately 95-kDa protein on Western blots. Upon heating or treatment of this approximately 95-kDa SPP band with acid, a approximately 45-kDa band could be resolved. Co-purification of two different epitope-tagged forms of SPP from a stably transfected cell line expressing both tagged versions demonstrated that the approximately 95-kDa band is a homodimer of SPP. Pulse-chase metabolic labeling studies demonstrated that the SPP homodimer assembles rapidly and is metabolically stable. In a glycerol velocity gradient, SPP sedimented from approximately 100-200 kDa. Significantly the SPP homodimer was specifically labeled by an active site-directed photoaffinity probe (III-63) for PS, indicating that the active sites of SPP and PS/gamma-secretase are similar and providing strong evidence that the homodimer is functionally active. Collectively these data suggest that SPP exists in vivo as a functional dimer.     

Stability, quaternary structure, and folding of internal, external, and core-glycosylated invertase from yeast.

The role of carbohydrate chains for the structure, function, stability, and folding of glycoproteins has been investigated using invertase as a model. The protein is encoded by several different genes, and its carbohydrate moiety is heterogeneous. Both properties complicate physicochemical comparisons. Here we used the temperature-sensitive sec18 secretion mutant of yeast with a single invertase gene (SUC2). This mutant produces the carbohydrate-free internal invertase, the core-glycosylated form, and, at the permissive temperature, the fully glycosylated external enzyme, all with identical protein moieties. The core-glycosylated enzyme resembles the nascent glycoprotein chain that folds in the endoplasmic reticulum. Therefore, it may be considered a model for the in vivo folding of glycoproteins. In addition, because of its uniform glycosylation, it can be used to investigate the state of association of native invertase. Glycosylation is found to stabilize the protein with respect to thermal denaturation and chaotropic solvent components; the stabilizing effect does not differ for the external and the core-glycosylated forms. Unlike the internal enzyme, the glycosylated forms are protected from aggregation. Native internal invertase is a dimer (115 kDa) whereas the core-glycosylated enzyme is a mixture of dimers, tetramers, and octamers. This implies that core-glycosylation is necessary for oligomerization to tetramers and octamers. Dimerization is required and sufficient to generate enzymatic activity; further association does not alter the specific activity of core-glycosylated invertase, suggesting that the active sites of invertase are not affected by the association of the dimeric units. Reconstitution of the glycosylated and nonglycosylated forms of the enzyme after preceding guanidine denaturation depends on protein concentration. The maximum yield (approximately 80%) is obtained at pH 6-8 and protein concentrations < or = 4 micrograms/mL for the nonglycosylated and < or = 40 for the glycosylated forms of the enzyme. The lower stability of the internal enzyme is reflected by a narrower pH range of reactivation and enhanced aggregation. As indicated by the sigmoidal reactivation kinetics at low protein concentration both folding and association are rate-determining.     

Nuclear localisation of endogenous SUMO-1-modified PDGF-C in human thyroid tissue and cell lines

We investigated post-translational modification and subcellular localisation of endogenous platelet-derived growth factor-C (PDGF-C) in human thyroid papillary carcinomas (PTC), non-neoplastic thyroid tissues, and a selection of cultured cell lines. PDGF-C expressed nuclear localisation in 95% of all tested cell types in culture and in 10% of the thyrocytes from both PTC and non-neoplastic tissue. The cell lines expressed two forms of full-length PDGF-C, approximately 39 and approximately 55 kDa, in cell membrane and cytosol, while the approximately 55 kDa form dominated in the nucleus where it was partly chromatin-associated. The approximately 55 kDa form was post-translationally modified by SUMO-1. The putative PDGF-C SUMOylation site is the surface exposed (314)lysine part of a positively charged loop ((312)RPKTGVRGLHK(322)) with characteristics of a nuclear localisation signal. The tissue thyrocytes expressed a non-SUMOylated approximately 43 kDa and the 55 kDa PDGF-C. The SUMO-1 modified approximately 55 kDa PDGF-C expression was low in PTC where the approximately 43 kDa PDGF-C dominated. This is in contrast to non-neoplastic tissue and cultured cells where the SUMOylated approximately 55 kDa PDGF-C was strongly expressed. Our data provide novel evidence for nuclear localisation of PDGF-C, post-translational modification by SUMOylation and the expression of a novel form of PDGF-C in human papillary thyroid carcinomas.     

Conformation similarities of the globular and tailed forms of acetylcholinesterase from Torpedo californica

The conformation of the globular dimer (G2), the tailed asymmetric dodecamer (A12, also containing some tailed octamer A8) and the globular tetramer (G4, prepared by removing the collagen-like tail from A12) of acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine acetylhydrolase, EC 3.1.1.7) was studied by circular dichroism (CD) in the ultraviolet region. The G2 and G4 forms had similar conformation with about 40% alpha-helix, 35% beta-sheets and 4% beta-turns; the tailed form had a lower helicity (about 34%) and beta-form (about 25%) content probably because of the presence of the tail whose CD spectrum resembles that of an unordered form, but it had about the same amount of beta-turns as the other two forms. All three forms also had similar CD spectra in the near-ultraviolet region due to their non-peptide chromophores. The pH, thermal and urea denaturation of the three acetylcholinesterase forms was also similar to each other. The pH-dependency of both the enzymatic activity and CD intensity of the three forms showed bell-shaped curves with a plateau at pH 7-8. The activity was completely lost at pH below 5 or above 10, but the corresponding CD spectra retained 70-80% of the original magnitudes. Thermal denaturation of the three forms at pH 7.5 showed a conformational transition and loss of activity between 30 and 40 degrees C, but the CD intensity of the helical band at 222 nm was reduced by only 20-30%. Urea denaturation of the three forms began at 1 M urea; it was protein concentration- and time-dependent. Again, the activity disappeared faster than the decreasing CD intensity. Thus, the overall conformation of the three acetylcholinesterase forms appears to be relatively stable, but their active site is easily perturbed by changing the environment. The loss of activity correlated well with the disappearance of the CD band of tryptophan(s) in the near-ultraviolet region, suggesting that the Trp residue(s) might be at or near the active center of the enzyme.     

Export of Galectin-3 from Nuclei of Digitonin-Permeabilized Mouse 3T3 Fibroblasts

Galectin-3 is a galactose-/lactose-binding protein (M(r) approximately 30,000), identified as a required factor in the splicing of pre-mRNA. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that galectin-3 distributes differentially between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, depending on the proliferative state of the cells under analysis. Using digitonin-permeabilized mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, we provide evidence that galectin-3 is rapidly and selectively exported from the nucleus. Although both phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated isoforms of galectin-3 are found in the nuclear fraction, only phosphorylated galectin-3 is identified in the exported fraction, implying that phosphorylation is important for the nuclear export of the protein. The rate of galectin-3 export is temperature dependent and is decreased by the addition of wheat germ agglutinin. More strikingly, galectin-3 export can be inhibited by the addition of leptomycin B, a drug that disrupts the interaction between the leucine-rich nuclear export signal and its receptor, CRM1 (chromosome maintenance region 1). Indeed, a putative leucine-rich nuclear export signal can be found in residues 241-249 of the murine galectin-3 sequence. Finally, gel filtration of the exported material showed that galectin-3 can be found in at least two high molecular weight complexes (approximately 650 and approximately 60 kDa), both of which can be disrupted by lactose.     

gp160, the envelope glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, is a dimer of 125-kilodalton subunits stabilized through interactions between their gp41 domains.

The molecular masses, carbohydrate contents, oligomeric status, and overall molecular structure of the env glycoproteins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1--gp120, gp160, and gp41--have been determined by quantitative electron microscopy. Using purified gp160s, a water-soluble form of env purified from a recombinant vaccinia virus expression system, we have measured the masses of several hundred individual molecules by dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. When combined with sequence-based information, these mass measurements establish that gp160s is a dimer of subunits with an average monomer mass of 123 kDa, of which approximately 32 kDa is carbohydrate and 91 kDa is protein. Similarly, gp120 was found to be a monomer of 89 kDa and to contain virtually all of env's glycosylation. gp41 is glycosylated only slightly, if at all, and is responsible for the interactions that stabilize the gp160s dimer. A molecular mass map of gp160s derived by image processing depicts an asymmetric dumbbell whose two domains have masses of approximately 173 and approximately 73 kDa, corresponding to a gp120 dimer and a gp41 dimer, respectively. We infer that the average monomer mass of native gp160 is 125 kDa and that in situ, env is either a dimer or a tetramer but is most unlikely to be a trimer.     

Functions of isolated domains of methionyl-tRNA synthetase from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus HB8

Methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS, 2 X 75 kDa) was purified to homogeneity from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus HB8. The polypeptide chain of MetRS was cleaved by limited digestion with trypsin into four domains: T1 (29 kDa), T2 (23 kDa), T3 (14.5 kDa), and T4 (7.5 kDa), which were aligned in that order. MetRS was also cleaved into similar fragments with a variety of other proteases. Domains T1, T2, T3, and T4 were isolated by column chromatography. "Tandem domain" T1-T2 (56 kDa) is fully active in the aminoacylation of tRNA and is further cleaved with trypsin into domains T1 and T2. Domain T1 is the smallest aminoacylation unit so far reported. Domain T2 (enzymatically inactive) interacts with tRNAMetf, as found by UV-induced cross-linking. Isolated domain T3 forms a dimer and is responsible for the dimer assembly of two protomers in MetRS. Domain T4 is a flexible tail of MetRS. These domains, in particular T1 and T2, will be important for detailed structure analyses in relation to aminoacylation activity.