Evidence for direct binding of vinculin to actin filaments

The interaction of vinculin with actin filaments was investigated by methods which exclude interference by contaminating proteins which may occur in vinculin preparations. Vinculin which was blotted from SDS-polyacrylamide gels onto nitrocellulose, was stained specifically by fluorescently labeled polymeric actin (100 mM KCl, 2 mM MgCl2). Vinculin which was purified from alpha-actinin and an actin polymerization-inhibiting protein (HA1), was found to be cosedimented with polymeric actin. Maximally one vinculin molecule was cosedimented per one hundred actin filament subunits. Half maximal binding of vinculin was observed at about 0.25 microM free vinculin. Vinculin could be replaced from actin by the addition of tropomyosin.     

Identification of precursor peptide of aculeacin A acylase as a protein with proteolytic activity

Abstract A protein with the proteolytic activity was isolated from culture filtrate of the aculeacin A acylase producing strain, Actinoplanes utahensis NRRL12052. The purified protein showed a single band of molecular mass of 87 kDa in SDS-PAGE and gel filtration using HPLC, and reacted with anti-aculeacin A acylase antiserum. The 87-kDa protein was degraded to two peptides of molecular mass of 60 kDa and 19 kDa by incubation at 37°C in the presence of 0.1% SDS and the former band also responded to the antiserum. These results indicate that the 87-kDa protein possessing the proteolytic activity is a precursor of aculeacin A acylase.     

Antisera specific for rap 1 proteins distinguish between processed and nonprocessed rap 1b

Polyclonal antisera were generated against synthetic peptides corresponding to distinct regions of the rap 1 protein sequences. A "rap 1-common" antiserum, prepared against an 18-amino acid segment of the rap 1a protein near the proposed GTP-binding region, reacted with both rap 1a and rap 1b recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli and with two low molecular weight GTP-binding proteins of 22 and 24 kDa in unstimulated human platelets. An antiserum raised against a carboxyl-terminal peptide of rap 1b containing the putative site of post-translational processing reacted strongly with bacterial-expressed recombinant rap 1b and with a 24-kDa GTP-binding protein in platelets, but not with recombinant rap 1a or a 22-kDa GTP-binding protein. The mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of this rap 1b immunoreactive protein coincided with that of bacterial-expressed rap 1b and not with the faster migrating form of rap 1b that incorporates radioactivity from [3H]mevalonic acid in the insect/baculovirus system. This suggests that our rap 1b-specific antiserum recognizes only one form of rap 1b, that which has not undergone carboxyl-terminal post-translational processing.     

Immunological characterization of rapeseed myrosinase

A purified 75-kDa myrosinase and a crude rapeseed myrosinase fraction were used as antigens to produce mouse anti-myrosinase monoclonal antibodies. The 75-kDa myrosinase was also used to produce a polyclonal rabbit antiserum. The antiserum and one monoclonal antibody reacted with three distinct rapeseed polypeptides of 75, 70 and 65 kDa (M75, M70 and M65, respectively). A second set of monoclonal antibodies reacted exclusively with the 75-kDa form of myrosinase, and a third set showed specificity towards two components of 52 and 50 kDa (myrosinase-binding proteins, MBP52 and MBP50, respectively). MBP52 and MBP50 lack inherent myrosinase activity, but are nevertheless capable of mediating immunoprecipitation of myrosinase due to their interaction with myrosinase. Gel chromatography and glycerol gradient centrifugation experiments resolved two myrosinase-containing fractions. One of these had an approximate molecular mass of 140 kDa and consisted of disulfide-linked dimers of the 75-kDa myrosinase. The other fraction was heterogeneous in size with molecular masses ranging from 250 kDa to approximately 1 MDa. The high-molecular-mass fractions contained complexes consisting of disulfide-linked 70-kDa and 65-kDa myrosinases and non-covalently bound 52-kDa and 50-kDa myrosinase-binding proteins.     

Proteolytic processing of the mosquitocidal toxin from Bacillus sphaericus SSII-1.

The 97-kDa protein Mtx21, derived from the 100-kDa mosquitocidal protein (Mtx) from Bacillus sphaericus SSII-1 by the deletion of the putative signal sequence, was expressed as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase in Escherichia coli, and the fusion protein was purified by affinity chromatography. The fusion protein bound to glutathione agarose was cleaved with thrombin to release the Mtx21 protein. The 97-kDa Mtx21 protein was found to be toxic to Culex quinquefasciatus larvae with a 50% lethal concentration of 15 ng/ml. Treating Mtx21 with crude mosquito larval gut extracts gave rise to two major peptides of 70 and 27 kDa. Treating the 97-kDa Mtx21 protein with trysin also gave rise to a similar proteolytic cleavage pattern. N-terminal sequencing showed that the 27-kDa peptide was derived from the N-terminal region of the 97-kDa protein and that the 70-kDa protein was from the C-terminal region of the 97-kDa protein. The 27-kDa peptide has all the previously identified regions of homology with the catalytic peptides of the ADP-ribosyltransferase toxins, such as pertussis toxin S1 peptide, while the 70-kDa peptide has three internal regions of homology.     

Demonstration of two forms of calcium pumps by thapsigargin inhibition and radioimmunoblotting in platelet membrane vesicles

In mixed membrane vesicles prepared from human platelets, the presence of two distinct calcium pump enzymes (molecular mass 100 and 97 kDa) was demonstrated by 32P autoradiography, immunoblotting, and thapsigargin inhibition. Both the 100- and 97-kDa membrane proteins showed calcium-dependent phosphoenzyme formation and reacted with a polyclonal anti-sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump antiserum, while only the 100-kDa protein reacted with the antiserum specific for the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum-type calcium transport ATPase 2b isoform. Thapsigargin, inhibiting active calcium transport in platelet membrane vesicles, predominantly blocked the phosphoenzyme formation of the 100-kDa isoform and of the tryptic calcium pump fragments of 55 and 35 kDa, while lanthanum specifically increased the phosphoenzyme formation of the 97-kDa enzyme and of the tryptic fragment of 80 kDa. These results indicate the presence of the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum-type calcium transport ATPase 2b isoform and of a yet unidentified, 97-kDa calcium pump protein in human platelet membranes.     

Conformational transitions in the myosin head induced by temperature, nucleotide and actin. Studies on subfragment-1 of myosins from rabbit and frog fast skeletal muscle with a limited proteolysis method

Tryptic digestion patterns reveal a close similarity of the substructure of frog subfragment-1 (S1) to that established for rabbit S1. The 97-kDa heavy chain of chymotryptic S1 of frog myosin is preferentially cleaved into three fragments with apparent molecular masses of 29 kDa, 49 kDa and 20 kDa. These fragments correspond to the 27-kDa, 50-kDa and 20-kDa fragments of rabbit S1, respectively; this is indicated by the sequence of their appearance during digestion, by the suppression by actin of the generation of the 49-kDa and 20-kDa peptides, and by a nucleotide-promoted cleavage of the 29-kDa peptide to a 24-kDa fragment and the 49-kDa peptide to a 44-kDa fragment, analogous to the nucleotide-promoted cleavage of the 27-kDa and 50-kDa fragments of rabbit S1 to the 22-kDa and 45-kDa peptides. The same changes in the digestion patterns as those produced by the presence of nucleotide (ATP or its beta,gamma-imido analog AdoP P[NH]P) at 25 degrees C were observed when the digestion was carried out at 0 degrees C in the absence of nucleotide. The low-temperature-induced changes were particularly well seen in the preparations from frog myosin. The presence of ATP or AdoP P[NH]P at 0 degrees C enhanced, whereas the complex formation with actin prevented, the low-temperature-induced changes. The results are consistent with there being two fundamental conformational states of the myosin head in an equilibrium that is dependent on the temperature, the nucleotide bound at the active site, and the presence or absence of actin.     

A novel 49-kilodalton protein from Artemia cross-links microtubules in vitro.

A 49 kilodalton (kDa) protein, previously proposed to cross-link microtubules, was purified to apparent homogeneity from cell-free extracts of the brine shrimp Artemia. When incubated with tubulin under assembly conditions, the purified 49-kDa protein cross-linked the resulting microtubules. Preformed microtubules were also cross-linked when incubated with the 49-kDa protein. Upon centrifugation through sucrose cushions the 49-kDa protein cosedimented with microtubules, suggesting a stable association between the cross-linking protein and tubulin. Such microtubules were interconnected by particles which were circular, bilobed, or elongated in shape. Disruption of microtubule cross-linking and dissociation of the 49-kDa protein from microtubules occurred in the presence of ATP and 5'-adenylyl-imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP), a nonhydrolyzable analogue of ATP. The 49-kDa protein was moderately resistant to heat, it did not stimulate tubulin assembly, and it did not react with antibodies to neural microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and kinesin. These observations indicate that the 49-kDa protein is different from many known MAPs, a conclusion strengthened by the inability of antibodies raised to the 49-kDa protein to recognize these proteins. The amino terminal 15 amino acid residues of the 49-kDa protein were determined by Edman digestion and an antibody raised to this peptide reacted with the 49-kDa protein on Western blots. Microtubule cross-linking was unaffected by the synthetic amino-terminal peptide, even when it was present at a fivefold molar excess over the 49-kDa protein. A search of three protein databanks revealed that the amino terminus of the 49-kDa protein is unique among published sequences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Antibodies Against Synthetic Peptides Predicted from the Nucleotide Sequence of D2 Receptor Recognize Native Dopamine Receptor Protein in Rat Striatum

Two peptides corresponding to amino acid sequences predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the dopamine D2 receptor were synthesized. Peptide I (CGSEG-KADRPHYC) and peptide II (NNTDQNECIIY), corresponding to 24-34 and 176-185 from the NH2 terminus, respectively, were conjugated to keyhold limpet hemocyanin and injected into rabbits. Peptide I showed a greater immunogenic response than did peptide II. Both peptide antibodies exhibited high titer for the homologous antigens, but showed little or no cross-reactivity with heterogeneous peptides. Peptide I antibodies reacted with striatal membrane proteins of apparent molecular masses of 120, 90, 85, and 30 kDa on a western blot. Furthermore, the 90-kDa band was identified as denatured D2 receptor by its high affinity for the D2 selective photoaffinity probe 125I-N'-azidospiperone (125I-NAPS). Photoaffinity labeling of the 90-kDa protein by 125I-NAPS was reduced by 40% in the presence of the peptide I antibody. In addition, evidence is also presented to show the low level of 90-kDa protein in cerebellum which contains little or no D2 ligand binding sites. The antibody to peptide I inhibited the binding of [3H]YM-09151-2, a dopamine D2 receptor selective antagonist, to striatal membranes in a concentration-dependent manner; a 50% inhibition was obtained at a 1:500 dilution of the antisera with 20 pM ligand concentration. The data on the equilibrium inhibition kinetics of [3H]YM-09151-2 binding to striatal membranes were examined in the presence of antibody and showed a 25-30% decrease in Bmax (203.5 +/- 11.0 and 164.6 +/- 3.3 fmol/mg of protein in presence of preimmune and immune sera, respectively) with no change in KD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Compartmentalization of low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins among neutrophil secretory granules

Neutrophils contain several distinct classes of secretory granules that may sequentially fuse with the phagosome after the ingestion of particulates, or that may be differentially exocytosed after cellular activation with soluble stimuli. The exocytosis of neutrophil secretory granules has been shown to be GTP-dependent at a step distal to activation of the transductional G proteins. Inasmuch as ras-related low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins have been shown to play regulatory roles in vesicle sorting in the secretory pathway in yeast, the differential mobilization of neutrophil granules might be regulated by distinct GTP-binding proteins. We therefore explored the distribution and identity of low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins in neutrophil secretory granules and other subcellular fractions. After lysis by nitrogen cavitation, four highly resolved fractions were harvested from discontinuous Percoll gradients: a microsomal fraction enriched for plasma membranes, specific granules, primary granules, and cytosol. At least seven bands of distinct Mr were detected by probing protein blots with [32P]GTP. Microsomes contained a prominent GTP-binding band at 26 kDa and weaker ones at 24 and 22.5 kDa; specific granules contained bands at 26, 24, 22, and 20 kDa; primary granules showed bands at 24 and 23 kDa; cytosol showed strong bands at 23.5 and 19 kDa and a weak band at 26 kDa. Antiserum against ADP-ribosylation factor reacted strongly with the 19-kDa band in cytosol but with none of the membrane fractions. None of these proteins was recognized by antibodies against ras or against Sec4p. Botulinum exoenzyme C3 labeled bands of molecular mass 20 and 21 kDa in cytosol and microsomes that have distinct mobilities from all the blotted [32P]GTP-binding proteins. The highly compartmentalized subcellular distribution of the blotted [32P]GTP-binding proteins in neutrophils is consistent with a regulatory role in the differential mobilization of granule compartments during cellular activation.     

Mapping of the functional domains in the amino-terminal region of calponin.

Three chymotryptic fragments accounting for almost the entire amino acid sequence of gizzard calponin (Takahashi, K., and Nadal-Ginard, B. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 13284-13288) were isolated and characterized. They encompass the segments of residues 7-144 (NH2-terminal 13-kDa peptide), 7-182 (NH2-terminal 22-kDa peptide), and 183-292 (COOH-terminal 13-kDa peptide). They arise from the sequential hydrolysis of the peptide bonds at Tyr182-Gly183 and Tyr144-Ala145 which were protected by the binding of F-actin to calponin. Only the NH2-terminal 13- and 22-kDa fragments were retained by immobilized Ca(2+)-calmodulin, but only the larger 22 kDa entity cosedimented with F-actin and inhibited, in the absence of Ca(2+)-calmodulin, the skeletal actomyosin subfragment-1 ATPase activity as the intact calponin. Since the latter peptide differs from the NH2-terminal 13-kDa fragment by a COOH-terminal 38-residue extension, this difference segment appears to contain the actin-binding domain of calponin. Zero-length cross-linked complexes of F-actin and either calponin or its 22-kDa peptide were produced. The total CNBr digest of the F-actin-calponin conjugate was fractionated over immobilized calmodulin. The EGTA-eluted pair of cross-linked actin-calponin peptides was composed of the COOH-terminal actin segment of residues 326-355 joined to the NH2-terminal calponin region of residues 52-168 which seems to contain the major determinants for F-actin and Ca(2+)-calmodulin binding.     

Identification and partial purification of a band 3-like protein from rabbit renal brush border membranes

A monoclonal antibody against the membrane domain of human erythrocyte band 3 was tested for its ability to bind to rabbit renal brush border membranes. A single brush border protein with a molecular mass of 43 kDa was recognized by the band 3 antibody. Using DNase I coupled to an agarose-bead support this 43-kDa protein was partially purified by removing actin and a number of actin-bound proteins from the brush border membranes. The partially purified 43 kDa-band was eluted from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and used to make a highly sensitive and specific guinea pig antiserum. This antiserum, but not serum from control guinea pigs, cross-reacts with purified band 3 from human, rabbit, and bovine erythrocytes confirming the immunologic similarity among these proteins. The 43-kDa protein can be stained by the periodic acid-Schiff base method and binds wheat germ agglutinin and concanavalin A, demonstrating that it is a glycoprotein. Furthermore, in the absence of dithiothreitol, the immunoreactive brush border protein migrates with a molecular mass of 86 kDa on an sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel suggesting that under nonreducing conditions it exists as a dimer. The 43-kDa protein could be solubilized in octyl glucoside and was further purified using gel filtration chromatography. The amino acid composition of the 43-kDa brush border protein was obtained, and its similarity with erythrocyte band 3 is discussed.     

Biotin-conjugated reagents as site-specific probes of membrane protein structure: application to the study of the human erythrocyte hexose transporter

A novel labeling procedure using biotin-conjugated protein-modifying reagents has been employed to study the structure and function of the human erythrocyte hexose transporter. The carbohydrate moiety of the isolated, reconstituted transporter was labeled by using galactose oxidase/biotin hydrazide. Cysteine residues, which are essential for transporter function, were tagged with a biotin-conjugated maleimide. Labeling with this reagent inhibited the binding of cytochalasin B to the transporter. Following sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis, labeling of the transporter and its proteolytic fragments was detected by Western blotting and probing with alkaline phosphatase-conjugated avidin. After tryptic cleavage of the transporter into two membrane domains, preparations reacted with galactose oxidase/biotin hydrazide were labeled on the 25-kDa glycosylated fragment, but not on the carbohydrate-free 19-kDa peptide. Biotin-maleimide-labeled cysteine residues on both peptides. Transporter polypeptide was fragmented more extensively using Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. Limited digestion produced a broad band of 30-50 kDa and sharper bands of 23 and 21 kDa. More extensive digestion resulted in the disappearance of the 23-kDa peptide and the appearance of sharp bands of 20, 19, 17, 13, 11, 8, and 7 kDa. Biotin label introduced with galactose oxidase/biotin hydrazide was found on the broad 30-kDa band, confirming its identity as a glycopeptide. All of the peptides weighing more than 11 kDa contained cysteine residues labeled with biotin maleimide, while the 8- and 7-kDa peptides were unlabeled. These results demonstrate the potential usefulness of biotin-conjugated reagents as site-specific probes of membrane protein structure.     

An anti-peptide antibody that recognizes the dopamine D2 receptor from bovine striatum.

The bovine dopamine D2 receptor was purified by wheat-germ-agglutinin-Sepharose chromatography and affinity chromatography, using the D2-receptor-specific agonist N-0434. Purification yields a preparation with a major protein band of 95 kDa. In order to ascertain the identity of this protein, polyclonal antibodies against the dopamine D2 receptor have been raised using synthetic peptides based on the predicted amino acid sequence of the cloned D2 receptor. For the initial screening of these antibodies, three fusion proteins consisting of beta-galactosidase and receptor fragments were constructed. One antiserum reacted strongly with the corresponding D2 receptor fusion protein, both on Western blots and in immunoprecipitation experiments. In each case, recognition was inhibited by competition with free peptide. On Western blots of partially purified receptor preparations from bovine striatum, the antiserum specifically recognized a 95-kDa glycoprotein. From similar preparations, the antiserum precipitated a substantial proportion of active D2 receptor, as determined by a decrease in [3H]spiperone binding in the supernatant. Active receptor could be released from the immunoprecipitate by addition of free peptide. Immunocytochemical analysis of cells transiently transfected with DNA coding for the D2 receptor showed specific staining of transfected cells. The antibody raised against a sequence in the third intracellular loop is able to shift the affinity of the receptor for dopamine from high to low, indicating that the antiserum may be interfering with receptor-GTP-binding-protein interactions.     

Phosphorylation of caldesmon prevents its interaction with smooth muscle myosin

Caldesmon is known to bind to smooth muscle myosin. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation of caldesmon completely blocks its interaction with myosin. Cleavage of caldesmon at its 2 cysteine residues by 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid (NTCB) occurs initially at one site to yield 108-kDa and 21.2-kDa peptides and subsequently at the second site within the 108-kDa peptide to yield 85-kDa and 23.5-kDa fragments. The 23.5-kDa peptide retains the ability to bind to myosin. The N-terminal (95 kDa) and C-terminal (42 kDa) chymotryptic peptides of caldesmon were isolated and digested with NTCB: the C-terminal actin- and calmodulin-binding peptide was not cleaved, indicating that it does not contain either of the cysteine residues, whereas the 95-kDa N-terminal peptide was cleaved at two sites to yield 56-kDa, 23.5-kDa, and 21.2-kDa fragments. The arrangement of NTCB fragments in caldesmon is, therefore: 21.2 kDa/23.5 kDa/85 kDa from N to C terminus. Digestion of phosphorylated caldesmon with NTCB suggested a single phosphorylation site in the 21.2-kDa peptide and three sites in the 23.5-kDa peptide. These results lead to the development of a model whereby caldesmon may cross-link actin to myosin and such cross-linking is blocked by phosphorylation of caldesmon. This mechanism may explain the formation of reversible "latch bridges" which permit force maintenance at low levels of myosin phosphorylation in intact smooth muscles.     

Identification of the peptides of the crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis involved in the mosquito larvicidal activity

Tryptic digestion of the proteins from the purified crystals of B.thuringiensis var israelensis resulted in the decline of high molecular weight peptides without the loss of mosquito larvicidal activity, measured after immobilization of the digests with DEAE- Sephadex A 50 beads. Amongst the peptides generated (less than 44 kDa), a 21 kDa peptide was immunoreactive to the crystal antiserum. Analysis of the peptides released from spores of the toxic (Cry+) and non-toxic (Cry-) strains has revealed a pattern in which only the 26kDa peptide was missing in the Cry-strain. Sporulation and crystal formation were dissociated by the addition of the antibiotic netropsin, which could also inhibit the crystal assembly, without considerable decrease of the larvicidal activity and retention of the 26kDa peptide. These results implicate the 26kDa peptide in the larvicidal action.     

In vitro translation of the protease catalyzing Bombyx mori egg-specific protein and identification of a nascent peptide with biological activity

A yolk protein, egg-specific protein (ESP), of Bombyx mori is sequentially degraded by the ESP-specific protease which appears at the later stages of embryogenesis. In order to find the biological origin of this protease, an in vitro translation was done on RNAs prepared throughout embryogenesis using a rabbit reticulocyte lysate. Among several peptides translated, a 26-kDa peptide was selectively precipitated by the ESP protease antiserum. The mRNA activity increased slowly and then abruptly, reaching the maximum level on Day 8 of embryogenesis. By cotranslation with dog pancreatic microsomal membranes, the 26-kDa peptide was converted to a 24.5-kDa peptide, suggesting the cleavage of a signal peptide of 1.5 kDa. The direct incubation of the translation mixture with ESP failed to hydrolyze ESP, whereas the immunoprecipitate of the primary translation products clearly hydrolyzed ESP into the same peptides as were given by the authentic ESP protease. These results indicate that the protease becomes biologically active before chemical maturation.     

Immunological studies on the settlement-inducing protein complex (SIPC) of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite and its possible involvement in larva-larva interactions.

Immunological investigation has revealed that a settlement-inducing protein complex (SIPC), which induces cypris settlement of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite, is synthesized during larval development and accumulates in the cypris larva. We previously purified the SIPC from adult B. amphitrite, which was active when bound to a substratum. The SIPC is a glycoprotein of high molecular mass, consisting of three major subunits of 76, 88 and 98 kDa with lentil lectin (LCA)-binding sugar chains. In the present study, we prepared antiserum against each LCA-binding subunit of SIPC, and performed immunoblot analyses. Immunoblotting of adult extracts showed that anti-76-kDa antibody reacted only with the 76-kDa protein, whereas anti-88-kDa and anti-98-kDa antibodies reacted with both the 88-kDa and the 98-kDa proteins. Immunoblotting of larval extracts indicated that reactivity of the 76-kDa protein to anti-76-kDa antiserum increased during larval development and cyprid extracts reacted strongly. Moreover, by using immunostaining we found that the SIPC was contained in ''footprints'' of cyprids, which have been shown to act as a settlement-inducing pheromone, and is secreted onto the antennular attachment discs. The results suggest that the SIPC (or SIPC-like proteins) is involved in both adult-larva and larva-larva interactions during settlement of the barnacle B. amphitrite.     

Fibronectin is a component of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble transglutaminase substrate

Liver plasma membranes contain a morphologically distinct protein complex which serves as a substrate for the plasma membrane-associated transglutaminase. The complex, which appears as a two-dimensional sheet, is insoluble in sodium dodecyl sulfate and reducing agents and has been named SITS for sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble transglutaminase substrate (Tyrrell, D. J., Sale, W. S., and Slife, C. W. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 1946-1951). Polyclonal antibodies raised against SITS were used to probe for soluble constituents of the matrix. Immunoblots showed that proteins of 230, 35, and 32 kDa reacted with the anti-SITS antiserum when the soluble fraction from a liver homogenate was examined. The 230-kDa protein was identified as fibronectin after observing cross-reactivity of anti-SITS antiserum with authentic fibronectin and cross-reactivity of anti-fibronectin antiserum with the 230-kDa cytosolic protein and purified SITS. Preincubating anti-SITS antiserum with purified fibronectin decreased immunostaining of the 230-kDa cytosolic protein and authentic fibronectin. Immunoblots of the plasma membrane fraction using anti-SITS and anti-fibronectin antisera showed that both antisera reacted with proteins at the top of the stacking gel (SITS) and of 230 kDa. In addition, the anti-SITS antiserum reacted with proteins of 85, 35, and 32 kDa. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that the anti-SITS and anti-fibronectin antisera both react with isolated SITS and with the same filamentous structures associated with intact plasma membranes. These studies show that fibronectin is a component of the plasma membrane matrix, SITS. This finding is consistent with the proposed role of this matrix which is to mediate cell-cell adhesion between hepatocytes in the tissue.     

Precursor forms of neurotensin (NT) in cat: processing with pepsin yields NT-(3-13) and NT-(4-13)

Basic proteins present in 0.1 N HCl extracts of feline CNS and intestine were found to liberate immunoreactive neurotensin (iNT) when treated with hog pepsin. These protein substrates were separated using Sephadex G-25, Sephadex G-75 and reverse-phase HPLC. In a calibrated SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis system, the major substrate from cat ileum exhibited a molecular weight of ca 16 kDa and minor substrates were observed at 30, 40 and 65 kDa. As shown previously for synthetic NT, pepsin-treatment of feline ileal NT converted it into the fully immunoreactive NT-(4-13) fragment (yield, 95%). When treated with pepsin, the partially purified ileal substrates gave rise to 4 immunoreactive peptides, one of which (ca 15% of total) eluted with the same retention time as NT-(4-13) while the major peptide formed (ca 40% of total) eluted near to the position of NT-(3-13). Both these products reacted equally well with two different antisera towards the C-terminal 5- and 8-residues of NT and were not recognized by an N-terminal antiserum. Experiments using various proteases demonstrated that the NT-related sequence(s) were located internally in each substrate and suggested that they were bounded by double basic residues. Substrate activity in isotonic homogenates of feline spinal cord, brain, adrenal and ileum cosedimented with iNT during equilibrium centrifugation, apparently in association with vesicle and/or synaptosomal particles. These findings indicate that basic proteins, colocalized with NT in vesicle-like particles of CNS, adrenals and ileum, could serve as precursors to this peptide, being liberated by pepsin-related enzyme(s).