Molecular and biological characterization of a mannan-binding lectin from the holothurian Apostichopus japonicus

To elucidate the origin and evolution of mannan-binding lectins (MBL), a new C-type lectin (CTL) specific for high-mannose glycans (MBL-AJ) was isolated from the coelomic plasma of the holothurian Apostichopus japonicus. MBL-AJ has oligomeric forms with identical 17-kDa subunits on SDS-PAGE. Among natural ligands, lectin hemagglutination activity was competitively inhibited by extracellular low-branched, but not high-branched, alpha-D-mannans isolated from marine halophilic bacteria and composed of alpha-1,2 and alpha-1,6 linked D-mannose residues. This suggests that the lectin interacts with backbone or inner side chain mannose residues, but not with terminal ones. The activity of the lectin was Ca(2+)-, pH-, and temperature-dependent. MBL-AJ cDNA was cloned from a holothurian coelomocyte cDNA library. The subunit of the mature protein has 159 amino acids and a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of CTL. CRD contains a Glu-Pro-Asp amino acid sequence (EPN-motif) conserved for all known MBLs. A monospecific polyclonal antibody against MBL-AJ was obtained using the 34-kDa lectin dimer as an immunogen. The MBL-AJ has demonstrated immunochemical identity to the earlier isolated mannan-binding CTL from another holothurian, Cucumaria japonica. But a more interesting finding was cross-reactivity of MBL-AJ and human serum MBL detected by the antibody against MBL-AJ. Taking into consideration such MBL-AJ peculiarities as its carbohydrate specificity, the presence of a conserved region forming the mannose-binding site, common antigenic determinants with human MBL, and participation in defense reactions, it is possible that MBL-AJ belongs to the family of evolutionary conserved mannan-binding proteins.     

Molecular cloning of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) rhodopsin cDNA

A recombinant phage clone containing a 1584 nucleotides rhodopsin cDNA was screened from a carp retinal cDNA library. The inserted DNA consisting of a single open reading frame of 1062 nucleotides at positions 72 to 1133 encodes a 354 amino acid polypeptide. The deduced amino acid sequence of carp rhodopsin showed 95.7, 85.5 and 74.4% identity with that of goldfish, sand goby and lamprey, respectively. The sites of palmitoylation, glycosylation, disulfide bond formation and Schiff base formation in the putative rhodopsin are all conserved.     

The nucleotide sequence of the luxA and luxB genes of Xenorhabdus luminescens HM and a comparison of the amino acid sequences of luciferases from four species of bioluminescent bacteria

The luxA and luxB genes of bioluminescent bacteria encode the alpha and beta subunits of luciferase, respectively. Sequences of the luxA and luxB genes of Xenorhabdus luminescens, the only terrestrial bioluminescent bacterium known, were determined and the amino acid sequence of luciferase deduced. The alpha subunit was found to contain 360 amino acids and has a calculated molecular weight of 41,005 Da, while the beta subunit contains 327 amino acids and has a calculated molecular weight of 37,684 Da. Alignment of this luciferase with the luciferases of three marine bacteria showed 196 (or 55%) conserved residues in the alpha subunit and 114 (or 35%) conserved residues in the beta subunit. The highest degree of homology between any two species was between the luciferases of X. luminescens and Vibrio harveyi with 84% identity in the alpha subunits and 59% identity in the beta subunits.     

甘菊BADH基因cDNA的克隆及在盐胁迫下的表达

利用PCR、RT—PCR和PCR—RACE技术,从菊科植物甘菊（Dendranthema lavandulifolium）中克隆到2个甜菜碱醛脱氢酶（betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase,BADH）基因的同源基因,分别命名为DlBADH1和DlBADH2,GenBank登录号分别为DQ011151和DQ011152。DlBADH1的cDNA全长1821bp,其开放阅读框编码503个氨基酸的蛋白质;DlBADH2全长1918bp,编码506个氨基酸的蛋白质。两个基因核苷酸序列的同源性为97％,推导的氨基酸序列的同源性为98％。与已发表的其它植物BADH基因氨基酸序列的同源性在64％以上。在推导的氨基酸序列中,均含有醛脱氢酶所具有的高度保守的十肽（VTLELGGKSP）以及与酶功能有关的半胱氨酸残基（C）。在推导的氨基酸序列的系统关系中,甘菊位于其它双子叶植物和单子叶植物之间,与其植物分类的系统关系相吻合。RT—PCR—Southern半定量表达分析表明,甘菊BADH基因家族中存在表达受盐诱导的成员。     

Structural analysis of the human galectin-9 N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain reveals unexpected properties that differ from the mouse orthologue

Galectins are a family of β-galactoside-binding lectins that contain a conserved carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). They exhibit high affinities for small β-galactosides as well as variable binding specificities for complex glycoconjugates. Structural and biochemical analyses of the mechanism governing specific carbohydrate recognition provide a useful template to elucidate the function of these proteins. Here we report the crystal structures of the human galectin-9 N-terminal CRD (NCRD) in the presence of lactose and Forssman pentasaccharide. Mouse galectin-9 NCRD, the structure of which was previously solved by our group, forms a non-canonical dimer in both the crystal state and in solution. Human galectin-9 NCRD, however, exists as a monomer in crystals, despite a high sequence identity to the mouse homologue. Comparative frontal affinity chromatography analysis of the mouse and human galectin-9 NCRDs revealed different carbohydrate binding specificities, with disparate affinities for complex glycoconjugates. Human galectin-9 NCRD exhibited a high affinity for Forssman pentasaccharide; the association constant for mouse galectin-9 NCRD was 100-fold less than that observed for the human protein. The combination of structural data with mutational studies demonstrated that non-conserved amino acid residues on the concave surface were important for determination of target specificities. The human galectin-9 NCRD exhibited greater inhibition of cell proliferation than the mouse NCRD. We discuss the biochemical and structural differences between highly homologous proteins from different species.     

草鱼诱导型一氧化氮合酶cDNA和启动子的克隆及分析

应用PCR和RACE技术,以细菌脂多糖(LPS)刺激的草鱼头肾白细胞cDNA为模板,获得草鱼iNOS (Inducible nitric oxide synthase)全长cDNA序列.该序列共4286 bp,编码含1080个氨基酸残基的蛋白.氨基酸序列比对分析发现草鱼iNOS与金鱼iNOS a和b、斑马鱼iNOS 2b以及鲤鱼iNOS高度保守,序列一致性均大于80%;它们的血红素、四氢生物蝶呤、钙调蛋白、FMN、FAD和NADH等辅因子结合区域也十分保守.用NJ法对新获得的序列和其它脊椎动物NOS的编码序列进行进化分析证实它属于诱导型NOS.在此基础上,运用基因步移技术分离草鱼iNOS基因的启动子序列,共有1978 bp.生物信息学分析发现该序列含有包括GR、AP1、C/EBP、ER、YY1、IRF1和IL-6 REBP在内的多个转录因子的潜在结合位点.     

甘菊BADH基因cDNA的克隆及在盐胁迫下的表达

利用PCR、RT-PCR和PCR-RACE技术,从菊科植物甘菊(Dendranthema lavandulifolium)中克隆到2个甜菜碱醛脱氢酶(betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase,BADH)基因的同源基因,分别命名为DlBADH1和DlBADH2,GenBank登录号分别为DQ011151和DQ011152。DlBADH1的cDNA全长1821 bp,其开放阅读框编码503个氨基酸的蛋白质;DlBADH2全长1918 bp,编码506个氨基酸的蛋白质。两个基因核苷酸序列的同源性为97%,推导的氨基酸序列的同源性为98%。与已发表的其它植物BADH基因氨基酸序列的同源性在64%以上。在推导的氨基酸序列中,均含有醛脱氢酶所具有的高度保守的十肽(VTLELGGKSP)以及与酶功能有关的半胱氨酸残基(C)。在推导的氨基酸序列的系统关系中,甘菊位于其它双子叶植物和单子叶植物之间,与其植物分类的系统关系相吻合。RT-PCR-Southern半定量表达分析表明,甘菊BADH基因家族中存在表达受盐诱导的成员。     

Amino acid sequence of guinea pig prostate kallikrein

The primary structure of the major arginine esteropeptidase from guinea pig prostate has been deduced from automated Edman degradation of peptides generated by clostripain, cyanogen bromide, endoproteinase Lys-C, and Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease digestion of the protein. The esteropeptidase is a single polypeptide chain comprised of 239 amino acids and contains 2 apparent sites of carbohydrate attachment, Asn-78 and Asn-169. Both occur in consensus sequences for N-linked glycosylation sites. The esteropeptidase exhibits approximately 35% homology with trypsin including conservation of the catalytic residues and the aspartic acid which confers specificity toward basic amino acids. The sequence identity, however, extends to greater than 60% with the kallikrein family of serine proteases. In addition to the overall homology, the guinea pig enzyme displays a number of features characteristic of kallikreins including 10 conserved half-cystine residues, a C-terminal proline, and the "kallikrein loop". On the basis of this structural relatedness, the enzyme has been designed as guinea pig prostate kallikrein. In contrast to many of the kallikreins of other species and tissues, this enzyme does not contain any sites within the kallikrein loop sensitive to proteases that result in internal breaks in the polypeptide chain.     

Complete nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of sex-limited protein (Slp), nonfunctional isotype of the fourth component of mouse complement (C4)

The nucleotide sequence coding for sex-limited protein (Slp), the testosterone-regulated isotype of the fourth component of mouse complement (C4), has been determined from cloned genomic DNA and cDNA fragments. The complete deduced amino acid sequence for the single chain precursor protein of Slp (pro-Slp) consists of 1716 residues. The mature beta, alpha, and gamma subunits contain 654, 763, and 291 amino acids, respectively. One potential carbohydrate attachment site is predicted from the beta-chain, five for the alpha-chain, and none for the gamma-chain. From the comparison with the mouse C4 sequences, an extensive overall sequence homology, 96.0% in nucleotides and 94.2% in amino acids, is observed. Only one deletion/insertion event is recognized between C4 and Slp sequences: three residues near the Cls cleavage site are deleted from Slp. The distribution of cysteine residues is completely conserved between pro-Slp and pro-C4.     

Characterization of two zebrafish cDNA clones encoding egg envelope proteins ZP2 and ZP3.

Two zebrafish cDNA clones encoding homologs of mammalian zona pellucida proteins ZP2 and ZP3 were isolated from a whole adult cDNA library. The ZP2 clone encodes a protein of 428 amino acids. Unlike other teleost ZP2s that contain an N-terminal repetitive domain enriched with prolines and glutamines, the zebrafish ZP2 has no such repetitive domain. In the C-terminal non-repetitive domain, the zebrafish ZP2 shares 55-76% sequence identity with other teleost ZP2s. The ZP3 cDNA clone encodes a protein of 431 amino acids, which shares 61% sequence identity with a carp ZP3. Similar to mammalian ZP proteins, both zebrafish ZP2 and ZP3 contain several potential phosphorylation sites. However, unlike mammalian ZP proteins, both zebrafish ZP proteins contain almost no glycosylation site, which has been proposed to be important for interaction with sperm; thus, the ZP proteins may behave differently in mammals and teleosts. Northern blot analysis indicated that both zebrafish ZP2 and ZP3 mRNAs were expressed exclusively in the ovary and hence the ovary is likely the only site for ZP2 and ZP3 biosynthesis.     

A cross-species analysis of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Potential functional domains and regulatory sites.

To help elucidate the function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), we have undertaken a cross-species analysis of the DNA sequence which encodes this protein. We have isolated and characterized the cDNA of the bovine homologue of CFTR. The deduced amino acid sequence shows high overall identity with the published sequences from human and mouse, although there is marked variability between the different potential functional domains. The region around human amino acid 508, which is deleted in 70% of cystic fibrosis chromosomes, is highly conserved across species; of the missense cystic fibrosis mutations reported to date, all of the amino acids in the normal human sequence are conserved in the bovine and mouse sequences. A single amino acid encoded by the human cDNA (Ser-434) is missing in the bovine sequence, and there are two amino acids encoded by the bovine sequence which are absent in the human. These all stem from in-frame 3-base omissions within the sequences. In addition to the cow, we amplified the DNA sequences encoding a portion of the R-domain from sheep, monkey, rabbit, and guinea pig. These sequences show relatively low overall sequence identity (63%), but nearly all of the potential protein kinase A and protein kinase C phosphorylation sites are conserved over all of the species examined. Our results suggest functional significance for certain highly conserved residues and putative domains within CFTR.