The sequence of human retinal S-antigen reveals similarities with alpha-transducin

The complete amino acid sequence of human retinal S-antigen (48 kDa protein), a retinal protein involved in the visual process has been determined by cDNA sequencing. The largest cDNA was 1590 base pairs (bp) and it contained an entire coding sequence. The similarity of nucleotide sequence between the human and bovine is approximately 80%. The predicted amino acid sequence indicates that human S-antigen has 405 residues and its molecular mass is 45050 Da. The amino acid sequence homology between human and bovine is 81%. There is no overall sequence similarity between S-antigen and other proteins listed in the National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF) protein data base. However, local regions of sequence homology with alpha-transducin (T alpha) are apparent including the putative rhodopsin binding and phosphoryl binding sites. In addition, human S-antigen has sequences identical to bovine uveitopathogenic sites, indicating that some types of human uveitis may in part be related to the animal model of experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU).     

Cloning and characterization of the gene encoding inorganic pyrophosphatase of Escherichia coli K-12.

Escherichia coli K-12 gene ppa encoding inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) was cloned and sequenced. The 5' end of the ppa mRNA was identified by primer extension mapping. A typical E. coli sigma 70 promoter was identified immediately upstream of the mRNA 5' end. The structural gene of ppa contains 528 base pairs, from which a 175-amino-acid translation product, Mr 19,572, was deduced. The deduced amino acid composition perfectly fitted with that of PPase as previously determined (P. Burton, D. C. Hall, and J. Josse, J. Biol. Chem. 245:4346-4351, 1970). Furthermore, the partial amino acid sequence (residues 1 to 108) of E. coli PPase determined by S. A. Cohen (Ph.D. thesis, University of Chicago, 1978) was the same as that deduced from the nucleotide sequence. This is the first report of the cloning of a PPase gene.     

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)     

cDNA clones encoding bovine interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein

We have isolated a cDNA clone (lambda IRBP-1) for bovine interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) by immunological screening of a bovine retinal lambda gt11 cDNA expression library. This clone contained a cDNA insert 325 bp in length. A 250 bp fragment of this cDNA was used to screen a bovine retina lambda gt10 cDNA library, resulting in the isolation of two larger cDNA clones containing inserts of 2.5 kb (lambda IRBP-2) and 1.5 kb (lambda IRBP-3). Restriction endonuclease mapping revealed all three clones to have an EcoR I restriction site. The 250 bp fragment of lambda IRBP-1 and the 2000 bp fragment of lambda IRBP-2 both hybridized to a single bovine retinal mRNA species approximately 8 kb in length; there was no hybridization with either chicken lens or liver RNA. The amino acid sequence of a tryptic peptide from authentic IRBP has been obtained. The deduced amino acid sequence from the cDNA nucleotide sequence is the same as this authentic peptide. This definitively establishes the identity of the cDNA clones as encoding bovine IRBP.     

Structural analysis of mouse S-antigen

Mouse S-antigen clones were isolated from a mouse retinal cDNA library using a bovine S-antigen cDNA probe. The largest clone (MSC-242) comprised 1532 bp and contained the entire coding sequence. The nucleotide sequence homology between the mouse and bovine coding regions was 84%, while non-coding regions appeared to be more divergent. The deduced amino acid sequence indicated that the mouse S-antigen had 403 residues and its molecular ratio was 44,930. An overall amino acid sequence similarity of 84% was observed between the mouse and bovine proteins. This degree of similarity dropped to 60% and 47% at the N and the C termini, respectively. The local homology with alpha-transducin observed in the bovine proteins, including the putative phosphoryl and rhodopsin binding sites, was conserved in the mouse as well. There was no overall sequence similarity with other proteins listed in the National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF) protein sequence database. Among the uveitopathogenic sites for experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), peptides N and M were identical to their bovine counterparts. Peptides 3 and K, however, were more divergent. The short repeats within these peptides were conserved.     

Cloning of the cDNAs encoding the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein from bovine and human retina and comparison of the protein structures

A 1173-base pair cDNA encoding bovine cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP) was cloned from a bovine retinal cDNA expression library using as probes both anti-CRALBP polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA corresponds exactly to that determined by direct analysis of NH2-terminally acetylated bovine CRALBP (Crabb, J. W., Johnson, C. M., Carr, S. A., Armes, L. G., and Saari, J. C. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18678-18687). Nick-translated bovine CRALBP cDNA probes were then used to clone from a human retinal cDNA library a 1317-base pair cDNA encoding human CRALBP. Bovine and human CRALBP are 92% identical in amino acid sequence and not related to any other known protein sequence. Both the bovine and human proteins contain 316 residues and have calculated molecular weights of 36,378 and 36,347, respectively, exclusive of the NH2-terminal blocking groups. The CRALBP cDNA clones should prove valuable as tools for studying the physiological role of the protein in vision and visual disorders.     

Primary amino acid sequence of bovine dopamine beta-hydroxylase

Fifty-eight tryptic and Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease generated peptides from bovine dopamine beta-hydroxylase were isolated by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography and sequenced. These peptide sequences were compared with the deduced amino acid sequences of bovine and human dopamine beta-hydroxylase obtained from the cloned cDNAs. Bovine peptide sequences had five differences with the sequence derived from the bovine cDNA, and four of the changes could be accounted for by a single base change in the DNA. N-terminal sequence analysis of the bovine enzyme indicated that it contained two N termini, one of which is 3 amino acids longer than the other and begins with the sequence Ser-Ala-Pro. The amino acid sequences deduced from the bovine and human cDNAs are 19 and 25 amino acids longer, respectively, and these additional amino acids represent leader peptide sequences. Two bovine peptide sequences contained glycosylation sites and gave positive tests for carbohydrate residues, and two others contained the consensus sequence for a glycosylation site but were negative in the carbohydrate test. The bovine enzyme contains 6 Trp, as compared with 7 in the bovine cDNA and 8 in the human cDNA. The protein and bovine cDNA contain 24 Tyr each, as compared with 26 in the human cDNA. These numbers indicate that the true epsilon 1% 280 = 8.95, and, therefore, that it is 28% lower than the previously determined value. The data also identify 5 His-containing regions that may be involved in Cu2+ coordination at the active site.     

Molecular cloning of a cDNA for the catalytic subunit of rabbit muscle phosphorylase phosphatase

A cDNA coding for the catalytic subunit of phosphorylase phosphatase (phosphatase C-I/phosphatase-1c) was cloned from a rabbit muscle cDNA library by screening with oligonucleotide probes. Ten clones were analyzed. The full cDNA sequence of 1395 base pairs contained an open reading frame of 990 base pairs flanked by 3' and 5' noncoding regions of 84 and 321 base pairs, respectively. The DNA sequence (and deduced amino acid sequence) of this cDNA is distinctly different from that of a clone of 1492 base pairs previously reported. Our cDNA is essentially identical to the 1492-base pair clone from residue 182 in the 3' direction, but it is completely different in the 5' direction. Consequently, the amino acid sequence deduced from our cDNA differs by 14 amino acids in the amino terminal from that previously reported and extends for an additional 19 amino acids. Probes to the divergent and common region of our cDNA clone hybridized to an mRNA of the same size by Northern blotting. Thus the cDNA we have isolated appears to code for an isoform of the catalytic subunit of phosphorylase phosphatase.     

The quaternary structure of Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase is essential for phosphorylation

The hexameric inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) is irreversibly inactivated by phosphoric acid monoesters. The inactivation kinetics are consistent with the formation of a dissociable complex of the phosphoric acid monoester with the enzyme, followed by phosphorylation of the dicarboxylic amino acid of its active site. PPi and its analogues, binding at the regulatory site, release the inhibitor from the active site and thus restore PPase activity. Chemically identical subunits in the hexameric PPase interact, promoting their cooperativity in a reaction with phosphoric acid monoesters. The trimeric and monomeric PPase, exhibiting full catalytic activity, form a dissociable complex with the phosphoric acid monoesters but, in contrast to the hexameric PPase, do not form a covalent bond with them. This indicates that the native hexameric structure is essential for the irreversible inactivation of Escherichia coli PPase by phosphoric acid monoesters. Possible nontraditional pathways for activity regulation of PPase are discussed.     

Conservation of functional residues between yeast and E. coli inorganic pyrophosphatases

The alignments of the amino acid sequences of inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Y1-PPase, 286 amino acids) and Escherichia coli (E-PPase, 175 amino acids) are examined in the light of crystallographic and chemical modification results placing specific amino acid residues at the active site of the yeast enzyme. The major results are: (1) the full E-PPase sequence aligns within residues 28-225 of Y1-PPase, raising the possibility that the N-terminal and C-terminal portions of Y1-PPase may not be essential for activity, and (2) that whereas the overall identity between the two sequences is only modest (22-27% depending on the choice of alignment parameters), of some 17 putative active site residues, 14-16 are identical between Y-PPase and E-PPase. PPase thus appears to be an example of enzymes from widely divergent species that conserve common functional elements within the context of substantial overall sequence variation.     

Cloning and expression of the bovine cardiac sodium-calcium exchanger.

Two clones (p17 and p13), each containing the complete coding sequence for the bovine cardiac Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, were obtained from a lambda gt10 cDNA library by screening with cDNA probes from the canine exchanger. The coding sequence of clone p17 was 92 and 98% identical to the canine cDNA at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. Nine of the 21 amino acid differences between the two exchangers were found within the 32-amino acid signal sequence. The sequenced portions of the 3' untranslated regions of the cow and dog clones were 88% identical. Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes injected with cRNA from clone p17, and in COS cells transfected with expression vectors containing p17. Immunoprecipitation of 35S-labeled proteins from transfected cells with an antibody against the N-terminal portion of the bovine exchanger showed the presence of a 120-kDa protein corresponding to the intact cardiac exchanger. The second bovine clone (p13) did not express exchange activity in either of the above expression systems, presumably because it contained a 300-bp insert with multiple stop codons which interrupted the coding sequence. Comparison of the 5' untranslated regions of p13 and p17 revealed a 156-bp segment in p17 that was apparently spliced out of p13. This segment contained a short open reading frame. A chimera encoding the 5' untranslated region of p13 and the coding sequence of p17 exhibited only a modest (74%) increase in expressed exchange activity in transfected cells compared to p17, suggesting that the presence of the upstream open reading frame in p17 did not greatly reduce translation efficiency. The results suggest that alternate splicing mechanisms may be involved in processing mRNA for the bovine cardiac exchanger.     

Primary structure of human plasma fibronectin--characterization of the 6,000 dalton C-terminal fragment containing the interchain disulfide bridges

The carboxy terminal fragment of human plasma fibronectin has been isolated after tryptic digestion and separation by DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. It has a molecular weight of 6,000 which changes to 3,000 after reduction indicating that the fragment is a dimer. We have determined the amino acid sequence of the 6kDa fragment and showed that it contains 26 residues including two half-cystines which form two interchain disulfide bridges. The 6kDa fragment is not phosphorylated as in bovine fibronectin although its amino acid sequence is identical to that reported for bovine plasma fibronectin. When compared to the sequence deduced from a rat cDNA, one amino acid substitution can be found. It appears that the carboxyl end of fibronectin is highly conserved among species.     

Molecular cloning of a cDNA for the human phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase

We previously reported the isolation from bovine liver of a novel 56-kDa inorganic pyrophosphatase named phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPPase). It is a unique enzyme that hydrolyzes not only oxygen-phosphorus bonds in inorganic pyrophosphate but also nitrogen-phosphorus bonds in phospholysine, phosphohistidine and imidodiphosphate in vitro. In this study, we determined the partial amino acid sequence of the purified bovine LHPPase. To investigate whether humans have the same enzyme, we isolated a cDNA clone from a HeLa cell cDNA library that encodes for the human homologue of LHPPase. Although its sequence does not include the consensus sequence of a typical inorganic pyrophosphatase, it does contain a similar sequence of the active site in other phosphatases such as protein-tyrosine phosphatase, dual-specific phosphatase and low molecular weight acid phosphatase. Human LHPPase was highly expressed in the liver and kidney, and moderately in the brain. The recombinant protein was produced in E. coli. Its ability to hydrolyze oxygen-phosphorus bonds and nitrogen-phosphorus bonds was confirmed. The enzymatic characteristics of this human protein were similar to those of purified bovine LHPPase. Thus, we concluded that the cDNA encoded the human counterpart of bovine LHPPase.     

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of full-length cDNA for mRNA of adrenodoxin oxidoreductase from bovine adrenal cortex

A full-length cDNA clone (pADR) for adrenodoxin reductase was isolated by means of immunological screening from a bovine adrenal poly(A)+ mRNA library. A cDNA insert of 1,973 base pairs in length encoded the entire amino acid sequence of the adrenodoxin reductase precursor protein, which consists of 492 amino acids including an extrapeptide of 32 amino acids at the NH2-terminus. The cloned cDNA contained the complete 3'-noncoding region of 443 nucleotides including 59 nucleotides of poly(A) and 51 nucleotides in the 5'-noncoding region. The amino acid sequences from the 33rd to 70th, the 117th to 123rd, the 207th to 225th, the 247th to 323rd, the 385th to 426th, the 444th to 461st, and the 487th to 492nd in the predicted structure were identical with those of the purified adrenodoxin reductase and its digested peptides, with only four exceptions.     

Differential expression of the "B" subunit of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase in bovine tissues.

The B subunit is one of two nucleotide-binding polypeptides found in all members of the vacuolar class of H(+)-translocating ATPases. We have isolated aDNA clone encoding the bovine brain B (58 kDa) subunit and have deduced its amino acid sequence. The bovine brain amino acid sequence is 99% identical to a partial cDNA reported from human brain. Northern blot analysis of RNA isolated from bovine tissues and a bovine kidney cell line reveals that two messages of approximately 3.2 and 2.0 kilobases (kb) are expressed in all tissues examined except brain, where only the 3.2-kb message can be detected. Northern blotting of RNA isolated from human fibroblast and human lung tumor cell lines reveals that three messages of approximately 6.0, 3.2, and 2.0 kb are expressed, whereas only the 3.2-kb message is expressed in a human brain tumor cell line. This is the first demonstration of tissue-specific expression of multiple forms of a vacuolar H(+)-ATPase subunit. We have also isolated a partial cDNA clone from bovine brain which appears to encode an isoform of the B subunit. The deduced amino acid sequence is 82% identical to the major bovine brain B subunit sequence; it does not hybridize with either the 3.2- or 2.0-kb message on Northern blot. Southern blot analysis of bovine genomic DNA with probes derived from both isolated cDNAs indicates that the bovine B subunit is encoded by a multigene family.     

Glycinin A3B4 mRNA. Cloning and sequencing of double-stranded cDNA complementary to a soybean storage protein

The cDNA clones encoding the precursor form of glycinin A3B4 subunit have been identified from a library of soybean cotyledonary cDNA clones in the plasmid pBR322 by a combination of differential colony hybridizations, and then by immunoprecipitation of hybrid-selected translation product with A3-mono-specific antiserum. A recombinant plasmid, designated pGA3B41425, from one of six clones covering codons for the NH2-terminal region of the subunit was sequenced, and the amino acid sequence was inferred from the nucleotide sequence, which showed that the mRNA codes for a precursor protein of 516 amino acids. Analysis of this cDNA also showed that it contained 1786 nucleotides of mRNA sequence with a 5'-terminal nontranslated region of 46 nucleotides, a signal peptide region corresponding to 24 amino acids, an A3 acidic subunit region corresponding to 320 amino acids followed by a B4 basic subunit region corresponding to 172 amino acids, and a 3'-terminal nontranslated region of 192 nucleotides, which contained two characteristic AAUAAA sequences that ended 110 nucleotides and 26 nucleotides from a 3'-terminal poly(A) segment, respectively. Our results confirm that glycinin is synthesized as precursor polypeptides which undergo post-translational processing to form the nonrandom polypeptide pairs via disulfide bonds. The inferred amino acid sequence of the mature basic subunit, B4, was compared to that of the basic subunit of pea legumin, Leg Beta, which contained 185 amino acids. Using an alignment that permitted a maximum homology of amino acids, it was found that overall 42% of the amino acid positions are identical in both proteins. These results led us to conclude that both storage proteins have a common ancestor.     

Gene expression and cDNA cloning identified a major basic protein constituent of bovine seminal plasma as bovine monocyte-chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1).

P6 is one of the major basic proteins of bovine seminal plasma. Using cell-free translation of poly(A)+RNA from bovine seminal vesicle tissue and monospecific anti-P6-IgGs, we show that P6 is a secretory product of the seminal vesicles. Immunohistochemical experiments supported this finding. Immunoscreening of a lambda gt11 cDNA library derived from seminal vesicle poly(A)+RNA furnished a number of positive cDNA clones, from which clone pH42 was characterized by sequencing. The partial amino acid sequence of a CNBr-fragment of P6 permitted identification of the reading frame of clone pH42 encoding the precursor protein of P6. The P6 precursor contains a signal peptide of 23 amino acids followed by the mature P6 sequence of 76 amino acid residues. The cDNA sequence of pH42 was 80% homologous with that of the human monocyte-chemoattractant protein-1 (hMCP-1). The respective amino acid sequences for the precursor molecules are 72% identical. Northern analysis of seminal vesicle poly(A)+RNA using pH42 as probe probe identified a 0.9-kb P6 mRNA. Stimulation of P6 mRNA expression by phytohemagglutinin in bovine peripheral mononuclear leukocytes suggests that P6 is identical to bovine MCP-1.