Synthesis and processing of precursor polypeptides to murine mammary tumor virus structural proteins.

Biosynthesis of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) proteins was studied in the chronically MuMTV-infected epithelial cell line MuMT-73 by using monospecific antisera to the major MuMTV core protein p27 and the major envelope glycoprotein gp47. In pulse-labeling experiments using [35S]methionine, monospecific antisera to p27 precipitated a 75,000-molecular-weight protein as the major intracellular component. Analysis of the same cellular extracts with monospecific antisera to gp47 revealed that the gp47 precursor was a 70,000-dalton protein. After chase periods, there was a loss of label from the precursors and a concomitant increase of labeled extracellular mature viral proteins. The glycoprotein precursor incorporated labeled glucosamine and seemed to be processed more rapidly than the p27 precursor. Considerable amounts of apparently nonvirion-associated gp47 and glycoprotein precursor could be detected in the extracellular culture fluid.     

Recombinant expression and purification of T4 phage Hoc, Soc, gp23, gp24 proteins in native conformations with stability studies

Understanding the biological activity of bacteriophage particles is essential for rational design of bacteriophages with defined pharmacokinetic parameters and to identify the mechanisms of immunobiological activities demonstrated for some bacteriophages. This work requires highly purified preparations of the individual phage structural proteins, possessing native conformation that is essential for their reactivity, and free of incompatible biologically active substances such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In this study we describe expression in E. coli and purification of four proteins forming the surface of the bacteriophage T4 head: gp23, gp24, gphoc and gpsoc. We optimized protein expression using a set of chaperones for effective production of soluble proteins in their native conformations. The assistance of chaperones was critical for production of soluble gp23 (chaperone gp31 of T4 phage) and of gpsoc (chaperone TF of E. coli). Phage head proteins were purified in native conditions by affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. Two-step LPS removal allowed immunological purity grade with the average endotoxin activity less than 1 unit per ml of protein preparation. The secondary structure and stability of the proteins were studied using circular dichroism (CD) spectrometry, which confirmed that highly purified proteins preserve their native conformations. In increasing concentration of a denaturant (guanidine hydrochloride), protein stability was proved to increase as follows: gpsoc, gp23, gphoc. The denaturation profile of gp24 protein showed independent domain unfolding with the most stable larger domain. The native purified recombinant phage proteins obtained in this work were shown to be suitable for immunological experiments in vivo and in vitro.     

Immunochemical Characterization of Two Major Polypeptides from Murine Mammary Tumor Virus

A major murine mammary tumor viral (MMTV) antigen, sl, originally described by Nowinski et al. (1967, 1968, 1971), has been purified from RIII mouse milk MMTV by sequential ion-exchange and gel chromatography. The purified protein with sl antigenic reactivity contains carbohydrate, and has an apparent minimal molecular weight of 52,000. It can be designated as gp52 (sl). Another major MMTV viral protein with a molecular weight of 27,000 has also been isolated, and antisera have been prepared against it. Both MMTV gp52 (sl) and p27 viral polypeptides have been iodinated with (125)I and used in immunoprecipitation and competition assays. The two MMTV proteins differ absolutely from each other and from major mouse type C viral polypeptides in molecular weight, immunological reactivity, and amino acid composition. Purified gp52 (sl) in radioimmunoprecipitation inhibition assays reacted in two distinct patterns. One pattern showed partial displacement of antibody which could be converted to the second, a complete displacement, by heating the antigen, presumably by exposing additional reactive determinants. Biologically, the patterns of major MMTV polypeptide expression in milk correlated with spontaneous mammary tumor incidence in different strains of mice, indicating that the sl antigen is group specific for MMTV or that several mouse strains contain the same virus type.     

Polyproteins related to the major core protein of mouse mammary tumor virus.

The mouse mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) contains several low-molecular-weight proteins which, together with the genomic RNA, constitute the core structure of the virion. The most abundant protein in the core is the 27,000-dalton protein (p27), and, by analogy to the type C viruses, this protein probably forms the core shell. In mouse mammary tumor cell lines (GR and Mm5MT) producing MuMTV the major p57 antigenic specificity resides in a large protein, which migrates in polyacrylamide gels as a doublet of 77,000 and 75,000 daltons (p 77/75). A series of lower-molecular-weight proteins, p61, p48, p38, and p34, is also present in small amounts and is probably derived by proteolytic cleavage of the p 77/75. These proteins have been identified by immunoprecipitation with monospecific antiserum, and their sequence relatedness to p27 has been determined by an analysis of the peptides after trypsin digestion. After a 15-min pulse with [35S]-methionine, all of the p27-related proteins in these cell lines were labelled and, during a subsequent chase, progressively disappeared. The p27 was labeled poorly during the pulse, but the amount of label in this protein increased during the chase. A quantitation of these experiments suggested that the majority of the p27-related proteins were quite rapidly turned over in these cell lines. Hence, if p27 is derived by a progressive proteolytic cleavage mechanism, then the process is inefficient in the GR cells and only moderately efficient in the Mm5MT cells. When MuMTV was isolated from the culture medium of these cells harvested at 5-min intervals, the major p27-related protein was p34. The p27 accounted for only 29% of the anti-p27 serum immunoprecipitable proteins compared to 95% in virus isolated from an 18-h harvest. Incubation of the rapid-harvest virus at 37 degrees C for 2 h resulted in some conversion of p34 to p27. These results suggest that some of the p27 in MuMTV is formed in the virions by proteolytic cleavage of p34.     

55,000-dalton, retrovirus-associated, cell membrane glycoprotein: purification and quantitative measurements of expression in viruses, cells, and tissues.

We have purified to homogeneity and characterized a 55,000-dalton rat cell membrane glycoprotein, gp55. This protein was originally identified in preparations of a defective pseudotype of the Kirsten sarcoma virus and shown to be present in several rodent retrovirus particles. The gp55 was purified from this defective virus by concanavalin A and heparin affinity chromatography, as well as by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. Both preparations displayed similar purity and antigenic characteristics. The 125I-labeled gp55 was precipitated by antisera against rodent retroviruses, but not by monospecific antisera against purified type C virus structural proteins, thus indicating that gp55 was retrovirus associated, but unrelated to known retrovirus structural proteins. Competition radioimmunoassay with an anti-rat virus serum which recognized rodent group-specific antigens on gp55 indicated: the presence of gp55 antigens in 15 rodent cell lines, but not 10 nonrodent cell lines; no effect of viral infection or cell transformation on the amount of gp55 expressed; up to 100-fold increases in the concentration of the gp55 antigens in nine rodent retroviruses, but not in five nonrodent viruses, as compared to cells; the presence of gp55 in rodent sera, especially of the NZB mouse, where anti-gp55 antibody was also detected; a lymphoid and epithelial tissue distribution of gp55 in rats and mice. Additional competition radioimmunoassays with a broad-reacting antivirus serum also detected the presence of gp55 in nonrodent, mink, and human cells and thus distinguished rat type, rodent group, and interspecies antigenic determinants on gp55. In conclusion, gp55 is a cell membrane glycoprotein associated in high concentration with retroviruses.     

Analysis of purified gp96 preparations from rat and mouse livers using 2-D gel electrophoresis and tandem mass spectrometry

The stress protein gp96 exhibits a number of immunological activities, the majority of studies into which have used gp96 purified from a variety of tissues. On the basis of 1-D gel electrophoresis, the purity of these preparations has been reported to range between 70% and 99%. This study analyzed gp96 preparations from rat and mouse livers using 2-D gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS). The procedure for purifying gp96 was reproducible, as similar protein profiles were observed in replicate gels of gp96 preparations. The purity of the preparations was typically around 70%, with minor co-purified proteins of varying molecular weights and mobilities being present. Dominant bands at 95-100 kDa in preparations from Wistar rats and C57BL/6 mice were identified as gp96 by ECL Western blotting. Multiple bands having similar, yet distinct molecular weights and differing pI mobility on ECL Western blots were confirmed as being gp96 in preparations from Wistar rats using MS-MS. The most striking feature of the 2-D gel analysis was the presence of additional dominant bands at 55 kDa in preparations from Wistar rats, and at 75-90 kDa in preparations from C57BL/6 mice. These were identified as gp96 by ECL Western blotting and, in the case of preparations from Wistar rats, by MS-MS. Although the lower molecular weight, gp96-related molecules might be partially degraded gp96, their reproducible presence, definition and characteristics suggest that they are alternative, species-specific isoforms of the molecule. A 55 kDa protein which exhibited a lower pI value than gp96 was present in all preparations and this was identified as calreticulin, another putative immunoregulatory molecule. This study confirms the reproducibility of the gp96 purification protocol and reveals the presence of multiple gp96 isoforms, some of which likely result from post-translational modifications such as differential glycosylation and phosphorylation.     

Proteolytic release of glycopeptides from glycoproteins transferred to nitrocellulose following gel electrophoresis

To determine whether glycopeptides could be released from glycoproteins bound to nitrocellulose, the glycoproteins of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) were radiolabeled by the periodate oxidation/tritiated sodium borohydride reduction technique and separated by gel electrophoresis followed by diffusion transfer. Pronase digestion of nitrocellulose filter strips containing labeled glycoproteins (gp55 or gp34) revealed a rapid release of glycopeptides, i.e., approximately total release within 4 h. The released glycopeptides were similar in size, as determined by molecular sieving chromatography, to glycopeptides obtained by proteolytic digestion of MuMTV glycoproteins from dried gel strips (A. Zilberstein et al., 1980, Cell 21, 417-427) or in solution (M. J. Yagi et al., 1978, Virology 91, 291-304).     

Presence of antibodies specifically reacting with structural proteins of the mammary cancer virus among antibodies found in circulating immune complexes in patients with breast cancer

Circulating immune complexes were precipitated from breast cancer patients' sera using 2.5% polyethylene glycol. CIC isolated from 70 ml of sera from 15 patients were dissociated and immunoglobulin-containing fraction was prepared by chromatography on Sephadex G-200 column. The fraction contained IgG specific for MuMTV structural proteins, as revealed by ELISA. CIC preparations from 22 sera of breast cancer patients were digested with pepsin; Fab' fragment preparations were also analysed by ELISA, only one of them was MuMTV-specific. IgG and Fab' fragments isolated from CIC reacted specifically with MuMTV proteins, the reaction was not blocked by virus-free murine milk or other retroviruses (Ra-MuLV and MPMV).     

An antigen cross-reactive with gp52 of mammary tumor virus is expressed on a B cell subpopulation of mice

The reactivity of murine lymphoid tissue with biotinylated F(ab')2 fragments of monoclonal antibody VE7 (BIOT VE7), which reacts with gp52 of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV), was tested with fluoresceinated avidin in an indirect fluorescent antibody assay on live splenocytes. A small percentage of splenic lymphocytes in C3H/He mice infected exogenously with MuMTV, and in C57BL/6 mice that, like C3H/He, harbor several endogenous MuMTV proviruses in their genomes, were reactive with the monoclonal antibody. The antigen-positive splenocytes were shown to represent a subpopulation of B cells. The possible nature of the B cell-associated antigen recognized by monoclonal antibody VE7 is discussed.     

ML antigen of DBA/2 mouse leukemias: expression of an endogenous murine mammary tumor virus

Spontaneous, transplantable leukemias of DBA/2 mice express an antigen (ML) which cross-reacts with antigens of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV). The MuMTV cross-reactive antigen of the DBA/2 leukemias (ML cells) was found to be a glycoprotein of 78,000 molecular weight containing antigenic determinants of the major MuMTV glycoprotein gp52. No MuMTV particles were produced by the ML cells, although they did contain type A particles--the pronucleocapsids of MuMTV. The ML antigen appeared to be an aberrant form of the intracellular MuMTV env precursor molecular prgp70, which was not processed properly but instead acquired extra carbohydrate groups and was expressed in uncleaved form on the cell surface. Isolation of MuMTV core protein p28 from the leukemic cells and subsequent tryptic peptide mapping analysis showed that the p28 from leukemia cells differed from the p28 of MuMTV isolated from DBA/2 mouse milk. These observations indicate that the MuMTV expressed in DBA/2 leukemic spleen cells is of a different strain than the virus secreted in lactating mammary glands of DBA/2 mice and probably represents the expression of an endogenous DBA/2 provirus.     

Amphiphilic properties of the avian myeloblastosis virus major glycoprotein, gp 80

The major glycoprotein (gp 80) from avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) displays significant lipophilic properties, as shown by its strong interactions with acetylated uncharged decylamino agarose in hydrophobic chromatography. In effect, release from binding was achieved only by the added presence of a polarity reducing agent (ethylene glycol) and the strong anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate. The hydrophobic behavior of the glycoprotein, coupled to the high content of hydrophilic carbohydrates, indicates its amphiphilic character. Confirmation of the amphiphilic nature of the AMV gp 80 was obtained by charge shift electrophoresis and crossed hydrophobic interaction immunoelectrophoresis. In both instances, the electrophoretic behavior of the glycoprotein was dependent on the presence of detergents. The AMV gp 80 displays the properties of integral membrane proteins.     

Oligomeric and conformational properties of a proteolytically mature,disulfide-stabilized human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp140 envelope glycoprotein

We describe the further properties of a protein, designated SOS gp140, wherein the association of the gp120 and gp41 subunits of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein is stabilized by an intersubunit disulfide bond. HIV-1(JR-FL) SOS gp140, proteolytically uncleaved gp140 (gp140(UNC)), and gp120 were expressed in stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells and analyzed for antigenic and structural properties before and after purification. Compared with gp140(UNC), SOS gp140 reacted more strongly in surface plasmon resonance and radioimmunoprecipitation assays with the neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 2G12 (anti-gp120), 2F5 (anti-gp41), and 17b (to a CD4-induced epitope that overlaps the CCR5-binding site). In contrast, gp140(UNC) displayed the greater reactivity with nonneutralizing anti-gp120 and anti-gp41 MAbs. Immunoelectron microscopy studies suggested a model for SOS gp140 wherein the gp41 ectodomain (gp41(ECTO)) occludes the "nonneutralizing" face of gp120, consistent with the antigenic properties of this protein. We also report the application of Blue Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE), a high-resolution molecular sizing method, to the study of viral envelope proteins. BN-PAGE and other biophysical studies demonstrated that SOS gp140 was monomeric, whereas gp140(UNC) comprised a mixture of noncovalently associated and disulfide-linked dimers, trimers, and tetramers. The oligomeric and conformational properties of SOS gp140 and gp140(UNC) were largely unaffected by purification. An uncleaved gp140 protein containing the SOS cysteine mutations (SOS gp140(UNC)) was also oligomeric. Surprisingly, variable-loop-deleted SOS gp140 proteins were expressed (although not yet purified) as cleaved, noncovalently associated oligomers that were significantly more stable than the full-length protein. Overall, our findings have relevance for rational vaccine design.     

Purification and properties of a membrane-associated, folate-binding protein from Lactobacillus casei.

A folate-binding protein has been solubilized from Lactobacillus casei by treatment of membrane preparations with Triton X-100 in the presence of [3H]folate. The protein-folate complex was purified 100-fold and recovered in a 22% yield by adsorption and elution from microgranular silica (Quso G-32), followed by passage through Sephadex G-150. When subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the purified preparations showed only a single, protein-staining band whose molecular weight was 25,000. Bound folate (34 nmol/mg of protein) corresponded to 0.85 mol/mol of protein. Analyses of the protein revealed relatively few charged or polar amino acids, an unusually high content of hydrophobic residues and methionine, and the absence of cysteine. The purified protein-folate complex was contained within a Triton micelle (molecular weight, 220,000; about 340 mol of detergent per mol of protein). Bound folate was retained when the micelle was exposed at 4 degrees to solutions whose pH values ranged between 3 and 12; at 23 degrees, however, stability was decreased, especially above pH 8. Folate could be released by treatment of the micelle with ethanol or with chaotropic agents such as guanidinium chloride, perchlorate, or thiocyanate.     

Effect of trypsin on mouse mammary tumor virus.

Undisrupted mouse mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) derived from the milk of of RIII mice has been analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy after treatment with insolubilized trypsin. No alterations were found in viral fine structure by either freeze-etch or negative-stain electron microscopy. No alterations were found in the ability of trypsinized virus to compete in a radioimmune assay for viral antigens. Infectivity experiments indicate no significant differences in the ability of treated virus to infect C57Bl mice. However, significant differences were observed in polypeptide composition. The intensely periodic acid-Schiff-positive band, gp140, was shown by galactose oxidase-borotritide labeling to be degraded into a fragment of 125,000 molecular weight. The major glycoprotein, gp55, was split into fragments of 36,000 and 23,000 molecular weight, both of which stained with periodic acid-Schiff stain. Gp68 was removed from the virus. Experiments with purified, iodinated gp55 showed that the trypsin-induced fragments of gp55 were immunologically active. We conclude that: (i) certain glycoproteins at the surface of MuMTV are accessible to an insoluble form of trypsin, (ii) the trypsin causes a nick in the polypeptide chain without affecting the configuration of the molecule; (iii) the nicked molecules remain bound to the virus; and (iv) the presence of these nicked molecules does not interfere with the biological or antigenic expression of virus function.     

Envelope polypeptides of Friend leukemia virus: purification and structural analysis.

Roughly 10% of surface glycoproteins in the envelope of mature Friend murine leukemia virus are coupled to membrane polypeptides by disulfide bridges. The remaining 90% of these glycoproteins are associated noncovalently. However, they could also be linked to membrane polypeptides by the treatment of purified Friend murine leukemia virus with 2,2'dithiobis(m-nitropyridine). These amphiphilic heterodimer polypeptides, gp84/86, were recovered almost quantitatively in the form of aggregates, termed rosettes, when prepared by solubilization of the viral membrane with Triton X-100 and subsequent velocity sedimentation. gp69/71 and p12(E)/15(E) were purified from these protein micelles after reduction of the disulfide bonds by gel chromatography. Electron micrographs of rosettes, as well as of purified p12(E)/15(E), showed structures different from native viral knobs. Isolated gp84/86 could be reassociated and then displayed more similarity to these viral surface projections. As shown by peptide mapping, the primary structures of the glycoproteins gp69/71 are highly related as are those of the membrane polypeptides p12(E) and p15(E). Furthermore, it was shown by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and re-electrophoresis of purified gp84/86 that the larger component, gp86, was composed of gp71 associated with p15(E) and p12(E), whereas the smaller component, gp84, was formed by gp69 bound only to p12(E).     

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans of human lung fibroblasts. Structural heterogeneity of the core proteins of the hydrophobic cell-associated forms

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) were solubilized from human lung fibroblast monolayers with detergent. Presumptive membrane-associated forms displaying hydrophobic properties were purified by gel filtration on Sepharose CL-4B, by ion-exchange chromatography on Mono Q and by incorporation in lipid vesicles. The HSPG preparations were 125I-iodinated and treated with heparitinase before sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five radiolabeled proteins with apparent molecular weights of 125,000, 90,000, 64,000, 48,000, and 35,000 were visualized by autoradiography. A sixth protein, identified in nonreduced 125I-HSPG preparations, appeared as a non-HS chain-bearing Mr 35,000 peptide which was disulfide-linked to an HS chain-bearing peptide of similar size. This multiplicity of core proteins did not seem to result from proteolysis during the heparitinase treatment itself, since some of the core proteins migrated independently during gel filtration before heparitinase digestion. Moreover, heparitinase digestion of 125I-HSPG purified by affinity chromatography on an immobilized monoclonal antibody yielded only the Mr 64,000 protein. Alternative depolymerizations of the HS chains by heparinase or HNO2 also yielded multiple protein bands. These results imply that heterogeneity of the core protein moiety may be a genuine property of the hydrophobic HSPG of human lung fibroblasts. The occurrence of multiple integral membrane HSPG forms may be relevant for the multiple functions that have been ascribed to cell-surface HSPG.     

Immunological characterization of mouse mammary tumor virus p10 and its presence in mammary tumors and sera of tumor-bearing mice.

Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) p10 and gp52 were purified and used as radiolabeled antigens in sensitive radioimmunoassays. These radioimmunoassays were specific for MMTV proteins since detergent-disrupted MMTV from C3H/HeN, RIII, and GR/N mice gave complete competition, whereas C3H/HeNf liver extracts and other lysed retroviruses did not. Both gp52 and p10 are coded by the viral genome, since MMTV grown in a heterologous cell line (feline kidney cells) competed in these assays. Sera from mammary tumor-bearing mice and mammary tumors from C3H/HeN and C3H/HeNf mice competed in both the gp52 and the p10 assays. Although these radioimmunoassays detected predominantly group-specific antigenic determinants in C3H/HeN and C3H/HeNf tumor extracts, type specificity was also found with gp52. Absorption of the anti-MMTV serum with C3H/HeNf tumor extracts removed all antibodies directed against p10 and decreased the anti-gp52 titer approximately 30-fold. When this absorbed antiserum was used at limiting dilution in the gp52 radioimmunoassay, C3H/HeN tumor extracts gave complete competition, whereas no competition was found with C3H/HeNf tumor extracts.     

Cross-reactivity of contact site A to antibody produced against a stage-specific antigen from a phenol/water extract of Dictyostelium discoideum

The stage-specific antigen, gp68 (Hirano, T., Yamada, H., & Miyazaki, T. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 742, 224-234), was purified from a phenol/water extract of aggregation-competent cells of Dictyostelium discoideum by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Anti-gp68 was produced against purified gp68 which was determined to be homogeneous by silver staining on analysis by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The cross-reactivity of anti-gp68 against cellular antigens was estimated by immuno-affinity chromatography on anti-gp68 immunoglobulin G (IgG)/Sepharose. When the whole cell lysate was applied to this affinity column, three major proteins, with molecular weights of 80,000, 68,000, and 56,000, were obtained in the absorbed fraction. When the butanol extract, which was enriched in contact site A, an adhesion mediating glycoprotein, was applied to the same column, two major proteins with molecular weights of 80,000 (corresponding to contact site A) and 56,000 were obtained in the absorbed fraction but, however, gp68 was negligible. Reversely, when the phenol/water extract was applied to anti-contact site A-IgG/Sepharose, only gp68 was obtained in the absobed fraction. Moreover, contact site A was seen to compete with [3H]mannose-labeled gp68 in a competition radioimmunoassay using anti-gp68 serum. The effect of Pronase or exo-alpha-mannosidase digestion on the antigenic activity of gp68 was examined by radioimmunoassaying. The results indicated that the alpha-mannosyl residue of the non-reducing terminal in the carbohydrate moiety of gp68 was a major immunodeterminant. However, the polypeptide chain did not participate in the antigenic reactivity against anti-gp68. Both anti-gp68 and anti-contact site A agglutinated heat killed-yeast cells. Also, both anti-sera inhibited EDTA-stable cell adhesion of aggregation-competent cells in the presence of Fab from goat anti-rabbit IgG. These results indicate that gp68 and contact site A have a common antigenic determinant against anti-gp68, and that the target antigen of anti-gp68 was somehow involved in cell adhesion.     

Envelope proteins of human T cell leukemia virus type I: characterization by antisera to synthetic peptides and identification of a natural epitope

Three peptides corresponding to selected regions of the env gene products of human T cell leukemia virus type I were synthesized by solid-phase Merrifield techniques. The sequence of peptide designated SP-65 was identical to the predicted C-terminal 12 residues of the transmembrane protein p21env, and peptide SP-74 was inferred from a region shown to be highly conserved among mammalian retroviruses. The third peptide, SP-70, was derived from a C-terminal region of the surface glycoprotein gp46. Antibodies to each peptide were raised in rabbits and were used to identify and further characterize the proteins coded by the env gene. Despite being present at very low levels in purified viral preparations, these proteins were chromatographed by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography and were located by Western blot analysis of the column fractions. Anti-SP-70 recognized the surface glycoprotein (gp46) and also its C-terminal cleavage fragment (gp16). Anti-SP-65 and anti-SP-74 both reacted with the hydrophobic transmembrane protein (p21) and provided evidence that this protein does not undergo apparent C-terminal processing during viral maturation, unlike the trans-membrane protein of murine leukemia virus. As expected, anti-SP-74 also reacted with homologous proteins from other Type C and Type D viruses, confirming that peptide SP-74 corresponds to a broadly conserved region of retroviral transmembrane proteins. SP-70, which is predicted to be quite near the C terminus of the major surface glycoprotein, was also reactive with sera of HTLV-I-positive patients, indicating that this peptide corresponds to, or is part of, a native epitope recognized by the natural host.     

Purification and characterization of phospholamban from canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

Phospholamban, a putative regulator of the Ca2+-dependent ATPase of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), was purified from canine cardiac SR membranes. Cardiac SR was extracted with deoxycholate and fractionated with ammonium sulfate followed by gel permeation high performance liquid chromatography in the presence of the nonionic detergent, octa-ethylene glycol mono-n-dodecyl ether (C12E8), and KI. Further purification was achieved with CM-Sepharose CL 6B column chromatography in the presence of C12E8. The purified phospholamban showed a single band of 22,000 daltons on neutral sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Weber, K., and Osborn, M. (1969) J. Biol. Chem. 244, 4406-4412) and 27,000 daltons on alkaline SDS gels (Laemmli, U. K. (1970) Nature (Lond.) 227, 680-685). Boiling of phospholamban in 2% SDS produced total conversion into the lower molecular weight component on SDS gels (11,000 on Laemmli gel and 10,500 on Weber and Osborn gel). The apparent molecular weight of phospholamban on SDS gels was slightly increased by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation. The extent of phosphorylation catalyzed by cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the purified phospholamban preparations was about 42 nmol of phosphate/mg of protein when the protein concentration was determined by the method of Lowry et al. (Lowry, O. H., Rosebrough, N. J., Farr, A. L., and Randall, R. J. (1951) J. Biol. Chem. 193, 265-275), or 138 nmol/mg of protein based on the protein concentration estimated by the dye absorption method. Rabbit antisera were prepared against purified phospholamban. The obtained antisera were found to bind to purified phospholamban as well as that in cardiac SR. No reaction was detected in fast skeletal muscle SR by immunofluorescent staining of Western blots. The present preparation of purified phospholamban and the antisera should facilitate further understanding of the regulatory action of phospholamban on the calcium pump ATPase.