Identification and characterization of calmodulin-binding proteins in mammalian sperm flagella

A calcium and calmodulin-regulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase has been shown to be an integral component of both rat and bovine sperm flagella. The calcium-activated enzyme was inhibited by both trifluoperazine (ID50 = 10 microM) and [ethylene-bis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (EGTA), and the basal activity measured in the presence of EGTA was stimulated by limited proteolysis to that observed in the presence of calcium/calmodulin. 125I-Calmodulin binding to purified rat sperm flagella has been characterized and the flagellar-associated calmodulin-binding proteins identified by a combination of gel and nitrocellulose overlay procedures and by chemical cross-linking experiments using dimethyl suberimidate. 125I-Calmodulin bound to demembranated rat sperm flagella in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. At equilibrium, 30-40% of the bound 125I-calmodulin remains associated with the flagella after treatment with EGTA or trifluoperazine. The majority of the bound 125I-calmodulin, both the Ca2+-dependent and -independent, was displaced by excess calmodulin. A 67-kDa calmodulin-binding protein was identified by both the gel and nitrocellulose overlay procedures. In both cases, binding was dependent on Ca2+ and was totally inhibited by trifluoperazine, EGTA, and excess calmodulin. On nitrocellulose overlays, the concentration of calmodulin required to decrease binding of 125I-calmodulin by 50% was between 10(-10) and 10(-11) M. Limited proteolysis resulted in the total loss of all Ca2+-dependent binding to the 67-kDa polypeptide. Chemical cross-linking experiments identified a major calcium-dependent 125I-calmodulin:polypeptide complex in the 84-90-kDa molecular mass range and a minor complex of approximately 200 kDa. Immunoblot analysis showed that the major 67-kDa calmodulin-binding protein did not cross-react with polyclonal antibodies raised against either the calcium/calmodulin-regulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase or phosphoprotein phosphatase (calcineurin) from bovine brain.     

Purification and characterization of bovine lung calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. An enzyme containing calmodulin as a subunit

A rabbit lung cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) prepared by successive chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and G-200 Sephadex columns in the presence of EGTA was activated by Ca2+ and contained calmodulin (CaM), suggesting that the enzyme exists as a stable CaM X PDE complex (Sharma, R. K., and Wirch, E. (1979) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 91, 338-344). An enzyme with similar properties was demonstrated to exist in bovine lung extract. C1, a monoclonal antibody previously shown to react with the 60-kDa subunit of bovine brain PDE isozymes (Sharma, R. K., Adachi, A.-M., Adachi, K., and Wang, J. H.) (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 9248-9254), cross-reacted with the lung enzyme. Purification of the lung enzyme by C1 antibody immunoaffinity chromatography rendered the enzyme dependent on exogenous CaM for Ca2+ stimulation. Further purification was achieved by CaM affinity chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the purified enzyme showed a predominant polypeptide of Mr 58,000 and a minor band of about 50,000. The purified enzyme could be reconstituted into a PDE X CaM complex upon incubation with CaM in the presence of either Ca2+ or EGTA. The reconstituted protein complex did not dissociate in buffers containing 0.1 mM EGTA. Analysis of the purified and reconstituted lung phosphodiesterase by Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration indicated that the lung enzyme is a dimeric protein and that the reconstituted enzyme contained two molecules of calmodulin. Analysis of the reconstituted phosphodiesterase by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis also showed it to contain equimolar calmodulin and the enzyme subunit. The CaM antagonists, fluphenazine, compound 48/80, and calcineurin at concentrations abolishing CaM stimulation of bovine brain PDE had little effect on the activity of reconstituted bovine lung phosphodiesterase.     

Preparation of an enzymatically active cross-linked complex between brain cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionyl-substituted calmodulin

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (0.07 nM) was activated by near stoichiometric concentrations of [3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionyl]calmodulin (PDP-CaM) after initial incubation of these proteins at 200-fold higher concentrations; activity in assays with EGTA was 80% of that in the presence of Ca2+. The enzyme incubated with native calmodulin under identical conditions required approximately 1 nM for half-maximal activation, and no activation was observed in the absence of calcium. These data suggested formation of a covalent complex between phosphodiesterase and PDP-CaM. On high-performance gel-permeation chromatography in the presence of metal chelators, the complex appeared considerably larger than the native enzyme. Incubation of phosphodiesterase with the thiolated (inactivated) form of PDP-CaM did not change its chromatographic behavior, indicating that reactive sulfhydryl groups were involved in complex formation. Although the total activities recovered from chromatography were not significantly different, maximal activation of PDP-CaM-phosphodiesterase complex was only approximately 20%, whereas the control enzyme was activated 6-8-fold by Ca2+ plus calmodulin. Kinetics of cGMP hydrolysis in the presence of EGTA by the isolated complex differed from those of control enzyme but were indistinguishable from those of control enzyme assayed with saturating Ca2+ and CaM. The calmodulin antagonists W-7 and trifluoperazine had relatively little effect on activity of the PDP-CaM-phosphodiesterase complex. Incubation of the complex with dithiothreitol dramatically increased its Ca2+ and calmodulin responsiveness, suggesting that reduction of the disulfide cross-link released phosphodiesterase from the complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Activation of a calmodulin-dependent phosphatase by a Ca2+-dependent protease

A calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase (calcineurin) was converted to an active, calmodulin-independent form by a Ca2+-dependent protease (calpain I). Proteolysis could be blocked by ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, leupeptin, or N-ethylmaleimide, but other protease inhibitors such as phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, aprotinin, benzamidine, diisopropyl fluorophosphate, and trypsin inhibitor were ineffective. Phosphatase proteolyzed in the absence of calmodulin was insensitive to Ca2+ or Ca2+/calmodulin; the activity of the proteolyzed enzyme was greater than the Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated activity of the unproteolyzed enzyme. Proteolysis of the phosphatase in the presence of calmodulin proceeded at a more rapid rate than in its absence, and the proteolyzed enzyme retained a small degree of sensitivity to Ca2+/calmodulin, being further stimulated some 15-20%. Proteolytic stimulation of phosphatase activity was accompanied by degradation of the 60-kilodalton (kDa) subunit; the 19-kDa subunit was not degraded. In the absence of calmodulin, the 60-kDa subunit was sequentially degraded to 58- and 45-kDa fragments; the 45-kDa fragment was incapable of binding 125I-calmodulin. In the presence of calmodulin, the 60-kDa subunit was proteolyzed to fragments of 58, 55 (2), and 48 kDa, all of which retained some ability to bind calmodulin. These data, coupled with our previous report that the human platelet calmodulin-binding proteins undergo Ca2+-dependent proteolysis upon platelet activation [Wallace, R. W., Tallant, E. A., & McManus, M. C. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 2766-2773], suggest that the Ca2+-dependent protease may have a role in the platelet as an irreversible activator of certain Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent reactions.     

Agonist and antagonist properties of calmodulin fragments

Limited proteolysis of calmodulin with trypsin in the presence of ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N, N,N',N'-tetracetic acid (EGTA) or Ca2+ was performed according to a modification of the method of Drabikowski et al. (Drabikowski, W., Kuznicki, J., and Grabarek, Z. (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 485, 124-133). The resulting peptides were purified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. Tryptic digests in EGTA yielded peptides 1-106, 1-90, and 107-148 with yields of 9, 47, and 61%, respectively. The digests performed with Ca2+ yielded peptides 1-77 and 78-148 in 35 and 45% yield. Analysis by high performance liquid chromatography indicated that the purified fragments contained less than 0.1% contamination by calmodulin, thus allowing a definitive study of the ability of these fragments to activate, or interact with, calmodulin-regulated enzymes and anti-calmodulin drugs. Each of the fragments, except 107-148, bound to a phenothiazine affinity column in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Thus, calmodulin contains two interaction sites for phenothiazines: one on the NH2-terminal half (fragment 1-77) and one on the COOH-terminal half (fragment 78-148). None of the fragments activates the protein phosphatase, calcineurin, or prevents its stimulation by calmodulin, nor does any of the fragments stimulate Ca2+-dependent cAMP phosphodiesterase. A single cleavage in the middle of the calmodulin molecule results in the rapid dissociation of the two resultant fragments and a loss of ability to activate cAMP phosphodiesterase. One fragment, 78-148, interacts with phosphodiesterase and prevents its activation by calmodulin (Ki: 1.5 +/- 0.4 X 10(-6) M). The same fragment, 78-148, can fully activate phosphorylase kinase but with a lower affinity than calmodulin (Kuznicki, J., Grabarek, Z., Brzeska, H., Drabikowski, W., and Cohen, P. (1981) FEBS Lett. 130, 141-145). Thus, peptide 78-148 behaves as a calmodulin agonist or antagonist or as neither, depending on the enzyme under study.     

Ca2+-independent cyclic GMP phosphodiesterases from rat liver and HTC hepatoma cells.

We have separated and characterized a Ca2+- and calmodulin-insensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from rat liver supernatant as well as an analogous enzyme from HTC hepatoma cells. Chromatography of rat liver supernatant on DEAE-cellulose in the presence and subsequently in the absence of 0.1 mM-CaCl2 resulted in the separation of two distinct phosphodiesterase activities, both of which preferentially hydrolysed cyclic GMP rather than cyclic AMP. One enzyme, E-Ib, was activated in the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin, and the other, E-Ia, was not. The E-Ia enzyme, which did not bind to calmodulin-Sepharose, had Mr 325 000 and displayed anomalous kinetic behaviour [Km (cyclic GMP) 1.2 microM; Km (cyclic AMP) 15.4 microM]. The E-Ib enzyme, which bound to calmodulin-Sepharose in the presence of Ca2+, had Mr 150 000 and exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics for hydrolysis of cyclic GMP [Km (basal) 6.5 microM; Km (activated) 12.0 microM]. E-Ia activity was diminished by incubation with alpha-chymotrypsin and was unaffected by the action of a rat kidney lysosomal proteinase. Partial hydrolysis of E-Ib enzyme by alpha-chymotrypsin or the kidney proteinase resulted in irreversible activation of the enzyme. The E-I enzyme isolated from HTC hepatoma cells was similar to the rat liver E-Ia enzyme in many respects. Its apparent Mr was 325 000. Its activity was unaffected by calmodulin in the presence of Ca2+ or by incubation with the kidney proteinase, and was decreased by digestion with alpha-chymotrypsin. Unlike the liver E-Ia enzyme, however, the hepatoma enzyme exhibited normal kinetic behaviour, with Km (cyclic GMP) 3.2 microM. Although HTC cells contain two other phosphodiesterases analogous to those in rat liver and a calmodulin-like activator of phosphodiesterase, no calmodulin-sensitive phosphodiesterase was detected.     

Regulation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase by the autophosphorylated form of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II

The 63-kDa subunit, but not the 60-kDa subunit, of brain calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase was phosphorylated in vitro by the autophosphorylated form of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. When calmodulin was bound to the phosphodiesterase, 1.33 +/- 0.20 mol of phosphate was incorporated per mol of the 63-kDa subunit within 5 min with no significant effect on enzyme activity. Phosphorylation in the presence of low concentrations of calmodulin resulted in a phosphorylation stoichiometry of 2.11 +/- 0.21 and increased about 6-fold the concentration of calmodulin necessary for half-maximal activation of the phosphodiesterase. Peptide mapping analyses of complete tryptic digests of the 63-kDa subunit revealed two major (P1, P4) and two minor (P2, P3) 32P-peptides. Calmodulin-binding to the phosphodiesterase almost completely inhibited phosphorylation of P1 and P2 with reduced phosphorylation rates of P3 and P4, suggesting the affinity change of the enzyme for calmodulin may be caused by phosphorylation of P1 and/or P2. When Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II was added without prior autophosphorylation, there was no phosphorylation of the 63-kDa phosphodiesterase subunit or of the kinase itself in the presence of a low concentration of calmodulin, and with excess calmodulin the phosphodiesterase subunit was phosphorylated only at P3 and P4. Thus the 63-kDa subunit of phosphodiesterase has a regulatory phosphorylation site(s) that is phosphorylated by the autophosphorylated form of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and blocked by Ca2+/calmodulin binding to the subunit.     

Effect of lipids on the binding of calmodulin with cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase

The effects of various lipids on calmodulin interaction with Ca-dependent phosphodiesterase were investigated. Palmitic, myristic and stearic acids increased the enzyme activity; the degree of the enzyme activation by calmodulin was decreased thereby. Oleic acid produced a weak activating effect on phosphodiesterase but completely blocked calmodulin action. The effects of the fatty acids under study were reversible, the activation constant was equal to 10(-4)-5 X 10(-4) M. In the presence of Ca2+ phosphoinositides and fatty acids changed the fluorescence intensity of dansyl-labelled calmodulin; in the absence of Ca2+ the lipids did not affect protein fluorescence. The lipids had no influence on the protein affinity for Ca2+. During chromatography of phosphodiesterase on calmodulin-Sepharose the enzyme was eluted from the column both in the presence of EGTA and palmitic acid. It was concluded that fatty acids prevent the formation of the calmodulin - phosphodiesterase complex. This effects may both be due to the lipid binding to the enzyme and to calmodulin.     

Response of three enzymes to oleic acid, trypsin, and calmodulin chemically modified with a reactive phenothiazine

Calmodulin was covalently modified with 10-(1-propionyloxysuccinimide)-2-trifluoromethylphenothiazine++ + to stoichiometries between 0 and 2 mol/mol in the presence of Ca2+. The modified calmodulins, oleic acid, and trypsin were assayed for their ability to activate pea plant NAD kinase, bovine brain 3',5'-cAMP phosphodiesterase, and human erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase. All modified calmodulins activated both phosphodiesterase and Ca2+-ATPase; at the highest concentration assayed, calmodulin modified with 2 mol of reagent/mol activated phosphodiesterase and Ca2+-ATPase to 53% and 100%, respectively, of the activation obtained with unmodified calmodulin. However, higher concentrations of the modified calmodulins were required to observe the same activation; at least 900-fold and 100-fold higher concentrations were required for the two enzymes, respectively. NAD kinase was not activated by any calmodulin labeled to a stoichiometry greater than 1 mol/mol even when a concentration equal to 17,000 times the apparent dissociation constant of calmodulin for NAD kinase was assayed. Therefore, the modified protein (and not some fraction resistant to labeling) is active toward the mammalian enzymes but inactive toward plant NAD kinase. The different response of the three enzymes to the chemical modification suggests that the enzymes may utilize different binding domains on calmodulin. NAD kinase also was not activated by other known activators of the two mammalian enzymes, namely lipids and limited proteolysis. In parallel experiments using the same agents on each enzyme, NAD kinase was the only enzyme of the three that was not activated by oleic acid and several other lipids or by limited trypsin digestion. These results show that NAD kinase possesses several attributes which would not be predicted by current models of the mechanism of activation of enzymes by calmodulin.     

Phosphorylation and characterization of bovine heart calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase.

Calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase was purified to apparent homogeneity from the total calmodulin-binding fraction of bovine heart in a single step by immunoaffinity chromatography. The isolated enzyme had significantly higher affinity for calmodulin than the bovine brain 60-kDa phosphodiesterase isozyme. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase was found to catalyze the phosphorylation of the purified cardiac calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase with the incorporation of 1 mol of phosphate/mol of subunit. The phosphodiesterase phosphorylation rate was increased severalfold by histidine without affecting phosphate incorporation into the enzyme. Phosphorylation of phosphodiesterase lowered its affinity for calmodulin and Ca2+. At constant saturating concentrations of calmodulin (650 nM), the phosphorylated calmodulin-dependent phosphodiesterase required a higher concentration of Ca2+ (20 microM) than the nonphosphorylated phosphodiesterase (0.8 microM) for 50% activity. Phosphorylation could be reversed by the calmodulin-dependent phosphatase (calcineurin), and dephosphorylation was accompanied by an increase in the affinity of phosphodiesterase for calmodulin.     

Adenylate cyclase activity in cyanobacteria: activation by Ca(2+)-calmodulin and a calmodulin-like activity

An adenylate cyclase activity was partially characterized in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. The enzyme activity is found in soluble cell fractions and shows an apparent molecular weight of about 183,400. This adenylate cyclase is activated by Ca2+ and bovine brain or spinach calmodulin and it is inhibited by EGTA and some phenothiazine derivatives. Furthermore, Anabaena sp. extracts contain a calmodulin-like activity which stimulates bovine brain cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and the Anabaena adenylate cyclase. EGTA and phenothiazine derivatives block the cyanobacterial modulator effect.     

A Ca2+-sensitive cyclic-3',5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase from sheep lung modulated by a tightly bound endogenous calmodulin

Highly purified sheep lung cyclic-3',5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase was sensitive to Ca2+/EGTA but insensitive to exogenous calmodulin. The Ca2+-sensitivity was inhibited by trifluoperazine. Heat-treated enzyme could activate a calmodulin-deficient phosphodiesterase, suggesting the presence of endogenous calmodulin in sheep lung cyclic-3',5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase, possibly associated with the enzyme in a Ca2+-independent manner.     

Calmodulin and Ca2+-dependent phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of 63-kDa subunit-containing bovine brain calmodulin-stimulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase isozyme

Bovine brain contains calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase isozymes which are composed of two distinct subunits: Mr 60,000 and 63,000. The 60-kDa but not the 63-kDa subunit-containing isozyme can be phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase resulting in decreased affinity of this subunit toward calmodulin (Sharma, R. K., and Wang, J. H. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 82, 2603-2607). In contrast, purified 63-kDa subunit-containing isozyme has been found to be phosphorylated by a preparation of bovine brain calmodulin-binding proteins in the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin. The phosphorylation resulted in the maximal incorporation of 2 mol of phosphate/mol of the phosphodiesterase subunit with a 50% decrease in the enzyme affinity toward calmodulin. At a constant calmodulin concentration of 6 nM, the phosphorylated isozyme required a higher concentration of Ca2+ for activation than the nonphosphorylated phosphodiesterase. The Ca2+ concentrations at 50% activation by calmodulin of the nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated isozymes were 1.1 and 1.9 microM, respectively. Phosphorylation can be reversed by the calmodulin-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, but not by phosphoprotein phosphatase 1. The results suggest that the Ca2+ sensitivities of brain calmodulin-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase isozymes can be modulated by protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mechanisms in response to different second messengers.     

Characterization of the fragmented forms of calcineurin produced by calpain I

Calcineurin, a calmodulin-stimulated phosphatase from bovine brain, was hydrolyzed by calpain I from human erythrocytes. In the absence of calmodulin, calpain rapidly transformed the 60-kilodalton (kDa) catalytic subunit of calcineurin into a transient 57-kDa fragment and thereafter a 43-kDa limit fragment. In the presence of calmodulin, the 60-kDa subunit was sequentially proteolyzed to a 55-kDa fragment and then a 49-kDa fragment. Upon proteolysis in the absence or presence of calmodulin, the p-nitrophenyl phosphatase activity (assayed in the presence of calmodulin) was increased by 300%. The 43- and the 49-kDa fragments were found to (i) remain associated with the small subunit (17 kDa), (ii) have lost the ability to bind and to be activated by calmodulin, and (iii) have phosphatase activity that was still stimulated by Mn2+ or Ni2+. The 43- + 17-kDa form had similar Km values for various substrates, but the Vmax values were increased compared with the native enzyme. It is proposed that (i) a 43-kDa core segment of the 60-kDa subunit of calcineurin contained the catalytic domain, the small subunit-binding domain, and the metal ion (Mn2+ and (or) Ni2+) binding site; and (ii) two distinct types of inhibitory domains exist near the end(s) of the large subunit, one of which is calmodulin regulated, while the other is calmodulin independent.     

Diagnosis of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy by recombinant DNA techniques

A calmodulin dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase is associated with the head and tailpieces of demembranated rat caudal epididymal sperm. The phosphodiesterase was stimulated two-fold in the presence of Ca2+, while the simultaneous addition of Ca2+ and calmodulin resulted in a four-fold increase in activity. Ca2+ stimulation was abolished if demembranated sperm were extracted with EGTA and was recovered upon the addition of exogenous calmodulin. Micromolar levels of Ca2+ were required for full stimulation. Trifluoperazine inhibited the Ca2+ stimulated enzyme in a dose dependent manner (ID50 = 50 microM) but had no effect on the basal phosphodiesterase activity.     

Biological activities of the peptides obtained by digestion of troponin C and calmodulin with thrombin.

1. Troponin C and calmodulin were not digested by thrombin at a significant rate in the presence of Ca2+. 2. In the presence of EGTA, troponin C was digested by thrombin to yield three peptides, TH1 (residues 1--120), TH3 (residues 1--100) and TH2 (residues 121--159). 3. In the presence of EGTA calmodulin was digested by thrombin giving two peptides, TM1 (residues 1--106) and TM2 (residues 107--148). 4. The electrophoretic mobilities of peptides TH1 and TM1 were increased at pH 8.6 by Ca2+ both in the presence and absence of urea. The mobilities of peptides TH2 and TM2 were unaltered under these conditions. 5. Peptides TH1, TH2 and tM1 formed complexes with troponin I on polyacrylamide gels at pH 8.6 in the presence of Ca2+. 6. The phosphorylation of troponin I by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase was significantly inhibited by peptides TH1 and TH3 and to a lesser extent by peptide TM1. 7. The calmodulin peptide TM1 activated myosin light-chain kinase when present in large molar excess. Peptide TM2 did not activate the enzyme.     

A protease-sensitive site in the proposed Ca(2+)-binding region of human serum amyloid P component and other pentraxins.

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) is a decamer of 10 identical 25.5-kDa subunits. Limited proteolysis of SAP with alpha-chymotrypsin cleaves the subunit into two fragments of 18 and 7.5 kDa, although the fragments stay together in the decamer under nondenaturing conditions. Proteolysis does not occur in the presence of Ca2+ (10 mM). Cleavage with alpha-chymotrypsin prevents the Ca(2+)-dependent binding of SAP to zymosan extract, nucleosomes, and DNA. The alpha-chymotrypsin cleavage site identified is in a region of SAP that is highly conserved in members of the human C-reactive protein (CRP) family of proteins (pentraxins) to which SAP belongs and is similar to the Ca(2+)-binding site in calmodulin and related Ca(2+)-binding proteins (Nguyen, N.Y., Suzuki, A., Boykins, R.A., & Liu, T.-Y., 1986, J. Biol. Chem. 261, 10456-10465). Treatment of SAP with other proteases (trypsin, Pronase, and Nagarse protease) yields fragmentation patterns upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) that are similar to those obtained with alpha-chymotrypsin. Two other members of the pentraxin family of proteins, hamster female protein and rabbit CRP, also exhibit similar fragmentation patterns on SDS-PAGE when treated with the various proteases. Recently, it has been shown that the homologous protein, human CRP, is cleaved in the same homologous position as cleavage of SAP by alpha-chymotrypsin, resulting in the loss of Ca(2+)-binding (as shown by equilibrium dialysis) and Ca(2+)-dependent binding reactivities (Kinoshita, C.M., Ying, S.-C., Hugli, T.E., Siegel, J.N., Potempa, L.A., Jiang, H.J., Houghten, R.A., & Gewurz, H., 1989, Biochemistry 28, 9840-9848).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Structural analysis of wild-type and mutant yeast calmodulins by limited proteolysis and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Calmodulin from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. The purified protein was structurally characterized using limited proteolysis followed by ESI mass spectrometry to identify the fragments. In the presence of Ca2+, yeast calmodulin is sequentially cleaved at arginine 126, then lysine 115, and finally at lysine 77. The rapid cleavage at Arg-126 suggests that the fourth Ca(2+)-binding loop does not bind Ca2+. In the presence of EGTA, yeast calmodulin is more susceptible to proteolysis and is preferentially cleaved at Lys-106. In addition, mutant proteins carrying I100N, E104V or both mutations, which together confer temperature sensitivity to yeast, were characterized. The mutant proteins are more susceptible than wild-type calmodulin to proteolysis, suggesting that each mutation disrupts the structure of calmodulin. Furthermore, whereas wild-type calmodulin is cut at Lys-106 only in the presence of EGTA, this cleavage site is accessible in the mutants in the presence of Ca2+ as well. In these ways, the structural consequence of each mutation mimics the loss of a calcium ion in the third loop. In addition, although wild-type calmodulin binds to four proteins in a yeast crude extract in the presence of Ca2+, the mutants bind only to a subset of these. Thus, the inability to adopt the stable Ca(2+)-bound conformation in the third Ca(2+)-binding loop alters the ability of calmodulin to interact with yeast proteins in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner.     

Domain mapping of chicken gizzard caldesmon

Limited proteolysis, affinity chromatography, and immunoblotting have been used to define the domains of chicken gizzard caldesmon, caldesmon120, that interact with calmodulin, F-actin, and a monoclonal antibody prepared using human platelet caldesmon. Treatment of caldesmon120 with chymotrypsin produces groups of fragments near 100, 80, 60, 38, and 20 kDa. Further digestion produces peptides between 40 and 50 kDa. The 100- and 80-kDa peptides cross-react with the monoclonal antibody; the smaller polypeptides do not. The kinetics of cleavage and the antibody studies indicate that the 38- and 80-kDa fragments are the two major pieces of the 120-kDa protein. The 38-kDa fragment, purified by high performance liquid chromatography, and several of its subfragments at 21 and 25 kDa sediment with F-actin, bind to calmodulin-Sepharose in the presence of Ca2+, and are displaced from F-actin by Ca2+-calmodulin. The 80-kDa fragments did not interact with F-actin or calmodulin. We have tentatively placed the 38-kDa fragment at the C-terminal using polyclonal antibodies selected against a beta-galactosidase-caldesmon120 fusion protein produced by a lambda gt11 lysogen. The 38-, 25-, and 21-kDa fragments cross-react with these antibodies; the 80- and 60-kDa fragments do not. Caldesmon77 from human platelets also cross-reacts with these selected antibodies. The results suggest that interacting calmodulin and F-actin binding sites are localized on a 38-kDa C-terminal fragment of caldesmon. The smallest subfragment of this peptide that binds to both F-actin and calmodulin-Sepharose is about 21 kDa. The monoclonal antibody epitope is tentatively localized near the N-terminal of caldesmon77 and must be within 50 kDa of the N-terminal on caldesmon120.