The structure of tracheobronchial mucins from cystic fibrosis and control patients.

Tracheobronchial mucin samples from control and cystic fibrosis patients were purified by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-1000 and by density gradient centrifugation. Normal secretions contained high molecular weight (approximately 10(7] mucins, whereas the cystic fibrosis secretions contained relatively small amounts of high molecular weight mucin together with larger quantities of lower molecular weight mucin fragments. These probably represent products of protease digestion. Reducing the disulfide bonds in either the control or cystic fibrosis high molecular weight mucin fractions released subunits of approximately 2000 kDa. Treating these subunits with trypsin released glycopeptides of 300 kDa. Trypsin treatment of unreduced mucin also released fragments of 2000 kDa that could be converted into 300-kDa glycopeptides upon disulfide bond reduction. Thus, protease-susceptible linkages within these mucins must be cross-linked by disulfide bonds so that the full effects of proteolytic degradation of mucins remain cryptic until disulfide bonds are reduced. Since various combinations of protease treatment and disulfide bond reduction release either 2000- or 300-kDa fragments, these fragments must represent important elements of mucin structure. The high molecular weight fractions of cystic fibrosis mucins appear to be indistinguishable from control mucins. Their amino acid compositions are the same, and various combinations of disulfide bond reduction and protease treatment release products of identical size and amino acid composition. Sulfate and carbohydrate compositions did vary considerably from sample to sample, but the limited number of samples tested did not demonstrate a cystic fibrosis-specific pattern. Thus, tracheobronchial mucins from cystic fibrosis and control patients are very similar, and both share the same generalized structure previously determined for salivary, cervical, and intestinal mucins.     

Structural and functional analysis of the complement component factor H with the use of different enzymes and monoclonal antibodies to factor H.

The action of six different enzymes on the function and structure of Factor H was investigated by use of sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, haemagglutination, two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay systems and an assay for Factor I cofactor activity. Six monoclonal antibodies directed against the 38 kDa tryptic fragment of Factor H [which contains the binding site for C3b (a 180 kDa fragment of the third component of complement) and the cofactor activity] were also used to detect cleavage products derived from the same fragment. Elastase, chymotrypsin A4 or trypsin first cleaved Factor H to 36-38 kDa fragments carrying all six monoclonal anti-(Factor H)-binding sites. In parallel, the interaction of Factor H with surface-bound C3b was lost, whereas the cofactor function was preserved. Further cleavage of the 36-38 kDa fragments into two 13-19 kDa fragments (one carrying the MAH4 and MRC OX 24 epitopes, the other the MAH1, MAH2, MAH3 and MRC OX 23 epitopes) destroyed cofactor activity. Pepsin, bromelain or papain rapidly split off a 13-15 kDa fragment of Factor H carrying the MAH1, MAH2, MAH3 and MRC OX 23 epitopes and destroyed all tested functions of Factor H. Ficin cleaved Factor H into disulphide-linked fragments smaller than 25 kDa, but did not affect the functions of the Factor H molecule. The 38 kDa tryptic fragment of Factor H is the N-terminal end of the Factor H molecule, as determined by N-terminal sequence analysis. A model is presented of the substructure of Factor H.     

Multiple apomucin translation products from human respiratory mucosa mRNA.

Poly(A)-rich RNA was purified from a pool of five human tracheobronchial mucosa. After in vitro translation in a reticulocyte lysate and immunoprecipitation of the translated products, using either a polyclonal antiserum or a monoclonal antibody to deglycosylated respiratory mucin peptides, the products were characterized by SDS/PAGE. The respiratory mucin precursors migrated as a very large smear from almost the top of the resolving polyacrylamide gel to an area corresponding to a molecular mass of about 100 kDa. After hybridization with mucin cDNA probe TH 29 described by Crepin et al. [Crepin, M., Porchet, N., Aubert, J. P. & Degand, P. (1990) Biorheology 27, 471-484] respiratory mucin mRNAs also appeared polydisperse. Although degradation or incomplete translation of high-molecular-mass mRNA cannot be entirely ruled out, these results suggest that human respiratory apomucins consist of a family of peptides which share some common epitopes. This possibility is in agreement with (a) the diversity of mucin precursors observed previously with pulse/chase experiments performed with explants of human respiratory mucosa and (b) the polydispersity of secreted respiratory mucins observed by electron microscopy.     

Synthesis and macromolecular organization of gastrointestinal mucin.

Mucus glycoproteins (mucins), the principal determinants of mucus protective qualities and mucosal defense, are studied extensively to define pathological aberrations in the relation to gastrointestinal disease and to develop the mucous barrier strengthening agents. Recent work from our laboratory provided evidence as to the initial stages of the gastrointestinal mucin synthesis, molecular size of the apomucin, its macromolecular organization and interaction with other elements of gastrointestinal mucus. Using monoclonal antibodies against apomucin (clone 1H7), O-glycosylated with N-acetylgalactosamine apomucin (clone 2B4), and that against carboxyl terminal of the apomucin (clone 3G12), the mucin synthesizing polysomes were isolated and glycosylated peptides ranging in size from 6-60 kDa identified. The in vitro synthesis in the cell-free system also afforded 60-64 kDa products recognized by 1H7 and 3G12 antimucin MAbs. The obtained results provided evidence that the mucin core consists of 60 kDa peptide which at cotranslational stage is O-glycosylated with N-acetylgalactosamine. Studies on mucin polymer assembly revealed that mucin preparations prepared by equilibrium density gradient centrifugation and Sepharose 2B chromatography (Mantle, M., Mantle, D., and Allen, A. (1981) Biochem. J. 195, 277-285) are not completely purified and contain DNA and extraneous proteins. The evidence was obtained that so called mucin "link protein", 118 kDa glycopeptide, is a N-glycosylated fragment of fibronectin, whereas the supposedly native undegraded mucin isolated by Carlstedt et al. (Biochem. J. (1983) 211, 13-22) was found to contain mucin-fibronectin-DNA complexes. The general picture that emerged from the studies is that the pure mucin consists of 60 kDa glycosylated peptides only. The carboxyl terminal (8-12 kDa fragment) of these peptides is not glycosylated (naked) and is responsible for mucin interaction with fibronectin and other fibronectin-like extracellular matrix proteins. While the formation of the mucosal coat depends on many other factors and extracellular components, our findings on mucin structure and interaction with the extracellular matrix proteins provide explanation as to the possible mechanism of mucin adherence to the epithelial surfaces.     

MUC16 is produced in tracheal surface epithelium and submucosal glands and is present in secretions from normal human airway and cultured bronchial epithelial cells

The gel-forming MUC5AC and MUC5B mucins have been identified as major components of human airway mucus but it is not known whether additional mucin species, possibly with other functions, are also present. MUC16 mucin is a well-known serum marker for ovarian cancer, but the molecule has also been found on the ocular surface and in cervical secretions suggesting that it may play a role on the normal mucosal surface. In this investigation, the LUM16-2 antiserum (raised against a sequence in the N-terminal repeat domain) recognized MUC16 in goblet and submucosal gland mucous cells as well as on the epithelial surface of human tracheal tissue suggesting that the mucin originates from secretory cells. MUC16 mucin was present in 'normal' respiratory tract mucus as well as in secretions from normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells. MUC16 from NHBE cells was a high-molecular-mass, monomeric mucin which gave rise to large glycopeptides after proteolysis. N- and C-terminal fragments of the molecule were separated on gel electrophoresis showing that the MUC16 apoprotein undergoes a cleavage between these domains, possibly in the SEA domain as demonstrated for other transmembrane mucins; MUC1 and MUC3. After metabolic labeling of NHBE cells, most of the secreted monomeric, high-molecular-mass [(35)S]sulphate-labelled molecules were immunoprecipitated with the OC125 antibody indicating that MUC16 is the major [(35)S]sulphate-labelled mucin in NHBE cell secretions.     

The putative ''link'' glycopeptide associated with mucus glycoproteins. Composition and properties of preparations from the gastrointestinal tracts of several mammals.

The existence of a discrete 'link' peptide in epithelial mucins has been debated for many years. There is evidence that at least some mucins contain a specific 'link' peptide (or glycopeptide) that enhances mucin polymerization by forming disulphide bridges to large mucin glycoprotein subunits. A major difficulty has been to know whether the reported differences in putative 'link' components represent artifacts generated by inter-laboratory differences in technical procedures used in mucin purification. The present paper outlines the results of a collaborative study involving five laboratories and 53 samples of purified gastrointestinal mucins (including salivary, gastric, small-intestinal and colonic mucins) prepared by five techniques from four different animal species. An early step in mucin purification in all cases was the addition of proteinase inhibitors. Representative mucins were analysed for their composition, electrophoretic mobility in SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis before and after disulphide-bond reduction, and for their reactivity with monospecific antibodies developed against the 118 kDa putative 'link' glycopeptide isolated from either rat or human small-intestinal mucins. Our results indicate that, despite differences in laboratory techniques, preparative procedures, organs and species, each of the purified mucins contained a 'link' component that was released by disulphide-bond reduction and produced a band on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis at a position of approx. 118 kDa. After electroelution and analyses, the 118 kDa bands from the different mucins were found to have similar amino acid profiles and to contain carbohydrate. It would appear therefore that a 'link' glycopeptide of molecular mass approx. 118 kDa is common to all of the gastrointestinal mucins studied.     

Establishment of monoclonal antibodies against carbohydrate moiety of gastric mucins distributed in the different sites and layers of rat gastric mucosa

Eight monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), designated RGM21 RGM42, were generated against mucin purified from the rat gastric mucosa. By applying ELISA, all of these MAbs were proved to react not only with the purified mucin, but also with the oligosaccharide mixture obtained from the antigenic mucin by alkaline borohydride treatment. Treatment of the mucin-attached ELISA well with trypsin, sodium periodate or galactose oxidase prior to the addition of the MAb was applied to characterize these MAbs. Histochemical observation indicated that all these MAbs were able to stain the formalin fixed-paraffin embedded sections of the rat gastroduodenal mucosa. Although each of these MAbs reacted with distinct mucus-producing cells localized in particular regions of the gastroduodenal mucosa, their staining specificity could generally be classified into four groups. These MAbs might be useful for estimating the physiological and pathological changes of mucins in the gastric mucosa.     

Intestinal mucins from normal subjects and patients with cystic fibrosis. Variable contents of the disulphide-bound 118 kDa glycoprotein and different reactivities with an anti-(118 kDa glycoprotein) antibody.

1. A specific antibody was developed against the disulphide-bound 118 kDa glycoprotein of human intestinal mucin and used to establish an e.l.i.s.a. Fourteen purified mucins [eight normal (N) and six cystic fibrosis (CF)] had the same affinity for the antibody in the e.l.i.s.a., but their relative immunoreactivities varied widely (approx. 100,000-fold). In general, CF mucins were more antigenic than N mucins. 2. Variations (approx. 10-fold) were detected in the 118 kDa glycoprotein content of both N and CF mucins (assessed from Coomassie Blue-stained polyacrylamide gels), but these did not appear to be responsible for the differences in mucin immunoreactivity. 3. Variations (approx. 6-fold) were also observed in the size of the 118 kDa peak produced by N and CF mucins on Western blots. These were mostly due to differences in the 118 kDa glycoprotein content of mucins, although a small proportion resulted from changes in the number of antigenic determinants within individual 118 kDa glycoproteins. 4. After concanavalin A affinity chromatography of four reduced mucins (two N and two CF), purified 118 kDa glycoprotein was recovered in the bound fractions from the column, specifically eluted by methyl alpha-mannoside. 5. The amounts of 118 kDa glycoprotein isolated from the four mucins varied as predicted from the size of their 118 kDa bands on Coomassie Blue-stained gels. 6. Three 118 kDa glycoproteins (one N and two CF) showed almost identical reactivity in the e.l.i.s.a.; the fourth had fewer antigenic determinants. 7. Since differences in 118 kDa glycoprotein content and in the number of antigenic determinants within the 118 kDa glycoprotein did not account for variations in the reactivity of native mucins in the e.l.i.s.a., it appeared that accessibility of the 118 kDa glycoprotein to antibody binding may be critical in determining mucin immunoreactivity. This suggests that the three-dimensional conformation of CF mucins may differ from that of N mucins, leading to increased antigenicity.     

The salivary mucin MG1 (MUC5B) carries a repertoire of unique oligosaccharides that is large and diverse

The high-molecular-mass salivary mucin MG1, one of two major mucins produced by human salivary glands, plays an important role in oral health by coating the tooth surface and by acting as a bacterial receptor. Here this mucin was purified from the submandibular/sublingual saliva of a blood group O individual. The presence of MUC5B as the major mucin in this preparation was confirmed by amino acid analysis and its reactivity with the monoclonal antibody PAN H2. To structurally characterize MG1 carbohydrates the O-glycans were released by reductive beta-elimination. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the nonfractionated mixture showed that (1) fucose was present in blood group H, Le(a), Le(x), Le(b), and Le(y) epitopes; (2) NeuAc was mainly linked alpha 2-3 to Gal or alpha 2-6 to GalNAcol; and (3) the major internal structures were core 1 and core 2 sequences. After this preliminary analysis the released oligosaccharides were separated into neutral (56%), sialylated (26%), and sulfated (19%) fractions, with an average length of 13, 17, and 41 sugar residues, respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of mixtures of neutral and sialylated oligosaccharides revealed at least 62 neutral and 25 sialylated oligosaccharides consisting of up to 20 monosaccharide residues. These results showed that the MG1-derived oligosaccharides were much longer than those of MG2, and only a few species were found on both molecules. Thus, these two mucins create an enormous repertoire of potential binding sites for microorganisms at one of the major portals where infectious organisms enter the body.     

Identification of a nonmucin glycoprotein (gp-340) from a purified respiratory mucin preparation: evidence for an association involving the MUC5B mucin.

Rate-zonal centrifugation of a reduced and alkylated respiratory mucin preparation identified a protein-rich fraction. This was subjected to trypsin treatment and one of the many liberated peptides was purified and its N-terminal sequence determined. The peptide was identical to a 14 amino acid sequence from the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domain containing glycoprotein gp-340. A polyclonal antiserum, raised against the peptide, stained the serous cells in the submucosal glands of human tracheal tissue. The glycoprotein was purified from respiratory mucus by density-gradient centrifugation, gel chromatography, and anion exchange chromatography. The molecule exhibited a heterogeneous distribution of buoyant density (1.28-1.46 g/ml) that overlapped with the gel-forming mucins, was included on Sepharose CL-2B and was quite highly anionic. SDS-PAGE indicated a mass greater than 208 kDa and measurements performed across the molecular size distribution indicated an average M(r) of 5 x 10(5) with a range of M(r) from 2 x 10(5) to 1 x 10(6). Gel chromatography of respiratory mucus extracts ("associative" and "dissociative") indicated that this glycoprotein forms complexes that may involve the large gel-forming mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B. Rate zonal centrifugation suggested such complexes are more likely to involve MUC5B rather than MUC5AC mucins.     

Chromatographic measurement of mucin production in cultures of gastric mucous cells.

The use of a miniature column chromatographic assay (using Sepharose CL-4B columns) for measuring mucin production in guinea pig gastric mucous cell cultures is described. The assay was based upon the ability of radiolabelled precursors ([14C]serine and [3H]galactose) to incorporate with high specificity into mucins which thereby appeared in the excluded material. Rates of excluded material radiolabelling by both precursors were constant for incubations up to 24 hours, and substantially reduced by cycloheximide co-incubation (25 microM). Labelled excluded material was completely degraded by mild alkaline borohydride treatment, only partially degraded by HNO2 (pH 1.5), and not degraded by chondroitinase ABC. Thus the major radiolabelled product measured in this system was mucin, although we found that it was less glycosylated than gastric mucins obtained from other sources. In addition, the technique employed to separate and measure mucin production proved rapid and consistent.     

Tumor cell MUC1 and CD43 are glycosylated differently with sialyl-Lewis a and x epitopes and show variable interactions with E-selectin under physiological flow conditions

The mucins secreted from the colon carcinoma cell line COLO 205 have the MUC1 and CD43 (leukosialin) as core proteins, where both carry sialyl-Lewis a and MUC1 sialyl-Lewis x epitopes. The adhesion of E-selectin expressing CHO cells to the coated mucins was analyzed in a flow system revealing that the MUC1 mucin adhered better than the CD43 mucin. One reason could be their different glycosylation, a difference that was explored by analyzing the biosynthesis of MUC1 and CD43 in COLO 205 cells. Both the MUC1 and CD43 mucins became sialyl-Lewis a reactive, but after different times as revealed by pulse-chase studies. However, only MUC1 became sialyl-Lewis x reactive. These differences suggest that MUC1 and CD43 are synthesized in different compartments of the cell. It was also observed that the mucins from colon carcinoma patients had MUC1-type mucins that carried both sialyl-Lewis a and x epitopes and CD43-type sialyl-Lewis a mucins with only low levels of sialyl-Lewis x epitopes. One could hypothesize that colon carcinoma derived MUC1 is decorated with potent E-selectin epitopes, and that this could be one of several reasons for the involvement of MUC1 in cancer development.     

Salivary mucin MG1 is comprised almost entirely of different glycosylated forms of the MUC5B gene product

The MG1 population of mucins was isolated from human whole salivas by gel chromatography followed by isopycnic density gradient centrifugation. The reduced and alkylated MG1 mucins, separated by anion exchange chromatography, were of similar size (radius of gyration 55-64 nm) and molecular weight (2.5-2.9 x 10(6) Da). Two differently-charged populations of MG1 subunits were observed which showed different reactivity with monoclonal antibodies to glycan epitopes. Monosaccharide and amino acid compositional analyses indicated that the MG1 subunits had similar glycan structures on the same polypeptide. An antiserum recognizing the MUC5B mucin was reactive across the entire distribution, whereas antisera raised against the MUC2 and MUC5AC mucins showed no reactivity. Western blots of agarose gel electrophoresis of fractions across the anion exchange distribution indicated that the polypeptide underlying the mucins was the product of the MUC5B gene. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping performed on the fragments produced by trypsin digestion of the two MG1 populations yielded data similar to that obtained for MUC5B mucin subunits prepared from respiratory mucus (Thornton et al., 1997) and confirmed that the MUC5B gene product was the predominant mucin polypeptide present. Isolation of the MG1 mucins from the secretions of the individual salivary glands (palatal, sublingual, and submandibular) indicate that the palatal gland is the source of the highly charged population of the MUC5B mucin.     

Heterogeneity in the protein cores of mucins isolated from human middle ear effusions: evidence for expression of different mucin gene products

High molecular weight mucins were isolated and purified from human middle ear effusions of children with Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) classified into three groups, (1) thick and (2) thin from anatomically normal children and (3) effusions from cleft palate patients. Amino acid analyses of the purified mucins from the three pools were similar but not identical with characteristic contents of serine threonine and proline (32%, 28%, and 38% for pools (1) (2) and (3) respectively). Proteinase resistant glycopeptide fragments corresponding to the tandem repeat domains of cloned mucin genes showed marked differences both between the three mucin pools and with the composition of the tandem repeat sequences of the cloned mucin genes expressed in the airways. Studies on the antigenic identity of middle ear mucins found an epitope likely to be present on MUC5AC, but only accounting for a maximum of 15% by weight and no reactivity was found with antibodies to MUC2 or MUC1. A polyclonal antibody raised to thick effusion mucins reacted strongly with human salivary mucin suggesting the presence of MUC5B epitopes. These studies suggest that more than one mucin gene product is secreted by the human middle ear mucosa and that there may be further mucin genes expressed by the middle ear that have yet to be cloned.     

Monoclonal antibodies directed against the galactose-binding lectin of Entamoeba histolytica enhance adherence.

The Entamoeba histolytica galactose-binding lectin is a surface glycoprotein composed of 170- and 35-kDa subunits. Inhibition of this lectin with galactose or anti-170 kDa subunit polyclonal antibody blocks amebic adherence to target cells and colonic mucin glycoproteins. We describe the properties of 10 mAb with specificity for the 170-kDa subunit. Based on competitive binding studies, six nonoverlapping antigenic determinants on the lectin were identified. The effect of the mAb on adherence of amebic trophozoites to both Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and human colonic mucins was measured. Antilectin antibodies directed against epitopes 1 and 2 enhanced adherence, with the number of amebae having at least three adherent CHO cells increasing with the addition of epitope 1 mAb from 26 +/- 9 to 88 +/- 2% and the binding of colonic mucins increasing from 34 +/- 1 to 164 +/- 3 pg/10(5) amebae. Antibody-enhanced adherence remained 90 to 100% galactose inhibitable, occurred at 4 degrees C and was not Fc mediated. Univalent Fab fragments of epitope 1 mAb augmented mucin binding by 238% and CHO cell adherence by 338%. The binding of purified lectin to CHO cells was increased from 1.1 +/- 0.1 to 2.4 +/- 0.3 ng/10(3) CHO cells by mAb directed to epitope 1, demonstrating that enhanced adherence was due to direct activation of the lectin. mAb to epitope 3 bound to the lectin only upon its solubilization from the membrane and had no effect on adherence. Adherence to CHO cells and mucins was inhibited from 50 to 75% by mAb to epitopes 4 and 5; epitope 6 mAb inhibited amebic adherence to CHO cells but not mucins. The pooled sera from 10 patients with amebic liver abscess blocked the binding to the 170-kDa subunit of mAb directed to all six epitopes. Striking individual variations in the effects of immune sera on adherence were observed. Although the sera of all 44 South African patients with amebic liver abscess had high titer anti-lectin antibodies, 16 patients' sera significantly (more than 3 SEM) enhanced adherence whereas 25 patients' sera significantly inhibited adherence. Antilectin antibodies exert profound functional effects on the interaction of E. histolytica with target cells and human colonic mucins. Exploration of the clinical consequences of adherence-enhancing and inhibitory antibody responses may give insight into the role of antilectin antibodies in immunity to invasive amebiasis.     

Biochemical and histochemical study on the intestinal mucosa of the common carp Cyprinus carpio L., with special consideration of mucin glycoproteins

The biochemical and histochemical properties of intestinal mucin glycoproteins of virus and parasite-free common carp Cyprinus carpio were investigated. The presence of carbohydrates in mucin glycoproteins could be demonstrated by histochemical methods, but generally, no obvious differences in specific staining for mucin glycoproteins were observed in contrast to biochemical techniques. Biochemical staining methods displayed differences in structure and composition of intestinal glycoproteins. Released intestinal glycoproteins contained two types of mucin glycoproteins: type 1 mucins displayed a size of >2000 kDa, and were highly glycosylated, while type 2 mucins ranged between 700 and 70 kDa, and were weakly glycosylated. In epithelial (intracellular) glycoproteins, mainly N-acetyl-α-galactosamine and mannose were found, while in luminal (extracellular) glycoproteins in addition sialic acid was evident. Fucose was not detected. Thus, structure and composition of intestinal glycoproteins of common carp were similar to those found in mammals.     

A high-density putative monomeric mucin is the major [35S]labelled macromolecular product of human colorectal mucins in organ culture

We have studied the biosynthesis of mucins in organ cultures of human colon using isopycnic density-gradient centrifugation following pulse labelling with [(35)S]sulphate and [(3)H]-D-glucosamine. A high-density [(35)S]sulphate labelled component, of larger size than MUC2 monomers, appeared in the tissue and also in the medium. It was not degraded by reduction, trypsin digestion, digestion with chondroitin ABC lyase or heparan sulphate III lyase, but was cleaved into smaller fragments following alkaline borohydride treatment and appears to be a monomeric, mucin-like molecule containing a protease-resistant domain with a larger hydrodynamic volume than MUC2 monomers. Although this macromolecule incorporated much more radiolabel than MUC2, it was not detected using chemical analysis and thus appears to be a component with a high metabolic turnover present in a very small amount. Most of the [(3)H]-D-glucosamine label was associated with low-density material that was well separated from MUC2, which was poorly labelled. Most of MUC2 was associated with the tissue as an 'insoluble' complex. The amount of MUC2 remained constant and its associated radiolabel increased only slightly with time. Analysis of the MUC2 subunits from the reduced 'insoluble' complex showed the typical reduction-insensitive oligomers and confirmed that the radiolabel was associated with this mucin. The large size of the [(35)S]-labelled putative monomeric mucin makes it difficult to separate it from reduced insoluble complex MUC2. As a result, many studies of intestinal mucin synthesis and secretion in the past have most likely been performed on 'mixtures' of this mucin and MUC2 and are thus not possible to interpret as the metabolic behaviour of oligomeric mucins.     

Adipocyte insulin receptor. Generation of a cryptic domain of the alpha-subunit during internalization of hormone-receptor complexes.

The dynamics of the internalization of photoaffinity-labelled insulin-receptor complexes was investigated in isolated rat adipocytes by using tryptic proteolysis to probe both the orientation and cellular location of the labelled complexes. In cells that were labelled at 16 degrees C and not prewarmed, 150 micrograms of trypsin/ml rapidly degraded the labelled 125 kDa insulin-receptor subunit into a major proteolytic fragment of 70 kDa and minor amounts of 90- and 50-kDa fragments. With milder trypsin treatment conditions (100 micrograms of trypsin/ml, 15 s at 37 degrees C), the 90 kDa peptide (different from the 90 kDa beta-subunit of the insulin receptor) appeared as a major intermediate proteolytic product, but this species was rapidly and completely converted into the 70- and 50-kDa fragments with continued exposure to trypsin, such that it did not accumulate to appreciable amounts in cells that were not prewarmed before trypsin exposure. By contrast, trypsin treatment of cells prewarmed to 37 degrees C for various times showed that: first, a proportion of the labelled 125 kDa receptors was internalized (became trypsin-insensitive); secondly, the 90 kDa tryptic peptide was formed in large amounts, with proportionate decreases occurring in the amounts of the 70- and 50-kDa tryptic peptides. The increased accumulation of the 90 kDa tryptic peptide from cells preincubated at 37 degrees C, but not at 16 degrees C, indicated that trypsin cleavage sites within the 90 kDa segment of the insulin-receptor alpha-subunit that were exposed at 16 degrees C were made inaccessible by incubation at 37 degrees C, a finding that is consistent with generation of a cryptic domain of the receptor subunit. The tryptic generation of the 90 kDa peptide at 37 degrees C was rapid, becoming half-maximal in 4.4 +/- 0.6 min and maximal in 15-20 min, preceded the intracellular accumulation of labelled receptors (half-maximal in 12.6 +/- 0.7 min and maximal in 30-40 min), was highly correlated with receptor internalization, and was not observed in cultured IM-9 lymphocytes, a cell line in which photolabelled insulin receptors are primarily lost by shedding into the incubation media. These results show that, in adipocytes incubated at 37 degrees C, rapid masking of a previously (at 16 degrees C) accessible domain of the insulin-receptor alpha-subunit occurs and that this dynamic process happens at an early stage in the internalization of insulin-receptor complexes.     

Diffusion of macromolecules and virus-like particles in human cervical mucus

To determine whether or not large macromolecules and viruses can diffuse through mucus, we observed the motion of proteins, microspheres, and viruses in fresh samples of human cervical mucus using fluorescent recovery after photobleaching and multiple image photography. Two capsid virus-like particles, human papilloma virus (55 nm, approximately 20,000 kDa) and Norwalk virus (38 nm, approximately 10,000 kDa), as well as most of the globular proteins tested (15-650 kDa) diffused as rapidly in mucus as in saline. Electron microscopy of cervical mucus confirmed that the mesh spacing between mucin fibers is large enough (20-200 nm) for small viruses to diffuse essentially unhindered through mucus. In contrast, herpes simplex virus (180 nm) colocalized with strands of thick mucus, suggesting that herpes simplex virus, unlike the capsid virus particles, makes low-affinity bonds with mucins. Polystyrene microspheres (59-1000 nm) bound more tightly to mucins, bundling them into thick cables. Although immunoglobulins are too small to be slowed by the mesh spacing between mucins, diffusion by IgM was slowed by mucus. Diffusion by IgM-Fc(5 mu), the Fc pentamer core of an IgM with all 10 Fab moieties removed, was comparably slowed by mucus. This suggests that the Fc moieties of antibodies make low-affinity bonds with mucins.     

Immunochemical properties of West Nile virus protein prM and protein M C-end

Complementary DNA fragments (nucleotides 466-966 and 878-1088) encoding prM protein and polypeptide M31-75-E1-30 of West Nile virus (WNV), strain LEIV-Vlg99-27889-human, were obtained and cloned. Recombinant polypeptides prM and M3175-E1-30 having amino acid sequences corresponding to the cloned cDNA fragments were purified by affinity chromatography. According to ELISA and Western blotting prM protein interacted with polyclonal antibodies against WNV. This is indicative the immunochemical similarity of WNV recombinant and native protein prM. 6 types of species-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against recombinant polypeptide prM recognized at least four epitopes within recombinant polypeptides prM and M31-75-E1-30. MAbs 7D11 were active in the virus - neutralization assay. Analysis of interaction of the MAbs with recombinant polypeptides prM, M31-75-EI-30, E1-180, E260-466 revealed cross-reactive epitopes within 260-466 amino acid residues (aa) of WNV protein E, 31-75 aa of polypeptide M31-75-E1-30 and protein prM. Proposed spatial model of proteins E and M C-end fragments shown similarity of their three-dimensional structures confirming results of immunochemical assay. Neutralization of viral infectivity by MAbs 7D11 raised against epitope within 31-75 aa t of protein M is evidence of important function of C-end region in the process of flaviviral penetration into host cell.