Molecular cloning of the high affinity calcium-binding protein (calreticulin) of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum

A cDNA clone encoding the high affinity Ca2+-binding protein (HACBP) of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum was isolated and sequenced. The cDNA encoded a protein of 418 amino acids, but a comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified protein indicates that a 17-residue NH2-terminal signal sequence was removed during synthesis. This was confirmed by studies of in vitro translation of mRNA encoding the protein. Structural predictions did not reveal any potential transmembrane segments in the protein. The COOH-terminal sequence of the high affinity Ca2+-binding protein, Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu, is the same as that proposed to be an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal (Munro, S., and Pelham, H. R. B. (1987) Cell 48, 899-907). All of these characteristics suggest that the protein is localized in the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The mature protein of Mr 46,567 contains 109 acidic and 52 basic amino acids. Structural predictions suggest that the first half of the molecule forms a globular domain of 8 anti-parallel beta-strands with a helix-turn-helix motif at the extreme NH2 terminus. The next one-third of the sequence is proline-rich. This segment can be subdivided into a charged region which contains a 17-amino acid repeat, followed by a proline, serine, and threonine-rich segment extending from Pro-246 to Thr-316. Thirty-seven acidic residues are clustered within 56 amino acids at the COOH terminus of the protein. Although the protein binds 1 mol of Ca2+/mol with high affinity, no "EF-hand" consensus sequence was observed in the protein. The acidic COOH terminus, however, could account for the low affinity, high capacity Ca2+ binding observed in the protein. In agreement with other involved laboratories, we have chosen the name calreticulin for the protein.     

Complete amino acid sequence of canine cardiac calsequestrin deduced by cDNA cloning

cDNA cloning was used to deduce the complete amino acid sequence of canine cardiac calsequestrin, the principal Ca2+-binding protein of cardiac junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum. Cardiac calsequestrin contains 391 amino acid residues plus a 19-residue amino-terminal signal sequence. The molecular weight of the mature protein, excluding carbohydrate, is 45,269. Cardiac calsequestrin is highly acidic, and a striking feature is the enrichment of acidic residues (60%) within the 63 carboxyl-terminal residues. No part of the sequence contains EF hand Ca2+-binding structures. The photo-affinity probe 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(m-[125I]iodophenyl)diazirine was used to localize the Ca2+-regulated hydrophobic site to amino acid residues 192-223. The cardiac and skeletal muscle isoforms of calsequestrin (Fliegel, L., Ohnishi, M., Carpenter, M. R., Khanna, V. K., Reithmeier, R. A. F., and MacLennan, D. H. (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 84, 1167-1171), although the products of different genes, are 65% identical, are acidic, and share one glycosylation site. However, cardiac calsequestrin has several unique features. First, it has a 31-amino acid extension at its carboxyl terminus (residues 361-391), which contains 71% acidic residues and a second glycosylation site. Second, its mRNA contains a second open reading frame with the capacity to code for a 111-amino acid protein. Third, contrary to the restricted expression of the fast skeletal isoform, cardiac calsequestrin mRNA is present in both cardiac and slow skeletal muscle, but not in fast skeletal muscle. We conclude that the deduced amino acid sequence of cardiac calsequestrin is consistent with its ability to bind large amounts of Ca2+ (40 mol of Ca2+/mol of calsequestrin). The protein probably binds Ca2+ by acting as a charged surface rather than by presenting multiple discrete Ca2+-binding sites.     

Calreticulin is a candidate for a calsequestrin-like function in Ca2(+)-storage compartments (calciosomes) of liver and brain.

In a search for the non-muscle equivalent of calsequestrin (the low-affinity high-capacity Ca2(+)-binding protein responsible for Ca2+ storage within the terminal cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum), acidic proteins were extracted from rat liver and brain microsomal preparations and purified by column chromatography. No calsequestrin was observed in these extracts, but the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the major Ca2(+)-binding protein of the liver microsomal fraction was determined and found to correspond to that of calreticulin. This protein was found to bind approx. 50 mol of Ca2+/mol of protein, with low affinity (average Kd approx. 1.0 mM). A monoclonal antibody, C6, raised against skeletal-muscle calsequestrin cross-reacted with calreticulin in SDS/PAGE immunoblots, but polyclonal antibodies reacted with native calreticulin only weakly, or not at all, after SDS denaturation. Immuno-gold decoration of liver ultrathin cryosections with affinity-purified antibodies against liver calreticulin revealed luminal labelling of vacuolar profiles indistinguishable from calciosomes, the subcellular structures previously identified by the use of anti-calsequestrin antibodies. We conclude that calreticulin is the Ca2(+)-binding protein segregated within the calciosome lumen, previously described as being calsequestrin-like. Because of its properties and intraluminal location, calreticulin might play a critical role in Ca2+ storage and release in non-muscle cells, similar to that played by calsequestrin in the muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.     

Spectroscopic, thermodynamic and kinetic properties of Candida nitratophila nitrate reductase.

HL-60 cells possess a 60 kDa Ca2(+)-binding protein that is contained in a discrete subcellular compartment, referred to as calciosomes. Subcellular fractionation studies have suggested that, in HL-60 cells, this intracellular compartment is an Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+ store. In order to investigate the structural relationship of the 60 kDa Ca2(+)-binding protein of HL-60 cells to other Ca2(+)-binding proteins, we have purified the protein by ammonium sulphate extraction, acid precipitation, and DEAE-cellulose and phenyl-Sepharose column chromatography. The N-terminal sequence of the protein shows 93% identity with rabbit muscle calreticulin, a recently cloned sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2(+)-binding protein. No amino acid sequence similarity with calsequestrin was found, although the purified protein cross-reacted with anti-calsequestrin antibodies. The calreticulin-related protein of HL-60 cells might play a role as an intravesicular Ca2(+)-binding protein of an Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive Ca2+ store.     

The purification and complete amino acid sequence of the 9000-Mr Ca2+-binding protein from rat placenta. Identity with the vitamin D-dependent intestinal Ca2+-binding protein.

A 9000-Mr Ca2+-binding protein was isolated from rat placenta and purified to homogeneity by h.p.l.c. procedures. The complete amino acid sequence was established for the 78-residue placental protein. A sequence analysis of a minor component of the rat intestinal Ca2+-binding protein (residues 4-78) and a tryptic peptide (residues 55-74), both purified by h.p.l.c., showed both proteins to be identical. Thus this placental 9000-Mr Ca2+-binding protein is the same gene product as the intestinal Ca2+-binding protein whose synthesis is dependent on vitamin D.     

Purification of a sarcoplasmic reticulum protein that binds Ca2+ and plasma lipoproteins

A protein in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal and cardiac muscle was identified because of its ability to bind 125I-labeled low density lipoprotein (LDL) with high affinity after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein, referred to as the 165-kDa protein, is restricted to striated muscle. It was not detected in 14 other tissues, including several that contain smooth muscle, but it appears in rat L6 myoblasts when they differentiate into myocytes. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopic studies revealed that the protein is present throughout the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the terminal cisternae. It binds 45Ca2+ on nitrocellulose blots and stains metachromatically with Stains-all, a cationic dye that stains Ca2+-binding proteins. It does not appear to be a glycoprotein, and it appears slightly larger than the 160-kDa glycoprotein previously described in sarcoplasmic reticulum. The 165-kDa protein binds LDL, beta-migrating very low density lipoprotein, and a cholesterol-induced high density lipoprotein particle that contains apoprotein E as its sole apoprotein with much higher affinity than it binds high density lipoprotein. The protein is stable to boiling and to treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate, but it becomes sensitive to these treatments when its cystine residues are reduced and alkylated. The protein was purified 1300-fold to apparent homogeneity from rabbit skeletal muscle membranes. It differs from the cell surface LDL receptor in that 1) its apparent molecular weight is not changed by reduction and alkylation; 2) it is present in Watanabe-heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits, which lack functional LDL receptors; 3) binding of lipoproteins is not inhibited by EDTA; and 4) it is located within the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum where it has no access to plasma lipoproteins. It is unlikely that this protein ever binds lipoproteins in vivo; however, its lipoprotein binding activity has facilitated its purification to homogeneity and suggests that this protein has unusual structural features. The role of the 165-kDa protein in Ca2+ homeostasis in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, if any, remains to be determined.     

Amino acid sequence of a sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein from the sandworm Nereis diversicolor

Muscles of invertebrate species contain abundant quantities of soluble, sarcoplasmic, high affinity Ca2+-binding proteins (SCBPs). The SCBPs belong to the calmodulin superfamily and contain four homologous domains (I-IV) which arose by reduplication of a gene for a small ancestral protein. We have determined the amino acid sequence of the SCBP from the sandworm Nereis diversicolor. This protein is the only SCBP which has been crystallized in a form suitable for three-dimensional structure determination by high-resolution x-ray analysis (Babu, Y. S., Cox, J. A., and Cook, W. J. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 11184-11185). N. diversicolor SCBP is a single polypeptide chain of 174 amino acids, including single residues of glutamine and histidine, 2 tyrosines, and 3 tryptophans. It is devoid of cysteine and has an acetylated amino terminus, a calculated Mr of 19,485, and a net charge of -13 at neutral pH. There was no evidence for heterogeneity in the sequence. Probable Ca2+-binding sites were recognized in domains I, III, and IV. Comparison with other available invertebrate SCBP sequences shows an unusually high degree of variability among these proteins, with only 9 residues common to all species.     

Molecular cloning and expression of cDNA encoding the 53,000-dalton glycoprotein of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum

The 53-kDa glycoprotein of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum was purified by lentil lectin affinity chromatography and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and partially sequenced. Polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies were raised against the 53-kDa glycoprotein and found to cross-react with the 160-kDa glycoprotein. A combination of antibody and synthetic oligonucleotide screening was used to isolate a cDNA encoding the 53-kDa glycoprotein of rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. The cDNA encodes a protein of 453 amino acids with Mr of 52,421 and a 19-residue amino-terminal signal sequence. The deduced sequence contains two potential glycosylation sites and is largely hydrophilic. The presence of a glycine-rich sequence in the glycoprotein with homology to mononucleotide binding domains supports earlier observations that the glycoprotein binds ATP with high affinity. Although two sequences appear to be hydrophobic on a hydropathy plot, they are not sufficiently long nor sufficiently hydrophobic to qualify unambiguously as transmembrane sequences. The glycoprotein, like calsequestrin, was shown to be inaccessible to trypsin in intact sarcoplasmic reticulum. It can be eluted from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by extraction with [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid under hypotonic conditions. Thus, the glycoprotein appears to be localized entirely in the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and to be associated with the inner membrane surface through Ca2+-dependent mechanisms. Cotransfection of COS-1 cells with cDNAs encoding the glycoprotein and the Ca2+-ATPase led to expression of both proteins with a common localization in the microsomal fraction. The Ca2+ pumping activity of the microsomes isolated from transfected cells was unaltered by the presence of the glycoprotein. Thus the glycoprotein does not appear to modulate Ca2+-ATPase function.     

The epitope for monoclonal antibody A20 (amino acids 870-890) is located on the luminal surface of the Ca2(+)-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum.

The epitope for monoclonal antibody A20 was mapped to amino acids 870-890 of the Ca2(+)-ATPase of rabbit fast-twitch skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. The antibody did not react with the epitope in intact sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles but reacted with the epitope when the vesicles were solubilized with the detergent C12E8 or made permeable by incubation in a hypotonic medium. By contrast, antibody A52, which binds to a cytoplasmic epitope consisting of amino acids 657-672, reacted with the Ca2(+)-ATPase in vesicular, permeabilized vesicular, and C12E8-solubilized states. These results clearly demonstrate that antibody A20 binds to a luminal epitope and provide the first demonstration that a specific segment of the Ca2(+)-ATPase is located on the luminal surface of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. These results are consistent with, and support, our model for folding of the Ca2(+)-ATPase (Brandl, C. J., Korczak, B., Green, N. M., and MacLennan, D. H. (1986) Cell 44, 597-607) in which residues 657-672 were proposed to form part of the cytoplasmic nucleotide binding domain, while residues 870-890 were proposed to form a luminal loop between proposed transmembrane sequences M7 and M8.     

Nucleotide sequence of the CLS4 (CDC24) gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The nucleotide sequence of the CLS4 gene controlling Ca2+ regulatory process of bud emergence, which was cloned previously [Ohya et al., J. Bacteriol. 165 (1986) 28-33], was determined. The CLS4 (CDC24) locus encodes a protein consisting of 736 amino acid (aa) residues with an Mr of 83,970. By primer extension mapping, the mRNA start point was located 139 bp upstream from the translation start codon. The predicted CLS4 protein was hydrophilic with two serine + threonine-rich domains in the middle and C-terminal regions. It has two putative Ca2+-binding regions, one being partly homologous to the Ca2+-binding domain of the S-100a protein and the other that of alpha-lactalbumin.     

Drastic reduction in the luminal Ca2+ -binding proteins calsequestrin and sarcalumenin in dystrophin-deficient cardiac muscle

Luminal Ca2+ -binding proteins play a central role in mediating between Ca2+ -uptake and Ca2+ -release during the excitation-contraction-relaxation cycle in muscle fibres. In the most commonly inherited neuromuscular disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the reduced expression of key Ca2+ -binding proteins causes abnormal Ca2+ -buffering in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal muscle. The heart is also affected in dystrophinopathies, as manifested by the pathological replacement of cardiac fibres by connective and fatty tissue. We therefore investigated whether similar changes occur in the abundance of luminal Ca2+ -regulatory elements in dystrophin-deficient cardiac fibres. Two-dimensional immunoblotting of total cardiac extracts was employed to unequivocally determine potential changes in the expression levels of SR components. Interestingly, the expression of the histidine-rich Ca2+ -binding protein was increased in the dystrophic heart. In contrast, the major Ca2+ -reservoir protein of the terminal cisternae, calsequestrin (CSQ), and the Ca2+ -shuttle and ion-binding protein of the longitudinal tubules, sarcalumenin, were drastically reduced in cardiac mdx fibres. This result agrees with the recently reported decrease in the Ca2+ -release channel and Ca2+ -ATPase in the mdx heart. Abnormal Ca2+ -handling appears to play a major role in the molecular pathogenesis of the cardiac involvement in X-linked muscular dystrophy.     

Molecular cloning of cDNA encoding a 55-kDa multifunctional thyroid hormone binding protein of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.

A cDNA clone encoding 55-kDa multifunctional, thyroid hormone binding protein of rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum was isolated and sequenced. The cDNA encoded a protein of 509 amino acids, and a comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified protein indicates that an 18-residue NH2-terminal signal sequence was removed during synthesis. The deduced amino acid sequence of the rabbit muscle clone suggested that this protein is related to human liver thyroid hormone binding protein, rat liver protein disulfide isomerase, human hepatoma beta-subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase and hen oviduct glycosylation site binding protein. The protein contains two repeated sequences Trp-Cys-Gly-His-Cys-Lys proposed to be in the active sites of protein disulfide isomerase. Northern blot analysis showed that the mRNA encoding rabbit skeletal muscle form of the protein is present in liver, kidney, brain, fast- and slow-twitch skeletal muscle, and in the myocardium. In all tissues the cDNA reacts with mRNA of 2.7 kilobases in length. The 55-kDa multifunctional thyroid hormone binding protein was identified in isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles using a monoclonal antibody specific to the 55-kDa thyroid hormone binding protein from rat liver endoplasmic reticulum. The mature protein of Mr 56,681 contains 95 acidic and 61 basic amino acids. The COOH-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein is highly enriched in acidic residues with 17 of the last 29 amino acids being negatively charged. Analysis of hydropathy of the mature protein suggests that there are no potential transmembrane segments. The COOH-terminal sequence of the protein, Arg-Asp-Glu-Leu (RDEL), is similar to but different from that proposed to be an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal; Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu (KDEL) (Munro, S., and Pelham, H.R.B. (1987) Cell 48, 899-907). This variant of the retention signal may function in a similar manner to the KDEL sequence, to localize the protein to the sarcoplasmic or endoplasmic reticulum. The positively charged amino acids Lys and Arg may thus interchange in this retention signal.     

Molecular cloning of cDNA encoding human and rabbit forms of the Ca2+ release channel (ryanodine receptor) of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum

We have cloned cDNAs encoding the rabbit and human forms of the Ca2+ release channel of sarcoplasmic reticulum. The human cDNA encodes a protein of 5032 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 563,584, which is made without an NH2-terminal signal sequence. Amino acid substitutions between rabbit and human sequences were noted in 163 positions and deletions or insertions in eight regions accounted for additional sequence differences between the two proteins. Analysis of the sequence indicates that 10 potential transmembrane sequences in the COOH-terminal fifth of the molecule and two additional, potential transmembrane sequences nearer to the center of the molecule could contribute to the formation of the Ca2+ conducting pore. The remainder of the molecule is hydrophilic and presumably constitutes the cytoplasmic domain of the protein. A 114-120 amino acid motif is repeated four times in the protein, in residues 841-954, 955-1068, 2725-2844, and 2845-2958 and a 16 amino acid part of the motif is repeated twice more in residues 1344-1359 and 1371-1386. Although the channel is modulated by Ca2+, ATP, and calmodulin, no clear high affinity Ca2(+)-binding domain of the EF hand type and no clear high affinity ATP-binding domain were detected in the primary sequence. An acidic sequence in residues 1872-1923 contains 79% glutamate or aspartate residues and this sequence is a potential low affinity Ca2(+)-binding site. Several potential calmodulin-binding sites were observed in the sequence, in the region 2800 to 3050.     

cDNA cloning, functional expression, and mRNA tissue distribution of a third organellar Ca2+ pump

We describe the characterization of a rat kidney cDNA that encodes a novel Ca2+-transporting ATPase. The cDNA, termed RK 8-13, was isolated previously using an oligonucleotide hybridization probe corresponding to part of the ATP binding site of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPases (Gunteski-Hamblin, A.-M., Greeb, J., and Shull, G. E. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15032-15040). The complete nucleotide sequence of the 4.5-kilobase cDNA has been determined, and the primary structure of the protein has been deduced. The enzyme consists of 999 amino acids, has an Mr of 109,223, and contains all of the conserved domains found in transport ATPases of the E1-E2 class. It exhibits 75-77% amino acid identity with the fast-twitch and slow-twitch/cardiac isoforms of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase, and the hydropathy plots of the three enzymes are virtually identical. High levels of ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake were demonstrated in microsomes of COS-1 cells that had been transfected with a construct consisting of the entire coding sequence of the cDNA in the expression vector p91023(B). Northern blot analyses of poly(A)+ RNA revealed that the mRNA for this protein is expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, uterus, brain, lung, liver, kidney, testes, small intestine, large intestine, and pancreas. These data show that the enzyme is a Ca2+-transporting ATPase and that its mRNA is expressed in a broad variety of both muscle and non-muscle tissues.     

Subproteomics analysis of Ca+-binding proteins demonstrates decreased calsequestrin expression in dystrophic mouse skeletal muscle.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy represents one of the most common hereditary diseases. Abnormal ion handling is believed to render dystrophin-deficient muscle fibres more susceptible to necrosis. Although a reduced Ca(2+) buffering capacity has been shown to exist in the dystrophic sarcoplasmic reticulum, surprisingly no changes in the abundance of the main luminal Ca(2+) reservoir protein calsequestrin have been observed in microsomal preparations. To address this unexpected finding and eliminate potential technical artefacts of subcellular fractionation protocols, we employed a comparative subproteomics approach with total mouse skeletal muscle extracts. Immunoblotting, mass spectrometry and labelling of the entire muscle protein complement with the cationic carbocyanine dye 'Stains-All' was performed in order to evaluate the fate of major Ca(2+)-binding proteins in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle fibres. In contrast to a relatively comparable expression pattern of the main protein population in normal vs. dystrophic fibres, our analysis showed that the expression of key Ca(2+)-binding proteins of the luminal sarcoplasmic reticulum is drastically reduced. This included the main terminal cisternae constituent, calsequestrin, and the previously implicated Ca(2+)-shuttle element, sarcalumenin. In contrast, the 'Stains-All'-positive protein spot, representing the cytosolic Ca(2+)-binding component, calmodulin, was not changed in dystrophin-deficient fibres. The reduced 2D 'Stains-All' pattern of luminal Ca(2+)-binding proteins in mdx preparations supports the calcium hypothesis of muscular dystrophy. The previously described impaired Ca(2+) buffering capacity of the dystrophic sarcoplasmic reticulum is probably caused by a reduction in luminal Ca(2+)-binding proteins, including calsequestrin.     

The NH2 terminus of the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-adenosine triphosphatase is located on the cytoplasmic surface of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane

The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) of sarcoplasmic reticulum contains a cysteine residue at position 12 of its sequence. This sulfhydryl group was 1 out of a total of 10-11 that were labeled by treatment of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles with N-[3H]ethylmaleimide under saturating conditions. This was shown by isolating a 31-residue NH2-terminal peptide from a tryptic digest of the succinylated ATPase, prepared from N-[3H]ethylmaleimide-labeled vesicles. Reaction of the vesicles with glutathione maleimide, parachloromercuribenzoic acid, or parachloromercuriphenyl sulfonic acid, membrane-impermeant reagents, prevented further reaction of sulfhydryl groups with N-ethylmaleimide. This result indicates that all sulfhydryl groups that are reactive with N-ethylmaleimide are on the outside of the vesicles. Since Cys12 is located in a hydrophilic NH2-terminal portion of the ATPase, the labeling results suggest that the NH2 terminus of the ATPase is on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. These results are consistent with earlier observations (Reithmeier, R. A. F., de Leon, S., and MacLennan, D. H. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 11839-11846) that the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase is synthesized without an NH2-terminal signal sequence.     

SSR alpha and associated calnexin are major calcium binding proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane

GTP phosphorylation of rough microsomes in vitro is limited to four integral membrane proteins. Two of these, a phosphoprotein (pp90) and a phosphoglycoprotein (pgp35) were purified as a complex with two nonphosphorylated membrane glycoproteins, gp25H and gp25L. The authenticity of this complex was confirmed using two different purification procedures and by coimmunoprecipitation. By immunofluorescence a reticulated cytoplasmic network was revealed for the proteins which was similar to that for Louvard et al. (Louvard, D., Reggio, H., and Warren, G. (1982) J. Cell Biol. 92, 92-107) marker antisera which also recognized purified pp90 on immunoblots. Amino acid sequencing of peptides derived from pgp35 identified this protein as SSR alpha, an endoplasmic reticulum constituent as identified by cross-linking of translocating nascent chains (G?rlich, D, Prehn, S., Hartmann, E., Herz, J., Otto, A., Kraft, R., Wiedmann, M., Knespel, S., Dobberstein, B., and Rapoport, T. A. (1990) J. Cell Biol. 111, 2283-2294). The sequence of gp25H was determined from cDNA clones and was identical with SSR beta identified by G?rlich et al. (1990) as being tightly bound to SSR alpha. Sequencing of gp25L revealed no similarity of the deduced sequence with other proteins. However, pp90 revealed a high degree of sequence identity with the Ca(2+)-binding protein, calreticulin. 45Ca2+ overlay studies indicated that pp90 bound Ca2+ and the name calnexin is proposed. Surprisingly, pgp25 (SSR alpha) also bound Ca2+ although gp25H (SSR beta) and gp25L did not. Triton X-114 partitioning of the integral membrane proteins of rough microsomes suggested that pgp35 (SSR alpha) and calnexin were major Ca(2+)-binding proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. We propose that the function of the complex is to regulate Ca(2+)-dependent retention mechanisms for luminal proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Cyclopiazonic acid is a specific inhibitor of the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum

The mycotoxin, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), inhibits the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase (EC 3.6.1.38) and Ca2+ transport activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum (Goeger, D. E., Riley, R. T., Dorner, J. W., and Cole, R. J. (1988) Biochem. Pharmacol. 37, 978-981). We found that at low ATP concentrations (0.5-2 microM) the inhibition of ATPase activity was essentially complete at a CPA concentration of 6-8 nmol/mg protein, indicating stoichiometric reaction of CPA with the Ca2+-ATPase. Cyclopiazonic acid caused similar inhibition of the Ca2+-stimulated ATP hydrolysis in intact sarcoplasmic reticulum and in a purified preparation of Ca2+-ATPase. Cyclopiazonic acid also inhibited the Ca2+-dependent acetylphosphate, p-nitrophenylphosphate and carbamylphosphate hydrolysis by sarcoplasmic reticulum. ATP protected the enzyme in a competitive manner against inhibition by CPA, while a 10(5)-fold change in free Ca2+ concentration had only moderate effect on the extent of inhibition. CPA did not influence the crystallization of Ca2+-ATPase by vanadate or the reaction of fluorescein-5'-isothiocyanate with the Ca2+-ATPase, but it completely blocked at concentrations as low as 1-2 mol of CPA/mol of ATPase the fluorescence changes induced by Ca2+ and [ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)]tetraacetic acid (EGTA) in FITC-labeled sarcoplasmic reticulum and inhibited the cleavage of Ca2+-ATPase by trypsin at the T2 cleavage site in the presence of EGTA. These observations suggest that CPA interferes with the ATP-induced conformational changes related to Ca2+ transport. The effect of CPA on the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase appears to be fairly specific, since the kidney and brain Na+,K+-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.37), the gastric H+,K+-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.36), the mitochondrial F1-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.34), the Ca2+-ATPase of erythrocytes, and the Mg2+-activated ATPase of T-tubules and surface membranes of rat skeletal muscle were not inhibited by CPA, even at concentrations as high as 1000 nmol/mg protein.     

Sarcolipin, the "proteolipid" of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, is a unique, amphipathic, 31-residue peptide.

The sarcoplasmic reticulum of rabbit skeletal muscle contains a small "proteolipid," i.e., a protein which is soluble in acidic CHCl3/CH3OH. We propose the name sarcolipin for this small protein, to signify its lipid-like solubility and association with the sarcoplasmic reticulum. We have determined the following amino acid sequence for sarcolipin, using protein chemistry methods: M E R S T R E L C L N F T V V L I T V I L I W L L V R S Y Q Y. This 31-residue sequence includes a 19-residue hydrophobic segment which probably spans the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. The molecular weight calculated from the sequence, 3733, agrees with that measured by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, showing that sarcolipin contains no attached fatty acyl or other prosthetic groups.     

Amino acid sequence of alpha chain of sarcoplasmic calcium binding protein obtained from shrimp tail muscle

The isotypes of sarcoplasmic Ca2+ binding protein (SCP) were purified from shrimp tail muscle. SCP exists in a dimeric form. One sample of shrimp contained only alpha A chain, whereas another contained alpha B and beta chains, and a heterodimer of alpha B beta which was not analyzed precisely. The amino acid sequences of the two alpha chains were determined. The two alpha chains are composed of 190 and 192 amino acid residues, respectively. The sequences of the two alpha chains differed in only four amino acids out of 192 residues. The sequences indicate that the alpha chain has three Ca2+-binding sites which are common to EF-hand type Ca2+-binding protein. In the absence of added Ca2+ and Mg2+, the amounts of bound Ca2+ in alpha A, alpha B, and beta chains were 3.0, 3.3, and 2.4 mol/22,000 g protein, respectively. Thus, it is suggested that all three isotypes of shrimp SCP have three Ca2+-binding sites which have high affinity to Ca2+. The sequence homology of shrimp SCP with other EF-hand type Ca2+-binding proteins is very low. The protein having the greatest homology with this SCP was cod parvalbumin; the sequence homology is 18%.