Primary structure and domain organization of human alpha and beta adducin

Adducin is a membrane-skeletal protein which is a candidate to promote assembly of a spectrin-actin network in erythrocytes and at sites of cell-cell contact in epithelial tissues. The complete sequence of both subunits of human adducin, alpha (737 amino acids), and beta (726 amino acids) has been deduced by analysis of the cDNAs. The two subunits have strikingly conserved amino acid sequences with 49% identity and 66% similarity, suggesting evolution by gene duplication. Each adducin subunit has three distinct domains: a 39-kD NH2-terminal globular protease-resistant domain, connected by a 9-kD domain to a 33-kD COOH- terminal protease-sensitive tail comprised almost entirely of hydrophilic amino acids. The tail is responsible for the high frictional ratio of adducin noted previously, and was visualized by EM. The head domains of both adducin subunits exhibit a limited sequence similarity with the NH2-terminal actin-binding motif present in members of the spectrin superfamily and actin gelation proteins. The COOH- termini of both subunits contain an identical, highly basic stretch of 22 amino acids with sequence similarity to the MARCKS protein. Predicted sites of phosphorylation by protein kinase C include the COOH- terminus and sites at the junction of the head and tail. Northern blot analysis of mRNA from rat tissues, K562 erythroleukemia cells and reticulocytes has shown that alpha adducin is expressed in all the tissues tested as a single message size of 4 kb. In contrast, beta adducin shows tissue specific variability in size of mRNA and level of expression. A striking divergence between alpha and beta mRNAs was noted in reticulocytes, where alpha adducin mRNA is present in at least 20-fold higher levels than that of beta adducin. The beta subunit thus is a candidate to perform a limiting role in assembly of functional adducin molecules.     

Full-length sequence of the cDNA for human erythroid beta-spectrin

Spectrin is the major molecular consituent of the red cell membrane skeleton. We have isolated overlapping human erythroid beta-spectrin cDNA clones and determined 6773 base pairs of contiguous nucleotide sequence. This includes the entire coding sequence of beta-spectrin. The sequence translates into a 2137 amino acid, 246-kDa peptide. beta-Spectrin is found to consist of three distinct domains. Domain I, at the N terminus, is a 272-amino acid region lacking resemblance to the spectrin repetitive motif. Sequences in this region exhibit striking sequence homology, at both nucleotide and amino acid levels, to the N-terminal "actin-binding" domains of alpha-actinin and dystrophin. Between residues 51 and 270 there is 55% amino acid identity to human dystrophin, with only four single amino acid gaps in alignment. Domain II consists of 17 spectrin repeats. Several sequence variations are observed in typical repeat structure. Homology to alpha-actinin extends beyond domain I into the N-terminal portion of domain II. Domain III, 52 amino acid residues at the C terminus, does not adhere to the spectrin repeat motif. Combining knowledge of spectrin primary structure with previously reported functional studies, it is possible to make several inferences regarding structure/function relationships within the beta-spectrin molecule.     

Cloning of two additional catecholamine receptors from rat brain

An approach based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to isolate additional members of the G-linked receptor family from a rat striatal lambda gtII cDNA library. Priming with one degenerate probe corresponding to highly conserved consensus sequences in the third transmembrane (TM) domain of 15 G-linked receptors and sequences in the phage vector resulted in one clone (G-13) encoding a dopamine D2 receptor variant with a 29 amino acid insert in the third cytoplasmic loop. In addition, the amino acid sequence encoded by clone G-36 contained conserved sequences characteristic of the G-linked class of receptors and displayed sequence homology in TM domains with the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (48%). Two conserved serine residues in TM5 postulated to be part of a ligand binding site in the adrenergic receptor, suggests that G-36 encodes a catecholaminergic receptor. Northern blot analysis confirmed the expression of G-36 in rat brain, but not in kidney, heart and lung. Several strong hybridizing bands to G-36 were obtained in both human and rat genomic DNA. The general PCR strategy employed here should prove to be extremely useful for the isolation of other members of the G-linked receptor family.     

Molecular cloning, complementary deoxyribonucleic acid structure and predicted full-length amino acid sequence of the hormone-inducible regulatory subunit of 3'-5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase from human testis

In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of a full-length cDNA clone for the hormone-inducible regulatory subunit RII beta (formerly called RII51) of type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase from a human testis cDNA library. The cloned cDNA demonstrated tissue-specific expression of RII beta mRNA in human tissues, with the highest mRNA levels in testis and ovary. The isolated human cDNA clone was 3.3 kilobases (kb) in length and contained 166 base pairs (bp) of G/C-rich 5'-noncoding sequence, an open reading frame of 1254 bp and an A/T-rich 3'-nontranslated region containing 1836 bp followed by an 89 nucleotide long poly(A)-tail. The predicted protein contains 418 amino acids including the start methionine, and the estimated mol wt of human RII beta is 53,856. The nucleotide sequence within the open reading frame and the predicted amino acid sequence of human RII beta are highly conserved compared with partial rat RII beta sequences, displaying 91% and 97% similarity, respectively. Codon preference analysis of the cloned cDNA sequence indicated that the two cAMP-binding domains and the hinge region are highly conserved through evolution, whereas the dimerization domain displayed a codon preference pattern indicative of appearance at a later stage of evolution. The isolated human cDNA detected an FSH- and cAMP-inducible mRNA of 3.2 kb in rat Sertoli cells, thus confirming that the cloned cDNA represents the hormone-inducible regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. This is the first report documenting the isolation of a full-length cDNA clone for the RII beta of cAMP-dependent protein kinase.     

A beta-spectrin isoform from Drosophila (beta H) is similar in size to vertebrate dystrophin

Spectrins are a major component of the membrane skeleton in many cell types where they are thought to contribute to cell form and membrane organization. Diversity among spectrin isoforms, especially their beta subunits, is associated with diversity in cell shape and membrane architecture. Here we describe a spectrin isoform from Drosophila that consists of a conventional alpha spectrin subunit complexed with a novel high molecular weight beta subunit (430 kD) that we term beta H. The native alpha beta H molecule binds actin filaments with high affinity and has a typical spectrin morphology except that it is longer than most other spectrin isoforms and includes two knoblike structures that are attributed to a unique domain of the beta H subunit. Beta H is encoded by a different gene than the previously described Drosophila beta-spectrin subunit but shows sequence similarity to beta-spectrin as well as vertebrate dystrophin, a component of the membrane skeleton in muscle. By size and sequence similarity, dystrophin is more similar to this newly described beta-spectrin isoform (beta H) than to other members of the spectrin gene family such as alpha-spectrin and alpha- actinin.     

Avian lens spectrin: subunit composition compared with erythrocyte and brain spectrin

Chicken lens spectrin is composed predominantly of equimolar amounts of two polypeptides with solubility properties similar, but not identical, to erythrocyte spectrin. The larger polypeptide, Mr 240,000 (lens alpha-spectrin), co-migrates with erythrocyte and brain alpha-spectrin on one- and two-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gels and cross-reacts with antibodies specific for chicken erythrocyte alpha-spectrin; the smaller polypeptide, Mr 235,000 (lens gamma-spectrin), co-migrates with brain gamma-spectrin and does not cross-react with either the alpha-spectrin antibodies specific for chicken erythrocyte beta-spectrin. Minor amounts of polypeptides antigenically related to erythrocyte beta-spectrin with a greater electrophoretic mobility than lens gamma-spectrin are also detected in lens. The equimolar ratio of lens alpha- and gamma-spectrin is invariantly maintained during the extraction of lens plasma membranes under different conditions, or after immunoprecipitation of whole extracts of lens with erythrocyte alpha-spectrin antibodies. Two-dimensional peptide mapping reveals that whereas alpha-spectrins from chicken erythrocytes, brain, and lens are highly homologous, the gamma-spectrins, although related, have some cell-type-specific peptides and are substantially different from erythrocyte beta-spectrin. Thus, the expression of cell-type-specific gamma- and beta-spectrins may be the basis for the assembly of a spectrin-plasma membrane complex whose molecular composition is tailored to the functional requirements of the particular cell-type.     

Phosphatidylserine binding sites in erythroid spectrin: location and implications for membrane stability

The erythrocyte membrane is a composite structure consisting of a lipid bilayer tethered to the spectrin-based membrane skeleton. Two complexes of spectrin with other proteins are known to participate in the attachment. Spectrin has also been shown to interact with phosphatidylserine (PS), a component of the lipid bilayer, which is confined to its inner leaflet. That there may be multiple sites of interaction with PS in the spectrin sequence has been inferred, but they have not hitherto been identified. Here we have explored the interaction of PS-containing liposomes with native alpha- and beta-spectrin chains and with recombinant spectrin fragments encompassing the entire sequences of both chains. We show that both alpha-spectrin and beta-spectrin bind PS and that sites of high affinity are located within 8 of the 38 triple-helical structural repeats which make up the bulk of both chains; these are alpha8, alpha9-10, beta2, beta3, beta4, beta12, beta13, and beta14, and PS affinity was also found in the nonhomologous N-terminal domain of the beta-chain. No other fragments of either chain showed appreciable binding. Binding of spectrin and its constituent chains to mixed liposomes of PS and phosphatidylcholine (PC) depended on the proportion of PS. Binding of spectrin dimers to PS liposomes was inhibited by single repeats containing PS binding sites. It is noteworthy that the PS binding sites in beta-spectrin are grouped in close proximity to the sites of attachment both of ankyrin and of 4.1R, the proteins engaged in attachment of spectrin to the membrane. We conjecture that direct interaction of spectrin with PS in the membrane may modulate its interactions with the proteins and that (considering also the known affinity of 4.1R for PS) the formation of PS-rich lipid domains, which have been observed in the red cell membrane, may be a result.     

High-efficiency utilization of the bovine integrin alpha(v)beta(3) as a receptor for foot-and-mouth disease virus is dependent on the bovine beta(3) subunit

We have previously reported that Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), which is virulent for cattle and swine, can utilize the integrin alpha(v)beta(3) as a receptor on cultured cells. Since those studies were performed with the human integrin, we have molecularly cloned the bovine homolog of the integrin alpha(v)beta(3) and have compared the two receptors for utilization by FMDV. Both the alpha(v) and beta(3) subunits of the bovine integrin have high degrees of amino acid sequence similarity to their corresponding human subunits in the ectodomains (96%) and essentially identical transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. Within the putative ligand-binding domains, the bovine and human alpha(v) subunits have a 98.8% amino acid sequence similarity while there is only a 93% similarity between the beta(3) subunits of these two species. COS cell cultures, which are not susceptible to FMDV infection, become susceptible if cotransfected with alpha(v) and beta(3) subunit cDNAs from a bovine or human source. Cultures cotransfected with the bovine alpha(v)beta(3) subunit cDNAs and infected with FMDV synthesize greater amounts of viral proteins than do infected cultures cotransfected with the human integrin subunits. Cells cotransfected with a bovine alpha(v) subunit and a human beta(3) subunit synthesize viral proteins at levels equivalent to those in cells expressing both human subunits. However, cells cotransfected with the human alpha(v) and the bovine beta(3) subunits synthesize amounts of viral proteins equivalent to those in cells expressing both bovine subunits, indicating that the bovine beta(3) subunit is responsible for the increased effectiveness of this receptor. By engineering chimeric bovine-human beta(3) subunits, we have shown that this increase in receptor efficiency is due to sequences encoding the C-terminal one-third of the subunit ectodomain, which contains a highly structured cysteine-rich repeat region. We postulate that amino acid sequence differences within this region may be responsible for structural differences between the human and bovine beta(3) subunit, leading to more efficient utilization of the bovine receptor by this bovine pathogen.     

Kirrel2, a novel immunoglobulin superfamily gene expressed primarily in beta cells of the pancreatic islets

A novel immunoglobulin superfamily (Igsf) protein gene was discovered by computational analysis of human draft genomic DNA, and multiple cDNA clones were obtained. The protein encoded by this gene contains five Ig domains, one transmembrane domain, and an intracellular domain. It has significant similarity with several known Igsf proteins, including Drosophila RST (irregular chiasm C-roughest) protein and mammalian KIRREL (kin of irregular chiasm C-roughest), NEPH1, and NPHS1 (nephrin) proteins. All these proteins have multiple Ig domains, possess properties of cell adhesion molecules, and play important roles in organ development. RT-PCR and Northern blot results indicate this gene is predominantly expressed in pancreas, and public sequence databases indicate there is also expression in the nervous system. We have named this gene Kirrel2 (kin of irregular chiasm-like 2), to reflect its similarity to irregular chiasm C-roughest and Kirrel. Four splice forms of Kirrel2 were observed, including two that we cloned from pancreas mRNA as well as two GenBank entries, one from the brain and one from a retinoblastoma cell line. A partial cDNA clone of the mouse orthologue was obtained by RT-PCR from mouse brain, and the inferred protein sequence has 85% sequence identity to the human protein. Immunohistochemical staining results indicate that the KIRREL2 protein is conserved from rodents to primates, and it is highly expressed in pancreatic islets. RT-PCR results on mouse pancreatic cell lines indicate that expression in the pancreas is restricted to beta cells. Thus, KIRREL2 protein is a beta-cell-expressed Ig domain protein and may be involved in pancreas development or beta cell function.     

An extended family of protein-tyrosine kinase genes differentially expressed in the vertebrate nervous system

We have used PCR to identify 13 novel protein-tyrosine kinase genes (tyro-1 to -13), six of which (tyro-1 to -6) are preferentially expressed in the developing vertebrate nervous system. The tyro-2 and tyro-9 genes encode kinase domains that exhibit strong amino acid sequence similarity to the equivalent regions of the receptors for EGF and FGF, respectively, and may encode novel receptors for these or related polypeptide ligands. The tyro-1 to -6 genes are all expressed during central nervous system neurogenesis and exhibit distinct and highly regionalized patterns of expression in the adult brain. Together with recent studies in invertebrates, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that protein-tyrosine kinases play a central role in neural development.     

Identification of a putative isoform of the Na,K-ATPase beta subunit. Primary structure and tissue-specific expression

We have isolated cDNA clones from rat brain and human liver encoding a putative isoform of the Na,K-ATPase beta subunit. The rat brain cDNA contains an open reading frame of 870 nucleotides coding for a protein of 290 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 33,412. The corresponding amino acid sequence shows 98% identity with its human liver counterpart. The proteins encoded by the rat and human cDNAs exhibit a high degree of primary sequence and secondary structure similarity with the rat Na,K-ATPase beta subunit. We have therefore termed the polypeptides these cDNAs encode a beta 2 subunit with the previously characterized rat cDNA encoding a beta 1 subunit. Analysis of rat tissue RNA reveals that the beta 2 subunit gene encodes a 3.4-kilobase mRNA which is expressed in a tissue specific fashion distinct from that of rat beta 1 subunit mRNA. Cell lines derived from the rat central nervous system shown to lack beta 1 subunit mRNA sequences were found to express beta 2 subunit mRNA. These results suggest that different members of the Na,K-ATPase beta subunit family may have specialized functions.     

Genetic relatedness of human DNA polymerase beta and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase

The Protein Identification Resource (PIR) protein sequence data bank was searched for sequence similarity between known proteins and human DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta) or human terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT). Pol beta and TdT were found to exhibit amino acid sequence similarity only with each other and not with any other of the 4750 entries in release 12.0 of the PIR data bank. Optimal amino acid sequence alignment of the entire 39-kDa Pol beta polypeptide with the C-terminal two thirds of TdT revealed 24% identical aa residues and 21% conservative aa substitutions. The Monte Carlo score of 12.6 for the entire aligned sequences indicates highly significant aa sequence homology. The hydropathicity profiles of the aligned aa sequences were remarkably similar throughout, suggesting structural similarity of the polypeptides. The most significant regions of homology are aa residues 39-224 and 311-333 of Pol beta vs. aa residues 191-374 and 484-506 of TdT. In addition, weaker homology was seen between a large portion of the 'nonessential' N-terminal end of TdT (aa residues 33-130) and the first region of strong homology between the two proteins (aa residues 31-128 of Pol beta and aa residues 183-280 of TdT), suggestive of genetic duplication within the ancestral gene. On the basis of nucleotide differences between conserved regions of Pol beta and TdT genes (aligned according to optimally aligned aa sequences) it was estimated that Pol beta and TdT diverged on the order of 250 million years ago, corresponding roughly to a time before radiation of mammals and birds.     

Purification and partial characterization of a lectin from Canavalia grandiflora benth. seeds

A D-glucose/D-mannose specific lectin from seeds of Canavalia grandiflora (ConGF) was purified by affinity chromatography on Sephadex G-50. By SDS-PAGE ConGF yielded three protein bands with apparent molecular masses of 29-30 kDa (alpha chain), 16-18 kDa (beta fragment) and 12-13 kDa (gamma fragment), like other related lectins from the genus Canavalia (Leguminosae). ConGF strongly agglutinates rabbit erythrocytes, has a high content of ASP and SER, and its N-terminal sequence (30 residues) is highly similar to the sequences of other related lectins from subtribe Diocleinae.     

A human beta-spectrin gene promoter directs high level expression in erythroid but not muscle or neural cells

beta-Spectrin is an erythrocyte membrane protein that is defective in many patients with abnormalities of red blood cell shape including hereditary spherocytosis and elliptocytosis. It is expressed not only in erythroid tissues but also in muscle and brain. We wished to determine the regulatory elements that determine the tissue-specific expression of the beta-spectrin gene. We mapped the 5'-end of the beta-spectrin erythroid cDNA and cloned the 5'-flanking genomic DNA containing the putative beta-spectrin gene promoter. Using transfection of promoter/reporter plasmids in human tissue culture cell lines, in vitro DNase I footprinting analyses, and gel mobility shift assays, a beta-spectrin gene erythroid promoter with two binding sites for GATA-1 and one site for CACCC-related proteins was identified. All three binding sites were required for full promoter activity; one of the GATA-1 motifs and the CACCC-binding motif were essential for activity. The beta-spectrin gene promoter was able to be transactivated in heterologous cells by forced expression of GATA-1. In transgenic mice, a reporter gene directed by the beta-spectrin promoter was expressed in erythroid tissues at all stages of development. Only weak expression of the reporter gene was detected in muscle and brain tissue, suggesting that additional regulatory elements are required for high level expression of the beta-spectrin gene in these tissues.     

Analysis of the size of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene family: isolation and sequencing of N-terminal domain exons

Five members of the human CEA gene family [human pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PS beta G); hsCGM1, 2, 3 and 4] have been isolated and identified through sequencing the exons containing their N-terminal domains. Sequence comparisons with published data for CEA and related molecules reveal the existence of highly-conserved gene subgroups within the CEA family. Together with published data eleven CEA family members have so far been determined. Apart from the highly conserved coding sequences, these genes also show strong sequence conservation in their introns, indicating a duplication of whole gene units during the evolution of the CEA gene family.     

RNA-binding protein-related sequence in a malaria antigen, clustered-asparagine-rich protein

Members of the RNA-binding protein superfamily contain RNA binding domains of about 90 amino acids with a highly conserved motif 'GFGF'. Using the conserved motif with some variations G-(F/Y)-(G/A)-(F/Y)-(V/I)-X-(F/Y) as a probe, we screened protein sequences carrying identical amino acids in an NBRF-protein database. It has been found that the C-terminal portion of clustered asparagine-rich protein (CARP), a malaria antigen from Plasmodium falciparum, shows an unexpected sequence similarity with the RNA-binding protein superfamily for the C-terminal half of the RNA-binding domain. Dot matrix comparisons and alignment of these sequences as well as a statistical test have revealed highly significant sequence similarities. From these analyses, we conclude that the malaria antigen CARP belongs to a large family of the RNA-binding proteins. An evolutionary implication of the sequence similarity was also discussed.