Calcium-binding proteins in the vorticellid spasmoneme

The proteins of the contractile spasmoneme from Vorticella convallaria, Carcheslium polypinum, and Zoothamnium geniculatum have been extracted in the detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), as well as urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GuCl). After SDS extraction, the molecular weight distribution of the proteins was examined by means of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Significant amounts of material corresponding to the contractile proteins actin and tubulin are not present. The contractile organelles in the three species examined contain a group of closely related proteins of molecular weight near 20,000, which constitute a major part (40-60%) of the dry mass. The 20,000 mol wt proteins in Zoothamnium bind calcium with high affinity (pK congruent to 6) and are termed "spasmins." By means of urea polyacrylamide gel electrophorsis, it is demonstrated that in Carchesium and Zoothamnium certain spasmin components bind calcium even in the presence of 6 M urea. The binding of calcium in 6 M urea suggests a functional relationship between the spasmins and the calcium-binding proteins of striated muscle which behave similarly. The calcium binding in urea also indicates that the spasmins within a single spasmoneme have different calcium affinities, and this difference in calcium-binding properties may be an important factor in the physiological function of the organelle.     

Spasmin and a Putative Spasmin Binding Protein(s) Isolated from Solubilized Spasmonemes1

ABSTRACT The amino acid composition and hydrophobicity scale (hydropathy) of calcium-binding proteins contained in the contractile spasmoneme of Carchesium polypinum was compared with other calcium-binding proteins from eukaryotes. Spasmins which may hind at most 4 calcium ions simultaneously and initiate spasmoneme contraction cooperatively belong to a super family of proteins including; centrin/caltractin and calmodulin. Based on chemical modification of tryptophan and methionine, these residues are involved in contraction but the spasmin proteins contain little or none of these amino acids. Based on this evidence, it is suggested that another, non-calcium binding protein(s) is involved in spasmoneme contraction.     

Novel nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins detected by anti-Zoothamnium arbuscula (Protozoa) spasmin 1 antibody in mammalian cells are dependent on the cell cycle

Spasmin is a calcium-binding protein that is the major component of calcium-induced contractile filaments, called spasmoneme, found in vorticellid ciliates. Such filaments have not been observed in any organisms other than green algae. To determine whether calcium-induced contractile filaments resembling spasmoneme are present in higher eukaryotes, we performed immunofluorescence imaging of an anti-Zoothamnium arbuscula (protozoa, ciliophora) spasmin 1 polyclonal antibody in HeLa cells. In the cytoplasm, ubiquitous antigens seemed to be co-localized with microtubules at interphase, but not throughout mitosis. In the nucleus, areas linked to the nuclear envelope contained a number of hot spots. These regions were unclear during condensation of the replicated chromosomes, but became clearly visible again at cytokinesis. Immunoblotting analysis identified localized antigens during different phases of the cell cycle, including a 68/71 kDa cytoplasmic protein and a 55 kDa nuclear protein in interphase, and a 55/70 kDa protein in mitosis. The anti-spasmin 1 antibody recognized antigens in both hamster kidney BHK21 cells and Human lung cancer A-549 cells. These results suggest that novel spasmin-like proteins could be common in mammalian cells.     

Improved preparation and cooperative calcium contraction of glycerinated Vorticella.

An improved method for the preparation of glycerinated Vorticella convallaria was investigated. The pretreatment of living vorticellas with a medium containing 0.1% saponins and subsequent treatment with an extraction medium containing 35% glycerol at about 0 degrees C was satisfactory. The equilibrium average length of contractile stalks of glycerinated vorticellas was measured at various free calcium concentrations in the reaction medium. It was found that the contractile element in the spasmoneme of the stalk is contracted by a cooperative interaction involving at least two calcium ions.     

Chemical modification of glycerinated stalks shows tyrosine residues essential for spasmoneme contraction of Vorticella sp

Chemical modification of glycerinated stalks of Vorticella with TNM is used to investigate the role of tyrosine residues in the Ca(2+)-induced contraction of the spasmoneme. Tetranitromethane (TNM) is often employed as a specific reagent for the nitration of tyrosine residues in a protein at neutral and slightly alkaline pHs although TNM can also oxidize cysteine residues in the acidic and neutral pH range. Prior incubation with Ca(2+) of stalks to be treated with TNM can protect the spasmoneme from irreversible denaturation. On the other hand, TNM treatment in the absence of free Ca(2+) causes an irreversible denaturation of the spasmoneme. It was revealed by us that an isolated Ca(2+)-binding protein called spasmin could not bind with Ca(2+) after TNM treatment, even if the treatment was performed in the presence of Ca(2+). In an additional experiment, we confirmed that the chemical modification of cysteine residues in the spasmoneme with N-7-dimethyl-amino-4methyl- coumarinyl- maleimide (DACM) has no effect on the contractibility. These results suggest that tyrosine residues in spasmin are essential for spasmoneme contraction and are protected from TNM in the presence of Ca(2+) when spasmin binds with its receptor protein in the spasmoneme.     

Identification and localization of a protein immunologically related to Caltractin (Centrin) in the Myonemes and Membranelles of the Heterotrich ciliate Stentor coeruleus

The contractile properties of the myonemes of Stentor are very similar to caltractin (centrin)-containing fibers of other organisms. We investigated whether the calcium-binding protein caltractin was present in Stentor by using three different antibodies to caltractin or caltractin-related proteins, in conjunction with immunofluorescence microscopy and protein blotting. Immunofluorescence demonstrated that a protein immunologically similar to caltractin is present in the myonemes and in the bases of the membranelles of Stentor. The localization to the myonemes is observed in intact cells, osmotically lysed cells, and isolated cortices. Double-label immunofluorescence with anti-alpha-tubulin and anti-caltractin antibodies showed that the fluorescence in the myonemes was not in the overlying Km fibers. The myonemes in the posterior one-third of the cell appear as thick fibers with no cross-bridging. They become thinner as they approach the anterior end of the cell and show extensive cross-bridging here. Staining in the bases of the membranelles shows a distinct comma-like immunofluorescence pattern similar to that seen with protargol-stained cells and SEM views of the membranellar band reported by others. Western blots demonstrated that the caltractin-like protein in Stentor has an apparent molecular weight of 23 kDa compared with the 20-kDa protein from Chlamydomonas and is a calcium-binding protein.     

Calretinin: a gene for a novel calcium-binding protein expressed principally in neurons [published erratum appears in J Cell Biol 1990 May;110(5):1845]

A novel gene of the calmodulin superfamily, encoding a 29-kD neuronal protein here named "calretinin," has been isolated as a cDNA clone from chick retina. The encoded sequence includes four putative calcium-binding sites and a fusion protein binds calcium. The most similar protein known is the 28-kD intestinal calcium-binding protein, calbindin (58% homology). Both genes date from before the divergence of chicks from mammals. The distribution of calretinin and calbindin mRNAs in chick tissues has been mapped using RNA gel blots and in situ hybridization. RNAs from both genes are abundant in the retina and in many areas of the brain, but calretinin RNA is absent from intestine and other nonneural tissues. Calretinin and calbindin are expressed in different sets of neurons throughout the brain. Calretinin RNA is particularly abundant in auditory neurons with precisely timed discharges.     

Rubber-like elasticity and volume changes in the isolated spasmoneme of giant Zoothamnium sp. under Ca2+-induced contraction.

Using glycerinated spasmoneme of giant Zoothamnium sp., the physical properties of spasmoneme before and after Ca2+-induced contraction (pCa 4.5) were investigated. The volume change of spasmoneme contraction was measured under zero tension. The length and diameter decreased by about 50% of their initial value as a result of contraction, which means that contraction is nearly isotropic. Thus the volume of spasmoneme decreased drastically by 86% of its original value. The swollen ratio of extended and contracted spasmoneme were 0.07 and 0.37, respectively. Tension-extension relationships of extended and contracted spasmonemes were measured. By applying the theory of rubber elasticity, the number of segments of a chain in originally extended spasmoneme was only 3.3, i.e., the chain was almost a straight one. On the other hand, the number of segments of a chain in contracted spasmoneme was more than 100, i.e., the chain was essentially a random one. Furthermore, the total number of chains in single spasmoneme was the same in extended and contracted spasmoneme. This means that the interchain cross-links of chains were not influenced by addition or removal of Ca2+. Moreover, the molecular weight of a chain is estimated to be at most about 50 kd. By considering all these results, it is concluded that the contractile mechanism of spasmoneme originates in the intramolecular folding and unfolding induced by Ca2+ binding and detaching.     

Mechanics of Vorticella Contraction

Vorticella convallaria is one of a class of fast-moving organisms that can traverse its body size in less than a millisecond by rapidly coiling a slender stalk anchoring it to a nearby surface. The stalk houses a fiber called the spasmoneme, which winds helically within the stalk and rapidly contracts in response to calcium signaling. We have developed a coupled mechanical-chemical model of the coiling process, accounting for the coiling of the elastic stalk and the binding of calcium to the protein spasmin. Simulations of the model describe the contraction and recovery processes quantitatively. The stalk-spasmoneme system is shown to satisfy geometric constraints, which explains why the cell body sometimes rotates during contraction. The shape of the collapsing and recovering stalk bounds its effective bending stiffness. Simulations suggest that recovery from the contracted state is driven by the stalk at a rate controlled by dissociation of calcium from spasmin.     

Secretory cell actin-binding proteins: identification of a gelsolin- like protein in chromaffin cells

Chromaffin cells, secretory cells of the adrenal medulla, have been shown to contain actin and other contractile proteins, which might be involved in the secretory process. Actin and Ca++-sensitive actin-binding proteins were purified from bovine adrenal medulla on affinity columns using DNase-I as a ligand. Buffers that contained decreasing Ca++ concentrations were used to elute three major proteins of 93, 91, and 85 kD. The bulk of the actin was eluted with guanidine-HCl buffer plus some 93- and 91-kD proteins. These Ca++-sensitive regulatory proteins were shown to inhibit the gelation of actin using the low-shear falling ball viscometer and by electron microscopy. Actin filaments were found to be shortened by fragmentation. Using antibody raised against rabbit lung macrophage gelsolin, proteolytic digestion with Staphylococcus V8 protease and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, the 91-kD actin-binding protein was shown to be a gelsolin-like protein. The 93-kD actin-binding protein also showed cross-reactivity with anti-gelsolin antibody, similar peptide maps, and a basic-shift in pHi indicating that this 93-kD protein is a brevin-like protein, derived from blood present abundantly in adrenal medulla. Purification from isolated chromaffin cells demonstrated the presence of 91- and 85-kD proteins, whereas the 93-kD protein was hardly detectable. The 85-kD protein is not a breakdown product of brevin-like or gelsolin-like proteins. It did not cross-react with anti-gelsolin antibody and showed a very different peptide map after mild digestion with V8 protease. Antibodies were raised against the 93- and 91-kD actin-binding proteins and the 85-kD actin-binding protein. Antibody against the 85-kD protein did not cross-react with 93- and 91-kD proteins and vice versa. In vivo, the cytoskeleton organization of chromaffin secretory cells is not known, but appears to be under the control of the intracellular concentration of free calcium. The ability of calcium to activate the gelsolin-like protein, and as shown elsewhere to alter fodrin localization, provides a mechanism for gel-sol transition that might be essential for granule movement and membrane-membrane interactions involved in the secretory process.     

The Nuclear Envelope of Amoeba proteus During Mitosis as Studied With a Monoclonal Antibody Against a Membrane-Associated Protein

. The behavior of nuclear envelopes during mitosis in Amoeba proteus was studied by means of indirect immunofluo-rescence staining using a monoclonal antibody against a 220-kD membrane-associated protein of amoebae in conjunction with DAPI staining of chromatin. The antibody selectively recognized antigens on nuclear envelopes during interphase but did not react with the nuclear membranes during mitosis until after cytokinesis had been completed. Thus, it appeared that the membrane-associated protein reacting with the monoclonal antibody and normally present on the nuclear membranes was absent from fragmented nuclear membranes or nuclear membranes that were continuous but did not have the honey-comb lamina. The findings suggested that the 220-kD nuclear-membrane protein may be involved in the dissolution and reformation of the honey-comb lamina during mitosis in amoebae.     

Molecular and Physiological Analysis of a Thylakoid K+ Channel Protein

Transport studies identified a K+ channel protein in preparations of purified spinach (Spinacea oleracea) thylakoid membrane. This protein was solubilized from native membranes and reconstituted into artificial proteoliposomes with maintenance of functional integrity. A 33-kD thylakoid polypeptide was identified as a putative component of this thylakoid protein. This identification was made using an antibody raised against a synthetic peptide representing a highly conserved region of K+ channel proteins. K+ channel activity co-migrated with the immunoreactive 33-kD polypeptide when solubilized thylakoid membrane protein was fractionated on a Suc density gradient. The antibody was used to immunoprecipitate the 33-kD polypeptide. Physiological function of this thylakoid membrane protein was elucidated by measuring photosynthetic electron transport of thylakoid preparations in the presence and absence of a K+ channel blocker. Results indicated that K+ efflux from the thylakoid lumen through this channel protein is required for the optimization of photosynthetic capacity. The effect this protein has on photosynthetic capacity is likely due to the requirement for K+ efflux from the thylakoid lumen to charge-balance light-induced proton pumping across this membrane.     

Purification and characterization of a basal body-associated Ca2+- binding protein

Isolated basal body complexes from the unicellular alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were found to contain a low molecular mass acidic polypeptide, distinct from calmodulin, but with biochemical features in common with members of the calmodulin family of calcium-binding proteins. These common characteristics included a relative low molecular mass of 20 kD, an experimentally determined acidic pI of 5.3, an altered electrophoretic mobility in SDS-polyacrylamide gels in the presence of added calcium, and a calcium-dependent binding to the hydrophobic ligand phenyl-Sepharose which allowed its purification by affinity chromatography. The relatedness of the basal body-associated 20-kD calcium-binding protein (CaBP) to calmodulin was confirmed by amino acid compositional analysis and partial peptide sequencing of the isolated protein. A rabbit antibody specific for the 20-kD CaBP was raised and used to determine by indirect immunofluorescence the cellular localization of the protein in Chlamydomonas cells. In interphase cells the antibody stained intensely the region between the paired basal bodies, two fibers extending between the basal bodies and the underlying nucleus, and an array of longitudinal filaments surrounding the nucleus. The two basal body-nuclear connecting fibers were identified in thin-section electron micrographs to be narrow striated fiber roots. In mitotic cells the 20-kD CaBP was specifically associated with the poles of the mitotic spindle at the sites of the duplicated basal body complexes.     

Localization of a centrin-like protein to higher plant plasmodesmata.

Antibodies against centrin, the ubiquitous calcium-binding contractile protein, recognized a 17 kDa protein in extracts of onion root tips and cauliflower florets. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, anti-centrin antibodies were localized to the developing cell plate of onion and cauliflower root tip cells. In cauliflower florets, these antibodies localized to the walls in a punctate manner, consistent with the distribution of plasmodesmata as shown by colocalization with callose. Anti-centrin antibodies were localized to plasmodesmata of onion root tips and cauliflower florets with immunogold electron microscopy. Furthermore, this label was concentrated around the necks of plasmodesmata. In contrast, an antibody against calmodulin, which is a closely related calcium-binding protein, did not label plasmodesmata. We propose that centrin is a component of calcium-sensitive contractile nanofilaments in the neck region of plasmodesmata and facilitates the calcium-induced regulation of intercellular transport.     

Genomic sequence of a calnexin homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana.

Calnexin is a membrane-bound protein of the ER in animal cells (Wada et al., 1991). It shows considerable similarity to the major calcium-sequestering protein of the ER lumen, calreticulin, with two calcium-binding regions--a high-affinity, low-capacity region in the ER lumen and a low-affinity, high-capacity region in the cytoplasm. The protein is postulated to act as a calcium-regulated chaperone during protein maturation (Ou et al., 1993). We have isolated a genomic sequence showing significant homology to the animal gene over the predicted coding sequence (Table I). A partial cDNA from Zea mays was isolated from an expression library made from 6-d coleoptiles (Clontech, Palo Alto, CA). The library was screened using a monoclonal antibody raised against a small number of microsomal proteins resulting from a partial purification of plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase (Briars et al., 1988). The partial cDNA showed sequence homology to the calcium-binding region common to calreticulin and calnexin. The fragment was used to screen a genomic library constructed from Arabidopsis thaliana (cv Larasbonerecta), and a 15-kb fragment was isolated and subcloned and the relevant subfragments were sequenced. The coding region contains five introns, two in the N-terminal region and three in the C-terminal region. The predicted amino acid sequence shows a high level of homology with the animal calnexin, although the terminal highly acidic calcium-binding region is shorter. A cDNA for a putative homolog of calnexin was isolated from A. thaliana (cv Columbia) by Huang et al.(1993); our coding sequence shows 85% identity and 92% similarity determined by FASTA (Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group package); however, the differences are greater than would be expected between cultivars of the same species. A Southern blot probed with DNA from the central calcium-binding region shows multiple bands. This, combined with the sequence heterogeneity, suggests that calnexin belongs to a family of related genes.     

The transmembrane signaling pathway involved in directed movements of Chlamydomonas flagellar membrane glycoproteins involves the dephosphorylation of a 60-kD phosphoprotein that binds to the major flagellar membrane glycoprotein

Cross-linking of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagellar membrane glycoproteins results in the directed movements of these glycoproteins within the plane of the flagellar membrane. Three carbohydrate-binding reagents (FMG-1 monoclonal antibody, FMG-3 monoclonal antibody, concanvalin A) that induce flagellar membrane glycoprotein crosslinking and redistribution also induce the specific dephosphorylation of a 60- kD (pI 4.8-5.0) flagellar phosphoprotein (pp60) that is phosphorylated in vivo on serine. Ethanol treatment of live cells induces a similar specific dephosphorylation of pp60. Affinity adsorption of flagellar 32P-labeled membrane-matrix extracts with the FMG-1 monoclonal antibody and concanavalin A demonstrates that pp60 binds to the 350-kD class of flagellar membrane glycoproteins recognized by the FMG-1 monoclonal antibody. In vitro, protein phosphatase 2B (calcineurin) removes 60% of the 32P from pp60; this correlates well with previous observations that directed flagellar glycoprotein movements are dependent on micromolar calcium in the medium and are inhibited by calcium channel blockers and calmodulin antagonists. The data reported here are consistent with the dephosphorylation of pp60 being a step in the signaling pathway that couples flagellar membrane glycoprotein cross-linking to the directed movements of flagellar membrane glycoproteins.     

Contractility and its Control in Peritrich Ciliates*†

A review of the recent literature on the structure and physico-chemical properties of the myoneme and its specialization, the spasmoneme, of peritrich ciliates was made. Myonemes are composed of tightly packed bundles of 3–5 nm microfibrils which parallel, more or less, the long axis of the bundle and are of indefinite length. The presence of contractility in these ciliates is correlated with the presence of myonemes. Associated with the microfibrils is a system of membrane-bound tubules and saccules continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This system is known to accumulate calcium. Myonemes differ from muscles in their structure, solubility properties, birefringence pattern, and in the time during the contraction-relaxation cycle at which they require energy. They may be related more closely to the cytochalasin B-sensitive microfibrils of higher organisms than to muscles. Contraction of extracted stalks can be induced solely by raising the calcium ion concentration above a certain threshold. Thus the calcium-accumulating myoneme-associated ER would appear to play an important role in the control of myoneme contractility. A specialization at the interface between the myoneme and the ER membranes is described as it appears in Vorticella and Opercularia. This structure, called a linkage complex, is found both in the body myonemes and the spasmoneme and links the membranes of the ER to the microfibrils. It also has microfilaments that pass from the ER-myoneme interface to the surface membranes. The uniqueness of this structure and its location suggests that it may play a role in controlling the movements of calcium between the ER and myoneme and also in transmission of messages from the pellicular membranes, possibly the alveolar sacs, to the ER.