Interaction of vitamin K dependent proteins with membranes

The membrane-binding characteristics of six vitamin K dependent plasma proteins, which have homologous amino acid sequences, were compared. All of these proteins display calcium-dependent membrane binding and the identified equilibria for protein-membrane binding are qualitatively the same for all proteins. Quantitative characteristics of these protein-membrane interactions allow organization into distinct subgroups. Protein C and factor VII form a subgroup which has extemely low affinity for bilayer membranes; prothrombin, factor X, and protein S form the tightest complexes with membranes and factor IX displays intermediate affinity. In the presence of manganese (which substitutes for calcium in a cation-dependent protein transition), calcium titration of protein-membrane binding shows the same calcium dependence for all proteins except prothrombin which requires lower calcium. These protein-membrane binding characteristics agree very well with the relatedness of these proteins based on their partial amino-terminal sequences.     

Distribution of the human intracellular serpin protease inhibitor 8 in human tissues.

Ovalbumin-like serine protease inhibitors are mainly localized intracellularly and their in vivo functions are largely unknown. To elucidate their physiological role(s), we studied the expression of one of these inhibitors, protease inhibitor 8 (PI-8), in normal human tissues by immunohistochemistry using a PI-8-specific monoclonal antibody. PI-8 was strongly expressed in the nuclei of squamous epithelium of mouth, pharynx, esophagus, and epidermis, and by the epithelial layer of skin appendages, particularly by more differentiated epithelial cells. PI-8 was also expressed by monocytes and by neuroendocrine cells in the pituitary gland, pancreas, and digestive tract. Monocytes showed nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of PI-8, whereas neuroendocrine cells showed only cytoplasmic staining. In vitro nuclear localization of PI-8 was confirmed by confocal analysis using serpin-transfected HeLa cells. Furthermore, mutation of the P(1) residue did not affect the subcellular distribution pattern of PI-8, indicating that its nuclear localization is independent of the interaction with its target protease. We conclude that PI-8 has a unique distribution pattern in human tissues compared to the distribution patterns of other intracellular serpins. Additional studies must be performed to elucidate its physiological role.     

Conserved intron positions in ancient protein modules

Background  

The timing of the origin of introns is of crucial importance for an understanding of early genome architecture. The Exon theory of genes proposed a role for introns in the formation of multi-exon proteins by exon shuffling and predicts the presence of conserved splice sites in ancient genes. In this study, large-scale analysis of potential conserved splice sites was performed using an intron-exon database (ExInt) derived from GenBank.     

Ovaries and phylogeny of dermapterans once more: Ovarian characters support paraphyly of Spongiphoridae

The Dermaptera is an insect order with ca. 2200 described species classified in 11 families. Interestingly, recent morphological and molecular data suggest that at least three dermapteran families (Diplatyidae, Pygidicranidae and Spongiphoridae) are paraphyletic. Here we present results of histological analyses of ovaries and ovarioles in two representatives of Spongiphoridae: Chaetospania borneensis and Irdex chapmani. We show that both the ovaries and ovarioles of studied species are morphologically disparate. The ovaries of C. borneensis consist of shortened ovarioles attached to elongated lateral oviducts and are apparently similar to the ovaries of the Eudermaptera. In contrast, I. chapmani share all the important ovarian characters with more basal taxa, i.e. Anisolabididae and Labiduridae. These findings lend additional support to the paraphyly of Spongiphoridae.