Primary structure of a protein isolated from reef shark (Carcharhinus springeri) cartilage that is similar to the mammalian C-type lectin homolog, tetranectin. |
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Authors: | P. J. Neame C. N. Young J. T. Treep |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa 33620. |
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Abstract: | During the course of characterization of low molecular weight proteins in cartilage, we have isolated a protein from reef shark (Carcharhinus springeri) cartilage that bears a striking resemblance to the tetranectin monomer originally described by Clemmensen et al. (1986, Eur. J. Biochem. 156, 327-333). The protein was isolated by extraction of neural arch cartilage with 4 M guanidine hydrochloride, dialysis of the extract to bring the guanidine to 0.4 M (reassociating proteoglycan aggregates), followed by cesium chloride density gradient removal of the proteoglycans. The amino acid sequence had 166 amino acids and a calculated molecular weight of 18,430. The shark protein was 45% identical to human tetranectin, indicating that it was in the family of mammalian C-type lectins and that it was likely to be a shark analog of human tetranectin. The function of tetranectin is unknown; it was originally isolated by virtue of its affinity for the kringle-4 domain of plasminogen. Sequence comparison of human tetranectin and the shark-derived protein gives clues to potentially important regions of the molecule. |
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Keywords: | cartilage lectin sequence shark |
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