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G Wiche

Publications and source records attributed to G Wiche.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Basic amino acid residue cluster within nuclear targeting sequence motif is essential for cytoplasmic plectin-vimentin network junctions.

We have generated a series of plectin deletion and mutagenized cDNA constructs to dissect the functional sequences that mediate plectin's interaction with intermediate filament (IF) networks, and scored their ability to coalign or disrupt intermediate filaments when ectopically expressed in rat kangaroo PtK2 cells. We show that a stretch of approximately 50 amino acid residues within plectin's carboxy-terminal repeat 5 domain serves as a unique binding site for both vimentin and cytokeratin IF networks of PtK2 cells. Part of the IF-binding domain was found to constitute a functional nuclear localization signal (NLS) motif, as demonstrated by nuclear import of cytoplasmic proteins linked to this sequence. Site directed mutagenesis revealed a specific cluster of four basic amino acid residues (arg4277-arg4280) residing within the NLS sequence motif to be essential for IF binding. When mutant proteins corresponding to those expressed in PtK2 cells were expressed in bacteria and purified proteins subjected to a sensitive quantitative overlay binding assay using Eu3+-labeled vimentin, the relative binding capacities of mutant proteins measured were fully consistent with the mutant's phenotypes observed in living cells. Using recombinant proteins we also show by negative staining and rotary shadowing electron microscopy that in vitro assembled vimentin intermediate filaments become packed into dense aggregates upon incubation with plectin repeat 5 domain, in contrast to repeat 4 domain or a mutated repeat 5 domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

M-phase-specific phosphorylation and structural rearrangement of the cytoplasmic cross-linking protein plectin involve p34cdc2 kinase.

Plectin, a widespread and abundant cytoskeletal cross-linking protein, serves as a target for protein kinases throughout the cell cycle, without any significant variation in overall phosphorylation level. One of the various phosphorylation sites of the molecule was found to be phosphorylated preferentially during mitosis. By in vivo phosphorylation of ectopically expressed plectin domains in stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells, this site was mapped to the C-terminal repeat 6 domain of the polypeptide. The same site has been identified as an in vitro target for p34cdc2 kinase. Mitosis-specific phosphorylation of plectin was accompanied by a rearrangement of plectin structures, changing from a filamentous, largely vimentin-associated state in interphase to a diffuse vimentin-independent distribution in mitosis as visualized by immunofluorescence microscopy. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that in interphase cells up to 80% of cellular plectin was found associated with an insoluble cell fraction mostly consisting of intermediate filaments, while during mitosis the majority of plectin (> 75%) became soluble. Furthermore, phosphorylation of purified plectin by p34cdc2 kinase decreased plectin's ability to interact with preassembled vimentin filaments in vitro. Together, our data suggest that a mitosis-specific phosphorylation involving p34cdc2 kinase regulates plectin's cross-linking activities and association with intermediate filaments during the cell cycle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Perinuclear distribution of plectin characterizes visceral epithelial cells of rat glomeruli.

Plectin is an intermediate-filament-associated protein identified over a wide range of tissue and cell types. The distribution of this protein in glomerular visceral epithelial cells (VECs) during the differentiation and growth of rat kidneys was studied in comparison with that of vimentin. By immunofluorescence microscopy, preferential localization of these two cytomatrix elements was different, although both were observed in the cell body and primary processes of VECs. Strong staining of plectin was always found in the perinuclear region of the VEC body in kidneys of young and adult rat, but vimentin stained distinctly only in the primary processes of young rats yet in both cell bodies and primary processes of the adults. This perinuclear staining was unique to VECs, that is, was absent from other cells. In the neonatal kidney, plectin staining during differentiation of VECs changed from weak and diffuse throughout the cytoplasm in the S-shaped body to prominently perinuclear in the maturing stage. However, after the differentiation of VECs, the staining intensity of plectin did not change further. In contrast, that of vimentin increased conspicuously in parallel with the growth of VECs rather than at differentiation. After a long period of culture and during aminonucleoside nephrosis, situations when VECs lose differentiated phenotypes, most of the cells had no perinuclear plectin. These findings indicate that the perinuclear distribution of plectin may play an important role in the differentiation of VECs.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Cytoskeleton architecture of C6 rat glioma cell subclones whole mount electron microscopy and immunogold labeling.

Whole mount electron microscopy of extracted cells combined with immunogold labeling techniques can be used to characterize the cytoskeletal architecture of cultured cells. As shown with subclones of the C6 rat glioma cell line, heavy metal shadowing was suitable for getting basic information concerning the arrangement of the various filament types within the networks. Pure carbon shadowing combined with immunogold double labeling proved to be optimal to identify linkages between filaments, to localize filament associated proteins and to follow the arrangement of filaments in dense arrays such as lamellipodiae and cell margins. Thin connecting filaments which interact with actin as well as with vimentin filaments and can be labeled with antibodies to the intermediate filament associated protein plectin may play a major role in the structural organization of the cytoskeleton of these cells.

Actins↗
PubMed1994

Distribution of plectin, an intermediate filament-associated protein, in the adult rat central nervous system.

Plectin is a high molecular weight protein originally identified and characterized as a major cytoskeletal component of the C6 rat glioma cell. Here we demonstrate by immunoblotting of crude intermediate filament (IF) protein preparations that plectin is a cytoskeleton-associated component of the rat spinal cord. We then used avidin-biotin peroxidase immunocytochemistry and indirect immunofluorescence to localize plectin within the adult rat central nervous system (CNS) and examine its distribution with respect to IF proteins. Plectin immunoreactivity is localized to all ependymal cells including the choroidal epithelial cells and tanycytes, Bergmann glial processes, radially oriented glial cells in the spinal cord, astrocytes in white matter, a subset of astrocytes in gray matter, a subset of motoneurons in the brainstem and spinal cord, and certain endothelial cells. Colocalization studies with neural IF proteins show that plectin has a unique distribution pattern which most closely resembles, but is distinct from, that of vimentin. The few plectin positive neurons invariably also contain the neurofilament triplet proteins and peripherin, so that the ability of plectin to bind to the triplet proteins in vitro may reflect an in vivo interaction. The predominance of plectin at the inner ventricular boundaries of the nervous system as well as at the blood-brain barrier is in line with the pattern of plectin expression in other tissues and suggests a general role for plectin in the maintenance of such junctional regions.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A panel of monoclonal antibodies to rat plectin: distinction by epitope mapping and immunoreactivity with different tissues and cell lines.

A panel of twelve monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to plectin was analyzed to localize molecular epitopes and assess their utility for various immunotechniques. Based on staining patterns obtained by immunoblotting of proteolytic plectin fragments five groups of mAbs with spatially closely linked epitopes were distinguished. In combination with previous results obtained with recombinant mutant proteins, the epitopes of all mAbs could be shown to reside within three separated domains of plectin's rod domain. Immunoblot analyses of several different rat tissues and a number of cultured cell lines derived from various species, including rat, hamster, cow, mouse and man, revealed considerable variations in immunoreactivity of antibodies. Differences in mAb immunoreactivities were also revealed by immunofluorescence microscopy of different tissues and cultured cell lines. One third of the mAbs examined produced staining patterns that were indistinguishable from those generated by conventional rabbit antisera, confirming the widespread and highly divers cellular localization of plectin previously reported. Microinjection of several monoclonal antibodies into Rat 1 cells had no detectable effects on the structure and organization of plectin arrays or of other cytoskeletal filaments. This new collection of mAbs provides a more reliable tool for histological studies than previously available antisera and should be useful for studies of tissue and cell type specific functions of plectin domains in vivo and in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Expression of plectin mutant cDNA in cultured cells indicates a role of COOH-terminal domain in intermediate filament association.

Plectin is an intermediate filament (IF) binding protein of exceptionally large size. Its molecular structure, revealed by EM and predicted by its sequence, indicates an NH2-terminal globular domain, a long rodlike central domain, and a globular COOH-terminal domain containing six highly homologous repeat regions. To examine the role of the various domains in mediating plectin's interaction with IFs, we have constructed rat cDNAs encoding truncated plectin mutants under the control of the SV-40 promoter. Mutant proteins expressed in mammalian COS and PtK2 cells could be distinguished from endogenous wild type plectin by virtue of a short carboxy-terminal antigenic peptide (P tag). As shown by conventional and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, the transient expression of plectin mutants containing all six or the last four of the repeat regions of the COOH-terminus, or the COOH-terminus and the rod, associated with IF networks of both the vimentin and the cytokeratin type and eventually caused their collapse into perinuclear aggregates. Similar effects were observed upon expression of a protein encoded by a full length cDNA construct. Microtubules and microfilaments were unaffected. Unexpectedly, mutants containing the rod without any of the COOH-terminal repeats, accumulated almost exclusively within the nuclei of cells. When the rod was extended by the first one and a half of the COOH-terminal repeats, mutant proteins showed a partial cytoplasmic distribution, although association with intermediate filaments was not observed. Nuclear and diffuse cytoplasmic distribution was also observed upon expression of the NH2-terminal domain without rod. These results indicate that sequences located roughly within the last two thirds of the globular COOH-terminus are indispensable for association of plectin with intermediate filaments in living cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Immunolocalization of the intermediate filament-associated protein plectin at focal contacts and actin stress fibers.

The distribution of plectin in the cytoplasm of Rat1 and glioma C6 cells was examined using a combination of double and triple immunofluorescence microscopy and interference reflection microscopy. In cells examined shortly after subcultivation (less than 48 h), filamentous networks of plectin structures, resembling and partially colocalizing with vimentin filaments, were observed as reported in previous studies. In cells kept attached to the substrate without growth for periods of 72 h to 8 days (stationary cultures), thick fibrillary plectin structures were observed. These structures were located at the end of actin filament bundles and showed co-distribution with adhesion plaques (focal contacts), vinculin, and vimentin. Only relatively large adhesion plaques (dash-like contacts) were decorated by antibodies to plectin, smaller dot-like contacts at the cell edges remained undecorated. Moreover, in stationary Rat1 cells plectin structures were found to be predominantly colocalized with actin stress fibers. However, after treatment of such cells with colcemid, plectin's distribution changed dramatically. The protein was no longer associated with actin structures, but was distributed diffusely throughout the cytoplasm. After a similar treatment with cytochalasin B, plectin's association with stress fibers again was completely abolished, although stress fibers were still present. The association of plectin with focal contact-associated intermediate filaments was demonstrated also by immunogold electron microscopy of quick-frozen, deep-etched replicas of rat embryo fibroblasts. These data confirm previous reports suggesting a relationship between intermediate filaments on the one hand, and actin stress fibers and their associated plasma membrane junctional complexes, on the other. Furthermore, the data establish plectin as a novel component of focal contact complexes and suggest that plectin plays a role as mediator between intermediate filaments and actin filaments.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Identification of two distinct microtubule binding domains on recombinant rat MAP 1B.

A set of partially overlapping cDNA clones covering 9 kb of continuous sequence encoding the high molecular weight microtubule-associated protein (MAP) 1B, was isolated from a rat brain library in lambda gt11. The protein encoded was immunoreactive with monoclonal antibodies raised against calf MAP 1B, rat MAP 1X, and rat MAP 5, as shown by immunoblotting. Using Northern blot analysis, it was shown that the level of MAP 1B mRNA increased dramatically upon nerve growth factor-induced PC12 cell differentiation. The expression of polypeptides encoded by cDNA constructs, in conjunction with microtubule binding assays, revealed two separate microtubule binding domains, corresponding to sequences at the 5' and 3' end of the mRNA. As shown by DNA sequencing, the binding domain encoded by 5' terminal sequences consisted of the basic repeat motif KKEE(I/V), previously identified in mouse MAP 1B (Noble, M., S. A. Lewis, N. J. Cowan, J. Cell Biol. 109, 3367-3376 (1989)). The second binding domain, too, was found to be basic, but without any apparent repeat structure. It is concluded that single proteolytically unprocessed MAP 1B molecules would have the potential to function as microtubule cross-linkers.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Protein kinase A- and protein kinase C-regulated interaction of plectin with lamin B and vimentin.

Solid-phase binding assays with protein species purified from cultured rat glioma C6 cells and Ehrlich ascites revealed that plectin bound specifically to lamin B but not to lamins A and C. Lamin B interaction was significantly decreased upon in vitro phosphorylation of either lamin B or plectin with protein kinase A or C. In contrast, phosphorylation of plectin with kinase A increased its binding to vimentin, suggesting a different regulation of plectin interactions by this kinase. 32P-radiolabeling of rat glioma C6 cells revealed plectin as a major in vivo target of protein kinase A and protein kinase C. Plectin, present in lysates of dibutyryladenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-treated cells, showed a 2.5 times higher binding affinity to vimentin than plectin from phorbol ester-treated cells. Furthermore, the relative amounts of plectin in 1% Triton X-100/high salt-insoluble cell fractions decreased to one-fourth of control values upon treating cells with phorbol esters, whereas vimentin was unaffected. This finding suggested a protein kinase C-dependent weakening of plectin interaction with intermediate filaments in vivo. Taken together, these results point to a role of plectin in interlinking cytoskeletal and nuclear elements and suggest that specific protein kinases are involved in regulating these interactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Intermediate filament-associated proteins.

The term intermediate filament-associated proteins refers to a growing number of proteins whose ability to interact with intermediate filaments has been either directly demonstrated or inferred from indirect evidence. Here we discuss recently published data on the identification and characterization of such proteins, with emphasis on their tissue/cell type-specific expression, subcellular distribution and possible function(s).

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1991

Monoclonal antibody mapping of structural and functional plectin epitopes.

To map structural and functional epitopes of the cytomatrix protein plectin, a set of mAbs was prepared by immunization of mice. Using immunoblot analysis of plectin fragments obtained after limited digestion with various proteases, two groups of mAbs were distinguished. The epitopes of one group (1) were located on a 130-kD terminal segment of the plectin 300-kD polypeptide chain, whereas those of the other group (2) bound within a 40kD segment confined to a central domain of the polypeptide chain. Domains containing the epitopes of group 2 mAbs were shown to include in vitro phosphorylation sites for kinase A, whereas kinase C phosphorylation sites were found on the same terminal segment that contained group 1 mAb epitopes. Rotary shadowing EM of mAb (Fab fragment) -decorated plectin molecules at various states of aggregation, ranging from characteristic dumbbell-shaped single molecules to highly complex multimeric structures, revealed that the epitopes of group 1 as well as those of group 2 mAbs were located on plectin's roughly 200-nm long rod domain interlinking its two globular end domains. Epitopes of group 1 mAbs were localized within a region near the center of the rod, those of group 2 in more peripheral sections near the globular end domains. Solid-phase binding assays carried out in the presence of Fab fragments of mAbs demonstrated an interference of certain group 1 mAbs in the interactions of plectin with vimentin and lamin B. On the other hand, plectin's self-interaction was inhibited mainly by Fab fragments with epitopes in the peripheral rod domain (group 2 mAbs). Together, these results suggested that the molecular binding sites of plectin for vimentin and lamin B, as well as the phosphorylation sites for kinase C, were confined to a defined central section of plectin's rod domain. In addition, they suggest an involvement of peripheral rod sections in plectin self-association.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Immunolocalization and molecular properties of a high molecular weight microtubule-bundling protein (syncolin) from chicken erythrocytes.

A protein of apparent molecular weight 280,000 (syncolin), which is immunoreactive with antibodies to hog brain microtubule-associated protein (MAP) 2, was purified from chicken erythrocytes. Immunofluorescence microscopy of bone marrow cells revealed the presence of syncolin in cells at all stages of erythrocyte differentiation. In early erythroblasts syncolin was diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm. At later stages it was found along microtubules of the marginal band, as confirmed by immunoelectron microscopy. The association of syncolin with the marginal band was dependent on the integrity of microtubules, as demonstrated by temperature-dependent de- and repolymerization or marginal band microtubules. Syncolin cosedimented in a saturable manner with microtubules assembled in vitro, and it was displaced from the polymer by salt. Brain as well as erythrocyte microtubules, reconstituted with taxol from MAP-free tubulin and purified syncolin, were aggregated into dense bundles containing up to 15 microtubules, as determined by electron microscopy. On the ultrastructural level, syncolin molecules were visualized as globular or ringlike structures, in contrast to the thin, threadlike appearance of filamentous MAPs, such as brain MAP 2. According to ultrastructural measurements and gel permeation chromatography, syncolin's molecular weight was approximately 1 x 10(6). It is suggested that syncolin's specific function is the cross-linking of microtubules in the marginal band and, by implication, the stabilization of this structure typical for nucleated (chicken) erythrocytes.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Cloning and sequencing of rat plectin indicates a 466-kD polypeptide chain with a three-domain structure based on a central alpha-helical coiled coil.

We have determined the complete cDNA sequence of rat plectin from a number of well-characterized overlapping lambda gt11 clones. The 4,140-residue predicted amino acid sequence (466,481 D) is consistent with a three-domain structural model in which a long central rod domain, having mainly an alpha-helical coiled coil conformation, is flanked by globular NH2- and COOH-terminal domains. The plectin sequence has a number of repeating motifs. The rod domain has five subregions approximately 200-residues long in which there is a strong repeat in the charged amino acids at 10.4 residues that may be involved in association between plectin molecules. The globular COOH-terminal domain has a prominent six-fold tandem repeat, with each repeat having a strongly conserved central region based on nine tandem repeats of a 19-residue motif. The plectin sequence has several marked similarities to that of desmoplakin (Green, K. J., D. A. D. Parry, P. M. Steinert, M. L. A. Virata, R. M. Wagner, B. D. Angst, and L.A. Nilles. 1990. J. Biol. Chem. 265:2,603-2,612), which has a shorter coiled-coil rod domain with a similar 10.4 residue charge periodicity and a COOH-terminal globular domain with three tandem repeats homologous to the six found in plectin. The plectin sequence also has homologies to that of the bullous pemphigoid antigen. Northern blot analysis indicated that there is a significant degree of conservation of plectin genes between rat, human, and chicken and that, as shown previously at the protein level, plectin has a wide tissue distribution. There appeared to be a single rat plectin gene that gave rise to a 15-kb message. Expression of polypeptides encoded by defined fragments of plectin cDNA in E. coli has also been used to localize the epitopes of a range of monoclonal and serum antibodies. This enabled us to tentatively map a sequence involved in plectin-vimentin and plectin-lamin B interactions to a restricted region of the rod domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Ultrastructural localization of microtubule-associated proteins (MAP) 1 in cilia of the respiratory tract.

The presence and localization of high molecular weight microtubule-associated proteins of the MAP 1 class in ciliated cells of porcine and rat respiratory tract was studied by immunoblotting and immunoelectron microscopy. Ciliary shafts of the porcine tracheal epithelium were isolated using a method that minimizes contamination of the preparation by other cellular fragments and fat. Immunoblotting with rabbit antibodies to bulk MAP 1 from hog brain clearly revealed the presence of anti-MAP 1-immunoreactive high molecular weight proteins of the MAP 1 size in these preparations. To localize MAP 1 proteins at the ultrastructural level, rat and porcine tracheal epithelia were embedded in LR White and subjected to immunogold electron microscopy. Anti-MAP 1-immunoreactive material was found at ciliary shafts and basal bodies, but not at basal feet or ciliary rootlets. Interestingly, the necklace region between the shaft and the basal body of the cilium was hardly reactive with anti-MAP 1 antibodies. This may indicate a reduced stability of ciliary microtubules in this region and could be an explanation why ciliary shafts in general break more easily there than elsewhere.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau precedes the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.

The intraneuronal accumulation of paired helical filaments in the form of neurofibrillary tangles is one hallmark of the brain pathology in Alzheimer's disease. At certain predilection sites, a small number of similar lesions are also present in the brains of the majority of aged non-demented individuals. As suggested by several studies before, these abnormal cytoskeletal structures contain determinants of microtubule-associated protein tau and ubiquitin. The present study uses a morphological classification of neurofibrillary tangles into different stages of maturation, as suggested by Alzheimer in 1911, and shows by quantitative immunocytochemistry that early stages of neurofibrillary degeneration contain abnormally phosphorylated tau. Immunoreactivity for the altered tau is seen not only in tangles but also in the cytoplasm of some nerve cells lacking neurofibrillary tangles. Similar numbers of such immunoreactive neurons without tangles are present in age-matched non-demented individuals as in Alzheimer cases, but are absent in young controls. In contrast, incorporation of an epitope, recognized by a monoclonal antibody (3-39) raised to paired helical filaments, which is directed against a determinant residing in the 50-65 amino acid residue region of ubiquitin occurs late in the process of tangle maturation and is most pronounced in extracellular 'ghost tangles'. It is suggested that the accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated tau is one of the earliest cytoskeletal changes in the process of tangle formation. Exposure of certain ubiquitin epitopes in the pathological fibers may reflect an unsuccessful attempt of proteolytic degradation.

Adult↗