Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Hosoya

Publications and source records attributed to H Hosoya.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Novel neural adhesion molecules in the Contactin/F3 subgroup of the immunoglobulin superfamily: isolation and characterization of cDNAs from rat brain.

We cloned two kinds of cDNAs encoding novel Contactin/F3-subgroup adhesion molecules, which we termed NB-2 and NB-3. Nucleotide sequence analyses have shown that NB-2 and NB-3 are comprised of 1099 and 1028 amino acid residues, respectively. There was 51% similarity in the amino acid sequence of NB-2 and NB-3. NB-2 shared 46, 43, 55 and 55% identities with Contactin/F3, Tag-1, Big-1 and Big-2, respectively, at the amino acid sequence level. Likewise, the amino acid sequence of NB-3 exhibited 42, 44, 58 and 60% identities with Contactin/F3, Tag-1, Big-1 and Big-2, respectively. Expression of NB-2 mRNA was restricted to cerebrum, cerebellum and was hardly detectable, if any, in spinal cord. On the other hand, high expression of NB-3 mRNA was observed in spinal cord, as well as in cerebrum and cerebellum. In the other tissues, no expression of NB-2 and NB-3 mRNAs was detected.

Animals↗

Phosphorylation by MAPKAP kinase 2 activates Mg(2+)-ATPase activity of myosin II.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase activated protein (MAPKAP) kinase-2 was found to phosphorylate the regulatory light chain of myosin II (MRLC) in vitro in the absence of Ca2+/calmodulin. The tryptic peptides recovered from the MRLC phosphorylated by MAPKAP kinase-2 were identical to the phosphopeptides recovered from myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)-phosphorylated MRLC. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that MRLC was phosphorylated by these kinases at the serine residue. This phosphorylation by MAPKAP kinase-2 activated the actin-activated Mg(2+)-ATPase activity of myosin II. These findings indicated that MAPKAP kinase-2 may be a kinase that regulates the actin-activated Mg(2+)-ATPase activity of myosin II.

Animals↗

Activation of chicken gizzard myosin light chain kinase by Ca2+/calmodulin is inhibited by autophosphorylation.

Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) is a calmodulin-dependent protein kinase which phosphorylates the 20,000 dalton regulatory light chain of myosin II. Here we show that activation of chicken gizzard MLCK by Ca2+/ calmodulin is inhibited by autophosphorylation at 2 sites in the absence of Ca2+/calmodulin. Two phosphorylation sites are located in the functional domain of the kinase, the threonine site toward the actin binding domain near the N-terminus of MLCK and the serine site in immediate proximity to the calmodulin binding site. The autophosphorylation was significantly inhibited by the binding of calmodulin to MLCK in the presence of Ca2+.

Animals↗

Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of pr22 (Op18) with proliferation control.

The pr22 gene was isolated as a gene which is expressed in proliferating cells but not in cells which are differentiated or growth-arrested. When cells of the human monocytic cell line, U937, were differentiated into macrophages, transcription of pr22 was almost completely suppressed. Serum starvation resulted in the inhibition of transcription, although U937 failed to differentiate. In a culture synchronized with excess thymidine, mRNA of pr22 was detected at the G1/S boundary, with the level increasing in the S phase and decreasing in the G2 phase. The gene product, pr22 protein (Pr22) was found to be identical to Op18 as well as to a catastrophe factor. Genes homologous to pr22 were detected in the genome of mouse but not in that of yeast, or Drosophila. The 5' up-stream region of the genomic pr22 contained CpG islands but no TATA box at its appropriate position. About 20% of cell nuclei of normal human fibroblasts were stained in a speckled manner with a monoclonal antibody for C-terminal peptide of Pr22, and these cells were found to be in phases S and G2. The mitotic apparatus was also strongly stained. By Western blot analysis, Pr22 was detected in the nuclear fraction but not in the cytoplasm. The level increased from middle S to G2 phase and remained high until the early G1 phase. N-terminal truncated Pr22 was also detected in these phases. These results suggest that Pr22 may have an additional role other than just functioning in association with microtubules.

Animals↗

Mitosis-specific phosphorylation of smooth muscle regulatory light chain of myosin II at Ser-1 and/or -2 and Thr-9 in sea urchin egg extract.

We analyzed the kinase activities capable of phosphorylating the regulatory light chain of myosin-II (MRLC) from chicken gizzard in unfertilized and fertilized sea urchin egg extracts. Total kinase activity phosphorylating MRLC in vitro did not fluctuate throughout the first cell cycle. Phosphopeptide mapping analysis showed that MRLC was phosphorylated at two different sites corresponding to myosin light chain purified from chicken gizzard (MLCK) and protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation sites, namely MLCK and PKC sites, respectively. The activity of the kinase(s) responsible for phosphorylation of MRLC at PKC sites showed a significant increase at metaphase. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that this increase in MRLC phosphorylation was due to phosphorylation at serine residue (Ser-1 and/or Ser-2) and a threonine residue (Thr-9). This increase in phosphorylation at PKC sites is occurred concomitantly with an increase in histone H1 kinase activity. In contrast, MRLC phosphorylation at MLCK sites showed no significant changes during the first cell cycle. Butyrolactone I, a selective inhibitor of p34cdc2 kinase, inhibited the activity of the kinase(s) responsible for phosphorylation of MRLC at PKC sites at metaphase. These results suggest that the increase in MRLC phosphorylation at PKC sites (Ser-1 and/or -2, and Thr-9) at metaphase may be induced by p34cdc2 kinase. Thus, p34cdc2 kinase may be involved in the regulation of MRLC phosphorylation during cell division.

4-Butyrolactone↗

Cloning of the cDNA encoding neural adhesion molecule F3 from bovine brain.

We cloned a bovine cDNA encoding the neural adhesion molecule F3 and analyzed its nucleotide sequence. The coding region consisted of 3054 bp encoding 1018 amino acid (aa) residues. The M(r) calculated from the deduced aa sequence was 113,383. Bovine F3 had 93, 94 and 77% aa identity with the mouse, human and chicken homologs, respectively. Bovine F3, similar to those of chicken and human, was devoid of two aa residues (Ile-Thr) in the sixth immunoglobulin type C2-like domain, as compared with the mouse homolog. Parts of bovine F3 protein were overproduced in Escherichia coli. The antibodies raised against the recombinant proteins in rabbits reacted specifically with F3. F3 protein was detected in cerebellum, cerebrum and spinal cord in Western blot analysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Splicing isoforms of rat Ash/Grb2. Isolation and characterization of the cDNA and genomic DNA clones and implications for the physiological roles of the isoforms.

We obtained three types of cDNA clones homologous to Ash/Grb2(Ash-l) cDNA from rats. One of these clones, Ash-psi, was an unusual transcribed gene having 93% identity in the nucleotide sequence to Ash-l. The other two clones, Ash-m and -s, had nucleotide sequences identical with Ash-l cDNA in the amino-terminal region. The coding sequence of Ash-m cDNA is 42 nucleotides shorter than that of Ash-l cDNA. The defective region of Ash-m cDNA encodes 14 amino acid residues (157 to 170 of Ash-l), which comprise the most conserved region of the second SH3 domain. On the other hand, the coding sequence of Ash-s terminated at the end of the first SH3 domain due to a stop codon at the boundary of the sequence, thereby differing from Ash-l cDNA. Cloning of the genomic DNA of the Ash-l-encoding gene, determination of the gene organization, and nucleotide sequencing revealed that the two isoforms, as well as Ash-l, are generated from a single gene by unusual alternative splicings. The gene spans more than 16 kilobases and contains 6 exons and 5 introns. Ash-m and Ash-s mRNAs were detected in various tissues by reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction. Ash-m physically associated with dynamin, but the association with Sos was less effective than that of Ash-l in rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cell lysates, irrespective of treatment with nerve growth factor. In contrast, Ash-s formed a complex with dynamin and Sos in cell lysates. Moreover, the newly formed carboxyl-terminal SH3 of Ash-m by splicing bound different proteins from those bound to the carboxyl-terminal SH3 domain of Ash-l, suggesting that Ash-m generates different signals. Microinjection of Ash-m or Ash-s into Balb/c 3T3 cells inhibited DNA synthesis induced by platelet-derived growth factor. These results show that these isoforms act as dominant negative regulators of mitogenic signals by Ash-l.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Developmental expression of the neural adhesion molecule F3 in the rat brain.

We cloned a cDNA encoding rat F3 and analyzed the nucleotide sequences. The results have shown that rat F3 is comprised of 1021 amino acid residues. It shared 99% and 76% identities with mouse and chicken homologs, respectively, at the amino acid sequence level. During postnatal development of the rat brain, cells expressing F3 mRNA appeared in the cortex, hippocampus, superior and inferior colliculi, anterior olfactory nucleus, olfactory bulb and cerebellum, whereas little was observed at postnatal day 1 (P1). Extraordinarily high expression of F3 mRNA was observed in the cerebral cortical neurons of layer 5 at P7. The number of cells with high expression of F3 mRNA expanded to the entire region of the cerebral cortex at P14. The whole cerebrum displayed expression at P90 in which the cortex still showed the highest expression level, although the overall signals were weak in comparison with those at P14. In the hippocampal formation, F3-expressing granule cells of the dentate gyrus were restricted to the outer aspect, then expanded to the inner aspect during development. Finally the granule cells in the entire region of the dentate gyrus transcribed F3 mRNA. We discuss the significance of the expression pattern of F3 mRNA during development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mutations in the v-mos gene abolish its ability to induce differentiation but not transformation.

The v-mos oncogene product has the ability to induce differentiation in human monocytic leukemia U937 cells, thereby arresting cell proliferation, and also exhibits transforming activity in mouse NIH3T3 cells. Mutation in the v-mos gene consisting of one or two amino acid substitutions in the putative ATP-binding domain impaired its differentiation-inducing activity although mutant proteins showed rather higher levels of autophosphorylation in vitro. Macrophage-specific characteristics such as their morphology, expression of C3b receptor and Fc receptor, and production of interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha, were equally diminished in cells transfected with mutant mos genes when compared to those with intact v-mos. The ability of the gene to arrest the proliferation of U937 cells was likewise diminished, while the transforming efficiency of the intact and mutant mos genes were essentially the same. These results suggest that the mos product functions differently in cell differentiation and transformation.

3T3 Cells↗

Phosphorylation of dynamin by cdc2 kinase.

A 100kD microtubule-bundling protein dynamin was phosphorylated in vitro by cdc2 kinase to approximately 1 mol of phosphate/mol of dynamin at a serine residue. These phosphorylations of dynamin greatly reduced its binding ability to microtubules.

Animals↗

Evidence for direct binding of intracellularly distributed ganglioside GM2 to isolated vimentin intermediate filaments in normal and Tay-Sachs disease human fibroblasts.

Although some intracellularly distributed glycosphingolipids are reported to be associated with vimentin intermediate filaments or colchicine sensitive cytoskeleton, no direct evidence for such an association has yet been shown. In this report we demonstrated that the intracellularly distributed ganglioside GM2 directly binds to isolated vimentin intermediate filaments in normal and Tay-Sachs disease human fibroblasts. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy using a GM2-specific monoclonal antibody demonstrated filamentously distributed GM2 in the cytoplasm. A double staining of Tay-Sachs fibroblasts with anti-GM2 and anti-vimentin monoclonal antibodies strongly suggested that the GM2 positive filaments are vimentin intermediate filaments. We then isolated vimentin, in the presence of a detergent and urea, from the normal human skin fibroblasts and murine mastocytoma cells. In a solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the isolated vimentin dose-dependently reacted with both anti-vimentin and anti-GM2 monoclonal antibodies but not with anti-GM3 or anti-GM1 monoclonal antibody. The molar ratio of GM2 to vimentin was approximately 20:1. The lipid fraction extracted from the purified vimentin preparation was immunostained with anti-GM2 on a thin-layer chromatography plate. Furthermore, only one band was detected at the molecular weight of 57 kDa, after electroblotting and simultaneous immunostaining with anti-GM2 and anti-vimentin monoclonal antibodies. These results clearly indicated that ganglioside GM2 directly binds to vimentin.

Animals↗

Promoter screening from Pseudomonas species by a promoter probe transposon and its structure.

By use of the promoter probe transposon Tn5-B21, two promoter fragments were isolated. One promoter (822 bp) (GC = 63.5%) isolated from P. putida loses all of its promoter activity by exonuclease or restriction enzyme deletion. Another promoter (264 bp) (GC = 49.2%) isolated from P. fluorescens could be shortened to 154 bp by exonuclease deletion without any effect on its promoter activity in several Pseudomonas species.

DNA Transposable Elements↗

DNA sequence of proline permease gene from Pseudomonas fluorescens and predicted structure of proline permease.

The proline permease gene of Pseudomonas fluorescens has been isolated from the promoter region isolated by using a promoter probe (transposon Tn5-B21). By DNA sequencing of 2222 bp the primary structure of permease (494 aa) was deduced. The DNA sequence is 71.0% and 70.7% identical and the amino acid sequence is 75.8% and 76.0% similar to those of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Localization of caldesmon and its dephosphorylation during cell division.

Mitosis-specific phosphorylation by cdc2 kinase causes nonmuscle caldesmon to dissociate from microfilaments during prometaphase. (Yamashiro, S., Y. Yamakita, R. Ishikawa, and F. Matsumura. 1990. Nature (Lond.). 344:675-678; Yamashiro, S., Y. Yamakita, H. Hosoya, and F. Matsumura. 1991. Nature (Lond.) 349:169-172). To explore the functions of caldesmon phosphorylation during cytokinesis, we have examined the relationship between the phosphorylation level, actin-binding, and in vivo localization of caldesmon in cultured cells after their release of metaphase arrest. Immunofluorescence studies have revealed that caldesmon is localized diffusely throughout cytoplasm in metaphase. During early stages of cytokinesis, caldesmon is still diffusely present and not concentrated in contractile rings, in contrast to the accumulation of actin in cleavage furrows during cytokinesis. In later stages of cytokinesis, most caldesmon is observed to be yet diffusely localized although some concentration of caldesmon is observed in cortexes as well as in cleavage furrows. When daughter cells begin to spread, caldesmon shows complete colocalization with F-actin-containing structures. These observations are consistent with changes in the levels of microfilament-associated caldesmon during synchronized cell division. Caldesmon is missing from microfilaments in prometaphase cells arrested by nocodazole treatment, as shown previously (Yamashiro, S., Y. Yamakita, R. Iskikawa, and F. Matsumura. 1990. Nature (Lond.). 344:675-678). The level of microfilament-associated caldesmon stays low (12% of that of interphase cells) when some cells start cytokinesis at 40 min after the release of metaphase arrest. When 60% of cells finish cytokinesis at 60 min, the level of microfilament-associated caldesmon is recovered to 50% of that of interphase cells. The level of microfilament-associated caldesmon is then gradually increased to 80% when cells show spreading at 120 min. Dephosphorylation appears to occur during cytokinesis. It starts when cells begin to show cytokinesis at 40 min and completes when most cells finish cytokinesis at 60 min. These results suggest that caldesmon is not associated with microfilaments of cleavage furrows at least in initial stages of cytokinesis and that dephosphorylation of caldesmon appears to couple with its reassociation with microfilaments. Because caldesmon is known to inhibit actomyosin ATPase and/or regulate actin assembly, its continued dissociation from microfilaments may be required for the assembly and/or activation of contractile rings.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Regulation of hsc70 expression in the human histiocytic lymphoma cell line, U937.

The transcription of hsc70, a cognate member of the hsp70 gene family, is suppressed in the terminally differentiated human histiocytic lymphoma cell line, U937, and appears to be regulated in the absence of heat shock. We have examined the 5' upstream regulatory region of 450 bp which contains a putative regulatory sequence of 18 bp in addition to known cis-elements such as HSEs, CCAAT boxes, Sp1 binding sites and AP2 binding sites. The 18 bp cis-element formed larger complexes with nuclear localized transfactors when extracts were prepared from differentiated rather than from proliferating cells. These larger complexes were also detected in nuclear extracts of serum-deprived cells, suggestng that such complexes may be related to the suppression of hsc70 gene transcription in Go arrested cells. The level of HSC70 protein as determined using monoclonal antibodies, increased threefold in differentiated cells. The apparent discrepancy between the levels of hsc70 mRNA and HSC70 protein can be explained by a rapid turnover of HSC70 in proliferating cells.

Base Sequence↗