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H Sorimachi

Publications and source records attributed to H Sorimachi.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Expression of a novel human myotonin protein kinase (MtPK) cDNA clone which encodes a protein with a thymopoietin-like domain in COS cells.

A full-length cDNA of human myotonin protein kinase (MtPK) was cloned and expressed in COS-1 cells. MtPK is recovered from the cytosolic fraction of the COS extract as a 70 kDa protein, which coincides with the size deduced from the predicted amino acid sequence. The sequence has a significant homology to thymopoietin, a peptide hormone of the thymus. Biochemical characteristics of MtPK expressed in COS-1 cells and its expression in rat tissues are investigated.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Distinct kinetics of subunit autolysis in mammalian m-calpain activation.

Subunit autolysis of mammalian m-calpain upon activation was examined in kinetic terms using a set of antibodies recognizing different portions of the protease. Activation of m-calpain by calcium resulted in no apparent autolysis in the large catalytic subunit, whereas the small regulatory subunit underwent immediate autolysis followed by substrate proteolysis. This profile of subunit autolysis is distinct from that of the other ubiquitous isozyme, mu-calpain, in which autolysis of the large subunit and then of the small subunit precedes substrate proteolysis under the normal conditions. The activation state of m-calpain thus is not reflected by the large subunit autolysis. The mode and role of autolysis may vary among calpain isozymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

New era of calpain research. Discovery of tissue-specific calpains.

The recent discovery of several new calpain species other than the two species thus far studied reveals that calpain, especially the calpain large subunit, constitutes a family comprising at least six members that can be classified into ubiquitous (mu, m- and mu/m-types) and tissue-specific (p94 or nCL-1 specific for skeletal muscle, and nCL-2 and -2' specific for stomach) calpains. The newly identified tissue-specific calpains have various characteristics distinct from conventional calpains in structure, manner of expression, and enzyme activity. Unique features of tissue specific calpains are discussed together with the evolutionary view of the calpain large subunit.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Processing and secretion of Alzheimer's disease amyloid precursor protein.

We studied in vivo expression and in vitro secretion of the Alzheimer's disease amyloid precursor protein (APP). The results indicate that secretion of APP is mediated by PKC and the initial step of the processing may occur in the acidic secretory granules of the glial cells. Our results suggest that a metabolic switch of APP in neural cells is critical in amyloid deposition.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1994

[CTG-repeat in myotonin protein kinase].

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is one of the most common inherited neuromuscular diseases in adults with a global incidence of 1 in 20,000 individuals. DM is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized primarily by myotonia and progressive muscle weakness. DM has unique genetic feature of anticipation, that is, increasing disease severity from generation to generation. DM candidate gene encodes a protein kinase (myotonin protein kinase; MtPK) expressed ubiquitously, and nearly all cases of DM displayed expansion (about 100 to 1,000) of the CTG repeat in the 3'-untranslated region, whose repeating number is in proportion to the severity of the condition. The physiological functions, however, of MtPK and the triplet repeat expansion are not yet clear. Thus, to elucidate the molecular mechanism of DM and for therapy of DM at last, we started biochemical analysis of MtPK and molecular biological study of CTG repeat. First of all, we have cloned a full length cDNA for MtPK, which encodes 625 amino acid residues and contains 5 repeats of CTG. Detailed structural analysis of MtPK and expression study of MtPK using the cDNA were performed, and physiological function of MtPK is discussed based on the results.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Calpain: new perspectives in molecular diversity and physiological-pathological involvement.

Calpain, calcium-activated neutral protease, stands as a unique receptor for calcium signals in biological systems; its activation leads to irreversible proteolytic processing of substrate proteins, modifying cellular situations in a manner distinct from that of reversible processes including the phosphorylation-dephosphorylation reactions. Because the enzyme participates not only in normal intracellular signal transduction cascades but also in various pathological states including ischemia, calpain research has attracted tremendous interest in wide areas of life sciences in both basic and clinical terms. This review will address the new perspectives evoked by recent discoveries since 1990. Molecular biological studies have established that calpain in fact constitutes a large family of distinct isozymes differing in structure and distribution, whereas an increasing number of reports describe physiological-pathological involvement of calpain. Another major accomplishment is the technical breakthrough allowing spatial resolution of calpain action presenting a clearer in vivo picture of how calpain acts in cells and tissues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

A novel tissue-specific calpain species expressed predominantly in the stomach comprises two alternative splicing products with and without Ca(2+)-binding domain.

Our previous studies have demonstrated that, in addition to the conventional mu- and m-calpains ubiquitously expressed in tissues, a muscle-specific calpain comprising a novel member of the large subunit family (p94 or nCL-1, which stands for novel Calpain Large subunit) exists in muscle cells. To clarify the physiological function of nCL-1, we screened cDNA libraries of various rat tissues for other tissue-specific calpains and, as a result, discovered a novel member of the calpain large subunit family. RNA blot analysis showed that the mRNA is expressed predominantly in the stomach. Isolated cDNA clones could be structurally divided into two groups, whose 5'-halves of about 1.1 kilobase pairs were identical, but whose 3'-halves bore no similarity at all. This suggests generation by an alternative splicing mechanism, which was proved by genomic DNA cloning. Open reading frames were found encoding 703 and 381 amino acid residues with calculated molecular masses of 79,554 and 42,591 for nCL-2 and -2', respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of nCL-2 is very similar to those of other calpain large subunits and can be aligned without significant insertions or deletions, suggesting that nCL-2 should possess cysteine protease activity and calcium binding ability. nCL-2' is identical to the N-terminal half of nCL-2 and, thus, contains only the cysteine protease domain but not the calcium binding domain. Possible roles of the calpain family are discussed based on these findings.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed1993

Muscle-specific calpain, p94, is degraded by autolysis immediately after translation, resulting in disappearance from muscle.

We previously identified a third type of the calpain large subunit named p94 as a cDNA whose mRNA is expressed exclusively in skeletal muscle at levels approximately 10-fold more abundant than those of the conventional calpain subunit. Rat skeletal muscle fractions were screened by two anti-peptide antibodies raised against two specific sequences in p94, but the p94 protein could not be found. To examine this apparent discrepancy between the amounts of mRNA and protein, wild-type p94 was expressed in COS cells. Although p94 mRNA was expressed normally in COS cells, only very small amounts of the protein and its presumed degradation products were detected by the antibodies described above. A series of COOH-terminal deletion mutants was constructed and expressed in COS cells and L8 cells, a rat myoblast cell line. When IS2, one of the specific regions of p94, was completely eliminated, the truncated p94 proteins were expressed normally, and the amount of the expressed proteins was at least 100-fold higher than with wild-type p94. Moreover, when site-directed mutagenesis was introduced to change the presumed active-site cysteine of p94 to serine or alanine, the mutated p94 proteins were highly expressed like the IS2-deleted mutants. These results indicate the following. 1) The mRNA for p94 is normally transcribed in COS, L8, and muscle cells; 2) the p94 protein becomes active in the cytosol immediately after translation; 3) the p94 protein virtually disappears from cells by autocatalytic degradation; and 4) the p94-specific IS2 region plays an important role in this degradation. In vitro translation experiments support this idea. Furthermore, p94 shows nuclear localization when expressed in COS cells. The physiological function of p94 in muscle is discussed on the basis of the analysis of these transfectants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Amyloid precursor protein is found in lysosomes.

The major component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid is a small polypeptide referred as the amyloid beta protein, which is derived from a larger precursor, amyloid precursor protein (APP). Cell fractionation and immunological studies on the APP molecule indicate that APP is localized either in the neuron and astrocyte and that the molecule is recovered from lysosomal fraction.

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor↗
PubMed1992

Sequence comparison among muscle-specific calpain, p94, and calpain subunits.

While conventional calpains, m- and mu-calpains named according to their calcium-dependence, are expressed in almost every tissues, mRNA of newly identified p94, which has a significant sequence similarity to the conventional calpain large subunits, is abundantly expressed only in skeletal muscle. In addition to this specific expression, p94 is distinct from conventional calpains in that it contains three unique regions showing no similarity to conventional calpain subunits. When rat and human p94 are compared, overall sequence similarity is 94.0%, which is close to those for m- and mu-calpain large subunits; 93.1% and 95.4% between human and rabbit, respectively, suggesting the evolutionary importance of p94. These calpain large subunit proteins, p94, m- and mu-types, can be considered to constitute a super family, whose p94, m- and mu-types represent the three major types. Sequences of the calpain large-subunit family members, including the recently reported Schistosoma calpain, are compared. Their evolutionary correlation and function are discussed on the basis of the results thus far obtained.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Autolytic transition of mu-calpain upon activation as resolved by antibodies distinguishing between the pre- and post-autolysis forms.

A novel method to observe the autolytic activation of a mammalian cytoplasmic calcium protease, mu-calpain, was developed using a set of antipeptidic antibodies capable of distinguishing between the pre- and post-autolysis forms of the enzyme. Antibodies raised against synthetic peptides designed to match the N-terminal sequences of the pre- and post-autolysis forms of the mu-calpain large subunit reacted specifically with the corresponding form of calpain and not with the other. The antibodies were specific and sensitive enough to detect the antigens in crude cell lysates. The relevance of the immunochemical detection of calpain activation was confirmed by the observation that proteolysis of a substrate protein by purified mu-calpain paralleled autolysis at various pCa as probed by these antibodies and that autolysis preceded substrate proteolysis. We also observed calcium-dependent autolysis of calpain accompanying subsequent proteolysis of substrate in intact cells using the antibodies. The method will provide a novel approach to assess the physiological targets of the enzyme by determining the local intracellular sites of calpain activation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Sequence comparison among subunits of multicatalytic proteinase.

The cDNAs for a number of multicatalytic proteinase (MCP) subunits have been cloned, characterized, and their primary structures have been determined. The mechanism for how MCP demonstrates its multicatalytic nature, especially protease activities, however, is still obscure, since no sequences similar to known protease sequences can be found in the sequences of MCP subunits thus far determined. To explain this fact, we propose a structural model for MCP: MCP consists of two classes of subunits, structural and catalytic, and the structural subunits constitute a "test-tube"-like container in which the other catalytic subunits sit and react with substrate. Most of the observations thus far obtained can be explained easily by this hypothesis, although various other possibilities are not excluded.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Molecular cloning of cDNAs for two subunits of rat multicatalytic proteinase. Existence of N-terminal conserved and C-terminal diverged sequences among subunits.

cDNA clones for two subunits (designated subunits K and L) of rat liver multicatalytic proteinase (MCP) were isolated using oligonucleotide probes synthesized according to their partial amino acid sequences. The encoded polypeptides of subunits K and L consisted of 255 and 261 amino acid residues with calculated molecular mass of 28.3 kDa and 29.5 kDa, respectively. Northern blot analysis revealed that subunits K and L were expressed in all tissues examined and their expression patterns were almost identical. The deduced amino acid sequences showed no similarities to known protein sequences other than the recently reported sequences of rat and Drosophila MCP subunits. Sequence comparison of MCP subunits of rat and Drosophila revealed that the N-terminal two-thirds of the sequence (especially the N-terminal approximately 20 residues) is conserved, but the C-terminal third of the sequence shows no similarity, suggesting functional and structural roles for both regions. Implications for the structural and functional aspects of MCP subunits are discussed based on the sequence similarity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Organization and primary sequence of multiple genes coding for the apopolysialoglycoproteins of rainbow trout.

We have shown that the mRNAs for apopolysialoglycoproteins (apoPSGP) of rainbow trout contain various numbers of a repetitive sequence of 39 base-pairs encoding mature apoPSGP, and that this sequence is bordered by highly homologous 5' and 3' regions encoding pre-, pro- and telopeptides. These mRNAs are thought to be transcribed from different genes that constitute a large multiple gene family (more than 100 members). Here, we have determined the structures of several members of the apoPSGP gene family. The results show that two of three genomic DNA fragments contain two independent apoPSGP genes in the same orientation with unrelated sequences intervening. Five characterized genes have essentially the same organization and sequence. Each gene has four exons, and CAAT and TATA sequences were found in the 5'-flanking regions. However, two noteworthy differences were observed among the five genes; a diversity in the number of the 39 base-pair repeats, also observed among the cDNA clones, and a one-base polymorphism in the 39 base-pair repeat, which causes an amino acid change. This polymorphism was not detected among the cDNA clones obtained. The boundary positions of the genes are various and contain no transposon-like structures. The variation in the number of repeats and the absence of a rule for bordering positions of the genes suggest that apoPSGP genes may have been amplified by gene duplications, unequal recombination, and selection of chromosomes having larger numbers of apoPSGP genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Molecular cloning and characterization of cDNAs coding for apopolysialoglycoproteins in cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) eggs.

Recently we have cloned the cDNAs and genomic DNAs for apopolysialoglycoproteins (apoPSGPs) of Salmo gairdneri (rainbow trout) [Sorimachi, H., Emori, Y., Kawasaki, H., Kitajima, K., Inoue, S., Suzuki, K., & Inoue, Y. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 17678-17684], and the sequence analyses have indicated that the mRNAs for apoPSGPs vary in length and contain different numbers of identical 39-bp repeating units encoding the tridecapeptide (Asp-Asp-Ala-Thr-Ser-Glu-Ala-Ala-Thr-Gly-Pro-Ser-Gly) as well as highly conserved sequences encoding pre-, pro-, and telo-peptide regions. In this study we isolated cDNA clones for yamame (cherry salmon, river resident form; Oncorhynchus masou ishikawai) apoPSGP using a genomic DNA fragment for rainbow trout apoPSGP as a probe. The nucleotide sequence analyses revealed that the structures of mRNAs for yamame apoPSGP including the noncoding regions are essentially identical to those for rainbow trout, showing 90% sequence identity. Within the repeating region, 4 bp out of the 39 were replaced, producing a different tridecapeptide, Asp-Asp-Ala-Thr-Ser-Glu-Ala-Ala-Thr-Gly-Pro-Ser-Ser. This tridecapeptide is unique to yamame and common among all cDNAs obtained from yamame. Genomic Southern blot analysis showed that the yamame apoPSGP genes constituted a multiple gene family with a similar gene organization to that of rainbow trout. Oligodeoxynucleotide probes (18 bases) synthesized based on specific sequences for the yamame repeating unit hybridized only to the yamame DNA and not to the rainbow trout DNA, and vice versa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

A novel member of the calcium-dependent cysteine protease family.

In the course of cDNA cloning of the large subunits of human mu- and mCANPs, a novel cDNA clone encoding a putative calcium-dependent cysteine protease homologous to but distinct from both mu- and m-types was found. The encoded protein, designated tentatively as p94, is composed of four domains similar to those found in other CANP large subunits, but includes three unique regions that have no homology to other CANPs. These unique sequences might be involved in regulating the activation and/or determining the intracellular localization of p94. Since the mRNA for p94 is five times more abundant than that for the CANP small subunit in skeletal muscle, it is possible that p94 does not associate with the small subunit in vivo. In contrast to the ubiquitous expression of mu- and m-types, the mRNA for p94 is expressed only in skeletal muscle. Besides acting as a protease, p94 may act as a skeletal muscle specific regulatory protein like troponin C.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

A second type of rat phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C containing a src-related sequence not essential for phosphoinositide-hydrolyzing activity.

A fourth type of rat phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PLC IV) has been cloned for cDNA and sequenced. PLC IV is distinct from the other three types of rat PLC (PLC I, II, and III) with respect to primary structure and tissue distribution of its mRNAs. PLC IV contains two homologous regions included commonly in PLC I, II, and III and is most similar to PLC II (identity: 50.2%). PLC IV, in common with PLC II, has a sequence homologous to the N-terminal regulatory domains of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases of the src-family of oncogenes. Using an Escherichia coli expression system, we succeeded in producing active PLC IV in E. coli crude extracts. Various truncation experiments of the PLC IV cDNA revealed that the src-related domain is not necessary for catalytic activity while both domains homologous among PLC I-IV are essential. PLC IV is expressed in various rat tissues and abundant in spleen, suggesting that PLC IV plays a fundamental role in cellular functions such as growth and secretion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗