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Biomedical subjects

J C Hutton

Publications and source records attributed to J C Hutton.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

A member of the eukaryotic subtilisin family (PC3) has the enzymic properties of the type 1 proinsulin-converting endopeptidase.

PC3, a mammalian homologue of the yeast subtilisin-like proteinase Kex2, was expressed in Xenopus oocytes and its activity was characterized. PC3 cleaved human proinsulin at one of the two dibasic sites (KTRR32 but not LQKR65). The specificity, inhibitor profile, pH optimum (5.5) and Ca(2+)-dependence (K0.5 = 2.5-3 mM) paralleled those of the insulin-granule type 1 endopeptidase activity, suggesting a role for PC3 in the conversion of prohormones.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Argyrophilia and granin (chromogranin/secretogranin) expression in female breast carcinomas. Their relationship to survival and other disease parameters.

Ninety-one tumors (5.6%) containing argyrophilic cells were identified in a series of 1,628 consecutive primary breast carcinomas diagnosed between 1968 and 1972 at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy. Histological evaluation of these argyrophilic tumors showed the presence, either throughout the whole tumor mass (pure form) or in some areas (mixed form), of distinctive though not pathognomonic cellular features. Immunocytochemistry revealed the presence of chromogranin A or chromogranin B (secretogranin I) immunoreactivity in 86% of these argyrophilic carcinomas and of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) immunoreactivity in all of them. The three neuroendocrine markers were also immunolocalized at the ultrastructural level in the dense-core granules (granins) and the cytoplasmic matrix (NSE). Immunoblotting studies confirmed the chromogranin A and B and NSE immunoreactivities and documented the presence of secretogranin II. We also studied the relation of the histologic, histochemical, and immunocytochemical features to prognosis. There was no significant correlation between argyrophilia and such clinical parameters as age, menopausal status, tumor size, and overall survival; however, the pure form of argyrophilic tumors had a significant association with less frequent lymph node involvement and a low histologic grade.

Biochemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1991

Two proteins act as the IUF1 insulin gene enhancer binding factor.

IUF1 is a pancreatic beta cell-specific factor which binds to the sequence 5'-CPyCTAATG-3' (CT box) within the human insulin gene enhancer. Here we show that IUF1 is composed of 2 binding activities that can be separated by DEAE ion exchange chromatography. South Western blot analysis indicates that these distinct binding activities have apparent molecular weights of 115 kDa and 46 kDa.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

T-cell reactivity to 38 kD insulin-secretory-granule protein in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes seems to be an autoimmune disease in which T cells have a substantial role. A possible target antigen was suggested by the proliferation of CD4 T cells from a newly diagnosed patient in response to a 38 kD polypeptide of the insulin-secretory-granule membrane. To see whether this reactivity is widespread at disease onset, we have generated T-cell lines in vitro from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of nineteen children of caucasoid origin with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes and sixteen healthy controls matched for age and HLA antigens. The procedure involved two cycles of incubation with a rat beta-cell tumour subcellular fraction enriched in secretory granules and plasma membrane components, followed by a proliferation assay. Fourteen (74% [95% confidence interval 49-91%]) of the patients' cell lines showed a positive proliferative response on subsequent exposure to the islet-cell antigen preparation compared with only two (13% [2-38%]) of the controls (p = 3 x 10(-4); difference 61% [44-87%]). Two subjects who had high titres of islet-cell autoantibodies (ICA) without clinical diabetes produced responsive T-cell lines. Reactivity towards the 38 kD fraction of insulin-secretory-granule membranes was found only in patients (eight of ten responders tested; 95% CI 44-98%) and one ICA-positive non-diabetic subject. Detection of an ongoing autoimmune T-cell response might be useful diagnostically and could lead to prevention of diabetes through specific immunotherapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Insulin secretory granule biogenesis. Co-ordinate regulation of the biosynthesis of the majority of constituent proteins.

Two-dimensional gel-electrophoretic analysis combined with fluorography and densitometric quantification was used to examine the effects of glucose on the biosynthesis of rat pancreatic islet proteins. An increase in the medium glucose concentration from 2.8 to 16.7 mM produced a 10-20 fold stimulation in the synthesis of 10 out of 260 detected islet proteins, as judged by incorporation of [35S]methionine during a 20 min incubation. The synthetic rates of the majority of the remaining proteins were stimulated by 2-4-fold. Greater resolution achieved by pulse-chase labelling and subcellular fractionation showed that, of 32 major proteins localized to insulin secretory granules, the biosynthesis of 25 were stimulated 15-30-fold by glucose. By contrast, only eight of 160 proteins in the soluble fraction showed a response of similar magnitude. It is concluded that there is a major and co-ordinated activation of the biosyntheses of proteins destined for secretory granules, which most likely occurs at the level of translational initiation and signal-recognition-particle-mediated translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum lumen. However, it is clear that not all granule proteins, or the majority of proteins translocated across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, are affected in an equivalent manner. In addition, the synthesis of a small number of cytosolic proteins may be increased markedly by insulinotropic stimuli.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The tissue distribution of rat chromogranin A-derived peptides: evidence for differential tissue processing from sequence specific antisera.

The distribution of chromogranin A and related peptides in rat tissues was investigated using sequence specific antisera. N- and C-terminal antisera and a presumptive C-terminal rat pancreastatin antiserum immunostained an extensive neuroendocrine cell population throughout the gastro-entero-pancreatic tract, anterior pituitary, thyroid and all adrenomedullary cells. However, mid- to C-terminal antisera immunostained a subpopulation of chromogranin A positive cells. Most notable of these was with the KELTAE antiserum (R635.1) which immunostained discrete clusters of adrenomedullary cells and antiserum A87A which immunostained a subpopulation of cells in the anterior pituitary and throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The present study has demonstrated the widespread occurrence of chromogranin A and related peptides in rat neuroendocrine tissues and provides evidence of tissue and cell specific processing.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1991

Localisation of islet amyloid polypeptide and its carboxy terminal flanking peptide in islets of diabetic man and monkey.

Islet amyloid polypeptide is a normal constituent of islet Beta cells and is derived from a larger precursor by removal of flanking peptides at the carboxy (C) and amino (N) terminals. The role of these flanking peptides in the formation of amyloid in Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and in insulinomas is unknown. The C-terminal flanking peptide of islet amyloid polypeptide was localised by immunocytochemistry in human and monkey pancreatic islets from Type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic individuals by use of specific polyclonal antisera. Immunoreactivity for the C-terminal peptide was found in insulin-containing cells in both diabetic and non-diabetic tissue: no antibody binding was detected in islet amyloid of Type 2 diabetic man or of monkeys although a positive reaction occurred with antisera for islet amyloid polypeptide. The C-terminal peptide was localised by immunogold electron microscopy in the insulin granules in both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals but, unlike islet amyloid polypeptide, was not detected in lysosomes. The absence of immunoreactivity for the C-terminal peptide in amyloid suggests that incomplete cleavage of this flanking peptide from islet amyloid polypeptide is not a factor in the formation of islet amyloid.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Proprotein-processing endopeptidases of the insulin secretory granule.

Enzymological studies have implicated two Ca2+ dependent endopeptidases in the conversion of proinsulin to insulin: a type 1 activity and a type 2 activity which cleave on the C-terminal side of R31R32 and K64R65 in proinsulin, respectively. These activities were further characterized and their relationship to the mammalian family of subtilisin-like proteases was investigated. PC2 was expressed in neuroendocrine tissues and in insulinoma secretory granule fractions predominantly as a 65kDa protein. On anion-exchange chromatography of solubilized granules, PC1/3 immunoreactivity comigrated with a peak of type 1 activity whereas PC2 immunoreactivity coeluted with the peak of type 2 endopeptidase activity. PC2 antiserum gave a specific immunoprecipitation of type 2 activity from insulin granule extracts. It was concluded that the PC2 gene-product has type 2 endopeptidase activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Molecular heterogeneity and cellular localization of carboxypeptidase H in the islets of Langerhans.

The intracellular distribution and molecular heterogeneity of carboxypeptidase H was studied in rat insulinoma tissue and isolated islets of Langerhans by a combination of immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, subcellular fractionation, and immunoblotting analyses. Immunofluorescence microscopy of islets demonstrated the presence of carboxypeptidase H in both insulin-containing B cells and glucagon-containing A cells. Quantitative ultrastructural analyses of islet B cells indicated that the enzyme was concentrated in mature insulin secretory granules, clathrin-coated condensing granules, and to a lesser extent the Golgi apparatus. Carboxypeptidase H activity was localized principally to secretory granule subfractions of insulinoma tissue, where it was present for the major part (70%) as a form which is readily solubilizable at pH values prevailing in the granule interior (5.5). This species migrated as a diffuse band of 53-57 kilodaltons (kDa) on immunoblot analysis using antisera raised against the purified native enzyme. In contrast, the insoluble form which was associated with the granule membrane at pH 5.5, migrated as a relatively compact band of 55-57 kDa. Carboxypeptidase H activity was also present in subcellular fractions which contained Golgi membranes together with elements of the endoplasmic reticulum, and in a low density secretory granule fraction which may represent immature granules. The enzyme in these compartments, like the granule membrane species, migrated as a compact 55-57 kDa band on immunoblots. Two-dimensional electrophoretic immunoblot analysis of secretory granules suggested that both membrane and soluble forms of the enzyme were glycoproteins and that the terminal glycosylation was similar in both instances. Antiserum raised against the deduced C-terminal 11 amino acids of the cloned carboxypeptidase H sequence recognized the 55-57 kDa membrane component in granules but did not react with the 53-57 kDa soluble species. A major difference between the soluble and membrane forms therefore appears to be a structural modification or proteolytic removal of the C-terminal domain in the trans-Golgi or early secretory granule compartment. The concept that proteolysis is involved is further supported by the observation that the relative proportion of the high and low mol wt forms of the enzyme in different subcellular fractions correlated with that of proinsulin and insulin, respectively. The membrane association of the 55-57 kDa form of carboxypeptidase H is disrupted at pH values of 9 and is dependent on ionic strength. This further suggests that the C-terminus of the protein may have an important role in the sorting or concentration of the enzyme in vesicular elements of the regulated pathway of secretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

T-cell clones from a type-1 diabetes patient respond to insulin secretory granule proteins.

T LYMPHOCYTES reactive to pancreatic beta-cells are thought to have a central role in the autoimmune process leading to type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, but the molecular targets of these T cells have not yet been defined. As identification of such antigens may enable measures to be developed to prevent the disease, we have characterized an antigen that is recognized by insulinoma membrane-reactive T-cell clones established from a newly diagnosed type-1 diabetes patient. Subcellular fractionation studies using rat insulinoma indicate that the antigenic determinant recognized by one of these clones is an integral membrane component of the insulin secretory granule. After a 5,000-fold purification, we have defined the antigen as a monomer of relative molecular mass 38,000. As granular membrane proteins are transiently exposed on the cell surface during exocytosis, their accessibility to components of the immune system may be a function of the secretory activity of beta-cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Carboxypeptidase E (CPE): immunocytochemical localization in the rat central nervous system and pituitary gland.

Carboxypeptidase E (CPE, enkephalin convertase, carboxypeptidase H; EC 3.4.17.10) is a carboxypeptidase B-like enzyme proposed to be involved in the synthesis of a variety of peptide hormones and neurotransmitters. In the present study we have localized CPE in the rat central nervous system using specific polyclonal antisera to the purified enzyme. Immunoreactive CPE occurs in a variety of cell somas and neuronal terminals in the central nervous system. The enzyme is most concentrated in the hypothalamus, especially in the median eminence, supraoptic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, and suprachiasmatic nucleus. CPE is also found in axon terminals in the posterior pituitary gland, melanotropes of the intermediate pituitary gland, and select cells of the anterior pituitary gland. Immunoreactivity to CPE in the hippocampus is found in the pyramidal cells and in the inner part of the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. CPE is also found in the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. These results suggest that CPE distribution corresponds to that of many neuropeptides at the fine structural level, thus further implicating CPE in peptide processing.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Co-secretion of carboxypeptidase H and insulin from isolated rat islets of Langerhans.

The release of carboxypeptidase H activity from isolated rat islets was determined and compared to the secretion of immunoreactive insulin. Analysis of pancreatic islet cells sorted into beta and non-beta types indicated that approx. 80% of islet carboxypeptidase H activity is present in the beta cell. The release of both insulin and carboxypeptidase H was stimulated markedly by increasing the glucose concentration in the medium from 2.8 to 28 mM. The fractional release was in accordance with the observed cellular distribution of both proteins. The secretory response was biphasic with time, with an initial rapid transient phase of release within 5 min, followed by a more sustained response. The concentration-dependencies of glucose stimulation of release of insulin and carboxypeptidase H were similar, with a threshold for stimulation around 5.6 mM-glucose and maximal stimulatory response at 16.7-28 mM-glucose. The release of both proteins was inhibited by 20 mM-mannoheptulose, removal of Ca2+ from the medium and addition of 1 microM-noradrenaline. The combination of 10 mM-4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate and 10 mM-glutamine stimulated the release of carboxypeptidase H and insulin, as did 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and 350 microM-tolbutamide in the presence of glucose. It is evident that carboxypeptidase H is released from the pancreatic beta-cell by an exocytotic process from the same intracellular compartment as insulin. The release of carboxypeptidase H by a constitutive process was at best equivalent to 0.4%/h, or less than 2% of the maximal rate of release via the regulated pathway. It is concluded that carboxypeptidase H can be used as a sensitive index of beta-cell secretion and an alternative marker to the insulin-related peptides.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1989

Proinsulin endopeptidase substrate specificities defined by site-directed mutagenesis of proinsulin.

Two endopeptidases are involved in the conversion of proinsulin; a type I activity directed at the B chain, Arg31,Arg32, C-peptide junction, and type II which cleaves the C-peptide, Lys64,Arg65, A chain junction. To define further the substrate specificities of these enzymes, a series of mutant preproinsulin cDNAs were generated by site-directed and deletion mutagenesis. These were inserted into pT7 plasmids and capped cRNA transcripts synthesized, that were then microinjected into Xenopus oocytes. Oocytes were biosynthetically radiolabeled with [3H]leucine and the secreted peptides (greater than 95% present as unprocessed proinsulins) then incubated with types I and II endopeptidase activities prepared from isolated insulinoma secretory granules. The reaction products were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Des-38-62-proinsulin, in which all but six amino acids of C-peptide were deleted was not processed by either enzyme. The mutant Lys64,Arg65 to Thr64,Arg65 was not cleaved by the type II enzyme but was still a substrate for the type I enzyme. The mutant Arg31,Arg32 to Arg31,Gly32 correspondingly was not cleaved by the type I enzyme; however, in this case it was not attacked by the type II enzyme. These results indicate that not only is the presence of a dibasic sequence essential, but also that the secondary structure of the protein is important in determining whether the prohormone is susceptible to proteolytic processing.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Proalbumin to albumin conversion by a proinsulin processing endopeptidase of insulin secretory granules.

A lysate of purified insulin secretory granules, which contains two types of proinsulin processing activity (type 1, Arg-Arg-directed and type II, Lys-Arg-directed (Davidson, H.W., Rhodes, C.J., and Hutton, J. C. (1988) Nature 333, 93-96), was found to process proalbumin by specific proteolytic cleavage of the COOH-terminal side of the Arg-2-Arg-1 sequence. The subcellular distribution of proalbumin processing activity in insulinoma tissue paralleled that for proinsulin conversion and occurred principally in a secretory granule fraction. Cleavage appeared to result from the Arg-Arg-directed type 1 proinsulin processing endo-peptidase. It was Ca2+-dependent (K0.5 activation = 1.0-1.5 mM Ca2+), unaffected by group-specific inhibitors of serine, cysteinyl, or aspartyl proteinases, and had an acidic pH optimum (5.5). Active-site inhibitor studies showed this activity had a preference for dibasic over monobasic amino acid sequences and indicated that the sequence of the dibasic site was an important determinant of the susceptibility of the substrate to cleavage. The activity did not process the proalbumin Christchurch mutant (Arg-2-Arg-1 to Arg-2-Gln-1). It was inhibited by the variant alpha 1-antitrypsin Pittsburgh (Met358 to Arg358; K0.5 = 100 nM) but not by other related proteins normally co-secreted with albumin from hepatocytes, namely alpha 1-antitrypsin M, alpha 2-macroglobulin, or antithrombin III. The insulin secretory granule proalbumin processing activity was indistinguishable from a proalbumin endopeptidase reported in rat liver membranes and similar to the yeast KEX-2 protease. These findings suggest that a highly conserved set of proprotein endopeptidases exists, which are specific for a dibasic sequence but broadly specific for proprotein substrates. Such enzymic activities appear to be active within both the constitutive and regulated pathways of secretion. Intraorganellar Ca2+ and pH appear to play a key role in regulating their activities.

Albumins↗
PubMed1989

The inhibition of proinsulin-processing endopeptidase activities by active-site-directed peptides.

Inhibitor studies were performed on the two endopeptidase activities involved in proinsulin conversion in isolated insulin secretory granules [Davidson, Rhodes & Hutton (1988) Nature (London) 333, 93-96]. The active-site-directed peptides L-alanyl-L-arginyl-L-arginylmethyldimethylsulphonium and L-alanyl-L-lysyl-L-arginylmethyldimethylsulphonium inhibited these activities in accordance with the observed cleavage pattern, suggesting that the primary amino acid sequence of the dibasic site was an important determinant of the endopeptidase substrate specificities.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Regulation of the biosynthesis of insulin-secretory-granule proteins. Co-ordinate translational control is exerted on some, but not all, granule matrix constituents.

The regulation of the biosynthesis of the insulin-secretory-granule matrix proteins insulin II, chromogranin A and carboxypeptidase H was studied in isolated rat islets of Langerhans. Islets were labelled with [35S]-methionine, and incorporation into total protein was determined by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and that into specific proteins by immunoprecipitation followed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and fluorography. Islets incubated in the presence of 16.7 mM-glucose incorporated 3 times as much [35S]-methionine into total protein as did islets incubated with 2.8 mM-glucose. The same conditions produced more than a 20-fold increase in incorporation into both proinsulin and chromogranin A, with no observable effect on carboxypeptidase H. The concentration-dependencies of the glucose-stimulated synthesis of chromogranin A and proinsulin were parallel, and in both cases the response to 16.7 mM-glucose was typified by an initial lag of 20 min, followed by a rapid activation to a new steady state over the ensuing 40 min. Synthesis of total protein, although activated to a lesser extent, responded with similar kinetics. Extracellular Ca2+ depletion did not affect the basal or glucose-stimulated biosynthesis of any of the proteins under investigation. Mannoheptulose (20 mM) abolished glucose-stimulated synthesis of insulin, chromogranin A and total protein, but had no effect on the synthesis of carboxypeptidase H. It is concluded that the biosynthesis of insulin and chromogranin A is regulated principally at the translational level by the same intracellular signal generated from the metabolism of glucose. Such regulation is not common to all insulin-secretory-granule proteins, since the synthesis of carboxypeptidase H was unaffected by the same stimulus.

Animals↗