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M Chauvière

Publications and source records attributed to M Chauvière.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Basic homopolyamino acids, histones and protamines are potent antagonists of angiogenin binding to ribonuclease inhibitor.

A radio-ribonuclease inhibitor assay based on the interaction of 125I-angiogenin with ribonuclease inhibitor (RI) was used to detect pancreatic-type ribonucleases and potential modulators of their action. We show that highly basic proteins including the homopolypeptides poly-arginine, poly-lysine and poly-ornithine, core histones, spermatid-specific S1 protein and the protamines HP3 and Z3 were strong inhibitors of angiogenin binding to RI. A minimum size of poly-arginine and poly-lysine was required for efficient inhibition. The inhibition likely resulted from direct association of the basic proteins with the acidic inhibitor, as RI bound to poly-lysine and protamines while 125I-angiogenin did not. Antagonists of the angiogenin-RI interaction are potential regulators of either angiogenin-triggered angiogenesis and/or intracellular RI function, depending on their preferential target.

Amino Acids↗

Molecular characterization of six intermediate proteins in the processing of mouse protamine P2 precursor.

In mouse spermatozoa, DNA is compacted by two protamines mP1 and mP2. Protamine mP2 (63 residues) is synthesized in spermatid nuclei as a precursor pmP2 (106 residues) which is subsequently processed at the end of spermiogenesis [Yelick, P.C., Balhorn, R., Johnson, P.A., Corzett, M., Mazrimas, J.A., Kleene, K.C. & Hecht, N.B. (1987) Mol. Cell. Biol. 7, 2173-2179]. Six proteins, three of which were described earlier [Chauvière, M., Martinage, A., Debarle, M., Alimi, E., Sautière, P. & Chevaillier, Ph. (1991) C.R. Acad. Sci. 313, 107-112], have molecular and electrophoretic properties similar to those of pmP2. They were isolated from purified testis nuclei and characterized by amino acid composition, N-terminal sequence and peptide mapping. From the amino acid compositions, it appears that all six proteins are rich in arginine, cysteine and histidine and are closely related to pmP2 and mP2. The N-terminal sequence of each protein overlaps a distinct region of the N-terminal part of pmP2. The C-terminal part of protamine mP2 starting at arginine 15 is common to all proteins as assessed by amino acid compositions and peptide maps. All these structural data demonstrate that the six isolated proteins are products of pmP2 precursor processing. The six intermediate proteins pmP2/5, pmP2/11, pmP2/16, pmP2/20, pmP2/26 and pmP2/32 which contain 102, 96, 91, 87, 81 and 75 residues, respectively, are generated from the pmP2 precursor after N-terminal excision of 4, 10, 15, 19, 25 and 31 residues, respectively. The C-terminal sequence of protamine mP2 is strictly identical to that of its precursor; therefore, no maturation occurs in this part of the molecule. At the present time, the proteolytic pathway involved in the amino-terminal processing leading to the mature form of the protamine mP2 (63 residues) has not been elucidated. However, the different representation of six intermediates in the testis suggests that some stages of processing are faster than others or that some cleavage sites are preferred. The proteins described in this paper could result either from stepwise excision of N-terminal residues or from non-sequential cleavages.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Purification and characterization of precursors of mouse protamine mP2].

Mouse protamine 2 (62 residues) is synthesized as a precursor pmP2 (106 residues) which is subsequently processed during the end of spermiogenesis. Three proteins with molecular and electrophoretic properties similar to those of pmP2 were isolated from testis purified nuclei. The comparison of their amino acid composition and of their N-terminal sequence with those of pmP2 shows that the three isolated proteins are products of pmP2 precursor processing. The three intermediate proteins pmP2/5, pmP2/11 and pmP2/20 which contain 102, 96 and 87 residues respectively, are generated from pmP2 precursors after N-terminal excision of 4, 10 and 19 residues, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Basic nuclear proteins of transition during spermiogenesis in Scylliorhinus caniculus].

During dog-fish spermiogenesis, 2 basic nuclear protein transitions occur: the first from histones to spermatid-specific proteins S1 and S2, the second leading to protamines. S1, the most abundant transition protein, is a polypeptide containing 87 residues (Mr = 11,179 Da) whereas S2, the minor transition protein, contains 80 residues (Mr = 9,726 Da). The 2 proteins are mainly characterized by an asymmetry of the molecule, a very high content of basic residues, a relatively high level of hydrophobic residues and a cluster of acidic residues in the carboxy-terminal quarter of the molecule. The 2 proteins are phosphorylated on serine residues and the degree of phosphorylation is relatively important in protein S1. The 2 transition proteins are structurally unrelated to testis histones or sperm protamines and cannot be considered either as their proteolytic degradation products or as their precursors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Nuclear basic protein transition during sperm differentiation. Primary structure of the spermatid-specific protein S2 from the dog-fish Scylliorhinus caniculus.

The remodeling of nucleoproteins during dog-fish spermiogenesis involves two successive nuclear protein transitions: the first from somatic-type histones to transition proteins during the nuclear elongation of spermatids and the second leading to protamine-DNA association in mature spermatozoa. The chromatin of elongating spermatids contains two transition proteins called S1 and S2. The amino acid sequence of protein S1, a polypeptide of 87 residues was determined previously [Chauvière, M., Martinage, A., Briand, G., Sautière, P. & Chevaillier, Ph. (1987) Eur. J. Biochem. 169, 105-111]. In the present paper, we report the elucidation of the primary structure of the minor transition protein S2 established by automated Edman degradation of the protein and of its fragments generated by cleavage at methionine and aspartate residues. S2 contains 80 residues and has a molecular mass of 9726 Da. S2 is mainly characterized by a high content of basic amino acids mostly represented by lysine, a relatively high level of hydrophobic residues, the presence of six phosphorylatable residues and the lack of cysteine. Its amino acid sequence shows that the N-terminal half is highly basic, while the acidic residues are located in the C-terminal part of the protein where more diversity in amino acids is noticed. The two transition proteins S1 and S2 share striking structural similarities. Few but significative similarities have been detected with the mammalian transition protein TP1 [Kistler, W. S., Noyes, C., Hsu, R. & Heinrikson, R. L. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 1847-1853], suggesting similar functions for all these proteins in chromatin remodeling during sperm differentiation. By contrast, the two dog-fish spermatid-specific proteins are structurally unrelated to sperm protamines and cannot be considered as their precursors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Nuclear basic protein transition during sperm differentiation. Amino acid sequence of a spermatid-specific protein from the dog-fish Scylliorhinus caniculus.

During dog-fish spermatogenesis, chromatin undergoes a continuous processing which involves two basic protein transitions: the first from somatic-type histones to spermatid-specific proteins and the second leading to protamines. Two spermatid-specific proteins S1 and S2 were isolated from nuclei of spermatid-enriched testis zone and the amino acid sequence of S1 has been determined. S1 contains 87 amino acids and has a molecular mass of 11179 Da. It is mainly characterized by a high content of basic residues (45%) and the presence of one residue of cysteine. Its primary structure shows that the N-terminal half is highly basic while the hydrophobic residues are preferentially localized in the C-terminal region. Three forms of S1 are present in testis which correspond to di-, mono- and nonphosphorylated molecules. This spermatid-specific protein shares no common structural feature with either histones and dog-fish protamines or rat spermatid-specific protein which has been previously described.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗