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R Brousseau

Publications and source records attributed to R Brousseau.

78 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Synthesis of the human insulin gene. Part II. Further improvements in the modified phosphotriester method and the synthesis of seventeen deoxyribooligonucleotide fragments constituting human insulin chains B and mini-CDNA.

The purification of protected deoxyribooligonucleotides containing phosphotriester internucleotidic linkages has been improved by developing a deactivated silica gel chromatographic technique. The efficiency of this technique as applied in the modified phosphotriester approach has been demonstrated in the rapid synthesis of seventeen pure fragments constituting the sequence of human insulin B and mini-C DNA. The sequence of each oligomer was confirmed by the two-dimensional mobility shift method of fingerprinting.

Base Sequence↗

Synthesis of human insulin gene. Part I. Development of reversed-phase chromatography in the modified triester method. Its application in the rapid and efficient synthesis of eight deoxyribooligonucleotides fragments constituting human insulin A DNA.

Preparative reversed-phase thin layer chromatography on silanized silica-gel (RP-2 and RP-18) has been developed to purify triester deoxyribooligonucleotides prepared by the modified triester method. The effectiveness of this technique has been demonstrated in the rapid synthesis of eight pure deoxyribooligonucleotides constituting the sequence of human insulin A DNA. The sequence of each of the deoxyribooligonucleotides was confirmed by the two-dimensional mobility-shift method of finger-printing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Synthesis of human insulin gene. VIII. Construction of expression vectors for fused proinsulin production in Escherichia coli.

We have constructed two families of plasmids suitable for the cloning of genes and for directing the synthesis of large amounts of fused proteins in Escherichia coli. The plasmids include the E. coli lac promoter and a portion of the coding sequence for beta-galactosidase, which can code for approx. 590 or 450 amino acids. The truncated beta-galactosidase gene ends with a poly-linker region at the 3' end, which can be cleaved by any one of the eight common restriction enzymes and joined to the gene coding for any desired protein. Each family includes three plasmids that enable fusion to be made in all three of the translational reading frames. We have cloned a synthetic human proinsulin gene into these plasmids, and 30% of the total E. coli protein was represented by the 590 amino acid-long truncated beta-galactosidase fused to proinsulin. The yield of proinsulin in this system is more than twice the amount produced by using a 1007 amino acid-long beta-galactosidase gene for fusion.

Base Sequence↗

The heliothis virescens 170 kDa aminopeptidase functions as "receptor A" by mediating specific Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A delta-endotoxin binding and pore formation.

The relationship between Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac delta-endotoxin binding and pore formation was investigated using a purified 170 kDa aminopeptidase N (APN) from Heliothis virescens brush border membranes. Aminopeptidases with molecular sizes of 110, 140 and 170 kDa were eluted from a Cry1Ac toxin affinity column using N-acetylgalactosamine. The 140 kDa aminopeptidase has a cross-reacting determinant typical of a cleaved glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. After mild base treatment to de-acylate the glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol linkage and incubation in phosphatidyl inositol phospholipase C, anti-cross-reacting determinant antibody recognized the 170 kDa protein. Kinetic binding characteristics of Cry1A toxins to purified 170 kDa APN were determined using surface plasmon resonance. Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac, but not Cry1C and Cry1E toxins recognized 170 kDa APN. Each Cry1A toxin recognized two binding sites: a high affinity site with KD ranging from 41 to 95 nM and a lower affinity site with KD in the 325 to 623 nM range. N-acetylgalactosamine inhibited Cry1Ac but not Cry1Aa and Cry1Ab binding to 170 kDa APN. When reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles, the 170 kDa APN promoted toxin-induced 86Rb+ release for Cry1A toxins, but not Cry1C toxin. Furthermore Cry1Ac, the Cry protein most toxic to H. virescens larvae, caused 86Rb+ release at lower concentrations, and to a greater extent than Cry1Aa and Cry1Ab toxins. The correlation between toxin-binding specificity and 86Rb+ release strongly suggests that the purified 170 kDa APN is the functional receptor A in the H. virescens midgut epithelial cell brush border membranes.

Acetylgalactosamine↗