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Biomedical subjects

S Iwanaga

Publications and source records attributed to S Iwanaga.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

[Ultrastructural observations on human endometrial stromal cells during the normal menstrual cycle--with special reference to so-called "predecidual cells"].

Human endometrial stromal cells during the normal menstrual cycle were observed with the transmission electron microscope, the scanning electron microscope and the freeze-fracture replica method. In the early proliferative phase, the stromal cells had the characteristics of mesenchymal cells but in the early secretory phase, they resembled fibroblasts. In the late secretory phase, the stromal cells (so called "predecidual cells") were characterized by their large size, rounded shape, and their abundant cytoplasms with well-developed organelles. Furthermore, "predecidual cells" also had the following conspicuous features: 1. In the cytoplasms numerous membrane-bounded collagen fibers were seen, and positive acid-phosphatase activity was detected in these fibers. 2. Neighbouring "predecidual cells" were often joined to each other by "gap junctions". 3. "Predecidual cells" had many "coated regions" on their cytoplasmic membranes. Structural changes in endometrial stromal cells were discussed in regard to the function of these cells.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Plasminogen Tochigi: inactive plasmin resulting from replacement of alanine-600 by threonine in the active site.

Structural studies on a hereditarily abnormal plasminogen, plasminogen Tochigi, have been performed to identify the difference responsible for its lack of proteolytic activity. The plasminogen sample used was from a heterozygote and thus consisted of apparently equal amounts of normal and defective plasminogen molecules. Amino acid sequence analysis of a tryptic peptide isolated from the abnormal plasminogen indicated that Ala-600 (equivalent to Ala-55 in the chymotrypsin numbering system) had been replaced by Thr. No other substitutions in the active-site residues--namely, His-57, Asp-102, and Ser-195--were found. Molecular models for chymotrypsin and the bovine trypsin-pancreatic trypsin inhibitor complex indicate that Ala-55 is very near the active-site His. The Thr at position 55 in plasminogen (plasmin) Tochigi may perturb His-57 such that the proton transfers associated with the normal catalytic process cannot occur in the abnormal plasmin.

Alanine↗

Comparative studies on the structures of the carbohydrate moieties of human fibrinogen and abnormal fibrinogen Nagoya.

Human fibrinogen contains four asparagine-linked sugar chains in one molecule. All B beta and gamma subunits obtained from both normal fibrinogen and abnormal fibrinogen Nagoya contain 1 mol each of an asparagine-linked sugar chain. The sugar chains were quantitatively liberated as radioactive oligosaccharides from the polypeptide portion by hydrazinolysis followed by N-acetylation and NaB3H4 reduction. By the combination of sequential exoglycosidase digestion and methylation analysis, the structures of the sugar chains of human fibrinogen were elucidated to be NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 6Gal beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 2Man alpha 1 leads to 6(NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 6Gal beta 1 leads to 4GlcNac beta 1 leads to 2Man alpha 1 leads to 3)Man beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc and Gal beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 2Man alpha 1 leads to 6(NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 6Gal beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 2Man alpha 1 leads to 3)Man beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc. Neither quantitative nor qualitative differences were found between the sugar chain moieties of normal fibrinogen and fibrinogen Nagoya, indicating that the molecular basis of the abnormality in the latter may reside in its polypeptide moieties.

Asparagine↗

A clotting enzyme associated with the hemolymph coagulation system of horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus): its purification and characterization.

A clotting enzyme associated with the hemolymph coagulation system of Japanese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus) was highly purified from the amebocyte lysate. The method for purification consisted of gel-filtration of the lysate on a pyrogen-free Sepharose CL-6B column and affinity chromatography of the endotoxin-treated clotting enzyme on a benzamidine-Sepharose 4B column. Through these procedures, about 3 mg of the purified enzyme was obtained from 70 ml of the lysate and about 390-fold purification was achieved. The purified preparation was found to give a single major band, respectively, on polyacrylamide-gel disc electrophoresis at pH 3.2 in the presence of 6 M urea and on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of 2-mercaptoethanol. It also gave a single symmetrical peak on QAE-Sephadex A-25 column chromatography. The molecular weight of the clotting enzyme was estimated to be approximately 42,000 for the unreduced sample by SDS-gel electrophoresis. For the reduced sample, it was 30,000, suggesting that the protein consists of plural polypeptide chains bridged by disulfide(s). The Tachypleus clotting enzyme was a glycoprotein, as shown by the positive periodic acid-Schiff reaction for the protein band on SDS-gel and the amino acid analysis. The purified clotting enzyme transformed Tachypleus coagulogen to coagulin gel and hydrolyzed a chromogenic peptide substrate, Tos-Ile-Glu-Gly-Arg-p-nitroanilide for Factor Xa, liberating p-nitroaniline. The enzyme was sensitive to DFP and benzamidine. It was also inhibited partially by PCMB. Antithrombin III and alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor (alpha 2-antiplasmin) were very effective inhibitors of this enzyme among ten kinds of naturally occurring proteinase inhibitors tested. The clotting enzyme had a restricted specificity towards protein substrates and activated only prothrombin among plasma zymogens including Factor IX, Factor X, fibrinogen, plasminogen and prekallikrein. The cleavage sites of bovine prothrombin for this enzyme were the same Arg-Thr and Arg-Ile linkages as those for Factor Xa, resulting in the formation of alpha-thrombin. These results indicate that the horseshoe crab clotting enzyme is a Factor Xa-like serine proteinase rather than alpha-thrombin. It seems likely that the Tachypleus clotting enzyme is a prototype of mammalian serine proteinases participating in blood coagulation.

Amino Acids↗

Streptokinase-dependent potentiating factor (SK-potentiator) for plasminogen activation from human plasma: its identification as a fibrinogen degradation product.

A factor, named SK-potentiator, which is known to potentiate the activation of plasminogen by streptokinase (SK), was isolated from human plasma. The procedures consisted of column chromatographies on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and heparin-agarose, followed with gel-filtration on a Sepharose 6B column and affinity chromatography on a lysine-Sepharose 4B column. The isolated SK-potentiator markedly potentiated the rate of activation of plasminogen by streptokinase. However, it did not show a potentiating effect on the activation of plasminogen by urokinase or on the plasmin activity. SK-potentiator showed a similar mobility to that of fibrinogen on both SDS-polyacrylamide gel and agarose gel electrophoresis, and cross-reacted with anti-fibrinogen antiserum. The amino acid composition of SK-potentiator was very close to that of human fibrinogen, although the content of serine and threonine was significantly lower. SK-potentiator showed a single band with a molecular weight of 300,000 on SDS-gel electrophoresis in the absence of 2-mercaptoethanol. In the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, it showed two major bands with molecular weights of 53,000 and 48,000, respectively, which corresponded to the B beta chain and gamma chain of fibrinogen. To establish further that the isolated SK-potentiator may be one of the fibrinogen degradation products (FDP), human fibrinogen was digested with plasmin and the SK-potentiator activity generated in the course of the digestion was measured. As a result, the SK-potentiator activity was found to initially increase and then decrease with incubation time, suggesting that an early FDP has the ability to potentiate the SK-mediated activation of plasminogen. The early FDP was then isolated by gel-filtration on a column of Sepharose 6B and it was found that the SK-potentiator activity was associated with the early FDP. Moreover, the early FDP showed the same electrophoretic mobility as the isolated SK-potentiator on SDS-gel electrophoresis and their amino acid compositions were quite similar to each other. From these results, the SK-potentiator was identified as the early FDP.

Amino Acids↗

The role of bovine high-molecular-weight (HMW) kininogen in contact-mediated activation of bovine factor XII: interaction of HMW kininogen with kaolin and plasma prekallikrein.

Previous studies from our laboratories (Sugo et al. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 3215-3220) have shown that bovine high-molecular-weight (HMW) kininogen remarkably accelerates the kaolin-mediated activation of Factor XII in the presence of prekallikrein, and that both fragment 1.2 and the light chain regions located in the COOH terminal half of the kininogen molecule are essential for the activation. In the present study, we demonstrate that the accelerating effect of HMW kininogen is mediated through its adsorption on the kaolin surface through the fragment 1.2 region and its complex formation with prekallikrein through the light chain region. The evidence is as follows: 1. HMW kininogen radio-labeled with 125I was adsorbed on kaolin and the adsorption was inhibited by the prior treatment of kaolin with fragment 1.2, fragment 1.2-light chain, kinin-free protein or HMW kininogen, but not with kinin- and fragment 1.2-free protein, light chain or low molecular-weight (LMW) kininogen. 2. The complex formation of HMW kininogen with prekallikrein in bovine plasma or in the purified system was examined by gel-filtration on a column of Sephacryl S-200 In bovine plasma, prekallikrein was eluted in the same fraction as HMW kininogen, showing an apparent molecular weight of 250,000, whereas purified prekallikrein was eluted in the fraction corresponding to an apparent molecular weight of 100,000. When purified prekallikrein was mixed with purified HMW kininogen in a mol ratio of 1 to 2, all prekallikrein was found to be associated with HMW kininogen. Furthermore, purified prekallikrein mixed with kininogen derivatives, such as kinin- and fragment 1.2-free protein, fragment 1.2-light chain or light chain, was eluted in the higher molecular weight fraction. HMW kininogen did not form a complex with prekallikrein. Using the same technique, it was shown that kinin- and fragment 1.2-free protein forms a complex not only with prekallikrein but also with kallikrein.

Adsorption↗

A new fluorogenic peptide substrate for vitamin K-dependent blood coagulation factor, bovine protein C.

Protein C is a precursor of plasma serine proteinases, and its active form inactivates specifically blood coagulation Factor V and Factor VIII. Since a specific and sensitive synthetic substrate for the activated protein C was not known, we studied its amidolytic activity toward 25 fluorogenic peptides of the type peptidyl-4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide (peptidyl MCA). The activated protein C, namely, bovine protein C activated by bovine alpha-thrombin, showed the highest activity toward Boc-Leu-Ser-Thr-Arg-MCA. The enzyme's Km and Kcat values for this substrate were calculated to be 3.3 x 10(-4) M and 8.4 s-1, respectively. Optimum conditions for measurement of activated protein C activity were studied with this substrate. Optimum pH was 8.5. For the maximum activity at pH 8.5, concentrations of 0.1 M NaCl and 1 mM CaCl2 had to be maintained in the reaction mixture. The fluorogenic peptide Boc-Leu-Ser-Thr-Arg-MCA was successfully applied to a simple and accurate assay of protein C during its purification.

Animals↗

High-molecular-weight kininogen from horse plasma. Isolation, characterization and comparison with bovine high-Mr kininogen.

High-molecular-weight (high-Mr) kininogen was purified from horse plasma by chromatography on columns of DEAE-Sephadex A-50, CM-Sephadex C-50, p-chlorobenzylamine-Sepharose and Sephadex G-150. The yield was about 150 mg from 81 of fresh plasma. The purified material gave a single band on sodium dodecylsulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and a single precipitin line on immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis. The molecular weight of horse high-Mr kininogen was estimated to be 78000 by dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis using the Ferguson plot. Its polypeptide content was determined to be 86% by amino acid analysis and there was a total of 581 amino acid residues/molecule of protein. The kininogen contained a total of 13.9% carbohydrates, consisting of hexoses (7.8%), glucosamine (1.9%), galactosamine (0.6%) and sialic acid (3.6%). On incubation of horse high-Mr kininogen with bovine and horse plasma kallikreins, several fragments which contained extremely high levels of histidine, were liberated, in addition to kinin. After the liberation of kinin and histidine-rich fragments, a protein free of kinin and its fragments was isolated. This protein consisted of two polypeptide chains, heavy chain and light chain, which are bridged by disulfide bonds. The molecular weight and amino acid composition of the heavy chain and the light chain from horse high-Mr kininogen were very similar to those of the heavy and light chains from bovine high-Mr kininogen, respectively. From these results, it was revealed that horse high-Mr kininogen is quite similar to bovine high-Mr kininogen in terms of their physicochemical and chemical properties, although they are immunologically distinguishable.

Amino Acids↗