Structure and function of voltage-dependent calcium channels from muscle.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
T Tanabe
Publications and source records attributed to T Tanabe.
Primary structure of alpha-tocopherol transfer protein from rat liver. Homology with cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein.
alpha-Tocopherol transfer protein (alpha TTP) present in rat liver cytosol specifically binds this vitamin and enhances its transfer between separate membranes. We previously reported purification of alpha TTP and showed that two isoforms exist in rat liver, of which the isoelectric points are 5.0 and 5.1, respectively (Sato, Y., Hagiwara, K., Arai, H., and Inoue, K. (1991) FEBS Lett. 288, 41-45). In the present paper, we have isolated a cDNA clone with 2194 base pairs encoding alpha TTP from a rat liver cDNA library. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA contained all the sequences of the peptide fragments obtained by digestion of the purified protein with endoproteinase Lys-C. The isolated cDNA was found to encode the isoform with a pI of 5.0 on the basis of the cross-reactivity of the recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli with the isoform-specific monoclonal antibody. From the longest open reading frame of the cloned cDNA, one isoform of rat liver alpha TTP is predicted to be composed of 278 amino acid residues of calculated molecular weight 31,845. Both Western and Northern blot analyses revealed that alpha TTP is expressed exclusively in the liver in rats. alpha TTP has been found to exhibit a structural homology with the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein present only in visual tissues.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Molecular evolution of biotin-dependent carboxylases.
Amino-acid sequences of three functional units from various biotin-dependent carboxylases, biotin carboxylase, biotin-carboxyl-carrier protein and carboxyl transferase, were investigated by computer-assisted sequence comparison to obtain information about the structure, function, and molecular evolution of the enzymes. Biotin-dependent carboxylases, except transcarboxylase and oxaloacetate decarboxylase which lack biotin carboxylase, exert their catalytic activities through the three functional units. The three functional units correspond with functional domains or subunits of the enzymes, and the genetic information for the units is encoded in different ways from enzyme to enzyme. It is known that biotin carboxylase is homologous to carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase, and that the biotin-carboxyl-carrier protein is homologous to lipoic-acid-binding domain. The evolutionary relationships between the functional units and their homologues were described. A model for the evolutionary history of the enzymes was proposed by molecular phylogenetic analysis, which shows how a wide variety of domain and/or subunit structures for the enzymes may have been established. A repeated structure was found in biotin-carboxyl-carrier protein, and the secondary structure of the protein was predicted using the observed sequence similarity with a lipoic-acid-binding domain.
Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase↗
Importance of E-selectin (ELAM-1) and sialyl Lewis(a) in the adhesion of pancreatic carcinoma cells to activated endothelium.
Adhesion molecules involved in attachment between human pancreatic carcinoma and activated endothelial cells in vitro were investigated. Basal adhesion occurred between 6 pancreatic carcinoma cell lines and unstimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and augmented basal adhesion to activated HUVEC was only seen when pancreatic cancer cells expressed sialyl Lewisa (SLea) and sialyl Lewisx (SLex). Activation of HUVEC with interleukin 1-beta (IL-1 beta) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), but not with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), generated the augmentative basal adhesion. Dose dependence and additive effect were observed in augmentation of the basal adhesion induced by IL-1 beta and/or TNF-alpha. Increase in adhesion correlated with up-regulation of the surface E-selectin (or ELAM-1) on HUVEC, and was evident at both 25 degrees C and 4 degrees C. Anti-E-selectin and anti-SLea blocked the augmented attachment, whereas anti-SLex, an antibody against another known ligand for E-selectin, did not. The collective evidence indicates that attachment between pancreas carcinoma cells and activated endothelial cells is regulated by cytokines such as IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha, and is mediated by SLea on pancreas carcinoma and E-selectin on endothelial cells. These molecules may be of significant importance in blood-borne metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma cells to inflamed sites.
Aged↗
Molecular cloning and expression of the gene for serine hydroxymethyltransferase from an obligate methylotroph Hyphomicrobium methylovorum GM2.
The gene encoding serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT), one of the key enzymes of the one-carbon-compound assimilation of a methylotroph, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum GM2, and its flanking regions were isolated using a DNA fragment encoding Escherichia coli SHMT as a probe. Nucleotide sequencing of the recombinant plasmids revealed the SHMT gene codes for the 434-amino-acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 46,068 Da. The amino-acid sequence of the enzyme showed identity to the sequences of the enzymes from E. coli (55%) and rabbit liver (44%). The recombinant plasmid, which was constructed by ligation of the cloned gene and an expression vector pKK223-3, was introduced to an SHMT-deficient E. coli mutant ME5427 (glyA-). The transformed E. coli cells expressed SHMT, which was immunologically and enzymologically indistinguishable from the enzyme isolated from H. methylovorum GM2.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Expression of human thromboxane synthase using a baculovirus system.
Human thromboxane (TX) synthase (EC 5.3.99.5) was produced by the baculovirus expression system using cDNA encoding human TX synthase [(1991) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 78, 1479-1484]. A recombinant baculovirus TXS7 was expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 insect cells. The expressed protein was recognized by monoclonal antibody, Kon 7 raised against human TX synthase [(1990) Blood 76, 80-85]. The recombinant TX synthase catalyzed the conversion of prostaglandin (PG) H2 to TXA2 and 12-hydroxy-heptadecatrienoic acid (HHT). Both conversions of PGH2 to TXA2 and HHT by the expressed TX synthase were completely inhibited by a specific TX synthase inhibitor, OKY-046 (5 microM).
Animals↗
Dissociative recombination of HeH+ at large center-of-mass energies.
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Journal Article↗
Nonurea sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with high-molarity buffers for the separation of proteins and peptides.
A sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a discontinuous buffer system for separation of both peptides and proteins, which is a modification of the Laemmli system, is described. In the modified procedure, twofold higher concentrations of buffers in the separating gel and the running buffer solution allow superior resolution for peptides as small as M(r) 5000. The resolution of peptides was dependent on salt concentrations in the systems in which sodium chloride was partially substituted for Tris-HCl buffer and buffer concentrations were varied. In the stacking gel of the modified procedure, detection of peptides and SDS demonstrated a sharp stack of peptides at the trailing edge of the SDS stack. On the other hand, this SDS stack included peptides, forced them to diffuse, and produced a broad starting zone under Laemmli conditions. In addition, following expansion of the SDS stack impaired peptide resolution further in the separating gel. Accordingly, the different interaction with the SDS stack in the stacking process was found to produce different resolution of peptides in the electrophoretic procedures. The modified conditions have potential to provide a superior alternative to the Laemmli system for analysis of various proteins.
Buffers↗
L-serine production by a methylotroph and its related enzymes.
The production process of L-serine from methanol and glycine has been developed using a methylotroph with the serine pathway. Consecutive reactions of two enzymes, methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) and serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) are involved in the production. We screened a high producer, Hyphomicrobium methylovorum, which is an obligate methylotroph. With resting cells of the bacterium, 24 mg/ml of L-serine was produced from 100 mg/ml of glycine and 48 mg/ml of methanol in 3 days under optimal conditions. Next, a glycine-resistant mutant GM2 showed improved serine production (32-34 mg/ml). The mutant GM2 was found to have elevated activities of MDH and SHMT. Since there has so far been little report on the systematic characterization of enzymes of the serine pathway in methylotrophs, not only the above two enzymes but also the other three enzymes in H. methylovorum were purified and characterized: MDH, SHMT and hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR) were crystallized; serine-glyoxylate aminotransferase (SGAT) and glycerate kinase (GK) were purified to homogeneity. As a result, all these enzymes were found to be stable against preservation and to exist abundantly in the bacterium. The gene of SHMT was cloned and its deduced amino acid sequence had homology to those of Escherichia coli (55%) and rabbit liver (44%), whereas the enzyme of the bacterium was immunochemically distinguishable from those of microorganisms other than Hyphomicrobium strains and mammalian livers.
Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
Congenital arteriovenous malformation of the pancreas with jaundice and a duodenal ulcer: report of a case.
Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a rare condition which may be associated with AVM of other organs or pathological vascular changes. Portal hypertension, which is very difficult to treat, may complicate such cases and thus, the lesion should be resected as early as possible. We report herein the case of a patient with congenital AVM, presenting with jaundice and a duodenal ulcer, in whom pancreatoduodenectomy provided a means of definitive management. To our knowledge, this is the first case of pancreatic AVM to present with jaundice as the initial symptom.
Adult↗
Enamelins in the newly formed bovine enamel.
The possibility of using the antisera raised in rabbits against the porcine 25 kDa amelogenin, 32 and 89 kDa enamelins, and the 13-17 kDa nonamelogenin for the differentiation and identification of the protein components in bovine immature enamel was examined. Although the immunoreactivities of these antisera against bovine enamel proteins were weaker than those against the porcine proteins, it was found that these antisera could differentiate and demonstrate immunohistochemically a characteristic distribution of three different kinds of enamel protein components in the bovine secretory stage enamel similar to those observed in the porcine immature enamel. Of the several high molecular weight proteins being reactive to the anti-porcine 32 and 89 kDa enamelin sera, the 130 kDa protein, having the highest molecular weight, was extracted and purified from the bovine enamel sample which was obtained by peeling approximately 30-microns thickness of the outermost layer of the secretory stage enamel. The amino acid composition of the 130 kDa protein was similar to the known bovine enamelins, and was rich in aspartic acid, glutamic acid, proline, and glycine. The results could suggest that the enamelins of lower molecular weight than this protein, which are found in the bovine secretory stage enamel, are derived from this precursor protein.
Amelogenin↗
Cytokine regulation of cell-to-cell interactions in lymphokine-activated killer cell cytotoxicity in vitro.
The permanent pancreas carcinoma cell line, PCI-24, was developed in order to analyse cytokine regulation on pancreas carcinoma and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell interaction. PCI cells expressed ICAM-1 and HLA-ABC, but not HLA-DR antigens. PCI cells showed augmented ICAM-1 and HLA-ABC expression when incubated with interferon gamma (IFN gamma) and tumour necrosis factor alpha. A similar but weak augmentary effect on the HLA-ABC and ICAM-1 surface expression was seen with interleukin-1 beta treatment. Natural attachment of LAK to PCI cells was augmented by recombinant IFN gamma in close association with ICAM-1 up-regulation on PCI cells. In addition, natural attachment was significantly inhibited by anti-LFA-1 and anti-ICAM-1 antibody treatments. Cytotoxicity of the LAK cells against PCI cells was also significantly inhibited with the same treatment. Thus, the attachment of LAK cells to PCI cells through LFA-1/ICAM-1 molecules appeared to be essential for the cytotoxicity for PCI cells. Pretreatment of PCI cells, but not of LAK cells, with IFN gamma or other cytokines resulted in a decrease of susceptibility for LAK cell cytotoxicity. The decreased susceptibility inversely correlated with HLA-ABC expression on the PCI cells. The collective evidence indicates that, although LAK cell attachment to pancreas carcinoma cells through the LFA-1/ICAM-1 molecule is augmented by IFN gamma, IFN gamma treatment of pancreas carcinoma cells reduces LAK cell cytotoxicity possibly through an increase in HLA-ABC or a regulation of molecules closely associated to HLA-ABC expression.
Aged↗
Distinctive pharmacology and kinetics of cloned neuronal Ca2+ channels and their possible counterparts in mammalian CNS neurons.
This paper provides a brief overview of the diversity of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and our recent work on neuronal Ca2+ channels with novel pharmacological and biophysical properties that distinguish them from L, N, P or T-type channels. The Ca2+ channel alpha 1 subunit known as alpha 1A or BI [Mori Y., Friedrich T., Kim M.-S., Mikami A., Nakai J., Ruth P., Bosse E., Hofmann F., Flockerzi V., Furuichi T., Mikoshiba K., Imoto K., Tanabe T. and Numa S. (1991) Nature 350, 398-402] is generally assumed to encode the P-type Ca2+ channel. However, we find that alpha 1A expressed in Xenopus oocytes differs from P-type channels in its kinetics of inactivation and its degree of sensitivity to block by the peptide toxins omega-Aga-IVA and omega-CTx-MVIIC [Sather W. A., Tanabe T., Zhang J.-F., Mori Y., Adams M. E. and Tsien R. W. (1993) Neuron 11, 291-303]. Thus, alpha 1A is capable of generating a Ca2+ channel with characteristics quite distinct from P-type channels. Doe-1, recently cloned from the forebrain of a marine ray, is another alpha 1 subunit which exemplifies a different branch of the Ca2+ channel family tree [Horne W. A., Ellinor P. T., Inman I., Zhou M., Tsien R. W. and Schwarz T. L. (1993) Proc. Natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 3787-3791]. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, doe-1 forms a high voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ channel [Ellinor P. T., Zhang J.-F., Randall A. D., Zhou M., Schwarz T. L., Tsien R. W. and Horne W. (1993) Nature 363, 455-458]. It inactivates more rapidly than any previously expressed calcium channel and is not blocked by dihydropyridine antagonists or omega-Aga-IVA. Doe-1 current is reduced by omega-CTx-GVIA, but the inhibition is readily reversible and requires micromolar toxin, in contrast to this toxin's potent and irreversible block of N-type channels. Doe-1 shows considerable sensitivity to block by Ni2+ or Cd2+. We have identified components of Ca2+ channel current in rat cerebellar granule neurons with kinetic and pharmacological features similar to alpha 1A and doe-1 in oocytes [Randall A. D., Wendland B., Schweizer F., Miljanich G., Adams M. E. and Tsien R. W. (1993) Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 19, 1478]. The doe-1-like component (R-type current) inactivates much more quickly than L, N or P-type channels, and also differs significantly in its pharmacology.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Animals↗
Distinctive biophysical and pharmacological properties of class A (BI) calcium channel alpha 1 subunits.
Transcripts for the class A Ca2+ channel alpha 1 subunit (also known as BI) are present at high levels in many parts of the mammalian CNS and are widely assumed to encode the P-type Ca2+ channel. To characterize the biophysical and pharmacological properties of alpha 1A channels, macroscopic and single-channel recordings were made in Xenopus oocytes injected with alpha 1A cRNA. alpha 1-specific properties were identified by making systematic comparisons with the more familiar class C alpha 1 subunit under the condition of a standard ancillary subunit (alpha 2/delta + beta) makeup. alpha 1A currents activate and inactivate more rapidly and display steeper voltage dependence of gating than alpha 1C currents. Unlike alpha 1C, alpha 1A channels are largely insensitive to dihydropyridines and FPL 64176, but respond to the cone snail peptide omega-CTx-MVIIC(SNX-230), a potent and fairly selective inhibitor. In comparison with P-type Ca2+ channels in rat cerebellar Purkinje cells, alpha 1A channels in oocytes are approximately 10(2)-fold less sensitive to omega-Aga-IVA and approximately 10-fold more sensitive to omega-CTx-MVIIC. alpha 1A channels are not inhibited by Bay K 8644 and inactivate much more rapidly than P-type Ca2+ channels. Thus, alpha 1A is capable of generating a Ca2+ channel phenotype quite different from P-type current.
Animals↗
Tissue-specific and developmentally regulated expression of the genes encoding adenylate kinase isozymes.
Adenylate kinase (AK) is known to play an important role in homeostasis of adenine nucleotide metabolism. We isolated cDNAs for rat AK isozymes (AK1, AK2, and AK3), determined their mRNAs in rat tissues by Northern blot analysis, and measured the isozyme activities. Tissue-dependent activities of AK1 and AK2 paralleled the contents of mRNAs. Tissues with high AK1 levels showed low AK2 levels and vice versa, suggesting that tissue-specific expressions of the AK1 and AK2 genes are inversely regulated. AK3 mRNA was detected in most tissues examined, suggesting that AK3 gene expression is constitutive. We further examined developmental changes in mRNAs and enzyme activities of AK isozymes in rat skeletal muscle and liver. In the skeletal muscle, AK1 and AK3 activities started to increase at around the weaning period. AK1 mRNA accumulated at the prenatal stage and further increased during development, while AK3 mRNA was at high levels during the fetal stage and remained fairly constant during development. In the liver, AK2 and AK3 activities started to increase after birth and were further elevated during growth, whereas their mRNAs were present at relatively high levels throughout development. The physiological meanings of the tissue-specific expression of the AK isozyme genes are discussed.
Adenylate Kinase↗
Effects of bunazosin, a selective alpha 1-blocking agent, and propranolol used alone and in combination on canine ventricular refractoriness and its dispersion during myocardial ischemia.
The individual and combined effects of bunazosin, a selective alpha 1-adrenergic blocking agent, and propranolol on ventricular refractoriness and its dispersion were assessed in 33 chloralose-anesthetized, sympathectomized, and vagotomized dogs 2-3 h after occlusion of the obtuse marginal branches of the circumflex artery. The refractory period was measured in eight sites of the ischemic zone, two sites of the border zone, and two sites of the normal zone with S1-S2 extrastimulus methods. In group 1 dogs (n = 9), coronary artery ligation significantly shortened refractoriness in the ischemic zone (p = 0.023-0.001 in each site). Intravenous (i.v.) administration of a low dose of bunazosin at 0.1 mg/kg significantly blunted the shortening of refractoriness in the ischemic zone (p = 0.026-0.002 in each site), although the values did not reach those observed in the nonischemic zones (both the border and normal zones), where refractoriness remained unchanged. In group 2 dogs (n = 11), a higher dose of i.v. bunazosin, 0.5 mg/kg, significantly blunted the shortening of the refractory period within the ischemic zone (from 149 +/- 14 to 175 +/- 8 ms; mean +/- SD, p < 0.001) and reached the levels of the nonischemic zones (border zone 175 +/- 15 ms, normal zone 170 +/- 14 ms), resulting in a dispersion reduction in refractoriness between the ischemic and nonischemic zones. This dispersion tended to increase again with i.v. administration of 0.2 mg/kg propranolol (ischemic vs. border zone p = 0.034; ischemic vs. normal zone p = 0.089).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗
Purification of exfoliative toxin produced by Staphylococcus hyicus and its antigenicity.
We previously reported the isolation of an exfoliative toxin from culture filtrates of Staphylococcus hyicus (shET) and reproduction of exfoliation in piglets injected with partially purified shET. In this study, we purified shET and compared the biological and physicochemical properties of shET and Staphylococcus aureus exfoliative toxin (sETA and sETB). shET was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulofine A-500 column chromatography, Sephadex G-75 gel filtration, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (7.5% polyacrylamide). Purified shET (p-shET) did not cause exfoliation of the epidermis in suckling mice but did cause exfoliation in 1-day-old chickens, whereas sETA and sETB produced by S. aureus caused exfoliation in suckling mice but not in 1-day-old chickens. The molecular mass of p-shET was determined as 27 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. p-shET did not show any cross-reactivity with sETA and sETB in Western immunoblotting analysis or the immunodiffusion test.
Animals↗
Inhibitory effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins-1 and -3 on IGF-activated glucose consumption in mouse BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts.
We have examined the biological effects of insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) on insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-activated glucose consumption in a BALB/c 3T3 subline. The method employed was a colorimetric measurement of glucose consumption, allowing the detection of changes from the initial glucose concentration in conditioned medium, following the addition of IGFs and IGFBPs. Human IGFBP-1, purified from amniotic fluid, inhibited IGF-activated glucose consumption, although it had no effect on insulin-activated glucose consumption. The median effective dose (ED50) of IGFBP-1 to cause inhibitory effects on IGF-activated glucose consumption was 100-200 micrograms/l and was similar for both IGF-I and IGF-II at a concentration of 1.0 microgram IGF/l. Therefore, at IGF concentrations of comparable activity, the inhibitory effects of IGFBP-1 were greater for IGF-I than for IGF-II, because of the higher activity of IGF-I in this assay. Recombinant human IGFBP-3 also inhibited IGF-activated glucose consumption, without affecting insulin-stimulated glucose consumption. The inhibitory effects of IGFBP-3 were greater for IGF-II than for IGF-I when IGFBP-3 was coincubated with either of the IGFs, at both IGF concentrations of comparable activity and equivalent molar concentrations. Thus, it became clear that the inhibitory effects of these IGFBPs on IGF biological action depended primarily upon their affinity for the specific IGF ligand and molar ratio of IGFBP/IGF peptide. Interestingly, when cells were pretreated with IGFBP-3, prior to the simultaneous addition of IGFs and IGFBP-3, the inhibitory effect was higher for IGF-I than for IGF-II. Either no effect or a minor inhibitory effect on IGF-activated glucose consumption was detected with IGFBP pretreatment alone. When the ED50 for inhibition of IGF action by IGFBPs in this in-vitro assay was compared with the physiological concentrations of IGFs and IGFBPs in normal human serum and in amniotic fluid, it was estimated that the IGFBP-1 concentration present in serum was not sufficient to modulate IGF action effectively while the concentration in amniotic fluid was enough for effective suppression. IGFBP-3 exhibited an ED50 low enough to suppress IGF-II and possibly IGF-I action when cells were pretreated with IGFBP-3. Thus, our data suggested that IGFBP-1 in amniotic fluid and IGFBP-3 in serum could be a potent inhibitor for IGF action. IGFBP-1 in serum, however, may not be able to function as a direct inhibitor under physiological conditions but, rather, may modulate IGF action together with other IGFBPs.
Animals↗