Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Exoribonucleases”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources

Multiple forms of ribonuclease II in mouse liver: relative sizes, subcellular distributions, and pH-activity profiles.

Multiple forms of ribonuclease II (EC 3.1.27.5) have been resolved from extracts of crude fractions of mouse liver by ion-exchange chromatography on phosphocellulose and gel permeation chromatography. The forms are designated 6S, 6L, 5S, 5L, 4S, 4L, 3S, 3L, 2, and 1 in increasing order of apparent cationic character. The forms fall into two series of apparent molecular weight. The small series increases from molecular weight equal to 9000 for form 1 to 14,000 for form 6S. The large series increases from molecular weight equal to 22,000 for form 2 to 44,000 for form 6L. All forms have pH-activity profiles with maxima near pH 7. Activity falls to no less than 30% of this maximum at pHs 5 and 8.5. Relative to the other forms, form 1 has a higher ratio of activity in the alkaline compared with acid pH range. Form 1 is found in the cytosolic, "light" particle, and "heavy" particle fractions. The other forms are largely restricted to the heavy particle fraction. In this fraction the proportion of total activity attributable to each form generally decreases in order from form 1 down to form 6. The results are accommodated by models in which one or more gene products give rise to multiple forms of ribonuclease II by processes involving dimerization and glycosylation.

Animals↗

Multicompartmental distribution of ribonuclease II in mouse liver.

Thirty percent of RNase II (EC 3.1.27.5) is present in the cytosol of mouse liver where it exists in an inactive complex with a protein inhibitor. The remaining 70% of RNase II is active, soluble enzyme unassociated with inhibitor and is distributed in a ratio of 1.3 to 1 between the lumen of reticular elements and the interior of heavy particles. Although heavy particle RNase II resembles acid hydrolases in centrifugal behavior, in other tests including density shift experiments the resemblance is incomplete. In experiments employing lysis induced by L-amino acid methyl esters, RNase II activity is much more latent than the activity of the lysosomal marker, acid RNase. It is postulated that the heavy particle component of RNase II is contained in a secretory vesicle rather than in classic lysosomes.

Animals↗

Protection of renal cells from cisplatin toxicity by cell cycle inhibitors.

The optimal use of cisplatin as a chemotherapeutic drug has been limited by its nephrotoxicity. Murine models have been used to study cisplatin-induced acute renal failure. After cisplatin administration, cells of the S3 segment in the renal proximal tubule are especially sensitive and undergo extensive necrosis in vivo. Similarly, cultured proximal tubule cells undergo apoptosis in vitro after cisplatin exposure. We have shown in vivo that kidney cells enter the cell cycle after cisplatin administration but that cell cycle-inhibitory proteins p21 and 14-3-3sigma are also upregulated. These proteins coordinate the cell cycle, and deletion of either of the genes resulted in increased nephrotoxicity in vivo or increased cell death in vitro after exposure to cisplatin. However, it was not known whether cell cycle inhibition before acute renal failure could protect from cisplatin-induced cell death, especially in cells with functional p21 and 14-3-3sigma genes. Using several cell cycle inhibitors, including a p21 adenovirus, and the drugs roscovitine and olomoucine, we have been able to completely protect a mouse kidney proximal tubule cell culture from cisplatin-induced apoptosis. The protection by p21 was independent of an effect on the cell cycle and was likely caused by selective inhibition of caspase-dependent and -independent cell death pathways in the cells.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

DNA damage-induced protein 14-3-3 sigma inhibits protein kinase B/Akt activation and suppresses Akt-activated cancer.

14-3-3 sigma is induced by tumor suppressor protein p53 in response to DNA damage. p53 can directly transactivate the expression of 14-3-3 sigma to cause a G(2) cell cycle arrest when cell DNA is damaged. The expression of 14-3-3 sigma protein is down-regulated in various tumors, but its function has not been fully established. Protein kinase B/Akt, a crucial regulator of oncogenic signal involved in cell survival and proliferation, is deregulated in many types of cancer. Akt activation can enhance p53 degradation, but its role in DNA damage response is not clear. Here, we show that Akt activation is diminished when p53 and 14-3-3 sigma is up-regulated in response to DNA damage. Evidence is provided that 14-3-3 sigma binds and inhibits Akt. In keeping with this concept, Akt-mediated cell survival is inhibited by 14-3-3 sigma. Significantly, we show that 14-3-3 sigma inhibits Akt-mediated cell growth, transformation, and tumorigenesis. Low expression of 14-3-3 sigma in human primary breast cancers correlates with Akt activation. These data provide an insight into Akt regulation and rational cancer gene therapy by identifying 14-3-3 sigma as a molecular regulator of Akt and as a potential anticancer agent for Akt-activated cancers.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Identification of 14-3-3sigma as a contributor to drug resistance in human breast cancer cells using functional proteomic analysis.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to successful cancer treatment. To understand the mechanism of MDR, many cancer cell lines have been established, and various mechanisms of resistance, such as ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter-mediated drug efflux, have been discovered. Previously, a MDR cell line MCF7/AdVp3000 was selected from breast cancer cell line MCF7 against Adriamycin, and overexpression of ABCG2 was thought to cause MDR in this derivative cell line. However, ectopic overexpression of ABCG2 in MCF7 cells could not explain the extremely high drug resistance level of the selected MCF7/AdVp3000 cells. We hypothesized that MCF7/AdVp3000 cells must have other resistance mechanisms selected by Adriamycin. To test this hypothesis, we compared the global protein profiles between MCF7 and MCF7/AdVp3000 cells. Following two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry analysis, 17 protein spots with differential levels between the two cell lines were identified. Although 14-3-3sigma, keratin 18, keratin 19, ATP synthase beta, protein disulfide isomerase, heat shock protein 27, cathepsin D, triose-phosphate isomerase, peroxiredoxin 6, and electron transfer flavoprotein were increased, nm23/H1, peroxiredoxin 2, nucleophosmin 1/B23, and inorganic pyrophosphatase were decreased in MCF7/AdVp3000 cells. The differential levels of these proteins were validated using Western blot. Furthermore, functional validation showed that the elevated 14-3-3sigma expression contributes considerably to the observed drug resistance in MCF7/AdVp3000 cells. We, thus, conclude that these proteins likely contribute to the resistance selected in the MCF7/AdVp3000 cells, and their altered expression in tumors may cause clinical resistance to chemotherapy.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Claudin-4, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4, and stratifin are markers of gastric adenocarcinoma precursor lesions.

Approximately 23,000 new gastric cancer cases and 12,000 associated deaths occur annually in the United States. Intestinal metaplasia and gastric epithelial dysplasia are precursor lesions to gastric adenocarcinoma, but are not readily detectable clinically, radiographically, or endoscopically. A noninvasive method of precursor detection would require the ability to distinguish precursor lesions from adjacent normal mucosa. In search of such markers, tissue microarrays were prepared for 133 patients of resected gastric adenocarcinoma. Tissue microarrays contained primary cancer, normal stomach, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric epithelial dysplasia and were probed with antibodies against nine potential markers that were either identified in a database of genes overexpressed in gastric adenocarcinoma or were already of interest to our laboratory: claudin-4, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4 (MKK4), 14-3-3sigma (stratifin), S100A4, mesothelin, fascin, topoisomerase IIalpha, HER-2/neu, and epithelial growth factor receptor. Three markers discriminated gastric adenocarcinoma precursor lesions from normal gastric mucosa. Claudin-4 expression was present in 36 intestinal metaplasia lesions (100%) and 14 gastric epithelial dysplasia lesions (100%), but in only 16 normal stomach samples (15%). MKK4 expression was present in 24 intestinal metaplasia lesions (89%) and 12 gastric epithelial dysplasia lesions (100%), but in only 6 normal stomach samples (8%). Stratifin expression was present in 29 intestinal metaplasia lesions (97%) and 8 gastric epithelial dysplasia lesions (100%), but in only 2 normal stomach samples (3%). Sensitivity and specificity for detection of the precursor lesion intestinal metaplasia were 100% and 85%, respectively, for claudin-4; 89% and 92%, respectively, for MKK4; and 97% and 97%, respectively, for stratifin. In primary cancers, 123 of 125 (98.4%) were positive for claudin-4, 116 of 126 (94%) for MKK4, and 111 of 120 (92%) for stratifin. In conclusion, claudin-4, MKK4, and stratifin immunolabeling detects precursor lesions of gastric adenocarcinoma that are otherwise clinically, radiographically, and endoscopically inapparent. These findings may prove useful in the diagnosis and therapeutic targeting of gastric adenocarcinoma precursor lesions.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Decreased expression of 14-3-3 sigma is associated with advanced disease in human epithelial ovarian cancer: its correlation with aberrant DNA methylation.

PURPOSE: In this study, we examined the promoter methylation status and expression of 14-3-3 sigma and evaluated its clinical significance in epithelial ovarian cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Twelve ovarian cancer cell lines; 2 ovarian surface epithelial cell lines; and 8 normal, 8 benign, 12 borderline, and 102 ovarian cancer tissues were examined. Methylation-specific PCR, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate methylation status and expression of 14-3-3 sigma gene and protein. RESULTS: Among the 12 ovarian cancer cell lines, the presence of a methylated band was detected in seven cell lines. Median values of relative 14-3-3 sigma gene expression in cancers with methylation (3.27) were significantly lower than those without methylation (16.4; P < 0.001). Treatment of 5-aza-2'-deoxycitidine resulted in the demethylation of the promoter CpG islands and reexpression. All of the normal, benign, and borderline tissues were positive for 14-3-3 sigma protein, and in ovarian cancer tissues, 73.5% (75 of 102) were positive for 14-3-3 sigma protein and was almost consistent with methylation status. Negative immunoreactivity of 14-3-3 sigma was significantly correlated with high age and serous histology, high-grade, advanced-stage residual tumor of >2 cm, high serum CA125, high Ki-67 labeling index, and positive p53 immunoreactivity. 14-3-3 sigma immunoreactivity was significantly associated with overall survival (P = 0.0058). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that 14-3-3 sigma is inactivated mainly by aberrant DNA methylation and that it may play an important role in the pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Loss of 14-3-3sigma in prostate cancer and its precursors.

PURPOSE: The 14-3-3 family proteins are highly conserved over many mammalian species. The sigma isoform (also called HME-1 or stratifin) is expressed in epithelial cells. Loss of 14-3-3sigma is associated with failure to arrest the cell cycle at the G(2)-M phase checkpoint after DNA damage that leads to increased G(2)-type chromosomal aberrations. The role of 14-3-3sigma in prostatic carcinogenesis is uncertain. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We studied one hundred and eleven specimens of invasive prostate adenocarcinoma with paired, adjacent high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and normal prostate epithelium. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of 14-3-3sigma. The findings were correlated with various clinical pathological parameters. RESULTS: 14-3-3sigma is ubiquitously expressed at high levels in normal prostate epithelium. Its expression is significantly decreased in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and prostatic adenocarcinoma. Ninety percent of samples of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia had no or low 14-3-3sigma expression. Ninety-seven percent of invasive adenocarcinomas had no or low 14-3-3sigma expression. In most specimens (90%), suppression of 14-3-3sigma expression occurred during the development of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia from normal epithelium. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that loss of 14-3-3sigma contributes to the development of prostate adenocarcinoma. 14-3-3sigma expression is significantly decreased during the progression of normal prostatic epithelium to prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancer.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Graft-versus-leukemia target antigens in chronic myelogenous leukemia are expressed on myeloid progenitor cells.

PURPOSE: Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) reliably induces durable remission in 75% to 80% of patients with relapsed chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. We previously reported the identification of a high titer-specific immunoglobulin G response against two novel leukemia-associated antigens, CML28 and CML66, which correlated with immune-induced remission. The present studies characterize expression of CML28 and CML66 in primary hematopoietic tissues. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Specific monoclonal antibodies to CML28 and CML66 were developed and used to detect antigen expression in leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia tissue on Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Expression patterns were confirmed by antigen-specific real-time PCR. RESULTS: Both CML28 and CML66 were highly expressed in leukemic blasts from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia and CML blast crisis but barely detectable in normal bone marrow, normal peripheral blood, or leukemic cells from patients with stable-phase CML. In contrast, purified CD34+ progenitors from normal individuals and patients with stable-phase CML expressed high levels of CML28 and CML66 transcript and protein. Immunohistochemical staining for CML66 confirmed rare staining of myeloid precursors in normal marrow and diffuse staining of myeloblastic cells in acute myelogenous leukemia and blast crisis CML marrows. CONCLUSIONS: The expression patterns of CML28 and CML66 are strikingly similar and suggest that antigen expression may play a role in shaping the post-DLI antibody repertoire. The CD34+ restricted pattern of expression of CML28 and CML66 is particularly relevant in light of the notion that DLI likely exerts its curative effect by targeting antigens present in self-renewing malignant progenitor populations in CML.

Antibody Specificity↗

Enhancement of in vitro and in vivo tumor cell radiosensitivity by the DNA methylation inhibitor zebularine.

Aberrant DNA hypermethylation is a frequent finding in tumor cells, which has suggested that inhibition of DNA methylation may be an effective cancer treatment strategy. Because DNA methylation affects gene expression and chromatin structure, parameters considered to influence radioresponse, we investigated the effects of the DNA methylation inhibitor zebularine on the radiosensitivity of human tumor cells. Three human tumor cell lines were used in this study (MiaPaCa, DU145, and U251) and the methylation status of three genes frequently hypermethylated in tumor cells (RASSF1A, HIC-1, and 14-3-3sigma) was determined as a function of zebularine exposure. Zebularine resulted in DNA demethylation in a time-dependent manner, with the maximum loss of methylation detected by 48 hours. Treatment of cells with zebularine for 48 hours also resulted in an increase in radiosensitivity with dose enhancement factors of >1.5. As a measure of radiation-induced DNA damage, gammaH2AX expression was determined. Whereas zebularine had no effect on radiation-induced gammaH2AX foci at 1 hour, the number of gammaH2AX foci per cell was significantly greater in the zebularine-treated cells at 24 hours after irradiation, suggesting the presence of unrepaired DNA damage. Zebularine administration to mice reactivated gene expression in U251 xenografts; irradiation of U251 tumors in mice treated with zebularine resulted in an increase in radiation-induced tumor growth delay. These results indicate that zebularine can enhance tumor cell radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo and suggest that this effect may involve an inhibition of DNA repair.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

14-3-3sigma in endometrial cancer--a possible prognostic marker in early-stage cancer.

PURPOSE: We examined expression of 14-3-3sigma, a regulator of cell proliferation, and evaluated its clinical significance in endometrioid endometrial carcinoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: One hundred three endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma cases were examined using immunohistochemistry with archival specimens. We correlated this finding with various clinicopathologic variables, including the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and MIB-1 (Ki-57). RESULTS: 14-3-3sigma Immunoreactivity was detected in 78 of 103 (75.3%) of carcinoma cases. No statistically significant correlation was detected between status of 14-3-3sigma and any of clinicopathologic variables examined. There was, however, a statistically significant correlation between loss of 14-3-3sigma expression and adverse clinical outcome of the patients (P = 0.0007). In the early stages of cancer (stages I and II), 14-3-3sigma immunoreactivity was absent in 5 of 10 (50.0%) patients who showed recurrence during follow-up, whereas its absence was detected in only 13 of 68 (19.1%) disease-free patients in the same period. In addition, 14-3-3sigma immunoreactivity was absent in 4 of 5 (80.0%) patients who died, whereas its absence was detected in only 14 of 73 (19.2%) patients who had lived during the same period. Patients whose tumors were negative for 14-3-3sigma were at much greater risk to develop recurrent and/or mortal disease (P = 0.0372 and 0.0067). In multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model, absence of 14-3-3sigma turned out to be statistically independent risk factor in disease-free survival and overall survival even in patients with early-stage disease (P = 0.0321 and 0.0191). CONCLUSIONS: Results of our study showed that loss or absence of 14-3-3sigma determined by immunohistochemistry may be an important tool to identify endometrial carcinoma cases at high risk of recurrence and/or death, who are otherwise not detected by current clinical and pathologic evaluation, especially in the early stages of the disease. In addition, results of 14-3-3sigma immunohistochemistry in the early stage of endometrial carcinoma could contribute to planning postoperative follow-up and adjuvant therapy.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Mcl-1, vascular endothelial growth factor-R2, and 14-3-3sigma expression might predict primary response against radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.

PURPOSE: This study was done to explore whether the expression of a selected set of proteins could predict primary response to radiotherapy or concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with advanced head and neck cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Forty-three pretreatment tumor biopsies were taken during diagnostic panendoscopy and examined for Mcl-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-R2, CD9, and 14-3-3sigma expression by immunohistochemistry. Forty-three patients underwent primary radiotherapy, of which, 29 patients received concomitant chemotherapy (low dose daily cisplatin, mitomycin C bolus). The primary end-point was locoregional tumor control 6 months after completion of radiotherapy. Mcl-1, VEGF-R2, CD9, and 14-3-3sigma expression were correlated with patients' primary response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and with established clinicopathologic variables. RESULTS: Thirty complete and 13 partial responses were observed in our patient group. High expression levels of Mcl-1 (P=0.021), VEGF-R2 (P=0.032), and 14-3-3sigma (P=0.013), but not of CD9, in tumor biopsies was correlated with complete response. Overexpression of at least two of the three aforementioned proteins in pretreatment biopsies predicted-with a likelihood of 80%-whether a patient would achieve complete response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, if only one of these proteins is overexpressed, there is a likelihood of 84.6% that this patient would not completely respond to therapy. CONCLUSION: Determining the expression levels of Mcl-1, VEGF-R2, and 14-3-3sigma may be helpful in predicting the early clinical response in head and neck tumor patients receiving primary radiotherapy and chemotherapy and may further allow a pretherapeutic selection of patients.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Sensitizing hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells to drug treatment by targeting 14-3-3sigma.

Advanced and hormone-refractory prostate cancer has long been considered as a chemoresistant disease. Recently, it was found that 14-3-3sigma expression increases as prostate tumor progresses, and that 14-3-3sigma contributes significantly to drug resistance in breast cancers. We, thus, hypothesized that advanced and hormone-refractory prostate cancers may have an increased level of 14-3-3sigma, which in turn may contribute to drug resistance in advanced and hormone-refractory prostate cancers. In this study, we tested this hypothesis and found that, indeed, the expression level of 14-3-3sigma in androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines DU145, PC3, and CWR22RV are much higher than that in the androgen-dependent cell line LNCaP, and that the androgen-independent cells are more resistant to mitoxantrone and Adriamycin than the androgen-dependent cells. Depleting 14-3-3sigma expression in DU145 and CWR22RV by RNA interference significantly sensitized these cells to mitoxantrone and Adriamycin by abrogating G2-M checkpoint and increasing apoptosis, whereas restoring 14-3-3sigma expression in LNCaP cells enhanced drug resistance. We also showed that 14-3-3sigma deficiency caused nuclear localization of Cdc2 and dephosphorylation of the Tyr15 residue upon DNA damage. Based on these studies, we propose that therapeutic intervention targeting 14-3-3sigma may be useful for sensitizing hormone-refractory prostate cancers to chemotherapy by both G2-M checkpoint abrogation and apoptosis enhancement.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

14-3-3sigma, a p53 regulator, suppresses tumor growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The 14-3-3sigma gene product, up-regulated by p53 in response to DNA damage, is involved in cell-cycle checkpoint control and is a human cancer epithelial marker down-regulated in various tumors. However, its role and function have not been established in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a tumor of epithelial origin. Recently, we found that 14-3-3sigma interacts with p53 in response to DNA damage and stabilizes the expression of p53. In addition, we also showed that overexpression of 14-3-3sigma inhibits oncogene-activated tumorigenicity. In the present study, we investigated the tumor-suppressive role of 14-3-3sigma in NPC cells. We found that there is a failure to up-regulate 14-3-3sigma in response to DNA damage in two NPC cell lines that have p53 mutation. We also found that 14-3-3sigma interacted with protein kinase B/Akt and negatively regulated the activity of Akt. Overexpression of 14-3-3sigma inhibited NPC cell growth and blocks DNA synthesis. Overexpression of 14-3-3sigma also led to inhibition of anchorage-independent growth of NPC cells. In addition, we found that 14-3-3sigma sensitized NPC cells to apoptosis induced by the chemotherapeutic agent 2-methoxyestradiol. Overexpression of 14-3-3sigma in both NPC cell lines reduced the tumor volume in nude mice, which could have significance for clinical application. These findings provide an insight into the roles of 14-3-3sigma in NPC and suggest that approaches that modulate 14-3-3sigma activity may be useful in the treatment of NPC.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

The human gene for the poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) maps to 16p13 and has a truncated copy in the Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome region on 15q11-->q13.

The deadenylation nuclease or poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) is a 3' exonuclease, which degrades the poly(A)-tail of eukaryotic mRNA molecules. By DNA sequence analysis of cDNA and genomic clones, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and reverse transcriptase-PCR, we have determined that the active human PARN gene is located in 16p13 and that a truncated copy lacking the 5' end is located in 15q11. The truncated gene maps close to a copy of the D15F37 gene family at the proximal Prader-Willi/Angelman (PWS/AS) deletion breakpoint region. Other copies of the F37 gene family are located at the distal PWS/AS deletion breakpoint region and on 16p11.2. Although PARN and F37 gene sequences are present on 15q and 16p, our data suggest that the synteny of these loci is the result of independent genetic events.

3' Untranslated Regions↗

Proteomic signatures in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Laryngeal cancer remains a worldwide health problem. The identification of biomarkers unique to laryngeal cancer may provide new insights into its pathogenesis, as well as provide potential targets for novel therapies and early detection. In order to identify potential biomarkers, we performed a proteomic analysis of laryngeal cancer specimens. Using two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy, protein expression profiles from two laryngeal carcinoma specimens and corresponding adjacent normal tissue were analyzed. The results of our analysis showed that the expression of a number of proteins was significantly altered in the tumor specimens when compared to matched normal controls. The differentially expressed proteins were identified, and they included stratifin, S100 calcium-binding protein A9, p21-ARC, stathmin, and enolase. With these findings, we have identified potential biomarkers which may contribute to the pathogenesis of laryngeal carcinoma, and which may be suitable as targets for novel therapeutic and/or diagnostic modalities.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Cloning of a complementary DNA coding for the 100-kD antigenic protein of the PM-Scl autoantigen.

Anti-PM-Scl antibodies are associated with polymyositis-scleroderma overlap or either disease alone. Among sera from 39 patients with anti-PM-Scl, 23 recognized the 100-kD band in immunoblot against HeLa cell extract, 16 of which also stained the 70-kD band. A human thymocyte lambda gt11 cDNA expression library was screened with anti-PM-Scl serum, and two clones were identified whose products reacted with 33 and 37 of 39 anti-PM-Scl sera, respectively, but none of 26 negative control sera. Affinity-purified antibody reacting specifically with plaques of the clone stained the 100-kD band on immunoblot, reacted with nucleoli of HEp-2 cells, and immunoprecipitated the PM-Scl protein complex. Partial sequences of both inserts were identical. One insert was fully sequenced, and additional 5' and 3' sequence was obtained using a gene-specific primer to form a cDNA with HeLa cell RNA as template followed by PCR. The complete nucleotide sequence included 2,739-bp coding for a predicted full-length protein of 98,088 D. There was no homology with the PM-Scl 75-kD protein and no significant homology with other proteins. A mixed-charge cluster was identified, with 22 charged amino acids of 37. In conclusion, the full-length cDNA sequence was determined coding for the PM-Scl 100-kD protein, the most commonly antigenic protein of the PM-Scl complex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗