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Cross-reactivity of antibodies to actin- depolymerizing factor/cofilin family proteins and identification of the major epitope recognized by a mammalian actin-depolymerizing factor/cofilin antibody.

Members of the actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin family of proteins are expressed in all eukaryotic cells. In higher vertebrates, cells often express as many as three different ADF/cofilin genes and each of these proteins may be phosphorylated on serine 3, giving rise to up to six different species. Also, many avian, amphibian, and invertebrate systems have been useful in studying different aspects of ADF/cofilin function. Antibodies have been prepared against different members of the ADF/cofilin family, but no systematic examination of their cross-reactivity has been reported. Although ADF and cofilins within a single vertebrate species have about a 70% sequence homology, antibodies often differentiate between these proteins. Here, Western blotting was used with chemiluminescence substrates of different sensitivities to determine the relative immunoreactivities of different polyclonal rabbit antibodies and a mouse monoclonal antibody to purified ADF/cofilins from plants, protists, nematodes, insects, echinoderms, birds, and mammals. From immunocross-reactivities and sequence alignments, the principal epitope in mammalian ADF and cofilin-1 recognized by an antibody raised against avian ADF was identified. The specificity of an antibody to the phosphopeptide epitope of metazoan ADF/cofilins was confirmed by two-dimensional (2-D) immunoblot analysis. Futhermore, this bank of antibodies was used to identify by Western blotting a putative member of the ADF/cofilin family in the sea slug, Aplysia californica.

Actin Depolymerizing Factors↗

Identification of actin isoforms after in situ hydroxylamine cleavage on sequencer membranes: serum actin is a cytoplasmic isoform.

Actin was isolated from fetal bovine serum by means of affinity chromatography on DNase I-Sepharose, reversed phase chromatography and SDS-gel electrophoresis. It was identified as a cytoplasmic isoform by direct micro sequence analysis of hydroxylamine cleavage products which had been generated in situ after covalent linkage of the protein to sequencer membrane disks through arylamine or isothiocyanato functionalities.

Actins↗

Kinetics of the cooperative association of actin to actin filaments.

The cooperative formation of actin filaments from monomers was followed by light scattering and electron microscopy. The results are well described by a simple model mechanism in which the growth and destruction of filaments occurs by stepwise addition or dissociation of protomers. All steps except the dimerisation step are assumed to have identical rate constants. These were found to be 5 X 10(3) M-1 - sec-1 and 3 X 10(-2) sec-1 for the association and dissociation, respectively (at pH 7.5 and in the presence of 10(-3) M calcium chloride). The equilibrium constant of elongation as obtained from the critical concentration is 1.7 X 10(5) M-1. The corresponding equilibrium constant of dimerisation is about 10 million times smaller (cooperativity parameter sigma = 2 X 10(-7)). This makes the nucleation extremely difficult and cooperativity very high. A best fit of the model to the experimental data is achieved when the destruction of a dimer is much faster than the addition of a third protomer (fast monomer- dimer pre-equilibrium). The size of the nucleus from which propagation becomes faster than dissociation is 3.

Actins↗

Heavy-meromyosin-decorated actin filaments: a simple method to preserve actin filaments for rotary shadowing.

It has become accepted that deep-freeze-drying at or below -90 degrees C is necessary to preserve the structure of supramolecular assemblies such as actin filaments (AFs) for metal shadowing. This has kept the metal shadowing technique from widespread use in the study of proteins complexed with AFs because of the limited availability of the apparatus for deep-freeze-drying. I report here that adsorption to freshly cleaved mica, treatment with buffered uranyl acetate in glycerol solution, rinsing, and removal of liquid eliminate the need of freeze-drying to preserve the structure of AFs. This technique, in combination with metal shadowing, was applied to the study of AFs decorated with heavy meromyosin (HMM). It was observed that (1) when HMM molecules are associated with single AFs in the majority of cases only one head of each HMM molecule makes contact at the point furthest from the neck region; (2) binding of HMM causes bundling of AFs, probably by the two heads of each molecule binding different filaments; and (3) the binding of HMM to the bundled AFs appears to be more stable than that to a single AF. This method of specimen preparation requires no freeze-drying and is therefore easily applicable to other large protein complexes.

Actins↗

Polymerization of actin and actin-like systems: evaluation of the time course of polymerization in relation to the mechanism.

The time course of protein polymerization of the nucleation--elongation type is examined by using a general computer-simulation solution. For a simple nucleation--elongation scheme, it is shown that the half-time of polymerization is not necessarily a good measure of the nucleus size as has been previously suggested [Oosawa, F., & Kasai, M. (1962) J. Mol. Biol. 4, 10-21] since, depending on the mechanism, the apparent nucleus size, measured by a ratio of half-times at two actin concentrations, may be either larger or smaller than the real size. Steady-state equations developed by Wegner and Engel [Wegner, A., & Engel, J. (1975) Biophys. Chem. 3, 215-225] present a good description of the time course of polymerization although they are somewhat inflexible with regard to allowing for different mechanisms. Some of the assumptions implicit in the development of these equations are discussed in terms of the effect of changing individual rate constants or dissociation constants on the time course of polymerization. In addition, these steady-state equations have been expanded to include the consequences of a reversible first-order conformational change prior to polymerization. It is shown that a conformational change as a prerequisite to polymerization lengthens the lag time of polymerization and, depending on the conditions, may slow the rate of polymerization. The question of fragmentation and of reannealling is examined, and it is noted that simple relationships to describe these processes may not be possible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Actins↗

Structure and function of the two heads of the myosin molecule. II. Separation of the two fractions of subfragment-1 of myosin by affinity column chromatography on immobilized F-actin: direct evidence for acceleration by F-actin of the decomposition of the reactive enzyme-phosphate-ADP complex formed on head B of myosin.

F-Actin (FA) and pyruvate kinase (PK) [EC 2.7.1.40] were immobilized on PAB-cellulose. HMM-Subfragment-1 (S-1) was applied to a column of immobilized FA and PK, and eluted with 1-1.5 muM ATP and 1 mM PEP in 50 mM KCl, 2 mM MgCl2, and 10 mM Tris-HCl at pH 7.8 and 4 degrees. The size of the initial burst of Pi liberation of S-1 applied to the column was 0.5 mole/mole S-1. The burst size of S-1 decreased with increase in the fraction number, and S-1 in later fractions showed a burst size of 0.1-0.3 mole/mole. On the other hand, the rate of the ATPase [EC 3.6.1.3] reaction in the steady state was almost independent of the burst size, and increased slightly with increase in the fraction number. The ATPase activity of S-1 with a burst size of less than 0.2 mole/mole was scarcely activated by FA. Usually, the dependence on the burst size of S-1 of its ATPase activity in the presence of FA was sigmoidal, and marked activation by FA was observed when the burst size was larger than 0.3-0.4 mole/mole. Similar results were obtained with S-1 fractions separated by the ultracentrifugation method described in our previous paper ((1976) J. Biochem. 79, 419-434).

Actins↗

Antibodies to filamentous actin (F-actin) in type 1 autoimmune hepatitis.

AIMS: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of anti-filamentous actin antibodies (A-FAA) assessed with a commercial ELISA in comparison with immunofluorescence reactivity and patterns of anti-smooth muscle antibodies (SMA); and to correlate A-FAA positivity with clinical, immunogenetic, laboratory, and histological features in patients with autoimmune hepatitis type 1 (AIH-1). METHODS: We studied 78 consecutive untreated AIH-1 patients and 160 controls: 22 with autoimmune hepatitis type 2 (AIH-2), 51 with hepatitis C, 17 with coeliac disease (CD), 20 with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and 50 blood donors. SMA was evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on frozen sections of rat tissues, and A-FAA with a modified commercial ELISA. RESULTS: SMA was detected by IIF in 61 (78%) of 78 AIH-1 patients, of whom 47 (60%) had the SMA-T/G and 14 (18%) the SMA-V pattern. Of the pathological controls, 32 (20%) had the SMA-V pattern (25 with hepatitis C, 2 with AIH-2, 2 with PBC, 3 with CD). A-FAA were present in 55 AIH-1 patients (70.5%; 46 with SMA-T/G, 7 with SMA-V, and 2 SMA-negative), and in 10 controls (6%), of whom five had hepatitis C, two AIH-2, two PBC and one CD. The association between A-FAA and the SMA-T/G pattern was statistically significant (p<0.0001). A-FAA levels were higher in SMA-T/G positive than SMA-V positive AIH-1 patients and controls (p<0.0001). A-FAA positivity was significantly associated with higher gamma-globulin and IgG levels, but did not correlate with other considered parameters. CONCLUSION: The modified A-FAA ELISA strictly correlates with the SMA-T/G pattern and is a reliable and operator independent assay for AIH-1. Detection of A-FAA, even if devoid of prognostic relevance, may be useful when interpretative doubts of standard IIF arise.

Actins↗

Cloning and sequencing of cDNAs encoding the actin cross-linking protein transgelin defines a new family of actin-associated proteins.

We have used degenerate oligonucleotides, derived from the amino acid sequence of transgelin peptides [Shapland et al., 1993: J. Cell Biol. 121:1065-1073], to isolate and sequence overlapping cDNA clones encoding this actin gelling protein. Primers with 5' restriction enzyme sites directed against the N and C terminal amino acids present in these clones were then used to amplify and clone the entire transgelin coding region from reverse transcribed rat small intestine cDNA (RT-PCR). These studies have shown that transgelin is the product of a single gene which is conserved between yeast, Drosophila, molluscs, and humans. Transgelin is expressed as a single message that is regulated at the level of transcription in SV40 transformed 3T3 cells. Our data have shown that transgelin and several other proteins of unknown function, SM22 alpha [Pearlstone et al., 1987: J. Biol. Chem. 262:5985-5991], mouse p27 [Almendral et al., 1989: Exp. Cell Res. 181:518-530], and human WS3-10 [Thweatt et al., 1992: Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 187:1-7], share extensive homology. More limited regions of homology shared between transgelin and other proteins such as rat NP25 (unpublished), chicken calponins alpha and beta [Takahashi and Nadal-Ginard, 1991: J. Biol. Chem. 266:13284-13288], and Drosophila mp20 [Ayme-Southgate et al., 1989: J. Cell Biol. 108:521-531] suggest that all of these proteins may be classified as members of a new transgelin multigene family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A controlled hematoxylin-eosin for actinic elastosis-lysis. Its versatility and use for vascular damage (actinic arteriopathy) in the skin and orbit.

To demonstrate elastic tissue and its reactions in the skin and other organs, the hematoxylin-eosin staining method had been modified in two ways: (a) the hematoxylin solution is used once only to obtain its full potential, and (b) aqueous eosin is given greater selectivity by controlling its pH with a buffer. This stain highlights the broad supporting role of elastic tissue, particularly in pressure-containing blood vessels. It also helps to define the hyperplasia, degeneration, and elastolysis that arise from its peculiar sensitivity to actinic radiation.

Arteries↗