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The 20,000 dalton structural variant of recombinant DNA-derived methionyl human growth hormone has early insulin-like effects in hypophysectomized rats.

The 20,000 dalton variant of recombinant DNA-derived methionyl human growth hormone (20K-Met-hGH) induced decreases in blood glucose and free fatty acid concentrations one hour after intraperitoneal injection into fasted, hypophysectomized rats. Similar results were obtained using the 22,000 dalton form of recombinant DNA-derived methionyl human growth hormone (22K-Met-hGH). The data reported show that 20K-Met-hGH induces early insulin-like effects similar to the responses produced by 22K-Met-hGH in fasted hypophysectomized rats.

Animals↗

Structural variants of the neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) in developing feathers.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) is expressed in a specific spatiotemporal pattern during feather development, suggesting that adhesion mediated by this molecule is involved in feather morphogenesis. To begin to investigate N-CAM's function in developing feathers, we determined what forms of N-CAM polypeptide are present and the distribution of polysialic acid (PSA), a carbohydrate moiety that decreases N-CAM-mediated cellular adhesion. N-CAM in skin appears as a Mr 145-kDa polypeptide compared to the 140-kDa brain N-CAM polypeptide, and is encoded by a 6.4-kb mRNA, compared to the 6.1-kb mRNA in brain. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of the exon splicing pattern of skin N-CAM shows that the 6.4-kb mRNA band represents two transcripts, with and without a 93-bp insert between exons 12 and 13. Thus, two N-CAM polypeptides are expressed in skin, but the 93-bp insert does not account for the larger size of the skin mRNAs and polypeptides. We show that the size difference of the polypeptides is instead due to N-linked oligosaccharides attached to the skin N-CAM proteins. The larger size of the skin mRNAs may be due to use of a different transcriptional start site. Staining of skin sections and wholemounts confirms previous descriptions of N-CAM in developing feathers, but reveals that N-CAM is also present at low levels on epidermal cells as early as stage 29 (E6). We find that PSA is expressed only on a subset of the cells that express N-CAM, in particular on dermal cells in the feather rudiments from stage 35-36 (E9-10) and on smooth muscle cells at the base of the filaments from stage 37 (E11) until the latest stage examined (stage 44, E18). The known effects on cell-cell adhesion of amount of N-CAM and PSA suggest that the variations we observe in skin may regulate cell-cell interactions that are important in feather development.

Animals↗

Time-variant structure of auditory cortex of the macaque monkey.

Supra-threshold responses of neurons in the primary auditory cortex of the macaque monkey are so complex that the characteristic frequency cannot be determined. By statistical analyses based on analysis of variance and principal component analysis, we demonstrated that the similarity of neurons from penetration perpendicular to the surface of the cortex decreases to such a level that they cannot be considered as a unit and that correlation among neurons from different cortical positions can be higher than that for neurons from penetration. This means that the frequency map is not evident for stimuli at supra-threshold. Moreover, we found that a single neuron utilizes different time segments to extract different physical aspects of stimuli. Our results indicate that encoding auditory information may involve other structures than the frequency map.

Animals↗

Purification and identification of two structural variants of porcine tissue plasminogen activator by affinity adsorption on fibrin.

Porcine tissue plasminogen activator has been purified from delipidized heart tissue by affinity adsorption to fibrin. A crude fraction is prepared from an acid tissue extract by precipitation with ammonium sulphate. The tissue activator of this fraction is isolated by adsorption on fibrin and elution with KSCN. The procedure also includes chromatography on arginine-Sepharose and two gel-filtration steps. The final product has a specific activity of 250 000 IU/mg (+/- 16 000) as compared to an international urokinase reference preparation. The yield calculated from the active ammonium sulphate precipitate is about 28%. An approx. 7 000-fold increase of specific activity is obtained, most of which is achieved in the fibrin step. The native tissue plasminogen activator consists of a single chain molecule with a molecular weight of 64 000 as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In a previous report, it was claimed that the activator is composed of two disulphide-connected polypeptide chains. These results were due to a preparation artefact, caused by proteolytic activity present in the tissue extracts. The introduction of the protease inhibitor aprotinin and 6-amino-hexanoic acid in the purification procedure has abolished the effect of the protease contaminant, leading to the production of a one-chain activator. Treatment with plasmin transforms the native, one-chain tissue activator into a variant composed of two chains of about equal size (Mr 32 000) connected by disulphide bonding. This modified activator is indistinguishable from the one obtained at insufficient protection against proteolytic enzymes. The cleavage by plasmin causes about an 8-fold increase of amidolytic activity as measured on H-D-Val-Gly-Arg-p-nitroanilide. The fibrinolytic activity as measured by clot lysis in only slightly increased. The physiological significance of the cleavage is discussed.

Amino Acids↗

Measurement of protein interaction bioenergetics: application to structural variants of anti-sCD4 antibody.

This chapter has described a bioenergetic analysis of the interaction of sCD4 with an IgG1 and two IgG4 derivatives of an anti-sCD4 MAb. The MAbs have identical VH and VL domains but differ markedly in their CH and CL domains, raising the question of whether their antigen-binding chemistries are altered. We find the sCD4-binding kinetics and thermodynamics of the MAbs are indistinguishable, which indicates rigorously that the molecular details of the binding interactions are the same. We also showed the importance of using multiple biophysical methods to define the binding model before the bioenergetics can be appropriately interpreted. Analysis of the binding thermodynamics and kinetics suggests conformational changes that might be coupled to sCD4 binding by these MAbs are small or absent.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Peptide inhibitors of CDK2-cyclin A that target the cyclin recruitment-site: structural variants of the C-terminal Phe.

A focused series of octapeptides based on the lead compound H-His-Ala-Lys-Arg-Arg-Leu-Ile-Phe-NH(2) 1, in which the C-terminal phenylalanine residue was replaced by alpha and/or beta-modified variants, was synthesized using solid-phase chemistry. Both the L-threo-beta-hydroxy-phenylalanine (beta-phenylserine, Pse) and (2S)-phenylalaninol derivatives, as competitive binders at the cyclin-recruitment site, displayed potent inhibitory activity towards the CDK2-cyclin A complex. Unexpectedly, the D-threo-Pse derivatives also showed inhibitory activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a novel structural variant of the alpha 6 integrin.

The alpha(6) integrin is a 140-kDa (nonreduced) laminin receptor. We have identified a novel 70-kDa (nonreduced) form of the alpha(6) integrin called alpha(6)p for the latin word parvus, meaning small. The variant was immunoprecipitated from human cells using four different alpha(6)-specific monoclonal antibodies but not with alpha(3) or alpha(5) antibodies. The alpha(6)p integrin contained identical amino acid sequences within exons 13--25, corresponding to the extracellular "stalk region" and the cytoplasmic tail of the alpha(6) integrin. The light chains of alpha(6) and alpha(6)p were identical as judged by alpha(6)A-specific antibodies and electrophoretic properties. The alpha(6)p variant paired with either beta(1) or beta(4) subunits and was retained on the cell surface three times longer than alpha(6). Reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed a single polymerase chain reaction product. The alpha(6)p variant was found in human prostate (DU145H, LnCaP, PC3) and colon (SW480) cancer cell lines but not in normal prostate (PrEC), breast cancer (MCF-7), or lung cancer (H69) cell lines or a variant of a prostate carcinoma cell line (PC3-N). Protein levels of alpha(6)p increased 3-fold during calcium-induced terminal differentiation in a normal mouse keratinocyte model system. A novel form of the alpha(6) integrin exists on cell surfaces that contains a dramatically altered extracellular domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Structural variants of verapamil and W-7 with combined Ca2+ entry blockade/myosin phosphorylation inhibitory mechanisms.

Arylalkylsulfonamides, identified as Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324, combine pharmacological properties of the Ca2+ entry blocker verapamil and the calmodulin antagonist W-7. These agents directly inhibit arterial actin-myosin interactions via inhibition of myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation in actomyosin. Potencies of both Wy-46,622 (IC50 = 26 microM) and Wy-47,324 (IC50 = 18 microM) are greater than W-7 (IC50 = 35 microM); verapamil is inactive at 100 microM. Both Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324 are less potent than verapamil, but more potent than W-7, at inhibiting K+-depolarized force development in paced rabbit atria. At higher concentrations (30 microM) which inhibit MLC phosphorylation, Wy-46,622 and Wy-47,324 are either equal to or more efficacious than verapamil in inhibiting receptor-mediated contractions in intact porcine coronary (histamine, serotonin, prostaglandin F2 alpha, carbocyclic thromboxane A2) or guinea pig aortic (leukotriene C4) smooth muscle. Both Wy-47,324 (IC50 = 16 microM) and Wy-46,622 (IC50 = 23 microM) are inhibitors of the second phase of epinephrine-induced human platelet aggregation; Wy-47,324 is more potent than verapamil or W-7 (IC50 for each = 29 microM). These results suggest that these agents possess combined Ca2+ entry blocker/MLC phosphorylation inhibitory mechanisms. Furthermore, they are more vascular specific than verapamil, and are effective inhibitors of intracellular Ca2+-mediated events in vascular smooth muscle and platelets.

Actomyosin↗

Direct RNA nanopore sequencing of full-length coronavirus genomes provides novel insights into structural variants and enables modification analysis.

Sequence analyses of RNA virus genomes remain challenging owing to the exceptional genetic plasticity of these viruses. Because of high mutation and recombination rates, genome replication by viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases leads to populations of closely related viruses, so-called "quasispecies." Standard (short-read) sequencing technologies are ill-suited to reconstruct large numbers of full-length haplotypes of (1) RNA virus genomes and (2) subgenome-length (sg) RNAs composed of noncontiguous genome regions. Here, we used a full-length, direct RNA sequencing (DRS) approach based on nanopores to characterize viral RNAs produced in cells infected with a human coronavirus. By using DRS, we were able to map the longest (∼26-kb) contiguous read to the viral reference genome. By combining Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing, we reconstructed a highly accurate consensus sequence of the human coronavirus (HCoV)-229E genome (27.3 kb). Furthermore, by using long reads that did not require an assembly step, we were able to identify, in infected cells, diverse and novel HCoV-229E sg RNAs that remain to be characterized. Also, the DRS approach, which circumvents reverse transcription and amplification of RNA, allowed us to detect methylation sites in viral RNAs. Our work paves the way for haplotype-based analyses of viral quasispecies by showing the feasibility of intra-sample haplotype separation. Even though several technical challenges remain to be addressed to exploit the potential of the nanopore technology fully, our work illustrates that DRS may significantly advance genomic studies of complex virus populations, including predictions on long-range interactions in individual full-length viral RNA haplotypes.

Cell Line↗

Sparteine metabolism capacity in human liver: structural variants of human P450IID6 as assessed by immunochemistry.

An antibody raised against rat P450dbl was used to examine the heterogeneity of the human enzyme involved in the sparteine/debrisoquine polymorphism. The extent to which the antibody was able to inhibit sparteine metabolism varied in different human livers (10-80%, n = 9) and reflected the amount of sparteine metabolism carried out by the polymorphic P450IID6 in individual liver specimens. The individual sample variation in inhibition by the antibody correlated with the inhibition caused by quinidine, a prototype competitive inhibitor of the P450IID6 enzyme active site. Western immunoblots of the liver microsomes confirmed that the variation in the inhibition of sparteine metabolism by this antibody reflected the amount of P450IID6 protein. In addition, a detailed study of one of the livers (K19) which demonstrated a lack of inhibition by the antibody was performed which confirmed the lack of P450IID6 in this liver specimen and suggested that the nascent sparteine metabolism activity was due to other forms of P450.

Animals↗

Gamma structural variants differentially regulate Na,K-ATPase properties.

Renal Na,K-ATPase is tightly bound to a small regulatory protein, the gamma subunit (FXYD2). In rat, it occurs in two splice variants with different N-termini. Immunolocalization on kidney sections revealed distinct distribution of the gamma splice variants along the rat nephron. Where coexpressed, they coimmunoprecipitated with each other along with the alpha subunit, suggesting assembly in oligomeric complexes. Functional consequences of association with gamma were monitored in stably transfected NRK-52E cells. The outcome was that splice variants can differentially modulate the major intrinsic properties of the Na,K-ATPase under normal and stress-related conditions. The data imply an adaptive physiological mechanism of regulation of renal Na,K-ATPase through modulation of pump properties, gene expression, or both.

Animals↗

Rapid progression to AIDS in HIV+ individuals with a structural variant of the chemokine receptor CX3CR1.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enters cells in vitro via CD4 and a coreceptor. Which of 15 known coreceptors are important in vivo is poorly defined but may be inferred from disease-modifying mutations, as for CCR5. Here two single nucleotide polymorphisms are described in Caucasians in CX3CR1, an HIV coreceptor and leukocyte chemotactic/adhesion receptor for the chemokine fractalkine. HIV-infected patients homozygous for CX3CR1-I249 M280, a variant haplotype affecting two amino acids (isoleucine-249 and methionine-280), progressed to AIDS more rapidly than those with other haplotypes. Functional CX3CR1 analysis showed that fractalkine binding is reduced among patients homozygous for this particular haplotype. Thus, CX3CR1-I249 M280 is a recessive genetic risk factor in HIV/AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗