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[Rapid induction of mRNAs for liver regeneration genes by hepatopoietin and partial hepatectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of recombinant human hepatopoietin (rhHPO) and partial hepatectomy on rapidly induced expression of immediate early gene. METHODS: We investigated the different gene expression within 1 hour after 2/3 partial hepatectomy by representational difference analysis and in primary cultured hepatocytes system. RESULTS: In the expressed sequence tag (EST) library, we identified that most of these genes were immediate early gene, and found one new gene PC3 that might be associated to liver regeneration in the EST library. Moreover, PC3 gene was rapidly induced after 2/3 partial hepatectomy and the expressing peak was within 1~2 hours after operation. HPO can rapidly induce the expression of these genes (c-fos, LRF-1, and PC3, etc.) in primarily cultured rat hepatocyte, which might be one of HPO molecular mechanism on stimulating hepatocyte proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: rhHPO and partial hepatectomy can rapidly induce the expression of immediate early gene. PC3 gene is immediate early gene related to liver regeneration.

Animals↗

Identification of the fourth member of the mammalian endoprotease family homologous to the yeast Kex2 protease. Its testis-specific expression.

We used the polymerase chain reaction to identify a mouse testis cDNA that represented another member of a growing class of mammalian endoproteases involved in the processing of precursor proteins. This cDNA encoded a 655-residue protein, designated PC4, containing a bacterial subtilisin-like catalytic domain closely related to those of the recently characterized precursor-processing endoproteases, furin, PC1/PC3, PC2, and Kex2. Within this domain, the amino acid sequence of PC4 was 70, 58, 55, and 45% identical with those of mouse furin, mouse PC1/PC3, mouse PC2, and yeast Kex2, respectively. Northern blot analysis indicated that the PC4 mRNA was detectable only in the testes after the 20th day of postnatal development. Moreover, this message was mainly expressed in the round spermatids. These data suggest that PC4 represents a prime candidate for a precursor-processing endoprotease in the testicular germ cells and that its gene expression is regulated during spermatogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of molecular aggregates containing glycoproteins III, J, K (carboxypeptidase H), and H (Kex2-related proteases) in the soluble and membrane fractions of adrenal medullary chromaffin granules.

An investigation of the molecular properties of glycoprotein III has shown this to be a major component of molecular aggregates present in the membrane and soluble fractions of secretory vesicles from bovine adrenal medulla. These aggregates also contain components identified as glycoproteins H, J, and K which are molecular forms of Kex2-related proteases (glycoprotein H) and carboxypeptidase H (glycoprotein components J and K) and which have functions concerned with the processing of prohormones. A number of experiments indicated that these glycoproteins were associated. These components were coimmunoprecipitated from the soluble and membrane fractions of chromaffin granules. Purification of soluble glycoprotein III using wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose resulted in the recovery of similar proportions of glycoproteins H, J, and K and gel filtration of the eluted material in combination with immunoprecipitation revealed the presence of heteroaggregates containing all of the glycoproteins. Similar results were obtained following octylglucoside solubilization of chromaffin granule membranes. Glycoprotein components III, H, J, and K were also found to have identical distributions following fractionation of chromaffin granule membranes with Triton X-114. It was concluded that the aggregates seen in the soluble fraction reflect an association of these components in the chromaffin granule membrane. This raises the possibility that these interactions are important for the targetting of these glycoproteins to secretory granules.

Adrenal Medulla↗

Site-specific frameshift mutagenesis by a propanodeoxyguanosine adduct positioned in the (CpG)4 hot-spot of Salmonella typhimurium hisD3052 carried on an M13 vector.

Malondialdehyde induces frameshift mutations in Salmonella typhimurium strain hisD3052. The ability of propanodeoxyguanosine (PdG), a structural analog of the major malondialdehyde-deoxyguanosine adduct, to induce site-specific frameshift mutations was tested in the (CpG)4 hot-spot of hisD3052 carried on an M13 vector (M13MB102). PdG was introduced at position 6248 of duplex M13MB102 by ligation of the oligonucleotide 5'-CGC(PdG)CGGCATG-3' into a heteroduplex containing an 11-nucleotide gap in the (-)-strand between the SphI and BssHII restriction sites and deoxyuridine in place of thymidine in the (+)-strand. Ligation proceeded with 70% efficiency, and closed circular duplex DNA molecules were isolated in 40% yield. The adducted genome was sensitive to cleavage by SphI but resistant to cleavage by BssHII. Transformation of Escherichia coli strain JM105 with adducted M13MB102 led to 25% reduced survival relative to unadducted M13MB102 and produced frameshift mutations in 2.5% of the progeny phage. All of the mutations were deletions, and 70% occurred by deletion of CpG. Unadducted genomes exhibited a 40-fold lower mutation frequency, and all the mutations were single-base deletions at the sites of ligation of the 11-mer. These results illustrate that PdG, a structural analog of the major malondialdehyde-deoxyguanosine adduct, induces frameshift mutations in M13MB102 and that single-stranded nicks are efficient premutagenic lesions in this recombinant bacteriophage.

Bacteriophage M13↗

The association between paired basic amino acid cleaving enzyme 4 gene haplotype and diastolic blood pressure.

BACKGROUND: In a previously identified locus linked to hypertension on chromosome 15q, we identified three blood pressure candidate genes: insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor gene (IGF1R), myocyte specific enhancer factor 2A gene (MEF2A), and paired basic amino acid cleaving enzyme 4 gene (PACE4). In this study, we tested their associations with hypertension using haplotype analysis. METHODS: A total of 288 unrelated individuals, including 163 high diastolic blood pressure (DBP) subjects and 125 normal DBP subjects were enrolled in this case-control study. Twenty single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the three genes were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction enzyme digestion. Haplotype analysis was accomplished in the following stages: (1) pair-wise linkage disequilibrium test among SNPs on the same gene was performed to explore blocks in which recombination is very unlikely to happen; (2) Estimation-Maximization algorithm was applied to estimate haplotype frequencies in each block; (3) the chi-square test was used to examine the specific haplotype difference, and a permutation test was used to examine the overall haplotype profile difference between cases and controls in each block. RESULTS: An estimated haplotype "CCCCG" frequency in the haplotype block on the PACE4 gene was significantly higher in high DBP cases than in controls (P < 0.01). The overall estimated haplotype profile in this block was also significantly different between the cases and the controls (P < 0.001). This association indicates. CONCLUSIONS: This study for the first time demonstrated that PACE4 gene may play an important role in the regulation of DBP. This association indicates that variations influencing DBP resides in or near this genomic region.

Adult↗

Carboxyl-terminal processing of the D1 protein and photoactivation of water-splitting in photosystem II. Partial purification and characterization of the processing enzyme from Scenedesmus obliquus and Pisum sativum.

The D1 polypeptide of photosystem II (PSII) is synthesized as a precursor that is processed by cleavage at the carboxyl terminus during assembly of the active PSII complex. A mutant of the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus, LF-1, inactive in water-splitting, lacks the D1 processing activity but assembles otherwise normal PSII complexes containing the precursor D1 molecule. We have isolated and partially purified a soluble protease from sonicated thylakoids of both wild-type S. obliquus and Pisum sativum which will process the precursor D1 molecule in PSII-enriched membranes from the LF-1 mutant to the mature size. After processing (but not before), photoactivation of these PSII membranes in the presence of manganese restores water-splitting to levels seen after photoactivation of PSII membranes from dark-grown, wild-type, cells. The protease is unable to process D1 in intact thylakoids from the LF-1 mutant but processes D1 if present during sonication of the thylakoids, indicating that processing of the carboxyl-terminal extension of D1 occurs in the lumen of the thylakoid. The processing protease from both S. obliquus and P. sativum is a single subunit enzyme of native molecular mass 33-35 kDa. Processing rate is optimal at pH 6.5. Processing in vitro is evident within 5 min and is markedly inhibited by millimolar concentrations of divalent cations (Cu, Zn greater than Mn greater than Ca, Mg) but not by any known inhibitors of the major classes of proteases. The protease is inactive against the precursors of other thylakoidal proteins and is thus distinct from the thylakoidal amino-terminal processing enzyme involved in the removal of transit peptides from cytoplasmically-synthesised proteins imported into the thylakoid lumen.

Algal Proteins↗

A unique Kex2-like endoprotease from Drosophila melanogaster is expressed in the central nervous system during early embryogenesis.

Complementary DNA sequences were cloned from a Drosophila library encoding a 1,101 amino acid polypeptide that we have named dKLIP-1. The deduced protein is structurally similar to the yeast KEX2 prohormone endoprotease including the conserved Asp, His, and Ser catalytic triad residues characteristic of the subtilisin family. When coexpressed in vivo with pro-beta-NGF, dKLIP-1 greatly enhanced the endoproteolytic conversion of the precursor to mature beta-NGF by cleavage at a -Lys-Arg- doublet. In adults, dKLIP-1 transcripts were detected in cortical regions of the CNS and fat body. Most striking, however, was the high level of maternal transcripts deposited into developing oocytes. The temporal and spatial expression of dKLIP-1 mRNAs during embryonic development indicates a potential role for this novel Kex2p-like endoprotease in early embryogenesis and neurogenesis.

Animals↗

[The genetics of human monogenic obesity].

Obesity is a clinical syndrome caused by genetic and environmental factors and has a relatively high heretability. Seven genes, of whose mutations each can independently result in severe human obesity, have been cloned. Six of them are involved in the appetite controlling by the central nervous system, and one is related to the regulation of adipocyte differentiation. Investigations into the genetic basis of human obesity are important for understanding the mechanism of obesity formation and for design and screening of anti-obesity drugs.

Animals↗

Identification of the type 2 proinsulin processing endopeptidase as PC2, a member of the eukaryote subtilisin family.

Enzymological studies have implicated two Ca(2+)-dependent endopeptidases in the conversion of proinsulin to insulin; a type 1 activity which cleaves on the C-terminal side of Arg31-Arg32 and a type 2 activity which cleaves C-terminally to Lys64-Arg65 in the proinsulin sequence. The possibility that these enzymes are related to the recently discovered family of mammalian subtilisin-like gene products (furin, PC2, and PC3) and the yeast propheromone-converting enzyme (KEX-2), was investigated. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers flanking the putative catalytic domain within this gene family were used in a polymerase chain reaction to amplify related sequences from rat insulinoma cDNA. One major product of 700 base pairs was obtained which was greater than 99% identical to the corresponding rat PC2 sequence. This cDNA was subcloned into the bacterial expression vector pGEX-3X to generate a recombinant protein for antibody production. Western blot analysis showed the immunoreactivity was prominent in neuroendocrine tissues as a 65-kDa protein. It was concentrated in secretory granule-enriched fractions of insulinoma tissue, where it was present as a readily solubilized monomeric protein. Deglycosylation studies using endoglycosidase H and N-glycanase showed that the 65-kDa protein was comprised of approximately 9% carbohydrate, consistent with the presence of three consensus sequences for N-linked glycosylation in rat PC2. The immunoreactivity co-eluted with the type 2 proinsulin endopeptidase on gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography and the antisera specifically immunoprecipitated type 2 activity from insulin granule extracts. N-terminal sequence analysis of the immunoreactive protein gave two sequences which corresponded to residues 109-112 and 112-119 of rat PC2. This indicated that posttranslational processing of PC2 itself occurs C-terminally to basic amino acids to produce the mature enzyme. It is concluded that PC2 is the type 2 endopeptidase involved in proinsulin conversion. Localization of PC2 immunoreactivity to other tissues of the diffuse neuroendocrine system suggests that the type 2 endopeptidase also functions in the processing of precursor forms of other prohormones and polypeptide neurotransmitters.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Purification and characterization of furin, a Kex2-like processing endoprotease, produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Furin, a mammalian homolog of the yeast Kex2 protease, is associated with Golgi membranes and is involved in cleavage of precursor proteins at sites marked by the Arg-X-Lys/Arg-Arg (RXK/RR) motif. We have recently shown that a furin mutant lacking the transmembrane domain can be secreted from cDNA-transfected cells with proteolytic activity for the fluorogenic peptide t-butoxycarbonyl-Arg-Val-Arg-Arg-4-methylcoumarin-7- amide. In this study, we purified and characterized the recombinant furin from the conditioned medium of these cells. Furin was purified as a mixture of 83- and 81-kDa forms and a 96-kDa form. The differences in molecular mass were not due to differences in molecular mass were not due to differences in glycosylation. Moreover, all forms had the same NH2-terminal sequence beginning at the residue after the Arg-Ala-Lys-Arg sequence. These data suggest that the three different forms may be produced by differential COOH-terminal processing of a furin molecule and that mature furin may be autocatalytically produced. Both enzyme preparations showed a pH optimum at 7.0, required Ca2+ for the activity, and showed essentially the same inhibitor profile. These properties resembled those of the Kex2 protease. Both preparations efficiently cleaved fluorogenic peptides with an RXK/RR sequence and moderately cleaved a peptide with an RXXR sequence, but did not cleave dibasic peptides. The sequence requirements determined in vitro were compatible with those determined by expression studies in cultured cells. These data unequivocally demonstrate that furin is an endogenous cellular protease responsible for cleavage of precursor proteins mainly at RXK/RR sites.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Consensus sequence for precursor processing at mono-arginyl sites. Evidence for the involvement of a Kex2-like endoprotease in precursor cleavages at both dibasic and mono-arginyl sites.

Many peptide hormones and neuropeptides are produced from larger, inactive precursors through endoproteolysis at sites usually marked by paired basic residues (primarily Lys-Arg and Arg-Arg), or occasionally by a monobasic residue (primarily Arg). Based upon data concerning processing of prorenin and its mutants around the native Lys-Arg cleavage site expressed in mouse pituitary AtT-20 cells, we present the following sequence rules that govern mono-arginyl cleavages: (a) a basic residue at the fourth (position -4) or the sixth (position -6) residue upstream of the cleavage site is required, (b) at position -4, Arg is more favorable than Lys, and (c) at position 1, a hydrophobic aliphatic residue is not suitable. These rules are compatible with those proposed by comparison of precursor sequences around mono-arginyl cleavage sites. We also provide evidence that precursor cleavages at mono-arginyl and dibasic sites can be catalyzed by the same Kex2-like processing endoprotease, PC1/PC3.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[The genetics of obesity].

Obesity is a major health problem. It increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, 2-type diabetes mellitus, cancers, and premature mortality. Apart from some monogenic forms, it's a polygenic disorder, the result of interaction of genes and environmental factors. Genetic variants of proteins taking part in the regulation of food intake or thermogenesis and tissue mediators produced by the adipose tissue are responsible the genetic components of obesity. Identification of the genetic background of the obesity will help to understand the exact molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis, make possible the prevention, as well as individual therapeutic interventions.

Animals↗

Site-directed mutagenesis and expression of PC2 in microinjected Xenopus oocytes.

The biosynthesis and post-translational maturation of PC2, a neuroendocrine-specific Kex2-like endoprotease, following expression in Xenopus oocytes is described. The initial translation product was a 75-kDa membrane-associated protein which was released from the oocytes as a glycosylated 71-kDa protein. During extended chase periods, the extracellular 71-kDa protein was converted to a mature 68-kDa product. A deletion mutant lacking a putative COOH-terminal amphipathic helix was still membrane-associated, suggesting that this domain was not essential for attachment of PC2 to membranes. Two putative proregion cleavage site mutants were also constructed. Conversion of the 75-kDa peptide to the 71-kDa peptide involved cleavage at the sequence Lys-Arg-Arg-Arg (amino acids 78-81), since mutation of this sequence to Lys-Val-Arg-Leu resulted in the secretion of the 75-kDa peptide. Extracellular conversion of the 71-kDa peptide to the 68-kDa peptide involved cleavage at the sequence Arg-Lys-Lys-Arg (amino acids 106-109), since deletion of this tetrabasic sequence resulted in secretion of the 71-kDa peptide without further conversion to the 68-kDa form. Finally, a mutation which changed a catalytically important Asp to Asn did not affect processing of proPC2. These results may be relevant to our understanding of mechanisms in the intracellular sorting and maturation of proPC2 in neuroendocrine cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Secretion and lipid association of human apolipoprotein E in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires a host mutation in sterol esterification and uptake.

We have expressed a cDNA to human apolipoprotein E (apoE) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Secretion of apoE was achieved only by the use of a mutant (upc2) strain of yeast with the phenotype of enhanced uptake and intracellular esterification of exogenous cholesterol. Approximately 40 ng/ml apoE was secreted by upc2 mutants in the absence of media cholesterol. ApoE secretion was increased 2-3-fold upon the inclusion of cholesterol in the growth media. This response to exogenous cholesterol was not mediated at the transcriptional level, since apoE mRNA levels were constant under all culture conditions. Concomitant with the increase in secretion following cholesterol uptake by upc2 strains, approximately 5% of secreted apoE was associated with lipid; polar and non-polar lipids were detected in this lipoprotein fraction. Intracellular degradation of apoE in non-secreting strains of yeast was minimized by the presence of null mutations in both vacuolar proteases with non-specific activity (pep4) and a Golgi endopeptidase with specificity for paired basic residues (kex2). The approach of expressing human apolipoproteins in yeast may identify factors that mediate lipoprotein biosynthesis in higher cells. One such factor could be the mammalian equivalent of the gene product of UPC2.

Apolipoproteins E↗

An in vivo characterization of the cleavage site specificity of the insulin cell prohormone processing enzymes.

Most peptide hormones and neurotransmitters are synthesized as larger precursor proteins, which are post-translationally processed to mature bioactive products. An early event in prohormone maturation is endoproteolytic cleavage, occurring usually at pairs of basic amino acids (e.g. Lys-Arg). Since many of the characteristics of a prohormone endoprotease are unknown, distinguishing these enzymes from other cellular proteases in vitro has been difficult. In this report, the substrate specificity of a model prohormone processing system, the insulinoma cell line Rin m5F, was characterized in vivo to establish a set of criteria by which putative proinsulin endoproteases may be assessed. To determine the role of composition of the paired basic amino acid site in directing cleavage, a series of mutant prohormones containing altered cleavage sites was constructed and expressed in Rin m5F cells. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) was used as a substrate since this prohormone was previously shown to be processed by these cells. To control for positional effects, all four permutations of lysine and arginine (Lys-Arg, Arg-Arg, Arg-Lys, and Lys-Lys) were introduced at both the efficiently processed cleavage site separating the ACTH and beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) domains of POMC and at the inefficiently processed site in the beta-endorphin sequence near the COOH-terminus of the precursor. His-Arg and Met-Arg sites were also introduced at the ACTH/beta-LPH junction to assess the requirement for paired lysines and arginines. Identification of POMC-derived peptides demonstrated efficient processing of Lys-Arg and inefficient processing of Lys-Lys and Arg-Lys sites at both positions in the prohormone. The Arg-Arg sequence, however, was processed in a position-dependent manner, being efficiently cleaved between ACTH and beta-LPH but only about 50% processed within beta-endorphin. His-Arg was not cleaved in Rin m5F cells, although surprisingly Met-Arg was partially processed. These results indicate a strict preference of the insulinoma prohormone endoprotease(s) for paired basic amino acids ending in arginine, but that processing efficiency of some sequences may be modulated by location within the precursor molecule.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Yeast KEX1 protease cleaves a prohormone processing intermediate in mammalian cells.

A vaccinia virus vector was used to express the yeast KEX1 gene, which encodes a prohormone carboxypeptidase specific for the removal of basic amino acids from prohormone processing intermediates, in mammalian cells. When produced in BSC-40 cells, Kex1p was localized to the perinuclear region and conferred a large increase in enzymatic activity characteristic of this carboxypeptidase. Expression of the KEX1 gene together with the yeast KEX2 gene, which encodes a prohormone endopeptidase specific for cleavage at pairs of basic amino acids, and the mouse proopiomelanocortin (mPOMC) cDNA in BSC-40 cells resulted in the full conversion of mPOMC to mature peptides including gamma-lipotropin. This in vivo processing of mPOMC to mature peptides by the KEX2/KEX1 gene products demonstrates a significant functional homology of the basic prohormone processing machinery in yeast and neuroendocrine cells.

Animals↗