cDNA cloning and cadmium-induced expression of metallothionein mRNA in the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Engelken ◽  
Armin Hildebrandt

Using pooled degenerate oligonucleotides inferred from the N-terminal amino acid sequence of Dreissena polymorpha metallothionein and a Cys-X-Cys motif characteristic for known metallothioneins, a 150-bp metallothionein-specific reverse transcription PCR product was generated. The PCR product was used to screen a Dreissena polymorpha cDNA library, and a complete metallothionein cDNA sequence from Dreissena was identified. Four clones with the identical sequence were detected, supporting the idea of a single metallothionein gene in Dreissena. The sequence contains a 141-bp 5prime untranslated region and a 572-bp 3prime untranslated region with two polyadenylation signals. The coding region spans 219 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence shows 21 cysteine residues present in the metallothionein-typical motifs. Induction studies were performed with 50 µg Cd2+/L for up to 16 days. The exposed mussels show a sevenfold higher metallothionein mRNA level compared with uninduced control mussels.Key words: metallothionein, Dreissena polymorpha, cadmium, induction, mRNA.

1994 ◽  
Vol 301 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Nakagawa ◽  
N Komorita ◽  
F Shibata ◽  
A Ikesue ◽  
K Konishi ◽  
...  

Four basic neutrophil chemotactic factors (chemokines) have been purified from conditioned medium of granulation tissue obtained from carrageenin-induced inflammation in the rat. On the basis of their N-terminal amino acid sequences, one of the chemokines was identical with rat GRO/cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) which we reported previously, and another was identical with rat macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2). Two other chemokines were novel chemoattractants related to MIP-2. The novel chemokines are referred to as rat GRO/CINC-2 alpha and CINC-2 beta, and consequently CINC and rat MIP-2 are renamed rat GRO/CINC-1 and CINC-3 respectively. The complete amino acid sequences of purified CINC-2 alpha and CINC-3 were determined by analysis of the fragments isolated from proteinase V8-treated CINCs. The cDNA for CINC-2 beta was cloned by reverse transcription/PCR amplification using specific primers starting with total RNA extracted from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated rat macrophages. A comparison of the amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA with the N-terminal amino acid sequence of purified CINC-2 beta revealed that mature CINC-2 beta is a 68-residue chemoattractant produced by cleavage of a 32-residue signal peptide. The difference in amino acid sequences between CINC-2 alpha and CINC-2 beta consisted of only three C-terminal residues. Rat GRO/CINC-2 alpha is a major chemokine, and the four purified chemokines have similar chemotactic activity, suggesting that they contribute to neutrophil infiltration into inflammatory sites in rats.


1980 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 1144-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Baudyš ◽  
Helena Keilová ◽  
Vladimír Kostka

To determine the primary structure of the C-terminal part of the molecule of chicken pepsinogen the tryptic, chymotryptic and thermolytic digest of the protein were investigated and peptides derived from this region were sought. These peptides permitted the following 21-residue C-terminal sequence to be determined: ...Ile-Arg-Glu-Tyr-Tyr-Val-Ile-Phe-Asp-Arg-Ala-Asn-Asn-Lys-Val-Gly-Leu-Ser-Pro-Leu-Ser.COOH. A comparison of this structure with the C-terminal sequential regions of the other acid proteases shows a high degree of homology between chicken pepsinogen and these proteases (e.g., the degree of homology with respect to hog pepsinogen and calf prochymosin is about 66%). Additional tryptic peptides, derived from the N-terminal part of the zymogen molecule whose amino acid sequence has been reported before, were also obtained in this study. This sequence was extended by two residues using an overlapping peptide. An ancillary result of this study was the isolation of tryptic peptides derived from other regions of the zymogen molecule.


1976 ◽  
Vol 251 (19) ◽  
pp. 5901-5903 ◽  
Author(s):  
M O Olson ◽  
I L Goldknopf ◽  
K A Guetzow ◽  
G T James ◽  
T C Hawkins ◽  
...  

1964 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 755-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Smith

An outline of present ideas concerning the arrangement, folding, and chemistry of the polypeptide chains of hemoglobin is given with some references to present know ledge of myoglobin.New material includes a partial amino acid sequence of the β-chain of horse hemoglobin, details concerning the amino acids lining the heme pocket of horse hemoglobin, and the effects of carboxypeptidases A and B on horse oxy- and horse deoxy-hemoglobin. The kinetics of the latter reactions are not simple. The C-terminal amino acids are released more rapidly from the oxygenated form.


1980 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 863-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Johnson ◽  
J Gagnon ◽  
K B Reid

The serine esterase factor D of the complement system was purified from outdated human plasma with a yield of 20% of the initial haemolytic activity found in serum. This represented an approx. 60 000-fold purification. The final product was homogeneous as judged by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (with an apparent mol.wt. of 24 000), its migration as a single component in a variety of fractionation procedures based on size and charge, and its N-terminal amino-acid-sequence analysis. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the first 36 residues of the intact molecule was found to be homologous with the N-terminal amino acid sequences of the catalytic chains of other serine esterases. Factor D showed an especially strong homology (greater than 60% identity) with rat ‘group-specific protease’ [Woodbury, Katunuma, Kobayashi, Titani, & Neurath (1978) Biochemistry 17, 811-819] over the first 16 amino acid residues. This similarity is of interest since it is considered that both enzymes may be synthesized in their active, rather than zymogen, forms. The three major CNBr fragments of factor D, which had apparent mol.wts. of 15 800, 6600 and 1700, were purified and then aligned by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis and amino acid analysis. By using factor D labelled with di-[1,3-14C]isopropylphosphofluoridate it was shown that the CNBr fragment of apparent mol.wt. 6600, which is located in the C-terminal region of factor D, contained the active serine residue. The amino acid sequence around this residue was determined.


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