New perspectives in cell adhesion: RGD and integrins

Rapid progress has been made in the understanding of the molecular interactions that result in cell adhesion. Many adhesive proteins present in extracellular matrices and in the blood contain the tripeptide arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) as their cell recognition site. These proteins include fibronectin, vitronectin, osteopontin, collagens, thrombospondin, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor. The RGD sequences of each of the adhesive proteins are recognized by at least one member of a family of structurally related receptors, integrins, which are heterodimeric proteins with two membrane-spanning subunits. Some of these receptors bind to the RGD sequence of a single adhesion protein only, whereas others recognize groups of them. The conformation of the RGD sequence in the individual proteins may be critical to this recognition specificity. On the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane, the receptors connect the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton. More than ten proved or suspected RGD-containing adhesion-promoting proteins have already been identified, and the integrin family includes at least as many receptors recognizing these proteins. Together, the adhesion proteins and their receptors constitute a versatile recognition system providing cells with anchorage, traction for migration, and signals for polarity, position, differentiation, and possibly growth.     

Mutation in LDL receptor: Alu-Alu recombination deletes exons encoding transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains

The molecular size of the plasma LDL (low density lipoprotein) receptor synthesized by cultured fibroblasts from a patient with the internalization-defective form of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH 274) was smaller by 10,000 daltons than the size of the normal LDL receptor. The segment of the gene encoding the truncated portion of the FH 274 receptor was cloned into bacteriophage lambda. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the normal and FH 274 genes revealed a 5-kilobase deletion, which eliminated the exons encoding the membrane-spanning region and the carboxyl terminal cytoplasmic domain of the receptor. The deletion appeared to be caused by a novel intrastrand recombination between two repetitive sequences of the Alu family that were oriented in opposite directions. The truncated receptors lack membrane-spanning regions and cytoplasmic domains; they are largely secreted into the culture medium, but a small fraction remains adherent to the cell surface. The surface-adherent receptors bind LDL, but they are unable to cluster in coated pits, thus explaining the internalization-defective phenotype.     

The human laminin receptor is a member of the integrin family of cell adhesion receptors

A receptor for the adhesive basement membrane protein, laminin, was isolated from human glioblastoma cells by affinity chromatography on laminin. This receptor has a heterodimeric structure similar to that of receptors for other extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin and vitronectin. Incorporation of the laminin receptor into liposomal membranes makes it possible for liposomes to attach to surfaces coated with laminin. The receptor liposomes also attached to some extent to surfaces coated with fibronectin, but not with other matrix proteins. These properties identify the laminin receptor as a member of the integrin family of cell adhesion receptors.     

Lutropin-choriogonadotropin receptor: an unusual member of the G protein-coupled receptor family

A complementary DNA (cDNA) for the rat luteal lutropin-choriogonadotropin receptor (LH-CG-R) was isolated with the use of a DNA probe generated in a polymerase chain reaction with oligonucleotide primers based on peptide sequences of purified receptor protein. As would be predicted from the cDNA sequence, the LH-CG-R consists of a 26-residue signal peptide, a 341-residue extracellular domain displaying an internal repeat structure characteristic of members of the leucine-rich glycoprotein (LRG) family, and a 333-residue region containing seven transmembrane segments. This membrane-spanning region displays sequence similarity with all members of the G protein-coupled receptor family. Hence, the LH-CG-R gene may have evolved by recombination of LRG and G protein-coupled receptor genes. Cells engineered to express LH-CG-R cDNA bind human choriogonadotropin with high affinity and show an increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate when exposed to hormone. As revealed by RNA blot analysis and in situ hybridization, the 4.4-kilobase cognate messenger RNA is prominently localized in the rat ovary.     

蛙皮素样肽家族及其受体氨基酸序列信息学比较分析

【目的】研究反刍动物蛙皮素样肽家族多肽及其受体的保守性。为不同动物,特别是反刍动物这2种蛙皮素样多肽及其受体蛋白抗原设计和活性多肽筛选等研究提供参考。【方法】采用生物信息分析学的方法,通过UniProt数据库比较牛的蛙皮素样肽家族胃泌素释放肽(Gastrin-releasing peptide, GRP)和神经介素B(Neuromedin B, NMB)2种多肽及其特异性受体GRP-R和NMB-R与其他动物氨基酸序列的差异性。【结果】13种动物成熟GRP多肽C-端的8个氨基酸序列完全相同,牛GRP氨基酸序列与绵羊、猪和豚鼠最高,分别为88.7%、77.8%和77.8%,与其他动物相似性低于74.1%。10种动物成熟NMB多肽C-端10个氨基酸序列完全相同。牛GRP-R与狗、马和猪等相似性最高,分别为96.1%、94.3%和94.0%,牛NMB-R与猪、人和马相似性最高,分别为92.3%、91.5%和91.0%;牛GRP-R与NMB-R相似性仅为62.2%。【结论】GRP和NMB的C-端氨基酸序列在不同动物之间均具有高度的保守性,而N-端为变化区域,且GRP-R和NMB-R氨基酸序列在动物之间保守性较高。     

胃泌素和胆囊收缩素及其受体氨基酸序列信息学比较分析

【目的】胃泌素(GAS)和胆囊收缩素(CCK)具有较多相似性,但两种激素与其受体(CCK-A和CCK-B)亲和力不同,研究利用生物信息学的方法,比对羊GAS和CCK及其受体氨基酸序列与其它动物序列的不同,为不同动物这两种多肽及其受体蛋白抗原设计和活性多肽筛选等提供参考。【方法】通过UniProt数据库检索各种动物GAS和CCK及其受体氨基酸序列进行比对,并进行全氨基酸序列进化树分析。【结果】除了鸡和鱼,其他动物GAS的C-端7个氨基酸完全相同;除了豚鼠外,CCK的C-端10个氨基酸序列完全相同;羊与牛的GAS-34及CCK-33氨基酸序列完全相同。羊与牛,大鼠与小鼠、狗与猫的CCK-A和CCK-B均分别在同一个分支上;从GAS和CCK及受体全氨基酸序列(包括信号肽和原肽)来看,禽类和鱼类序列同哺乳动物差距均较大;绵羊CCK-A与CCK-B氨基酸序列相似性仅为45.094%。【结论】GAS和CCK的C-端氨基酸序列在不同动物之间均具有高度的保守性,而N-端为变化区域。     

Platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa: member of a family of Arg-Gly-Asp--specific adhesion receptors

Adhesive interactions of the platelet surface with plasma proteins such as fibrinogen and fibronectin play an important role in thrombosis and hemostasis. The binding of both of these proteins to platelets is inhibited by synthetic peptides containing the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp, which corresponds to the cell adhesion site in fibronectin and is also present in the alpha chain of fibrinogen. An affinity matrix made of an insolubilized heptapeptide containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence selectively binds the platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa from detergent extracts of platelets. When incorporated into liposome membranes, the isolated protein confers to the liposomes the ability to bind to surfaces coated with fibrinogen, fibronectin, and vitronectin but not to surfaces coated with thrombospondin or albumin. This platelet receptor is related to the previously identified fibronectin and vitronectin receptors in that it recognizes an Arg-Gly-Asp sequence but differs from the other receptors in its wider specificity toward various adhesive proteins. These results establish the existence of a family of adhesion receptors that recognize the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp.     

Insertion site of FLAG on foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 G-H loop affects immunogenicity of FLAG

The G-H loop of the foot-and-mouth disease virus(FMDV) virion contains certain dominant immunogenic epitopes, as well as an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid(RGD) motif that is recognized by cell surface integrin receptors. Previous experiments indicate that it is critical to maintain virus structural integrity when inserting an exogenous epitope into the surface of an FMDV structural protein. However, it remains to be determined how factors such as different insertion positions affect interactions among the virus, cells and host immune system. In this study, one infectious c DNA clone of the swine FMDV Cathay topotype strain O/CHA/90 was constructed. Then, a FLAG marker(DYKDDDDK) was inserted upstream(–4) or downstream(+10) of the RGD motif to generate tagged viruses vFLAG-O/CHA/90 or vO/CHA/90-FLAG, investigating the possibility of expressing foreign antigen and effect on its immunogenicity. Compared to the parental virus, both tagged viruses exhibited similar plaque phenotypes, suckling mouse pathogenicity and antigenicity. Additionally, the FLAGtag insertion position did not change the use of integrin-mediated cell entry by the tagged viruses. Interestingly, both tagged vaccines protected pigs against challenge with the parental virus O/CHA/90 and induced immune responses against FMDV in BALB/c mice and pigs, but only vaccination with vFLAG-O/CHA/90 generated anti-FLAG antibodies. Our findings demonstrated that two sites(RGD–4 and RGD+10) tolerated the insertion of an exogenous gene in the swine FMDV O/CHA/90 strain. However, only RGD–4 was a novel and appropriate inserting site which could tolerate exogenous FLAG. The resultant tagged virus is a promising candidate for FMD vaccine which can be differentiating infected from vaccinated animals(DIVA).     

An insertion in the human thyrotropin receptor critical for high affinity hormone binding

Thyrotropin (TSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) are structurally related glycoprotein hormones, which bind to receptors that share a high degree of sequence similarity. However, comparison of the primary amino acid sequences of the TSH and LH-CG receptors reveals two unique insertions of 8 and 50 amino acids in the extracellular domain of the TSH receptor. The functional significance of these insertions were determined by site-directed mutagenesis. Deletion of the 50-amino acid tract (residues 317 to 366) had no effect on TSH binding or on TSH and thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) biological activities. In contrast, either deletion or substitution of the eight-amino acid region (residues 38 to 45) abolished these activities. This eight-amino acid tract near the amino terminus of the TSH receptor appears to be an important site of interaction for both TSH and TSI.     

miR-31基因家族的分子进化与靶基因预测

 运用生物信息学方法从miRBase数据库中搜索动物物种miR-31基因家族成员的成熟序列,分析其分子进化特征并预测作用靶基因。结果表明,在49个动物物种中获得63条miR-31基因同源序列;miR-31家族成员大部分位于基因间隔区,少数位于内含子区;miR-31不仅存在于常染色体上,而且部分位于性染色体上。miR-31成熟序列长度在21-24 nt之间,序列同源性较高,部分位点在进化过程中发生了碱基突变和缺失。系统进化树显示,miR-31家族成员可分为2个分支。预测到哺乳动物miR-31拥有20个共同候选靶基因,与细胞生长发育、新陈代谢、信号转导、跨膜运输以及转录调控等过程密切相关。研究结果为深入理解miR-31基因家族的生物学功能奠定基础,也为后续研究提供理论依据。     

Fragile X genotype characterized by an unstable region of DNA

DNA sequences have been located at the fragile X site by in situ hybridization and by the mapping of breakpoints in two somatic cell hybrids that were constructed to break at the fragile site. These hybrids were found to have breakpoints in a common 5-kilobase Eco RI restriction fragment. When this fragment was used as a probe on the chromosomal DNA of normal and fragile X genotype individuals, alterations in the mobility of the sequences detected by the probe were found only in fragile X genotype DNA. These sequences were of an increased size in all fragile X individuals and varied within families, indicating that the region was unstable. This probe provides a means with which to analyze fragile X pedigrees and is a diagnostic reagent for the fragile X genotype.     

椰子保守microRNA 预测和特征分析

根据释放的椰子转录组序列和miRBase数据库中的microRNA（miRNA）序列信息,分析椰子中保守miRNA 及其相应靶基因的特征遥。根据miRBase数据库中植物miRNA序列,共预测了41个miRNA,分别属于22个miRNA家族。这些miRNA家族中13个家族在植物中非常保守,miRBase至少在19个物种中检测到,而miR902、miR2673和miR414这3个家族不保守,仅在1~2个物种中检测到。这些预测的miRNA的成熟序列长度大多为21个碱基（59.5%）,而前体序列的长度大多为50~100个碱基（61.9%）。分析miR396家族前体序列时发现,成熟miRNA和成熟miRNA*（成熟miRNA形成发卡结构互补的序列）序列很保守,但是中间的序列变异很大。此外,预测miRNA的靶基因发现保守的miRNA家族的靶基因为一些重要的转录因子家族,与植物的生长发育相关,而不太保守的miRNA家族的靶基因编码与表型控制相关的蛋白。     

Selection of amino acid sequences in the beta chain of the T cell antigen receptor

The induction of an immune response in mammals is initiated by specifically reactive T lymphocytes. The specificity of the reaction is mediated by a complex receptor, part of which is highly variable in sequence and analogous to immunoglobulin heavy- and light-chain variable domains. The functional specificity of the T cell antigen receptor is, however, markedly different from immunoglobulins in that it mediates cell-cell interactions via the simultaneous recognition of foreign antigens and major histocompatibility complex-encoded molecules expressed on the surface of various lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells. The relation between the structure of the receptor and its functional specificity was investigated by analyzing the primary sequences of the receptors expressed by a series of T lymphocyte clones specific for a model antigen, pigeon cytochrome c. Within this set of T lymphocyte clones there was a striking selection for amino acid sequences in the receptor beta-chain in the region analogous to the third complementarity-determining region of immunoglobulins. Thus, despite the functional differences between T cell antigen receptors and immunoglobulin molecules, analogous regions appear to be important in determining ligand specificity.     

Erratum

In figure 1 (p. 528) of the Report "Identification of a family of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor genes" by T. I. Bonner et al. (31 July, p. 527), the entire deduced amino acid sequence of the human M2 receptor and the sequences corresponding to the third cytoplasmic loops of all the receptors were omitted. A correction appears on page 1628.     

Solution structure of kistrin, a potent platelet aggregation inhibitor and GP IIb-IIIa antagonist.

The structure of kistrin, which is a member of a homologous family of glycoprotein IIb-IIIa (GP IIb-IIIa) antagonists and potent protein inhibitors of platelet aggregation, has been determined by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The 68-residue protein consists of a series of tightly packed loops held together by six disulfide bonds and has almost no regular secondary structure. Kistrin has an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) adhesion site recognition sequence important for binding to GP IIb-IIIa that is located at the apex of a long loop across the surface of the protein.