The LDL receptor gene: a mosaic of exons shared with different proteins

The multifunctional nature of coated pit receptors predicts that these proteins will contain multiple domains. To establish the genetic basis for these domains (LDL) receptor. This gene is more than 45 kilobases in length and contains 18 exons, most of which correlate with functional domains previously defined at the protein level. Thirteen of the 18 exons encode protein sequences that are homologous to sequences in other proteins: five of these exons encode a sequence similar to one in the C9 component of complement; three exons encode a sequence similar to a repeat sequence in the precursor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) and in three proteins of the blood clotting system (factor IX, factor X, and protein C); and five other exons encode nonrepeated sequences that are shared only with the EGF precursor. The LDL receptor appears to be a mosaic protein built up of exons shared with different proteins, and it therefore belongs to several supergene families.     

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.     

Epidermal-growth-factor-dependent transformation by a human EGF receptor proto-oncogene

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor gene EGFR has been placed in a retrovirus vector to examine the growth properties of cells that experimentally overproduce a full-length EGF receptor. NIH 3T3 cells transfected with the viral DNA or infected with the corresponding rescued retrovirus developed a fully transformed phenotype in vitro that required both functional EGFR expression and the presence of EGF in the growth medium. Cells expressing 4 x 10(5) EGF receptors formed tumors in nude mice, while control cells did not. Therefore, the EGFR retrovirus, which had a titer on NIH 3T3 cells that was greater than 10(7) focus-forming units per milliliter, can efficiently transfer and express this gene, and increased numbers of EGF receptors can contribute to the transformed phenotype.     

Identifying autism loci and genes by tracing recent shared ancestry

To find inherited causes of autism-spectrum disorders, we studied families in which parents share ancestors, enhancing the role of inherited factors. We mapped several loci, some containing large, inherited, homozygous deletions that are likely mutations. The largest deletions implicated genes, including PCDH10 (protocadherin 10) and DIA1 (deleted in autism1, or c3orf58), whose level of expression changes in response to neuronal activity, a marker of genes involved in synaptic changes that underlie learning. A subset of genes, including NHE9 (Na+/H+ exchanger 9), showed additional potential mutations in patients with unrelated parents. Our findings highlight the utility of "homozygosity mapping" in heterogeneous disorders like autism but also suggest that defective regulation of gene expression after neural activity may be a mechanism common to seemingly diverse autism mutations.     

Blocking of EGF-dependent cell proliferation by EGF receptor kinase inhibitors

A systematic series of low molecular weight protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors were synthesized; they had progressively increasing affinity over a 2500-fold range toward the substrate site of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor kinase domain. These compounds inhibited EGF receptor kinase activity up to three orders of magnitude more than they inhibited insulin receptor kinase, and they also effectively inhibited the EGF-dependent autophosphorylation of the receptor. The most potent compounds effectively inhibited the EGF-dependent proliferation of A431/clone 15 cells with little or no effect on the EGF-independent proliferation of these cells. The potential use of tyrosine protein kinase inhibitors as antiproliferative agents is demonstrated.     

Guidance of cell migration by EGF receptor signaling during Drosophila oogenesis

Directed cell migration is important for many aspects of normal animal development, but little is known about how cell migrations are guided or the mechanisms by which guidance cues are translated into directed cell movement. Here we present evidence that signaling mediated by the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) guides dorsal migration of border cells during Drosophila oogenesis. The transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha)-like ligand Gurken appears to serve as the guidance cue. To mediate this guidance function, EGFR signals via a pathway that is independent of Raf-MAP kinase and receptor-specific.     

8种物质对蛹虫草液体发酵中虫草素及多糖含量的影响

【目的】研究不同前体物及营养物对蛹虫草液体发酵中虫草素和虫草多糖含量的影响,筛选提高虫草素及虫草多糖的最适添加物及其添加质量浓度。【方法】将不同质量浓度的腺苷、核糖、次黄嘌呤、谷氨酰胺、甘氨酸、核黄素、苯丙氨酸及甲硫氨酸8种物质添加到蛹虫草液体发酵培养基中,提取菌丝体中的虫草素与多糖,分别用HPLC法、硫酸-苯酚法对其含量进行检测。【结果】在8种添加物中,腺苷、核糖、谷氨酰胺、甘氨酸均能明显提高虫草素及虫草多糖的含量,其最适添加量分别为4.0,2.0～3.0,0.5～1.0,0.5mg/mL;苯丙氨酸、甲硫氨酸、次黄嘌呤对蛹虫草液体发酵中虫草素和多糖含量的促进作用不明显;核黄素对虫草素与多糖合成有抑制作用。【结论】蛹虫草发酵过程中添加腺苷合成途径中的前体物能明显提高其中的虫草素与虫草多糖含量。     

Restoration of LDL receptor activity in mutant cells by intercellular junctional communication

Exchange of small molecules between cells through intercellular junctions is a widespread phenomenon implicated in many physiological and developmental processes. This type of intercellular communication can restore the activity of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors in mammalian cells that are deficient in the enzyme UDP-Gal/UDP-GalNAc 4-epimerase. Pure cultures of the 4-epimerase mutant are unable to synthesize normal carbohydrate chains on LDL receptors and many other glycoproteins and therefore do not express LDL receptor activity. When these cells are cocultivated with cells expressing normal 4-epimerase activity, the structure and function of LDL receptors are restored to normal by the transfer of this enzyme's products through intercellular junctions. The formation of functional junctions does not require normal glycosylation of membrane proteins. Because many convenient assays and selections for LDL receptor activity are available, this mutant can provide a powerful new tool for biochemical and genetic studies of intercellular junctional communication.     

Autosomal recessive hypercholesterolemia caused by mutations in a putative LDL receptor adaptor protein

Atherogenic low density lipoproteins are cleared from the circulation by hepatic low density lipoprotein receptors (LDLR). Two inherited forms of hypercholesterolemia result from loss of LDLR activity: autosomal dominant familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), caused by mutations in the LDLR gene, and autosomal recessive hypercholesterolemia (ARH), of unknown etiology. Here we map the ARH locus to an approximately 1-centimorgan interval on chromosome 1p35 and identify six mutations in a gene encoding a putative adaptor protein (ARH). ARH contains a phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain, which in other proteins binds NPXY motifs in the cytoplasmic tails of cell-surface receptors, including the LDLR. ARH appears to have a tissue-specific role in LDLR function, as it is required in liver but not in fibroblasts.     

EGF receptor and erbB-2 tyrosine kinase domains confer cell specificity for mitogenic signaling

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) can efficiently couple with mitogenic signaling pathways when it is transfected into interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent 32D hematopoietic cells. When expression vectors for erbB-2, which is structurally related to EGFR, or its truncated counterpart, delta NerbB-2, were introduced into 32D cells, neither was capable of inducing proliferation. This was despite overexpression and constitutive tyrosine kinase activity of their products at levels associated with potent transformation of fibroblast target cells. Thus, EGFR and erbB-2 couple with distinct mitogenic signaling pathways. The region responsible for the specificity of intracellular signal transduction was localized to a 270-amino acid stretch encompassing their respective tyrosine kinase domains. Thus, tissue- or cell-specific regulation of growth factor receptor signaling can occur at a point after the initial interaction of growth factor with receptor. Such specificity in signal transduction may account for the selection of certain oncogenes in some malignancies.     

Overexpression of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor eliminates LDL from plasma in transgenic mice

A complementary DNA encoding the human low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor under control of the mouse metallothionein-I promoter was injected into fertilized mouse eggs, and a strain of mice expressing high levels of LDL receptors was established. After administration of cadmium, these mice cleared intravenously injected 125I-labeled LDL from blood eight to ten times more rapidly than did normal mice. The plasma concentrations of apoproteins B-100 and E, the two ligands for the LDL receptor, declined by more than 90 percent after cadmium treatment, but the concentration of another apoprotein, A-I, was unaffected. Therefore, overexpression of an endocytotic receptor can dramatically lower the ambient concentration of its ligand in vivo.     

Structure of the LDL receptor extracellular domain at endosomal pH

The low-density lipoprotein receptor mediates cholesterol homeostasis through endocytosis of lipoproteins. It discharges its ligand in the endosome at pH < 6. In the crystal structure at pH = 5.3, the ligand-binding domain (modules R2 to R7) folds back as an arc over the epidermal growth factor precursor homology domain (the modules A, B, beta propeller, and C). The modules R4 and R5, which are critical for lipoprotein binding, associate with the beta propeller via their calcium-binding loop. We propose a mechanism for lipoprotein release in the endosome whereby the beta propeller functions as an alternate substrate for the ligand-binding domain, binding in a calcium-dependent way and promoting lipoprotein release.     

Direct interaction of a ligand for the erbB2 oncogene product with the EGF receptor and p185erbB2

The erbB2 oncogene encodes a 185-kilodalton transmembrane protein whose sequence is similar to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). A 30-kilodalton factor (gp30) secreted from MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells was shown to be a ligand for p185erbB2. An antibody to EGFR abolished the tyrosine phosphorylation induced by EGF and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) but only partially blocked that produced by gp30 in SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells. In two cell lines that overexpress erbB2 but do not expresss EGFR (MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells and a Chinese hamster ovary cell line that had been transfected with erbB2), phosphorylation of p185erbB2 was induced only by gp30. The gp30 specifically inhibited the growth of cells that overexpressed p185erbB2. An antibody to EGFR had no effect on the inhibition of SK-BR-3 cell colony formation obtained with gp30. Thus, it appeared that gp30 interacted directly with the EGFR and erbB2. Direct binding of gp30 to p185erbB2 was confirmed by binding competition experiments, where gp30 was found to displace the p185erbB2 binding of a specific antibody to p185erbB2. The evidence described here suggests that gp30 is a ligand for p185erbB2.     

高邮鸭群体MSTN、MyoD1和MyoG基因外显子中SNP位点的分析

MSTN、MyoD1和MyoG基因与禽类骨骼肌的生长发育密切相关。本试验以高邮鸭为素材,对MSTN、MyoD1和MyoG3个基因的外显子单核苷酸多态性(SNP)位点进行了鉴定,并对这些位点对蛋白质的影响及群体遗传信息进行了分析。结果显示,MSTN、MyoD1和MyoG3个基因的外显子分别有9个、4个和7个SNP位点,其中具有中度多态的位点分别为8个、1个和5个,有义突变各1个,这些有义突变均改变了相应蛋白质的理化性质以及二级结构。     

Structure of nerve growth factor complexed with the shared neurotrophin receptor p75

Neurotrophins are secreted growth factors critical for the development and maintenance of the vertebrate nervous system. Neurotrophins activate two types of cell surface receptors, the Trk receptor tyrosine kinases and the shared p75 neurotrophin receptor. We have determined the 2.4 A crystal structure of the prototypic neurotrophin, nerve growth factor (NGF), complexed with the extracellular domain of p75. Surprisingly, the complex is composed of an NGF homodimer asymmetrically bound to a single p75. p75 binds along the homodimeric interface of NGF, which disables NGF's symmetry-related second p75 binding site through an allosteric conformational change. Thus, neurotrophin signaling through p75 may occur by disassembly of p75 dimers and assembly of asymmetric 2:1 neurotrophin/p75 complexes, which could potentially engage a Trk receptor to form a trimolecular signaling complex.     

Molecular cloning and functional expression of glutamate receptor subunit genes

Three closely related genes, GluR1, GluR2, and GluR3, encode receptor subunits for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. The proteins encoded by the individual genes form homomeric ion channels in Xenopus oocytes that are sensitive to glutamatergic agonists such as kainate and quisqualate but not to N-methyl-D-aspartate, indicating that binding sites for kainate and quisqualate exist on single receptor polypeptides. In addition, kainate-evoked conductances are potentiated in oocytes expressing two or more of the cloned receptor subunits. Electrophysiological responses obtained with certain subunit combinations show agonist profiles and current-voltage relations that are similar to those obtained in vivo. Finally, in situ hybridization histochemistry reveals that these genes are transcribed in shared neuroanatomical loci. Thus, as with gamma-aminobutyric acid, glycine, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, native kainate-quisqualate-sensitive glutamate receptors form a family of heteromeric proteins.     

Deletion in cysteine-rich region of LDL receptor impedes transport to cell surface in WHHL rabbit

The Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbit, an animal with familial hypercholesterolemia, produces a mutant receptor for plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) that is not transported to the cell surface at a normal rate. Cloning and sequencing of complementary DNA's from normal and WHHL rabbits, shows that this defect arises from an in-frame deletion of 12 nucleotides that eliminates four amino acids from the cysteine-rich ligand binding domain of the LDL receptor. A similar mutation, detected by S1 nuclease mapping of LDL receptor messenger RNA, occurred in a patient with familial hypercholesterolemia whose receptor also fails to be transported to the cell surface. These findings suggest that animal cells may have fail-safe mechanisms that prevent the surface expression of improperly folded proteins with unpaired or improperly bonded cysteine residues.     

An ancient group I intron shared by eubacteria and chloroplasts

Introns have been found in the genomes of all major groups of organisms except eubacteria. The presence of introns in chloroplasts and mitochondria, both of which are of eubacterial origin, has been interpreted as evidence either for the recent acquisition of introns by organelles or for the loss of introns from their eubacterial progenitors. The gene for the leucine transfer RNA with a UAA anticodon [tRNALeu (UAA)] from five diverse cyanobacteria and several major groups of chloroplasts contains a single group I intron. The intron is conserved in secondary structure and primary sequence, and occupies the same position, within the UAA anticodon. The homology of the intron across chloroplasts and cyanobacteria implies that it was present in their common ancestor and that it has been maintained in their genomes for at least 1 billion years.     

The EGF receptor kinase substrate p35 in the floor plate of the embryonic rat CNS

P35 is a calcium- and phospholipid-binding protein that was originally isolated as a substrate for the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor tyrosine kinase and later was found to be related to lipocortin I. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize p35 to a raphe of primitive glial ependymal cells in the median one-third of the floor plate in the central nervous system (CNS) of rat embryos. The p35 appears by embryonic day 12 before the arrival of pioneering ventral commissural axons. The unexpected, discrete distribution of this protein during development opens the question of its role in neural morphogenesis.