Biomedical subjects

A Kurosky

Publications and source records attributed to A Kurosky.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Probing the topography of free and polymeric Ig-bound human secretory component with monoclonal antibodies.

Secretory component (SC), an integral membrane protein expressed on basolateral surfaces of secretory epithelial cells, mediates the transport of polymeric Ig (PIg) into external secretions. The ectoplasmic segment of SC is released into secretions either in a free form (FSC) or bound to PIg as secretory IgA or IgM. The topography of human SC in its free and PIgA-bound form was studied by using mAb directed against each form of SC. Competition experiments identified a minimum of nine SC epitopes, one of which was dependent on an N-glycosidic moiety. Three of the polypeptide-derived epitopes were displayed on denatured, reduced, and alkylated SC, whereas the others were fully or partially dependent on the native conformation of SC. Epitopes recognized by the latter class of antibodies were mapped to discrete domains of SC, based on amino acid sequence and antibody-binding analysis of limited proteolytic fragments. One of the mAb (6G11), which was directed against an epitope on domain I of SC, inhibited the binding of FSC to PIgA. Overall, our results provide evidence that a region within domain I, as well as protease-sensitive interdomain regions of FSC, become masked or altered when SC binds to PIgA. Furthermore, the binding of SC to PIgA results in conformational changes, or formation of combinatorial epitopes, involving regions within domains II and III of SC but not domain V.

Alkylation↗

PubMed1991

Purified choleragenoid does not induce migrating action potential complex activity in rabbit ileum in vivo.

The migrating action potential complex (MAPC), a single ring contraction that propels luminal contents abroad, is elicited by Vibrio cholerae and its enterotoxin, choleragen (A1A2B5), in rabbit ileal loops in vivo. Choleragenoid (B5; the binding subunit) was shown previously to induce MAPCs without activating the adenylate cyclase system and without stimulating fluid output. We restudied purified B5 (extracted by high-performance liquid chromatography) to assess its effects on the myoelectric activity of rabbit ileum: can MAPC activity can be induced without associated fluid production? Four different B5 preparations and two controls, V. cholerae and sterile saline, were used. MAPC activity and ileal fluid output were significantly increased in animals inoculated with A1A2B5 (V. cholerae-El Tor) compared with all other preparations and controls. Importantly, MAPC activity and fluid output in all B5 groups did not differ from those in saline controls, demonstrating that purified B5 does not induce MAPC activity in rabbit ilium in vivo. The previous study showing B5-induced MAPCs may have resulted from A1A2B5 contamination. These results suggest A1A2B5-induced adenylate cyclase activation; myoelectric activity may be interrelated with holotoxin binding that causes a neural response.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1990

Delta-bag cell peptide from the egg-laying hormone precursor of Aplysia. Processing, primary structure, and biological activity.

The bag cells of the marine mollusk Aplysia express a gene encoding a 271-residue egg-laying hormone (ELH) precursor that is processed into at least nine peptide products. Four of the peptides have been identified in bag cell releasates and are known to act as nonsynaptic neurotransmitters in the abdominal ganglion. The isolation, primary structure, and proposed biological activity of a fifth peptide product (delta-bag cell peptide (delta-BCP)) from the ELH precursor are described. delta-BCP was established to be a 39-residue peptide: NH2-Asp-Gln-Asp-Glu-Gly-Asn-Phe-Arg-Arg-Phe-Pro-Thr-Asn-Ala-Val-Ser-Met- Ser-Ala-Asp- Glu-Asn-Ser-Pro-Phe-Asp-Leu-Ser-Asn-Glu-Asp-Gly-Ala-Val-Tyr-Gln-Arg- Asp-Leu-COOH. This sequence corresponds to residues 81-119 of the ELH prohormone and shares sequence identity with atrial gland peptides A and B. Significantly, synthetic delta-BCP stimulated Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria of secretory cells in the albumin gland in vitro, suggesting that the peptide regulates the cellular release of perivitelline fluid by the gland. Similar results were obtained with purified peptide A and a shorter version of delta-BCP (delta-BCP-(14-33)). These results indicate that delta-BCP belongs to a family of structurally related peptides with similar pharmacological activities that center at a conserved region of sequence corresponding to delta-BCP-(14-33).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1990

Primary and secondary structural analyses of glutathione S-transferase pi from human placenta.

The primary structure of glutathione S-transferase (GST) pi from a single human placenta was determined. The structure was established by chemical characterization of tryptic and cyanogen bromide peptides as well as automated sequence analysis of the intact enzyme. The structural analysis indicated that the protein is comprised of 209 amino acid residues and gave no evidence of post-translational modifications. The amino acid sequence differed from that of the deduced amino acid sequence determined by nucleotide sequence analysis of a cDNA clone (Kano, T., Sakai, M., and Muramatsu, M., 1987, Cancer Res. 47, 5626-5630) at position 104 which contained both valine and isoleucine whereas the deduced sequence from nucleotide sequence analysis identified only isoleucine at this position. These results demonstrated that in the one individual placenta studied at least two GST pi genes are coexpressed, probably as a result of allelomorphism. Computer assisted consensus sequence evaluation identified a hydrophobic region in GST pi (residues 155-181) that was predicted to be either a buried transmembrane helical region or a signal sequence region. The significance of this hydrophobic region was interpreted in relation to the mode of action of the enzyme especially in regard to the potential involvement of a histidine in the active site mechanism. A comparison of the chemical similarity of five known human GST complete enzyme structures, one of pi, one of mu, two of alpha, and one microsomal, gave evidence that all five enzymes have evolved by a divergent evolutionary process after gene duplication, with the microsomal enzyme representing the most divergent form.

Alleles↗

PubMed1990

Physicochemical characterization of progressive changes in the Xenopus laevis egg envelope following oviductal transport and fertilization.

Previous studies have shown that the Xenopus laevis egg envelope exists in three forms with differing ultrastructural, macromolecular, and sperm penetrability properties. The coelomic envelope (CE) is derived from eggs released from the ovary into the body cavity of the female, the vitelline envelope (VE) from eggs which have passed through the oviduct, and the fertilization envelope (FE) from fertilized eggs. In the present study, the physicochemical characteristics of these three envelope types were differentiated. Investigation of envelope solubility, deformability, sulfhydryl reactivity, and hydrophobic dye and ferritin binding capacity demonstrated that profound physicochemical changes occur in envelope conversions CE----VE----FE. The physical strength of the envelopes, as evidenced by deformability studies, ranked FE greater than CE greater than VE. These differences were not accountable by differences in the number of disulfide bonds, although the CE sulfhydryl groups were significantly less accessible than those in the VE or FE. All three envelope forms were hydrophilic in nature, exhibiting little ability to bind 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonic acid. The CE bound greater amounts of ferritin in comparison to the VE and FE, indicating the presence of a basic domain, presumably in the 43-kDa glycoprotein, which is lost upon proteolysis to 41 kDa during the CE----VE conversion. The envelope integrity of all three forms was maintained by both noncovalent and covalent (disulfide) bonds. Measurements of the effect of pH on envelope solubilization indicated the involvement of an ionizable group with pKa of 8.0 in maintaining envelope structure.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗

PubMed1990

Enzymatic and envelope-converting activities of pars recta oviductal fluid from Xenopus laevis.

Conversion of the coelomic egg envelope to the vitelline envelope of the Xenopus laevis egg is known to take place in the pars recta (PR) region of the oviduct. A method for collecting fluid generated from PR cultured in vitro was devised which enhanced the recovery of envelope-converting factors. By the criteria of melting temperature analysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 125I labeling, ferritin binding, and in vitro fertilization assays, the secretions collected from PR cultured in vitro were capable of modifying the envelope in a manner analogous to that which occurred in vivo, including the limited hydrolysis of one envelope glycoprotein. Hydrolytic activities present in PR fluid were assayed with a number of peptide and carbohydrate substrates. Enzymes which hydrolyzed t-butyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Ser-Thr-Arg-methylcoumarylamide, t-butyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Ser-Arg-methylcoumarylamide, and t-butyloxycarbonyl-Val-Leu-Lys-methylcoumarylamide were found to be present in PR fluid at levels elevated by threefold or more over amounts found in a comparable volume of blood plasma.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1990

Molecular characterization of bombesin receptors on rat pancreatic acinar AR42J cells.

A biologically active, chemically defined, radioactive ligand was used for characterizing bombesin (BBS) receptors on rat pancreatic acinar cancer cells (AR42J). [Tyr4]BBS, iodinated with enzymobeads and fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography, was monitored for biological activity as evidenced by gastrin release from perfused isolated rat stomach. The monoiodinated peptide peak was greater than 95% biologically active, with a specific activity of greater than 2,000 disintegrations.min-1.fmol-1. The maximum number of BBS receptors per cell were measured at 30 degrees C after 20-25 min of incubation; binding was submaximum at temperatures lower or higher than 30 degrees C. A single class of high-affinity binding sites (Kd = 1.77 +/- 0.21 nM) was identified for BBS on AR42J cells and nonspecific binding was less than 20-30% at all points. A total of 1.47 +/- 0.14 x 10(5) specific BBS binding sites per cell were measured that were specific for BBS and gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) analogues. Iodinated GRP-(1-27) was cross-linked to BBS receptors on AR42J cells using several bifunctional cross-linking reagents followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the solubilized receptor complex under reducing and nonreducing conditions. A densitometric analysis of the autoradiographs demonstrated the presence of an approximately 80- to 85-kDa molecular form of the receptor as a major component under both reducing and nonreducing conditions. These results indicated that the receptor molecule is a single subunit without multiple chains covalently attached by disulfide bonding.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Structural and biosynthetic studies of the granule membrane protein, GMP-140, from human platelets and endothelial cells.

GMP-140 is an integral membrane glycoprotein of apparent Mr = 140,000 located in secretory storage granules of platelets and vascular endothelial cells. When these cells are activated, GMP-140 redistributes from the membrane of the granules to the plasma membrane. To gain insight into the potential function of GMP-140, we examined aspects of its structure and biosynthesis. The amino acid composition of platelet GMP-140 revealed elevated numbers of cystinyl (6.1%), prolinyl (7.2%), and tryptophanyl (2.1%) residues. GMP-140 contained 28.8% carbohydrate by weight, distributed among N-acetylneuraminic acid, neutral sugar, and N-acetylglucosamine residues. Enzymatic removal of N-linked oligosaccarides reduced the protein's apparent Mr by more than 50,000. The biosynthesis of GMP-140 in HEL cells, which share biochemical features with megakaryocytes, was studied by pulse-chase labeling with [35S]cysteine followed by immunoprecipitation. HEL cells synthesized a heterogeneous GMP-140 precursor of 98-125 kDa which converted to a mature 140-kDa form within 40-60 min. Removal of high mannose oligosaccarides by endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H treatment reduced the apparent Mr of the precursor but not the mature protein. Tunicamycin-treated HEL cells synthesized three to four precursors of 80-92 kDa, suggesting the possibility of heterogeneity of GMP-140 at the protein level. Exposure of activated platelets to proteases followed by Western blotting indicated that most of the mass of GMP-140 was located on the extracytoplasmic side of the membrane. Our studies indicate that GMP-140 is a cysteine-rich, heavily glycosylated protein with a large extracytoplasmic domain. These features are compatible with a receptor function for the molecule when it is exposed on the surface of activated platelets and endothelial cells.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1989

Purification and chemical characterization of a cholera toxin-cross-reactive cytolytic enterotoxin produced by a human isolate of Aeromonas hydrophila.

A bacterial protein toxin possessing hemolytic, enterotoxic, and cytotoxic activities as well as cross-reactivity to cholera toxin was purified from culture filtrates of a human diarrheal isolate of Aeromonas hydrophila (SSU). This cytolytic enterotoxin was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic chromatography using phenyl-Sepharose, anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Bio-Gel A, and size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography. The factor was a single polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 52,000 as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Automated amino acid sequence analysis confirmed that the toxin was a single chain and established a 25-residue N-terminal segment which was identical to that of aerolysin purified from culture supernatants of A. hydrophila isolate Ah65 originally obtained from rainbow trout as reported by Howard et al. (S. P. Howard, W. J. Garland, M. J. Green, and J. T. Buckley, J. Bacteriol. 169:2869-2871, 1987). However, the amino acid compositional analysis of the toxin produced by our human isolate (SSU) differed significantly from that of the Ah65 isolate. Taken together, these results strongly indicated that several toxic phenomena associated with A. hydrophila (SSU) culture filtrates, including hemolysis, cytotoxicity, and enterotoxicity as well as cross-reactivity to cholera toxin, all can occur on a single polypeptide. In addition, these results underline the fact that although aerolysin-related toxins isolated from culture filtrates of A. hydrophila are biologically similar, significant chemical and immunological differences may exist between toxins produced by individual isolates.

Aeromonas↗

PubMed1989

Bioactivity and immunological characterization of a cholera toxin-cross-reactive cytolytic enterotoxin from Aeromonas hydrophila.

A cytolytic enterotoxin of molecular weight 52,000 was isolated and purified from culture supernatants of a human diarrheal isolate (SSU) of Aeromonas hydrophila. The toxin reacted with cholera antitoxin when tested in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by Western blot (immunoblot) analysis. The appearance of cytotoxic and hemolytic activities in culture supernatant occurred simultaneously 8 h after the initial inoculation of the culture. Loss of hemolytic activity and cholera toxin cross-reactivity was correlated with heat and pH inactivation. Homologous antibodies neutralized the cytotoxic and hemolytic activities associated with the toxin, but cholera antitoxin did not neutralize these activities. The toxin also possessed enterotoxic activity as demonstrated by fluid accumulation in rabbit ligated intestinal loops. When purified cytolytic enterotoxin was injected intravenously into mice, death occurred within 2 min, whereas mice injected with whole cells or sonicated cell fragments died after several hours or days. Results from 51Cr release experiments demonstrated that the cytolytic enterotoxin had significant membrane-damaging capability. These results indicated that the cytolytic and enterotoxic activities expressed by the described A. hydrophila toxin may contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of disease associated with A. hydrophila.

Aeromonas↗

PubMed1988

Differential expression of alpha, mu and pi classes of isozymes of glutathione S-transferase in bovine lens, cornea, and retina.

Isozyme characterization of glutathione S-transferase (GST) isolated from bovine ocular tissue was undertaken. Two isozymes of lens, GST 7.4 and GST 5.6, were isolated and found to be homodimers of a Mr 23,500 subunit. Amino acid sequence analysis of a 20-residue region of the amino terminus was identical for both isozymes and was identical to GST psi and GST mu of human liver. Antibodies raised against GST psi cross-reacted with both lens isozymes. Although lens GST 5.6 and GST 7.4 demonstrated chemical and immunological relatedness, they were distinctly different as evidenced by their pI and comparative peptide fingerprint. A corneal isozyme, GST 7.2, was also isolated and established to be a homodimer of Mr 24,500 subunits. Sequence analysis of the amino-terminal region indicated it to be about 67% identical with the GST pi isozyme of human placenta. Antibodies raised against GST pi cross-reacted with cornea GST 7.2. Another corneal isozyme, GST 8.7, was found to be homodimer of Mr 27,000 subunits. Sequence analysis revealed it to have a blocked amino-terminus. GST 8.7 immunologically cross-reacted with the antibodies raised against cationic isozymes of human liver indicating it to be of the alpha class. Two isozymes of retina, GST 6.8 and GST 6.3, were isolated and identified to be heterodimers of subunits of Mr 23,500 and 24,500. Amino-terminal sequence analysis gave identical results for both retina GST 6.8 and GST 6.3. The sequence analysis of the Mr 23,500 subunit was identical to that obtained for lens GSTs. Similarly, sequence analysis of the Mr 24,500 subunit was identical to that obtained for the cornea GST 7.2 isozyme. Both the retina isozymes cross-reacted with antibodies raised against human GST psi as well as GST pi. The results of these studies indicated that all three major classes of GST isozymes were expressed in bovine eye but the GST genes were differentially expressed in lens, cornea, and retina. In lens only the mu class of GST was expressed, whereas cornea expressed alpha and pi classes and retina expressed mu and pi classes of GST isozymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1988

Proteolytic processing of egg-laying hormone-related precursors in Aplysia. Identification of peptide regions critical for biological activity.

The atrial gland of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica is an exocrine organ that expresses at least three genes belonging to the egg-laying hormone (ELH) family. In order to study the post-translational processing of the ELH-related gene products in the atrial gland and how it compares to the bag cells, peptides were isolated from the atrial gland and chemically characterized. The A- and B-related precursors were each cleaved in vivo to yield several major and minor peptides including peptides A and B and the ELH-related peptide complexes that caused egg laying. About 13% of the peptide complexes were further enzymically processed by the atrial gland to yield smaller fragments, which included A-AP.A-ELH-(15-36), A-AP.[Ala27]A-ELH-(15-36), and A-AP.[Gln23,Ala27]A-ELH-(16-36), where A-AP is an acidic peptide encoded by the A- and B-related genes and A-ELH is an ELH-related peptide encoded by the A gene. These processed peptide fragments were not active in an egg-laying bioassay, indicating that retention of the 14-residue NH2-terminal segment of the A-ELH-related sequence, or some portion thereof, was critical for the induction of egg laying. Other characterized peptides included two novel 13-residue NH2-terminal peptides, A-NTP and B-NTP, representing residues 22-34 of the A and B precursors, respectively. These two peptides occurred adjacent to the signal peptide region in each precursor, and their characterization established the site of signal peptide cleavage to be the Ser21-Gln22 peptide bond of each precursor. Intermediate peptide fragments (A-NTP-peptide A and B-NTP-peptide B) were also identified indicating that there was a specific ordering in the cleavage of peptide bonds during posttranslational processing. Finally, a new 55-residue atrial gland peptide was also isolated that was not a part of any ELH-related precursor characterized to date.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1988

Purification and characterization of unique glutathione S-transferases from human muscle.

Results of studies designed to investigate the origin of the diversity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) isozymes in human tissues indicated that human muscle has at least three forms of GST with pI values of 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2 that are distinct from GST isozymes characterized so far. The major muscle isozyme which was expressed in all the six samples analyzed in this study was a unique GST of pI 5.2 that was designated as GST zeta. It had a blocked N-terminal and did not correspond to any of the known three classes (alpha, mu, or pi) of human GST as evidenced by its immunological properties and substrate specificities. The N-terminal regions of human muscle GST 5.1 and 5.0 had identical amino acid sequences except at residue 5, but demonstrated significant differences in amino acid composition and substrate specificities. These two isozymes showed homology with the mu class of human GST in their N-terminal region and were also immunologically related to the mu class of human GST although their subunit molecular weight values (Mr 23,000) were lower than that reported for GST psi. The substrate specificities of these isozymes were also significantly different from those of other human GST isozymes characterized so far. Significantly, muscle tissue did not express the alpha class of GST isozymes; however, two other isozymes were identified, GST 4.8 and GST 4.5, which had identical N-terminal amino acid sequences that were similar to that reported for the pi class of human GST. GST 4.8 was present in all six samples analyzed in this study whereas GST 4.5 was present in only two of these samples, indicating a possibility of polymorphism at the GST3 locus. This study indicated the occurrence of at least three distinct isozymes in muscle tissue, providing further evidence for tissue specific expression of GST isozymes in humans.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1987

Human liver glutathione S-transferase psi. Chemical characterization and secondary-structure comparison with other mammalian glutathione S-transferases.

The isolation and chemical characterization of the anionic human liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) psi (pI 5.5) are described and compared with other GST isoenzymes reported for rat and human. Amino acid compositional analysis, substrate specificity and isoelectric focusing indicated that GST psi is a unique isoenzyme form of GST. Strikingly, however, amino acid sequence analysis of the N-terminal region indicated that GST psi was identical with GST mu in the first 23 amino acid residues reported. It is likely that these two enzyme forms are at least partially structurally related. In order to investigate further the genetic relationship of GST psi to other reported GST isoenzymes, secondary-structure analysis was performed. Despite substantial differences in the N-terminal-region amino acid sequences of some of the GST isoenzymes, the secondary structure of all the isoenzymes is highly conserved at their N-termini. The general uniformity of the secondary structure of this enzyme class at their N-termini strongly indicated that the observed diversity of these isoenzymes probably occurred as a result of a mechanism of gene duplication followed by divergence rather than a mechanism of convergent evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1986

Evidence for the expression of three genes encoding homologous atrial gland peptides that cause egg laying in Aplysia.

Three peptide complexes which can induce egg laying in Aplysia were isolated from the atrial gland of the marine mollusc Aplysia californica and chemically characterized. Amino acid sequence analyses established the covalent structures, including disulfide assignments, of all three dimeric complexes. Each complex consisted of an identical 18-residue peptide (A-AP) which was disulfide-bonded to a 36-residue peptide that was homologous to bag cell egg-laying hormone (ELH). The primary structure of A-AP was determined to be: NH2-Asp-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Leu-Phe-Asn-Gly-Asp-Leu-Leu-Pro-Asn-Gly-Arg-Cys- Ser-COOH. The primary structure of one of the three ELH-related peptides (A-ELH) was determined to be NH2-Ile-Ser-Ile-Asn-Gln-Asp-Leu-Lys-Ala-Ile-Thr-Asp-Met-Leu-Leu-Thr-Glu- Gln-Ile-Gln-Ala-Arg-Arg-Arg-Cys-Leu-Asp-Ala-Leu-Arg-Gln-Arg-Leu-Leu-Asp- -Leu-COOH. The two other ELH-related peptides, [Ala27]A-ELH and [Gln23, Ala27]A-ELH, differed from A-ELH at 1 and 2 residues, respectively. Both [Ala27] A-ELH and [Gln23, Ala27]A-ELH were novel peptide sequences representing products of as yet uncharacterized genes within the ELH family. These structural studies provide the first direct chemical evidence that an 18-residue peptide (A-AP) derived from a polypeptide precursor encoded by the A gene, as predicted from nucleotide sequence analysis, occurs in the atrial gland; the Cys17 residue of A-AP is disulfide-bonded to Cys25 of A-ELH; and A-AP also occurs disulfide-bonded to two additional, previously undescribed ELH-related peptides, [Ala27]A-ELH and [Gln23, Ala27]A-ELH.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1986

Isolation of high-specific-activity subunits of cholera toxin by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Facile, rapid procedures for the separation of active cholera toxin subunits were developed, based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a Nucleosil C8 reversed-phase column. These procedures were capable of completely resolving subunits A and B as well as S-carboxymethylated or reduced alpha-, gamma-, and beta-chains. The binding of HPLC-purified B subunit to GM1 ganglioside was essentially identical to that of cholera toxin when compared on a molar basis. The adenosine 5'-diphosphate-ribosyltransferase activity of HPLC-purified A subunit, reduced alpha-chain, or carboxymethyl alpha-chain was also determined to be reasonably high compared to that of cholera toxin or commercially prepared A subunit.

Alkylation↗

PubMed1986

Evidence for production of an enterotoxin and cholera toxin cross-reactive factor by Aeromonas hydrophila.

The enterotoxins produced by Aeromonas hydrophila were examined for biological activity by the rabbit ileal loop and suckling mouse assays, as well as by elongation of CHO cells. Antigenic evaluation of the culture filtrates from various isolates of A. hydrophila was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with anti-cholera toxin and anti-Aeromonas enterotoxin. Heat stability data demonstrated the presence of a heat-labile cholera toxin cross-reactive factor and a heat stable non-cholera toxin cross-reactive enterotoxin. The biological activities of both enterotoxins were heat labile at 56 degrees C for 20 min.

Aeromonas↗

PubMed1985

Cholera toxin A subunit: functional sites correlated with regions of secondary structure.

The A subunit of cholera toxin contains the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity in its major constituent polypeptide A1 (Mr 23,000) which is responsible for the elevation of cAMP typically observed with most mammalian cell types after exposure to the toxin. The primary structure of the A subunit, recently established by sequence analyses, is presented and used as the basis for the secondary structure prediction according to the method of Chou and Fasman. The results indicated the presence of 27% alpha-helix, 25% beta-structure, 12% beta-turn, and 36% random coil. The majority of the beta-structure consisted of six strands located in the NH2-terminal portion of the molecule (residues 33-106) covering one-half of the region corresponding to the A1 polypeptide portion. The beta-sheet domain led immediately into the active site region characterized by the alternating structures of beta-pleated sheet and alpha-helix (residues 95-140) similar to that reported for other NAD+ binding proteins. The presence of this structural feature in the region was confirmed by the use of another predictive method (J. Garnier et al., J. Mol. Biol. 1978, 120, 97-120). In addition, two regions (residues 14-18 and 200-214), previously identified to contain binding sites for the B subunit as evidenced by chemical modification and monoclonal antibody studies, were found to be in alpha-helix configuration.

Amino Acid Sequence↗