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F Lottspeich

Publications and source records attributed to F Lottspeich.

408 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Mass spectrometric analysis of blotted proteins after gel electrophoretic separation by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization.

The molecular masses of electroblotted proteins were determined with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization directly from blot membranes. Therefore standard proteins, separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were electroblotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride or polyamide membranes by standard procedures. Pieces of membrane containing the protein of interest were soaked in matrix solution and analyzed in the mass spectrometer.

Adsorption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Towards a two-dimensional database of common human proteins.

A protein pattern of common human proteins was constructed by comparing the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) protein patterns from five cell lines of different germ layers. Total cell lysate and the isolated and purified nuclei of each cell line were separated by parallel electrophoresis runs in a multiple casting system of highest reproducibility. The computerized image analysis of the digitized 2-DE gels revealed a master protein pattern for each cell line. By comparison of all master protein patterns a 2-DE protein map of only common human proteins was constructed as a basis for a new 2-DE database. In a first step we have started characterizing a number of spots by microsequencing, amino acid composition analysis, and mass spectroscopy.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of the hypusine-containing protein (HP = eIF-5A) in crude yeast extracts by two-dimensional western blots.

The hypusine-containing protein (HP) with its unique modification of a specific lysine residue resulting in the amino acid hypusine is highly conserved among all eukaryotes and is also found in Archaebacteria. Studies of the protein function in translational processes showed a stimulatory effect in the methionyl puromycin assay, but not in in vitro translation of native mRNA. It was therefore also designated as eIF-5A. To further investigate the role of HP in cellular metabolism, we purified the protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and raised polyclonal antibodies in chicken. Immunoglobulin preparations from the eggs of the immunized hens were used for Western blot analysis of HP in crude yeast extracts. For those studies, the soluble protein fraction of the yeast was resolved on two-dimensional gels (first dimension: isoelectric focusing using an immobilized pH gradient (IPG), pH 4-7; second dimension: sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 12% T) and subsequently blotted onto Fluorotrans membrane. Anodic versus cathodic application of the extracts of the IPG strips was compared.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proteasomes from Dictyostelium discoideum: characterization of structure and function.

We have isolated and purified 20 S proteasomes from Dictyostelium discoideum and characterized their proteolytic activities. Two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed 13 distinct spots. Affinity purification with a subunit-specific monoclonal antibody indicated that the preparation was homogeneous, i.e., each individual proteasome appeared to have the full set of subunits. We have not obtained any evidence for changes in subunit composition at different developmental stages. The cDNA clones coding for two subunits (4 and 5), both of the alpha-type, have been cloned and sequenced. It has been shown by immunoelectron microscopy that each proteasome is composed of two identical halves, related to each other by C2 symmetry. The resulting model implies that the alpha- and beta-subunits have a fixed pattern of relationships. D. discoideum proteasomes are found both in the cytosol and, in higher concentrations, in the nucleus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antinociceptive potencies of beta-casomorphin analogs as compared to their affinities towards mu and delta opiate receptor sites in brain and periphery.

beta-Casomorphins and their analogs were tested for their opioid activities in the myenteric plexus longitudinal muscle preparation of the guinea pig ileum (GPI), the isolated mouse vas deferens (MVD), and for their affinities to mu- delta- and kappa- binding sites in rat brain membranes. C-terminal amidation of beta-casomorphin-4 and (-5) increased opioid potency in both organ preparations (GPI, MVD) and affinity to mu-binding sites in brain whereas binding to delta-sites was diminished. These beta-casomorphin-amides displayed a 2-3 times greater naloxone reversible antinociceptive effect than natural beta-casomorphins. Introduction of D-alanine at position 2 in the beta-casomorphin-amides increased potency in the GPI whereas activity in the MVD was only slightly changed. These compounds, however, showed a remarkable increase in binding to delta-sites in brain with an unaffected or slightly increased binding to mu-sites and decreased binding to kappa-sites. D-Ala2-beta-casomorphin-4 and (-5) amides were 10 times more potent antinociceptive agents than corresponding beta-casomorphin-amides. These results suggest firstly, that peripheral delta-receptors in the MVD are not as closely related to delta-binding sites at rat brain membranes as is the case with mu-receptors in the GPI and mu-binding sites, and secondly, in addition to mu-receptors, delta-receptors may be of importance in mediating antinociception.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Topology of the anion-selective porin Omp32 from Comamonas acidovorans.

Limited proteolysis experiments were performed with outer membranes from Comamonas acidovorans to probe the topology of its major protein component, the anion-selective porin Omp32. Proteinase K treatment above a critical temperature of 42 degrees C cleaved the surface-exposed regions of the porin, yielding membrane-embedded fragments which were separated by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or reversed phase chromatography. The identification of the proteinase K-sensitive sites was performed by microsequencing. This allowed us to determine six surface-exposed sites of the porin, all located in nonconserved primary structure regions. These results along with the previously determined amino acid sequence and in conjunction with some structural constraints applicable to porins allowed us to propose a chain-folding model of the Omp32 porin. The features of our model are compared with the structure of the Rhodobacter capsulatus porin, recently established by X-ray crystallography (Weiss et al., 1991) and they are used to elucidate the structural basis of the anion selectivity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular cloning, expression and regional distribution of rat ciliary neurotrophic factor.

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) was originally characterized as a survival factor for chick ciliary neurons in vitro. More recently, it was shown to promote the survival of a variety of other neuronal cell types and to affect the differentiation of E7 chick sympathetic neurons by inhibiting their proliferation and by inducing the expression of vasoactive intestinal peptide immunoreactivity (VIP-IR). In cultures of dissociated sympathetic neurons from newborn rats, CNTF induces cholinergic differentiation as shown by increased levels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). This increase is paralleled by a reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity. Moreover, CNTF promotes the differentiation of bipotential 02A progenitor cells to type-2-astrocytes in vitro. To help establish which, if any, of these functions CNTF exerts in vivo, it is necessary to determine its primary structure, cellular expression, developmental regulation and localization. The complementary DNA-deduced amino-acid sequence and subsequent expression of cDNA clones covering the entire coding region in HeLa-cells indicate that CNTF is a cytosolic protein. This, together with its regional distribution and its developmental expression, show that CNTF is not a target-derived neurotrophic factor. CNTF thus seems to exhibit neurotrophic and differentiation properties only after becoming available either by cellular lesion or by an unknown release mechanism.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inhibition of the interaction of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) with its receptor (uPAR) by synthetic peptides.

Focusing of the serine protease urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) to the cell surface via interaction with its specific receptor (uPAR, CD87) is an important step for tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The ability of a synthetic peptide derived from the uPAR-binding region of uPA (comprising amino acids 16-32 of uPA; uPA(16-32)) to inhibit binding of fluorescently labeled uPA to uPAR on human promyeloid U937 cells was assessed by quantitative flow cytofluorometric analysis (FACS) and compared to the inhibitory capacities of other synthetic peptides known to interfere with uPA/uPAR-interaction. An about 3000-fold molar excess of uPA(16-32) resulted in 50% inhibition of pro-uPA binding to cell surface-associated uPAR. Using a solid-phase uPA-ligand binding assay employing recombinant soluble uPAR coated to microtiter plates, the minimal binding region of wild-type uPA was determined. The linear peptide uPA(19-31) and its more stable disulfide-bridged cyclic form (cyclo(19,31)uPA(19-31)) displayed uPAR-binding activity whereas other peptides such as uPA(18-30), uPA(20-32) or uPA(20-30) did not react with uPAR. Cyclic peptide derivatives of cyclo(19,31)uPA(19-31) in which certain amino acids were deleted and/or replaced by other amino acids as well as uPAR-derived wild-type peptides did also not inhibit uPA/uPAR-interaction. Therefore, the present investigations identified cyclo(19,31)uPA(19-31) as a potential lead structure for the development of uPA-peptide analogues to block uPA/uPAR-interaction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural inhibitors of germination and growth, VII synthesis of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase in darkness and its inhibition by coumarin.

Cress (Lepidium sativum) seeds were germinated in darkness. Seedlings were investigated for soluble proteins by SDS-PAGE. Two proteins were identified by microsequencing: the small subunit of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase (SSU) and the alpha subunit of the storage protein cruciferin. Net synthesis of small and large subunits of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase (SSU and LSU) was investigated by Western blot. Net synthesis of both subunits was inhibited by coumarin. To the contrary, net synthesis of cruciferin was increased by coumarin. With specific cDNA probes, we determined steady state levels of the corresponding mRNAs (rbcS mRNA for SSU, rbcL mRNA for LSU). Both mRNAs can be detected in dry seeds; their amount increases during germination in the dark. Incubation with coumarin inhibits this increase. Inhibition of development by coumarin on the level of transcription is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reconstitution of an allophycocyanin trimer complex containing the C-terminal 21-23 kDa domain of the core-membrane linker polypeptide Lcm.

Allophycocyanin (AP) was isolated from extracts of the cyanobacterium Mastigocladus laminosus. A fraction enriched in AP-associated polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 21-23 kDa in SDS-PAGE, was isolated on a preparative scale and identified as a homologous mixture of C-terminal fragments of the core-membrane linker polypeptide Lcm. The complex (alpha AP beta AP)3.21-23 kDa was reconstituted and characterized by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, absorption, fluorescence emission and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The 21-23 kDa polypeptides were found to induce spectral changes in AP similar to those induced by the small core linker polypeptide Lc8.9. Possible functions of the complex in phycobilisomes are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Escherichia coli bacteriophage T1 DNA methyltransferase appears to interact with Escherichia coli enolase.

Infection of Escherichia coli cells with bacteriophage T1 induces synthesis of a bacteriophage-specific DNA methyltransferase (M.EcoT1, EC No: 2.1.1.72) with a specificity for adenine residues in the sequence 5'-GATC-3'. Purification of M.EcoT1 allowed the determination of the coding sequence of the gene (Schneider-Scherzer et al., 1990). The peptide of the entire coding sequence was over-expressed as a histidine-hexapeptide tagged protein in E. coli. Affinity purification using a Ni2+ chelating (Ni-NTA) resin yielded a recombinant enzyme with almost the same enzymatic properties as the protein purified from T1 infected E. coli cells. Interestingly, in both purification procedures, a protein with a molecular weight of 50000 was found to copurify with M.EcoT1. The N-terminal amino acid sequence identified these proteins in both cases as E. coli enolase (EC No: 4.2.1.11).

DNA↗