PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

F Tokunaga

Publications and source records attributed to F Tokunaga.

165 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular characterization of the "26S" proteasome complex from rat liver.

The molecular properties of an ATP/ubiquitin-dependent "26S" proteasome complex purified from rat liver were examined by physicochemical, biochemical, and morphological analyses. On ultracentrifugation, the proteasome complex sedimented as almost a single component with a sedimentation coefficient of 30.3S. Dynamic light-scattering measurements indicated that it has a diffusion coefficient of 1.38 x 10(-7) cm2/sec and a Stokes radius of 15.5 nm. From these two coefficients, the protein complex was estimated to have the high molecular weight of 2.02 x 10(6). Static light-scattering analysis indicated a molecular weight of 1.91 x 10(6) and a radius of gyration of 16.8 nm. The proteasome complex was found to be composed of multiple subunits of the 20S proteasome with molecular weights of 2.1-3.1 x 10(4) and 15-20 protein species with molecular weights of 3.5-11.0 x 10(4), which were directly associated with the 20S proteasome. The electron micrographic finding that the 26S proteasome complex had a caterpillar shape, direct electronmicroscopic observations on the subunit arrangement of the 20S proteasome, and classification of the subunits of the latter into two groups with respect to sequence homology suggested that the 26S complex is a symmetrical assembly of two domains, each containing a large terminal subset and half the central 20S subset of components. For clarification of the molecular structure of the 26S proteasome complex in solution, its physicochemical parameters were calculated theoretically using a model based on this caterpillar-shaped complex. The values obtained for the Stokes radius and radius of gyration of 12.2 and 14.9 nm were consistent with the experimental values. These results provide evidence that the 26S proteasome complex is a cylindrical caterpillar-like structure of "30S" in solution, consisting of a 20S proteasome component with proteolytic function and multiple other components, which possibly have regulatory roles.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quality control of protein C: protein C synthesized in the presence of warfarin is selectively degraded in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Warfarin is known to disrupt the microsomal vitamin K cycle, which results in a decrease of the plasma level of protein C, an anticoagulant factor, as well as some other vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors. We examined the effect of warfarin on secretion of recombinant protein C expressed in human kidney 293 or BHK cells. In transient expression, warfarin caused a two- to four-fold decrease in the quantity of protein C secreted, compared to findings with vitamin K-treated cells. Pulse-chase experiments using stable cells showed that, although recombinant protein C was secreted in the presence of vitamin K, the decrease in total amount of the radioactivity in the warfarin-treated cells suggested intracellular degradation. This degradation depended on the concentration of warfarin and was not inhibited by an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi transport inhibitor or by lysosomotropic inhibitors. Thus, protein C synthesized in the presence of warfarin is selectively degraded and the degradation occurs in a pre-Golgi, nonlysosomal compartment. Among the protease inhibitors tested, N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-methioninal and N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-norleucinal blocked the degradation of protein C synthesized in the presence of warfarin and the protein C accumulated intracellularly, in a dose-dependent manner. Both inhibitors, however, did not disturb the secretion of protein C in the vitamin K-treated cells. Thus, a cysteine protease(s) appeared to be responsible for the degradation. These results suggest that protein C synthesized in the presence of warfarin was selectively degraded by a cysteine protease(g) in the ER through a "quality control" mechanism.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗