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I G Kim

Publications and source records attributed to I G Kim.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Isolation and characterization of brain-specific transglutaminases from rat.

The relevance of transglutaminases with neural function and several disorders has been emphasized recently. Especially, many polypeptides associated with neurodegenerative diseases are suggested to be putative transglutaminase substrates such as beta amyloid protein of Alzheimer's disease, microtubule-associated proteins and neurofilaments, etc. In addition, the CAG repeated gene products with probable polyglutamine tract, putative transglutaminase substrates, were identified in several neurodegenerative disorders. However, the identity of the brain transglutaminase has not been confirmed, because of enzymic stability and low activity. In the present experiment, we have isolated brain-specific transglutaminases, designated as TGase NI and TGase NII, which are different from other types of transglutaminases in respects of molecular weights (mw. 45 kDa, 29 kDa respectively), substrate affinity, elution profile on ion-exchange chromatography, sensitivity to proteases and ethanol, and immunological properties. The enzymes were localized specifically in the brain tissues but not in the liver tissue. And neural cells such as pheochromocytoma cell, glioma cell, primary neuronal and glial cells were shown to be enriched with TGase NI and TGase NII. The possible biological roles of the enzymes were discussed not only on the aspect of crosslinking activity but also of signal transducing capacity of the enzyme in the brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Requirement of intact human ceruloplasmin for the glutathione-linked peroxidase activity.

Structural integrity may be needed for the glutathione-linked peroxidase activity of human ceruloplasmin. Intact human ceruloplasmin has a potent peroxidase property to decompose H2O2 in the presence of reduced glutathione. However, the fragment of approximately 116000 Da produced by proteolytic degradation had less than one-third of the glutathione-linked peroxidase activity of intact ceruloplasmin. When further proteolysis occurred, glutathione-linked peroxidase activity of human ceruloplasmin disappeared. In contrast, ceruloplasmin (116000 Da and <96000 Da) fragmented by proteolysis significantly removed H2O2 irrespective of the presence of reduced glutathione. Although proteolytic fragmentation of ceruloplasmin occurs, the antioxidant activity of ceruloplasmin that prevents DNA strand breaks in a metal-catalyzed reaction system was significantly maintained.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1998

Thiol-linked peroxidase activity of human ceruloplasmin.

Human ceruloplasmin exhibited different antioxidant effects according to the electron donors in a metal-catalyzed oxidation system. Purified ceruloplasmin did not play a significant role in the protection of DNA strand breaks in the ascorbate/Fe3+/O2 system. However, when ascorbates were replaced with a thiol-reducing equivalent such as dithiothreitol, DNA strand breaks were significantly prevented by the same amount of ceruloplasmin. Ceruloplasmin did not catalyze the decomposition of H2O2 in the absence of reduced glutathione. On the contrary, ceruloplasmin showed a potent peroxidase ability to destroy H2O2 in the presence of reduced glutathione. In conclusion, the removal of H2O2 by human ceruloplasmin is not simply stoichiometric but thiol-dependent.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1998

Transglutaminase 1 mutations in lamellar ichthyosis. Loss of activity due to failure of activation by proteolytic processing.

Lamellar ichthyosis is a congenital recessive skin disorder characterized by generalized scaling and hyperkeratosis. It is caused by mutations in the TGM1 gene that encodes the transglutaminase 1 (TGase 1) enzyme, which is critical for the assembly of the cornified cell envelope in terminally differentiating keratinocytes. TGase 1 is a complex enzyme existing as both cytosolic and membrane-bound forms. Moreover, TGase 1 is proteolytically processed, and the major functionally active form consists of a membrane-bound 67/33/10-kDa complex with a myristoylated and palmitoylated amino-terminal 10-kDa membrane anchorage fragment. To understand better how point mutations, deletions, and truncations found in lamellar ichthyosis disease affect the structure and function of TGase 1, we have expressed in baculovirus and keratinocytes a number of reported TGase 1 mutants. The structural implications of these mutations were examined using a homology-derived three-dimensional model of TGase 1 generated from the known x-ray structure of the related coagulation factor XIIIa enzyme. The present studies demonstrate that loss of TGase 1 activity is not restricted to mutations that directly affect the enzymatic activity. We report a new class of mutations that impair the subsequent post-synthetic processing of the protein into its highly active functional forms.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Tissue transglutaminase is not increased during apoptosis of HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cells.

Tissue transglutaminase (tTGase), a cytosolic enzyme which catalyzes the covalent cross-linking of proteins, is thought to be involved in the apoptosis. Here, we tested whether tTGase is involved during HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cell apoptosis induced by the YIGSR (Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg) peptide. This sequence is derived from the laminin alpha1 chain, and its potency is increased by the formation of a 16mer polymerization using a lysine tree structure. Cells were treated with several different concentrations of Ac-Y 16 for 16 hours, and apoptosis was increased in dose-dependent manner. When assayed by incorporation of [14C] putrescine into succinylated casein, total transglutaminase activity was decreased in parallel with the change in the number of attached cells. Western blot analysis using polyclonal antibody against tTGase showed that the tTGase protein level had not been significantly changed when equal amounts of the protein were applied. To confirm this result, we induced apoptosis of these cells by coating the tissue culture plates with non-adhesive poly-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). Western blot analysis showed that the tTGase protein level did not change during this process of apoptosis. Although it has been suggested that tTGase is involved in the process of apoptosis of various cells in vitro and in vivo, our data demonstrate that tTGase is not involved in the process of apoptosis of HT-1080 human fibrosarcoma cell induced by either Ac-Y 16 or a non-adhesive culture surface.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1998

Development of a competitive enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay to measure ceruloplasmin in gamma-irradiated rat serum.

The concentrations of ceruloplasmin could not be determined by comparing the oxidase activities toward p-phenylenediamine and o-dianisidine in rat whole serum with those of purified ceruloplasmin because of the different specific amine oxidase activities of ceruloplasmin purified from normal and gamma-irradiated rats and the lability caused by freezing and thawing. A competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay with antigens immobilized on the solid phase was developed to measure the ceruloplasmin in rat serum. The blocking materials and pH of the coating buffer had an effect on the amount of ceruloplasmin bound to the microtiter plates. The blocking materials nonspecifically reacted with the rabbit anti-rat ceruloplasmin IgG, and consequently the coating sensitivity was decreased and standard curves were not formed completely. Because rabbit anti-rat ceruloplasmin IgG did not show any cross reactivity with rat albumin and hemoglobin, these proteins did not affect the assay at a concentration of 200 micrograms/ml. This assay is useful for measuring the concentration of ceruloplasmin in normal and irradiated rat serum.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Cloning of the ribosomal protein L41 gene of Phaffia rhodozyma and its use a drug resistance marker for transformation.

The ribosomal protein L41 gene of Phaffia rhodozyma was cloned and used as a dominant selectable marker for cycloheximide resistance in the transformation of P. rhodozyma. Electrotransformation with a plasmid containing a ribosomal DNA fragment as a targeting signal typically yielded 800 to 1,200 transformants/microgram of DNA with an integrated copy number of about seven per haploid genome.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1997

Cloning and expression of human mitotic centromere-associated kinesin gene.

The human homologue of the hamster mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (HsMCAK) gene containing a central type motor domain was isolated from a Jurkat T-cell derived cDNA library. The HsMCAK gene has a predicted 723 amino acid open reading frame, encoding a 81 kDa protein that shares 79.2% homology with hamster MCAK. Unstimulated T lymphocytes contained no detectable HsMCAK-specific mRNA. Activation of resting T-cells by immobilized anti-CD3 resulted in the expression of a 2.9-kb transcript during the S phase of the cell cycle. The TPA-induced monocytic differentiation of U937 which also results in growth-arrest abruptly downregulates the expression of HsMCAK. Removal of TPA restored the growth of the cell through the retrodifferentiation process and the subsequent expression of HsMCAK. HsMCAK is expressed in tissues containing dividing cells, such as thymus, testis, small intestine, colon (mucosal lining), and placenta. These results suggest that the expression of HsMCAK is first detected in early S phase to support the proliferative response and is strictly regulated at the transcriptional level.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Characterization of the murine cyclin D2 gene: exon/intron organization and promoter activity.

Cyclin D2 is normally expressed in G1 and promotes progression through G1 of the cell cycle. From a murine genomic library constructed with spleen DNA, two overlapping genomic clones of cyclin D2 were isolated. These clones contain most of the exon of cyclin D2 except exon 5. Characterization of these clones revealed that murine cyclin D2 mRNA spans over 18 kb and 5 exons ranging from 149 to approximately 462 bp in length, and suggested that exon 5 may be at least >5 kb downstream from exon 4. Primer extension analysis of cyclin D2 mRNA isolated from murine activated T cells detected 5 putative sites of transcription initiation. These are located at - 499, - 417, - 391, - 373, and - 349 relative to the translation start site, which is given as + 1. No consensus sequence for TATA box existed at an appropriate position within the promotor region. Instead, several putative transcriptional factor binding sites for C/EBP, PEA3, AP2, NF-Y, Sp1, c-Myc, GATA-1, AP1, v-Myb, and CREB were detected. The 5'-flanking region of the cyclin D2 gene up to nucleotide - 945 shared about 61% sequence homology between mouse and human. Functional analysis of promoter activity of the 5'-flanking region of cyclin D2 suggested that the region - 1,100 to - 805 including C/EBP, PEA3, AP2, NF-Y, c-Myc, and Sp1 may have a major positive regulatory activity for expression of cyclin D2.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

The genes encoding geranylgeranyl transferase alpha-subunit and transglutaminase 1 are very closely linked but not functionally related in terminally differentiating keratinocytes.

We report here the entire exon/intron structure of the gene encoding the alpha-subunit of human Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (RABGGTA) gene, which is positioned in a tandem head-to-tail arrangement with the transglutaminase 1 (TGM1) gene, and its polyadenylation signal sequence is located just 2.3 kbp upstream of the capsite of TGM1. Even though TGM1 and RABGGTA have different functions, their close localization raised the question as to whether they are functionally related in the epidermis. To address this question, we have studied the expression of the two genes by RT-PCR in normal human epidermal keratinocytes cultured under various differentiation conditions. While the expression of the TGM1 gene is markedly affected by the calcium concentration of the medium, all trans retinoic acid, vitamin D3, and TPA treatment, the expression of the RABGGTA gene was unaffected by these reagents. Taken together, even though these two genes are unusually closely linked, they are not functionally related in the terminal differentiation program of epidermal keratinocytes.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed1997

Development of a competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to measure alpha 2-macroglobulin in irradiated rat serum.

A competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay with antigen immobilized on the solid phase was developed to measure alpha 2-macroglobulin in rat serum. The cross reactivity with albumin and hemoglobin was eliminated by use of IgG fractions that were isolated after chromatography on Cibacron Blue F3-GA Sepharose immobilized rat whole serum and hemoglobin Sepharose. Blocking materials and pH of the coating buffer had no effect on the amount of alpha 2-macroglobulin that binds to the plate. When the coating amount of alpha 2-macroglobulin was 100 ng/well, at pH 7.4, 10 mM Tris-HCl containing 150 mM sodium chloride and the IgG amount added was 60 ng/well, then albumin and hemoglobin did not affect the assay at concentrations of 150 micrograms/ml or 200 micrograms/ml. This assay is useful for measuring the concentration of alpha 2-macroglobulin in normal and irradiated rat serum.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The structure of the transglutaminase 1 enzyme. Deletion cloning reveals domains that regulate its specific activity and substrate specificity.

Transglutaminase 1 (TGase1) is one of three known enzymes involved in terminal differentiation in stratified squamous epithelia, possibly in the formation of a cornified cell envelope. Because the intact enzyme is particularly difficult to isolate in quantity from keratinocytes for characterization, comparatively little is known about its properties. We have expressed the full-length as well as a series of deletion forms of this enzyme in a bacterial system and analyzed their enzymatic properties. The specific activity of the full-length enzyme isolated and purified from the bacterial lysate was comparable to that of the native enzyme of keratinocytes. Analysis of several deletion constructs demonstrated that removal of the first 60-109 residues, which include sequences involved in membrane association, results in upwards of a 10-fold increase in the specific activity. Deletions beyond residue 109, into sequences conserved within the TGase family of proteins, result in loss of activity. Similarly, as many as 240 residues can be removed from its carboxyl-terminal end before activity is lost. Thus, a molecule of 466 residues, containing virtually only the conserved core sequences of TGases, retains a specific activity comparable to the intact enzyme. In addition, the various deletion forms display wide variations in substrate specificity toward a series of synthetic peptide substrates, designed from possible target TGase1 substrate proteins of epithelia. The data show that sequences between residues 62 and 92 are important in defining the substrate specificity of the TGase1 enzyme system. Furthermore, it may now be possible to design an enzyme with a defined substrate specificity. Together, these data suggest TGase1 has recruited additional sequences on its amino terminus in relation to other members of the TGase family, which have the net effect of permitting sequestration onto membranes, changing its specific activity and modifying its likely substrate specificities.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Structure and organization of the human transglutaminase 3 gene: evolutionary relationship to the transglutaminase family.

The human haploid genome contains a family of at least five different transglutaminases that are differentially expressed in time- and tissue-specific ways. Of these, transglutaminase 3 (TGase3) is unusual in that it is a pro-enzyme requiring activation by proteolysis. To date it is known to be expressed only in terminally differentiating epidermal and hair follicle keratinocytes. In this paper we show that it is encoded by a gene (TGM3) of 42.8 kbp containing 13 exons. In the course of isolation of genomic clones for the TGM3 gene, we also found clones encoding the widely expressed tissue or TGase2 enzyme, perhaps due to high degrees of sequence homology. The structure of the TGM2 gene has not yet been reported. Our incomplete data suggest its exon/intron organization is very similar to that of TGM3. Although the common intron splice points of all members of the transglutaminase gene family have been conserved, the TGM3 and TGM2 genes, and the gene for the subplasma membrane transglutaminase-like protein band 4.2, lack two introns found in the TGM1 and factor XIIIa genes, and the exact intron splice point of another intron is shifted with respect to that of the TGM1 and factor XIIIa genes. Based on sequence homologies and gene structures, the data support a phylogenic tree in which the TGM2 and TGM3 genes belong on a branch distinct from other transglutaminases.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

The deduced sequence of the novel protransglutaminase E (TGase3) of human and mouse.

At least three transglutaminases are involved in terminal differentiation events in the epidermis and its derivatives, such as the hair follicle, presumably in cross-linking structural proteins and in the formation of the cornified cell envelope. Of these, only the transglutaminase 3 is a proenzyme, requiring activation by proteolytic cleavage, and is the least understood. Using oligonucleotides designed from the amino acid sequences of peptides of the guinea pig enzyme, we amplified mRNA and deduced the complete amino acid sequences of the mouse and human protransglutaminase 3 enzymes. Both proteins contain 692 amino acids of molecular mass about 77 kDa. Following expression in yeast, the proenzymes encoded by the full-length cDNA clones are active enzymes and can be further activated 15-fold on treatment with dispase. Although these proteins share 38-53% identity to other members of the transglutaminase family, surprisingly, the mouse, human, and guinea pig enzymes have not been highly conserved and show only 50-75% identity to each other. Much of the sequence variation occurs in the vicinity of the proteolytic activation site which lies at the most flexible and hydrophilic region of the molecule and is flanked by a sequence of 12 residues that are absent from other transglutaminases. We suggest that cleavage of this exposed flexible hinge region promotes a conformational change in the protein to a more compact form, resulting in activation of the enzyme. Expression of mouse and human protransglutaminase 3 mRNAs is regulated by calcium, as for other late differentiation products of the epidermis, suggesting that this enzyme is responsible for the later stages of cell envelope formation in the epidermis and hair follicle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

The structure of human trichohyalin. Potential multiple roles as a functional EF-hand-like calcium-binding protein, a cornified cell envelope precursor, and an intermediate filament-associated (cross-linking) protein.

Trichohyalin is an intermediate filament-associated protein that associates in regular arrays with keratin intermediate filaments (KIF) of the inner root sheath cells of the hair follicle and the granular layer of the epidermis and is a known substrate of transglutaminases. We have determined the full-length sequence of human trichohyalin by use of RNA-mediated anchored polymerase chain reaction methods and from a genomic clone and analyzed its potential secondary structure. We show here that trichohyalin may have at least three important functions in these cells. The protein of 248 kDa is unusual in that it contains one of the highest contents of charged residues of any protein. Of several defined domains, domains 2-4, 6, and 8 are almost entirely alpha-helical, configured as a series of peptide repeats of varying regularity, and are thought to form a single-stranded alpha-helical rod stabilized by ionic interactions between successive turns of the alpha-helix. Domain 6 is the most regular and may bind KIF directly by ionic interactions. Domains 5 and 7 are less well organized and may introduce folds in the molecule. Thus, human trichohyalin is predicted to be an elongated flexible rod at least 215 nm long and to function as a KIF-associated protein by cross-linking the filaments in loose networks. In addition, trichohyalin is similar to, but several times longer than, involucrin, a known cell envelope constituent, so that together, involucrin and trichohyalin may serve as scaffold proteins in the organization of the cell envelope of these cells or even anchor the cell envelope to the KIF network. Finally, trichohyalin possesses a pair of functional calcium-binding domains of the EF-hand type at its amino terminus that may be involved in its calcium-dependent postsynthetic processing during terminal differentiation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Human trichohyalin gene is clustered with the genes for other epidermal structural proteins and calcium-binding proteins at chromosomal locus 1q21.

Trichohyalin is a major differentiation product of hard keratinizing tissues such as the inner root sheath and medullary cells of the hair follicle and the filiform papillae of the tongue, as well as terminally differentiating epidermal cells. It consists largely of quasi-repeating peptide repeats and functions primarily as an intermediate filament-associated protein in these tissues. By mapping with human-rodent somatic cell hybrids and fluorescent in situ hybridization, we demonstrate that its gene maps to chromosomal region 1q21. Interestingly, genes encoding several other structural proteins expressed during terminal differentiation in the epidermis map to this region, as do also several members of the S-100 class of small calcium-binding proteins.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed1992

Structure and organization of the human transglutaminase 1 gene.

Membrane-associated transglutaminases (TGase1) have recently been found to be common in mammalian cells, but it is not clear whether these derive from the same or different genes. In order to determine the complexity of this system, we have isolated and characterized the human gene (TGM1). The gene of 14,133 base pairs was found to contain 15 exons spliced by 14 introns. Interestingly, the positions of these introns have been conserved in comparison with the genes of two other transglutaminase-like activities described in the literature, but the TGM1 gene is by far the smallest characterized to date because its introns are relatively smaller. On the other hand, the TGase1 enzyme is the largest known transglutaminase (about 90 kDa), apparently because its gene acquired tracts that encode additional sequences on its amino and carboxyl termini that confer its unique properties. Southern blot analyses of total human genomic DNA cut with several restriction enzymes reveal only one band. Use of human-rodent cell hybrid panels and chromosomal in situ hybridization with biotin-labeled probes revealed that the human TGM1 gene maps to chromosome position 14q11.2-13. Such data suggest there is a single gene copy per haploid human genome. Comparisons of sequence identities and homologies indicate that the transglutaminase family of genes arose by duplications and subsequent divergent evolution from a common ancestor but later became scattered in the human genome. Although our present Southern blot and chromosomal localization studies revealed no restriction fragment length polymorphisms, comparisons of published sequences and our genomic clone indicate there are two sequence variants for TGase1 within the human population. The rare smaller variant contains a two-nucleotide deletion near the 5'-end, uses an alternate initiation codon, and differs from the common larger variant only in the first 15 amino acids. Furthermore, the DNA sequences of intron 14 possess several tracts of dinucleotide repeats that by polymerase chain reaction analysis show wide size polymorphism within the human population. Accordingly, this gene system constitutes a useful polymorphic marker for genetic linkage analyses.

Amino Acid Sequence↗