PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J A Huntington

Publications and source records attributed to J A Huntington.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Antithrombin-heparin affinity reduced by fucosylation of carbohydrate at asparagine 155.

The two human plasma antithrombin isoforms, alpha and beta, differ in glycosylation at asparagine 135. Only the alpha form carries carbohydrate at this position and has lower affinity for heparin than the beta form. We previously found additional heterogeneity in a recombinant N135Q antithrombin variant, evidenced by two isoforms with a 2-fold difference in heparin affinity [Turko, I. V., Fan, B., & Gettins, P. G. W. (1993) FEBS Lett. 335, 9-12]. To test whether this heterogeneity of heparin affinity results from specific glycosylation differences, we have determined the carbohydrate composition at the three remaining glycosylation sites, asparagine residues 96, 155, and 192, in each of the two N135Q isoforms, by a combination of peptide fragmentation and electrospray mass spectrometry. Patterns of glycosylation at residues 96 and 192 were similar for each isoform and showed the presence of mono-, bi-, and triantennary complex carbohydrate, as well as fucosylation of all types of chains. At position 155, however, there was a marked difference between the isoforms, with the form with lower heparin affinity being 97% fucosylated at this position, whereas the form with higher affinity for heparin was not fucosylated. Other differences in carbohydrate type showed no strong correlation between the two isoforms. We conclude that formation of the two heparin-affinity isoforms of N135Q antithrombin results from the specific difference in fucosylation at residue 155, which may result in different structural properties of the carbohydrate. Consistent with these findings was the elimination of heparin-affinity heterogeneity in a double N135Q-N155Q variant antithrombin. It is possible that fucosylation of antithrombin may occur in vivo as a means of modifying the physiological properties of the antithrombin through alteration of the amount of antithrombin bound to surface heparin-like species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Mechanism of heparin activation of antithrombin. Evidence for reactive center loop preinsertion with expulsion upon heparin binding.

A heparin-induced conformational change is required to convert antithrombin from a slow to a fast inhibitor of factor Xa. It has been proposed [van Boeckel et al. (1994) Nat. Struct. Biol. 1, 423-425] that the reactive center residue P14 is inserted into beta-sheet A in native antithrombin and is displaced from the beta-sheet by heparin binding, thereby altering the conformation of the reactive center and making it a better target for factor Xa binding. To test this hypothesis, we have characterized a P14 serine --> tryptophan antithrombin variant. From changes in tryptophan fluorescence upon heparin binding, increased affinity for heparin, and partial activation of the variant against factor Xa, we conclude that the proposed mechanism of heparin activation is correct with respect to loop expulsion and that it may consequently be possible to create more highly activated antithrombin variants through suitable hinge region substitutions.

Antithrombin III↗
PubMed1995

S-ovalbumin, an ovalbumin conformer with properties analogous to those of loop-inserted serpins.

Most serpins are inhibitors of serine proteinases and are thought to undergo a conformational change upon complex formation with proteinase that involves partial insertion of the reactive center loop into a beta-sheet of the inhibitor. Ovalbumin, although a serpin, is not an inhibitor of serine proteinases. It has been proposed that this deficiency arises from the presence of a charged residue, arginine, at a critical point (P14) in the reactive center region, which prevents loop insertion into the beta-sheet and thereby precludes inhibitory properties. To test whether loop insertion is prevented in ovalbumin we have examined the properties of two forms of ovalbumin: the native protein and S-ovalbumin, a form that forms spontaneously from native ovalbumin and has increased stability. Calorimetric measurements showed that S-ovalbumin was more stable than ovalbumin by about 3 kcal mol-1. CD spectra, which indicated that S-ovalbumin had less alpha-helix than native ovalbumin, and 1H NMR spectra, which indicated very similar overall structures, suggest limited conformational differences between the two forms. From comparison of the susceptibility of the reactive center region of each protein to proteolysis by porcine pancreatic elastase and by subtilisin Carlsberg, we concluded that the limited native-to-S conformational change specifically affected the reactive center region. These data are consistent with a structure for S-ovalbumin in which part of the reactive center loop has inserted into beta-sheet A to give a more stable structure, analogously to other serpins. However, the rate of loop insertion appears to be very much lower than for inhibitory serpins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1994

Alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor variant T345R. Influence of P14 residue on substrate and inhibitory pathways.

To test whether the presence of charged residues at position P14 of the reactive center region of noninhibitory members of the serpin family of protein proteinase inhibitors is responsible for their lack of proteinase inhibitory properties, we expressed a variant of the alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-PI) with arginine substituted for threonine at this position (T345R) and characterized its functional properties. Although the T345R variant reacted with proteinases principally as a substrate, it was still capable of forming stable complexes with the three serine proteinases examined, human neutrophil elastase (HNE), porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE), and trypsin. The fraction of T345R alpha 1-PI that formed a complex with proteinase was quantitated by autoradiography of SDS gels of the variant incubated with 125I-labeled proteinase. The stoichiometry of inhibition (S.I.) (number of mol of alpha 1-PI required to completely inhibit 1 mol of proteinase), which was 1 for both plasma alpha 1-PI and wild-type recombinant alpha 1-PI interacting with each of the proteinases, was very much greater than 1 for T345R variant alpha 1-PI. Values of 9.5, 45, and about 70 were estimated for variant alpha 1-PI inhibition of trypsin, HNE, and PPE, respectively. An inverse relationship between the apparent second-order rate constant and the S.I. for inhibition of PPE by T345R alpha 1-PI suggested that the mutation did not affect the rate-determining step of formation of a transient intermediate complex. Following cleavage of the reactive center loop, there was a large increase in protein stability and changes in the CD spectrum, both consistent with insertion of the reactive center loop into beta-sheet A. This behavior is similar to that of wild-type alpha 1-PI. We conclude that the presence of a charged residue at P14 does not prevent reactive center loop insertion or the functioning of alpha 1-PI as an inhibitor of serine proteinases but does significantly alter the relative rates of the substrate and inhibitory pathways in favor of the former, probably by reducing the rate of the latter reaction.

Animals↗