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Biomedical subjects

L P Gage

Publications and source records attributed to L P Gage.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1983

Cloning and sequence analysis of cDNA for the precursor of human growth hormone-releasing factor, somatocrinin.

Molecular cloning has established the primary structures of two precursors of the human pancreas growth hormone-releasing factor (hpGRF-44), somatocrinin. Both polypeptides contain the sequence of hpGRF-44 flanked by basic processing sites. Furthermore, the precursors include a putative signal sequence and a carboxyl-terminal amidation signal for hpGRF-44. The two forms of mRNA code for pre-pro-GRF-107 and pre-pro-GRF-108. Pre-pro-GRF-108 differs from pre-pro-GRF-107 by the insertion of a serine in the carboxyl-terminal portion of the precursor. In vitro translation of tumor poly(A)+ RNA followed by immunoprecipitation with GRF-specific antiserum and gel electrophoresis showed the molecular weight of preprosomatocrinin to be approximately 13,000, which is in good agreement with the molecular weight deduced from the sequences of the cDNA clones.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Molecular cloning establishes proenkephalin as precursor of enkephalin-containing peptides.

Molecular cloning and DNA sequencing have yielded considerable structural information about proenkephalin. All previously characterized intermediate peptides of the enkephalin pathways in bovine adrenal medulla have now been aligned into an unambiguous primary structure. Two basic amino acid residues serve as processing signals for release of each of the different components.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1981

Detection and partial characterization of proenkephalin mRNA.

We have used an oligodeoxynucleotide of defined sequence to detect and quantitate proenkephalin mRNA in the poly(A)-containing fraction of RNA from bovine adrenal medullas. The decahexamer 5'-d(G-G-T-A-G-T-C-C-A-T-C-C-A-C-C-A)-3' was synthesized to be complementary to the codons specifying the amino acid sequence NH2-Trp-Trp-Met-Asp-Tyr-Gln-COOH. This stretch of amino acids occurs in peptide I, one of the intermediates in the biosynthetic pathway of the enkephalins in bovine adrenal medulla. This pathway starts with a precursor (proenkephalin) of about 45 kilodaltons [Stern, A. S., Jones, B. N., Shively, J. E., Stein, S. & Udenfriend, S. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78, 1962-1966]. The decahexamer hybridized to adrenal poly(A)+RNA and was extended into cDNA with reverse transcriptase (RNA-dependent DNA nucleotidyltransferase). Five main discrete products ranging in size from 115 to 168 nucleotides were observed. The sequences of these extensions were found to be identical over the approximately 70 nucleotides sequenced from their 5' termini and corresponded exactly to the sequence expected from the amino acid sequence of peptide I. These cDNAs and the decahexamer itself hybridized to an adrenal medullary poly(A)+RNA species of about 1500 nucleotides, sufficient in size to code for the proposed proenkephalin. At saturation, approximately 2 fmol of the decahexamer were bound per microgram of mRNA; thus, the proenkephalin mRNA represents about 0.1% of the total poly(A)+RNA population in the tissue.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1980

Internal structure of the silk fibroin gene of Bombyx mori. I The fibroin gene consists of a homogeneous alternating array of repetitious crystalline and amorphous coding sequences.

The DNA sequence orgainzation of the protein encoding region of the gene for silk fibroin has been analyzed. The accompanying paper (Manningm R. F., and Gage, L. P. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 9451-9457) shows that the total length of the gene, and its protein, as well as the pattern of restriction sites in the gene is highly polymorphic among inbred stocks of Bombyx mori, In this paper, those features of fibroin gene structure which are invariant among these alleles are presented. Fibroin is composed primarily of relatively short "crystalline" and "amorphous" peptides of known sequence whose arrangement in the protein is unknown. Knowledge of the codons most commonly used in fibroin mRNA allowed utilization of particular restriction inzymes as a means for determing the nature and organization of crystalline and amorphous coding sequences in the fibroin gene. Three restriction endonucleases were identified that cleve sequences coding for amorphous region peptides. Their cleavage pattern revelaed that the repetitive coding sequence of the gene core (approximately 15 kilobases) is divided into at least 10 large crystalline coding domains interrupted by smaller amorphous coding domains. Many restriction endoncleases do not cleave the fibroin core at all, three of them with four gase recognition sequences. Specific deductions as to codon usage and repetitive sequence homogeneity in the gene follow from these results. One novel finding is the rigorous exclusion of the glycine codon GGA prior to serine codons even though this glycine codon is used frequently prior to alanine codons. The sequence homogeneity and the regularly alternating arrangement of crystalline and amorphous coding sequences of the gene are discussed in terms of the function of fibroin protein and the evolution of highly repetitive DNA.

Alleles↗
PubMed1980

Internal structure of the silk fibroin gene of Bombyx mori. II. Remarkable polymorphism of the organization of crystalline and amorphous coding sequences.

Alleles of the silk fibroin locus from 22 inbred stocks of Bombyx mori were compared. Nineteen alleles differing from one another in length and internal sequence organization were distinguished. Individuals from a single stock generaly are homozygous for a particular allele, as judged by their gene restriction pattern and the length of the fibroin protein produced. Restriction with endonucleases having four base recognition sequences revealed no variation with respect to these particular coding sequences among the alleles tested. Furthermore, digestion with endonucleases specific for amorphous coding sequences indicated that all the alleles tested had amorphous coding sequence domains alternating regularly with crystalline domains just as was found for the L allele. The stocks differed considerably in their fibroin length, and in the total length of the fibroin coding regions of their genes. These differences were accounted for by variation in the lengths of crystalline coding domains when compared to the ends of the genes. Several characteristics of the alleles indicates that this variation results from recombination between the highly repetitive coding sequences of misaligned genes (homologous unequal crossing-over). Polymorphism of the fibroin gene in B, mori appears to be greater than for any other gene for which data are available.

Alleles↗
PubMed1979

Homology of the 3' terminal sequences of the 18S rRNA of Bombyx mori and the 16S rRNA of Escherchia coli.

The terminal 220 base pairs (bp) of the gene for 18S rRNA and 18 bp of the adjoining spacer rDNA of the silkworm Bombyx mori have been sequenced. Comparison with the sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of Escherichia coli has shown that a region including 45 bp of the B. mori sequence at the 3' end is remarkably homologous with the 3' terminal E. coli sequence. Other homologies occur in the terminal regions of the 18S and 16S rRNAs, including a perfectly conserved stretch of 13 bp within a longer homology located 150--200 bp from the 3' termini. These homologies are the most extensive so far reported between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomic DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Transcription of a cloned Bombyx mori tRNA2Ala gene: nucleotide sequence of the tRNA precursor and its processing in vitro.

We have analyzed the transcription of a cloned silkworm tRNA2Ala gene in germinal vesicle extracts of X. laevis oocytes. The primary transcript was sequenced; it is 98 nucleotides long, beginning with a 5' triphosphate nucleotide and ending in a 3' oligouridine stretch. After transcription for long periods of time, enzymes in the frog extract also process the tRNA2Ala precursor to remove extra 5' and 3' nucleotides and to add a CCA end. The twenty-two extra nucleotides at the 3' end of this precursor are recovered as an intact fragment, implicating a new site of endoribonuclease cleavage in eucaryotic tRNA processing. This enzyme activity has also been demonstrated by reincubation of isolated pre-tRNA2Ala with a germinal vesicle extract. The products of in vitro cleavage are the same as those seen in the transcription reactions. The tRNA2Ala precursor molecules are made faithfully in the system with as few as 6 bp of Bombyx morti DNA upstream of the transcription initiation site of the tRNA2Ala gene. This result narrows down the minimal amount of DNA adjacent to the 5' end of a eucaryotic tRNA gene needed to support proper initiation by RNA polymerase III.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Alleles of the fibroin gene coding for proteins of different lengths.

Bombyx mori silkworms producing fibroin proteins of different lengths have been analyzed genetically and shown to possess variant alleles of a single fibroin gene. The structures of two alleles have been compared by using restriction endonuclease sites inside and outsite the fibroin gene as physical markers. We find that fibroins distinguishable on the basis of length are encoded by genes with different internal structures and overall lengths. Our results strongly support the idea that rearrangements within the highly repetitive sequences of the fibroin gene are the result of unequal recombination, and can give rise to variant fibroin genes with altered coding lengths.

Alleles↗
PubMed1978

Physical map of the Bombyx mori DNA containing the gene for silk fibroin.

A physical map of the DNA containing the gene for silk fibroin was developed from direct hybridization analysis of restriction endonuclease digests of total Bombyx mori DNA using fibroin 125I-mRNA. The orientation of mRNA transcription relative to this map was deduced from the sensitivity of the mRNA coding strand within certain DNA restriction segments to lambda-exonuclease and exonuclease III. The map includes the entire gene coding region (Mr approximately 11 x 10(6)) and large DNA elements which flank the gene at its 5' end (Mr approximately 3 x 10(6)) and 3' end (Mr approximately 6.5 x 10(6)). The coding region is remarkably uniform in its sensitivity to restriction endonucleases. It is completely devoid of sites for most of the enzymes tested, including Hae III, the recognition sequence (d-pG-G C-C) of which might be expected to occur frequently in this large DNA block of 60% G + C content. The fibroin coding region does contain an enormous number of sites for enzymes predicted to have activity from known fibroin mRNA sequences. These results suggeste that the fibroin gene core is a large homogeneously repetitive block of DNA with little evidence for sequence divergence, or the presence of qualitatively different sequences, which might creat other restriction sensitivities. The map also allowed a comparison to be made of the fibroin gene "context" in DNA from tissues either active or inactive in fibroin synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

The genes for 18S, 5.8S and 28S ribosomal RNA of Bombyx mori are organized into tandem repeats of uniform length.

The organization of the multiple genes for 18S, 5.8S and 28S rRNA in the genome of the silkworm, Bombyx mori was determined by restriction endonuclease digestion and Southern blot hybridization. The ribosomal genes (rDNA) are tandemly reiterated, with a uniform repeat length of 6.9 . 10(6) daltons. Each rDNA repeat has a single site for EcoRI, HindIII, HpaI and SmaI and each of these sites has been mapped with respect to the others and to the rRNA genes; each repeat consists of a transcribed region (6 . 10(6)daltons) containing the 18S, 5.8S and 28S rRNA genes (5' leads to 3') and also a small non-transcribed spacer (approximately 10(6) daltons). Complete rDNA repeats were cloned using the vector RSF2124 and grown in Escherichia coli. Characterization of the rDNA plasmids confirmed the conclusions from studies of the total rDNA. The organization of B. mori rDNA is similar to that of other eukaryotes, except for the absence of heterogeneity in the rDNA repeat length; thus, there is neither variation in the length of the non-transcribed spacer nor the presence of inserts in a detectable portion of the rDNA. The utility of this map, and particularly of the rDNA plasmids, for detailed studies of rRNA transcription and processing is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Purification and subunit structure of deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent ribonucleic acid polymerase III from the posterior silk gland of Bombyx mori.

DNA-dependent RNA polymerase III was purified from the posterior silk gland of the moth Bombyx mori by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, DEAE-Sephadex, CM-Sephadex, and phosphocellulose and by sedimentation in sucrose density gradients. The specific activity of this chromatographically homogeneous enzyme was comparable to that reported for other purified eukaryotic RNA polymerases. Sucrose gradient sedimentation analysis suggested a molecular weight of approximately 590,000 to 660,000 for B. mori RNA polymerase III. Analysis of subunit composition by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions showed that the chromatographically purified RNA polymerase III contained subunits with molecular weights of 155,000 (IIIa), 136,000 (IIIb), 67,000 (IIIc), 62,000 (IIId), 49,000 (IIIe), 39,000 (IIIf), 36,000 (IIIg), 31,000 (IIIh), 28,000 (IIIi), and 18,000 (IIIj). Molar ratios were close to unity for all subunits except for IIIj, which was present in an approximate molar ratio of 2. As has been observed for mammalian class III enzymes, the B. mri RNA polymerase III can be resolved into two components upon electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. Comparative studies of the class III enzymes from B. mori and from higher eukaryotic cells show that many of the general chromatographic and catalytic properties, as well as the overall subunit compositions, are similar for the various enzymes. However, unlike the mammalian class III enzymes, B. mori RNA polymerase III is completely resistant to high concentrations of alpha-amanitin, and it does not contain an 89,000-dalton subunit. The data are discussed in terms of the function and regulation of RNA polymerase III in lower and higher eukaryotes.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

The blocked and methylated 5' terminal sequence of a specific cellular messenger: the mRNA for silk fibroin of Bombyx mori.

The messenger RNA for silf fibroin, laveled with 32PO4 and methyl-3H L-methionine, was purified to near homogeneity from the posterior silk gland of the sildworm Bombyx mori, and the sequence of a methylated, RNAase T2-resistant structure was determined. This sequence is similar structurally to 5' terminal blocked and methylated sequences found on the total populations of polyadenylated eucaryotic cellular and certain viral mRNAs. The RNAase T2-resistant oligomer from fibroin mRNA was cleaved by nucleases P1 into three components: a blocked and methylated sequence containing three phosphates; a 2'-0-methyl UMP residue (pUm), and an unmethylated CMP (pC). The blocked and methylated sequence comigrated in three chromatographic systems with the blocked and methylated terminus of silkworm cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus mRNA, which has the structure m7GpppAm. The fibroin mRNA cap was cleaved by nucleotide pyrophosphatase to yeild 7-methyl GMP Tpm7G) and 2'-0-methyl AMP (pAm). This sequence also appeared to be terminally located, with the m7G joined by a 5'-5' pyrophosphate linkage to the Am. It was concluded that the 5' terminal sequence of fibroin mRNA molecules is m7G(5')ppp(5')AmpUmpCp. The regulation of expression of the highly specialized gene for fibroin is discussed in light of this finding.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Translation of silk fibroin messenger RNA in an Ehrlich ascites cell-free extract.

RNA identified by its base composition and T1 RNase oligonucleotide pattern as the message for silk fibroin was purified from mature posterior silk glands of Bombyx mori larvae and used to direct polypeptide synthesis in an Ehrlich ascites cell-free extract. Fibroin mRNA stimulated [3-H]alanine incorporation about 3- to 4-fold in the presence of 80 mM K+ and 4 mM Mg-2+. The stimulation was reduced in the presence of 5 times 10-minus 6 to 10-minus 4 M aurintricarboxylic acid, an inhibitor of the initiation of protein synthesis. The cell-free products were heterogeneous in size, including peptides as large as 100,000 daltons. They co-precipitated with carrier fibroin sequences after digestion with trypsin. A large fraction of the polypeptides synthesized in response to fibroin mRNA was precipitated by antiserum directed against amino acid sequences in noncrystalline region polypeptides of fibroin. Furthermore, after digestion with chymotrypsin, a major fraction of the cell-free products specifically co-precipitated with crystalline region sequences of native fibroin. The size and amino acid composition of the fibroin crystalline region polypeptides isolated from the cell-free products were similar to those from native fibroin.

Amino Acids↗