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Immunochemical cross-reactivity between intact purified myelin basic protein (MBP) and the synthetic encephalitogenic peptide S49.

Three antisera to myelin basic protein--a rabbit antiserum pool against rat myelin, a rabbit antiserum pool against rat myelin basic protein (MBP), and a monkey antiserum against bovine MBP--were found to contain detectable levels of antibodies that would bind radiolabeled S49 (GSLPQKAQRPQDENG). Strongly encephalitogenic in Lewis rat, S49 is a synthetic peptide representing residues 69-84 of bovine MBP with a deletion of glycine-76 and histidine-77 to make it analogous to rat and guinea pig MBPs. The rabbit antimyelin antiserum and the monkey anti-MBP antiserum contained antibodies directed against a non-sequential determinant that required asparagine 84, the glycine-histidine deletion, and residues 69-71 for maximal activity. S49-reactive antibodies from the rabbit anti-MBP antiserum were directed solely against a sequential determinant comprising residues 69-71, S49-reactive antibodies from all three antisera reacted in liquid phase with purified intact rat, guinea pig, and bovine MBP showing that the determinant is exposed for B cell recognition even in bovine MBP and can serve both as immunogen and reactant.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Major role of antigen-presenting cells in the response of rat encephalitogenic T cells to myelin basic proteins.

The encephalitogenic potential of a segment of myelin basic protein in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is not always mirrored by the ability of the peptide to mediate in vitro activation of encephalitogenic T cells. Recent studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that the responsiveness of Ag-specific T cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is determined not exclusively by Ag but also by the nature of the APC. By varying APC during the in vitro selection of T cells, we could generate distinct sets of rat encephalitogenic T cells, as evidenced by the diversity of TCR usage. Here we establish the importance of APC in the activation of rat encephalitogenic T cells by myelin basic protein peptides. Peptides 69-84-Gly and (P80)68-86, which lacked stimulatory activity toward many encephalitogenic T cells in our proliferation assay when standard APC were used, become strongly stimulatory in the presence of less commonly used APC, i.e., an Ia+ T cell clone (LOA) or an Ia-inducible rat glial cell clone (F10). Nonstimulatory APC failed to activate encephalitogenic T cells even when major cytokines were added, suggesting that these cytokines are not among the factors limiting the activating potential of the APC. Thus, whether or not an immunocompetent T cell can be activated by a given Ag in an autoimmune response may be determined by the properties of APC. This finding has implications for current research efforts to identify pathogenic self proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Compactification of a myelin mimetic Langmuir monolayer upon adsorption and unfolding of myelin basic protein.

The surface shear viscosity of a myelin mimetic Langmuir monolayer is investigated upon adsorption of myelin basic protein (MBP). We measure an increase of the surface shear viscosity at picomolar concentrations of the protein, suggesting that the globular conformation of MBP changes upon adsorption at the monolayer. The conformational change enables hydrodynamic interactions of the proteins, with a typical separation of hundreds of nanometers. This unfolding is essential for the compactification of the myelin sheath, serving an enhanced saltatory signal transduction in vertebrates. The viscometry used extends the sensitivity of standard surface viscometers toward lower viscosities.

Adsorption↗

Insulin/insulin-like growth factor I and other epigenetic modulators of myelin basic protein expression in isolated oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

The expression of myelin basic protein by the oligodendrocyte is an integral event in the maturation of central nervous system function. Although much is known concerning the various myelin basic protein species, their temporal expression, and processing of RNA transcripts, little is known about the epigenetic factors responsible for the regulation of myelin basic protein (MBP) expression. In this study, we present evidence that insulin/insulin-like growth factor-I can increase the levels of MBP protein in isolated oligodendrocyte progenitor cells cultured in a serumless, chemically defined medium (ODM). Insulin was found to increase MBP protein in a dose-responsive manner, reaching a maximal level at 72 hr of exposure. Both insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin were demonstrated to have no effect on MBP RNA levels. These data indicate that insulin/IGF-I increased MBP protein levels at a level distal to transcription The dose response of insulin action suggests that it may have a MBP regulatory function, distinct from IGF-I. When added individually, the other supplements of ODM, transferrin (500 ng/ml), and basic fibroblast growth factor (5 ng/ml) had no effect on MBP expression. However, when all three components were combined, a synergistic effect resulting in increased MBP protein and total RNA levels was found. The phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate was found to reduce intracellular MBP RNA levels. The cAMP analogue/dibutyryl cAMP had contrasting effects on MBP RNA levels; no effect occurred in cultures grown in fetal calf serum, but a reduction in RNA levels was found in cultures grown in ODM. These data suggest that only a select range of extrinsic factors may be involved in MBP regulation, and depending on the environmental milieu, epigenetic agents may modulate gene activity differently.

Animals↗

Molecular internalization of a region of myelin basic protein.

The conformation of myelin encephalitogenic or basic protein (BP) was investigated with a double-antibody radioimmunoassay by studying the reaction of BP or its fragments with antibodies produced in two rabbits against peptide 43-88 linked to rabbit serum albumin. Both antisera reacted well with peptide 43-88 but showed little or no reaction with BP. Absorption of these antisera with a BP-immunoadsorbent did not remove the antibody activity against peptide 43-88. Within the region of peptide 43- 88 it was shown that peptides 68-88 and 79-88 gave an equivalent or better reaction than peptide 43-88, whereas peptides 43-67 and 64-73 had very little reactivity. In the BP fragments containing region 43-88, peptide 1-88 showed the best reactivity, peptide 20-166 showed minimal reactivity, while peptide 1-115 showed none. These data document the internal position of at least a portion of peptide 43-88 and all of residues 79-88 in the BP molecule. The much greater reactivity of peptide 1-88 as compared to peptide 1-115 suggests that the region or a portion of the region of BP containing residues 89- 115 participates in the conformational alignment of BP restricting access to peptide 79-88. After absorption with BP, neither of the antisera prepared to peptide 43-88 reacted with PNS myelin in fixed tissue sections but continued to react with CNS myelin in similarly treated sections. The present findings demonstrate the need to consider the role of shielded antigenic determinants in the investigation of antigens or of immune responses.

Animals↗

Stimulation of myelin basic protein gene transcription by Fyn tyrosine kinase for myelination.

Myelin is synthesized about the time of birth. The Src-family tyrosine kinase Fyn is involved in the initial events of myelination. Fyn is present in myelin-forming cells and is activated through stimulation of cell surface receptors such as large myelin-associated glycoprotein (L-MAG). Here we show that Fyn stimulates transcription of the myelin basic protein (MBP) gene for myelination. MBP is a major component of the myelin membrane. In 4-week-old Fyn-deficient mice, MBP is significantly reduced, and electron microscopic analysis showed that myelination is delayed, compared with wild-type mice. The Fyn-deficient mice had thinner, more irregular myelin than the wild-type. We found that Fyn stimulates the promoter activity of the MBP gene by approximately sevenfold. The region responsible for the transactivation by Fyn is located between nucleotides -675 and -647 with respect to the transcription start site. Proteins binding to this region were found by gel shift study, and the binding activity correlates with Fyn activity during myelination. These results suggest that transactivation of the MBP gene by Fyn is important for myelination.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Equilibrium binding of myristoyllysophosphatidylcholine to bovine myelin basic protein: an example of ligand-mediated acceptor association.

The interaction of myristoyllysophosphatidylcholine with bovine myelin basic protein at pH 7.4 and 4.5, I = 0.48, has been investigated by a recycling partition equilibrium technique with Bio-Gel P-2 as the gel phase. Important points to emerge from this direct binding study are that it is a monomeric (not micellar) amphiphile that binds to myelin basic protein, that the amphiphile binds preferentially to the monomeric form of myelin basic protein, that this binding to monomer is highly cooperative, that the similarity of binding behavior in the two environments tested is consistent with the dominance of a hydrophobic contribution to the protein-amphiphile interaction, and that the self-association of myelin basic protein in the presence of phospholipid [Smith, R. (1982) Biochemistry 21, 2697-2701] must reflect the aggregation of a protein-amphiphile complex(es) coupled with concomitant release of some lipid. These findings are then related to earlier nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism studies in which the results were interpreted on the basis that myelin basic protein bound preferentially to micellar phospholipid.

Animals↗

Inhibition by serum of encephalitogenic activity of myelin basic protein.

Basic protein of myelin from bovine brain (B-BPM) in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) is highly encephalitogenic for the guinea pig. However, when B-BPM is mixed with serum from various species it loses its encephalitogenic effect but not its immunogenic properties. When the synthetic tryptophan peptide matching residue 115-126 of human BPM is mixed with normal human serum it loses both its encephalitogenic and immunogenic effects. The time of exposure to serum necessary for complete inhibition of encephalitogenic activity of B-BPM varied: rat, horse, sheep and human sera produced their inhibitory effect immediately after mixing, whereas guinea pig serum required 8h. The capacity of serum to abrogate the encephalitogenic effects of B-BPM was not due to complete degradation of the molecule by proteinases in serum, because all animals injected with the B-BPM serum mixture gave cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity reactions to B-BPM. The inhibitory effect could be attributed to a factor in serum which is non-dialysable, thermostable at 56 degrees C, for 1 h, and present in high concentration in fetal calf serum. It may be an alpha2 macroglobulin which can act selectively on the main encephalitogenic determinant, around or within residues 115-126 of the basic protein of myelin.

Animals↗

Human cytotoxic T-cell recognition of a synthetic peptide of myelin basic protein.

Previous studies with a panel of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific human T-cell clones suggested a clustering of epitopes in the middle and at the C terminus of the molecule. The current study demonstrates that 19 of 40 clones recognize a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 152 to 170 of the human MBP molecule and that 9 clones recognize a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 86 to 105. Myelin basic protein-specific cytotoxic activity was restricted to the clones that recognized peptide 152-170, and this peptide served as a preferential cytotoxic T-cell target when attached to an autologous B-cell line. The specificity of MBP-directed cytotoxic activity appears to be much more restricted than the specificity demonstrated for proliferative activity.

Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic↗

Sox10 acts as a tissue-specific transcription factor enhancing activation of the myelin basic protein gene promoter by p27Kip1 and Sp1.

Myelin basic protein (MBP) is one of the major components of the myelin sheath that insulates axons. In the central nervous system, MBP is synthesized by differentiating oligodendrocytes. The expression of MBP in oligodendrocytes is regulated mainly at the transcriptional level. The Sp1 family of transcription factors has been shown to be important in the regulation of many genes. Binding of Sp1 to the GC box in the proximal MBP promoter has been shown to be indispensable for the activation of MBP gene expression. Previous results from our laboratory have shown that the increase in p27Kip1 that accompanies oligodendrocyte differentiation is paralleled by an increase in Sp1. We also have shown that the increase in MBP expression resulting from elevated p27Kip1 levels is mediated through Sp1 and that this effect occurs specifically in oligodendrocytes. In this study, we found that increased expression of p27Kip1 together with the nervous-system-specific transcription factor Sox10 can activate the MBP promoter even in nonoligodendrocyte cells. This indicates that Sox10 confers cell type specificity on the expression of MBP. Both Sp1 and Sox10 can enhance MBP promoter activity when expressed alone. Cotransfection of plasmids encoding Sp1 and Sox10 induces increased activation of the MBP promoter over expression of either transcription factor alone. This effect is not limited to oligodendrocyte cell lines, in that Sp1 and Sox10 can also synergistically activate the MBP promoter when expressed in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Mutation of the Sp1 binding sites in the MBP promoter eliminates Sox10 stimulated activation, suggesting that the MBP promoter is activated, at least in part, through protein-protein interactions between Sp1 and Sox10.

Animals↗

In vivo phosphorylation of myelin basic proteins: single and double isotope incorporation in developmentally related myelin fractions.

The phosphorylation of myelin basic proteins (MBPs) was studied in developing mouse brain. Based on our previous work we postulated that phosphorylation of MBPs takes place prior to their appearance in the myelin compartment as well as within the myelin sheath. To further test this hypothesis we utilized a subfractionation protocol that yields brain fractions enriched in myelin membranes of differing developmental stages. Incorporation of radioactive phosphate into MBPs was studied in each of the subcellular fractions. After 5- and 15-min incubations of isotope in vivo the highest specific radioactivities (SAs) of MBPs were found in the least mature myelin fractions. Incorporation of 32P in MBPs was greater into serine residues than threonine residues in all of the subcellular fractions studied. The relative turnover of MBP phosphates was studied in each of the subcellular myelin fractions using a time-staggered, double isotope methodology. The most rapid equilibration of MBP phosphates with the trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-soluble phosphate pool occurred in the most mature myelin fractions indicating that the highest turnover of MBP phosphates occurs in the most mature myelin fractions. The SAs and turnover rates of each of the four commonly observed mouse MBPs (14, 17, 18.5, and 21.5 kDa) were similar in any particular subfraction demonstrating that the MBP phosphotransferase system(s) acts on each of the MBPs in a similar manner.

Animals↗

Progress of myelination in the human fetal spinal nerve roots, spinal cord and brainstem with myelin basic protein immunohistochemistry.

The early progress of myelination was studied, by means of myelin basic protein (MBP) immunohistochemistry and luxol-fast-blue (LFB) staining, in the spinal cord, spinal nerve roots and brainstem of 66 fetuses and neonates. The degree of myelination was classified from 1 (slight) to 4 (mature). MBP immunoreactivity exhibited slight LFB positivity. Myelination first occurred in the medial longitudinal fasciculus at 20 weeks of age, reaching degree 4 at 34 weeks, but began at 23-24 weeks in the other sites. Myelination of spinal nerve roots progressed with gestation and attained degree 4 at 35-36 weeks. The cuneate fasciculus also reached degree 4 at 34-36 weeks, but corticospinal tracts and solitary tracts, which exhibited long myelinating phases, were slow and incomplete at 40 weeks. This normal development of MBP and LFB myelination can be used for the assessment of delayed myelination in fetal and neonatal diseases.

Brain Stem↗

Terminal deletion mutants of myelin basic protein: new insights into self-association and phospholipid interactions.

The 18.5kDa isoform of myelin basic protein (MBP) has strong and probably specific interactions with phosphoinositides that are of interest regarding this protein's function, and in effecting its two-dimensional crystallization for structural determination. We have designed and constructed truncation mutants of recombinant 18.5kDa murine myelin basic protein (rmMBP) lacking either the N- or C-terminal third, i.e. rmMBPDeltaN and rmMBPDeltaC, respectively. Both variants rmMBPDeltaC and rmMBPDeltaN generally had a reduced ability to aggregate lipid vesicles, compared to the whole protein, especially at lower protein/lipid ratios. Lipid vesicle cosedimentation showed that both truncated variants exhibited altered binding with phosphatidylinositol (PI). Incubation of these proteins under monolayers comprising PI and a nickel-chelating lipid yielded crystalline arrays of rmMBPDeltaC (but not rmMBPDeltaN) in the absence of high salt or osmolytes, which are required for crystallization of whole protein. This result suggests that the C-terminal segment of MBP is a significant source of conformational heterogeneity, and its removal will facilitate future planar or three-dimensional crystallization attempts. Incubation of rmMBPDeltaN and rmMBPDeltaC under monolayers comprising phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate and a nickel-chelating lipid yielded tubular structures of opposite chirality, suggesting a synergistic effect of both termini of MBP in organizing myelin lipids.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Stage-specific expression of myelin basic protein in oligodendrocytes involves Nkx2.2-mediated repression that is relieved by the Sp1 transcription factor.

The homeodomain-containing protein Nkx2.2 is critical for the development of oligodendrocyte lineage cells, but the target genes of Nkx2.2 regulation have not been identified. In the present study, we found that the myelin basic protein gene is one of the genes that is regulated by Nkx2.2. Expression of Nkx2.2 represses the expression of myelin basic protein in oligodendrocyte progenitors. Two regulatory elements in the myelin basic protein promoter were identified and found to interact with Nkx2.2 in vitro. Despite their sequence divergence, both sites were involved in the Nkx2.2-mediated repression of the myelin basic protein promoter. Binding of Nkx2.2 also blocked and disrupted the binding of the transcriptional activator Puralpha to the myelin basic protein promoter. Additionally Nkx2.2 recruited a histone deacetylase 1-mSin3A complex to the myelin basic protein promoter. We also found that the transcription factor Sp1 was able to compete off the binding of Nkx2.2 to its consensus binding site in vitro and reversed the repressive effect of Nkx2.2 in vivo. Our data revealed a novel role for Nkx2.2 in preventing the precocious expression of myelin basic protein in immature oligodendrocytes. Based on this study and our previous reports, a model for myelin basic protein gene control is proposed.

Animals↗

In vivo phosphorylation of myelin basic proteins: age-related differences in 32P incorporation.

Myelin basic proteins (MBPs) are phosphoproteins of central and peripheral nervous system myelin. We studied the phosphorylation of mouse MBPs in vivo at three different stages of development (12, 30, and 50 days) and found age-related differences in the incorporation of 32P into MBPs. At all ages studied, significant amounts of 32P were found in the MBPs as early as 1 min after intracranial injection of isotope. Incorporation of radioactive phosphate into MBPs proceeded rapidly and the resultant specific radioactivity (SA) of 32P-labeled MBPs appeared to be related to the SA of the acid-soluble phosphate pool of myelin. Changes in the SA of the myelin acid-soluble phosphate pool were observed in a 30 min time course of labeling in vivo in 50-day mice. Coincident changes were observed in the SA of the MBPs. Similar but less pronounced changes were seen in the SA of the polyphosphoinositides (PPIs) indicating that the turnover of the PPI phosphate groups is slower than the MBP phosphates or that the PPI phosphates are drawn from additional or different pools than the MBP phosphates. The phosphorylation of MBPs in developmentally related myelin fractions is investigated in a comparison paper (J. B. Ulmer and P. E. Braun (1986) Dev. Biol. 117, 502-510).

Age Factors↗

Myelin basic protein gene expression in quaking, jimpy, and myelin synthesis-deficient mice.

Jimpy (jp), myelin synthesis-deficient (jpmsd), and quaking (qk) are mutations which affect myelination to different degrees in the mouse central nervous system (CNS). Total messenger RNA (mRNA) and myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific mRNA from brains of these three mutants have been analyzed by in vitro translation and immunoprecipitation with antibody to MBP. The results indicate that the three mutations do not affect the level of total MBP-specific mRNA in the CNS but do affect the relative proportions of the various MBP-related translation products encoded in vitro. In each case the proportions of 14K and 12K Mr MBP-related translation products are reduced and the proportions of 21.5K, 18.5K, and 17K Mr MBP-related translation products are increased relative to wild type. This effect is most pronounced in jp, less so in jpmsd, and least pronounced in qk animals. The MBP-related polypeptides that accumulate in vivo have also been analyzed in the three mutants by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by immunoblotting with antibody to MBP. The levels of all the major MBP-related polypeptides that accumulate in vivo are reduced in all three mutations. The reduction is most pronounced in jp, less in jpmsd, and least pronounced in qk animals. These results indicate that the jp, jpmsd, and qk mutations exhibit qualitatively similar phenotypic effects on MBP gene expression but the magnitude of the effect is proportional to the extent of hypomyelination in each mutant.

Animals↗

Activation of MAP kinases and phosphorylation of caldesmon in canine colonic smooth muscle.

1. Phosphorylation of caldesmon was assayed in canine colonic circular smooth muscle strips labelled with 32P and stimulated with 10 microM acetylcholine. Caldesmon was isolated by two-dimensional non-equilibrium pH gel electrophoresis. Stimulation with acetylcholine increased caldesmon phosphorylation significantly from a basal level of 0.6 +/- 0.07 to 1.1 +/- 0.15 mol P1 (mol caldesmon)-1 after 2 min. 2. MAP kinase activities were measured in SDS extracts of muscle by a gel reconstitution method using myelin basic protein. Myelin basic protein kinase activities were observed at 38, 44, 50 and 57 kDa by the gel reconstitution method. Endogenous caldesmon kinase activities were also identified by the gel reconstitution method at 38, 44 and 50 kDa. The 38 and 44 kDa kinases comigrated with proteins labelled by anti-ERK1 MAP kinase antibodies on Western blots. Both 38 and 44 kDa MBP kinase activities increased significantly during contractions induced by 10 microM acetylcholine, 0.1 microM neurokinin A and 70 mM potassium. 3. Phorbol dibutyrate (0.1 microM) potentiated activation of MAP kinases and contraction of depolarized muscles while producing a decrease in fura-2 fluorescence ratio. This suggests that protein kinase C activation is coupled to MAP kinase activity in colonic smooth muscle. 4. MAP kinases isolated form muscle homogenates by Mono Q chromatography were assayed using the specific MAP kinase substrate peptide APRTPGGRR. Stimulation of muscles for 2 min with 10 microM acetylcholine activated both ERK1 and ERK2 MAP kinase activities 2-fold. 5. To determine the effects of caldesmon phosphorylation by MAP kinase on the cross-bridge cycle, actin sliding velocity was measured with an in vitro motility assay. Unphosphorylated turkey gizzard caldesmon (3 microM) significantly reduced mean sliding velocity. Phosphorylation of caldesmon with sea star ERK1 MAP kinase reversed the inhibitory effect of caldesmon on sliding velocity. The results are consistent with a protein kinase cascade being activated by contractile agonists in gastrointestinal smooth muscle which activates ERK MAP kinases leading to phosphorylation of caldesmon. Phosphorylation of caldesmon in vivo may reverse inhibitory influences of caldesmon on cross-bridge cycling.

Acetylcholine↗

Colvalent linkage of phospholipid to myelin basic protein: identification of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate as the attached phospholipid.

Evidence presented demonstrates a covalent attachment of a phospholipid to bovine myelin basic protein. Partial characterization of the phospholipid moiety was performed on myelin basic protein obtained from 32P-phosphorylated whole myelin that was first delipidated by two ether/ethanol (3:2 v/v) extractions, ether extraction, and acetone extraction and then purified by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The myelin basic protein was precipitated with aqueous acetone and treated with proteases. Treatment with carboxypeptidase Y or trypsin for several hours released a lipophilic fragment, which was purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to yield two "lipopeptides". Such lipopeptides were obtained from both the major and minor myelin basic proteins of rat and bovine brain. Treatment with either mild base or phospholipase C removes the lipophilic character of the peptide fragment. The lipophilic fragment is a substrate for phospholipase D, but it does not comigrate on thin-layer chromatography with any 32P-labeled lipid obtained from myelin incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. Polyphosphoinositides were shown to be released by mild acid treatment of myelin basic protein that had been extracted with organic solvent and then purified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Along with the fact that inositol monophosphate was identified in the partial acid hydrolysate of the lipopeptide, we have concluded that polyphosphoinositide (phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and/or phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate) was the original phospholipid portion of the lipopeptide.

Animals↗