Hydrophobic Ligand-binding Proteins Research Articles

Primary structure and cellular distribution of two fatty acid-binding proteins in adult rat kidneys.

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) were purified from the kidneys of female and male rats and characterized by primary structure and histological distribution in the kidney. Two FABPs (14 and 15.5 kDa) were found in male rat kidney cytosol whereas only 14-kDa FABP could be recognized in female rat kidneys throughout the purification steps. The amino acid sequence of the 14-kDa FABP was identical to that of rat heart FABP deduced from the cDNA sequence (Heuckeroth, R. O., Birkenmeier, E. H., Levin, M. S., and Gordon, J. I. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 9709-9717). Structural analysis of the male-specific 15.5-kDa FABP identified this second FABP as a proteolytically modified form of alpha 2u-globulin, an 18.7-kDa major urinary protein of adult male rats (Unterman, R. D., Lynch, K. R., Nakhasi, H. L., dolan, K. P., Hamilton, J. W., Cohn, D. V., and Feigelson, P. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 3478-3482) which shares a common ancestry with a number of hydrophobic ligand-binding proteins such as serum retinol-binding proteins. Immunohistochemical investigation disclosed that heart-type FABP (14-kDa FABP) is localized in the cytoplasm of the epithelia of the distal tubules in both male and female rat kidneys whereas 15.5-kDa FABP immunostaining was observed predominantly in the endosomes or lysosomes of proximal tubules in male rat kidneys. These results suggest strongly the functional divergence of two FABPs in the rat kidney.

Gastrotropin: not an enterooxyntin but a member of a family of cytoplasmic hydrophobic ligand binding proteins

Gastrotropin, a peptide initially isolated from porcine intestinal extracts, has been proposed to be an enterooxyntin. We have isolated a full length gastrotropin cDNA from a hog small intestinal lambda gt11 library. No evidence of co-translational translocation or processing of the encoded 127-residue protein could be demonstrated using an in vitro transcription/translation/microsomal processing assay. Comparative sequence analyses indicate that gastrotropin is a new member of the family of cytoplasmic hydrophobic ligand proteins. Analysis of the distribution of gastrotropin in nine adult Sprague-Dawley rat tissues revealed that the gene is expressed in small intestine but not in stomach, liver, heart, skeletal muscle, lung, kidney, adrenals, or brain. Bioactivity studies demonstrated that neither gastrotropin nor a carboxyl-terminally amidated tridecapeptide fragment deduced from the cDNA sequence influence acid secretory activity in rats with gastric fistulas or in isolated canine gastric parietal cells. Together these data suggest that gastrotropin is not likely to be secreted as a hormone or to function as an enterooxyntin. Moreover, it appears that gastrotropin represents one of several members of the family of hydrophobic ligand binding proteins that are expressed in the small intestine.

Refined apoprotein structure of rat intestinal fatty acid binding protein produced in Escherichia coli.

Rat intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) is a member of a family of cytoplasmic hydrophobic ligand-binding proteins. To gain insights about the contribution of bound fatty acid to I-FABP's conformation and mechanism of ligand binding, we have determined the structure of Escherichia coli-derived rat apo-I-FABP to 1.96-A resolution and compared it to the recently refined structure of I-FABP with bound palmitate. Both apo- and holo-I-FABP are composed primarily of anti-parallel beta-strands which form two nearly orthogonal beta-sheets ("beta-clam"). The overall structures of the apo- and holo-I-FABP are nearly identical, with a root mean square (rms) difference of 0.37 A between C alpha atoms, 0.38 A between all main-chain atoms, and 0.94 A between all side-chain atoms. However, rms differences of greater than 1.3 A were noted for the side chains of Ile-23, Lys-27, Arg-56, Leu-72, Ala-73, and Asp-74. The space occupied by bound ligand in the core of the holoprotein is occupied in the apo-protein by ordered solvent molecules. This results in an increase in the total number of internal ordered solvent molecules from 7 in the holoprotein to 13 in apo-I-FABP. This finding, together with observed differences in the side-chain orientations of two residues (Arg-56 and Lys-27) situated over a potential opening to the cores of the apo- and holoproteins, suggests that solvent molecules play a critical role in ligand binding. Moreover, the data indicate that the beta-clam structure is stable even in the absence of bound ligand.

Cellular differentiation in the emerging fetal rat small intestinal epithelium: mosaic patterns of gene expression.

We have examined the pattern of differentiation of the small intestinal epithelium in fetal rats during the 17th through 21st days of gestation. Five genes expressed in late fetal, neonatal, and adult enterocytes were used as markers of differentiation. They encode three homologous small cytoplasmic hydrophobic ligand binding proteins--liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP), and cellular retinol binding protein II (CRBP II)--and two apolipoproteins--apoAI and apoAIV. RNA blot hybridization studies indicated that gradients in mRNA concentration from the proximal small intestine to colon appear coincident with the initiation of rapid epithelial cell proliferation and villus formation (days 17-19 of the 22-day gestation period). Immunocytochemical studies disclosed a remarkably heterogeneous pattern of cell-specific expression of the three hydrophobic ligand binding proteins that was not apparent with either apoAIV or apoAI. This "mosaic" staining pattern was observed in morphologically similar cells occupying identical topographic positions along nascent villi in 17- to 18-day fetuses. The onset and resolution of this mosaicism varies between I-FABP, L-FABP, and CRBP II in the proximal small bowel, although it completely resolves by the first postnatal day. The distal small intestine exhibits a developmental delay of 1-2 days in the appearance of this heterogeneous pattern of initial gene expression. Double-label immunofluorescent analyses using L-FABP and I-FABP antibodies indicated that on the 18th day of gestation the proximal small intestinal columnar epithelium contains several populations of enterocytes expressing neither, one, or both proteins. The potential significance of this mosaic pattern of intestinal epithelial differentiation is discussed in light of recent studies with transgenic and chimeric mice.

Identification of a polypeptide growth inhibitor from bovine mammary gland. Sequence homology to fatty acid- and retinoid-binding proteins.

A polypeptide growth inhibitor purified from bovine mammary gland (mammary-derived growth inhibitor) has been shown to reversibly inhibit proliferation of mammary carcinoma cells at concentrations of about 10(-10) M. The carrier of inhibitory activity has been identified biochemically as an about 13-kDa polypeptide and chemically by elucidating the amino acid sequence. No homology to any of the hitherto structurally investigated growth inhibitors (transforming growth factor beta, interferons) has been observed. The data revealed extensive sequence homology of mammary-derived growth inhibitor to a family of low molecular mass hydrophobic ligand-binding proteins, among them a fatty acid-binding protein from rat heart, myelin P2, a differentiation associated protein in adipocytes (p422) and the cellular retinoic acid-binding protein. Interaction with as yet unknown hydrophobic ligands might play a functional role in the mechanism of growth inhibition excerted by mammary-derived growth inhibitor.