scholarly journals Structure of the human aggrecan gene: exon-intron organization and association with the protein domains

1995 ◽  
Vol 309 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
W B Valhmu ◽  
G D Palmer ◽  
P A Rivers ◽  
S Ebara ◽  
J F Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yeast Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Protein Domains ◽  
Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Protein Core

The complete exon-intron organization of the human aggrecan gene has been defined, and the exon organization has been compared with the individual domains of the protein core. A yeast artificial chromosome containing the aggrecan gene was selected from the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humaine yeast artificial chromosome library. A cosmid sulibrary was created from this, and direct sequencing of individual cosmids was used to provide the exon-intron organization. The human aggrecan gene was found to be composed of 19 exons ranging in size from 77 to 4224 bp. Exon 1 is non-coding, whereas exons 2-19 code for a protein core of 2454 amino acids with a calculated mass of 254379 Da. Intron 1 of the gene is at least 13 kb. Overall, the sizes of the 18 introns range from 0.5 to greater than 13 kb. Each intron begins with a GT and ends with an AG, thus obeying the GT/AG rule of splice-junction sequences. The entire coding region is contained in 39.4 kb of the gene. The organization of exons is strongly related to the specific domains of the protein core. The A loop of G1 and the interglobular domain are encoded by exons 3 and 7 respectively. The B and B' loops of G1 are encoded by exons 4-6, and those of G2 are encoded by exons 8-10. These sets of exons, coding for the B and B' loops, are identical in size and organization. This is supported by the intron classes associated with these exons. Exon 11 codes for the 5′ half of the keratan sulphate-rich region, and exon 12 codes for the 3′ half of the keratan sulphate-rich region as well as the entire chondroitin sulphate-rich region. G3 is encoded by exons 13-18, including the alternatively spliced epidermal growth factor-like and complement regulatory protein-like domains. The correspondence between the exon organization and the protein domains argues strongly for modular assembly of the aggrecan gene.

scholarly journals Structure of the human hexokinase type I gene and nucleotide sequence of the 5′ flanking region

1998 ◽  
Vol 331 (2) ◽  
pp. 607-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annamaria RUZZO ◽  
Francesca ANDREONI ◽  
Mauro MAGNANI
Keyword(s):  
Yeast Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Type I ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Exon 1 ◽  
Flanking Region ◽  
The Individual ◽  
I Gene ◽  
Hexokinase Type I

This study reports the precise intron/exon boundaries and intron/exon composition of the human hexokinase type I gene. A yeast artificial chromosome containing the hexokinase type I gene was isolated from the yeast artificial chromosome library of the Centre d'Étude du Polymorphisme Humaine. A cosmid sublibrary was created and direct sequencing of the individual cosmids was used to provide the exon/intron organization. The human hexokinase type I gene was found to be composed of 18 exons ranging in size from 63 to 305 bp. Intron 1 is at least 15 kb in length, whereas intron 2 spans at least 10 kb. Overall, the length of the 17 introns ranges from 104 to greater than 15 kb. The entire coding region is contained in at least 75 kb of the gene. The structure of the gene reveals a remarkable conservation of the size of the exons compared with glucokinase and hexokinase type II. Isolation of the 5´ flanking region of the gene revealed a 75–90% identity with the rat sequence. Direct evidence of an alternative red-blood-cell-specific exon 1 located upstream of the 5´ flanking region of the gene is also provided.

scholarly journals Separation and characterization of two populations of aggregating proteoglycans from cartilage

1985 ◽  
Vol 225 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Heinegård ◽  
J Wieslander ◽  
J Sheehan ◽  
M Paulsson ◽  
Y Sommarin
Keyword(s):  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Buoyant Density ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Core Proteins ◽  
Lower Mobility ◽  
Cartilage Proteoglycans

Intermediary gel immunoelectrophoresis was used to show that purified aggregating cartilage proteoglycans from 2-year-old steers contain two distinct populations of molecules and that only one of these is immunologically related to non-aggregating cartilage proteoglycans. The two types of aggregating proteoglycans were purified by density-gradient centrifugation in 3.5M-CsCl/4M-guanidinium chloride and separated by zonal rate centrifugation in sucrose gradients. The higher-buoyant-density faster-sedimenting proteoglycan represented 43% of the proteoglycans in the extract. It had a weight-average Mr of 3.5 × 10(6), did not contain a well-defined keratan sulphate-rich region, had a quantitatively dominant chondroitin sulphate-rich region and contained 5.9% protein and 23% hexosamine. The lower-buoyant-density, more slowly sedimenting, proteoglycan represented 15% of the proteoglycans in the extract. It had a weight-average Mr of 1.3 × 10(6), contained both the keratan sulphate-rich and the chondroitin sulphate-rich regions and contained 7.3% protein and 23% hexosamine. Each of the proteoglycan preparations showed only one band on agarose/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The larger proteoglycan had a lower mobility than the smaller. The distribution of chondroitin sulphate chains along the chondroitin sulphate-rich region was similar for the two types of proteoglycans. The somewhat larger chondroitin sulphate chains of the larger proteoglycan could not alone account for the larger size of the proteoglycan. Peptide patterns after trypsin digestion of the proteoglycans showed great similarities, although the presence of a few peptides not shared by both populations indicates that the core proteins are partially different.

scholarly journals Molecular cloning of chicken aggrecan. Structural analyses

1992 ◽  
Vol 288 (3) ◽  
pp. 903-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Chandrasekaran ◽  
M L Tanzer
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Molecular Cloning ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Repetitive Sequences ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Generic Model ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Linear Arrangement ◽  
Keratan Sulphate

The large, aggregating chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan of cartilage, aggrecan, has served as a generic model of proteoglycan structure. Molecular cloning of aggrecans has further defined their amino acid sequences and domain structures. In this study, we have obtained the complete coding sequence of chicken sternal cartilage aggrecan by a combination of cDNA and genomic DNA sequencing. The composite sequence is 6117 bp in length, encoding 1951 amino acids. Comparison of chicken aggrecan protein primary structure with rat, human and bovine aggrecans has disclosed both similarities and differences. The domains which are most highly conserved at 70-80% identity are the N-terminal domains G1 and G2 and the C-terminal domain G3. The chondroitin sulphate domain of chicken aggrecan is smaller than that of rat and human aggrecans and has very distinctive repeat sequences. It has two separate sections, one comprising 12 consecutive Ser-Gly-Glu repeats of 20 amino acids each, adjacent to the other which has 23 discontinuous Ser-Gly-Glu repeats of 10 amino acids each; this latter region, N-terminal to the former one, appears to be unique to chicken aggrecan. The two regions contain a total of 94 potential chondroitin sulphate attachment sites. Genomic comparison shows that, although chicken exons 11-14 are identical in size to the rat and human exons, chicken exon 10 is the smallest of the three species. This is also reflected in the size of its chondroitin sulphate coding region and in the total number of Ser-Gly pairs. The putative keratan sulphate domain shows 31-45% identity with the other species and lacks the repetitive sequences seen in the others. In summary, while the linear arrangement of specific domains of chicken aggrecan is identical to that in the aggrecans of other species, and while there is considerable identity of three separate domains, chicken aggrecan demonstrates unique features, notably in its chondroitin sulphate domain and its keratan sulphate domain. Thus different variants of chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate domains may have evolved separately to fulfil specific biochemical and physiological functions.

scholarly journals A novel keratan sulphate domain preferentially expressed on the large aggregating proteoglycan from human articular cartilage is recognized by the monoclonal antibody 3D12/H7

1996 ◽  
Vol 318 (3) ◽  
pp. 1051-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar-Christiane FISCHER ◽  
Hans-Dieter HAUBECK ◽  
Kirsten EICH ◽  
Susanne KOLBE-BUSCH ◽  
Georg STÖCKER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Articular Cartilage ◽  
Core Protein ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Human Articular Cartilage ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
The Core ◽  
Gel Shift Assay ◽  
Chemical Deglycosylation

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were prepared against aggrecan which has been isolated from human articular cartilage and purified by several chromatographic steps. One of these mAbs, the aggrecan-specific mAb 3D12/H7, was selected for further characterization. The data presented indicate that this mAb recognizes a novel domain of keratan sulphate chains from aggrecan: (1) immunochemical staining of aggrecan is abolished by treatment with keratanase/keratanase II, but not with keratanase or chondroitin sulphate lyase AC/ABC; (2) after chemical deglycosylation of aggrecan no staining of the core-protein was observed; (3) different immunochemical reactivity was observed against keratan sulphates from articular cartilage, intervertebral disc and cornea for the mAbs 3D12/H7 and 5D4. For further characterization of the epitope, reduced and 3H-labelled keratan sulphate chains were prepared. In an IEF–gel-shift assay it was shown that the 3H-labelled oligosaccharides obtained after keratanase digestion of reduced and 3H-labelled keratan sulphate chains were recognized by the mAb 3D12/H7. Thus it can be concluded that the mAb 3D12/H7 recognizes an epitope in the linkage region present in, at least some, keratan sulphate chains of the large aggregating proteoglycan from human articular cartilage. Moreover, this domain seems to be expressed preferentially on those keratan sulphate chains which occur in the chondroitin sulphate-rich region of aggrecan, since the antibody does not recognize the keratan sulphate-rich region obtained after combined chondroitinase AC/ABC and trypsin digestion of aggrecan.

scholarly journals Variations in the composition of bovine hip articular cartilage with distance from the articular surface

1981 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Franzén ◽  
S Inerot ◽  
S O Hejderup ◽  
D Heinegård
Keyword(s):  
Hyaluronic Acid ◽  
Articular Cartilage ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Articular Surface ◽  
Full Thickness ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Cartilage Proteoglycans

Punch biopsies of bovine hip articular cartilage was sectioned according to depth and the proteoglycans were isolated. The mid-sections of the cartilage contained more proteoglycans than did either the superficial or the deepest portions of the cartilage proteoglycans than did either the superficial or the deepest portions of the cartilage. The most superficial 40 micrometer of the cartilage contained relatively more glucosaminoglycans compared with the remainder of the cartilage. The proteoglycans recovered from the surface 200 micrometer layer contained less chondroitin sulphate, were smaller and almost all of these molecules were able to interact with hyaluronic acid to form aggregates. From about 200 micrometer and down to 1040 micrometer from the surface, the proteoglycans became gradually somewhat smaller, probably owing to decreasing size of the chondroitin sulphate-rich region. The proportion of molecules that were able to interact with the hyaluronic acid was about 90% and remained constant with depth. The proteoglycans from the deepest layer near the cartilage-bone junction contained a large proportion of non-aggregating molecules, and the average size of the proteoglycans was somewhat larger. The alterations of proteoglycan structure observed with increasing depth of the articular cartilage beneath the surface layer (to 200 micrometer) are of the same nature as those observed with increasing age in full-thickness articular cartilage. The articular-cartilage proteoglycans were smaller and had much higher keratan sulphate and protein contents that did molecules isolated from bovine nasal or tracheal cartilage.

scholarly journals Proteoglycans of the intervertebral disc. Homology of structure with laryngeal proteoglycans

1979 ◽  
Vol 179 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Stevens ◽  
R J Ewins ◽  
P A Revell ◽  
H Muir
Keyword(s):  
Intervertebral Disc ◽  
Nucleus Pulposus ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Core Protein ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Protein Core ◽  
Uronic Acid Content ◽  
Normal Human ◽  
Cartilage Proteoglycans

The structure of the proteoglycans from normal pig nucleus pulposus and relatively normal human annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus was investigated in detail and the results were compared with the current structural model of proteoglycans of hyaline cartilage. Like proteoglycans of cartilage, those of intervertebral disc contain keratan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate attached to a protein core; they are able to aggregate to hyaluronic acid; the protein core likewise has three regions, one lacking glycosaminoglycans, another rich in keratan sulphate and a third region rich in chondroitin sulphate. However, disc proteoglycans contain more keratan sulphate and protein and less chondroitin sulphate and are also considerably smaller than cartilage proteoglycans. In proteoglycans of human discs, these differences appeared to be due principally to a shorter region of the core protein bearing the chondroitin sulphate chains, whereas in proteoglycans of pig discs their smaller size and relatively low uronic acid content were due to shorter chondroitin sulphate chains. There were subtle differences between proteoglycans from the nucleus and annulus of human discs. In the latter a higher proportion of proteoglycans was capable of binding to hyaluronate.

scholarly journals The detection of substructures within proteoglycan molecules. Electron-microscopic immuno-localization with the use of Protein A-gold

1987 ◽  
Vol 247 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
J K Sheehan ◽  
A Ratcliffe ◽  
K Oates ◽  
T E Hardingham
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Polyclonal Antibodies ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Protein Core ◽  
Gold Labelling ◽  
Chondroitin Ac Lyase

Proteoglycan monomers from pig laryngeal cartilage were examined by electron microscopy with benzyldimethylalkylammonium chloride as the spreading agent. The proteoglycans appeared as extended molecules with a beaded structure, representing the chondroitin sulphate chains collapsed around the protein core. Often a fine filamentous tail was present at one end. Substructures within proteoglycan molecules were localized by incubation with specific antibodies followed by Protein A-gold (diameter 4 nm). After the use of an anti-(binding region) serum the Protein A-gold (typically one to three particles) bound at the extreme end of the filamentous region. A small proportion of the labelled molecules (10-15%) showed the presence of gold particles at both ends. A monoclonal antibody specific for a keratan sulphate epitope (MZ15) localized a keratan sulphate-rich region at one end of the proteoglycan, but gold particles were not observed along the extended part of the protein core. This distribution was not changed by prior chondroitin AC lyase digestion of the proteoglycan. Localization with a different monoclonal antibody to keratan sulphate (5-D-4) caused a change in the spreading behaviour of a proportion (approx. 20%) of the proteoglycan monomers that lost their beaded structure and appeared with the chondroitin sulphate chains projecting from the protein core. In these molecules the Protein A-gold localized antibody (5-D-4) along the length of the protein core whereas in those molecules with a beaded appearance it labelled only at one end. Labelling with either of the monoclonal antibodies was specific, as it was inhibited by exogenously added keratan sulphate. The differential localization achieved may reflect structural differences within the proteoglycan population involving keratan sulphate and the protein core to which it is attached. The results showed that by this technique substructures within proteoglycan molecules can be identified by Protein A-gold labelling after the use of specific monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies.

Healing of Circular Defects in the Rabbit Medial Meniscus Can Occur Spontaneously and Is not Improved by Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid

1996 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 60-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Hope ◽  
P. Ghosh ◽  
S. Collier
Keyword(s):  
Hyaluronic Acid ◽  
Medial Meniscus ◽  
Chondroitin Sulphate ◽  
Rabbit Model ◽  
Type Ii Collagen ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Keratan Sulphate ◽  
Meniscal Healing ◽  
Meniscus Healing ◽  
Made In

SummaryThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of intra-articular hyaluronic acid on meniscal healing. Circular defects, 1.0 mm in diameter, were made in the anterior third of the medial meniscus in rabbits. In one joint, 0.4 ml hyaluronic acid (Healon®) was instilled, and in the contralateral (control) joint, 0.4 ml Ringer’s saline. Four rabbits were killed after four, eight and 12 weeks and the menisci examined histologically. By eight weeks most of the lesions had healed by filling with hyaline-like cartilage. Healing was not improved by hyaluronic acid treatment. The repair tissue stained strongly with alcian blue, and the presence of type II collagen, keratan sulphate, and chondroitin sulphate was demonstrated by immunohistochemical localisation. In contrast to the circular defects, longitudinal incisions made in the medial menisci of a further six rabbits did not show any healing after 12 weeks, indicating that the shape of the lesion largely determined the potential for healing.The effect of hyaluronic acid on meniscal healing was tested in a rabbit model. With one millimeter circular lesions in the medial meniscus, healing by filling with hyalinelike cartilage was not significantly affected by the application of hyaluronic acid intra-articularly at the time of surgery, compared to saline controls, as assessed histologically four, eight and 12 weeks after the operation.

scholarly journals Structure of the Chromosome VII Centromere Region in Neurospora crassa: Degenerate Transposons and Simple Repeats

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 5465-5477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B. Cambareri ◽  
Rafael Aisner ◽  
John Carbon
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Yeast Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Fragment Length Polymorphism ◽  
Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Polymorphism Analysis ◽  
Dna Repeats ◽  
Centromere Region ◽  
Simple Repeats ◽  
Restriction Fragment Length ◽  
Repeat Induced Point Mutation

ABSTRACT DNA from the centromere region of linkage group (LG) VII ofNeurospora crassa was cloned previously from a yeast artificial chromosome library and was found to be atypical ofNeurospora DNA in both composition (AT rich) and complexity (repetitive). We have determined the DNA sequence of a small portion (∼16.1 kb) of this region and have identified a cluster of three new retrotransposon-like elements as well as degenerate fragments from the 3′ end of Tad, a previously identified LINE-like retrotransposon. This region contains a novel full-length but nonmobilecopia-like element, designated Tcen, that is only associated with centromere regions. Adjacent DNA contains portions of a gypsy-like element designated Tgl1. A third new element, Tgl2, shows similarity to theTy3 transposon of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. All three of these elements appear to be degenerate, containing predominantly transition mutations suggestive of the repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) process. Three new simple DNA repeats have also been identified in the LG VII centromere region. While Tcenelements map exclusively to centromere regions by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, the defective Tad elements appear to occur most frequently within centromeres but are also found at other loci including telomeres. The characteristics and arrangement of these elements are similar to those seen in theDrosophila centromere, but the relative abundance of each class of repeats, as well as the sequence degeneracy of the transposon-like elements, is unique to Neurospora. These results suggest that the Neurospora centromere is heterochromatic and regional in character, more similar to centromeres of Drosophila than to those of most single-cell yeasts.

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