title: Purification and characterization of a vimentin-specific protease in mouse myeloid leukemia cells. Regulation during differentiation and identity with cathepsin G.
abstract: Strong vimentin-degrading activity was found in a mouse myelomonocytic leukemic cell line, M1. When M1 cells were induced to differentiate into macrophage-like cells, this degrading activity decreased, while expression of the vimentin gene increased as reported previously [Tsuru, A., Nakamura, N., Takayama, E., Suzuki, Y., Hirayoshi, K. and Nagata, K. (1990) J. Cell Biol. 110, 1655-1664]. This activity was not due to calpain, which was reported to degrade vimentin, because it was independent of the presence or absence of Ca2+. This activity was revealed to be strongly associated with membranes by differential-centrifugation experiments. To identify this protease, purification of the degradation enzyme was performed. A membrane fraction was prepared and extracted with a buffer containing Triton X-100, then subjected to column chromatography using carboxymethyl-Sepharose and heparin-Sepharose. Quantitative analysis using the purified protease revealed that the specificity of this protease was more than 1000-fold higher for vimentin than for bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin and actin. Four protein bands expressing the activity were finally identified by SDS/PAGE. Amino-terminal sequences of these four proteins were identical, suggesting lower-molecular-mass proteins were degradative products. Furthermore, it was revealed that the sequence had the highest similarity with that of human cathepsin G. This result was consistent with the cathpsin-G-like properties of the purified protease, such as the optimum pH and the specificities for inhibitors. The purified protease degraded a synthetic substrate for cathespin G, succinyl-alanyl-alanyl-prolyl-phenylalanyl-p-nitroanilide, with a comparable specific activity to human cathespin G and was specifically detected with anti-(human cathepsin G) serum in immunoblot analysis. The purified protease thus belongs to the 'cathepsin G family', and perhaps is a mouse homologue of human cathepsin G.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsuru
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirayoshi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagata
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D056649:Cathepsin G; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000235:genetics*; D002413:Cations, Divalent / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000201:enzymology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002413:Cations, Divalent; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D014746:Vimentin; D002403:Cathepsins; D010450:Endopeptidases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C534094:CTSG protein, human; D056649:Cathepsin G; C534096:Ctsg protein, mouse; D002118:Calcium