Identification and molecular cloning of a novel mouse mucosal mast cell serine protease.
A novel 28,000 Mr serine protease, designated mouse mast cell protease-2 (MMCP-2), that is stored in the secretory granules of Kirsten sarcoma virus-immortalized mouse mast cells (KiSV-MC) has been identified and its NH2-terminal amino acid sequence has been determined. Analysis of a 953-base pair cDNA that encodes MMCP-2 revealed that this serine protease is a basically charged protein, possessing the histidine-aspartic acid-serine charge relay system that is characteristic of other serine proteases. DNA blot analysis using the full-length MMCP-2 cDNA indicated the existence of a family of highly related serine protease genes in the mouse genome. When the same DNA blot was probed with the 149-base pair KpnI----3' fragment of the cDNA, the probe hybridized to a single DNA fragment, thereby demonstrating that this 3' fragment could be used as a gene-specific probe. The presence of high levels of the MMCP-2 mRNA transcript in the intestines of nematode-infected mice, and its absence in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells and peritoneal cavity-derived connective tissue mast cells, suggest that this member of the mouse mast cell protease family is preferentially expressed late in the differentiation of mucosal mast cells.
Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
W E
WE
Serafin
D S
DS
Reynolds
S
S
Rogelj
W S
WS
Lane
G A
GA
Conder
S S
SS
Johnson
K F
KF
Austen
R L
RL
Stevens
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000201:enzymology; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015342:DNA Probes; D005260:Female; D007708:Kirsten murine sarcoma virus; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000201:enzymology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*
D015342:DNA Probes; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases