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.
Serafin
W E
WE
Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Reynolds
D S
DS
Rogelj
S
S
Lane
W S
WS
Conder
G A
GA
Johnson
S S
SS
Austen
K F
KF
Stevens
R L
RL
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