title: Molecular cloning of a novel brain-specific serine protease with a kringle-like structure and three scavenger receptor cysteine-rich motifs.
abstract: In order to find serine proteases specifically expressed in brain, we designed degenerate mixed primers for consensus sequences of serine protease domains. By PCR utilizing the primers, we have cloned a novel sequence from reverse transcripts of total RNA of mouse brain and used it as a probe to screen a mouse brain cDNA library. Overlapping cDNAs encoding a precursor of a novel brain specific serine protease (BSSP-3) were cloned. DNA insert of the longest clone consisted of 2614-bp with an entire open reading frame encoding a secretory/membrane-anchored precursor protein consisting of 761 amino acids (AA) which may be processed to yield an active enzyme of 245 AA. As found in known serine proteases, BSSP-3 enzyme domain contained a catalytic triad which consists of AA residues essential for the enzyme activity. In the upstream region of the enzyme domain that resides at C-terminus of the precursor protein, there are, from N-terminus to downstream, a sequence similar to a kringle structure and three repetitive ones highly similar to the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich (SRCR) motifs. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that mBSSP-3 mRNA was specifically expressed in the mouse brain, lung and kidney. We concluded that a novel brain serine protease, BSSP-3, is a new member of kringle and SRCR superfamilies.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Neurological Diseases and Geriatrics, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuruoka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsujimura
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003545:Cysteine; D005260:Female; D018082:Kringles; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D018110:Receptors, Lipoprotein; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger; D051122:Scavenger Receptors, Class B; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D018110:Receptors, Lipoprotein; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger; C454739:Scarb1 protein, mouse; D051122:Scavenger Receptors, Class B; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D003545:Cysteine