title: The Beige/Chediak-Higashi syndrome gene encodes a widely expressed cytosolic protein.
abstract: The human autosomal recessive disorder Chediak-Higashi syndrome and its murine homologue beige are associated with the formation of giant lysosomes that cluster near the perinuclear region of cells. We prepared a polyclonal antiserum against a glutathione S-transferase-Beige fusion protein and demonstrated by Western analysis that the beige gene encodes a protein of 400 kDa that is expressed in cultured murine fibroblasts as well as most mouse tissues. The protein was not detected in either cultured fibroblasts or mouse tissues from two different beige mutants. Cultured fibroblasts transformed with multiple copies of yeast artificial chromosomes that contain the full-length beige gene showed much higher levels of Beige protein than either wild type fibroblasts or mouse tissues. Subcellular fractionation experiments demonstrated that the Beige protein was cytosolic and, under the conditions of isolation, had no measurable membrane association. Cultured mouse fibroblasts in which the Beige protein was overexpressed had smaller than normal lysosomes that were more peripherally distributed than in control cells. These findings, coupled with earlier published results, suggest that the Beige protein regulates lysosomal fission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Perou
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002469:Cell Separation; D002609:Chediak-Higashi Syndrome / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D018244:Chromosomes, Artificial, Yeast; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C102161:LYST protein, human; C491133:Lyst protein, mouse; D011506:Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins