title: Isolation and characterization of a novel rat factor H-related protein that is up-regulated in glomeruli under complement attack.
abstract: The factor H family in humans is composed of seven distinct proteins, including factor H-related proteins (FHR) 1-5. All members contain tandemly arranged short consensus repeats (SCR) typical of the regulators of complement activation gene family. FHR-5 is unusual for this group of proteins, as it was initially identified as a component of immune deposits in glomerular diseases. During our cloning of the cDNA for rat factor H from glomerular epithelial cells (GEC), we identified an alternative 2729-bp cDNA transcript. The translated sequence encoded a protein containing 11 SCRs, most similar to SCRs 7-15 and 19-20 in native rat factor H, which is the same basic structure of human FHR-5. As such, this rat protein was termed FHR. Recombinant rat FHR produced in a eukaryotic expression system had a molecular mass of 78 kDa. In functional studies, recombinant FHR bound C3b and inhibited the complement alternative pathway in a dose-dependent fashion. Given the prominent expression of FHR-5 in human membranous nephropathy, a disease in which complement activation occurs in the vicinity of GEC, the expression of FHR in a rat model of this disease was evaluated. In both in vitro and in vivo models of complement activation on the GEC, FHR mRNA was up-regulated by a factor of 3-6-fold compared with controls in which complement could not be activated. Thus, we have identified a novel factor H family member in rats. This FHR protein is analogous to human FHR-5, both in structure and in potential involvement in glomerular immune complex diseases.
authors.affiliation: Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, the University of Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Guohui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doshi
authors.forename: Bradley K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Hack
authors.forename: Jessy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Quigg
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D003165:Complement System Proteins