Identification of cysteine protease inhibitors that belong to cystatin family 1 in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.
Family 1 cystatins are cytosolic inhibitors of cysteine proteases, and they are conserved in higher eukaryotes. We characterized two newly identified family 1 cystatins of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, cystatin A1 and A2. Their recombinant proteins showed specific inhibitory activity against papain and cathepsin B, respectively. Using specific polyclonal antibodies, we found that cystatin A1 is stably expressed throughout the life cycle of Dictyostelium, whereas cystatin A2 expression is up-regulated during the course of development.
El-Halawany
Medhat S
MS
Department of Applied Molecular Biosciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
Ohkouchi
Susumu
S
Shibata
Hideki
H
Hitomi
Kiyotaka
K
Maki
Masatoshi
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015891:Cystatins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D015891:Cystatins; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins