title: A novel four-amino acid determinant defines conformational freedom within chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunits.
abstract: On the basis of apparent molecular mass heterogeneity following reducing versus nonreducing SDS-PAGE, we determined that the beta-subunit of macaque (Macaca fascicularis) chorionic gonadotropin (mCG-beta) is more conformationally constrained than the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG-beta). The amino acid sequences of these two subunits are 81% identical. To determine the conformational variance source, which was not due to glycosylation differences, we generated a series of hCG-beta-mCG-beta chimeras and identified domains that contributed to CG-beta conformational freedom. We discovered that the CG-beta 54-101 domain contained a small subdomain, residues 74-77, that regulated the conformational freedom of the beta-subunit; i.e., when residues 74-77 were of macaque origin (PGVD), the mutated hCG-beta subunit displayed macaque-like conformational rigidity, and when residues 74-77 were of human origin (RGVN), the mutated mCG-beta subunit displayed human-like conformational freedom and microheterogeneity. Additionally, CG-beta N-terminal domain residues (8, 18, 42, and 46-48) were also found to influence CG-beta conformational freedom when residues 74-77 were of human but not macaque origin. The biological significance of the CG-beta conformational variance was tested using a biological assay that showed that the hCG-alpha-hCG-beta heterodimer facilitated human CG receptor-mediated cAMP-driven luciferase reporter gene activity in HEK cells nearly 1 order of magnitude more effectively than the hCG-alpha-mCG-beta chimera. Together, these data demonstrate that two essential amino acid residues within a four-amino acid subdomain regulated CG-beta conformational freedom and that a conformational difference between hCG-beta and mCG-beta was recapitulated in the context of receptor-mediated CG heterodimer signal transduction activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eppley Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA.
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wilken
authors.forename: Elliott
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bedows
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D002460:Cell Line; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008156:Luciferases / Q000378:metabolism; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D004220:Disulfides; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D008156:Luciferases