title: Stomach-specific calpain, nCL-2/calpain 8, is active without calpain regulatory subunit and oligomerizes through C2-like domains.
abstract: Calpains constitute a family of intracellular Ca(2+)-regulated cysteine proteases that are indispensable in the regulation of a wide variety of cellular functions. The improper activation of calpain causes lethality or various disorders, such as muscular dystrophies and tumor formation. nCL-2/calpain 8 is predominantly expressed in the stomach, where it appears to be involved in membrane trafficking in the gastric surface mucus cells (pit cells). Although the primary structure of nCL-2 is quite similar to that of the ubiquitous m-calpain large subunit, the enzymatic properties of nCL-2 have never been reported. Here, to characterize nCL-2, the recombinant protein was prepared using an Escherichia coli expression system and purified to homogeneity. nCL-2 was stably produced as a soluble and active enzyme without the conventional calpain regulatory subunit (30K). Purified nCL-2 showed Ca(2+)-dependent activity, with half-maximal activity at about 0.3 mM Ca(2+), similar to that of m-calpain, whereas its optimal pH and temperature were comparatively low. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that nCL-2 exists in both monomeric and homo-oligomeric forms, but not as a heterodimer with 30K or 30K-2, and that the oligomerization occurs through domains other than the 5EF-hand domain IV, most probably through domain III, suggesting a novel regulatory system for nCL-2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Enzymatic Regulation for Cell Functions (Calpain Project), The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (Rinshoken), Tokyo 113-8613, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.forename: Fujiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sorimachi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002154:Calpain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D051379:Mice; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002154:Calpain; C120543:Capn8 protein, mouse; D002118:Calcium