Project/Area Number |
04404090
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (A)
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Research Field |
物質生物化学
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Research Institution | KYUSHU UNIVERSITY |
Principal Investigator |
IWANAGA Sadaaki Kyushu Univ., Fac.of Science, Professor, 理学部, 教授 (90029942)
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Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAWADA Katsuhisa Kyushu Univ., Fac.of Science, Associate Professor, 理学部, 助教授 (20029507)
TOH Yoshihiro Kyushu Univ., Fac.of Science, Professor, 理学部, 教授 (60037265)
KAWABATA Shun-ichiro Kyushu Univ., Fac.of Science, Instructor, 理学部, 助手 (90183037)
OHNO Motonori Kyushu Univ., Fac.of Science, Professor, 理学部, 教授 (30038434)
|
Project Period (FY) |
1992 – 1994
|
Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 1994)
|
Budget Amount *help |
¥27,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥27,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1994: ¥4,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1993: ¥7,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1992: ¥16,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥16,000,000)
|
Keywords | Limulus / beta-Glucan / Serine protease / Factor G / LPS / Curdlan / Xylanase A / D-Glucanase / 体液凝固因子 / 抗リポ多糖因子 / タキプレシン / デフェンシン / LPS-レセプター / レクチン / LPS結合タンパク質 / (1→3)β-D-グルカン / G因子 / 体液凝固機構 / 無脊椎動物 / 生体防御系 / cDNAクローニング / セリンプロテアーゼチモーゲン |
Research Abstract |
Horseshoe Crab hemocyte lysate responds to (1*3) -beta-D-glucans, initiating an enzymatic cascade which culminates in clot formation. We have purified to homogeneity the serine protease zymogen, factor G,which is directly activated by (1*3) -D-glucans and which initiates the hemolymph clotting cascade. Factor G is a heterodimeric protein composed of two noncovalently-asociated subnits alpha (72 kDa) and beta (37 kDa). In the prescence of (1*3) -D-glucans such as curdlan and paramylon, factor G is autocatalytically activated to an active serine protease, named factor G.This activation is accompanied by limited proteolyses of Arg-X bonds in both subunits : the 72-kDa subunit alpha is cleaved to 55-kDa and 17-kDa fragments, and the 37-kDa subunit beta is shortened to 34-kDa. Reconstitution experiments using purified proteins participating in the hemolymph clotting cascade demonstrate that factor G is capable of activating proclotting enzyme directly, resulting in the conversion of coagulo
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gen to coagulin gel. Analyzes of cDNAs for both subunits indicates that the subunits are derived from separate mRNA species and thus encoded by different genes. Subunit beta is a serine protease zymogen consisting of 278 residues, which is homologous to horseshoe crab factor B.Subunit alpha, on the other hand, is a new type of mozaic protein consisting of 654 residues with intriguing features. The NH_2-terminal portion of this subnit is similar to bacterial beta-1,3-glucanases. Its 126-amino-acid COOH-terminus exhibits a repetitive sequence having partial homology to xylanases. Between these regions there are three repeating units of 47 amino acids, whose similarity to carbohydrate binding proteins. These may be the (1*3) -beta-D-glucan binding domain (s) of factor G.Thus, factor G,the primary initiator of the (1*3) -beta-D-glucan-sensitive coagulation pathway in the horseshoe crab, is a structurally unique heterodimeric serine protease zymogen and as such represents a new class of active defense proteins. Less
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