Determination of apo and holo retinoic acid-binding protein levels in retinoid-responsive transformed cells by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography

Affinity purification of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein on 14-carboxy-13-cis-retinamide-sepharose 4B

A biologically active bifunctional retinoid, ethyl 14-carboxyretinoate, has been synthesized and shown to bind cellular retinoic acid (RA)-binding protein (CRABP) via its free carboxy group. We describe herein the synthesis of 14-carboxy-13-cis-retinamide-Sepharose 4B, which is an affinity matrix bearing an all-trans-RA moiety, and thus was used to purify and characterize CRABP from chick-embryo skin. An amide bond was first formed between the free carboxy group of the retinoid and a primary amino group of aminohexyl-Sepharose 4B, by reaction with carbodi-imide, and the ester group of the resin-bound retinoid was then hydrolysed in an alkaline medium. Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and f.p.l.c. Superose column-chromatographic analysis demonstrated that the affinity-purified CRABP (Mr 15,000) was close to electrophoretic homogeneity (greater than 90%) and specifically interacts with RA. By using affinity gel chromatography, conversion of holo-CRABP into apo-CRABP by treatment with p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and a possible involvement of a thiol group in RA binding to CRABP were established. This affinity procedure provides several advantages: (i) 14-carboxy-13-cis-retinamide-Sepharose exhibited high efficiency and selectivity for RA-binding protein (i.e. retinol- or fatty-acid-binding proteins did not bind); (ii) the presence of the amide linkage between the ligand and the matrix makes this affinity resin relatively stable to cytosolic enzymes; and (iii) other RA-binding proteins, e.g. nuclear receptor(s), may be purified.

Cellular retinoic acid binding protein: detection and quantitation in regenerating axolotl limbs

The concentrations of apo (unoccupied), holo (occupied), and total cellular retinoic acid binding protein (CRABP) were measured at various stages of axolotl limb regeneration. The ratio of apo-CRABP to holo-CRABP declined with advancing regenerate stage until the CRABP was all in the holo form. The increase in holo-CRABP is correlated with a stage-dependent shift in the effect of exogenous retinoic acid on regenerate pattern, from pattern duplication to inhibition of regeneration. The data suggest, though they do not prove, that these different morphological effects could be due to a shift from a CRABP-dependent to a CRABP-independent mechanism of exogenous retinoic acid (RA) action that is related to stage-specific variations in endogenous RA levels.

Molecular cloning and analysis of functional cDNA and genomic clones encoding bovine cellular retinoic acid-binding protein

A recombinant cDNA clone, pCRABP-HS1, encoding cellular retinoic acid-binding protein was isolated from a bovine adrenal cDNA library. COS-7 cells transfected with pCRABP-HS1 produced a biologically active retinoic acid-binding protein molecule of the expected molecular mass (15.5 kDa). RNA blot hybridization analysis using pCRABP-HS1 as a probe revealed a single 1050-nucleotide mRNA species in bovine adrenal, uterus, and testis, tissues that contain the highest levels of retinoic acid-binding activity. No hybridization was detected in RNA extracted from ovary, spleen, kidney, or liver, which contain relatively low levels of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein activity. Analysis of genomic clones isolated from an EcoRI bovine genomic library demonstrated that the bovine cellular retinoic acid-binding protein gene is composed of four exons and three introns. Two putative promoter sequences were identified in the cloned 5' sequence of the gene.

A slab gel electrophoresis technique for measurement of plasma retinol-binding protein, cellular retinol-binding and retinoic-acid-binding proteins in human skin

At least four different proteins that bind retinoids could be present in a vitamin A target tissue like the skin. In order to separate cellular retinoid-binding proteins (CRBP and CRABP) from serum retinol-binding protein (RBP) and albumin, a one-step procedure was devised. The technique is based on slab polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of the extracted proteins incubated with tritiated retinoids. The procedure was used to study binding proteins in the skin. The results show that epidermal extracts (the epithelial part of the skin) contain no RBP activities whereas dermal extracts (the mesenchymal part of the skin) contain 1.6 +/- 0.81 pmol/mg protein of RBP. This technique further showed higher levels of CRABP in both epidermal (9.05 +/- 1.16 pmol/mg protein) and dermal (1.5 +/- 0.54 pmol/mg protein) extracts than those previously determined by other less specific techniques. On the other hand CRBP levels were found to be lower in the two tissues (epidermis 0.2 +/- 0.1 pmol/mg and dermis 0.12 +/- 0.05 pmol/mg protein). New conditions to measure specifically CRABP with the charcoal/dextran technique could be developed and analyzed by the PAGE technique; a dissociation constant of 13.7 nM was then calculated for epidermal CRABP. This PAGE technique appears to be the most appropriate method for the study of retinoid-binding proteins including RBP in human skin.