Purification and characterization of actinogelin, a calcium-sensitive actin-accessory protein, from rat liver

Molecular cloning of low-Ca(2+)-sensitive-type non-muscle alpha-actinin

We previously reported the purification and characterization of a novel non-muscle alpha-actinin from chicken lung [Imamura, M. & Masaki, T, (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 25927-25933]. The Ca2+ sensitivity of the lung alpha-actinin for the interaction with polymerized actin (F-actin) was much lower than those of the other reported non-muscle alpha-actinins. Here, we isolated a cDNA clone encoding the novel alpha-actinin by screening a chicken lung lambda g11 cDNA library with antibody specific for the low-Ca(2+)-sensitive alpha-actinin. The deduced amino acid sequence of the lung alpha-actinin showed 76%, 82% and 83% identity to those of chicken skeletal muscle, smooth-muscle and fibroblast-type alpha-actinin, respectively. Marked difference in the structure between the lung-type and the other alpha-actinins was found in the extreme NH2-terminal and in the COOH-terminal half; in the third and fourth regions of four spectrin-like repeats, and in two Ca(2+)-binding EF-hand consensus regions. The NH2-terminal-side EF-hand contained a notable defect in one of the five oxygen-containing amino acid side chains involved in chelating Ca2+, suggesting that the lower Ca2+ sensitivity of the lung alpha-actinin is ascribable to this defect. Northern blot analysis showed that the expression pattern of lung-type alpha-actinin mRNA in various non-muscle tissues differed from that of the other known non-muscle-type (fibroblast-type) alpha-actinin. The present results clearly demonstrate the existence of two structurally and functionally different types of non-muscle alpha-actinin; high-Ca(2+)-sensitive-type (NM1) and low-Ca(2+)-sensitive-type (NM2) alpha-actinin.

Characteristic structures of actin gels induced with hepatic actinogelin or with chicken gizzard alpha-actinin: implication for their function

We studied the properties of actinogelin, a Ca2+-regulated actin cross-linking protein isolated from Ehrlich tumor cells or rat liver. Chicken gizzard alpha-actinin was used as a Ca2+-insensitive control. Actinogelin, which has very high gelation activity under low Ca2+ conditions, was found using electron microscopic or fluorescence studies to induce formation of a characteristic structure in which actin filaments and bundles radiate to (or converge from) all directions from spot-like core structures. A similar structure was induced with actinogelin, even in the presence of 0.7 saturation of tropomyosin. No such structure was detected with actinogelin under high Ca2+ conditions, and only a few were found with gizzard alpha-actinin. Because reconstituted structures are similar to those observed intracellularly, actinogelin may be important in the formation of similar microfilament organization in the cells. It seems also important that these structures are reconstituted with only two purified protein components, i.e., actinogelin and actin. Immunocompetition studies showed that actinogelin and gizzard alpha-actinin partially shared antigenicity, and their molecular shape and peptide maps were similar. Their amino acid compositions [Kuo et al., 1982], subunit and domain structures, and binding sites on actin [Mimura and Asano, 1987] are also very similar. Therefore, it is concluded that actinogelin belongs to alpha-actinin superfamily proteins. Furthermore, the presence of functionally different subfamilies concerned with Ca2+ sensitivity, gelation-efficiency, and others is discussed. Actinogelin, which induces networks of actin filaments, may be classified as high gelation type.

Gelation and fodrin purification from rat brain extracts

Extracts from rat brain tissue have been shown to give rise to a gel which exhibits the following features. It is mainly enriched in actin and in a high-molecular-weight protein with polypeptide chains of 235 and 240 kDa, which we identified as fodrin. Tubulin is also a major component of the gel but it appears to be trapped non-specifically during the gelation process. Gelation is pH-, ionic strength- and Ca2+-concentration-dependent, and is optimal under the conditions which promote the interaction between polymerized actin and fodrin. In a similar way to that described for the purification of rat brain actin (Levilliers, N., Péron-Renner, M., Coffe, G. and Pudles, J. (1984) Biochimie 66, 531-537), we used the gelation system as a selective means of recovering fodrin from the mixture of a low-ionic-strength extract from whole rat brain and a high-ionic-strength extract of the particulate fraction. From this gel, fodrin was purified with a good yield by a simple procedure involving gel dissociation in 0.5 M KCl and depolymerization in 0.7 M KI, Bio-Gel A-15m chromatography, followed by ammonium sulfate precipitation.

Interaction of actinogelin with actin. No nucleation but high gelation activity

Nucleation activity of actin polymerization of actinogelin, a calcium-sensitive F-actin cross-linking protein from rat liver, was measured by a fluorescence enhancement method using pyrenyl-actin and by high shear viscometry. No stimulation of nucleation by the addition of actinogelin was observed under several ionic conditions using the fluorescent method. Similar results were also obtained by viscometry. Therefore, it can be concluded that actinogelin has no nucleation activity for actin polymerization. By electron microscopy, it was found that actinogelin molecule has a dumbbell shape, binds to side of F-actin through its end(s), and cross-links actin filaments by binding with its two ends. It was also found that meshwork formation occurred in low Ca2+ conditions from F-actin and actinogelin. Under non-gelling high Ca2+ conditions, binding of actinogelin along the side of F-actin with its one end was still detected in accordance with the binding assay using ultracentrifugation and protein determination. Under low Ca2+ conditions, the critical gelling concentration of actinogelin measured by low shear viscometry at 20 degrees C was 6 micrograms/ml for 250 micrograms/ml of actin. Comparing this value with those of the other actin cross-linking proteins, it was found that actinogelin was one of proteins with the highest gelation activity. On the other hand, gelation activity of actinogelin in high Ca2+ conditions was one order of magnitude lower; more than 50 micrograms/ml of the protein was required for gelation. At 37 degrees C, gelation activity of actinogelin at low Ca2+ concentration was decreased to about a quarter of that at 20 degrees C, but this was still higher than that of gizzard alpha-actinin at 20 degrees C. Thus, role of actinogelin as an efficient and Ca2+-regulated cross-linker of microfilaments was substantiated.

Differential expression and distribution of chicken skeletal- and smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinins during myogenesis in culture

Antibodies to chicken fast skeletal muscle (pectoralis) alpha-actinin and to smooth muscle (gizzard) alpha-actinin were absorbed with opposite antigens by affinity chromatography, and four antibody fractions were thus obtained: common antibodies reactive with both pectoralis and gizzard alpha-actinins ([C]anti-P alpha-An and [C]anti-G alpha-An), antibody specifically reactive with pectoralis alpha-actinin ([S]anti-P alpha-An), and antibody specifically reactive with gizzard alpha-actinin ([S]anti-G alpha-An). In indirect immunofluorescence microscopy, (C)anti-P alpha-An, (S)anti-P alpha-An, and (C)anti-G alpha-An stained Z bands of skeletal muscle myofibrils, whereas (S)anti-G alpha-An did not. Although (S)anti-G alpha-An and two common antibodies stained smooth muscle cells, (S)anti-P alpha-An did not. We used (S)anti-P alpha-An and (S)anti-G alpha-An for immunofluorescence microscopy to investigate the expression and distribution of skeletal- and smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinins during myogenesis of cultured skeletal muscle cells. Skeletal-muscle-type alpha-actinin was found to be absent from myogenic cells before fusion but present in them after fusion, restricted to Z bodies or Z bands. Smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinin was present diffusely in the cytoplasm and on membrane-associated structures of mononucleated and fused myoblasts, and then confined to membrane-associated structures of myotubes. Immunoblotting and peptide mapping by limited proteolysis support the above results that skeletal-muscle-type alpha-actinin appears at the onset of fusion and that smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinin persists throughout the myogenesis. These results indicate (a) that the timing of expression of skeletal-muscle-type alpha-actinin is under regulation coordination with other major skeletal muscle proteins; (b) that, with respect to expression and distribution, skeletal-muscle-type alpha-actinin is closely related to alpha-actin, whereas smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinin is to gamma- and beta-actins; and (c) that skeletal- and smooth-muscle-type alpha-actinins have complementary distribution and do not co-exist in situ.

Isolation and some properties of macrophage alpha-actinin: evidence that it is not an actin gelling protein

We have isolated an actin-binding protein from rabbit alveolar macrophages which by virtue of its physical properties we classify as a nonmuscle alpha-actinin. The protein consists of two subunits of Mr 103 000 and has a Stokes' radius of 7.26 nm and a sedimentation coefficient of 6.83 X 10(-13) s-1. Under the electron microscope, rotary-shadowed molecules appeared as short rods with an average length of 39.9 nm. We have examined the nature of the interaction of macrophage alpha-actinin with F-actin. The binding of radioiodinated macrophage alpha-actinin to F-actin is calcium sensitive. At a low concentration of free calcium (less than 10(-9) M), the binding affinity is 4.2 X 10(6) M-1 and is relatively unaffected by changes in temperature, while in the presence of 0.1 mM Ca2+, binding is reduced more than 5-fold. The stoichiometry of binding suggests that alpha-actinin binds all along the length of the actin filaments. The affinity of 45Ca2+ for macrophage alpha-actinin is 4 X 10(6) M-1 with a capacity of four calcium ions per molecule. Although macrophage alpha-actinin has calcium-inhibitable actin gelation activity at 7 degrees C, its effect on the apparent viscosity of F-actin decreases with increasing temperature, and at 37 degrees C, no gel point is observed. Therefore, at the temperature at which macrophages function in vivo, alpha-actinin probably does not promote the isotropic gelation of actin.

Purification and characterization of an alpha-actinin-like protein from porcine kidney

An alpha-actinin-like protein was partially purified from the Triton-insoluble cytoskeleton of porcine kidney by 0.6 M MgCl2 treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Apparent purity of the kidney protein was approximately 90% by quantitative densitometry of Coomassie-stained polyacrylamide gels. The kidney alpha-actinin-like protein is very similar to muscle alpha-actinins by the following criteria: (1) both kidney protein and muscle alpha-actinins bind to F-actin at a similar ratio; (2) both proteins demonstrate no difference in the actomyosin turbidity assay and the ATPase assay for alpha-actinin activity; (3) both native proteins contain a large core of identical molecular weight resistant to trypsin; (4) on two-dimensional gels, both kidney protein and muscle alpha-actinins have similar isoelectric points of 5.9-6.1. However, kidney alpha-actinin-like protein is not identical in every respect with muscle alpha-actinins. Electrophoretic mobility of the kidney protein is slightly greater than that of chicken gizzard alpha-actinin and is identical to that of a component of chicken skeletal muscle alpha-actinin. One-dimensional peptide mappings of the kidney protein and muscle alpha-actinins were significantly different from each other. The interaction between kidney alpha-actinin-like protein and F-actin is sensitive to Ca2+. Similar Ca2+-sensitivity was observed with other non-muscle cell alpha-actinins.