Molecular cloning of human protein 4. 2: A major component of the erythrocyte membrane

Journal Article · Wed Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1990 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.3.955· OSTI ID:6719299

Sung, L A; Chien, Shu; Lambert, K ^[1]; Chang, Longsheng; Bliss, S A ^[2]; Bouhassira, E E; Nagel, R L; Schwartz, R S; Rybicki, A C ^[3]

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1. Univ. of California at San Diego, La Jolla (USA)
2. Princeton Univ., NJ (USA)
3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY (USA)

Protein 4.2 (P4.2) comprises {approx}5% of the protein mass of human erythrocyte (RBC) membranes. Anemia occurs in patients with RBCs deficient in P4.2, suggesting a role for this protein in maintaining RBC stability and integrity. The authors now report the molecular cloning and characterization of human RBC P4.2 cDNAs. By immunoscreening a human reticulocyte cDNA library and by using the polymerase chain reaction, two cDNA sequences of 2.4 and 2.5 kilobases (kb) were obtained. These cDNAs differ only by a 90-base-air insert in the longer isoform located three codons downstream from the putative initiation site. The 2.4- and 2.5-kb cDNAs predict proteins of {approx}77 and {approx}80 kDa, respectively, and the authenticity was confirmed by sequence identity with 46 amino acids of three cyanogen bromide-cleaved peptides of P4.2. Northern blot analysis detected a major 2.4-kb RNA species in reticulocytes. Isolation of two P4.2 cDNAs implies existence of specific regulation of P4.2 expression in human RBCs. Human RBC P4.2 has significant homology with human factor XIII subunit a and guinea pig liver transglutaminase. Sequence alignment of P4.2 with these two transglutaminases, however, revealed that P4.2 lacks the critical cysteine residue required for the enzymatic crosslinking of substrates.

• OSTI ID: 6719299
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA) Vol. 87:3; ISSN 0027-8424; ISSN PNASA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550201* -- Biochemistry-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
ANEMIAS
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BLOOD COAGULATION FACTORS
BODY FLUIDS
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CELL MEMBRANES
CLONING
COAGULANTS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISEASES
DNA
DNA HYBRIDIZATION
DNA SEQUENCING
DNA-CLONING
DRUGS
ERYTHROCYTES
GUINEA PIGS
HEMATOLOGIC AGENTS
HEMIC DISEASES
HYBRIDIZATION
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
MEMBRANES
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PATIENTS
PHOSPHORUS 32
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
PROTEINS
RADIOISOTOPES
RECOMBINANT DNA
RODENTS
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
SYMPTOMS
VERTEBRATES