ABSTRACT
The gene for rat cholecystokinin (CCK) was isolated from a rat genomic DNA library. The transcription unit spans 7 kilobases and is interrupted by two introns. The initiator methionine codon lies 2 bases into exon 2; therefore, exon 1 is a noncoding exon. The transcription initiation site was determined using avian myeloblastosis reverse transcriptase, a cDNA primer, and mRNA isolated from a rat medullary thyroid carcinoma. A "TATA"-like sequence precedes the transcription initiation site at position -34. The polyadenylation site for the gene was mapped by a nuclease protection assay using a cRNA generated by transcription of the exon 3 region of the CCK gene with SP6 bacteriophage RNA polymerase. The sequence AT-TAAA is found 22 bases 5' to the site determined to be the polyadenylation addition site. Two regions of simple repetitive DNA occur within the CCK lambda clone, one within intron 2 and the other 4 kilobases 3' to the gene. Sequence analysis of the repetitive element 3' distal to the gene revealed two copies of the sequence 5'-(AC)n-3', where n is 22 and 25. A 114-base pair sequence of predominantly repeating purine-pyrimidine nucleotides separates these two d(AC) repeats. Transcriptional control elements were investigated by fusing regions of the CCK gene to the structural gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. Promoter activity was determined by transfecting COS-7 cells with plasmids containing the gene fusions, followed by determining chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in cellular extracts. The region necessary for expression of the CCK gene fusions in COS-7 cells is within 144 bases 5' to the initiation of transcription.
Subject(s)
Cholecystokinin/genetics , DNA/isolation & purification , Operon , Animals , Bacteriophage lambda , Base Sequence , DNA Restriction Enzymes/metabolism , DNA, Recombinant/analysis , Endonucleases/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains , Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid , Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases , Transcription, GeneticABSTRACT
An undecanucleotide extended hybridization probe has been used to screen a rat medullary thyroid carcinoma cDNA library for clones which contain preprosomatostatin sequences. The nucleotide sequence encoding rat preprosomatostatin is reported. The sequence of cDNA contains 67 nucleotides in the 3'-noncoding region, 84 nucleotides in the 5'-untranslated region, and 458 bases corresponding to the coding region. The mRNA codes for a somatostatin precursor 116 amino acids in length (Mr = 12,773). The preprosomatostatin has a sequence of hydrophobic amino acids at the NH2 terminus, followed by a peptide of approximately 78 residues, which precedes somatostatin-14. The amino acid sequences of rat and human preprosomatostatin (Shen, L. P., Pictet, R. L., and Rutter, W. J. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 4575-4579) differ by only 4 amino acid residues. Translation of rat poly(A) RNA in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free system followed by immunoprecipitation with antisera directed against somatostatin-14 demonstrated the synthesis of a single protein having a molecular weight of 15,000. Two proteins having molecular weights of 14,000 and 15,000 are immunoprecipitated from a wheat germ cell-free translation mixture. Northern analysis of the somatostatin mRNA indicated that it is approximately 850 nucleotides in length. Analysis of several medullary thyroid carcinomas demonstrated that one tumor, designated WF, had immunoreactive somatostatin-14 in concentrations of 350 ng of somatostatin-14/mg of protein and somatostatin mRNA that represented 10% of the cellular poly(A) RNA. Cell lines derived from this tumor may provide an attractive system to investigate the regulation of somatostatin gene expression.
Subject(s)
Cloning, Molecular , DNA/metabolism , Protein Precursors/genetics , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Somatostatin/analogs & derivatives , Thyroid Neoplasms/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Base Sequence , DNA Restriction Enzymes , Molecular Weight , Neoplasms, Experimental/metabolism , Nucleic Acid Hybridization , RNA, Messenger/isolation & purification , Rats , Somatostatin/geneticsABSTRACT
We report the nucleotide sequence of a precursor to somatostatin that upon proteolytic processing may give rise to a hormone of 22 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA from the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) encodes a precursor to somatostatin that is 105 amino acids (Mr, 11,500). The cDNA coding for somatostatin-22 consists of 36 nucleotides in the 5' untranslated region, 315 nucleotides that code for the precursor to somatostatin-22, 269 nucleotides at the 3' untranslated region, and a variable length of poly(A). The putative preprohormone contains a sequence of hydrophobic amino acids at the amino terminus that has the properties of a "signal" peptide. A connecting sequence of approximately 57 amino acids is followed by a single Arg-Arg sequence, which immediately precedes the hormone. Somatostatin-22 is homologous to somatostatin-14 in 7 of the 14 amino acids, including the Phe-Trp-Lys sequence. Hybridization selection of mRNA, followed by its translation in a wheat germ cell-free system, resulted in the synthesis of a single polypeptide having a molecular weight of approximately 10,000 as estimated on Na-DodSO4/polyacrylamide gels.
