Matriptase and its putative role in cancer.

Tumor progression and metastasis are the pathologic effects of uncontrolled or deregulated invasive growth, a process in which proteases play a fundamental role. They mediate the degradation of extracellular matrix components and intercellular cohesive structures to allow migration of the cells into the extracellular environment and activate growth and angiogenic factors. In addition to metalloproteases and the plasminogen activation system, another protease, matriptase, contributes substantially to these processes. Matriptase is a type II transmembrane trypsin-like serine protease that is expressed by cells of epithelial origin and is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. It has been suggested that this protease not only facilitates cellular invasiveness but may also activate oncogenic pathways. This review summarizes current knowledge about matriptase, its putative role in tumor initiation and progression, and its potential as a novel target in anti-cancer therapy.

Determinants of translocation and folding of TreF, a trehalase of Escherichia coli.

One isoform of trehalase, TreF, is present in the cytoplasm and a second, TreA, in the periplasm. To study the questions of why one enzyme is exported efficiently and the other is not and whether these proteins can fold in their nonnative cellular compartment, we fused the signal sequence of periplasmic TreA to cytoplasmic TreF. Even though this TreF construct was exported efficiently to the periplasm, it was not active. It was insoluble and degraded by the periplasmic serine protease DegP. To determine why TreF was misfolded in the periplasm, we isolated and characterized Tre(+) revertants of periplasmic TreF. To further characterize periplasmic TreF, we used a genetic selection to isolate functional TreA-TreF hybrids, which were analyzed with respect to solubility and function. These data suggested that a domain located between residues 255 and 350 of TreF is sufficient to cause folding problems in the periplasm. In contrast to TreF, periplasmic TreA could fold into the active conformation in its nonnative cellular compartment, the cytoplasm, after removal of its signal sequence.

Characterization of a cytoplasmic trehalase of Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli can synthesize trehalose in response to osmotic stress and is able to utilize trehalose as a carbon source. The pathway of trehalose utilization is different at low and high osmolarity. At high osmolarity, a periplasmic trehalase (TreA) is induced that hydrolyzes trehalose in the periplasm to glucose. Glucose is then taken up by the phosphotransferase system. At low osmolarity, trehalose is taken up by a trehalose-specific enzyme II of the phosphotransferase system as trehalose-6-phosphate and then is hydrolyzed to glucose and glucose-6-phosphate. Here we report a novel cytoplasmic trehalase that hydrolyzes trehalose to glucose. treF, the gene encoding this enzyme, was cloned under ara promoter control. The enzyme (TreF) was purified from extracts of an overexpressing strain and characterized biochemically. It is specific for trehalose exhibiting a Km of 1.9 mM and a Vmax of 54 micromol of trehalose hydrolyzed per min per mg of protein. The enzyme is monomeric, exhibits a broad pH optimum at 6.0, and shows no metal dependency. TreF has a molecular weight of 63,703 (549 amino acids) and is highly homologous to TreA. The nonidentical amino acids of TreF are more polar and more acidic than those of TreA. The expression of treF as studied by the expression of a chromosomal treF-lacZ fusion is weakly induced by high osmolarity of the medium and is partially dependent on RpoS, the stationary-phase sigma factor. Mutants producing 17-fold more TreF than does the wild type were isolated.

Isolation of corpuscular components of whole blood for the determination of selenium in blood cells.

Currently, the determination of trace elements in plasma or whole blood for the evaluation of adequate supply is unsatisfactory as it does not reflect exactly the biochemical processes in the human organism. A method of isolating cell fractions was developed in order to be able to analyze these elements in the corpuscular components of the blood. The separation, which is simple to perform, makes possible a high yield of erythrocytes, thrombocytes, and polymorphnuclear and mononuclear leucocytes, as well as a high purity of the cell fractions. For the first time a precise determination of trace elements in leucocytes has become possible. The concentration in erythrocytes was not calculated but measured directly, avoiding the danger of a compounding of errors by the combination of many steps. The highest relative selenium content of an investigated reference group (n = 25) was found in the erythrocytes (39.7%), followed by the plasma (29.9%) and the thrombocytes (24.9%). The leucocytes had the lowest concentration with < 1.9% in the polymorphonuclear and < 3.7% in the mononuclear cells. A comparison of these results with the distribution of selenium in the blood compartments will show whether the use of erythrocytes resp. thrombocytes for the analysis of this element is of greater value for diagnosis and therapy than currently employed procedures.

Synthetic competition between cytoplasmic folding and translocation of a soluble membrane protein domain.

In wild-type strains of Escherichia coli, alkaline phosphatase (AP), either when present as a soluble protein or when fused to a membrane protein, is only active after translocation to the periplasm. In thioredoxin reductase (trxB) mutants, however, cytoplasmically localized AP can form disulphide bonds and can reach an active conformation. Once it has folded in the cytoplasm, it can no longer be translocated. On the other hand, when AP is fused to periplasmic domains of a membrane protein, translocation can be more rapid than folding. Thus, expressing hybrids of AP and integral membrane proteins in a trxB mutant generates competition between folding of AP in the cytoplasm and its translocation to the periplasm. The cellular localization of AP can be monitored in phosphoserine phosphatase (serB) mutants causing auxotrophy for L-serine. Cytoplasmically but not periplasmically localized AP can compensate for the lack of SerB, leading to growth on indicator plates. As expected, when AP was fused to cytoplasmic domains of membrane proteins, serB-mediated auxotrophy was abolished. Surprisingly, AP fusions to periplasmic domains exhibited a non-uniform response pattern. Fusions that translocate AP rapidly did not complement the SerB defect, while those that export AP only slowly could do so. The usefulness of these strains for studying a variety of aspects related to membrane protein biogenesis is discussed.

Requirements for translocation of periplasmic domains in polytopic membrane proteins.

Periplasmic domains of cytoplasmic membrane proteins require export signals for proper translocation. These signals were studied by using a MalF-alkaline phosphatase fusion in a genetic selection that allowed the isolation of mislocalization mutants. In the original construct, alkaline phosphatase is fused to the second periplasmic domain of the membrane protein, and its activity is thus confined exclusively to the periplasm. Mutants that no longer translocated alkaline phosphatase were selected by complementation of a serB mutation. A total of 11 deletions in the amino terminus were isolated, all of which spanned at least the third transmembrane segment. This domain immediately precedes the periplasmic domain to which alkaline phosphatase was fused. Our results obtained in vivo support the model that amino-terminal membrane-spanning segments are required for translocation of large periplasmic domains. In addition, we found that the inability to export the alkaline phosphatase domain could be suppressed by a mutation, prlA4, in the secretion apparatus.