RESUMO
One of the most definitive examples of a vertebrate extraorganismal structural protein can be found in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). In the breeding male the kidney hypertrophies and synthesizes an adhesive protein called "spiggin," which is secreted into the urinary bladder from where it is employed as a structural thread for nest building. This paper describes the first molecular characterization of spiggin and demonstrates that this adhesive is a protein complex assembled from a potential of three distinct subunits (alpha, beta, and gamma). These subunits arise by alternative splicing, and 11-ketoandrogens induce their expression in stickleback kidneys. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of each subunit reveals a modular organization whose structural elements display a similarity to the multimerization domains found within von Willebrand Factor-related proteins. These results implicate that spiggin utilizes a conserved multimerization mechanism for the formation of a viscous agglutinate from its constituent subunits in the urinary bladders of male sticklebacks. This novel extraorganismal structural protein is therefore ideally suited to its function as an adhesive thread.
Assuntos
Adesivos , Peixes , Aglutininas/genética , Aglutininas/urina , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Androgênios/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas Aviárias , Proteínas de Peixes , Masculino , Dados de Sequência Molecular , RNA Mensageiro/biossíntese , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Alinhamento de Sequência , Bexiga Urinária/metabolismo , Fator de von Willebrand/genética , Fator de von Willebrand/metabolismoRESUMO
Apresentam-se trinta casos de pacientes com "distúrbios renais", tendo uroculturas positivas (mais de 100.00 u.f.c./ml). Foi efetivada pesquisa de aglutinas "O" anti-Escherichia coli e verificada a elevaçäo deste anticorpo em 73% dos casos. A correlaçäo entre o aumento do título de aglutininas "O" e a diferenciaçäo entre pielonefrite e infecçäo do trato urinário inferior é discutida
