Thyroid hormone regulates heparan sulfate proteoglycan expression in the growth plate.

Thyroid hormone is essential for normal skeletal development. Hypothyroidism is associated with growth arrest, failure of chondrocyte differentiation, and abnormal matrix synthesis. Thyroid hormone modulates the Indian hedgehog/PTHrP feedback loop and regulates fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/FGF receptor signaling. Because heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (Prgs) (HSPGs) are absolutely required by these signaling pathways, we have investigated whether thyroid status affects HSPG expression within the growth plate. Tibial growth plate sections were obtained from 12-wk-old rats rendered euthyroid, thyrotoxic, or hypothyroid at 6 wk of age, 14-d-old congenitally hypothyroid Pax8-null mice, and TRalpha/TRbeta double-null mice lacking all thyroid hormone receptors. HS and chondroitin sulfate Prg expression was determined by immunohistochemistry using three monoclonal antibodies. There was increased HS staining in growth plates from hypothyroid animals predominantly within the extracellular matrix of reserve and proliferative zones. Cellular HS staining was also increased particularly in prehypertrophic chondrocytes. T3 regulation of HSPG core protein and HS synthetic and modification enzyme expression was studied in ATDC5 cells using semiquantitative RT-PCR. Thyroid hormone negatively regulated expression of the core protein Gpc6, the polymerase Ext1, and the modification enzyme Hs6st2. These studies demonstrate that the expression and distribution of growth plate Prgs are regulated by thyroid hormone, and the regulation of HSPG expression provides an important additional link between FGF and Indian hedgehog signaling and T3. These novel observations suggest that the cartilage matrix and especially HSPGs are critical mediators of the skeletal response to thyroid hormone.

Cloning of Brassica napus CTP: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase cDNAs by complementation in a yeast cct mutant.

CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase is a rate-limiting enzyme in biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine in plant cells. We have isolated four cDNAs for the cytidylyltransferase from a root cDNA library of Brassica napus by complementation in a yeast cct mutant. The deduced amino-acid sequences of the B. napus enzymes resembled rat and yeast enzymes in the central domain. Although all cytidylyltransferases ever cloned from B. napus and other organisms were predicted to be structurally hydrophilic, the yeast cct mutant transformed with one of the B. napus cDNA clones restored the cytidylyltransferase activity in the microsomal fraction as well as in the soluble fraction. These results are consistent with a recent view that yeast cells contained a machinery for targeting the yeast cytidylyltransferase to membranes, and may indicate that the B. napus enzyme was compatible with the machinery.

Characterisation of cDNA and genomic clones encoding homologues of the 65 kDa regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Two cDNA species encoding sequences homologous to the 65 kDa regulatory subunit (PR 65) of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) have been isolated from an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA library. These were designated pDF1 and pDF2. pDF1 is 1795 bp long and by comparison with the human and porcine PP2A regulatory subunit sequences represents a full-length clone. It encodes a predicted polypeptide of 587 amino acid residues. pDF2 is truncated at the 5' end by 237 bp. The complete nucleotide sequences have been determined for both cDNA species. Comparison of the nucleotide and the deduced amino acid sequences showed that the two sequences were homologous but not identical and therefore must be derived from two different genes. Northern blot analysis was performed on total RNA and poly(A)+ RNA isolated from seed at various stages of development and from young leaf material of Brassica napus L. (oilseed rape). Both cDNA probes hybridised to a single major mRNA species of ca. 2.2 kb. The highest level of expression was observed in the total RNA from developing rape seed at about 33 days after flowering, and the transcript level in the poly(A)+ RNA of the seed was higher than in young leaf of oilseed rape. Southern blot analysis was performed on two varieties of A. thaliana and B. napus genomic DNA; this identified a small family of genes in A. thaliana consisting of at least 2 or 3 members and a larger multigene family in B. napus of at least 5 or 6 members. Two independent genomic clones were isolated from an A. thaliana genomic library. Sequencing of a fragment common to both revealed that the sequence was identical in both clones and, therefore, they were assumed to contain the same genomic sequence. The genomic sequence selected, designated regA, is 3639 bp long and the coding sequence contains eleven introns. The gene encodes a predicted polypeptide of 590 amino acid residues. The sequence comparison with both cDNA sequences showed that it is homologous but not identical to the two, confirming that at least three different genes exist in A. thaliana which encode PR65 of PP2A.

Expression of mRNA and steady-state levels of protein isoforms of enoyl-ACP reductase from Brassica napus.

The expression of mRNA and the steady-state levels of two-component enzymes of plant fatty acid synthetase (FAS) were studied. Northern analysis of enoyl-ACP reductase (ER) and stearoyl-ACP desaturase (SD) gene expression showed that steady-state levels of both transcripts increase during lipid deposition in the seed reaching a maximum at 29 days after flowering (DAF). The steady-state level of ER message falls very quickly after reaching its maximum, whereas the SD message is longer-lived. The levels of these specific mRNAs in seed are 15-30 times greater than in leaf. Optimum mRNA expression precedes the maximum levels of synthesis of the two proteins, which in turn precede the maximum level of oil. The expression of isoenzymes of ER were examined by two-dimensional western blotting in both leaf and seed tissue. Four enzymes are expressed in both of these tissues; the two most abundant isoforms in seed material are also the most abundant in leaf tissue.

Isolation of cDNAs from Brassica napus encoding the biotin-binding and transcarboxylase domains of acetyl-CoA carboxylase: assignment of the domain structure in a full-length Arabidopsis thaliana genomic clone.

One independent and two overlapping rape cDNA clones have been isolated from a rape embryo library. We have shown that they encode a 2.3 kb and a 2.5 kb stretch of the full-length acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) cDNA, corresponding to the biotin-binding and transcarboxylase domains respectively. Using the cDNA in Northern-blot analysis we have shown that the mRNA for ACCase has a higher level of expression in rape seed than in rape leaf and has a full length of 7.5 kb. The level of expression during rape embryogenesis was compared with both oil deposition and expression of two fatty acid synthetase components enoyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase and 3-oxoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase. Levels of ACCase mRNA were shown to peak at 29 days after anthesis during embryonic development, similarly to enoyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase and 3-oxoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase mRNA. In addition, a full-length genomic clone (19 kb) of Arabidopsis ACCase has been isolated and partially sequenced. Analysis of the clone has allowed the first plant ACCase activity domains (biotin carboxylase-biotin binding-transcarboxylase) to be ordered and assigned. Southern-blot analysis using the Arabidopsis clone indicates that ACCase is a single-copy gene in Arabidopsis but is encoded by a small gene family in rape.

Studies on wheat acetyl CoA carboxylase and the cloning of a partial cDNA.

Wheat germ acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCase) was purified by liquid chromatography and electroelution. During purification bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used to coat Amicon membranes used to concentrate partially pure ACCase. Despite further SDS-PAGE/electroelution and microbore HPLC steps BSA remained associated. This presented serious protein sequencing artefacts which may reflect the affinity of BSA for fatty acids bound to ACCase. To avoid these artefacts the enzyme was digested in gel with Endoproteinase LysC protease without the presence of BSA, and the resulting peptides blotted and sequenced. A partial cDNA (1.85 kb) encoding ACCase from a wheat embryo library was cloned, which hybridised to a 7.5 kb RNA species on northern blot of wheat leaf poly(A)+ RNA. The partial cDNA therefore represents about 0.25 of the full-length cDNA. The clone was authenticated by ACCase peptide sequencing and immuno cross-reactivity of the overexpressed clone. The derived amino acid sequence showed homology with both rat and yeast ACCase sequences (62%). Antibodies raised against wheat acetyl CoA carboxylase were specific for a 220 kDa protein from both wheat embryo and leaf. In addition, by using a novel quick assay for ACCase that utilised 125I-streptavidin, we showed the major biotin containing protein to be 220 kDa in both leaf and germ. This is in marked contrast to the previously published molecular mass of 75 kDa allocated to wheat leaf ACCase.