Major histocompatibility complex class III genes and susceptibility to immunoglobulin A deficiency and common variable immunodeficiency.

We have proposed that significant subsets of individuals with IgA deficiency (IgA-D) and common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) may represent polar ends of a clinical spectrum reflecting a single underlying genetic defect. This proposal was supported by our finding that individuals with these immunodeficiencies have in common a high incidence of C4A gene deletions and C2 rare gene alleles. Here we present our analysis of the MHC haplotypes of 12 IgA-D and 19 CVID individuals from 21 families and of 79 of their immediate relatives. MHC haplotypes were defined by analyzing polymorphic markers for 11 genes or their products between the HLA-DQB1 and the HLA-A genes. Five of the families investigated contained more than one immunodeficient individual and all of these included both IgA-D and CVID members. Analysis of the data indicated that a small number of MHC haplotypes were shared by the majority of immunodeficient individuals. At least one of two of these haplotypes was present in 24 of the 31 (77%) immunodeficient individuals. No differences in the distribution of these haplotypes were observed between IgA-D and CVID individuals. Detailed analysis of these haplotypes suggests that a susceptibility gene or genes for both immunodeficiencies are located within the class III region of the MHC, possibly between the C4B and C2 genes.

Preliminary crystallographic studies on human complement pro-factor D.

The recombinant zymogen of the human complement protein factor D has been crystallized. Crystals were grown by vapor diffusion using polyethylene glycol 6000 as precipitant. Two crystal forms obtained at pH 5.4 belong to space group P2(1). The crystals grow to dimensions of 0.6 mm x 0.3 mm x 0.3 mm in three days, are stable in the X-ray beam, and diffract to 2.4 A.

Isolation of complement protein D from urine of patients with Fanconi's syndrome.

Complement protein D is the least abundant of all complement proteins and, thus, one of the most difficult to purify. We report a new method for obtaining pure D from urine of patients with Fanconi's syndrome. The method is simple and allows the purification of milligram amounts of D within a few days. It involves three chromatographic steps using Bio-Rex 70, hydroxylapatite HPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC. Protein D purified by this method is suitable for both functional and structural studies.

cDNA cloning and characterization of the protein encoded by RD, a gene located in the class III region of the human major histocompatibility complex.

The RD gene, initially defined in the mouse, has been mapped between the Bf and C4A genes in the human major histocompatibility complex class III region. Using the mouse cDNA as a probe, we isolated and sequenced human RD cDNA clones. The composite nucleotide sequence consisted of 1301 nucleotides, excluding a poly(A) tail at the 3' end. It contained a single open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 380 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 42274 Da. The most striking structural feature of the deduced amino acid sequence is a region consisting entirely of 24 tandem repeats of an Arg-Asp (or Glu) dipeptide. The human RD cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase and used to produce antisera in rabbits. Western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation of lysates of biosynthetically labelled HeLa cells indicated that RD is a 44 kDa nuclear protein.

Site-directed mutagenesis of the region around Cys-241 of complement component C2. Evidence for a C4b binding site.

We probed the functional significance of the region around Cys-241 in human C2 by testing the hemolytic activity of a series of mutant rC2. Mutant C2 cDNA were constructed by oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis and expressed transiently in COS cells. Wild-type rC2 had threefold higher specific hemolytic activity than native serum C2. Substitution of Gly, Ala, or Ser for Cys-241 resulted in a slightly, but significantly, increased activity. In addition, I2 had no effect on the activity of these mutant C2. Substitution of Lys for Gln-243 increased the hemolytic activity by more than two-fold. Increased activity in all cases was due to slower decay rates of the C3 convertase. Finally, substitution of Leu or Ala for Asp-240 or Ser-244, respectively, resulted in more than 100-fold decrease of hemolytic activity. The results suggest that residues 240 to 244 of human C2 represent an important structural determinant of the C4b binding site of C2a. They also confirm that Cys-241 is the residue responsible for the increased activity of C2 reacted with I2.

Structure of the human C2 gene.

A human genomic cosmid clone, S22A, was used to characterize the structure of the human C2 gene. Eighteen exons spanning 18 kb of DNA were mapped by nucleotide sequencing of exon-containing subclones and by Southern blotting. Introns vary in length between 83 bp and 4.4 kb and all intron/exon boundaries follow the AG/GT consensus rule for splicing. Exon 1 encodes 270 bp of the 5'-untranslated region of the C2 cDNA C2HL5-3 and 15 amino acids of the leader peptide. The three short consensus repeats of C2b are encoded by the single exons 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The von Willebrand factor type A-like domain of C2a is encoded by exons 6-10 and the serine protease domain by exons 11-18. Exons 5 and 15 appear to be unique to the C2 and factor B genes.

Translational regulation of complement protein C2 expression by differential utilization of the 5'-untranslated region of mRNA.

A recently isolated cDNA for human complement protein C2, C2HL5-3, has an unusually long 5'-untranslated region (UTR) containing four open reading frames upstream of the authentic initiation codon. Here we report that deletion of the 5'-UTR of C2HL5-3 resulted in a 10-fold enhancement in the translational efficiency of C2 in transient eukaryotic cellular assays. Elimination of the open reading frames in the 5'-UTR by site-directed mutagenesis of the initiation codons did not affect C2 synthesis in this assay system, indicating that other structural elements in this region are responsible for translational control. We also show that several C2 mRNAs of varying length in the 5'-UTR, including an alternative C2 mRNA expressing a considerably shorter 5'-UTR, are present in the liver and that the shorter C2 mRNA is the only C2 message found in U937 cells. These results suggest that tissue-specific utilization of alternative transcriptional start sites results in differential translational efficiencies of C2 and may provide insights into the tissue- and stimulus-specific regulation of eukaryotic gene expression.

Recombinant and native zymogen forms of human complement factor D.

We have expressed a full-length cDNA clone encoding human factor D by using a baculovirus expression system. The purified recombinant protein reacted with Ab against native factor D, but was hemolytically inactive and slightly larger than factor D. These results suggested that the recombinant protein was the elusive zymogen of factor D. Amino acid sequencing demonstrated that the recombinant factor D consisted of two proenzyme forms with respective activation peptides, AAPPRGR and APPRGR. Catalytic amounts of trypsin converted recombinant profactor D to its enzymatically active form, exhibiting SDS-PAGE mobility and specific hemolytic activity similar to those of native factor D. About 90% of trypsin-activated recombinant profactor D had the same NH2-terminus as factor D. Human thrombin, kallikrein, and plasmin could also activate recombinant profactor D, but relatively high concentrations of these enzymes were required and the specific hemolytic activity of the "activated" profactor D was about one-third that of native factor D. Trypsin-activatable profactor D was also purified from the urine of a patient with Fanconi's syndrome. This native profactor D represented less than 1.0% of the total antigenic factor D in the patient's urine and had a Gly-Arg dipeptide as the activation peptide. Apparently, urine profactor D was produced by cleavage of pre-profactor D at Arg-(-3) by a serine protease with trypsin-like specificity, which probably is different from the putative leader peptidase that produces the recombinant profactor D. Urine profactor D was inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate although the recombinant proenzyme was resistant to this inhibitor.

Probing the phosphocholine-binding site of human C-reactive protein by site-directed mutagenesis.

Human C-reactive protein (CRP) can activate the classical pathway of complement and function as an opsonin only when it is complexed to an appropriate ligand. Most known CRP ligands bind to the phosphocholine (PCh)-binding site of the protein. In the present study, we used oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis to investigate structural determinants of the PCh-binding site of CRP. Eight mutant recombinant (r) CRP, Y40F; E42Q; Y40F, E42Q; K57Q; R58G; K57Q, R58G; W67K; and K57Q, R58G, W67K were constructed and expressed in COS cells. Wild-type and all mutant rCRP except for the W67K mutants bound to solid-phase PCh-substituted bovine serum albumin (PCh-BSA) with similar apparent avidities. However, W67K rCRP had decreased avidity for PCh-BSA and the triple mutant, K57Q, R58G, W67K, failed to bind PCh-BSA. Inhibition experiments using PCh and dAMP as inhibitors indicated that both Lys-57 and Arg-58 contribute to PCh binding. They also indicated that Trp-67 provides interactions with the choline group. The Y40F and E42Q mutants were found to have increased avidity for fibronectin compared to wild-type rCRP. We conclude that the residues Lys-57, Arg-58, and Trp-67 contribute to the structure of the PCh-binding site of human CRP. Residues Tyr-40 and Glu-42 do not appear to participate in the formation of the PCh-binding site of CRP, however, they may be located in the vicinity of the fibronectin-binding site of CRP.

cDNA cloning and expression of human complement component C2.

A full-length cDNA clone for C component C2 was isolated from a human liver cDNA library in lambda gt11 by initially screening with an affinity-purified rabbit anti-C2 antibody and then using the isolated partial C2 cDNA as a probe for re-screening the library. The cDNA insert of clone lambda C2HL5-3 was sequenced in its entirety. It consisted of 2961 nucleotides including a 5' untranslated region of 388 nucleotides, followed by a 60 nucleotide region coding for a putative signal peptide, a 2196 nucleotide region coding for the 732 amino acids of the mature C2 polypeptide, and a 317 nucleotide long 3' untranslated region. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence to the previously reported C2 cDNA sequence showed two major differences. First, the 5' untranslated region of C2HL5-3 was 352 nucleotides longer and included four ATG followed by in-frame termination codons. Second, nucleotide residue 1987 was a C instead of a G, resulting in a change of amino acid residue 513 from Leu to Phe and in the appearance of an EcoRI site. The full-length C2 cDNA was cloned into the expression vector p91023(B). Transfection of the recombinant plasmid in COS cells resulted in the secretion of a protein with antigenicity and hemolytic activity similar to those of native C2. Western blot analysis indicated that secreted rC2 had the same apparent m.w. as C2 in human serum. Northern blot analysis of total RNA isolated from transfected COS cells showed two bands of C2 mRNA, both of which were longer than human liver C2 mRNA and represent transcripts generated by the vector-C2 construct.

New structural motifs on the chymotrypsin fold and their potential roles in complement factor B.

Factor B and C2 are two central enzymes for complement activation. They are multidomain serine proteases and require cofactor binding for full expression of proteolytic activities. We present a 2.1 A crystal structure of the serine protease domain of factor B. It shows a number of structural motifs novel to the chymotrypsin fold, which by sequence homology are probably present in C2 as well. These motifs distribute characteristically on the protein surface. Six loops surround the active site, four of which shape substrate-binding pockets. Three loops next to the oxyanion hole, which typically mediate zymogen activation, are much shorter or absent. Three insertions including the linker to the preceding domain bulge from the side opposite to the active site. The catalytic triad and non-specific substrate-binding site display active conformations, but the oxyanion hole displays a zymogen-like conformation. The bottom of the S1 pocket has a negative charge at residue 226 instead of the typical 189 position. These unique structural features may play different roles in domain-domain interaction, cofactor binding and substrate binding.

Structural basis of profactor D activation: from a highly flexible zymogen to a novel self-inhibited serine protease, complement factor D.

The crystal structure of profactor D, determined at 2.1 A resolution with an Rfree and an R-factor of 25.1 and 20.4%, respectively, displays highly flexible or disordered conformation for five regions: N-22, 71-76, 143-152, 187-193 and 215-223. A comparison with the structure of its mature serine protease, complement factor D, revealed major conformational changes in the similar regions. Comparisons with the zymogen-active enzyme pairs of chymotrypsinogen, trypsinogen and prethrombin-2 showed a similar distribution of the flexible regions. However, profactor D is the most flexible of the four, and its mature enzyme displays inactive, self-inhibited active site conformation. Examination of the surface properties of the N-terminus-binding pocket indicates that Ile16 may play the initial positioning role for the N-terminus, and Leu17 probably also helps in inducing the required conformational changes. This process, perhaps shared by most chymotrypsinogen-like zymogens, is followed by a factor D-unique step, the re-orientation of an external Arg218 to an internal position for salt-bridging with Asp189, leading to the generation of the self-inhibited factor D.