Vicinal cysteines in the prosequence play a role in von Willebrand factor multimer assembly.

von Willebrand factor (vWf) is synthesized as a large precursor that dimerizes in the endoplasmic reticulum and forms multimers in the trans- and post-Golgi compartments of megakaryocytes and endothelial cells. The disulfide-bonded multimers are stored in alpha granules of platelets and Weibel-Palade bodies of endothelial cells. The prosequence, composed of two homologous D domains, is required for vWf multimerization and storage. Each D domain contains vicinal cysteines (159Cys-Gly-Leu-162Cys and 521Cys-Gly-Leu-524Cys) that are similar to those at the active site of disulfide isomerases that catalyze thiol protein disulfide interchange. As in disulfide isomerases, a positively charged amino acid (lysine) is also found in close proximity to the vicinal cysteines. Although conserved, the lysine present in thioredoxin was shown not to be essential for its redox activity. We investigated the role of the vicinal cysteines and the lysine residue in the vWf propolypeptide by site-directed mutagenesis and expression of the resulting constructs in mammalian cells. Insertion of an extra glycine between the vicinal cysteines in either D domain inhibited multimerization of dimers, whereas alteration of lysine to glycine in both domains (residues 157 and 519) had no effect. This suggests the importance of the vicinal cysteines but not the lysines in vWf multimerization. Expression of the mutant with an additional glycine in the D1 domain in AtT-20 cells, a mouse pituitary cell line that can store vWf, led to the storage of the resulting dimers. This demonstrates that the mutation did not effect the capacity of the propolypeptide to direct vWf storage while its ability to promote interchain disulfide bonding was eliminated.     

Two Cys residues essential for von Willebrand factor multimer assembly in the Golgi

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) dimerizes through C-terminal CK domains, and VWF dimers assemble into multimers in the Golgi by forming intersubunit disulfide bonds between D3 domains. This unusual oxidoreductase reaction requires the VWF propeptide (domains D1D2), which acts as an endogenous pH-dependent chaperone. The cysteines involved in multimer assembly were characterized by using a VWF construct that encodes the N-terminal D1D2D'D3 domains. Modification with thiol-specific reagents demonstrated that secreted D'D3 monomer contained reduced Cys, whereas D'D3 dimer and propeptide did not. Reduced Cys in the D'D3 monomer were alkylated with N-ethylmaleimide and analyzed by mass spectrometry. All 52 Cys within the D'D3 region were observed, and only Cys(1099) and Cys(1142) were modified by N-ethylmaleimide. When introduced into the D1D2D'D3 construct, the mutation C1099A or C1142A markedly impaired the formation of D'D3 dimers, and the double mutation prevented dimerization. In full-length VWF, the mutations C1099A and C1099A/C1142A prevented multimer assembly; the mutation C1142A allowed the formation of almost exclusively dimers, with few tetramers and no multimers larger than hexamers. Therefore, Cys(1099) and Cys(1142) are essential for the oxidoreductase mechanism of VWF multimerization. Cys(1142) is reported to form a Cys(1142)-Cys(1142) intersubunit bond, suggesting that Cys(1099) also participates in a Cys(1099)-Cys(1099) disulfide bond between D3 domains. This arrangement of intersubunit disulfide bonds implies that the dimeric N-terminal D'D3 domains of VWF subunits align in a parallel orientation within VWF multimers.     

Interchain disulfide bonds in procollagen are located in a large nontriple-helical COOH-terminal domain.

Tadpole collagenase (EC 3.4.24.3) cleaved chick cranial bone procollagen into two triple-stranded fragments, PCA and PCB. Only PCB, with an estimated molecular weight of about 60,000 for each component chain after reduction, was found to contain interchain disulfide bonds. The analogous cleavage of collagen is known to produce a large NH2-terminal fragment with a molecular weight of 70,000 for each chain and a small COOH-terminal fragment containing chains of about 25,000 molecular weight. Since PCB was too small to represent the product NH2-terminal to the site of collagenase cleavage, localization of interchain disulfide bonds to a COOH-terminal domain in procollagen was indicated. This assignment was conformed by Dintzis-type short-term labeling experiments. Procollagen obtained by acid extraction of bone lacked the COOH-terminal disulfide-bonded domain. The findings support a model for procollagen consisting of three proalpha chains each containing nonhelical NH2-terminal extensions of 20,000 molecular weight and COOH-terminal extensions of about 35,000 molecular weight, the latter linked by interchani disulfide bonds.     

Divergent fates of von Willebrand factor and its propolypeptide (von Willebrand antigen II) after secretion from endothelial cells.

The intracellular site of cleavage of pro-von Willebrand factor subunit and the subsequent fate of the propolypeptide (von Willebrand antigen II) and of the mature von Willebrand factor (vWf) were investigated. Both the propolypeptide, which was found to be a homodimer of noncovalently linked subunits, and mature vWf were released from Weibel-Palade bodies of endothelial cells following stimulation with secretagogues. The stoichiometry of the two released proteins was essentially equimolar. This indicates that vWf and the propolypeptide were packaged into the Weibel-Palade bodies as one unit, pro-vWf, and that the proteolytic cleavage of pro-vWf is likely to be a post-Golgi event. The association of prosequences into dimers supports their hypothetical role in the multimerization process. After secretion, the two proteins were distributed differently, as based on the following observations. The propolypeptide did not associate with vWf in the culture medium, did not codistribute with vWf in the extracellular "patches of release" on stimulated endothelial cells, and was not detected in the endothelial cell extracellular matrix, which did contain vWf. Additionally, in contrast to vWf, the propolypeptide did not bind to the matrix of human foreskin fibroblasts. Since the propolypeptide does not associate with vWf and does not interact with extracellular matrices in vitro, it is highly unlikely that it would promote platelet adhesion to subendothelium in vivo.     

Radiation inactivation of ricin occurs with transfer of destructive energy across a disulfide bridge.

The ionizing radiation sensitivity of ricin, a disulfide-linked heterodimeric protein, was studied as a model to determine the ability of disulfide bonds to transmit destructive energy. The radiation-dependent loss of A chain enzymatic activity after irradiation of either intact ricin or ricin in which the interchain disulfide bond was disrupted gave target sizes corresponding to the molecular size of dimeric ricin or monomeric A chain, respectively. These results clearly show that a disulfide bond can transmit destructive energy between protein subunits.     

Biogenesis of Weibel-Palade bodies in von Willebrand's disease variants with impaired von Willebrand factor intrachain or interchain disulfide bond formation

Background

Mutations of cysteine residues in von Willebrand factor are known to reduce the storage and secretion of this factor, thus leading to reduced antigen levels. However, one cysteine mutation, p.Cys2773Ser, has been found in patients with type 2A(IID) von Willebrand’s disease who have normal plasma levels of von Willebrand factor. We hypothesize that disruption of either intra- or interchain disulfide bonds by cysteine mutations in von Willebrand factor has different effects on the biogenesis of Weibel-Palade bodies.

Design and Methods

The effect of specific cysteine mutations that either disrupt intrachain (p.Cys1130Phe and p.Cys2671Tyr) or interchain (p.Cys2773Ser) disulfide bonds on storage and secretion of von Willebrand factor was studied by transient transfection of human embryonic kidney cell line 293. Upon expression of von Willebrand factor these cells formed endothelial Weibel-Palade body-like organelles called pseudo-Weibel-Palade bodies. Storage of von Willebrand factor was analyzed with both confocal immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. Regulated secretion of von Willebrand factor was induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate.

Results

p.Cys1130Phe and p.Cys2671Tyr reduced the storage of von Willebrand factor into pseudo-Weibel-Palade bodies with notable retention of von Willebrand factor in the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas p.Cys2773Ser-von Willebrand factor was stored normally. As expected, wild-type von Willebrand factor formed proteinaceous tubules that were seen under electron microscopy as longitudinal striations in pseudo-Weibel-Palade bodies. p.Cys2773Ser caused severe defects in von Willebrand factor multimerization but the factor formed normal tubules. Furthermore, the basal and regulated secretion of von Willebrand factor was drastically impaired by p.Cys1130Phe and p.Cys2671Tyr, but not by p.Cys2773Ser.

Conclusions

We postulate that natural mutations of cysteines involved in the formation of interchain disulfide bonds do not affect either the storage in Weibel-Palade bodies or secretion of von Willebrand factor, whereas mutations of cysteines forming intrachain disulfide bonds lead to reduced von Willebrand factor storage and secretion because the von Willebrand factor is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Size polymorphism of chicken major histocompatibility complex-encoded B-G molecules is due to length variation in the cytoplasmic heptad repeat region.

B-G antigens are cell-surface molecules encoded by a highly polymorphic multigene family located in the chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Rabbit antisera to B-G molecules immunoprecipitate 3-6 bands from iodinated erythrocytes by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels under reducing conditions. These are all B-G molecules because they all map to the B-G region of the chicken MHC in congenic and recombinant chickens, most are directly recognized by the antisera, most form disulfide-linked dimers, and none bear N-linked carbohydrate. Both apparent homodimers and heterodimers are found, which bear intrachain disulfide bonds. All 3-6 bands have different mobilities in SDS gels between different haplotypes, ranging from 30 to 55 kDa. This size polymorphism is not affected by glycosidase treatment or addition of protease inhibitors. Partial proteolysis of cell surface-iodinated B-G molecules generates extremely similar patterns of spots, both within and between haplotypes. These surface-iodinated peptides bear either interchain or intrachain disulfide bonds. Additional peptides are generated by proteolysis of B-G molecules iodinated after isolation. Thus, it appears that the extracellular regions of these molecules are very similar and that the length polymorphism is due to variations in the cytoplasmic regions. Inspection of the cDNA-derived protein sequence in this region shows many heptad repeats, which may allow variation in length by step deletion and alternative splicing. The repeats indicate an alpha-helical coiled-coil structure, which could form an interaction between subunits of the dimer or with the cytoskeleton or both.     

A very-high-purity von Willebrand factor preparation containing high-molecular-weight multimers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated large-scale production of very-high-purity von Willebrand factor (vWf) containing high-molecular-weight vWf multimers, using chromatography alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Factor VIII (FVIII)-containing vWf was produced by initial separation of vWf from plasma by gel filtration followed by two ion exchange steps. Two virus inactivation steps were incorporated in the process. RESULTS: The process resulted in FVIII-containing vWf preparations with a mean specific activity of 82 U vWf: collagen-binding activity per milligram protein (excluding added albumin) and with almost intact vWf multimer distributions. CONCLUSIONS: Very-high-purity, double virus-inactivated vWf preparations containing high molecular weight multimers were obtained on a production scale.     

Three-dimensional structure of the Fab' fragment of a human immunoglobulin at 2,8-A resolution

The structure of the Fab' fragment of a human myeloma immunoglobulin was determined by x-ray crystallographic analysis at 2.8-A resolution. The Fourier map of the electron density was correlated with the aminoacid sequence to obtain a three-dimensional model. Four globular subunits, which correspond to the homology regions of the light and heavy chains, are arranged in a tetrahedral configuration. These subunits closely resemble each other, sharing a basic pattern of polypeptide chain folding. In each subunit, long sequences of tightly packed, hydrogen bonded polypeptide chain run parallel to the major axis of the subunit. No helical conformation can be seen. Different patterns of interchain disulfide linkage and unusual intrachain disulfide bonds that have been observed in other immunoglobulins can be explained with this model. The regions of hypervariable sequences in the light and heavy chains occur at one end of the molecule, in close spatial proximity.     

von Willebrand factor released from Weibel-Palade bodies binds more avidly to extracellular matrix than that secreted constitutively

Large multimers of von Willebrand factor (vWf) are released from the Weibel-Palade bodies of cultured endothelial cells following treatment with a secretagogue (Sporn et al, Cell 46:185, 1986). These multimers were shown by immunofluorescent staining to bind more extensively to the extracellular matrix of human foreskin fibroblasts than constitutively secreted vWf, which is composed predominantly of dimeric molecules. Increased binding of A23187-released vWf was not due to another component present in the releasate, since releasate from which vWf was adsorbed, when added together with constitutively secreted vWf, did not promote binding. When iodinated plasma vWf was overlaid onto the fibroblasts, the large forms bound preferentially to the matrix. These results indicated that the enhanced binding of the vWf released from the Weibel-Palade bodies was likely due to its large multimeric size. It appears that multivalency is an important component of vWf interaction with the extracellular matrix, just as has been shown for vWf interaction with platelets. The pool of vWf contained within the Weibel-Palade bodies, therefore, is not only especially suited for platelet binding, but also for interaction with the extracellular matrix.     

Expression of abnormal von Willebrand factor by endothelial cells from a patient with type IIA von Willebrand disease.

Studies were conducted to characterize the biosynthesis of von Willebrand factor (vWf) by cultured endothelial cells (EC) derived from the umbilical vein of a patient with type IIA von Willebrand disease. The patient's EC, compared with those from normal individuals, produced vWf that had decreased amounts of large multimers and an increase in rapidly migrating satellite species, features characteristic of plasma vWf from patients with type IIA von Willebrand disease. The type IIA EC did produce a full spectrum of vWf multimers in both cell lysates and postculture medium, although the relative amounts of the largest species were decreased. The large multimers were degraded in conjunction with the appearance of rapidly migrating satellites that contained approximately equal to 170-kDa proteolytic fragments, suggesting that this patient's functional defect is due to abnormal proteolysis and not to a primary failure of vWf subunit oligomerization. Moreover, the observed degradation appears to result from an abnormal vWf molecule and not elevated protease levels. These results suggest that this patient's von Willebrand disease phenotype is caused by increased proteolytic sensitivity of his vWf protein.     

Enhanced ex vivo proteolysis of plasma von Willebrand factor in disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (vWf) are frequently elevated in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). To investigate the qualitative abnormalities of vWf and the possibility of its ex vivo modification in DIC, we analysed the multimeric composition of vWf in citrated plasma from 15 patients with DIC in the presence or absence of serine protease inhibitors (aprotinin and soybean trypsin inhibitor) and/or cysteine protease inhibitors (leupeptin, N-ethylmaleimide and EDTA). The proportion of large vWf multimers in plasma prepared in the presence of cysteine protease inhibitors was higher than those without such inhibitors. The addition of serine protease inhibitors during the preparation of plasma had no effect on the relative amounts of large multimers. The relative proportion of large multimers in plasma prepared without inhibitors and the difference between plasmas prepared with and without cysteine protease inhibitors correlated with plasma plasmin-alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor complex values, but not with other plasma or serum markers of DIC (platelet count, fibrinogen, FDP, D-dimer or thrombin-antithrombin III complex). We conclude that ex vivo proteolysis of plasma vWf occurs frequently in patients with DIC and cysteine protease inhibitors can protect this degradation.     

N-terminal domain of alphaB-crystallin provides a conformational switch for multimerization and structural heterogeneity

The small heat shock protein (sHSP) αB-crystallin (αB) plays a key role in the cellular protection system against stress. For decades, high-resolution structural studies on heterogeneous sHSPs have been confounded by the polydisperse nature of αB oligomers. We present an atomic-level model of full-length αB as a symmetric 24-subunit multimer based on solid-state NMR, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and EM data. The model builds on our recently reported structure of the homodimeric α-crystallin domain (ACD) and C-terminal IXI motif in the context of the multimer. A hierarchy of interactions contributes to build multimers of varying sizes: Interactions between two ACDs define a dimer, three dimers connected by their C-terminal regions define a hexameric unit, and variable interactions involving the N-terminal region define higher-order multimers. Within a multimer, N-terminal regions exist in multiple environments, contributing to the heterogeneity observed by NMR. Analysis of SAXS data allows determination of a heterogeneity parameter for this type of system. A mechanism of multimerization into higher-order asymmetric oligomers via the addition of up to six dimeric units to a 24-mer is proposed. The proposed asymmetric multimers explain the homogeneous appearance of αB in negative-stain EM images and the known dynamic exchange of αB subunits. The model of αB provides a structural basis for understanding known disease-associated missense mutations and makes predictions concerning substrate binding and the reported fibrilogenesis of αB.     

Multimeric composition of plasma von Willebrand factor in chronic myeloproliferative disorders

Summary In chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD) thrombohaemorrhagic complications occur occasionally in association with thrombocytosis. We studied the multimeric composition of plasma von Willebrand factor (vWf) in 15 patients with polycythaemia vera (PV), 12 with essential thrombocythaemia (ET) and eight with primary myelofibrosis (PMF). The relative content of large (multimer band ≥ 11) multimers calculated by densitometer scan following SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis was 18.5 ± 4.4% (mean±SD) in normal controls, 8.3 ± 7.9% in PV, 8.1 ± 4.6% in ET and 19.6 ± 6.7% in PMF. The patients with PV and ET but not PMF had a significantly lower percentage of large multimers than normal controls (P < 0.001). The relative content of large multimers was negatively correlated with WBC and platelet count (P < 0.02 each) in PV. It was negatively correlated with platelet count (P < 0.005) and was positively correlated with a ratio of ristocetin cofactor/vWf antigen (RCof/vWf: Ag)(P < 0.01) in ET. These results indicate that acquired defects of vWf are quite common in PV and ET but not in PMF. In addition, some CMPD patients with high platelet counts completely lacked large multimers. The negative correlation of the relative content of large multimers with platelet count suggests that large multimers may be preferentially consumed during thrombocytosis or degraded by protease(s) from increased blood cells.     

A variant of type II von Willebrand disease with an abnormal triplet structure and discordant effects of protease inhibitors on plasma and platelet von Willebrand factor structure

We have characterized the plasma and platelet von Willebrand factor (vWf) multimeric structure of a patient with von Willebrand disease (vWd) as having a long bleeding time, no aggregation of her platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to ristocetin, and very low plasma and platelet von Willebrand antigen (vWf Ag) and vWf activity. The abnormalities of the plasma and platelet vWf have not been previously described. In particular, the patient's plasma and platelet vWf lacked the intermediate and largest vWf multimers and the slowest migrating minor band (band 1) of the triplet was markedly diminished compared to the major band (band 2) and the fastest migrating band of the triplet (band 3). A similar multimeric structure was seen in the platelet vWf. Collection of the patient's blood in protease inhibitors prior to the analysis of the platelet and plasma vWf structure revealed that the plasma vWf multimeric structure did not change, while the patient's platelet vWf showed a marked change with the appearance of the intermediate and large multimers and almost total disappearance of the abnormal multimeric structure. Direct comparison of this patient's plasma with previously reported cases of type IIA, IIC, and IID revealed marked differences in their multimeric organization compared to our patient. Employing the presently accepted convention, we have designated this variant type of vWd type IIG.     

von Willebrand factor storage and multimerization: 2 independent intracellular processes

The von Willebrand factor propeptide, vW AgII, has been shown to be required for the formation of vWF multimers and sorting of vWF to storage granules; whether these 2 processes are independent events has been unclear. Chimeric constructs of human and canine vWF were developed to further define these processes and to determine whether they are independent intracellular events. Cells expressing only mature vWF (Deltapro) produced vWF dimers that were not stored in AtT-20 cells; whereas the expression of vW AgII alone resulted in vW AgII granular storage. Expression of vW AgII in trans with Deltapro resulted in the multimerization of vWF and colocalized storage of vW AgII and vWF. Expression of canine vW AgII in trans or cis with human Deltapro resulted in the multimerization of human vWF, with no storage of human vWF but with normal storage of canine vW AgII. This dissociation of functions indicates that the signals for multimerization of vWF are different from the signals for trafficking of vWF to storage and demonstrates that vWF storage and multimerization are 2 independent intracellular processes. vW AgII contains the signal(s) required for trafficking to storage, and only through interaction with vW AgII is vWF chaperoned into granules. (Blood. 2000;96:1808-1815)     

Mechanism of IgM Polymerization

The stoichiometry of J chain in pentamer IgM has been determined by measuring the radiolabeled thiols in the constituent chains after complete reduction and alkylation of the polymer. One mole of J was found to be disulfide bonded to 1 mol of pentamer. The linkage of J chain in IgM has been determined by correlating the J disulfides cleaved with the subunits released after limited reduction and alkylation of the polymer. The analyses showed that: (a) Significant amounts of monomers, as well as small quantities of dimers, trimers, and tetramers, were generated by the reducing conditions employed. (b) The number of J disulfide bonds broken did not correspond to the extent of depolymerization. (c) No J disulfides were cleaved in the J-containing dimer products of the limited reduction. These data demonstrated that the J chain is located as a disulfide clasp between two of the IgM monomer subunits. From the observed linkage, the assembly of IgM is postulated to proceed by a series of sequential disulfide exchanges beginning with the formation of the J-containing dimer.     

Multimerization and interaction of Toll and Spätzle in Drosophila

The Toll family of receptors is required for innate immune response to pathogen-associated molecules, but the mechanism of signaling is not entirely clear. In Drosophila the prototypic Toll regulates both embryonic development and adult immune response. We demonstrate here that the host protein Sp?tzle can function as a ligand for Toll because Sp?tzle forms a complex with Toll in transgenic fly extracts and stimulates the expression of a Toll-dependent immunity gene, drosomycin, in adult flies. We also show that constitutively active mutants of Toll form multimers that contain intermolecular disulfide linkages. These disulfide linkages are critical for the activity of one of these mutant receptors, indicating that multimerization is essential for the constitutive activity. Furthermore, systematic mutational analysis revealed that a conserved cysteine-containing motif, different from the cysteines used for the intermolecular disulfide linkages, serves as a self-inhibitory module of Toll. Deleting or mutating this cysteine-containing motif leads to constitutive activity. This motif is located just outside the transmembrane domain and may provide a structural hindrance for multimerization and activation of Toll. Together, our results suggest that multimerization may be a regulated, essential step for Toll-receptor activation.     

The dual nature of human extracellular superoxide dismutase: one sequence and two structures

Human extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD; EC 1.15.1.1) is a scavenger of superoxide anions in the extracellular space. The amino acid sequence is homologous to the intracellular counterpart, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), apart from N- and C-terminal extensions. Cu/Zn-SOD is a homodimer containing four cysteine residues within each subunit, and EC-SOD is a tetramer composed of two disulfide-bonded dimers in which each subunit contains six cysteines. The amino acid sequences of all EC-SOD subunits are identical. It is known that Cys-219 is involved in an interchain disulfide. To account for the remaining five cysteine residues we purified human EC-SOD and determined the disulfide bridge pattern. The results show that human EC-SOD exists in two forms, each with a unique disulfide bridge pattern. One form (active EC-SOD) is enzymatically active and contains a disulfide bridge pattern similar to Cu/Zn-SOD. The other form (inactive EC-SOD) has a different disulfide bridge pattern and is enzymatically inactive. The EC-SOD polypeptide chain apparently folds in two different ways, most likely resulting in different three-dimensional structures. Our study shows that one gene may produce proteins with different disulfide bridge arrangements and, thus, by definition, different primary structures. This observation adds another dimension to the functional annotation of the proteome.     

Factor VIII/von Willebrand factor protein: sensitivity of periodic acid Schiff stain to carbohydrate deficiency

We have investigated the periodic acid Schiff (PAS) Coomassie staining ratio of the human factor VIII/von Willebrand factor (fVIII/vWf) protein. The PAS-Coomassie staining ratio is consistent over 8 days. The PAS-Coomassie ratio of fVIII/vWf protein purified from different starting materials does not appear to be significantly different. The PAS stain can detect as little as 300 ng of carbohydrate in the fVIII/vWf protein. Desialation did not affect the PAS-Coomassie ratio, while removal of penultimate galactose resulted in a marked reduction in the PAS-Coomassie ratio. This reduction was further accentuated with the removal of N-acetylglucosamine. The smaller multimers of the fVIII/vWf protein have a reduced sialic acid and PAS-Coomassie staining ratio. This difference does not appear to be related to the sialic acid deficiency but may be related to the distribution or organization of the carbohydrate moieties on the smaller fVIII/vWf multimers.