No abstract

A nuclear extract was prepared for the larval fat body of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and a homologous in vitro system was developed for the transcription of major plasma protein gene of B.mori. The gene for SP1, a storage protein of B.mori, and adenovirus 2 major late (AdML) gene were faithfully transcribed under relatively high template concentrations in the nuclear extract prepared from the fat body of female fifth instar larvae. Complete inhibition of gene transcription by a low concentration of alpha-amanitin indicated that the reaction is catalyzed by RNA polymerase II. At low template concentration (0.6 nM) the fat body nuclear extract transcribed the homologous SP1 gene with high efficiency, while AdML gene and larval cuticle protein gene were only barely transcribed in the same extract. The SP1 gene deleted upstream of the TATA box sequence showed little effect on transcription, whereas mutations that destroy TATA sequence totally abolished the gene transcription. These results suggested that the core promoter region of SP1 gene spanning between positions -44 and +16 is essential for the fat body specific transcription in vitro.

A major target protein of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody with a perinuclear staining pattern (P-ANCA) has been identified as myeloperoxidase (MPO). Recombinant deletion mutants of MPO, eight fragments of the heavy-chain subunit, and two fragments of the light chain subunit were expressed in E. coli using a pQE expression vector. The recombinant hexamer histidine-tagged fragments were partially purified as the denatured proteins on a Ni2+-charged nitrirotriacetic acid column. The recombinant fragments were reacted with a rabbit polyclonal antibody to human MPO in Western blotting. In addition, the reactivities of the proteins with MPO-ANCA-positive sera of four patients with renal diseases were examined by Western blotting. The profile of the reactivity showed that different sera recognized different sets of fragments of the heavy chain, whereas no serum reacted with the fragments of the light chain. These results indicate that the sera of patients with MPO-ANCA-positive diseases showed varied reactivities with the different fragments. Furthermore, an ELISA system using a set of the fragments completely purified by Sephacryl S-200HR column chromatography was established. The panel set is useful for subclassification of MPO-ANCA-related diseases.

This article describes the development of cell-free transcription systems from the cultured cells and fat body tissues of a Lepidpteran insect, the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Detailed protocols are provided for the culture of a B. mori cell line, rearing larvae, preparation of whole cell as well as nuclear extract and conditions for in vitro transcription of cloned plasma protein gene templates.