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. 1977 Aug 1;165(2):347–354. doi: 10.1042/bj1650347

Glutamine as a precursor to N-terminal pyrrolid-2-one-5-carboxylic acid in mouse immunoglobulin λ-type light chains. Amino acid-sequence variability at the N-terminal extra piece of λ-type light-chain precursors

Yigal Burstein 1, Israel Schechter 1
PMCID: PMC1164907  PMID: 411485

Abstract

The mRNA molecules coding for three mouse immunoglobulin λ-type light (L) chains (MOPC-104E λ1, RPC-20 λ1, MOPC-315 λ2) programme the cell-free synthesis of precursors larger than the mature proteins. Radioactive amino acid-sequence analyses of each of the three precursors labelled with [3H]alanine, [3H]serine, [3H]glutamine, [3H]glutamic acid and [3H]threonine showed that an extra piece, at least 18 residues long, is linked to the N-terminus of the mature L-chains. The N-terminal extra-peptide segment may be 19 residues long, since analyses of precursors labelled with [35S]methionine indicated an additional N-terminal methionine residue which was recovered in low yields. Presumably this is the initiator methionine, which is known to be short lived in eukaryotes. The mature forms of MOPC-104E, RPC-20 and MOPC-315 λ L-chains are blocked at the N-termini by pyrrolid-2-one-5-carboxylic acid (pyroglutamic acid). Sequence analyses of precursors labelled with [3H]glutamine and [3H]glutamic acid showed incorporation only of glutamine in a position that matches with the position of pyrrolid-2-one-5-carboxylic acid in the mature forms of all three precursors, and incorporation of glutamic acid in other positions. The data showed the absence of glutamine–glutamic acid interconversion, since the radioactive peaks obtained from either 3H-labelled amino acid were discrete, and free from cross-contamination. These results prove that glutamine is the precursor amino acid of pyrrolid-2-one-5-carboxylic acid at the N-termini of the mature MOPC-104E λ1, RPC-20 λ1 and MOPC-315 λ2 L-chains. Thus the formation of pyrrolid-2-one-5-carboxylic acid by cyclization of glutamine is a post-translational event which occurs after, or concomitant with, cleavage of the extra piece from the precursor to yield the mature L-chain. The variable (V) regions (110 amino acid residues) of mouse λ L-chains are quite similar: when compared with that of MOPC-104E λ1 chain, the V-region of RPC-20 λ1 chain differs in one residue, and the V-region of MOPC-315 λ2 chain differs in 11 residues. The partial sequence data show that the N-terminal extra pieces of the two λ1 L-chain precursors have, so far, identical partial sequences; the extra piece of the λ2 L-chain precursor differs from these in at least three out of 19 positions.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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