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. 2000 Oct;9(10):1986–1992. doi: 10.1110/ps.9.10.1986

A 16-amino acid peptide from human alpha2-macroglobulin binds transforming growth factor-beta and platelet-derived growth factor-BB.

D J Webb 1, D W Roadcap 1, A Dhakephalkar 1, S L Gonias 1
PMCID: PMC2144455  PMID: 11106172

Abstract

Alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2M) is a major carrier of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) in vitro and in vivo. By screening glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins with overlapping sequences, we localized the TGFbeta-binding site to aa 700-738 of the mature human alpha2M subunit. In separate experiments, we screened overlapping synthetic peptides corresponding to aa 696-777 of alpha2M and identified a single 16-mer (718-733) that binds TGF-beta1. Platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) bound to the same peptide, even though TGF-beta and PDGF-BB share almost no sequence identity. The sequence of the growth factor-binding peptide, WDLVVVNSAGVAEVGV, included a high proportion of hydrophobic amino acids. The analogous peptide from murinoglobulin, a human alpha2M homologue that does not bind growth factors, contained only three nonconservative amino acid substitutions; however, the MUG peptide failed to bind TGF-beta1 and PDGF-BB. These results demonstrate that a distinct and highly-restricted site in alpha2M, positioned near the C-terminal flank of the bait region, mediates growth factor binding. At least part of the growth factor-binding site is encoded by exon 18 of the alpha2M gene, which is notable for a 5' splice site polymorphism that has been implicated in Alzheimer's Disease.

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Selected References

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