Expression and secretion of biologically active echistatin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A synthetic gene coding for a platelet aggregation inhibitor, echistatin (ECS), was inserted into a Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression vector utilizing the alpha-mating factor pre-pro leader sequence and galactose-inducible promoter, GAL10. Cleavage of the pre-pro leader sequence in vivo results in the secretion of a properly processed recombinant ECS with the native N-terminal glutamic acid residue. Recombinant ECS was recovered from yeast supernatants and purified by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography.

Characterization of the rat osteocalcin gene: stimulation of promoter activity by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

Osteocalcin is an abundant noncollagenous protein in bone, and its synthesis is stimulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3]. In this study, the rat osteocalcin gene was isolated, sequenced, and found to be a single-copy gene that is highly conserved between human and rat. Northern blot analysis of RNAs from a number of rat tissues revealed osteocalcin mRNA only in calvariae, consistent with bone-specific expression of osteocalcin.

Tissue specificity and developmental expression of rat osteopontin.

Osteopontin is a 44 kd phosphoprotein abundant in bone matrix. We isolated a partial length cDNA for rat osteopontin and used it to examine its tissue specificity, its expression during bone development and its hormonal regulation. Osteopontin mRNA is most abundant in bone but is also found in considerable amounts in kidney.

cDNA cloning of alkaline phosphatase from rat osteosarcoma (ROS 17/2.8) cells.

Two cDNA clones of rat alkaline phosphatase (AP) were isolated from a rat osteosarcoma lambda gt 11 cDNA library (ROS 17/2.8) utilizing a human bone-liver-kidney (BLK) type AP cDNA. These clones contain overlapping DNA sequences of 597 and 520 bp, respectively, corresponding to the 3' noncoding region of AP mRNA.