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From the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation,*
Rochester,
Minnesota; the University of Santiago de
Compostela,
Lugo, Spain; the St. Michaels
Hospital and University of Toronto,
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada; and the Laboratory of Molecular
Genetics,
National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health,
Rockville, Maryland
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Myosin XVA (accession no. NM_016239) is a large
protein (
395 kd) consisting of a unique
1200 amino acid
N-terminal domain preceding the motor and 1631 amino acids in the tail
domain.9
We reported that mutations linked to the human
DFNB3 locus (MIM 600316) chromosome 17p11.2 is associated with profound
congenital deafness. Mutations of myosin XVA are responsible for DFNB3
and the shaker 2 phenotype.10-14
Recent light microscopic
studies on the characterization of the human and mouse unconventional
myosin XVA genes in the auditory system suggest a role for myosin XVA
protein in the formation or maintenance of stereocilia, unique
actin-rich structures of inner ear sensory hair cells.9
Surprisingly, myosin XVA was found to be expressed at high levels in
the anterior pituitary glands of humans and mice.9
However, no obvious pituitary-related phenotype has been yet found in
deaf individuals homozygous for mutant alleles of myosin XVA.
Previous studies examined myosins in the pituitary gland by cell fractionation methods.15,16 Analysis of myosins in secretory tissues including the pituitary showed that the myosin that was present could not be accounted for by the myosin protein in the vascular structures of smooth muscle in these tissues.15 Isolation of myosin from the GH3 pituitary cell line reinforced this observation.16 Myosin-like substances have also been found in the neurosecretory synaptic vesicles in the brain.17
To begin an exploration of the function of myosin XVA in the pituitary, we studied the distribution of myosin XVA in normal and neoplastic human pituitary tissues and other tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization. Ultrastructural immunolocalization was used for the subcellular localization of myosin XVA in human pituitary cells. These results suggest an important role for myosin XVA in neuroendocrine granule intracytoplasmic movement and/or secretion.
| Materials and Methods |
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Normal pituitary tissues (four cases) were obtained within 6 hours postmortem from patients who did not have any endocrine diseases. Pituitary adenomas (22 cases) were obtained from surgically resected tumors. All tissues were fixed in phosphate-buffered formalin, pH 7.4, and embedded in paraffin. Five-µm sections were cut on positively charged slides and used for IHC and in situ hybridization. In addition, normal (n = 18) and neoplastic endocrine tissues (n = 25) and other nonendocrine tissues (n = 10) were also analyzed.
Antibodies
PB78 and PB48 antisera were produced in rabbits against synthetic peptides synthesized by Princeton Biomolecules (Langhorne, PA) designed from conserved regions of mouse myosin XVA corresponding to amino acid residues 547 to 575 (GFGPEFGHPTPRPATSLARFLKKTLSEKK) from the N-terminal extension and residue 2379 to 2402 (CGDADLEKPTAIAYRMKGGGQPGG)9 from the tail region of myosin XVA, respectively (accession no. Q9QZZ4). Each of the antisera was affinity-purified on a Pierce AminoLink column (Rockford, IL) to which the peptides were attached via an amino terminal cysteine.
Polyclonal antibodies to human pituitary hormones (Rockford, IL) were obtained from the National Pituitary Distribution, Agency, Bethesda, MD, and used as previously described.18 Normal human anterior pituitary was used as a positive control tissue. Monoclonal antibodies against human growth hormone (GH) and human prolactin (PRL) were obtained from Biogenex, San Ramon, CA. Monoclonal antibodies against human luteinizing hormone (LH), thyroid-stimulating hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were obtained from DAKO, Carpinteria, CA. The dilutions of the antibodies for visualization with the diaminobenzidine peroxidase or the alkaline-phosphatase systems were ACTH, 1/800 or 1/1600; GH, 1/400 or 1/800; PRL, 1/400 or 1/800; thyroid-stimulating hormone, 1/2000 or 1/4000; and LH, 1/800 or 1/1600.
Probes
The myosin XVA cDNA, containing 1316 bp of the myosin XVA tail region, (6906 to 8222 nucleotides, amino acids 2190 to 2,628; accession no. NM_016239) was cloned into pGEM-T Easy vector with reverse orientation. The in vitro transcription and digoxigenin 11-UTP (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN) labeling were performed with T7 RNA polymerase, provided in the riboprobe-labeling kit following the manufacturers instruction (Promega, Madison, WI). The transcription reaction produced either antisense or sense RNA probe depending on the orientation of the cloned insert. The labeled probes were digested with deoxyribonuclease, extracted with phenol/chloroform, and precipitated with ethanol.
Immunohistochemistry
Single IHC staining and double IHC localization were performed. The PB48 antibody to myosin XVA was used at a 1/2000 dilution and the PB78 antibody at 1/1000 dilution. IHC was done as previously described.18,19 The avidin-biotin-peroxidase and avidin-biotin alkaline-phosphatase reagents for IHC were from Vector Laboratories (Burlingame, CA).
The specificity of the PB48 and PB78 antibodies was examined by absorption with 10 µg/ml of purified antigen. Staining with the absorbed antibody resulted in no staining of tissues. Another control for IHC was substituting normal serum for co-localization of myosin XVA and pituitary hormones. The polyclonal PB48 antibody and monoclonal pituitary hormone antibodies were used for combined IHC by either peroxidase/diaminobenzidine or alkaline-phosphatase/NBT and BCIP detection systems.
In Situ Hybridization
In situ hybridization was done as previously described.18,19 Briefly after deparaffinizing, sections were placed in an 800-mW microwave oven in 10 mmol/L citrate buffer, pH 6.0,18,19 and proteinase K, followed by prehybridization (as previously reported). Hybridization was done at 50°C for 16 hours followed by washing in sodium citrate, sodium chloride buffer. Sections were then reacted with anti-digoxigenin linked to alkaline phosphatase followed by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3 indolyl phosphate (BCIP).
Combined Immunohistochemistry and In Situ Hybridization
For combined in situ hybridization and IHC slides were hybridized for in situ hybridization with the myosin XVA riboprobe followed by IHC with antibodies to pituitary hormones after the in situ hybridization procedure was completed. The digoxigenin-alkaline phosphatase reagents with NBT/BCIP was used for in situ hybridization while avidin-biotin-peroxidase reagents with diaminobenzidine were used for immunostaining.
Ultrastructural Immunohistochemistry
Human pituitary specimens from 19 cases were examined. Three were normal (nontumorous) anterior pituitary removed in association with an adenoma. Based on immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies, the samples included adenomas, as previously classified by Horvath and Kovacs,20 four GH (two sparsely and two densely granulated), three PRL, three ACTH, three thyroid-stimulating hormone, three follicle-stimulating hormone/LH, and three oncocytic null cell adenomas.
All specimens were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in Sorensens phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Portions of the tissues were postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, whereas other portions remained unosmified. After thorough washing in Sorensens buffer, the samples were dehydrated in a graded ethanol series, embedded in an Epon-Araldite mixture, and investigated by transmission electron microscopy.
The postembedding double-immunogold-labeling technique was used for the simultaneous detection of myosin XVA and adenohypophysial hormones20-22 . One side of the grids was incubated at 37°C for 24 hours with specific antisera directed toward human myosin XVA with antibody PB48 at a dilution 1:10. Subsequently, the grids were treated at 37° for 1 hour with biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Sigma-Aldrich Ltd., St. Louis, MO) diluted 1:100; the grids were subsequently treated for 60 minutes in 10-nm streptavidin gold complex (Nanoprobes Inc., Stony Brook, NY) diluted 1:20. Between each step, grids were washed in 0.2 mol/L phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.5) admixed with 0.2% cold water fish gelatin (Sigma-Aldrich Ltd.). For double immunostaining, the other side of the grid was labeled by the postembedding immunogold-labeling technique of Roth21,22 using antisera directed against adenohypophysial hormones. Subsequently, the grids were treated at 37° for 1 hour with gold-labeled, goat anti-rabbit IgG (Sigma-Aldrich Ltd.); the gold particle used measured 20 nm in diameter. After immunolabeling, sections were stained with uranyl acetate and examined on a Philips 410 LS electron microscope.
To test for specificity, three control procedures were used successively with each immunolabeling procedure: 1) the specific primary antibody was replaced with the antibody diluent (0.2 mol/L PBS admixed with 0.2% cold water fish gelatin); 2) the specific primary antibody was substituted by normal rabbit serum; and 3) preabsorption of the specific polyclonal antiserum with homologous and heterologous antigens. Absorption tests were performed as described previously.23,24
To detect myosin XVA in tumorous pituitary a simple immunolabeling procedure using the previous described streptavidin-biotin-gold complex method was used.23
Analysis of Staining
The IHC and in situ hybridization staining was graded on a scale of 0 to 3 as follows: 0, no staining; 1+, weak staining; 2+, moderate staining; and 3+, strong staining.
| Results |
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IHC staining with antisera directed to the tail (PB48) localized
myosin XVA in most cells in the anterior pituitary (Figure 1, A to D)
. There was variable staining
in the different cell types. Combined IHC staining for pituitary
hormones and myosin XVA showed the most intense staining in ACTH, PRL,
and glycoprotein hormone-producing cells with slightly less intense
staining in GH cells (Table 1)
. The
posterior pituitary showed weak staining (1+) for myosin XVA (not
shown). IHC analysis of pituitary adenomas showed a similar
distribution of staining in different anterior pituitary cell types
with ACTH, PRL, and glycoprotein hormone-producing cells showing the
strongest staining (Table 1
and Figure 1E
). A similar distribution of
immunostaining with the PB78 antibody to an epitope in the N-terminal
extension was seen in the normal and neoplastic pituitaries (Figure 1)
.
Liver tissue was negative for myosin XVA, but the renal tubules stained
positively with moderate immunoreactivity (2+), while the renal
glomeruli were negative for myosin XVA (not shown). The specificity of
both antibodies was confirmed by absorption studies with purified
peptides (Figure 1B)
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Detection of myosin XVA mRNA by in situ hybridization
showed strong staining in most normal anterior pituitary cells and in
pituitary adenomas. (Figure 2
; A to C).
There was no staining with the sense probe (Figure 2B)
. In
situ hybridization with liver tissue was also negative with the
anti-sense probe. Localization of myosin XVA mRNA and pituitary hormone
proteins in the same section showed the strongest staining in ACTH,
PRL, and glycoprotein hormone-producing cells (not shown).
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Ultrastructure
Ultrastructural immunolabeling with colloidal gold particles
of 10 nm and 20 nm in normal and neoplastic human pituitaries showed
labeling of the secretory granules of anterior pituitary cells for
myosin XVA (Figures 3 to 5)
. The ACTH and
GH cells were the most frequent cell types labeled (Figures 4 and 5)
.
In these cell types, most of the secretory granules were labeled for
myosin XVA. There were less secretory granules with myosin XVA in
pituitary adenoma cells compared to the normal anterior pituitary cells
with an estimate of 70% of the total GH secretory granules and
40% of the total ACTH secretory granules labeled.
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| Discussion |
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Myosin XVA seems to be associated with secretory granules in the
pituitary (Figures 3 to 5)
. Although all anterior pituitary cell types
expressed myosin XVA by IHC and in situ hybridization at the
light microscope level, by ultrastructural labeling only the secretory
granules of ACTH and GH cells were labeled. This probably reflects the
lower degree of sensitivity of the ultrastructural labeling. Earlier
studies of myosins in secretory tissues by cell fractionation showed
that myosins were present in the cytoplasm, although the class of
myosin was unknown.16
Specific myosin ATPase activity
measured in 0.6 mol/L/KCl was present in these secretory tissues.
Although the function of myosin in secretory tissue is not known,
recent studies have shown that myosin light chain kinase (MLCK)
stimulated exocytosis and that secretion in these cells was associated
with dephosphorylation of myosin light chain by MLCK and
phosphorylation by protein kinase C.25,26
In a study by
Rao and colleagues25
cultured rat pituitary cells were
shown to increase cytosolic calcium concentration and LH secretion by
activation of gonadotropin hormone-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors.
Treatment of the pituitary cells with wortmannin, which inhibits MLCK,
led to an attenuation of GnRH-induced LH release. These observations
and other experiments suggest that pituitary hormone exocytosis was
dependent on phosphorylation of nonmuscle myosin II B light chains by
MLCK.25
Similarly in bovine anterior pituitary there was
an enrichment of MLCK and other calmodulin-binding proteins in the
pituitary secretory granule membrane fractions suggesting a role of
calmodulin and calmodulin-binding proteins in granule membrane function
and possibly in exocytosis.27
Earlier studies showed that actin filaments that are intimately
associated with myosins were localized in the cytoplasm of pituitary
cells beneath the plasma membrane, whereas some actin filaments were
associated with the intracellular transport of the secretory
granules.28
The actin filaments localized in the
peripheral cytoplasmic matrix were thought to control the approach of
secretory granules to the plasma membrane and their
release.28
Immunofluorescent studies combined with
confocal microscopy of actin,
-actinin, and myosin-like
immunoreactivities in pituitary cells localized these filaments along
stress fiber-like structures in cultured pituitary
cells.27
Differences in the localization of cytoskeletal
proteins between cells in vivo and in vitro were
observed suggesting that the substrate on which the cells are growing
may influence cytoskeletal protein expression.29
Myosin-like substances have been detected in platelet membranes30 and in fibroblast plasma membranes31 as well as in the neurosecretory synaptic vesicles in the brain.17 Myosin V has also been found associated with melanosomes in mouse melanocytes implicating this myosin as an organelle motor for the outward movement of melanosomes within dendritic extensions.5 Although these structures may not be completely analogous to the pituitary secretory granules, they may have similar functions such as cellular movement and/or secretion.
The presence of myosin XVA in many normal and neoplastic endocrine tissues raises the possibility that myosin XVA may be a useful marker for the characterization of neuroendocrine cells and tumors similarly to chromogranin A.32,33 The use of myosin XVA as a diagnostic marker would be more restricted, because myosin XVA, unlike chromogranin, is also present in some nonneuroendocrine tissues, such as inner ear and renal tubular cells. Myosin VIIa and myosin VI are also expressed in renal tubules34,35 suggesting that these myosins may have important functions in renal tubular cells.
At present, we cannot definitely rule out the possibility that our two different antisera to myosin XVA described in this report may be cross-reacting with a related novel unconventional myosin in neuroendocrine granules and in renal tubules. However, several different antisera to three different unique regions of myosin XVA consistently give similar results.9 A related concern is the possibility that there is a second member of the class XV myosins encoding a protein sufficiently similar to myosin XVA at 17p11.2 that antisera would cross-react. With the sequences of the human genome primarily completed, indeed we identified genomic sequence and cDNA clones for a second class XV myosin gene located on chromosome 17q25. However, a detailed analysis of the sequence of myosin XVB cDNAs and genomic sequence (E. Boger, unpublished data) indicates that there are many in-frame translation stop codons and thus it is a transcribed pseudogene now designated myosin XVB (putative pseudogene) by the HUGO Nomenclature committee.
In summary, these studies have localized myosin XVA to secretory granules of normal and neoplastic human anterior pituitary cells. The presence of the unconventional myosin XVA protein associated with secretory granules of anterior pituitary cells as well as localization of myosin XVA immunoreactivity and mRNA in other neuroendocrine cells and tumors strongly suggests that this unconventional myosin may have an important role in secretory granule movement and/or secretion within the cytoplasm of neuroendocrine cells.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported in part by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Intramural Research Projects 201 DC00035-04 and by National Institutes of Health grants CA 90249 and a grant from the Jarislowky Foundation.
Current address of R. A. F.: Virology Department, Bristol-Myers Squibb, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492.
Accepted for publication July 3, 2001.
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