J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 266, Issue 10, 6133-6136, Apr, 1991
Expression and post-translational processing of gastrin in heterologous endocrine cells
LR Marino, T Takeuchi, CJ Dickinson and T Yamada
Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109.
The biosynthesis of gastrin involves a complex series of post-
translational processing reactions that result in the formation of a
biologically active secretory product. To study the mechanisms for two
specific reactions in gastrin processing, namely dibasic cleavage and
amidation, we infected AtT-20, GH3, and Rin5-f cells with the retroviral
expression vector, pZip-NeoSV(X), containing human gastrin cDNA. We
detected gastrin and its glycine extended post-translational processing
intermediates (G-gly) in the media and cell extracts of successfully
infected cells. Characterization of the molecular forms of gastrin in these
cell lines revealed that GH3 and Rin5-f processed gastrin in a manner
similar to antral G-cells but the cleavage of the Lys74-Lys75 bond that
converts G34 to G17 appeared to be suppressed in AtT-20 cells. Even after
conversion of this site to Arg74-Arg75 via site-directed mutagenesis, the
At-20 cells synthesized G34 predominantly. All of the infected cells
amidated gastrin but the gastrin/G-gly ratio, a reflection of amidation
within the cells, was enhanced in GH3 and Rin5-f cells but diminished in
AtT-20 cells upon treatment with dexamethasone (10(-4) M) for 3 days. The
dibasic cleavage of gastrin was uneffected by dexamethasone. Our data
suggest that the activities of post-translational processing reactions
responsible for the synthesis of biologically active gastrin exhibit
considerable tissue and substrate specificity.