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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 275, Issue 51, 40517-40528, December 22, 2000

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Silk Fibroin of Bombyx mori Is Secreted, Assembling a High Molecular Mass Elementary Unit Consisting of H-chain, L-chain, and P25, with a 6:6:1 Molar Ratio^*

Satoshi Inoue, Kazunori Tanaka, Fumio Arisaka^§, Sumiko Kimura^¶, Kohei Ohtomo, and Shigeki Mizuno

From the  Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Tsutsumidori-Amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 981-8555 Japan, the ^§ Department of Life Science, Faculty of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan, and the ^¶ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan

Silk fibroin produced by the silkworm Bombyx mori consists of a heavy chain, a light chain, and a glycoprotein, P25. The heavy and light chains are linked by a disulfide bond, and P25 associates with disulfide-linked heavy and light chains by noncovalent interactions. Quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that molar ratios of the heavy chain, light chain, and P25 were 6:6:1, both in cocoons and in fibroin secreted into the lumen of posterior silk gland. Trace amounts of fibroin produced by three "naked pupa" mutants of B. mori lacked the light chain, but the molar ratio of heavy chain and P25 was also 6:1. Gel filtration chromatography and sedimentation equilibrium analysis demonstrated that a large protein complex of approximately 2.3 MDa, designated an elementary unit of fibroin having 6:6:1 molar ratios of the heavy chain, light chain, and P25, existed in posterior silk gland cells. Inaccessibility of biotinylated concanavalin A to the native elementary unit and partial dissociation of the elementary unit after incubation with excess N-glycosidase F or endoglycosidase H suggest that a single molecule of P25 is located internally and plays an important role in maintaining integrity of the complex.

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