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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 277, Issue 18, 15904-15912, May 3, 2002

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 277/18/15904    most recent M200331200v1 Submit a Letter to Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Crider-Pirkle, S. Articles by Weitlauf, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Crider-Pirkle, S. Articles by Weitlauf, H. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Cubilin, a Binding Partner for Galectin-3 in the Murine Utero-Placental Complex^*

Sunday Crider-Pirkle, Peggy Billingsley, Charles Faust, Daniel M. Hardy, Vaughan Lee, and Harry Weitlauf^§¶

From the Departments of  Cell Biology and Biochemistry and ^§ Ob/Gyn, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas 79430

Galectin-3 is a lectin important in animal development and regulatory processes and is found selectively localized at the implantation site of the mouse embryo. To better understand the role of galectin-3 at the maternal-fetal interface, a binding partner was isolated and characterized. Homogenates of uteroplacental tissue were incubated with immobilized recombinant galectin-3, and specifically bound proteins were eluted using lactose. The principal protein, p400, had an M_r of 400,000 in SDS-PAGE. Physical properties of p400 and amino acid sequences of seven tryptic peptides were similar to cubilin from rats, humans, and dogs, identifying p400 as the murine ortholog of cubilin. This was further supported by the tissue distribution observed only in yolk sac, kidney, and ileum with monospecific antiserum for p400. Cubilin occurred in yolk sac epithelium throughout pregnancy, but galectin-3 was there only during the last week. Unexpectedly, cubilin was found only in perforin-containing granules of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, although galectin-3 occurred throughout the cell cytoplasm. In situ hybridization revealed cubilin mRNA in yolk sac epithelium but not uNK cells, implying that yolk sac-derived cubilin is endocytosed by uNK cells via galectin-3. This is consistent with cubilin being an endogenous partner of galectin-3 at the maternal-fetal interface and suggests an important role for cubilin in uNK cell function.

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