Extremely stable soluble high molecular mass multi-protein complex with DNase activity in human placental tissue

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 26;9(11):e111234. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111234. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Human placenta is an organ which protects, feeds, and regulates the grooving of the embryo. Therefore, identification and characterization of placental components including proteins and their multi-protein complexes is an important step to understanding the placenta function. We have obtained and analyzed for the first time an extremely stable multi-protein complex (SPC, ∼ 1000 kDa) from the soluble fraction of three human placentas. By gel filtration on Sepharose-4B, the SPC was well separated from other proteins of the placenta extract. Light scattering measurements and gel filtration showed that the SPC is stable in the presence of NaCl, MgCl2, acetonitrile, guanidinium chloride, and Triton in high concentrations, but dissociates efficiently in the presence of 8 M urea, 50 mM EDTA, and 0.5 M NaCl. Such a stable complex is unlikely to be a casual associate of different proteins. According to SDS-PAGE and MALDI mass spectrometry data, this complex contains many major glycosylated proteins with low and moderate molecular masses (MMs) 4-14 kDa and several moderately abundant (79.3, 68.5, 52.8, and 27.2 kDa) as well as minor proteins with higher MMs. The SPC treatment with dithiothreitol led to a disappearance of some protein bands and revealed proteins with lower MMs. The SPCs from three placentas efficiently hydrolyzed plasmid supercoiled DNA with comparable rates and possess at least two DNA-binding sites with different affinities for a 12-mer oligonucleotide. Progress in study of placental protein complexes can promote understanding of their biological functions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Binding Sites
  • Chromatography, Gel
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • DNA / metabolism
  • Deoxyribonucleases / chemistry*
  • Deoxyribonucleases / metabolism
  • Female
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Molecular Weight
  • Multiprotein Complexes / chemistry*
  • Multiprotein Complexes / isolation & purification
  • Multiprotein Complexes / metabolism
  • Placenta / chemistry*
  • Placenta / enzymology
  • Plasmids / chemistry*
  • Plasmids / metabolism
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Proteins / chemistry*
  • Pregnancy Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Pregnancy Proteins / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Stability
  • Salts / chemistry
  • Solubility
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Substances

  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Pregnancy Proteins
  • Salts
  • DNA
  • Deoxyribonucleases

Grants and funding

This research was made possible in part by grants from the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, 6.2); Russian Foundation for Basic Research (13-04-00210), and funds from the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.