Amphiphysin, a neuronal protein first identified in chicken synaptic membranes, is the autoantigen of Stiff-Man Syndrome (SMS) associated with breast cancer. This (Yale University) report covers the second year of a fellowship program involving the cloning of a new isoform of amphiphysin, termed amphiphysin II. This isoform is not restricted to the brain, and may represent a form of amphiphysin that could be involved in breast cancer. Polyclonal antibodies have been raised to amphiphysin I and II, in addition to monoclonal antibodies that recognize various portions of amphiphysin I.
Muscle amphiphysin II is represented by several isoforms which run at about 65 kDa in SDS-PAGE, and is concentrated around the I band, i.e., in close proximity of plasmalemmal T-tubules. Neurons express predominantly an 85 kDa isoform, which is concentrated under the plasmalemma of axon hillocks and nodes of Ranvier. Similar localizations in both muscle and neurons are described for certain ankyrin isoforms, and indicate that amphiphysin II is a component of specialized submembranous cytomatrices. In addition, a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line has been established which overexpresses amphiphysin I. These cells have a normal morphology and growth, ruling out the possibility that amphiphysin I, alone, is directly involved in tumor development.
(Order this LIFE SCIENCES & BIOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE reviewed report from InfoTeam Inc., P.O. Box 15640, Plantation, FL 33318-5640; Phone (954) 473-9560, Fax (954) 473-0544: Report No. L980723; 1996, 18 pp. Price: $79.00, prepaid.)
COPYRIGHT 1998 Merton Allen Associates
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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