The cDNA RPE1 and monoclonal antibody HMB-50 define gene products preferentially expressed in retinal pigment epithelium

The Silver locus product Pmel17/gp100/Silv/ME20: controversial in name and in function

Mouse coat color mutants have led to the identification of more than 120 genes that encode proteins involved in all aspects of pigmentation, from the regulation of melanocyte development and differentiation to the transcriptional activation of pigment genes, from the enzymatic formation of pigment to the control of melanosome biogenesis and movement [Bennett and Lamoreux (2003) Pigment Cell Res. 16, 333]. One of the more perplexing of the identified mouse pigment genes is encoded at the Silver locus, first identified by Dunn and Thigpen [(1930) J. Heredity 21, 495] as responsible for a recessive coat color dilution that worsened with age on black backgrounds. The product of the Silver gene has since been discovered numerous times in different contexts, including the initial search for the tyrosinase gene, the characterization of major melanosome constituents in various species, and the identification of tumor-associated antigens from melanoma patients. Each discoverer provided a distinct name: Pmel17, gp100, gp95, gp85, ME20, RPE1, SILV and MMP115 among others. Although all its functions are unlikely to have yet been fully described, the protein clearly plays a central role in the biogenesis of the early stages of the pigment organelle, the melanosome, in birds, and mammals. As such, we will refer to the protein in this review simply as pre-melanosomal protein (Pmel). This review will summarize the structural and functional aspects of Pmel and its role in melanosome biogenesis.

The NEIBank project for ocular genomics: data-mining gene expression in human and rodent eye tissues

NEIBank is a project to gather and organize genomic resources for eye research. The first phase of this project covers the construction and sequence analysis of cDNA libraries from human and animal model eye tissues to develop an overview of the repertoire of genes expressed in the eye and a resource of cDNA clones for further studies. The sequence data are grouped and identified using the tools of bioinformatics and the results are displayed through a web site where they can be interrogated by keyword search, chromosome location, by Blast (sequence comparison) or by alignment on completed genomes. Many novel proteins and novel splice forms of known genes have already emerged from analysis of the accumulating data. This review provides an overview of the current state of the database for human eye tissues, with specific comparisons to some parallel data from mouse and rat, and with illustrative examples of the kinds of insights and discoveries these data can produce. One of the major themes that emerges is that at the molecular level human eye tissues have significant differences from those of rodents, encompassing species specific genes, alternative splice forms and great variation in levels of gene expression. These point to specific adaptations and mechanisms in the human eye and emphasize that care needs to be taken in the application of appropriate animal model systems.

A novel splice variant of Pmel17 expressed by human melanocytes and melanoma cells lacking some of the internal repeats

Pmel17 is a approximately 100 kDa pigment cell specific glycoprotein that plays a crucial part in the morphogenesis of melanosome precursors. Anti-Pmel17 immunoprecipitates from metabolically pulse labeled melanoma cells and melanocytes contain, in addition to full-length Pmel17, a glycoprotein that migrates with a lower relative molecular weight. Here we show that this glycoprotein is encoded by an mRNA that results from alternative splicing of the human Pmel17 gene from which a cryptic intron is excised. Immunoprecipitation recapture experiments showed that this glycoprotein contained both the N- and C-termini of full-length Pmel17. Sequence analysis of cDNA corresponding to the alternatively spliced form reveals the loss of three of 10 imperfect direct repeats from the central region of the lumenal domain. The product of the splice variant is processed with similar kinetics to full-length Pmel17, and localizes similarly to late endosomes when expressed ectopically in nonpigment cells. We speculate that truncation of the repeat region within Pmel17 alters either fibrillogenic activity or the interaction of Pmel17 with melanin intermediates. The expression of an alternatively spliced product may furthermore affect the cohort of peptides generated for recognition of melanoma cells by tumor-directed T lymphocytes.

Differentiation and transdifferentiation of the retinal pigment epithelium

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) lies between the retina and the choroid of the eye and plays a vital role in ocular metabolism. The RPE develops from the same sheet of neuroepithelium as the retina and the two derivatives become distinguished by different expression patterns of a number of transcription factors during embryonic development. As the RPE layer differentiates it expresses a set of unique molecules, many of which are restricted to certain regions of the cell. PRE cells undergo both a loss of polarity and a loss of expression of many of these cell type-specific molecules when placed in monolayer culture. The RPE of many species, including mammals, can be induced to transdifferentiate by growth factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor. Under the influence of such factors the RPE is triggered to alter expression of a wide array of molecules and to take on a retinal epithelium fate, from which differentiated retinal cell types including rod photoreceptors can be produced.

Immunobiology of human melanoma antigens MART-1 and gp100 and their use for immuno-gene therapy

Two genes encoding human melanoma antigens MART-1 and gp100 recognized by HLA-A2 restricted melanoma reactive CTL derived from tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) were isolated by cDNA expression cloning methods. Multiple unmutated self peptides were identified as T cell epitopes in these melanocyte/melanoma specific proteins (2 from MART-1 and 5 from gp100). Most of these melanoma epitopes contain non-dominant anchor amino acids at the primary anchor positions and have intermediate binding affinity to HLA-A2.1. Melanoma reactive CTL were efficiently induced from PBL and TIL of patients by in vitro stimulation with PBMC pulsed with these epitopes. There is a significant correlation between vitiligo development and clinical response to IL2 based immunotherapy, suggesting that autoreactive T cells are involved in melanoma regression in vivo. These results have implications for understanding the nature of tumor antigens recognized by T cells and for the development of new cancer immunotherapies.

Characterization and subcellular localization of human Pmel 17/silver, a 110-kDa (pre)melanosomal membrane protein associated with 5,6,-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) converting activity

Pmel 17 is preferentially expressed in pigment cells in a manner suggestive of involvement in melanin biosynthesis. The gene is identical to the silver (si) pigmentation locus in mice. We now produced a recombinant glutathione-S-transferase-human Pmel 17 infusion protein and raised polyclonal antibodies against it to confirm the ultrastructural location and presumed site of action predicted by the deduced primary structure of Pmel 17/silver, and to authenticate the specificity of the DHICA converting function as inherent to the silver-locus protein. Full-length Pmel 17 cDNA also produced in insect cells in a baculovirus expression vector to ensure that activity did not originate from a co-precipitated protein. Natural hPmel 17 from human melanoma cells has an approximate molecular size of 100 kDa. By immunoperoxidase electron microscopic cytochemistry, the antigen was localized to the limiting membranes of premelanosomes and presumed premelanogenic cytosolic vesicles and, to a minor extent, in the premelanosomal matrix. In an in vitro assay, both the natural and the recombinant Pmel 17 accelerated the conversion of DHICA to melanin. This activity was inhibited by the anti-Pmel 17 polyclonal antibodies, indicating that the acceleration of DHICA conversion by natural protein is genuine and cannot be due to contaminating complexed proteins. We suggest that in situ Pmel 17/silver is a component of a postulated premelanosomal/melanosomal complex of membrane-bound melanogenic oxidoreductive enzymes and cofactors, in analogy to the electron transfer chain in mitochondria.

Genomic organization and sequence of D12S53E (Pmel 17), the human homologue of the mouse silver (si) locus

We have determined the DNA sequence and genomic organization of D12S53E (Pmel 17), the human homologue of the mouse silver (si) locus. D12S53E encodes a melanosomal matrix protein whose expression is closely correlated with cellular melanin content and which is a frequent melanoma tumor antigen recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. D12S53E is a likely candidate gene for some cases of human oculocutaneous albinism not associated with known albinism loci.

Characterization of mouse Pmel 17 gene and silver locus

Pmel 17 cDNA clones, isolated from wild-type and si/si murine melanocytes, were sequenced and compared. A single nucleotide (A) insertion was found in the putative cytoplasmic tail of the si/si Pmel 17 cDNA clone. This insertion is predicted to alter the last 24 amino acids at the C-terminus and to extend the Pmel 17 protein by 12 residues. The mutation was confirmed by the sequence of the PCR-amplified genomic region including the mutation site. Silver Pmel 17 was not recognized by antibodies directed toward the C-terminal amino acids of wild-type Pmel 17, indicating a defect in this region. These results indicate that silver Pmel 17 protein has a major defect at the carboxyl terminus.

Identification of a melanosomal matrix protein encoded by the murine si (silver) locus using "organelle scanning"

To identify a broad spectrum of melanosomal proteins, antisera were raised in rabbits against melanosomal protein fractions separated on the basis of their solubility in the nonionic detergent Triton X-114. Antisera against the different fractions each recognized a distinct set of bands when used for immunoblotting analysis with extracts of melanocytes cultured from wild-type black mice. Immunoblotting with antisera to whole melanosomes or to Triton X-114-soluble melanosomal proteins that segregated with the detergent phase gave identical patterns with protein extracts from melanocytes from wild-type mice and from mice homozygous for the si (silver) coat color mutation. By contrast, an antiserum against Triton X-114 soluble melanosomal proteins that segregated in the aqueous phase recognized an 85-kDa protein that was present in extracts from wild-type melanocytes but was absent from si melanocytes. This suggested that the protein was encoded at the si (silver) locus. This was confirmed by employing an antiserum directed against the carboxyl terminus of the predicted murine silver protein sequence. The detergent solubility, biochemical characteristics, and immunologic properties of the 85-kDa protein and of the authentic si gene product were identical. Further analysis demonstrated that this protein corresponds to a melanosomal matrix glycoprotein that we recently described. Our results suggest that employing polyclonal antisera to fractionated organelles such as melanosomes, to screen tissues from mutant mice, a technique that we call "organelle scanning", can serve as a powerful means of identifying new organellar proteins and their respective genes.

Identification of a human melanoma antigen recognized by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes associated with in vivo tumor rejection

The cultured T-cell line TIL1200, established from the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) of a patient with advanced metastatic melanoma, recognized an antigen on most HLA-A2+ melanomas and on all HLA-A2+ cultured neonatal melanocytes in an HLA-A2 restricted manner but not on other types of tissues or cell lines tested. A cDNA encoding an antigen recognized by TIL1200 was isolated by screening an HLA-A2+ breast cancer cell line transfected with an expression cDNA library prepared from an HLA-A2+ melanoma cell line. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of this cDNA were almost identical to the genes encoding glycoprotein gp100 or Pmel17 previously registered in the GenBank. Expression of this gene was restricted to melanoma and melanocyte cell lines and retina but was not expressed on other fresh or cultured normal tissues or other types of tumor tested. The cell line transfected with this cDNA also expressed antigen recognized by the melanoma-specific antibody HMB45 that bound to gp100. A synthetic 10-amino acid peptide derived from gp100 was recognized by TIL1200 in the context of HLA-A2.1. Since the administration of TIL1200 plus interleukin 2 resulted in regression of metastatic cancer in the autologous patient, gp100 is a possible tumor rejection antigen and may be useful for the development of immunotherapies for patients with melanoma.