Partial primary structure of the 48- and 90-kilodalton core proteins of cell surface-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans of lung fibroblasts. Prediction of an integral membrane domain and evidence for multiple distinct core proteins at the cell surface of human lung fibroblasts.

Heparitinase treatment of cell surface-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) of human lung fibroblasts reveals core proteins with apparent Mr values of 125,000, 90,000, 64,000, 48,000 and 35,000 (Lories, V., De Boeck, H., David, G., Cassiman, J.-J., and Van den Berghe, H. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 854-859). The 90- and 48-kDa core proteins share the epitope of the monoclonal antibody 6G12 which was used to screen a human lung fibroblast expression cDNA library. Rescreening of the libraries yielded clone 48K5 with an insert of 3439 base pairs. Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits against a fragment of the protein encoded by the 48K5 cDNA different from the part carrying the 6G12 epitope. These antibodies specifically recognize the 90- and 48-kDa core proteins on Western blots of total cellular extracts of human lung fibroblast HSPG. The specific reactivity of the polyclonal antiserum confirms the identity of the 48K5 clone and further distinguishes the 48- and the 90-kDa core proteins, which do share the 6G12-defined epitope and at least one additional antigenic determinant with the 48K5 cDNA-encoded protein, from the 125-, 64-, and 35-kDa core proteins of cell surface HSPG of human lung fibroblasts which do not react with either antibody preparation. The protein encoded by the 48K5 clone contains a stop-transfer sequence indicative of an integral membrane protein and three potential glycosaminoglycan attachment sites. The 48K5 clone detects two major poly(A)+ RNA species in human lung fibroblasts presumably generated by the use of alternative polyadenylation signals. The 48K5 gene was mapped to chromosome 8q23 by in situ hybridization and hybridization to DNA of somatic cell hybrids.