Isolation, cloning, and characterization of a new mammalian coronin family member, coroninse, which is regulated within the protein kinase C signaling pathway.

In order to understand the regulatory role of protein kinase C (PKC) in secretory epithelia, it is necessary to identify and characterize specific downstream targets. We previously identified one such protein in studies of gastric parietal cells. This protein was referred to as pp66 because it migrated with an apparent molecular mass of 66 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The phosphorylation of pp66 is increased by the cholinergic agonist, carbachol, and by the PKC activator, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, in a calcium-independent manner. In this study, we have purified pp66 to homogeneity and cloned the complete open reading frame. GenBankTM searches revealed a 45% homology with the Dictyostelium actin-binding protein, coronin, and approximately 67% homology with the previously cloned human and bovine coronin-like homologue, p57. pp66 appears to be most highly expressed in the gastrointestinal mucosa and in kidney and lung. Confocal microscopic studies of an enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion construct of pp66 in cultured parietal cells and in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells indicate that pp66 preferentially localizes in F-actin-rich regions. On the basis of our findings, we propose that pp66 may play an important, PKC-dependent role in regulating membrane/cytoskeletal rearrangements in epithelial cells. We have tentatively named this protein coroninse, because it appears to be highly expressed in secretory epithelia.