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A systematic comparison of the protein synthesis patterns of cultured normal and transformed human fibroblasts and epithelial cells, using two-dimensional gel protein analysis combined with computerized imaging and data acquisition, identified a 90-kD protein (SSP 5714) as one of the most striking downregulated markers typical of the transformed state. Using the information stored in the comprehensive human cellular protein database, we found this protein strongly expressed in several fetal tissues and one of them, epidermis, served as a source for preparative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Partial amino acid sequences were generated from peptides obtained by in situ digestion of the electroblotted protein. These sequences identified the marker protein as gelsolin, a finding that was confirmed by two-dimensional immunoblotting of human MRC-5 fibroblast proteins using specific antibodies and by coelectrophoresis with purified human gelsolin. These results suggest that an important regulatory protein of the microfilament system may play a role in defining the phenotype of transformed human fibroblast and epithelial cells in culture.

The 25-kD inhibitor of actin polymerization (25-kD IAP), isolated from turkey smooth muscle (Miron, T., M. Wilchek, and B. Geiger, 1988. Eur. J. Biochem. 178:543-553), is shown here to be a low molecular mass heat shock protein (HSP). Direct sequence analysis of the purified protein, as well as cloning and sequencing of the respective cDNA, disclosed a high degree of homology (67% identity, 80% similarity) to the human 27-kD HSP. Southern blot of chicken genomic DNA disclosed one band, suggesting the presence of a single gene, and Northern blot analysis revealed abundant transcript of approximately 1 kb in gizzard and heart tissues and lower amounts in total 18-d chick embryo RNA and in cultured fibroblasts. Exposure of the latter cells to 45 degrees C resulted in over 15-fold increase in the apparent level of the 25-kD IAP protein, confirming that its expression is regulated by heat shock. Immunofluorescent microscopic localization indicated that after heat treatment, the levels of the 25-kD IAP were markedly increased and the protein was apparently associated with cytoplasmic granules. Heat shock also had a transient, yet prominent, effect on the microfilament system in cultured fibroblasts: stress fibers disintegrated within 10-15 min after incubation at 45 degrees C, yet upon further incubation at the elevated temperature, conspicuous actin bundles were apparently reformed.