Interactionoftheanteriorfatbodyproteinwiththe hexamerin
receptor inthe blowfly
Calliphora vicina
Immo A. Hansen, Susanne R. Meyer, Ingo Scha¨ fer and Klaus Scheller
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter ofthe University, Wu
¨
rzburg, Germany
In late larvae ofthe b lowfly, Calliphora v icina, a rylphorin and
LSP-2 p roteins, which belong t o the class of hexamerins, are
selectively t aken up by thefatbody from the h aemolymph.
Hexamerin e ndocytosis is mediated by a specific membrane-
bound receptor, the arylphorin-binding protein (ABP).
Using the two-hybrid technique, we found that the anterior
fat bodyprotein ( AFP) interacts withthehexamerin receptor.
AFP, a homologue ofthe m ammalian c alcium-binding liver
protein regucalcin ( sene scence marker protein-30), exhibits a
strong binding affinity for a naturally occurring C-terminal
cleavage fragment ofthehexamerinreceptor precursor (the
P30 p eptide) and other receptor c leavage products that
contain P30. Expression of AFP mRNA and protein is
restricted to theanterior part ofthefat b ody tissue and to
haemocytes in last-instar larvae. AFP mRNA occurs in all
postembryonic developmental stages. Our r esults suggest
that AFP p lays a r ole in t he r egulation ofhexamerin uptake
by fatbody cells along the a nterior–posterior axis.
Keywords: anterior f at body protein; Calliphora v icina;
cDNA sequence; he xamerin r eceptor; yeast t wo-hybrid
system.
The construction of adult tissues during the metamorphosis
of holometablous insects requires large amounts of energy
and building blocks. Before formation ofthe puparium, fat
body cells reabsorb proteins and other macromolecules t hat
have accumulated inthe haemolymph during t he larval
feeding period. The major fraction of incorporated proteins
consists of arylphorins a nd LSP-2 which belong to the class
of hexamerins, haemocyanin-related proteins, named
according to their composition of six identical or closely
related subunits [1]. Although some studies suggest that a
nonspecific, general protein uptake mechanism is responsi-
ble for the incorporation of hexamerins [2], the se lectivity of
this process has been demonstrated unambiguously by the
differential clearing of distinct proteins from the haemol-
ymph [3–6]. Transport of h examerins t hrough f at body cell
membranes is controlled by ecdysteroids and mediated by a
specific receptor (for review, see [7]). The hexamerin
receptor ofCalliphoravicina was c loned and its post-
translational processing studied in detail. Two c leavage
steps, which d etach a 45-kDa and a 30-kDa peptide from
the h examerin-bin ding N- terminus ofthereceptor p recursor
(Fig. 1 ), have been shown to be connected to activation of
the receptor and initiation o f hexamerin endocyto sis [8,9].
The principal cell type ofthefatbody is the trophocyte,
which is morphologically uniform and has long been thought
to have equivalent functions. Almost all experiments dealing
with protein expression a nd sequestration by this tissue have
been performed using the entire fatbody [10,11]. However, in
both Diptera and Lepidoptera, data are accumulating that
show regional differences infatbody function. Inthe corn
earworm, Helicoverpa zea, storage proteins are synthesized
by the peripheral fatbody fraction, but are taken up and
stored only by the perivisceral f at body [12]. Inthe silkworm,
Bombyx mori, it has been demonstrated that dorsal and
ventral perivisceral f at body contains the most competent
cells for sequestering h aemolymph proteins c ompared with
peripheral and hind-gut associated fatbody tissue [ 13].
In dipteran insects, differences in both composition and
fate oftheanterior and posterior fatbody have been
reported. The larval fatbodyofthe fruitfly, Drosophila
melanogaster, a nd the blue b lowfly, Calliphora vicina,is
organized into a lobed tissue of 2000–3000 polytene cells,
which become dissociated from each other during meta-
morphosis. Roughly half ofthe cell population survives
metamorphosis, indicating a specific degree of differentia-
tion during postembryonic life [ 14,15]. An increase in the
number of storage protein granules found along the
anterior–posterior axis has been described inthe fruitfly
Drosophila [16], and rapid degradation oftheanterior part
of thefatbody tissue after pupariation has been reported in
the fleshfly Sarcophaga peregrina [17]. The authors report
the specific expression ofanteriorfatbodyprotein (AFP) in
the trophocytes oftheanteriorfatbodyof S. peregrina,
demonstrating one ofthe biochemical differences in dipteran
fat body tissue.
Here we report t he tissue-specific expression of AFP and
its interactionwiththe h examerin receptor. This is the first
demonstration of a protein–protein i nteraction of the
hexamerin receptorwith a nonh exameric partner.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Experimental animals
AstrainofC. vicina that has been maintained in our
laboratory for several decades was used. T he flies were
Correspondence to I. A. Hansen, Medizinische Polyklinik der
Universita
¨
t, Endokrinologie, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, D-97080
Wu
¨
rzburg, Germany. E-mail: i.hansen@medizin.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abbreviations: ABP, arylphorin-binding protein; AFP, anterior fat
body protein; NBT/BCIP, nitroblue tetrazolium chloride/5-bromo-
4-chloro-3-indonyl phosphate
(Received 22 June 2001, revised 22 October 2001, accepted 7 December
2001)
Eur. J. Biochem. 269, 954–960 (2002) Ó FEBS 2002
reared o n bovine meat a t 25 °C and relative humidity of
65% as previously described [18].
Preparation offatbody tissue and haemocytes
Third-instar larvae were washed in insect saline and anaes-
thetized by cooling on ice for a few minutes. The larvae were
dissected by a medial cut, washed with cold insect saline, and
the fatbody tissues excised. For the isolation of haemocytes,
anaesthetized larvae were dried a nd tr ansferred t o a cold
microscope slide. From a small cut inthe abdomen,
haemolymph (5–10 lL per larva) was collected by pipette
and transferred to a 1.5-mL Eppendorf t ube on ice. After
centrigugation at 3000 r.p.m. at 4 °C, the supernatant was
removed and the pellet containing the h aemocytes w as
washed twice with ice-cold insect saline and re-centrifuged.
Two-hybrid library construction
Total RNA was isolated from dissected fatbody tissues of
third-instar larvae (6–7-day-old larvae) using Trizol reagent
(Gibco) following the supplier’s instructions for fatty tissues.
One microgram of total RNA was used for cDNA synthesis
with the SMART
TM
PCR cDNA Library Construction Kit
(Clontech, Heidelberg, Germany). T he cDNA obtained
included two different SfiI rest riction sites at the 5¢ and 3¢
ends (SfiI/A, Sfi I/B). The two-hybrid library vector pJG4-5
(GenBank accession number U89961) was modified b y
introducing the Sfi I/A and Sfi I/B r estriction sites i nto its
multiple colo ning site allowing directed cloning of the
cDNA. The ligation reaction was c arried out overnight at
16 °C. The library plasmids were transformed in Escherichia
coli XL1-Blue cells via electroporation and grown on Luria–
Bertani plates containing ampicillin. A total of 1.2 · 10
6
independent bacterial clones were obtained and subjected to
plasmid isolation using the QIAfilter Plasmid Mega Kit
(Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). One milligram of library
plasmids was isolated. The cDNA library contains
3.8 · 10
5
individual clones inthe correct reading frame.
The average insert size was 1 kbp.
Construction ofhexamerinreceptor bait proteins
for two-hybrid screening
Three h examerin receptor bait plasmids wer e constructed
according t o t he natural receptor cleavage products
ABP130, ABP96, ABP64 described previously [9] (Fig. 1).
Using a pBluescript S K+ vec tor bearing t he complete
hexamerin receptor cDNA sequence (GenBank accession
number X79100) as a template, three cDNA fragments were
amplified via PCR u sing different primer combinations:
(1) ABP130: ABP130-5¢(CTCGAGGGTGTTATAATGG
ATCGAGGTGGACGAGT)/ABP130-3¢ (CTC GAG
ATTCAATTATTTAGTACAAATGGCTAAGAGG
CATTT);
(2) ABP96: ABP130-5¢/ABP96-3¢ (CTCGAGAGGCAAC
AACAGACGATGAGGCAACTTA);
(3) ABP64: ABP130-5¢/ABP64-3¢(CTCGAGACCAGA
GATCTCATCATTATCATTGTAATT).
XhoI restriction sites were attached at the 5¢ ends of the
primers. PCR was carried out using P fuTurboÒ DNA
Polymerase (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA, USA) following the
manufacturer’s protocol. The P CR products were sub-
cloned in p CR-Script Amp vector (PCR-Script
TM
Amp
Cloning Kit; Stratagene), excised with XhoI, and finally
ligated inthe two-hybrid bait vector p EG202 ( Origene,
Rockville, MD, USA). The orientation and correct insertion
were checked by sequencing u sing the pEG202-seq primer.
Two-hybrid screening
This was c arried out f ollowing a s tandard protocol for
LexA-based two-hybrid systems [ 19]. Thirty-one library
plasmids that interacted withthe b aits were isolated from
the yeast and transferred into E. coli XL1-blue cells and
sequenced from the 3 ¢ and 5¢ endonaPerkin–Elmer310
sequencer using the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing
Ready Reaction Kit (P erkin–Elmer).
5¢ RACE
5¢ RACE was p erformed using the SMART
TM
RACE
cDNA Amplification Kit (Clontech, Alameda, CA, USA)
following the manufacturer’s instructions. Two specific
primers were u sed (P1: 5 ¢-GCCATCGGGCAACAAAT
GATCCTTGGGGCTGGTCTTG-3¢;P2:5¢-GATCGG
TTGTACCTTCGACGGGCACAGCAAAACCA-3¢,see
Fig. 3).
Northern-blot hybridization
Total RNA was extracted from freshly prepared t issues
using the TriFast Kit (Peqlab, Erlangen, Germany) and
subjected to electrophoresis in a 0.8% agarose gel. North-
ern-blot analysis was performed according t o standard
procedures [20]. A s a hybridization probe, we u sed a
digoxygenin-labeled antisense R NA, s ynthesized from
Fig. 1. S cheme ofthe post-translational cleavage pattern ofthe Calli-
phora h examerin r eceptor [7,9]. The primary translation product con-
tains a 17-amino-acid N -termin al signal p eptide which is removed
immediately after translation. Before reaching the cell membrane, the
receptor precursor is cleaved a second time: a 429-amino-acid C-ter-
minal fragment is removed, giving rise to P45 and ABP96 (807 amino
acids) which comprises the active receptor. The onse t of arylphorin
reabsorption by thefat bo dy coincides with a third receptor cleavage
which generates ABP64 (554 amino acids) and P30 (253 amino acids).
Only ABP 130, ABP96 and P30 are able to b ind hexamerins.
Ó FEBS 2002 Calliphoraanteriorfatbodyprotein (Eur. J. Biochem. 269) 955
linearized A FP cDN A as template using t he DIG-RNA-
Labeling Kit (T7; Roc he Molecular Biochemicals, Mann -
heim, G ermany). Immunodetection w as carried out using
antibodies to DIG coupled with peroxidas e. The blots w ere
developed b ythe nitroblue tetrazolium chloride/5-bromo-
4-chloro-3-indonyl phosphate (NBT/BCIP) metho d.
In situ
hybridization on cryosections
Seven-day-old anaesthetized larvae received injections of
5 lL 4% paraformaldehyde in NaCl/P
i
(7 m
M
Na
2
HPO
4
,
3m
M
NaH
2
HPO
4
, 130 m
M
NaCl) a nd were fixed overnight
in paraformaldehyde/NaCl/P
i
at 4 °C. The fixed larvae were
incubated at 4 °C f or 24 h i n Ringer solution (130 m
M
NaCl, 4.7 m
M
KCl, 0.74 m
M
KH
2
HPO
4
,0.35m
M
Na
2
HPO
4
,1.8m
M
MgCl
2
, p H 7.0) c ontaining 25%
sucrose. Longitudinal cryosections (10 lm) were incubated
for 5 min in 0.1
M
glycine/Tris/HCl buffer (pH 7.0) and
successively for 15 min at room temperature in NaCl/P
i
containing 0.3% Triton X-100. After three wash s teps with
NaCl/P
i
, the sections were fixed for 2 min in 2% paraform-
aldehyde and then for 10 min in 10 m
M
Tris/HCl/1 m
M
EDTA (pH 7.4). After a 1-h prehybridization, the heat-
denatured DIG-labeled AFP-antise nse RNA probe was
added for hybr idization overnight at 42 °C. The slides were
washed according to the following scheme: 3 · 10 min with
4 · NaCl/Cit; 2 · 10minwith2· NaCl/Cit; 1 0 min
with 0.1 · NaCl/Cit; 10 min with 0.05 · NaCl/Cit; 5 min
with NaCl/Tris. After incubation for 30 m inin nonfat dried
milk-saturated NaCl/P
i
, the slides were incub ated for 2 h at
37 °C with antibodies to DIG. After three washes with
NaCl/Tris, the reactive structures were visualized by the
NBT/BCIP method. The specimens were mounted in
Mowiol and analyzed under t he microscope.
Whole-mount
in situ
hybridization
Last-instar larvae were dissected in ice-cold insect saline by a
cut at the posterior end and upending the c omplete larvae.
The gut was removed and the preparations promptly fixed
in MEMFA (0.1
M
Mops, 2 m
M
EGTA, 1 m
M
MgSO
4
,
3.7% formaldeh yde) for 2 h at room temperature. The
tissues were dehydrated with methanol and s tored at )20 °C
until used for whole-mount in situ hybridization [21].
Immuno-coprecipitiation with AFP and ABP antibodies
The anti-ABP IgG recognizes thehexamerin (arylphorin)
receptor of C. vicina [5]. The anti-AFP IgG was provided by
Dr Nakajima and recognizes a 34-kDa AFP in S. peregrina
[17]. Protein A–Sepharose CL-4B (Ph arma Biotech, F rei-
burg, Germany) was s uspended in NaCl/P
i
. The resulting
gel was centrifuged at 1000 g and resuspended in 1 vol.
NaCl/P
i
(SL). Anteriorfatbody tissue from 8-day-old
larvae was homogenize d in NaCl/P
i
containing 0.05%
phenylthiourea and centrifuged for 5 min at 8000 g at 4 °C.
The s upernatant was used for immunoprecipitation. SL
(50 lL) was incu bated in an Eppendorf cap with 5 lganti-
ABP IgG at 4 °C for 4 h. Then, 500 lL fat body
supernatant or 500 lL haemocytes was added a nd incuba-
ted at 4 °C overnight. As controls, anti-(rabbit LexA) IgG
was a dded as an antibody or NaCl/P
i
was u sed instead of
homogenate. The incubation mixtures were centrifuged and
the pe llet washed eight times with NaCl/P
i
. The last pellet
was suspended in 30 lL s ample buffer, heated at 95 °Cfor
2 min, and centrifuged. The s upernatant ( 15 lL) was
subjected to SDS/PAGE.
Western-blot analysis
For i mmunoblots, the heat-denatured proteins were trans-
ferred to poly(vinylidene difluoride) membranes (Millipore
Corp., Bed ford, MA, USA). The membranes were blocked
with 10% nonfat dried milk/0.3% Tween 20 in NaCl/Tris
and incubated with anti-AFP IgG (0.5 lgÆmL
)1
in NaCl/
Tris containing 1% BSA) for 2 h at room temperature.
After three washes in NaCl/Tris, the secondary antibody
(goat an ti-rabbit IgG conjugated with alkaline phosphatase,
diluted 1 : 7500; Promega, Heidelberg, Germany) was
added and the blots were incubated for 1 h. After three
washes, the blots were developed with NBT/BCIP system as
described under Northern-blot hybridization.
Immunofluorescence analysis
Longitudinal cryosections (10 lm) from the same larvae as
used for in situ hybridization were blocked at room
temperature for 2 h with 3% normal g oat s erum in
0.5 · PAT ( 1 · NaCl/P
i
, 1% albumin, 0.5% Triton X-100)
and then incubated overnight at 4 °C with anti-AFP IgG
(10 lgÆlL
)1
in 0.5 · PAT). A fter three washes with
NaCl/P
i
, t he sections were incubated for 2 h at room
temperature with a Cy2 (cyanine 2-OSu bisfunctional)-
conjugated affinity-purified goat anti-rabbit IgG (1 : 50;
Rockland, Gilbertsville, PA, USA) in 0.5 · PAT. After
being thoroughly washed, the sections were analyzed under
a Leica fluorescent microscope and photographed with a
Pixera CCD camera. The specificity ofthe AFP immuno-
reaction was verified by omitting the primary antibody.
RESULTS
Screening for interactionwithhexamerin receptor
Using the yeast two-hybrid s ystem and ABP 130, as well as
ABP 96 (Fig. 1) as a bait, we isolated 27 Ôinteraction positiveÕ
yeast clones. The library (prey) plasmids of these clones was
isolated. S equence analysis ofthe cDNAs revealed that 17
were hexamerin cDNAs ( 14 arylphorin and three LSP-2),
confirming the ability ofthe experimental system to identify
proteins that interact withthehexamerin receptor. Thirteen
of the library plasmids contained cDNAs that encoded
nonhexamerin interactors. In our database search using
BLAST X
analysis, nine showed no homology to a ny known
protein. We identified three cDNAs that encoded a protein
with 93% identity inthe deduced amino-acid sequence with
the A FP of S. peregrina (GenBank accession number
BAA99282). Because ofthe high sequence identity with
the Sarcophaga AFP, we named our clone Calliphora AFP
(GenBank accession number AY028616). The AFP clones
were identified by screening the prey library with ABP130
(once) or ABP96 (twice) as baits.
We also examined the ability of AFP to interact with
ABP130, ABP96, and ABP64 inthe two-hybrid assay. We
found a strong interaction between AFP and ABP130 and
ABP96, but no interactionwith ABP64 (Table 1).
956 I. A. Hansen et al.(Eur. J. Biochem. 269) Ó FEBS 2002
Immuno-coprecipitation of AFP and hexamerin receptor
To confirm the results d emonstrating theinteraction of
AFP with different cleavage products ofthe hexamerin
receptor, w e used immuno-coprecipitation as an indepen-
dent method. AFP could be precipitated w ith anti-ABP IgG
and thereceptor (ABP) with anti-AFP IgG. A s can be seen
from Fig. 2, anti-AFP IgG precipitated the receptor
cleavage f ragment P 30, whereas anti-ABP IgG precipitated
AFP.
Isolation and sequence analysis of full-length AFP cDNA
The deduced peptide sequences ofthe isolated AFP cDNAs
did not contain a start methionine and were lacking 40
amino acids at the N-terminus compared withthe AFP of
S. peregrina (GenBank accession number BAA99282).
5¢-RACE PCR led to an overlapping fragment of 288 bp.
The complete 1 150-bp AFP cDNA obtained (GenBank
accession number AY028616) had an O RF of 921 bp
starting with an ATG c odon at postion 42 and ending with
a TAA codon at position 962 (Fig. 3). The predicted protein
is composed of 306 amino acids, with a calculated molecular
mass of 34.3 kDa and a pI of 5.72. Similar searches with the
deduced amino-acid sequence of f ull-length Calliphora
AFP, tested against the SwissProt database, showed a
93% pairwise amino-acid identity and 97% positivity with
the AFP of S. peregrina, and, furthermore, a 75% identity
and 85% positivity withthe AFP o f D. melanogaster
(GenBank accession number JC7250).
The presence of a stop codon at position 33 inthe AFP
cDNA ()9 from t he start c odon) explains why we were not
able to isolate a full-length cDNA by two-hybrid screening.
A stop codon at this position interrupts the synthesis of a
two-hybrid fusion protein, if the f ull-lenth c DNA is ligated
in the library plasmid.
Stage-specific and tissue-specific appearance of AFP
We tested the Sarcophaga antibody to AFP for its ability t o
recognize a similar proteininCalliphora by immunoblot
analysis. As s hown in F ig. 4, a 34-kDa protein w as
recognized inthe a nterior as w ell as the central, but not
the posterior, part ofthefatbody (Fig. 4 B). A clear signal
was also detected inthe haemocytes. The apparent molec-
ular mass ofthe detected AFP band (34 kDa) corresponds
well to that calculated from the a mino-acid sequence
(34.4 kDa).
Northern-blot analysis confirms th e presence o f strongly
enriched AFP mRNA (1.2 kbp) intheanterior part of t he
fat bodyof last-instar larvae (Fig. 5B). The mRNA was also
present in pupae and adults (Fig. 5 A), as well a s in
haemocytes of last-instar larvae (Fig. 5B).
The r esults obtained by i mmunoblot and Northern-
blot analysis were confirmed b y immunofluorescence
(Fig. 6 A–C), in situ hybridization of cryosections (Fig. 6D),
and whole-mount in situ hybridization (Fig. 6E,F). A sharp
border could b e detected b etween flu orescent cells of the
anterior fatbody lobe and nonfluorescent cells ofthe central
lobe inthe immunofluorescence experiment (Fig. 6 A). The
whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that the AFP
mRNA transcription inthefatbody is almost exclusively
restricted to theanterior lobes in l ast-instar larvae
(Fig. 6E,F). Haemocytes were sho wn to express the AFP
mRNA (Fig. 6D) and t o synthesize t he AFP protein
(Fig. 6C).
Western b lots, using an antibody that recognizes the
receptor fragments ABP96, ABP64, P45 and P30, showed
that the h examerin receptor is pr esent in a ll fat body
fractions but not inthe haemocytes (Fig. 4A).
Fig. 2. Immuno-coprecipitation o f AFP and theCalliphorahexamerinreceptor by a ntibodies to ABP and AFP demonstrated by Western b lotting.
(A) Proteins were separated by SDS/PAGE (10% ge l), transferred to membrane filters, and probed with a polyclonal anti-AFP I gG. Fat b ody
extract from 7-day-old larva (H). Fatbody proteins after immunoprecipitation withhexamerinreceptor antibody (anti-ABP IgG); proteins derived
from p osterior fatbody (pF), or anteriorfat b ody (aF). Controls: K1 ¼ aF, omitting anti-ABP IgG precipitation; K 2 ¼ a F using anti-(LexA)
IgG instead of anti-AFP IgG; K3 ¼ buffer instead offat bo dy homogenate. The stained 34-kDa band represents AFP. AB ¼ anti-ABP or anti-
LexA (K2), r espectively. (B) The separate d proteins were probed with a polyclo nal anti-ABP IgG. a F ¼ p roteins from anteriorfatbody after
immunoprecipitation with anti-AFP IgG. The stained 30-kDa band represents P30. AB ¼ anti-AFP. Visualization ofthe bands was with a
secondary anti-rabbit antibody coupled with alkaline phosphatase followed by NBT/BCIP colour reaction.
Table 1. I nteraction of AFP with different fragments ofthe hexamerin
receptor (see Fig. 1) in a two-hybrid experiment. AFP binds to ABP130
and ABP96 but not ABP64. The hexamerin, arylphorin, used as a
positive control, binds to all receptor fragments.
Bait
Library plasmid
(Prey)
Reporter gene
Leu2 lacZ
ABP130 AFP + +
ABP96 AFP + +
ABP64 AFP – –
ABP130 Arylphorin + +
ABP96 Arylphorin + +
ABP64 Arylphorin + +
Ó FEBS 2002 Calliphoraanteriorfatbodyprotein (Eur. J. Biochem. 269) 957
DISCUSSION
AFP, a binding partner ofthehexamerin receptor
The fatbody is the biochemically most active organ in
insects, with multi ple functions such as metabolism o f
proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, particularly blood
sugar and haemolymph proteins, such as vitellogenins
and hexamerins. Thefatbody corresponds functionally, a t
least in p art, to the liver of verte brates. Therefore, this
insect organ is a highly suitable tissue for studies of the
stage-specific and t issue-specific expression of genes, post-
transcriptional r egulation of RNA, and post-translational
control of p rotein bio synthesis. On e ofthe most detailed
investigations offatbody proteins has b een the metab-
olism ofthe storage protein arylphorin, which belongs t o
the class of hexamerins [5–9]. These proteins are synthe-
sized in a stage-specific manner and reabsorbed by the fat
body. Hexamerin uptake has been shown to be due to
receptor-mediated endocytosis. As in all other dipteran
insects i nvestigated so far, thehexamerinreceptor of
C. vicina is subjected to threefold post-translational cleav-
age, which succesively results inthe active receptor
involved in endocytosis. T he last cleavage step is initiated
by ecdysteroids, the hormone acting at the post-transla-
tional l evel [7,9].
Fig. 4. Tissue-specific appearance of AFP and thehexamerin receptor. (A) Extracts of a nterior ( aF), c entral ( cF), po sterior (pF) f at b ody, hae-
mocytes (H) and cell-free ha emolyph (s) were analyzed by S DS/PAGE (8% gel) and probed with a polyclonal anti-ABP antib ody using the BCIP/
NBT colour reaction. The cleavage fragments (ABP96, ABP64, P45, P30) ofthehexamerinreceptor can be observed e xclusively inthefatbody but
not inthe haemocytes and haemolymph. (B) Same protein samples as in (A) probed with an anti-AFP IgG. Large amounts ofthe 34-kDa protein
(AFP) can be detected intheanterior part of t he fatbody (aF); substantial l ess protein is found inthe cen tral (cF) fatbody and no AFP in t he
posterior fatbody (pF) and within the cell-free haem olymp h (s). AFP can also be observed inthe haemocytes ( H).
Fig. 3. Nucleic acid and deduced amino-acid
sequences ofthe cDNA encoding Calliphora
AFP. The specific primers used for RACE
PCR are underlined, and the additional
N-terminal sequence obtain ed by 5¢ RACE is
enclosed in shaded boxes. Start and termina-
tion codons are in bold letters, and the
putative polyadenylation signal is double-
underlined.
958 I. A. Hansen et al.(Eur. J. Biochem. 269) Ó FEBS 2002
Looking for binding partners ofthehexamerin receptor,
we constructed and screened a cDNA library of C. vicina
RNA from fatbody by two-hybrid assays. In addition to the
conversant interactors arylphorin and LSP-2, which belong
to thehexamerin family, we identified AFP as a strong
interactor. T he two-hybrid analysis and the results of t he
immuno-coprecipitation revealed that AFP i nteracts with
P30 and with all cleavage products ofthe hexamerin
receptor that contain this peptide (AB P130, ABP96),
whereas shorter N-terminal fragments ofthereceptor that
do not include P30 show no interactionwith AFP (Table 1).
Thus, three cleavage products are possible interactors in vivo:
ABP130, ABP96 and P30. However, significant interaction
of AFP and peptides derived from thehexamerin receptor
precursor can only take place intheanterior l obe ofthe fat
body because ofthe large amounts of AFP in this tissue.
Expression of AFP in
C. vicina
As in almost all experiments dealing withprotein expression
and sequestration, these s tudies were performed using the
entire fat body. Here we show that AFP is exclusively
expressed intheanterior pair offatbody lobes of last-instar
larvae, and the median and posterior lobes appear to be free
from AFP. This region-specific expression pattern a lso
resembles that reported for S. peregrina [17]. As the anterior
part ofthefatbody is in contact withthe ring gland, the
ecdysteroid-producing organ, its function may be more
under endocrine control t han t he central and posterior
parts, which are provided with hormones circulating in the
haemolymph.
In addition to its exp ression in t rophocytes of the
anterior fat body, AFP was found to be present in
another cell type. Larval haemocytes contain substantial
amounts of A FP mRNA (Fig. 5B) and AFP protein
(Fig. 4 B). A s t hese cells never express the hexamerin
receptor (Fig. 4A), AFP must have different functions in
the two cell types. Cell-free haemolymph preparations
were negative, indicating that AFP is not secreted into the
haemolymph. AFP does not contain a transmembrane
transport s ignal peptide.
Fig. 5. Northern blot demonstrating the stage-specific and tissue-specific
appearance of AFP mRNA. (A) Stage specificity of AFP mRNA
expression. Total fat b ody RNA (20 lg) isolated from different
developmental stages was applied to each slot. A digoxygenin-labeled
antisense AFP RNA probe was used with an alkaline phosphatase-
linked anti-digoxygenin IgG. Hybridization resulted in a distinct b and
at 1.2 kb. RNA was derived from l ast-instar larvae (4–7: 4–7-day-old
larvae), prepupae (V), and pupae (P ). Adult flies (Ad) do n ot show a
distinct band, indicating weak e xpres sion of AFP mRNA. (B) Tissue
specificity of AFP mRNA expression. Same probe as in (A). Total
RNA was prepared from anterior (aF), central (cF) and posterior (pF)
fat b ody, and haemocytes (H) of 7-day-old pupae . The 1.2-kb signal
was detected intheanteriorfatbody and the haemocytes. A light signal
only appears inthe central fat body; no signal was obtained in the
posterior fat body.
Fig. 6. Immunostaining and in situ hybridization ofCalliphorafat body. Longitudin al cryosections (10 lm) of 7-day-old larvae (A–C) were stained
with a Cy2-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG after incubation with rabbit anti-AFP IgG. (A) Inthe border region ofanterior (aF) and central fat
body (cF), AFP-immunostaining appears only intheanteriorfat body. (B) In a single fatbody cell oftheanteriorfat body, AFP immunostaining is
restricted to the cytoplasm. (C) AFP immunostaining can also be found inthe cytoplasm of haemocytes. (D) In situ hybridization of longitudinal
cryosections with a digoxygenin-labeled antisense AFP RNA probe shows no expression of AFP in muscle (m) and posterior fatbody cells (pF).
Haemocytes (hc) show high expre ssion of AFP m RNA. (E,F) Whole-mount in situ hybridization of upended 7-day-old larvae. Theanterior fat
body exhibits strong expression of AFP mRNA, whereas only weak expression is seen inthe central fatbody (cF) and no expression inthe posterior
fat body (pF) or the brain. The white bars in dicate 50 lm, and the black b ars indicate 250 lm.
Ó FEBS 2002 Calliphoraanteriorfatbodyprotein (Eur. J. Biochem. 269) 959
The possible function of AFP
Nothing is known a bout the function of AFP to date. Its
amino-acid sequence contains no conversant domains that
suggest a function. In contrast withthe mammalian liver
protein, regucalcin, which is assumed to be derived from a
common anc estral gene, AFP has been shown to have no
calcium-binding activity in S. pe regrina [17] and is upregu-
latedinadultD. melanogaster reared at low temperatures
[22].
The i nteraction of AFP a nd thehexamerin receptor,
shown in this paper, gives a first clue to a possible function of
this protein. From our data, we conclude that it may b e
involved in endocytosis ofhexamerin by interacting with the
receptor. As mentioned above, this molecular in teraction can
only occur intheanteriorfat body, a tissue known to contain
fewer protein storage granules, particularly fewer hexamerin
storage particles (R. Marx, personal communication), than
the central and p osterior parts [16] and which rapidly
disintegrates shortly after pupariation [17]. We speculate
that, because of t he interactionwith AFP, most o f the
hexamerin receptor i s inactivated intheanteriorfat body
preventing uptake of storage proteinin this part ofthe tissue.
This study opens the wa y to further experiments in two
distinct areas. On the one hand, the binding domains of
AFP and thehexamerinreceptor could be m apped in detail
by functional dissection using truncated prey proteins in
two-hybrid experiments. On the other hand, the use of
antibodies against AFP inin vitro and in vivo experiments
investigating hexamerin uptake by theanteriorfat body
may g ive insights i nto the nature ofthe i nteractions
described above. Such approaches could l ead to a better
understanding ofthe regulation of endocytotic uptake in the
insect fatbody and beyond. It is possible that hexamerin
endocytosis in insects does not follow t he standard scheme
of eukaryotic endocytosis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forsch ungs-
gemeinschaft (Sche 195/13). W e are indeb ted to Dr Nakajima for the
gift of antibodies against AFP. We thank Anneliese Striewe -Conz and
Dieter Dudaczek for competent technical assistance.
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Calliphora vicina
Immo A. Hansen, Susanne R. Meyer, Ingo Scha¨. fat
body (cF), AFP-immunostaining appears only in the anterior fat body. (B) In a single fat body cell of the anterior fat body, AFP immunostaining is
restricted