Characterization of two cDNAs encoding folate-binding proteins from L1210 murine leukemia cells. Increased expression associated with a genomic rearrangement.

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

L1210 murine leukemic cells grown under conditions of continuous low folate concentrations acquire increased levels of a high affinity/low capacity folate-binding protein (FBP). Using an oligonucleotide probe complementary to the human FBP, we have cloned and sequenced two murine FBP cDNAs isolated from a library constructed using a L1210 subline adapted for growth on low levels of 5-formyltetrahydrofolate. The encoding proteins, designated FBP1 and FBP2, have predicted Mr values of 29,415 and 28,821, respectively. These proteins share significant sequence identity with each other (70%) and with the deduced sequences of the human- and bovine-encoded FBPs (68-79%). Southern blot analysis of the low folate-adapted cell line revealed that, while neither of the two FBP-encoding genes was amplified, the FBP1 genomic locus had undergone rearrangement. On Northern blot analysis, this rearrangement was reflected in the enhanced expression (greater than 100-fold) of a FBP1-specific transcript which was 200 nucleotides shorter than the corresponding L1210 parental transcript. The increased expression of this transcript coincided with the increased expression of a membrane protein (Mr = 38,000) which could be affinity-labeled with a N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of [3H]folate. Accordingly, the FBP1 transcript appears to encode the high affinity/low capacity FBP. Compared to parental L1210 cells, expression of the FBP2-encoding transcript was unchanged in this cell line and, while the exact nature of the protein is unclear, FBP2 may represent a fetal form of the FBP.