A Kunitz type protease inhibitor related protein is synthesized in Drosophila prepupal salivary glands and released into the moulting fluid during pupation

Kress, Horst; Jarrin, Andres; Thuroff, Eduardo; Saunders, Robert; Weise, Chris; Scmidt am Busch, Marcel; Knapp, Ernst-W.; Wedde, Marianne and Vilcinskas, Andreas (2004). A Kunitz type protease inhibitor related protein is synthesized in Drosophila prepupal salivary glands and released into the moulting fluid during pupation. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 34(8) pp. 855–869.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.05.006

Abstract

From the Drosophila virilis late puff region 31C, we microcloned two neighbouring genes, Kil-1 and Kil-2, that encode putative Kunitz serine protease inhibitor like proteins. The Kil-1 gene is expressed exclusively in prepupal salivary glands. Using a size mutant of the KIL-1 protein and MALDI-TOF analysis, we demonstrate that during pupation this protein is released from the prepupal salivary glands into the pupation fluid covering the surface of the pupa. 3-D-structure predictions are consistent with the known crystal structure of the human Kunitz type protease inhibitor 2KNT. This is the first experimental proof for the extracorporal presence of a distinct Drosophila prepupal salivary gland protein. Possible functions of KIL-1 in the context of the control of proteolytic activities in the pupation fluid are discussed.

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