Polymorphism and proteolytic fragments of granulocyte membrane cofactor protein (MCP, CD46) of complement.

Human granulocytes (polymorphonuclear leucocytes, PMN) possess a membrane cofactor protein (MCP, CD46), which is structurally and functionally distinct from the MCPs of other cell types: it shows a single broad band of 56-80 kDa (without the doublet pattern characteristic of MCP) on SDS/PAGE and has less affinity for complement component C3b. We purified PMN MCP using monoclonal antibodies in order to study the molecular differences between it and other MCPs. Several forms of PMN MCP with size heterogeneity were noted on SDS/PAGE and by immunoblotting. O-Glycanase treatment decreased this heterogeneity, yielding a fast-migrating component identical in position on SDS/PAGE to the O-glycanase-treated MCP of other cells. The cell-specific variation of MCP, therefore, arises from post-translational glycosylation and not from a difference in primary structure. The Factor I cofactor activity of PMN MCP was more efficient in cleaving the methylamine-treated complement components C4/C3 than was MCP from other cells, which shared a similar potency of cofactor activity on a weight basis. Two types of small-form PMN MCP were identified during purification. These were 42 kDa and 30 kDa in size; the former was recognized by M177 (a monoclonal antibody against the active site marker), possessed N-linked sugars [located on the short consensus repeats (SCRs)] but not O-linked ones (on the Ser/Thr-rich region), and retained cofactor activity for C3b/C4b cleavage, similar in potency to that of other MCPs. The functionally active soluble form of MCP was observed specifically in PMN. Protease inhibitors did not inhibit liberation of the fragments, although the generated fragments became susceptible to serine proteases. The findings show that the SCRs are the functional domain of MCP and that the MCP proteolysis found only in PMN may modulate the properties of PMN MCP. In conclusion, the structural features of PMN MCP largely reflect a variability in the O-linked sugars, and the decreased affinity for C3b may be in part attributable to proteolysis.