Isolation of the non-glycosylated proteins of desmosomes and immunolocalization of a third plaque protein: desmoplakin III.

The cytoplasmic plaque of the spot desmosome or macula adhaerens mediates the attachment of bundles of intermediate filaments to the plasma membrane. We have isolated from a bovine epidermal desmosome preparation a fraction that is highly enriched in the non-glycosylated desmosomal proteins. Plastic-embedded and thin-sectioned high-speed pellets of this fraction reveal closely packed filaments that resemble plaque regions of the low pH whole desmosome preparation from which they are derived. NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reveals four major, non-glycosylated proteins of 240, 210, 81, and 77 kDa. In agreement with a previous study, we find the 240- and 210-kDa proteins (desmoplakins I and II) to be closely related, whereas the 81- and 77-kDa proteins are unique. This is shown both immunologically and by one-dimensional proteolytic peptide mapping. Monospecific, polyclonal rabbit antibodies were prepared against the 81-kDa protein and used, in conjunction with protein A-complexed colloidal gold particles (PAG), to immunolocalize this antigen on ultrathin sections of bovine muzzle epidermis. On antibody-labeled sections, PAG particles were associated principally with the desmosomal cytoplasmic plaque. Sections exposed to preimmune serum showed little or no labeling. We conclude that the 81-kDa protein, like the 240/210-kDa protein family, is one of the major components of the desmosomal plaque. We designate it as "desmoplakin III." The location of the 77-kDa protein remains to be definitively established.