Identification of a Nuclear Targeting Domain in the Insertion between Helices C and D in Protease Inhibitor-10*

Protease inhibitor 10 (PI-10), an intracellular ovalbumin-serpin, contains a series of basic amino acids in the loop between helices C and D that exhibit homology to known nuclear targeting signals. Transfection of HeLa cells with plasmids encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) coupled to PI-10 revealed an intense fluorescence of the nucleus. Immunoblotting demonstrated a single M r 80,000 EGFP·PI-10 complex in isolated nuclei. Mutation of four basic amino acids in the interhelical loop to alanines (i.e. K74A, K75A, R76A, K77A) resulted in the fluorescent complex being confined to the cytoplasm. Further evidence for a nuclear targeting signal in this region was provided by localization of the fluorescent label to the nucleus in cells transfected with a plasmid encoding EGFP fused to the 25 amino acids comprising the interhelical loop of PI-10 (i.e. Arg-63 to Glu-87), whereas a cytoplasmic distribution was noted for the construct encoding EGFP coupled to the mutated interhelical loop. These data raise the possibility that PI-10 may play a role in regulating protease activity within the nucleus, a property unique in the field of serpin biology.