Nucleotide Substitution Rate of Mammalian Mitochondrial Genomes

We present here for the first time a comprehensive study based on the analysis of closely related organisms to provide an accurate determination of the nucleotide substitution rate in mammalian mitochondrial genomes. This study examines the evolutionary pattern of the different functional mtDNA regions as accurately as possible on the grounds of available data, revealing some important ``genomic laws.' The main conclusions can be summarized as follows. (1) High intragenomic variability in the evolutionary dynamic of mtDNA was found. The substitution rate is strongly dependent on the region considered, and slow- and fast-evolving regions can be identified. Nonsynonymous sites, the D-loop central domain, and tRNA and rRNA genes evolve much more slowly than synonymous sites and the two peripheral D-loop region domains. The synonymous rate is fairly uniform over the genome, whereas the rate of nonsynonymous sites depends on functional constraints and therefore differs considerably between genes. (2) The commonly accepted statement that mtDNA evolves more rapidly than nuclear DNA is valid only for some regions, thus it should be referred to specific mitochondrial components. In particular, nonsynonymous sites show comparable rates in mitochondrial and nuclear genes; synonymous sites and small rRNA evolve about 20 times more rapidly and tRNAs about 100 times more rapidly in mitochondria than in their nuclear counterpart. (3) A species-specific evolution is particularly evident in the D-loop region. As the divergence times of the organism pairs under consideration are known with sufficient accuracy, absolute nucleotide substitution rates are also provided. Received: 11 May 1998 / Accepted: 2 September 1998     

PKC-epsilon regulates basolateral endocytosis in human T84 intestinal epithelia: role of F-actin and MARCKS

Protein kinase C (PKC) and the actin cytoskeleton are criticaleffectors of membrane trafficking in mammalian cells. In polarized epithelia, the role of these factors in endocytic events at either theapical or basolateral membrane is poorly defined. In the present study,phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and other activators of PKCselectively enhanced basolateral but not apical fluid-phase endocytosisin human T84 intestinal epithelia. Stimulation of basolateralendocytosis was blocked by the conventional and novel PKC inhibitorGö-6850, but not the conventional PKC inhibitor Gö-6976,and correlated with translocation of the novel PKC isoform PKC-. PMAtreatment induced remodeling of basolateral F-actin. The actindisassembler cytochalasin D stimulated basolateral endocytosis andenhanced stimulation of endocytosis by PMA, whereas PMA-stimulated endocytosis was blocked by the F-actin stabilizers phalloidin andjasplakinolide. PMA induced membrane-to-cytosol redistribution of theF-actin cross-linking protein myristoylated alanine-rich C kinasesubstrate (MARCKS). Cytochalasin D also induced MARCKS translocationand enhanced PMA-stimulated translocation of MARCKS. A myristoylatedpeptide corresponding to the phosphorylation site domain of MARCKSinhibited both MARCKS translocation and PMA stimulation of endocytosis.MARCKS translocation was inhibited by Gö-6850 but notGö-6976. The results suggest that a novel PKC isoform, likelyPKC-, stimulates basolateral endocytosis in model epithelia by amechanism that involves F-actin and MARCKS.

     

Pre-existing risk factor profiles in users and non-users of hormone replacement therapy: prospective cohort study in Gothenburg,Sweden

ObjectiveTo assess whether risk factor profiles for cardiovascular disease differed, before starting treatment, between women who would subsequently use hormone replacement therapy and those who would remain untreated.DesignProspective population study, initiated in 1968-9, with follow ups in 1974, 1980, and 1992.SettingGothenburg, Sweden.Participants1201 women born in 1918, 1922, and 1930, representative of women of the same age in the general population.Results179 of the 1202 women (14.9%) used hormone replacement therapy sometime during the 24 year follow up period. Multivariate models indicated that these women had significantly lower blood pressure, had less obesity, and belonged to a higher social group before the start of treatment than women who would remain untreated.ConclusionWomen who would subsequently use hormone replacement therapy were already at lower cardiovascular risk before the start of treatment than women who would remain untreated. Some of the claimed beneficial effects of treatment may thus be explained by women who would use hormone replacement therapy representing a healthier cohort than women who would remain untreated.

Key messages

• Many retrospective epidemiological studies have shown that hormone replacement therapy reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Results from the prospective population study in Gothenburg show that there were already differences in risk factor profile of women before hormone replacement therapy was considered
• It is too early to recommend hormone replacement therapy for prevention of cardiovascular disease before controlled randomised studies have been performed

     

Estimation of binding constants for the substrate and activator of Rhodobacter sphaeroides adenosine 5'-diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase using affinity capillary electrophoresis

Binding constants were determined for the activator fructose-6-phosphate (F6P) and substrate adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) (in the presence and absence of F6P) to the recombinant wild-type (WT) Rhodobacter sphaeroides adenosine 5'-diphosphate-(ADP)-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGlc PPase) using affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE). In these binding studies, the capillary is initially injected with a plug of sample containing ADPGlc PPase and noninteracting standards. The sample is then subjected to increasing concentrations of F6P or ATP in the running buffer and electrophoresed. Analysis of the change in the migration times of ADPGlc PPase, relative to those of the noninteracting standards, as a function of the varying concentration of F6P or ATP yields a binding constant. The values obtained were in good agreement with kinetic parameters obtained from steady state activity assays. The method was extended to examine the F6P binding constants for the R33A and R22A enzymes and the ATP binding constants for the R8A enzyme in the presence and absence of F6P. The R33A enzyme has been shown by activity assays to be insensitive to F6P activation, indicating a defect in binding or in downstream transmission of the allosteric signal required for full activation. ACE indicated no apparent binding of F6P, supporting the former hypothesis. The R22A enzyme was shown by activity assays to have a approximately 15-fold decrease in apparent affinity for F6P compared to that of WT while ACE indicated an affinity comparable to that of WT; potential reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. The R8A enzyme as measured by activity assays exhibits reduced fold-activation by F6P compared to that of WT but increased apparent affinity for ATP in the presence of F6P. The ACE results were in good agreement with the activity assay data, confirming the increased affinity for ATP in the presence of F6P. This method demonstrates the quantitative ability of ACE to study different binding sites/ligand interactions in allosteric enzymes.     

Induction of neurites by the regulatory domains of PKCdelta and epsilon is counteracted by PKC catalytic activity and by the RhoA pathway

We have shown that protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon, independently of its kinase activity, via its regulatory domain (RD), induces neurites in neuroblastoma cells. This study was designed to evaluate whether the same effect is obtained in nonmalignant neural cells and to dissect mechanisms mediating the effect. Overexpression of PKCepsilon resulted in neurite induction in two immortalised neural cell lines (HiB5 and RN33B). Phorbol ester potentiated neurite outgrowth from PKCepsilon-overexpressing cells and led to neurite induction in cells overexpressing PKCdelta. The effects were potentiated by blocking the PKC catalytic activity with GF109203X. Furthermore, kinase-inactive PKCdelta induced more neurites than the wild-type isoform. The isolated regulatory domains of novel PKC isoforms also induced neurites. Experiments with PKCdelta-overexpressing HiB5 cells demonstrated that phorbol ester, even in the presence of a PKC inhibitor, led to a decrease in stress fibres, indicating an inactivation of RhoA. Active RhoA blocked PKC-induced neurite outgrowth, and inhibition of the RhoA effector ROCK led to neurite outgrowth. This demonstrates that neurite induction by the regulatory domain of PKCdelta can be counteracted by PKCdelta kinase activity, that PKC-induced neurite outgrowth is accompanied by stress fibre dismantling indicating an inactivation of RhoA, and that the RhoA pathway suppresses PKC-mediated neurite outgrowth.     

Dynamics of transgene expression in a neural stem cell line transduced with lentiviral vectors incorporating the cHS4 insulator

Transplantation of genetically manipulated cells to the central nervous system holds great promise for the treatment of several severe neurological disorders. The success of this strategy relies on sufficient levels of transgene expression after transplantation. This has been difficult to achieve, however, due to transgene silencing. In this study, we transduced the neural stem cell line RN33B with self-inactivating lentiviral vectors and analyzed transgenic expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in several different settings both in vitro and after transplantation to the brain. We found that the transgene was affected of silencing both when transduced cells were proliferating and after differentiation. To prevent silencing, the cHS4 insulator was incorporated into the lentiviral vector. We found that a vector carrying the cHS4 insulator was partially protected against differentiation-dependent downregulation in vitro and in vivo. However, in proliferating cells, we found evidence for variegation and positional effects that were not prevented by the cHS4 insulator, suggesting that the mechanism behind silencing in proliferating cells is not the same mechanism influencing differentiation-dependent silencing. Taken together, these findings favor vector optimization as a strategy for achieving efficient ex vivo gene transfer in the central nervous system.     

Chromatin from two classes of platyhelminthes display both protist H1 and higher eukaryote core histones

Histones from the parasitic platyhelminthes, Echinococcus granulosus and Fasciola hepatica, were systematically characterized. Core histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4, which were identified on the basis of amino acid sequencing and mass spectrometry data, showed conserved electrophoretic patterns. Histones H1, identified on the basis of physicochemical properties, amino acid composition and amino acid sequencing, showed divergence, both in their number and electrophoretic mobilities, between the two species and among other organisms. According to these data, core histones but not H1 histones, would be stabilized during evolution at the level of platyhelminthes.     

Alpha-synuclein up-regulation and aggregation during MPP+-induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells: intermediacy of transferrin receptor iron and hydrogen peroxide

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) is a neurotoxin that causes Parkinson's disease in experimental animals and humans. Despite the fact that intracellular iron was shown to be crucial for MPP(+)-induced apoptotic cell death, the molecular mechanisms for the iron requirement remain unclear. We investigated the role of transferrin receptor (TfR) and iron in modulating the expression of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) in MPP(+)-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. Results show that MPP(+) inhibits mitochondrial complex-1 and aconitase activities leading to enhanced H(2)O(2) generation, TfR expression and alpha-syn expression/aggregation. Pretreatment with cell-permeable iron chelators, TfR antibody (that inhibits TfR-mediated iron uptake), or transfection with glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) enzyme inhibits intracellular oxidant generation, alpha-syn expression/aggregation, and apoptotic signaling as measured by caspase-3 activation. Cells overexpressing alpha-syn exacerbated MPP(+) toxicity, whereas antisense alpha-syn treatment totally abrogated MPP(+)-induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells without affecting oxidant generation. The increased cytotoxic effects of alpha-syn in MPP(+)-treated cells were attributed to inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase and proteasomal function. We conclude that MPP(+)-induced iron signaling is responsible for intracellular oxidant generation, alpha-syn expression, proteasomal dysfunction, and apoptosis. Relevance to Parkinson's disease is discussed.     

Expression of L-ornithine Ndelta-oxygenase (PvdA) in fluorescent Pseudomonas species: an immunochemical and in silico study

Omega-amino acid monooxygenases (EC 1.14.13.-), catalysing the formation of hydroxamate precursors of microbial siderophores (e.g., pyoverdine), have so far eluded structural and biochemical characterisation. Here, the expression of recombinant L-ornithine-Ndelta-oxygenase (PvdA) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 is reported. A library of eight monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against PvdA has been generated. Two MAb families recognising the N- and C-terminal regions of PvdA were identified. The MAbs made it possible to demonstrate that 45-48 kDa PvdA homologues are expressed in response to iron limitation by different species and strains of fluorescent pseudomonads. Despite the different degrees in sequence similarity between P. aeruginosa PvdA and putative homologues from Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas syringae, Burkholderia cepacia, and Ralstonia solanacearum, in silico domain scanning predicts an impressive conservation of putative cofactor and substrate binding domains. The MAb library was also used to monitor PvdA expression during the transition of P. aeruginosa from iron-sufficient to iron-deficient growth.