The role of macrophages in demyelinating peripheral nervous system of mice heterozygously deficient in p0

Mice heterozygously deficient in the p0 gene (P0(+/-)) are animal models for some forms of inherited neuropathies. They display a progressive demyelinating phenotype in motor nerves, accompanied by mild infiltration of lymphocytes and increase in macrophages. We have shown previously that the T lymphocytes are instrumental in the demyelination process. This study addresses the functional role of the macrophage in this monogenic myelin disorder.In motor nerves of P0(+/)- mice, the number of macrophages in demyelinated peripheral nerves was increased by a factor of five when compared with motor nerves of wild-type mice. Immunoelectron microscopy, using a specific marker for mouse macrophages, displayed macrophages not only in the endoneurium of the myelin mutants, but also within endoneurial tubes, suggesting an active role in demyelination. To elucidate the roles of the macrophages, we crossbred the myelin mutants with a spontaneous mouse mutant deficient in macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), hence displaying impaired macrophage activation. In the P0-deficient double mutants also deficient in M-CSF, the numbers of macrophages were not elevated in the demyelinating motor nerves and demyelination was less severe. These findings demonstrate an active role of macrophages during pathogenesis of inherited demyelination with putative impact on future treatment strategies.     

Germline mutations in BMPR1A/ALK3 cause a subset of cases of juvenile polyposis syndrome and of Cowden and Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndromes

Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) is an inherited hamartomatous-polyposis syndrome with a risk for colon cancer. JPS is a clinical diagnosis by exclusion, and, before susceptibility genes were identified, JPS could easily be confused with other inherited hamartoma syndromes, such as Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS) and Cowden syndrome (CS). Germline mutations of MADH4 (SMAD4) have been described in a variable number of probands with JPS. A series of familial and isolated European probands without MADH4 mutations were analyzed for germline mutations in BMPR1A, a member of the transforming growth-factor beta-receptor superfamily, upstream from the SMAD pathway. Overall, 10 (38%) probands were found to have germline BMPR1A mutations, 8 of which resulted in truncated receptors and 2 of which resulted in missense alterations (C124R and C376Y). Almost all available component tumors from mutation-positive cases showed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the BMPR1A region, whereas those from mutation-negative cases did not. One proband with CS/CS-like phenotype was also found to have a germline BMPR1A missense mutation (A338D). Thus, germline BMPR1A mutations cause a significant proportion of cases of JPS and might define a small subset of cases of CS/BRRS with specific colonic phenotype.     

CNGA3 mutations in hereditary cone photoreceptor disorders

We recently showed that mutations in the CNGA3 gene encoding the alpha-subunit of the cone photoreceptor cGMP-gated channel cause autosomal recessive complete achromatopsia linked to chromosome 2q11. We now report the results of a first comprehensive screening for CNGA3 mutations in a cohort of 258 additional independent families with hereditary cone photoreceptor disorders. CNGA3 mutations were detected not only in patients with the complete form of achromatopsia but also in incomplete achromats with residual cone photoreceptor function and (rarely) in patients with evidence for severe progressive cone dystrophy. In total, mutations were identified in 53 independent families comprising 38 new CNGA3 mutations, in addition to the 8 mutations reported elsewhere. Apparently, both mutant alleles were identified in 47 families, including 16 families with presumed homozygous mutations and 31 families with two heterozygous mutations. Single heterozygous mutations were identified in six additional families. The majority of all known CNGA3 mutations (39/46) are amino acid substitutions compared with only four stop-codon mutations, two 1-bp insertions and one 3-bp in-frame deletion. The missense mutations mostly affect amino acids conserved among the members of the cyclic nucleotide gated (CNG) channel family and cluster at the cytoplasmic face of transmembrane domains (TM) S1 and S2, in TM S4, and in the cGMP-binding domain. Several mutations were identified recurrently (e.g., R277C, R283W, R436W, and F547L). These four mutations account for 41.8% of all detected mutant CNGA3 alleles. Haplotype analysis suggests that the R436W and F547L mutant alleles have multiple origins, whereas we found evidence that the R283W alleles, which are particularly frequent among patients from Scandinavia and northern Italy, have a common origin.     

A mutation in COL9A1 causes multiple epiphyseal dysplasia: further evidence for locus heterogeneity

Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) is an autosomal dominantly inherited chondrodysplasia. It is clinically highly heterogeneous, partially because of its complex genetic background. Mutations in four genes, COL9A2, COL9A3, COMP, and MATR3, all coding for cartilage extracellular matrix components (i.e., the alpha2 and alpha 3 chains of collagen IX, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, and matrilin-3), have been identified in this disease so far, but no mutations have yet been reported in the third collagen IX gene, COL9A1, which codes for the alpha1(IX) chain. MED with apparently recessive inheritance has been reported in some families. A homozygous R279W mutation was recently found in the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter gene, DTDST, in a patient with MED who had a club foot and double-layered patella. The series consisted of 41 probands with MED, 16 of whom were familial and on 4 of whom linkage analyses were performed. Recombination was observed between COL9A1, COL9A2, COL9A3, and COMP and the MED phenotype in two of the families, and between COL9A2, COL9A3, and COMP and the phenotype in the other two families. Screening of COL9A1 for mutations in the two probands from the families in which this gene was not involved in the recombinations failed to identify any disease-causing mutations. The remaining 37 probands were screened for mutations in all three collagen IX genes and in the COMP gene. The probands with talipes deformities or multipartite patella were also screened for the R279W mutation in DTDST. The analysis resulted in identification of three mutations in COMP and one in COL9A1, but none in the other two collagen IX genes. Two of the probands with a multipartite patella had the homozygous DTDST mutation. The results show that mutations in COL9A1 can cause MED, but they also suggest that mutations in COL9A1, COL9A2, COL9A3, COMP, and DTDST are not the major causes of MED and that there exists at least one additional locus.     

Role of sodium bioenergetics in Vibrio cholerae

The ability of the bacterium to use sodium in bioenergetic processes appears to play a key role in both the environmental and pathogenic phases of Vibrio cholerae. Aquatic environments, including fresh, brackish, and coastal waters, are an important factor in the transmission of cholera and an autochthonous source. The organism is considered to be halophilic and has a strict requirement for Na(+) for growth. Furthermore, expression of motility and virulence factors of V. cholerae is intimately linked to sodium bioenergetics and to each other. Several lines of evidence indicated that the activity of the flagellum of V. cholerae might have an impact on virulence gene regulation. As the V. cholerae flagellum is sodium-driven and the Na(+)-NQR enzyme is known to create a sodium motive force across the bacterial membrane, it was recently suggested that the increased toxT expression observed in a nqr-negative strain is mediated by affecting flagella activity. It was suggested that the V. cholerae flagellum might respond to changes in membrane potential and the resulting changes in flagellar rotation might serve as a signal for virulence gene expression. However, we recently demonstrated that although the flagellum of V. cholerae is not required for the effects of ionophores on virulence gene expression, changes in the sodium chemical potential are sensed and thus alternative mechanisms, perhaps involving the TcpP/H proteins, for the detection of these conditions must exist. Analyzing the underlying mechanisms by which bacteria respond to changes in the environment, such as their ability to monitor the level of membrane potential, will probably reveal complex interplays between basic physiological processes and virulence factor expression in a variety of pathogenic species.     

Do human bile salt stimulated lipase and colipase-dependent pancreatic lipase share a common heparin-containing receptor?

Bile salt stimulated lipase (BSSL), a lipolytic enzyme secreted with pancreatic juice and with human milk, is in concert with colipase-dependent pancreatic lipase, important for the intestinal digestion of dietary lipids. BSSL may also facilitate uptake of free cholesterol from the intestinal lumen, while colipase-dependent lipase has a similar role for fatty acids. According to this theory, the two lipases bind to the intestinal mucosa via a common heparin-involving receptor. In the present study, binding of the two lipases to heparin was explored in vitro using purified human lipases and heparin molecules varying in both chain length and charge density. Native, but not denatured, BSSL bound avidly to heparin and several of the heparin variants. In contrast, at physiologic salt concentration, colipase-dependent lipase did not bind to heparin. Thus, our data do not support the view that the two lipases share a common intestinal heparin-like receptor. Hence, it seems unlikely that such binding could be of physiologic relevance for colipase-dependent lipase, although for BSSL the data are supportive.     

Translocation of S100A1(1) calcium binding protein during heart surgery

Myocardial ischemia during cardiopulmonary bypass terminated by reperfusion generally leads to different degrees of damage of the cardiomyocytes induced by transient cytosolic Ca(2+) overload. Recently, much attention has been paid to the role of heart-specific Ca(2+)-binding proteins in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. S100A1 is a heart-specific EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding protein that is directly involved in a variety of Ca(2+)-mediated functions in myocytes. The aim of our study was to investigate the localization and translocation of S100A1 in the human heart under normal (baseline) conditions and after prolonged ischemia and reperfusion of the myocardium. Our data suggest that S100A1 is directly involved in the transient perioperative myocardial damage caused by ischemia during open heart surgery in humans. Given its role in the contractile function of muscle cells, this S100 protein could be an important "intracellular link" in ischemia-reperfusion injury of the heart.     

Structural, functional, and evolutionary characterization of novel members of the allatostatin receptor family from insects

By using degenerate primers based on known mammalian somatostatin receptors and the recently identified Drosophila allatostatin receptors (AlstR), we have cloned a novel receptor for the neuropeptide, allatostatin, from the cockroach Periplaneta americana. The receptor exhibits about 60% amino acid identity in the transmembrane regions when compared to the two known AlstRs from Drosophila melanogaster. In addition, two cDNA fragments were obtained from the stick insect Carausius morosus, one of which is similar to Drosophila AlstR, whereas the other is more similar to mammalian somatostatin receptors. Functional expression in Xenopus oocytes shows that the Periplaneta-AlstR exhibits high affinity to endogenous cockroach allatostatin peptides. Studies with synthetic peptides demonstrate that agonistic activity is mediated by the conserved C-terminal pentapeptide YXFGL-amide; in this sequence, amidation of the C-terminus is obligatory to maintain affinity. Thus, our studies provide a molecular basis for understanding the widespread biological activities of the allatostatin peptides.     

Secondary structure and position of the cell-penetrating peptide transportan in SDS micelles as determined by NMR

Transportan is a 27-residue peptide (GWTLN SAGYL LGKIN LKALA ALAKK IL-amide) which has the ability to penetrate into living cells carrying a hydrophilic load. Transportan is a chimeric peptide constructed from the 12 N-terminal residues of galanin in the N-terminus with the 14-residue sequence of mastoparan in the C-terminus and a connecting lysine. Circular dichroism studies of transportan and mastoparan show that both peptides have close to random coil secondary structure in water. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles induce 60% helix in transportan and 75% helix in mastoparan. The 600 MHz (1)H NMR studies of secondary structure in SDS micelles confirm the helix in mastoparan and show that in transportan the helix is localized to the mastoparan part. The less structured N-terminus of transportan has a secondary structure similar to that of the same sequence in galanin [Ohman, A., et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 9169-9178]. The position of mastoparan and transportan relative to the SDS micelle surface was studied by adding spin-labeled 5-doxyl- or 12-doxyl-stearic acid or Mn2+ to the peptide/micelle system. The combined results show that the peptides are for the most part buried in the SDS micelles. Only the C-terminal parts of both peptides and the central segment connecting the two parts of transportan are clearly surface exposed. For mastoparan, the secondary chemical shifts of the amide protons were found to vary periodically and display a pattern almost identical to those reported for mastoparan in phospholipid bicelles [Vold, R., et al. (1997) J. Biomol. NMR 9, 329-335], indicating similar structures and interactions in the two membrane-mimicking environments.