Isolation and properties of genetically defined strains of the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha CBS4732

Genetically defined strains of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha were constructed from a clone of H. polymorpha CBS4732 with very low mating and sporulation abilities. Mating, spore viability, and the percentage of four-spore-containing asci were increased to a level at which tetrad analysis was possible. Auxotrophic mutations in 30 genes were isolated and used to construct strains with multiple markers for mapping studies, transformation with plasmid DNA, and mutant screening. Various other types of mutants were isolated and characterized, among them mutants that displayed an altered morphology, methanol-utilization deficient mutants and strains impaired in the biosynthesis of alcohol oxidase and catalase. Also, the mutability of H. polymorpha CBS4732 vs H. polymorpha NCYC495 was compared. The data revealed clear differences in frequencies of appearance and mutational spectra of some mutants isolated. Many of the mutants isolated had good mating abilities, and diploids resulting from their crossing displayed high sporulation frequencies and high spore viability. Most of the markers used revealed normal Mendelian segregation during meiosis.The frequency of tetratype spore formation was lower than in Saccharomyces cerevisiae suggesting a lower frequency of recombination during the second meiotic division. The properties of genetically defined strains of H. polymorpha CBS4732 as well as their advantages for genetics and molecular studies are discussed.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Acropoma argentistigma</Emphasis>, a new species from the Andaman Sea,off southern Thailand (Perciformes: Acropomatidae)

 A new acropomatid fish, Acropoma argentistigma, is described on the basis of six specimens (59.0–107.5 mm in standard length) from the Andaman Sea, off southern Thailand (Phuket Island). The new species is distinguished from all other congeners by the combination of the following characters: a short U-shaped luminous gland, 16–18 gill rakers, anus situated about midway along depressed pelvic fin, proximal radial of first anal fin pterygiophore with a trough, a single row of well-developed conical teeth on the lower jaw, and head length 40.0–41.1% of standard length. Received: April 17, 2001 / Revised: April 15, 2002 / Accepted: May 7, 2002     

Investigating the biomarker potential of glycoproteins using comparative glycoprofiling - application to tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1

Cancer-induced alterations of protein glycosylations are well-known phenomena. Hence, the glycoprofile of certain glycoproteins can potentially be used as biomarkers for early diagnosis. However, there are a substantial number of candidates and the techniques for measuring their biomarker potential are limited, calling for new methods. Here, we have investigated the cancer marker potential of the glycoprofile of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) using a method for comparative glycoprofiling. Glycoprofiles were obtained from plasma TIMP-1 of five healthy donors and five colorectal cancer (CRC) patients showing increased amounts of TIMP-1. Furthermore, the TIMP-1 glycoprofiles of media from two colon cancer cell lines (CCC) and a prostate cancer cell line were determined as disease references. TIMP-1 was purified from IgG-depleted samples using immuno affinity and gel electrophoresis and the glycoprofiling was performed using glycopeptide enrichment and mass spectrometry. The heterogeneous glycoprofiles of TIMP-1 were found to be highly conserved among the healthy donors, proving an ideal candidate marker and showed high reproducibility of the method. Numerous CCC-specific TIMP-1 glycans were observed illustrating cancer-induced changes. Unexpectedly, quantitation revealed that the glycoprofiles of healthy donors and CRC patients varied minimally. Considering the increased CRC TIMP-1 levels and the observed CCC-specific glycans, the lack of variation indicates that the increased amount of CRC TIMP-1 is not a direct product of the cancer cells. Hence, the TIMP-1 glycoprofile holds no biomarker potential for CRC when using plasma as the sample origin. This study clearly illustrates that the technique is capable of performing individualised site-specific glycan analysis and representing a new tool for biomarker investigation of low-abundant glycoproteins.     

Inhibition of Bufo arenarum oocyte maturation induced by cholesterol depletion by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin. Role of low-density caveolae-like membranes

The invaginated structure of caveolae seems to provide an optimal environment for hormone binding leading to oocyte meiotic maturation. We conducted a quantitative analysis of lipids and proteins of detergent-free low-density membranes isolated from Bufo arenarum oocytes and we modulated cellular cholesterol to further understand how these domains perform their regulatory functions in the amphibian system. Light membranes derive from the plasma membrane as suggested by the enrichment in the activity of 5'nucleotidase. Lipid analysis by chromatography techniques revealed that this fraction is enriched in phosphatidylserine and cholesterol and that it evidences an important level of sphingomyelin. The finding of a single 21 kDa caveolin in light membranes indicates the presence of caveolae-like structures in B. arenarum oocytes. In support of this finding, c-Src is significantly associated to this fraction. Cholesterol content of oocytes treated with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MbetaCD) decreased when compared to control oocytes. Drug treatment inhibited meiotic maturation in a dose-dependent manner and affected the localization of caveolin and c-Src among membrane fractions. Repletion of cholesterol showed a recovery of the ability of MbetaCD-treated oocytes to mature, particularly at the 25 mM concentration in which reversibility was close to the control level. Results highlight the importance of caveolae-like microdomains for maturation signaling in Bufo oocytes.     

Reductive openings of benzylidene acetals. Kinetic studies of borane and alane activation by Lewis acids

The reaction kinetics for a number of reductive openings of methyl 2,3-di-O-benzyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-α-d-glucopyranoside have been investigated. Openings to give free HO-6 (using BH₃·THF-AlCl₃-THF or LiAlH₄-AlCl₃-Et₂O) follow first order kinetics, while reactions yielding free HO-4 (using BH₃·NMe₃-AlCl₃-THF or BH₃·NMe₃-BF₃·OEt₂-THF) follow higher order kinetics. The addition of water to the BH₃·NMe₃-AlCl₃-THF results in faster reactions. The BH₃·SMe₂-AlCl₃-THF system constitutes a borderline case, yielding both free HO-6 (by a first order reaction) and free HO-4 (by a higher order reaction). These results correlate well with the concept of regioselectivity by activation of borane complexes.     

Lack of Evidence for a Major Gene in the Mendelian Transmission of BMI in Chinese

Objectives: To determine the heritability of BMI and to examine the mode of inheritance of BMI variation in Chinese. Research Methods and Procedures: Familial correlation and complex segregation analyses for BMI were undertaken in a Chinese sample composed of 392 nuclear families, with 1190 total individuals. Results: A moderate heritability was found for BMI (h² = 0.419 ‐ 0.492). The obtained results do not support a major gene for BMI in our samples. BMI may be inherited in a complex and non‐Mendelian manner in Chinese. Discussion: The findings of this study suggest that identification of specific genes for BMI in Chinese, at least within the same data set, is a serious challenge because of the lack of evidence of a major gene for BMI in our Chinese sample.     

A novel alternatively spliced transcript of cytosolic alanine aminotransferase gene associated with enhanced gluconeogenesis in liver of Sparus aurata

Increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity is associated with insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to characterize the modulation of cytosolic ALT expression in liver of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) under conditions associated with increased gluconeogenesis and in streptozotocin (STZ)-treated fish. RT- and RACE-PCR assays allowed us to isolate a novel ALT isozyme (cALT2) generated from alternative splicing of cALT gene in S. aurata. HEK293 cells transfected with constructs expressing cALT2 as a C-terminal fusion with the enhanced green fluorescent protein allowed us to demonstrate that cALT2 is cytosolic. To unravel the molecular functions of cALT1 and cALT2 in liver of S. aurata, we examined tissue distribution, kinetic characterization of piscine cALT isozymes expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and regulation of hepatic cALT1 and cALT2 expression in various metabolic conditions. Kinetic analysis indicates that cALT2 is more efficient in catalysing the conversion of l-alanine to pyruvate than cALT1. Starvation increased cALT2 expression and decreased cALT1 mRNA in liver. Opposite effects were found in regularly fed fish at postprandial time 4–8 h, and 6 h after treatment with glucose or insulin. From these results we conclude that increased cALT2 expression occurred in liver under gluconeogenic conditions, while cALT1 was predominant during postprandial utilization of dietary nutrients. Since up-regulation of hepatic cALT2 expression occurred in STZ-induced diabetic S. aurata, increased hepatic cALT2 expression may be a promising marker in the prognosis of diabetes.     

Role of biophysical parameters on ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer to the airway epithelium by polyethylenimine/albumin complexes

Efficient gene transfer to the airways by nonviral vectors is a function of different parameters, among which the size and the charge of the transfecting particles. The aim of this study was to determine the transfection efficiency of polyethylenimine (PEI)/albumin polyplexes in ex vivo and in vivo models of respiratory epithelium and to correlate it with biophysical characteristics of the particles. Complexes were obtained by adding different amounts of human serum albumin (HSA) to PEI polyplexes preformed in saline. The presence of HSA caused the formation of bigger and more negative polyplexes and increased PEI transfection efficiency in primary respiratory epithelial cells by 4-6-fold. For in vivo administration to the lung, PEI polyplexes were formed in water and optimized with respect to the N/ P ratio. PEI/pC-Luc complexes gave the highest luciferase expression at N/ P 15 when administered through the trachea. At this N/ P ratio, the size and the surface charge of albumin-containing polyplexes were not different as compared with plain PEI polyplexes. Formulation of PEI polyplexes in the presence of HSA or murine serum albumin (MSA) resulted in a 2-fold increase in luciferase expression. In mice treated with PEI or PEI/MSA polyplexes containing the nuclear beta-gal gene, X-gal staining revealed that transfected cells localized at the bronchiolar epithelium and that PEI/MSA transfected four times as many cells as PEI ( p < 0.05). Finally, double administration of PEI/MSA polyplexes resulted in a further enhancement of transfection of the lung. Our data show that serum albumin enhances PEI-mediated gene transfer to airway epithelial cells in vivo, likely facilitating the uptake of polyplexes, and indicate that this formulation would fulfill the requirement of repeated administration, as necessary in chronic lung diseases like cystic fibrosis.     

Functional complementation of high-efficiency resonance energy transfer: a new tool for the study of protein binding interactions in living cells

Green bioluminescence in Renilla species is generated by a approximately 100% efficient RET (resonance energy transfer) process that is caused by the direct association of a blue-emitting luciferase [Rluc (Renilla luciferase)] and an RGFP (Renilla green fluorescent protein). Despite the high efficiency, such a system has never been evaluated as a potential reporter of protein-protein interactions. To address the question, we compared and analysed in mammalian cells the bioluminescence of Rluc and RGFP co-expressed as free native proteins, or as fused single-chain polypeptides and tethered partners of self-assembling coiled coils. Here, we show that: (i) no spontaneous interactions generating detectable BRET (bioluminescence RET) signals occur between the free native proteins; (ii) high-efficiency BRET similar to that observed in Renilla occurs in both fusion proteins and self-interacting chimaeras, but only if the N-terminal of RGFP is free; (iii) the high-efficiency BRET interaction is associated with a dramatic increase in light output when the luminescent reaction is triggered by low-quantum yield coelenterazine analogues. Here, we propose a new functional complementation assay based on the detection of the high-efficiency BRET signal that is generated when the reporters Rluc and RGFP are brought into close proximity by a pair of interacting proteins to which they are linked. To demonstrate its performance, we implemented the assay to measure the interaction between GPCRs (G-protein-coupled receptors) and beta-arrestins. We show that complementation-induced BRET allows detection of the GPCR-beta-arrestin interaction in a simple luminometric assay with high signal-to-noise ratio, good dynamic range and rapid response.