Inhibition of catalase activity by oxidative stress and its relationship to salicylic acid accumulation in plants

The decrease in catalase activity and its relationship to change in salicylic acid content were investigated in rice, wheat, and cucumber seedlings exposed to oxidative stresses. A decrease in chlorophyll fluorescence (F/Fm), measured as an indicator of the oxidative stress, and a drop in catalase activity were observed following treatment with NaCl in all plant seedlings tested . Furthermore, such decreases in F/Fm and catalase activity were also observed under low temperature conditions in both rice cultivars, whereas the degrees of decrease were dependent on their low temperature tolerance . Although the content of salicylic acid increased in rice seedlings stressed by NaCl treatment, it was inversely correlated with the decrease in the catalase activity . Such a relationship between the decrease in catalase activity and increase in salicylic acid content was confirmed with paraquat treatment of the rice seedlings . These results suggested that the fall in catalase activity is a phenomenon occurring in many plant species under oxidative stress and is related to the accumulation of salicylic acid in oxidatively-stressed plants.     

A potential role for cx43-hemichannels in staurosporin-induced apoptosis

To address the role of gap junction hemichannels in apoptosis, the cell death induced by staurosporine (ST) was evaluated in wild type HeLa cells (HeLa-WT) and transfectants expressing either full-length connexin43 (HeLa-Cx43) or a C-terminal truncation of Cx43 (HeLa-DeltaCT). Cell death was measured with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), both DNA and nuclear fragmentation methods and assays for PARP and caspase 3. The ST-mediated cell death was accelerated in HeLa-Cx43 cells compared to HeLa-WT and HeLa-DeltaCT. To determine why HeLa-Cx43 cells were more susceptible to ST, the phosphorylation state and the localization of Cx43 protein within cells were examined using specific Cx43 antibodies. The phosphorylated forms of Cx43 were sharply reduced in HeLa-Cx43 cells treated with ST. Moreover, in ST-treated HeLa-Cx43 cells, Cx43 was mainly observed at the cell surface. In contrast, the truncated form of Cx43 found in HeLa-DeltaCT cells, which lacks many of the normal phosphorylation sites, was observed in the cytosol with ST treatment. To examine the hemichannels in the plasma membranes of ST-treated HeLa-Cx43 cells, several dye uptake methods using carboxyfluorescein and propidium iodide were employed. While the number of fluorescent cells did not change in HeLa-WT and HeLa-DeltaCT cells with ST treatment, the number of fluorescent HeLa-Cx43 cells increased more than ten-fold. These results indicate that the increases in cell surface Cx43 seen with immunofluorescence and the elevated hemichannel activities detected with dye uptake could help explain the accelerated cell death observed in ST-treated HeLa-Cx43 cells.     

Establishment of a two-dimensional electrophoresis map for Neospora caninum tachyzoites by proteomics

Expressed proteins and antigens from Neospora caninum tachyzoites were studied by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analysis combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Thirty-one spots corresponding to 20 different proteins were identified from N. caninum tachyzoites by peptide mass fingerprinting. Six proteins were identified from a N. caninum database (NTPase, 14-3-3 protein homologue, NcMIC1, NCDG1, NcGRA1 and NcGRA2), and 11 proteins were identified in closely related species using the T. gondii database (HSP70, HSP60, pyruvate kinase, tubulin alpha- and beta-chain, putative protein disulfide isomerase, enolase, actin, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and glyceradehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase). One hundred and two antigen spots were observed using pH 4-7 IPG strips on immunoblot profiles. Among them, 17 spots corresponding to 11 antigenic proteins were identified from a N. caninum protein map. This study involved the construction of in-depth protein maps for N. caninum tachyzoites, which will be of value for studies of its pathogenesis, drug and vaccine development, and phylogenetic studies.     

Continuous D-tagatose production by immobilized thermostable L-arabinose isomerase in a packed-bed bioreactor

D-Tagatose was continuously produced using thermostable L-arabinose isomerase immobilized in alginate with D-galactose solution in a packed-bed bioreactor. Bead size, L/D (length/diameter) of reactor, dilution rate, total loaded enzyme amount, and substrate concentration were found to be optimal at 0.8 mm, 520/7 mm, 0.375 h(-1), 5.65 units, and 300 g/L, respectively. Under these conditions, the bioreactor produced about 145 g/L tagatose with an average productivity of 54 g tagatose/L x h and an average conversion yield of 48% (w/w). Operational stability of the immobilized enzyme was demonstrated, with a tagatose production half-life of 24 days.     

New Photosensitizers of Bacteriochlorin Series for Photodynamic Cancer Therapy

New derivatives of bacteriochlorophyll a bearing an extra glutarimide exocycle were synthesized, and their reactivity was studied. Acetyl group in 3-acetyl-2,7,12,18-tetramethyl-8-ethyl-13,15-dicarboxy-17-carboxyethyl-7,8,17,18-tetrahydroporphyrin (bacteriochlorin p) was chemically modified into -hydroxyethyl and vinyl groups. A simple method of preparation of vinylbacteriopurpurin esters under the catalysis by p-toluenesulfonic acid was proposed. The resulting compounds exhibit a high adsorption in the visible and near IR areas of electronic spectra, a reasonable stability, and amphiphilic properties and, therefore, may be regarded as promising photosensitizers for the photodynamic cancer therapy.     

CZK3, a MAP kinase kinase kinase homolog in Cercospora zeae-maydis,regulates cercosporin biosynthesis,fungal development,and pathogenesis

The fungus Cercospora zeae-maydis causes gray leaf spot of maize and produces cercosporin, a photosensitizing perylenequinone with toxic activity against a broad spectrum of organisms. However, little is known about the biosynthetic pathway or factors that regulate cercosporin production. Analysis of a cDNA subtraction library comprised of genes that are up-regulated during cercosporin synthesis revealed a sequence highly similar to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases in other fungi. Sequencing and conceptual translation of the full-length genomic sequence indicated that the gene, which we designated CZK3, contains a 4,119-bp open reading frame devoid of introns and encodes a 1,373-amino acid sequence that is highly similar to Wis4, a MAP kinase kinase kinase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Targeted disruption of CZK3 suppressed expression of genes predicted to participate in cercosporin biosynthesis and abolished cercosporin production. The disrupted mutants grew faster on agar media than the wild type but were deficient in conidiation and elicited only small chlorotic spots on inoculated maize leaves compared with rectangular necrotic lesions incited by the wild type. Complementation of disruptants with the CZK3 open reading frame and flanking sequences restored wild-type levels of conidiation, growth rate, and virulence as well as the ability to produce cercosporin. The results suggest that cercosporin is a virulence factor in C. zeae-maydis during maize pathogenesis, but the pleiotropic effects of CZK3 disruption precluded definitive conclusions.     

Design,synthesis and binding affinity of 3'-fluoro analogues of Cl-IB-MECA as adenosine A3 receptor ligands

Several 3'-fluoro analogues, 1a, 1b, and 1c of selective and potent adenosine A(3) receptor agonist, Cl-IB-MECA were synthesized from D-xylose via highly regioselective opening of lyxo-epoxides, 8a and 8b with fluoride anion. Compared to the high binding affinity of Cl-IB-MECA to the A(3) adenosine receptor, the corresponding 3'-fluoro derivative showed remarkably decreased binding affinity, indicating that 3'-hydroxyl group acts as hydrogen bonding acceptor, not hydrogen bonding donor like fluorine atom in binding to the A(3) adenosine receptor.     

Tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and chlorinated phenols induce toluene-o-xylene monooxygenase activity in Pseudomonas stutzeri OX1

Pseudomonas stutzeri OX1 naphthalene-oxidation activity is induced 3.0-fold by tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and 3.1-fold by trichloroethylene (TCE) at 100 microM. With the mutant P. stutzeri M1, which does not express toluene-o-xylene monooxygenase (ToMO, product of the tou operon), no naphthalene-oxidation activity induction by PCE and TCE was found; hence, PCE and TCE induce ToMO of P. stutzeri OX1. The chlorinated phenols 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol induced ToMO expression 0.58-, 0.23- and 0.37-fold, respectively, compared to the direct inducer of the pathway, o-cresol. Using P. putida PaW340 (pPP4062, pFP3028), which has the tou promoter fused to the reporter catechol-2,3-dioxygenase, and the regulator gene touR, it was determined that the tou promoter was induced directly 5.7-, 7.1-, and 5.1-fold for 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol, respectively (compared to an 8.8-fold induction with o-cresol). In addition, it was found that TCE and PCE do not directly induce the tou pathway and that components other than the tou structural and regulatory genes are necessary for induction. Gas chromatography results also showed that 100 microM TCE induced its own degradation (8-9%) in 16 h in P. stutzeri OX1, and all of the stoichiometric chloride from the degraded TCE was detected in solution.     

Degradation of focal adhesion proteins during nocodazole-induced apoptosis in rat-1 cells

Nocodazole, a microtubule-disrupting agent, induced apoptosis in Rat-1 cells, as indicated by changes in cell morphology, DNA fragmentation, and eventual cell death. During nocodazole-induced apoptosis, normally flat cells became rounded in shape and detached from the extracellular matrix. These morphological changes appeared to be closely associated with degradation of focal adhesion proteins, including p130cas, p125(FAK) and paxillin. p130cas was also degraded in cells treated with staurosporine or etoposide, suggesting that degradation of focal adhesion proteins is a characteristic feature of apoptosis. Nocodazole-induced apoptosis was antagonized by Bcl-2: degradation of focal adhesion proteins was suppressed and cell viability was enhanced in bcl-2 over-expressing cells, even in the presence of nocodazole. Further study of the molecular mechanism of Bcl-2 activation should provide an understanding of the apoptosis induced by disruption of the microtubule network.     

Selenite negatively regulates caspase-3 through a redox mechanism

Selenium, an essential biological trace element, exerts its modulatory effects in a variety of cellular events including cell survival and death. In our study we observed that selenite protects HEK293 cells from cell death induced by ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). Exposure of HEK293 cells to UVB radiation resulted in the activation of caspase-3-like protease activity, and pretreatment of the cells with z-DEVD-fmk (N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone), a caspase-3 inhibitor, prevented UVB-induced cell death. Interestingly, enzymatic activity of caspase-3-like protease in cell lysates of UVB-exposed cells was repressed in vitro by the presence of selenite. Selenite also inhibited the in vitro activity of purified recombinant caspase-3 in cleaving Ac-DEVD-pNA (N-acetyl-Asp-Glu-Asp-p-nitroanilide) or ICAD(L) (inhibitor of a caspase-activated deoxyribonuclease) and in the induction of DNA fragmentation. The inhibitory action of selenite on a recombinant active caspase-3 could be reversed by sulfhydryl reducing agents, such as dithiothreitol and beta-mercaptoethanol. Furthermore, pretreatment of cells with selenite suppressed the stimulation of the caspase-3-like protease activity in UVB-exposed cells, whereas dithiothreitol and beta-mercaptoethanol reversed this suppression of the enzymatic activity. Taken together, our data suggest that selenite inhibits caspase-3-like protease activity through a redox mechanism and that inhibition of caspase-3-like protease activity may be the mechanism by which selenite exerts its protective effect against UVB-induced cell death.