Chemical Synthesis of Human β-Defensin (hBD)-1, -2, -3 and -4: Optimization of the Oxidative Folding Reaction

Reduced human β-defensin (hBD)-1, -2, -3 and -4 synthesized by Boc chemistry were subjected to oxidative folding reaction under optimal conditions. Among the factors affecting the oxidative folding in the presence of reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), the buffer concentration and reaction temperature were essential for the predominant formation of the native disulfide structure. The homogeneity of the four synthetic hBDs was confirmed by analytical procedures using RP-HPLC, IEX-HPLC, capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and MALDI-TOF MS as well as sequencing, although high temperature (70 °C) was used for the RP-HPLC analysis of hBD-3 and hBD-4 to exclude the influence of equilibrium with the respective conformers having native disulfide pairing. All synthetic hBDs were shown to possess the native disulfide structure by sequential analyses and mass measurements with cystine segments obtained by enzymatic digestion. Upon digestion of hBD-1 and hBD-4 with proline specific endopeptidase, the Cys-X bond was found to be reproducibly cleaved together with the Pro-X bond although the cleavage of Cys-X afforded the appropriate cystine segments for determining the disulfide structure of hBD-1 and hBD-4. With respect to antimicrobial activity against E. coli, the four synthetic hBDs of high homogeneity possessed the same potencies as those reported previously.Australian Peptide Conference Issue     

Synthesis of C4-fluorinated solamins and their growth inhibitory activity against human cancer cell lines

C4-Fluorinated analogues of solamin, an antitumor acetogenin, were synthesized and investigated for their antitumor activities against 39 tumor cell lines. C4-Fluorinated solamins showed more potent growth inhibitory activity against cancer cell lines than solamin.     

Immunohistochemical localization of heparan sulfate proteoglycan in human gastrointestinal tract

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HS-PGs) are associated with important cell functions, for example, cell motility, cell adhesion, and oncogenesis. We examined the localization of HS-PGs in normal and carcinoma tissues of the gastrointestinal tract to help elucidate their roles in these organs. Fresh surgical materials from 134 patients with carcinoma of the stomach or large intestine and 26 patients with various diseases of the small intestine were immunostained after fixation with 10E4 (an antibody against the HS of HS-PG) as a primary antibody. Immunoelectron microscopy (immunogold method) was also performed. The basolateral surfaces of normal tissues of the large and small intestines were strongly stained with antibody confirmed by electron microscopy. In the stomach, lesions with intestinal metaplasia showed the same staining as the intestines, although normal gastric tissue showed staining only in some parts of the basal layer of fundic and pyloric glands. Carcinoma tissues in all cases examined showed staining with antibody. Better results were obtained after fixation in acetic alcohol or zinc-containing solutions than in ordinary formalin. These characteristic localizations of HS-PG in intestines and stomachs suggest that this kind of HS-PG staining could be a hallmark characteristic of the intestine.     

Analysis of gene expression profiles associated with cisplatin resistance in human ovarian cancer cell lines and tissues using cDNA microarray

Gene expression profiles were analyzed by using cDNA microarray for a cisplatin-sensitive cell line (KF), and three- and thirty-fold cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines (KFr and KFrP200) both showing no p53 mutation within exon 5, 6, 7, 8 and no pglycoprotein overexpression. Expression of GST-pi mRNA increased as the level of resistance to cisplatin became high. Microarray analysis revealed that DNA repair associated genes, i.e., XRCC5, XRCC6, ERCC5, hMLH1 were over-expressed in three-fold cisplatin-resistant cell line, KFr as compared to cisplatin-sensitive parental cell line, KF. Apoptosis inhibitors, i.e., IGFR type I and II were over-expressed, and apoptosis inducer, i.e., caspase 3 and BAK were underexpressed in highly cisplatin-resistant cell line, KFrP200 as compared to KFr. As for clinical cases, cDNA microarray was used to compare gene expression profiles directly between two groups, i.e., the chemotherapy (CAP) sensitive group (n = 2) and the resistant group (n = 2). Six genes such as beta tubulin, high-mobility group (nonhistone chromosomal) protein 1, connective tissue growth factor, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2, alpha tubulin, and RAS-related gene were overexpressed in CAP therapy resistance group, whereas seven genes such as CD9 antigen, alpha-2-macroglobulin, caveolin 2, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, Rho GTPase activating protein 1, reticulon 3, cyclin-dependent kinase 10, keratin 7 were underexpressed in CAP therapy resistance group. By increasing clinical case number and gene number of microarray to be used in the analysis of expression profile of gene cluster affecting anticancer drug resistance and sensitivity of the ovarian cancer, it would be possible to apply microarray analysis to personalization of chemotherapy such as selection of effective chemotherapy protocol and prediction of therapeutic effect in the near future.     

Catalytic center of an archaeal type 2 ribonuclease H as revealed by X-ray crystallographic and mutational analyses

The catalytic center of an archaeal Type 2 RNase H has been identified by a combination of X-ray crystallographic and mutational analyses. The crystal structure of the Type 2 RNase H from Thermococcus kodakaraensis KOD1 has revealed that the N-terminal major domain adopts the RNase H fold, despite the poor sequence similarity to the Type 1 RNase H. Mutational analyses showed that the catalytic reaction requires four acidic residues, which are well conserved in the Type 1 RNase H and the members of the polynucleotidyl transferase family. Thus, the Type 1 and Type 2 RNases H seem to share a common catalytic mechanism, except for the requirement of histidine as a general base in the former enzyme. Combined with the results from deletion mutant analyses, the structure suggests that the C-terminal domain of the Type 2 RNase H is involved in the interaction with the DNA/RNA hybrid.     

Identification and molecular characterization of a chitinase from the hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis

A cDNA encoding tick chitinase was cloned from a cDNA library of mRNA from Haemaphysalis longicornis eggs and designated as CHT1 cDNA. The CHT1 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 2790 bp that codes for 930 amino acid residues with a coding capacity of 104 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence shows a 31% amino acid homology to Aedes aegypti chitinase and a multidomain structure containing one chitin binding peritrophin A domain and two glycosyl hydrolase family 18 chitin binding domains. The endogenous chitinase of H. longicornis was identified by a two-dimensional immunoblot analysis with mouse anti-rCHT1 serum and shown to have a molecular mass of 108 kDa with a pI of 5.0. A recombinant baculovirus AcMNPV.CHT1-expressed rCHT1 is glycosylated and able to degrade chitin. Chitin degradation was ablated by allosamidin in a dose-dependent manner. The optimal temperature and pH for activity of the purified chitinase were 45 degrees C and pH 5-7. The CHT1 cDNA has an ELR motif for chemokine-mediated angiogenesis and appears to be a chitinase of the chemokine family. Localization analysis using mouse anti-rCHT1 serum revealed that native chitinase is highly expressed in the epidermis and midgut of the tick. AcMNPV.CHT1 topically applied to H. longicornis ticks exhibited replication. This is the first report of insect baculovirus infection of ticks. The importance of AcMNPV.CHT1 as a novel bio-acaricide for tick control is discussed.     

Related expression of MyoD and Myf5 with myosin heavy chain isoform types in bovine adult skeletal muscles

Skeletal muscles are characterized as fast and slow muscles, according to the expression pattern of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms in the muscle fibers. To investigate the relationships between MyHC isoforms and myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) including MyoD, Myf5, myogenin, and MRF4 in adult skeletal muscles, expressions of these MRFs in the ten muscles of three cows were analyzed by a semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The results showed that MyoD expression was significantly lower in the lingual muscles (TN), masseter (MS) and diaphragm (DP), which lack MyHC-2x (fast glycolytic) expression and abound with MyHC-slow (slow oxidative) and/or MyHC-2a (fast oxidative), than it was in the pectoralis (PP), psoas major (PM), longissimus thoracis (LT), spinnalis (SP), semitendinosus (ST), semimembranosus (SM), and biceps femoris (BF). In contrast, the Myf5 expression in TN, MS, and DP was significantly higher than in PM, LT, ST, SM, and BF. No significant difference was observed in myogenin and MRF4 expression among the muscles tested. The results suggest that MyoD and Myf5 influence the MyHC isoform expression, although the effects are not decisive in specifying the phenotypes of adult muscles.     

The proportion of cells with functional X disomy is associated with the severity of mental retardation in mosaic ring X Turner syndrome females

Turner syndrome females (45,X) do not have mental retardation (MR), whereas some mosaic ring X Turner syndrome females, with 45,X/46,X,r(X), have severe MR. The MR is believed to be caused by a failure of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) of the small ring X chromosome, which leads to functional X disomy (FXD), To explore this hypothesis, we examined the proportion of FXD cells in the peripheral blood of four ring X Turner syndrome females with various levels of MR, using two newly developed XCI assays based on DNA methylation of X-linked genes. As a result, the two patients with extremely severe MR showed complete FXD patterns, whereas the remaining two patients with relatively milder MR showed partial FXD patterns. These results indicate that the proportion of FXD cells may be associated with the severity of MR in mosaic ring X Turner syndrome females, although this association should be confirmed by examining brain cells during development. One of the cases with severe MR and a complete FXD pattern neither lacked the XIST gene nor had uniparental X isodisomy, and we discuss the mechanism of the failure of XCI in this case.     

The [Lys(-2)-Arg(-1)-des(17-21)]-endothelin-1 peptide retains the specific Arg(-1)-Asp8 salt bridge but reveals discrepancies between NMR data and molecular dynamics simulations

The [des(17-21)]-endothelin-1 (CSH-ET) and [Lys(-)(2)-Arg(-)(1)-des(17-21)]-endothelin-1 (KR-CSH-ET) peptides, designed by removing the five-residue hydrophobic tail from the endothelin-1 (ET-1) and [Lys(-)(2)-Arg(-)(1)]-endothelin-1 (KR-ET-1) peptides, respectively, were synthesized. Previous studies on KR-ET-1 showed that, in contrast to ET-1, this engineered compound displays a pH-dependent conformational change related to the formation of a stabilizing salt bridge between the Arg(-)(1) and Asp(8) side chains. CD and NMR spectra indicate that CSH-ET and KR-CSH-ET display conformational behavior similar to those of ET-1 and KR-ET-1, respectively. The short salt bridge-stabilized KR-CSH-ET peptide therefore appears to be an attractive elementary scaffold for drug design. The solution structure of the salt-bridged form of KR-CSH-ET was determined by NMR at pH 4.5 and is very similar to the corresponding form of the parent KR-ET-1 peptide. Molecular dynamics simulations of the salt-bridged form of KR-CSH-ET were performed using both the GB/SA implicit solvation scheme or an explicit solvation and the particle-mesh Ewald method for long-range electrostatic calculation. Unexpectedly, the Arg(-)(1)-Asp(8) salt bridge does not display in the simulation the stability that could be expected from the experimental data. The cooperative involvement of a cation-pi interaction in formation of the salt bridge has been hypothesized. Difficulties in accurately simulating cation-pi interactions might be responsible for the lack of stability in the simulation. At this time, however, no definitive explanation for the observed discrepancy between experiments and simulations is available, and further experimental studies appear to be necessary to fully understand in atomic detail the pH-dependent conformational change observed in the KR-ET-1 series.     

Laser photolysis of carboxymethylated chitin derivatives in aqueous solution. Part 2. Reaction of OH* and SO4*- radicals with carboxymethylated chitin derivatives

The reactions of OH* or SO4*- radicals with carboxymethyl chitin (CM-chitin) and its deacetylated product, carboxymethyl chitosan (CM-chitosan), were investigated in aqueous solutions using a laser photolysis technique. The rate constants of the reactions of OH* and SO4*- radicals with CM-chitosan are always higher than those for CM-chitin, indicating that the amino-group could increase the reactivity of carboxymethylated chitin derivatives. The rate of the reactions of CM-chitin and CM-chitosan with OH* radical was found to decrease at lower pH when polymers chains tend to the coiled conformation. In comparison, the rate constant of the reaction of SO4*- radicals with CM-chitin or CM-chitosan decreased with pH, indicating that CM-chitin or CM-chitosan has a higher reactivity with the SO4*- radical at low pH due to the protonation of the amino group.