Impaired spatial learning strategies and novel object recognition in mice haploinsufficient for the dual specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase-1A (Dyrk1A)

Background

Pathogenic aneuploidies involve the concept of dosage-sensitive genes leading to over- and underexpression phenotypes. Monosomy 21 in human leads to mental retardation and skeletal, immune and respiratory function disturbances. Most of the human condition corresponds to partial monosomies suggesting that critical haploinsufficient genes may be responsible for the phenotypes. The DYRK1A gene is localized on the human chromosome 21q22.2 region, and has been proposed to participate in monosomy 21 phenotypes. It encodes a dual-specificity kinase involved in neuronal development and in adult brain physiology, but its possible role as critical haploinsufficient gene in cognitive function has not been explored.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We used mice heterozygous for a Dyrk1A targeted mutation (Dyrk1A+/−) to investigate the implication of this gene in the cognitive phenotypes of monosomy 21. Performance of Dyrk1A+/− mice was assayed 1/ in a navigational task using the standard hippocampally related version of the Morris water maze, 2/ in a swimming test designed to reveal potential kinesthetic and stress-related behavioral differences between control and heterozygous mice under two levels of aversiveness (25°C and 17°C) and 3/ in a long-term novel object recognition task, sensitive to hippocampal damage. Dyrk1A+/− mice showed impairment in the development of spatial learning strategies in a hippocampally-dependent memory task, they were impaired in their novel object recognition ability and were more sensitive to aversive conditions in the swimming test than euploid control animals.

Conclusions/Significance

The present results are clear examples where removal of a single gene has a profound effect on phenotype and indicate that haploinsufficiency of DYRK1A might contribute to an impairment of cognitive functions and stress coping behavior in human monosomy 21.     

How are arthopod communities structured and why are they so diverse? Answers from Mediterranean mountains using hierarchical additive partitioning

Mountains are complex ecosystems supporting a great variety of taxa. Here, we explored the diversity patterns of arthropods in two mountains, pinpointing the spatial scale that accounts most for overall diversity variation, using an additive partitioning framework. Butterflies and Orthoptera were sampled in Rodopi (2012) and Grammos (2013) mountains. Diversity was partitioned into five hierarchical levels (mountain, elevational zone, habitat, transect and plot). We compared the estimated diversity values for each level to the respective permuted values expected by chance, for all species, as well as for species identified as “rare” or “common”. At broader spatial levels, the variation in total diversity was attributed to the beta diversity component: mountains accounted for 20.94 and 26.25% of butterfly and Orthoptera diversity, and elevational zones accounted for 28.94 and 35.87% respectively. At finer spatial scales, beta diversity was higher than expected by chance in terms of the Shannon index. The type of habitat was found to play a significant role only for rare orthopterans. Finally, common species were recognized for shaping overall species diversity. We highlight the importance of the spatial levels of elevation zone and then mountain position in conservation planning, due to the greater beta diversity recorded at this scale as compared to habitat or more finite scales. Monitoring programs might need to adapt different strategies with respect to the focal organisms, and consider patterns of common rather than rare species that found to drive the patterns of the entire community.     

An N-terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP) ‘aggregation-prone’ segment involved in isolated atrial amyloidosis

Isolated atrial amyloidosis (IAA) is a common localized form of amyloid deposition within the atria of the aging heart. The main constituents of amyloid fibrils are atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and the N-terminal part of its precursor form (NT-proANP). An ‘aggregation-prone’ heptapeptide (¹¹⁴KLRALLT¹²⁰) was located within the NT-proANP sequence. This peptide self-assembles into amyloid-like fibrils in vitro, as electron microscopy, X-ray fiber diffraction, ATR FT-IR spectroscopy and Congo red staining studies reveal. Consequently, remedies/drugs designed to inhibit the aggregation tendency of this ‘aggregation-prone’ segment of NT-proANP may assist in prevention/treatment of IAA, congestive heart failure (CHF) or atrial fibrillation (AF).     

Autophagy regulator BECN1 suppresses mammary tumorigenesis driven by WNT1 activation and following parity

Earlier studies reported allelic deletion of the essential autophagy regulator BECN1 in breast cancers implicating BECN1 loss, and likely defective autophagy, in tumorigenesis. Recent studies have questioned the tumor suppressive role of autophagy, as autophagy-related gene (Atg) defects generally suppress tumorigenesis in well-characterized mouse tumor models. We now report that, while it delays or does not alter mammary tumorigenesis driven by Palb2 loss or ERBB2 and PyMT overexpression, monoallelic Becn1 loss promotes mammary tumor development in 2 specific contexts, namely following parity and in association with wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 1 (WNT1) activation. Our studies demonstrate that Becn1 heterozygosity, which results in immature mammary epithelial cell expansion and aberrant TNFRSF11A/TNR11/RANK (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 11a, NFKB activator) signaling, promotes mammary tumorigenesis in multiparous FVB/N mice and in cooperation with the progenitor cell-transforming WNT1 oncogene. Similar to our Becn1^+/−;MMTV-Wnt1 mouse model, low BECN1 expression and an activated WNT pathway gene signature correlate with the triple-negative subtype, TNFRSF11A axis activation and poor prognosis in human breast cancers. Our results suggest that BECN1 may have nonautophagy-related roles in mammary development, provide insight in the seemingly paradoxical roles of BECN1 in tumorigenesis, and constitute the basis for further studies on the pathophysiology and treatment of clinically aggressive triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs).     

Application of Anodic Stripping Voltammetry for Zinc, Copper, and Cadmium Quantification in the Aqueous Humor: Implications of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome

Anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) procedure, using mercury film electrode, was optimized and applied to determine the concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and copper in the aqueous humor. Concentration levels as low as 1 ppb of the test metals was possible to be detected using short electrolysis times (120 s) and microquantities of aqueous humor (up to 35 μL). As a first application of the voltammetric analysis of trace metals in the aqueous humor, the role of the three selected trace elements in the pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome was examined. Samples from aqueous humor were collected during cataract extraction from patients with and without PEX. The zinc and copper concentration levels in the aqueous humor did not show statistically significant difference in the study and control group. Cadmium was detected in a small number of samples, without however statistical differences between the two groups. ASV proved to be a highly precise and sensitive tool for the quantification of heavy metal ions in aqueous humor. Further studies may lead to useful conclusions for the role of zinc, copper, or cadmium in PEX syndrome.     

Expression patterns of leptin receptor (OB-R) isoforms and direct in vitro effects of recombinant leptin on OB-R, leptin expression and cytokine secretion by human hematopoietic malignant cells

Several studies have implicated leptin in the pathophysiology of neoplasias. We investigated the direct effect of leptin on malignant hematopoietic tissue that included: primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, leukemic cell lines and bone marrow biopsies from multiple myeloma (MM) patients. PBMC, T-cells, B-cells and monocytes from healthy subjects served as controls. We defined the patterns of OB-R isoform expression in AML cells and leukemic cell lines in comparison to control cells by RT-PCR. rLeptin upregulated the expression of OB-R and endogenous leptin in AML blasts and certain cell lines but not in control cells. Cytometric Bead Array analysis of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines showed that rleptin upregulates IL-6 secretion by AML cells, various cytokines by the leukemic cell lines tested and IL-10 secretion by control PBMC, contributed by monocytes. Western immunoblotting revealed that the effect of rleptin was independent of JAK-2/phospho-JAK-2 protein levels. Finally, MM biopsies stained positive for leptin and, to a lesser extend, OB-R. Immunoreactivity was confined mostly to the nucleus of the myeloma cells. Normal myelocytes, promyelocytes and megakaryocytes stained weakly positive, and erythroid cells were constantly negative. We propose that the leptin/OB-R system is strongly and directly involved in supporting the growth of hematopoietic malignancies.     

Domain architecture of the DRpp29 protein and its interaction with the RNA subunit of Dictyostelium discoideum RNase P

Dictyostelium discoideum nuclear RNase P is a ribonucleoprotein complex that displays similarities with its counterparts from higher eukaryotes such as the human enzyme, but at the same time it retains distinctive characteristics. In the present study, we report the molecular cloning and interaction details of DRpp29 and RNase P RNA, two subunits of the RNase P holoenzyme from D. discoideum. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays exhibited that DRpp29 binds specifically to the RNase P RNA subunit, a feature that was further confirmed by the molecular modeling of the DRpp29 structure. Moreover, deletion mutants of DRpp29 were constructed in order to investigate the domains of DRpp29 that contribute to and/or are responsible for the direct interaction with the D. discoideum RNase P RNA. A eukaryotic specific, lysine- and arginine-rich region was revealed, which seems to facilitate the interaction between these two subunits. Furthermore, we tested the ability of wild-type and mutant DRpp29 to form active RNase P enzymatic particles with the Escherichia coli RNase P RNA.     

The molecular basis for the selection of captopril cis and trans conformations by angiotensin I converting enzyme

Enzyme-inhibitor recognition is considered one of the most fundamental aspects in the area of drug discovery. However, the molecular mechanism of this recognition process (induced fit or prebinding and adaptive selection among multiple conformers) in several cases remains unexplored. In order to shed light toward this step of the recognition process in the case of human angiotensin I converting enzyme (hACE) and its inhibitor captopril, we have established a novel combinatorial approach exploiting solution NMR, flexible docking calculations, mutagenesis, and enzymatic studies. We provide evidence that an equimolar ratio of the cis and trans states of captopril exists in solution and that the enzyme selects only the trans state of the inhibitor that presents architectural and stereoelectronic complementarity with its substrate binding groove.