I-κBα depletion by transglutaminase 2 and μ-calpain occurs in parallel with the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway

Transglutaminase 2 (TGase2) is a calcium-dependent, cross-linking enzyme that catalyzes iso-peptide bond formation between peptide-bound lysine and glutamine residues. TGase 2 can activate NF-κB through the polymerization-mediated depletion of I-κBα without IKK activation. This NF-κB activation mechanism is associated with drug resistance in cancer cells. However, the polymers cannot be detected in cells, while TGase 2 over-expression depletes free I-κBα, which raises the question of how the polymerized I-κBα can be metabolized in cells. Among proteasome, lysosome and calpain systems, calpain inhibition was found to effectively increase the accumulation of I-κBα polymers in MCF7 cells transfected with TGase 2, and induced high levels of I-κBα polymers as well in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells that naturally express a high level of TGase 2. Inhibition of calpain also boosted the level of I-κBα polymers in HEK-293 cells in case of TGase 2 transfection either with I-κBα or I-κBα mutant (S32A, S36A). Interestingly, the combined inhibition of calpain and the proteasome resulted in an increased accumulation of both I-κBα polymers and I-κBα, concurrent with an inhibition of NF-κB activity in MDA-MB-231 cells. This suggests that μ-calpain proteasome-dependent I-κBα polymer degradation may contribute to cancer progression through constitutive NF-κB activation.     

Tumor necrosis factor-α accelerates apoptosis of steatotic hepatocytes from a murine model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) develops in a subset of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the exact mechanisms involved in the progression of NAFLD to NASH remain poorly understood. We investigated the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the apoptosis of hepatocytes that is related to the severity of NASH. We separated primary hepatocytes from the NAFLD liver caused by a high-fat diet. The production of intracellular reactive oxygen species was increased in steatotic hepatocytes, which were also sensitive to TNF-α. This factor induced significant apoptosis through the signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. We describe here a novel culture model of steatotic hepatocytes separated from the NAFLD liver, and demonstrate that TNF-α induces their apoptosis in vitro.     

可溶性肿瘤坏死因子受体II-脂联素球部融合蛋白的真核表达及生物学活性检测

本研究设计和构建了一种人肿瘤坏死因子受体II胞外区与人脂联素球部的融合基因sTNFRII-gAD,且相应的融合蛋白在哺乳动物细胞BHK-21S的无血清培养体系中实现了表达,并对该融合蛋白进行了初步鉴定。首先,用RT-PCR方法从人的外周血淋巴细胞总RNA中扩增人肿瘤坏死因子II型受体胞外区基因片段,与脂联素球部基因片段融合,克隆至pAAV2neo表达载体中,构建成pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD。随后,用pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD转染BHK-21S细胞获得G418抗性细胞BHK-21S/pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD;然后,将原来含有血清的培养液换成无血清的化学成分限定的培养液,细胞从贴壁培养方式转换成悬浮培养方式;最后,收集BHK-21S/pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD无血清悬浮培养24h后的培养上清,进行sTNFRII-gAD融合蛋白的鉴定分析。酶切鉴定和测序结果显示,所构建的pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD质粒结构正确,sTNFRII-gAD序列与预期一致;分别用抗人肿瘤坏死因子受体II和抗人脂联素球部的单克隆抗体检测pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD瞬时转染的BHK-21S细胞,免疫荧光呈现阳性;免疫印迹分析在pAAV2neo-sTNFRII-gAD稳定转染的BHK-21S细胞上清中检测到sTNFRII-gAD融合蛋白的表达,并以单体、三聚体和三聚体以上的多聚体形式存在。活性测定结果表明,sTNFRII-gAD融合蛋白具有显著抑制TNFα杀伤L929细胞的活性。因此,本研究为下一步大量制备sTNFRII-gAD融合蛋白用于体内外功能研究提供了良好基础。     

Dopaminergic neuron loss and up-regulation of chaperone protein mRNA induced by targeted over-expression of alpha-synuclein in mouse substantia nigra

Several transgenic mouse lines with altered alpha-synuclein expression have been developed that show a variety of Parkinson's disease-like symptoms without specific loss of dopaminergic neurons. Targeted over-expression of human alpha-synuclein using viral-vector mediated gene delivery into the substantia nigra of rats and non-human primates leads to dopaminergic cell loss and the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregates reminiscent of Lewy bodies. In the context of these recent findings, we used adeno-associated virus (AAV) to over-express wild type human alpha-synuclein in the substantia nigra of mice. We hypothesized that this over-expression would recapitulate pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, creating a mouse model to further characterize the disease pathogenesis. Recombinant AAV expressing alpha-synuclein was stereotaxically injected into the substantia nigra of mice, leading to a 25% reduction of dopaminergic neurons after 24 weeks of transduction. Furthermore, examination of mRNA levels of stress-related proteins using laser capture microdissection and quantitative PCR revealed a positive correlation of Hsp27 expression with the extent of viral transduction at 4 weeks and a positive correlation of Hsp40, Hsp70 and caspase 9 with the extent of viral transduction at 24 weeks. Taken together, our findings suggest that targeted over-expression of alpha-synuclein can induce pathology at the gross anatomical and molecular level in the substantia nigra, providing a mouse model in which upstream changes in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis can be further elucidated.     

Predominant Neuritic Pathology Induced by Viral Overexpression of <Emphasis Type="Bold">α</Emphasis>-Synuclein in Cell Culture

1. Alpha-synuclein is known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The pathogenicity of α-synuclein is related to its ability to form intraneuronal inclusions. The inclusions, which are found in brains of patients with PD and diffuse Lewy body disease consist partially of C-terminally truncated α-synuclein. This α-synuclein species has an increased ability to form aggregates compared to full length α-synuclein. 2. We have used an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector system to overexpress either C-terminally truncated or full length α-synuclein containing the A53T mutation, which have both been identified in brains of familial PD patients and transgenic mouse models. Dissociated mesencephalic neurons, cerebellar granule neurons, and organotypic midbrain slice cultures were infected with AAV containing the transgene under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter. 3. We demonstrate that viral overexpression of α-synuclein(A53T) leads to the formation of distorted neurites, intraneuritic swellings, and granular perikaryal deposits in cultured neurons. Our results indicate that these cell culture models may represent an early phase of PD reflecting pathologic neuritic alterations before significant neuronal cell loss occurs.     

DNA-binding activity of TNF-alpha inducing protein from Helicobacter pylori

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inducing protein (Tipalpha) is a carcinogenic factor secreted from Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), mediated through both enhanced expression of TNF-alpha and chemokine genes and activation of nuclear factor-kappaB. Since Tipalpha enters gastric cancer cells, the Tipalpha binding molecules in the cells should be investigated. The direct DNA-binding activity of Tipalpha was observed by pull down assay using single- and double-stranded genomic DNA cellulose. The surface plasmon resonance assay, indicating an association between Tipalpha and DNA, revealed that the affinity of Tipalpha for (dGdC)10 is 2400 times stronger than that of del-Tipalpha, an inactive Tipalpha. This suggests a strong correlation between DNA-binding activity and carcinogenic activity of Tipalpha. And the DNA-binding activity of Tipalpha was first demonstrated with a molecule secreted from H. pylori.     

乏氧诱导因子-1α基因沉默对肺癌细胞乏氧应答相关基因表达的影响

乏氧诱导因子-1α (HIF-1α)是肿瘤细胞适应乏氧微环境的关键调控因子,具有作为治疗靶基因的潜力,以克服乏氧诱导的治疗抗拒等效应.下调其表达可能影响肿瘤细胞内一系列乏氧应答相关基因的表达.本研究采用已构建的HIF-1α RNAi慢病毒载体转导肺腺癌A549细胞,经杀稻瘟素（blasticidin）筛选建立HIF-1α基因稳定沉默的A549细胞株.应用cDNA微阵列技术检测并比较HIF-1α基因沉默A549细胞株和其亲本细胞株在常氧和乏氧状态下的基因表达谱改变. 应用定量RT PCR方法验证部分cDNA芯片差异表达基因的表达改变.HIF-1α基因稳定沉默细胞株A549/HIF-1α,在常氧和乏氧条件下HIF-1αmRNA水平分别较A549细胞下降89.2％和88.1％,HIF-1α蛋白水平分别下降97.2％和88.4％. 在乏氧条件下,cDNA微阵列检测的1 280个基因中,52个基因表达上调,15个基因表达下调. HIF-1α基因沉默显著影响其中27个基因的乏氧诱导效应.定量RT-PCR验证其中ENO2、BCL-2、CXCR4和MMP11的表达水平,与cDNA芯片结果相符合.结果提示,HIF-1α基因沉默能够在一定程度上阻断肺癌细胞的乏氧应答,在克服乏氧导致的肺癌治疗抗拒方面具有潜力.     

Benzothiazole-based N-(phenylsulfonyl)amides as a novel family of PPARα antagonists

The discovery of PPAR antagonists is emerging as an useful tool for elucidating the biological role of the receptor. Here we report the identification of N-(phenylsulfonyl)amides containing the benzothiazole scaffold, a novel class of potent PPARα antagonists obtained from chemical modification of carboxylic acid agonists. In this work, a group of phenylsulfonamides were synthesized and in vitro evaluated against the agonistic effect of GW7647; they showed an inhibitory effect on PPARα activation, with best compounds revealing a dose-dependent antagonistic profile. Some of these antagonists showed also an inhibitory effect on CPT1A pattern expression.     

PINK1与α-synuclein相互作用结构域鉴定

目的: 确定PINK1与α-synuclein相互作用的结构域。方法: 将PINK1不同结构域质粒(pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1^WT, pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1(G309D),pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1(ΔN35),pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1(ΔC145),pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1(156~509), pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-hPINK1(Δ156~581), pcDNA3.1-3xFlag-vector)分别和pCMV-Myc-α-synuclein质粒共转染人胚肾HEK293T细胞,通过免疫共沉淀(Co-IP)技术验证PINK1与α-synuclein相互作用的结构域;同时进行免疫细胞化学染色,利用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜观察两种蛋白的共定位关系。结果: Co-IP实验结果表明PINK1与α-synuclein相互作用的结构域为PINK1的激酶结构域。免疫细胞化学实验也证实α-synuclein只与含激酶结构域的PINK1蛋白在细胞中存在共定位关系。结论: PINK1与α-synuclein相互作用的结构域位于其激酶结构域。