Remodelling of the nuclear periphery during muscle cell differentiation in vitro

We have examined the composition and ultrastructure of the nuclear periphery during in vitro myogenesis of the rat myoblast cell line, L6E9. Immunofluorescence labelling and immunoblotting showed that lamins A/C and B were all present in undifferentiated cells, but that they increased significantly before extensive cell fusion had occurred, with lamins A/C increasing proportionately more. Electron microscopic observations were consistent with these results, showing an increase in the prominence of the lamina during differentiation. On the other hand, immunofluorescence labelling suggested that the P1 antigen began to disappear from the nuclear periphery as the cells were fusing, after the increase in lamin quantity, and was no longer detectable in multinucleated cells. Unexpectedly, however, P1 was readily detected in isolated nuclei, whether prepared from myoblast or differentiated cultures, as well as in both myoblast and myotube nuclear matrices. It appears probable, therefore, that the fading of P1 labelling is due to masking of the epitope by a soluble factor recruited to the nuclear periphery as cells differentiate. These data, together with evidence that the genome is substantially rearranged during L6E9 myogenesis [Chaly and Munro, 1996], suggest that L6E9 cells are a useful model system in which to study the interrelationship of nuclear envelope organization, chromatin spatial order, and nuclear function. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Remodeling of nuclear architecture during the cell cycle in Drosophila embryos

Little is known about what determines the nuclear matrix or how its reorganization is regulated during mitosis. In this study we report on a monoclonal antibody, mAb2A, which identifies a novel nuclear structure in Drosophila embryos which forms a diffuse meshwork at interphase but which undergoes a striking reorganization into a spindle-like structure during pro- and metaphase. Double labelings with α-tubulin and mAb2A antibodies demonstrate that the microtubules of the mitotic apparatus co-localize with this mAb2A labeled structure during metaphase, suggesting it may serve a role in microtubule spindle assembly and/or function during nuclear division. That the mAb2A-labeled nuclear structure is essential for cell division and/or maintenance of nuclear integrity was directly demonstrated by microinjection of mAb2A into early syncytial embryos which resulted in a disintegration of nuclear morphology and perturbation of mitosis. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Comparing folding codes for proteins and polymers

Proteins fold to unique compact native structures. Perhaps other polymers could be designed to fold in similar ways. The chemical nature of the monomer “alphabet” determines the “energy matrix” of monomer interactions—which defines the folding code, the relationship between sequence and structure. We study two properties of energy matrices using two-dimensional lattice models: uniqueness, the number of sequences that fold to only one structure, and encodability, the number of folds that are unique lowest-energy structures of certain monomer sequences. For the simplest model folding code, involving binary sequences of H (hydrophobic) and P (polar) monomers, only a small fraction of sequences fold uniquely, and not all structures can be encoded. Adding strong repulsive interactions results in a folding code with more sequences folding uniquely and more designable folds. Some theories suggest that the quality of a folding code depends only on the number of letters in the monomer alphabet, but we find that the energy matrix itself can be at least as important as the size of the alphabet. Certain multi-letter codes, including some with 20 letters, may be less physical or protein-like than codes with smaller numbers of letters because they neglect correlations among inter-residue interactions, treat only maximally compact conformations, or add arbitrary energies to the energy matrix.     

Clonorchis sinensis excretory–secretory products regulate migration and invasion in cholangiocarcinoma cells via extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2/nuclear factor-κB-dependent matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of various types of cancer cells. We have previously reported that excretory–secretory products from Clonorchis sinensis increases matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression. However, the regulatory mechanisms through which matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression affects cholangiocarcinoma development remain unclear. In the current study, we examined the potential role of excretory–secretory products in regulating the migration and invasion of various cholangiocarcinoma cell lines. We demonstrated that excretory–secretory products significantly induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Reporter gene and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that excretory–secretory products induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression by enhancing the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B. Moreover, excretory–secretory products induced the degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα and stimulated nuclear factor-kappa B p65 nuclear translocation, which was regulated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. Taken together, our findings indicated that the excretory–secretory product-dependent enhancement of matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity and subsequent induction of IκBα and nuclear factor-kappa B activities may contribute to the progression of cholangiocarcinoma.