Structural determinants of multimerization and dissociation in 2-Cys peroxiredoxin chaperone function

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Dracorhodin perchlorate inhibits osteoclastogenesis through repressing RANKL-stimulated NFATc1 activity

Osteolytic skeletal disorders are caused by an imbalance in the osteoclast and osteoblast function. Suppressing the differentiation and resorptive function of osteoclast is a key strategy for treating osteolytic diseases. Dracorhodin perchlorate (D.P), an active component from dragon blood resin, has been used for facilitating wound healing and anti-cancer treatments. In this study, we determined the effect of D.P on osteoclast differentiation and function. We have found that D.P inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclast formation and resorbed pits of hydroxyapatite-coated plate in a dose-dependent manner. D.P also disrupted the formation of intact actin-rich podosome structures in mature osteoclasts and inhibited osteoclast-specific gene and protein expressions. Further, D.P was able to suppress RANKL-activated JNK, NF-κB and Ca²⁺ signalling pathways and reduces the expression level of NFATc1 as well as the nucleus translocation of NFATc1. Overall, these results indicated a potential therapeutic effect of D.P on osteoclast-related conditions.     

多靶点抗AD bis-MEP-乙二酰胺杂合物ZLA抑制神经元型AChE活性及促智作用研究

目的:探究ZLA对神经元型AChE的抑制活性及其对中枢胆碱能神经功能障碍导致的学习记忆功能减退的改善作用。方法:通过体外实验观察ZLA对神经元型AChE活性的影响;通过ex vivo实验观察ZLA体内AChE抑制活性;利用Morris水迷宫行为学实验探讨ZLA对东莨菪碱诱发的小鼠学习记忆功能障碍的改善作用。结果:ZLA明显抑制人SH-SY5Y神经元细胞和小鼠海马神经元来源的AChE活性。另外,ZLA腹腔注射后以剂量依赖性方式抑制小鼠脑内AChE活性。Morris水迷宫实验结果显示,ZLA显著改善东莨菪碱引起的学习和记忆功能障碍。结论:ZLA能够抑制神经元型AChE活性并具有促智作用。     

结直肠癌肝转移患者血清OPN、YKL-40、HGF和VEGF-A水平及其危险因素分析

目的:检测结直肠癌肝转移患者血清骨桥蛋白(Osteopontin,OPN)、人类软骨糖蛋白-39(Human cartilage gp-39,YKL-40)、肝细胞生长因子(Hepatocyte growth factor,HGF)和血管内皮生长因子A(Vascular endothelial growth factor A,VEGF-A)水平,并分析直肠癌患者发生肝转移的危险因素。方法:收集56例发生肝转移的直结肠癌患者和50例未发生肝转移的直结肠癌患者,采用酶联免疫法检测两组患者血清OPN、YKL-40、HGF和VEGF-A的水平。收集所有患者的临床资料,分析直肠癌患者发生肝转移的危险因素。结果:结直肠癌肝转移患者血清OPN、YKL-40、HGF和VEGF-A水平均显著高于未发生肝转移的直结肠癌患者(P0.05);糖尿病、肿瘤最大直径、病理类型、分化程度、浸润深度、淋巴结转移、盆腹膜种植、肝外转移、吸烟史均与结直肠癌发生肝转移相关(P0.05);而HGF、VEGF-A、糖尿病、肿瘤最大直径≥5 cm、淋巴结转移、盆腹膜种植、肝外转移是直肠癌发生肝转移的独立危险因素(P0.05)。结论:结直肠癌肝转移患者血清OPN、YKL-40、HGF和VEGF-A明显升高,HGF、VEGF-A、糖尿病、肿瘤最大直径≥5 cm、淋巴结转移、盆腹膜种植、肝外转移是直肠癌发生肝转移的独立危险因素。     

MiR‐16, as a potential NF‐κB‐related miRNA,exerts anti‐inflammatory effects on LPS‐induced myocarditis via mediating CD40 expression: A preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological effect of miR‐16 on myocarditis and the underlying molecular mechanism. H9c2 cells were treated with 10 µg/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 12 hours to form a myocarditis injury model. We observed that LPS treatment distinctly decreased the level of miR‐16 in H9c2 cells. Upregulation of miR‐16 increased cell proliferation and reduced cell apoptosis. Then, CD40 was predicted and verified as a target gene of miR‐16 by TargetScan and luciferase reporter assay, respectively. Furthermore, the messenger RNA and protein expression of CD40 are negatively regulated by miR‐16. The relative expression of inflammatory factors was dramatically decreased by the miR‐16 mimic. Cells cotransfected with miR‐16 mimic and si‐CD40 could significantly abolish the injury of cardiomyocytes caused by myocarditis. Our study illustrated that the upregulation of miR‐16 has a protective effect on LPS‐damaged H9c2 cells, which may be achieved by regulating CD40 and the nuclear factor kappa B pathway.     

Targeted therapy and immunotherapy: Emerging biomarkers in metastatic melanoma

Targeted therapy directed against oncogenic BRAF mutations and immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed melanoma therapy over the past decade and prominently improved patient outcomes. However, not all patients will respond to targeted therapy or immunotherapy and many relapse after initially responding to treatment. This unmet need presents two major challenges. First, can we elucidate novel oncogenic drivers to provide new therapeutic targets? Second, can we identify patients who are most likely to respond to current therapeutic strategies in order to both more accurately select populations and avoid undue drug exposure in patients unlikely to respond? In an effort to evaluate the current state of the field with respect to these questions, we provide an overview of some common oncogenic mutations in patients with metastatic melanoma and ongoing efforts to therapeutically target these populations, as well as a discussion of biomarkers for response to immune checkpoint inhibitors—including tumor programmed death ligand 1 expression and the future use of neoantigens as a means of truly personalized therapy. This information is becoming important in treatment decision making and provides the framework for a treatment algorithm based on the current landscape in metastatic melanoma.     

Induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived myeloid cells expressing OX40 ligand amplify antigen‐specific T cells in advanced melanoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors improved the survival rate of patients with unresectable melanoma. However, some patients do not respond, and variable immune‐related adverse events have been reported. Therefore, more effective and antigen‐specific immune therapies are urgently needed. We previously reported the efficacy of an immune cell therapy with immortalized myeloid cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS‐ML). In this study, we generated OX40L‐overexpressing iPS‐ML (iPS‐ML‐Zsgreen‐OX40L) and investigated their characteristics and in vivo efficacy against mouse melanoma. We found that iPS‐ML‐Zsgreen‐OX40L suppressed the progression of B16‐BL6 melanoma, and prolonged survival of mice with ovalbumin (OVA)‐expressing B16 melanoma (MO4). The number of antigen‐specific CD8⁺ T cells was higher in spleen cells treated with OVA peptide‐pulsed iPS‐ML‐Zsgreen‐OX40L than in those without OX40L. The OVA peptide‐pulsed iPS‐ML‐Zsgreen‐OX40L significantly increased the number of tumor‐infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs) in MO4 tumor. Flow cytometry showed decreased regulatory T cells but increased effector and effector memory T cells among the TILs. Although we plan to use allogeneic iPS‐ML in the clinical applications, iPS‐ML showed the tumorgenicity in the syngeneic mice model. Incorporating the suicide gene is necessary to ensure the safety in the future study. Collectively, these results indicate that iPS‐ML‐Zsgreen‐OX40L therapy might be a new method for antigen‐specific cancer immunotherapy.     

Substrate binding to Src: A new perspective on tyrosine kinase substrate recognition from NMR and molecular dynamics

Most signal transduction pathways in humans are regulated by protein kinases through phosphorylation of their protein substrates. Typical eukaryotic protein kinases are of two major types: those that phosphorylate‐specific sequences containing tyrosine (~90 kinases) and those that phosphorylate either serine or threonine (~395 kinases). The highly conserved catalytic domain of protein kinases comprises a smaller N lobe and a larger C lobe separated by a cleft region lined by the activation loop. Prior studies find that protein tyrosine kinases recognize peptide substrates by binding the polypeptide chain along the C‐lobe on one side of the activation loop, while serine/threonine kinases bind their substrates in the cleft and on the side of the activation loop opposite to that of the tyrosine kinases. Substrate binding structural studies have been limited to four families of the tyrosine kinase group, and did not include Src tyrosine kinases. We examined peptide‐substrate binding to Src using paramagnetic‐relaxation‐enhancement NMR combined with molecular dynamics simulations. The results suggest Src tyrosine kinase can bind substrate positioning residues C‐terminal to the phosphoacceptor residue in an orientation similar to serine/threonine kinases, and unlike other tyrosine kinases. Mutagenesis corroborates this new perspective on tyrosine kinase substrate recognition. Rather than an evolutionary split between tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases, a change in substrate recognition may have occurred within the TK group of the human kinome. Protein tyrosine kinases have long been therapeutic targets, but many marketed drugs have deleterious off‐target effects. More accurate knowledge of substrate interactions of tyrosine kinases has the potential for improving drug selectivity.     

Covid‐19.bioreproducibility.org: A web resource for SARS‐CoV‐2‐related structural models

The COVID‐19 pandemic has triggered numerous scientific activities aimed at understanding the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus and ultimately developing treatments. Structural biologists have already determined hundreds of experimental X‐ray, cryo‐EM, and NMR structures of proteins and nucleic acids related to this coronavirus, and this number is still growing. To help biomedical researchers, who may not necessarily be experts in structural biology, navigate through the flood of structural models, we have created an online resource, covid19.bioreproducibility.org, that aggregates expert‐verified information about SARS‐CoV‐2‐related macromolecular models. In this article, we describe this web resource along with the suite of tools and methodologies used for assessing the structures presented therein.