MEKK2 Kinase Association with 14-3-3 Protein Regulates Activation of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase

MEKK2 (MAP/ERK kinase kinase-2) is a serine/threonine kinase that belongs to the MEKK/STE11 family of MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAP(3)Ks). MEKK2 integrates stress and mitogenic signals to the activation of NF-κB, JNK1/2, p38, and ERK5 pathways. We have found that MEKK2 is regulated through a phosphorylation-dependent association with 14-3-3, a group of adapters that modulate dimerization and association between proteins. We found that MEKK2 was phosphorylated at Thr-283, which resulted in decreased activation loop phosphorylation at Ser-519 and consequently reduced activity. Mechanistically, we found that MEKK2 associated with inactive MEKK2 in the absence of 14-3-3 binding, which led to trans-autophosphorylation of Ser-519. Enforced binding with 14-3-3 reduced Ser-519 trans-autophosphorylation. Expression of T283A MEKK2 within a MEKK2^−/− background enhanced stress-activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity while elevating IL-6 expression, but also reduced ERK activation with a corresponding reduced proliferation rate. These results indicate that Thr-283 phosphorylation is an important regulatory mechanism for MEKK2 activation.     

Human CCT4 and CCT5 Chaperonin Subunits Expressed in Escherichia coli Form Biologically Active Homo-oligomers

Chaperonins are a family of chaperones that encapsulate their substrates and assist their folding in an ATP-dependent manner. The ubiquitous eukaryotic chaperonin, TCP-1 ring complex (TRiC), is a hetero-oligomeric complex composed of two rings, each formed from eight different CCT (chaperonin containing TCP-1) subunits. Each CCT subunit may have distinct substrate recognition and ATP hydrolysis properties. We have expressed each human CCT subunit individually in Escherichia coli to investigate whether they form chaperonin-like double ring complexes. CCT4 and CCT5, but not the other six CCT subunits, formed high molecular weight complexes within the E. coli cells that sedimented about 20S in sucrose gradients. When CCT4 and CCT5 were purified, they were both organized as two back-to-back rings of eight subunits each, as seen by negative stain and cryo-electron microscopy. This morphology is consistent with that of the hetero-oligomeric double-ring TRiC purified from bovine testes and HeLa cells. Both CCT4 and CCT5 homo-oligomers hydrolyzed ATP at a rate similar to human TRiC and were active as assayed by luciferase refolding and human γD-crystallin aggregation suppression and refolding. Thus, both CCT4 and CCT5 homo-oligomers have the property of forming 8-fold double rings absent the other subunits, and these complexes carry out chaperonin reactions without other partner subunits.     

慢性阻塞性肺病患者急性加重期外周血IL-8、TNF-alpha及IGF-I表达变化 的意义

目的：研究慢性阻塞性肺病（COPD）患者急性加重期外周血白细胞介素-8（IL-8）、肿瘤坏死因子-a（TNF-a）及胰岛素样生长 因子-I（IGF-I）表达变化的临床意义。方法：选取2013 年12 月-2014 年12月我院收治的COPD 急性加重患者100 例为观察组, 选取同期健康体检者100 例为对照组,检测观察组患者治疗前、治疗稳定后及对照组外周血IL-8、TNF-alpha及IGF-I水平。结果：观 察组患者治疗前外周血IL-8、TNF-alpha及IGF-I水平显著高于治疗稳定后,差异有统计学意义（P＜ 0.05）;观察组患者治疗稳定后外 周血IL-8、TNF-alpha及IGF-I水平显著高于对照组,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。结论：COPD 急性加重期外周血IL-8、TNF-琢及 IGF-I水平显著增高,治疗稳定后其水平显著降低,IL-8、TNF-alpha及IGF-I水平对COPD 的诊断和治疗具有重要意义。