Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL regulate proinflammatory caspase-1 activation by interaction with NALP1

Caspases are intracellular proteases that cleave substrates involved in apoptosis or inflammation. In C. elegans, a paradigm for caspase regulation exists in which caspase CED-3 is activated by nucleotide-binding protein CED-4, which is suppressed by Bcl-2-family protein CED-9. We have identified a mammalian analog of this caspase-regulatory system in the NLR-family protein NALP1, a nucleotide-dependent activator of cytokine-processing protease caspase-1, which responds to bacterial ligand muramyl-dipeptide (MDP). Antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) bind and suppress NALP1, reducing caspase-1 activation and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) production. When exposed to MDP, Bcl-2-deficient macrophages exhibit more caspase-1 processing and IL-1beta production, whereas Bcl-2-overexpressing macrophages demonstrate less caspase-1 processing and IL-1beta production. The findings reveal an interaction of host defense and apoptosis machinery.     

Age-associated decline in effective immune synapse formation of CD4(+) T cells is reversed by vitamin E supplementation

Aging is associated with reduced IL-2 production and T cell proliferation. Vitamin E supplementation, in aged animals and humans, increases cell division and IL-2 production by naive T cells. The immune synapse forms at the site of contact between a T cell and an APC and participates in T cell activation. We evaluated whether vitamin E affects the redistribution of signaling proteins to the immune synapse. Purified CD4(+) T cells, from the spleens of young and old mice, were treated with vitamin E before stimulation with a surrogate APC expressing anti-CD3. Using confocal fluorescent microscopy, we observed that CD4(+) T cells from old mice were significantly less likely to recruit signaling proteins to the immune synapse than cells from young mice. Vitamin E increased the percentage of old CD4(+) T cells capable of forming an effective immune synapse. Similar results were found following in vivo supplementation with vitamin E. When compared with memory cells, naive T cells from aged mice were more defective in immune synapse formation and were more responsive to vitamin E supplementation. These data show, for the first time, that vitamin E significantly improves age-related early T cell signaling events in naive CD4(+) T cells.     

Vaccinia virus N1L protein resembles a B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family protein

Poxviruses encode immuno-modulatory proteins capable of subverting host defenses. The poxvirus vaccinia expresses a small 14-kDa protein, N1L, that is critical for virulence. We report the crystal structure of N1L, which reveals an unexpected but striking resemblance to host apoptotic regulators of the B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family. Although N1L lacks detectable Bcl-2 homology (BH) motifs at the sequence level, we show that N1L binds with high affinity to the BH3 peptides of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins in vitro, consistent with a role for N1L in modulating host antiviral defenses.     

Heterocyclic alpha-helix mimetics for targeting protein-protein interactions

The design and synthesis of alpha-helix peptidomimetics using inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reactions is described. The potency of the resulting pyridazine-based library to disrupt the Bak/Bcl-X(L) interaction was tested using an in vitro fluorescence polarization assay.     

Genetic Relationships Among Five Basic Genomes St,E,A,B and D in Triticeae Revealed by Genomic Southern and in situ Hybridization

The St and E are two important basic genomes in the perennial tribe Triticeae (Poaceae). They exist in many perennialspecies and are very closely related to the A, B and D genomes of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Genomic Southernhybridization and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) were used to analyze the genomic relationships between the twogenomes (St and E) and the three basic genomes (A, B and D) of T. aestivum. The semi-quantitative analysis of the Southernhybridization suggested that both St and E genomes are most closely related to the D genome, then the A genome, andrelatively distant to the B genome. GISH analysis using St and E genomic DNA as probes further confirmed the conclusion.St and E are the two basic genomes of Thinopyrum ponticum (StStE~eE~bE~x) and Th. intermedium (StE~eE~b), two perennialspecies successfully used in wheat improvement. Therefore, this paper provides a possible answer as to why most of thespontaneous wheat-Thinopyrum translocations and substitutions usually happen in the D genome, some in the A genomeand rarely in the B genome. This would develop further use of alien species for wheat improvement, especially thosecontaining St or E in their genome components.     

水产养殖不同物种对水体和沉积物中细菌群落的影响

为探究水产养殖中养殖不同物种对水体和沉积物中细菌群落的影响,以养殖克氏原螯虾(Procambarus clarkii, PC)和中华鳖(Pelodiscus sinensis, PS)的水体和沉积物样品为研究对象,利用基于16S rRNA基因的高通量测序技术,对细菌群落多样性和群落组成进行分析,并结合环境因子,探究水产养殖对细菌群落的影响。结果显示,水体和沉积物中细菌群落的α多样性均呈现PS>PC的显著差异(P<0.05)。非度量多维尺度分析的结果显示,PC和PS区的水体和沉积物细菌群落结构均呈现明显差异。冗余分析(RDA)的结果表明,水体氨氮(NH~+₄-N)和硝酸盐氮(NO~-₃-N)是影响水体细菌群落结构的最主要环境因子,沉积物总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和有机碳(OC)均对沉积物细菌群落结构有显著影响(P<0.05)。PC和PS区中的细菌隶属于34门、114纲、258目、504科和955属,水体中共筛选出了11个优势菌门(相对丰度>0.5%),沉积物中筛选出了13个。2个养殖区域的水体样品中共筛选出了15个优势(...     

XeCl准分子激光辐照对溶菌酶结构的影响

利用荧光光谱、SDS-PAGE和NMR方法,考察308 nm XeCl准分子激光辐照对溶菌酶结构与活性的影响。使用能量密度为0.3 mJ/mm2的激光辐照溶菌酶,脉冲数分别为25、50、100、200、600、1200、1800、3600和7200。结果表明,用低强度激光辐照(低于200个脉冲)时,溶菌酶的活性出现增高趋势。随着激光辐照脉冲数的进一步增大,溶菌酶的活性又开始逐步降低。激光辐照处理后,溶菌酶的荧光强度发生了与生物活性相对应的先增高再降低现象,说明溶菌酶的高级结构发生了显著变化。SDS-PAGE结果显示,经激光辐照后,溶菌酶出现了分子间的聚合。分析溶菌酶的1H-NMR谱发现,辐照后,溶菌酶色氨酸(Trp)111、Trp63和Trp62的化学位移发生了变化,此结果进一步说明,激光辐照使溶菌酶的高级结构发生了变化。该实验可为激光辐照诱导蛋白质去折叠的研究提供参考。     

High-throughput fluorescence assay for small-molecule inhibitors of autophagins/Atg4

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process for catabolizing damaged proteins and organelles in a lysosome-dependent manner. Dysregulation of autophagy may cause various diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration. However, the relevance of autophagy to diseases remains controversial because of the limited availability of chemical modulators. Herein, the authors developed a fluorescence-based assay for measuring activity of the autophagy protease, autophagin-1(Atg4B). The assay employs a novel reporter substrate of Atg4B composed of a natural substrate (LC3B) fused to an assayable enzyme (PLA(2)) that becomes active upon cleavage by this cysteine protease. A high-throughput screening (HTS) assay was validated with excellent Z' factor (>0.7), remaining robust for more than 5 h and suitable for screening of large chemical libraries. The HTS assay was validated by performing pilot screens with 2 small collections of compounds enriched in bioactive molecules (n = 1280 for Lopac? and 2000 for Spectrum? library), yielding confirmed hit rates of 0.23% and 0.70%, respectively. As counterscreens, PLA(2) and caspase-3 assays were employed to eliminate nonspecific inhibitors. In conclusion, the LC3B-PLA(2) reporter assay provides a platform for compound library screening for identification and characterization of Atg4B-specific inhibitors that may be useful as tools for interrogating the role of autophagy in disease models.