Crystal structure of a core domain of stomatin from Pyrococcus horikoshii Illustrates a novel trimeric and coiled-coil fold

Stomatin is a major integral membrane protein of human erythrocytes, the absence of which is associated with a form of hemolytic anemia known as hereditary stomatocytosis. However, the function of stomatin is not fully understood. An open reading frame, PH1511, from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii encodes p-stomatin, a prokaryotic stomatin. Here, we report the first crystal structure of a stomatin ortholog, the core domain of the p-stomatin PH1511p (residues 56-234 of PH1511p, designated as PhSto^CD). PhSto^CD forms a novel homotrimeric structure. Three α/β domains form a triangle of about 50 Å on each side, and three α-helical segments of about 60 Å in length extend from the apexes of the triangle. The α/β domain of PhSto^CD is partly similar in structure to the band-7 domain of mouse flotillin-2. While the α/β domain is relatively rigid, the α-helical segment shows conformational flexibility, adapting to the neighboring environment. One α-helical segment forms an anti-parallel coiled coil with another α-helical segment from a symmetry-related molecule. The α-helical segment shows a heptad repeat pattern, and mainly hydrophobic residues form a coiled-coil interface. According to chemical cross-linking experiments, PhSto^CD would be able to assemble into an oligomeric form. The coiled-coil fold observed in the crystal probably contributes to self-association.     

Molecular mechanisms for Kv1.3 potassium channel current inhibition by CD3/CD28 stimulation in Jurkat T cells

In T lymphocyte, activation of Kv1.3 channel, the major voltage-dependent K⁺ channel, is an essential step for cell proliferation in immune responses. Here, effects of anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies on Kv1.3 current were examined in three types of human T lymphocyte derived cell lines, Jurkat E6-1, p56lck-kinase deficient mutant JCaM.1, and CD45-phosphatase deficient mutant J45.01. Kv1.3 current was partly reduced by CD3 stimulation and more strongly by addition of anti-CD28 antibody in E6-1. In JCaM.1, Kv1.3 current responses to anti-CD28/CD3 antibodies were similar to those in E6-1. In J45.01, CD3 stimulation partly inhibited Kv1.3 current, but the additive reduction by CD28 stimulation was not significant. The inhibition of tyrosine phosphatase in E6-1 abolished the additional inhibition by anti-CD28 antibody in a similar manner as in J45.01. In conclusion, the stimulation of CD28 in addition to CD3 strongly inhibits Kv1.3 current and this additive inhibition is mediated by CD45 activation.     

Demonstration of the hepatocyte growth factor signaling pathway in the in vitro neuritogenic activity of chondroitin sulfate from ray fish cartilage

Background

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a ubiquitous component of the cell surface and extracellular matrix and its sugar backbone consists of repeating disaccharide units: D-glucuronic acid (GlcUA)β1-3N-acetyl-D-galactosamine (GalNAc). Although CS participates in diverse biological processes such as growth factor signaling and the nervous system's development, the mechanism underlying the functions is not well understood.

Methods

CS was isolated from ray fish cartilage, an industrial waste, and its structure and neurite outgrowth-promoting (NOP) activity were analyzed to investigate a potential application to nerve regeneration.

Results

The major disaccharide unit in the CS preparation was GlcUA-GalNAc(6-O-sulfate) (61.9%). Minor proportions of GlcUA-GalNAc(4-O-sulfate) (27.0%), GlcUA(2-O-sulfate)-GalNAc(6-O-sulfate) (8.5%), and GlcUA-GalNAc (2.7%) were also detected. The preparation showed NOP activity in vitro, and this activity was suppressed by antibodies against hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met, suggesting the involvement of the HGF signaling pathway in the expression of the in vitro NOP activity of the CS preparation. The specific binding of HGF to the CS preparation was also demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy.

Conclusions and general significance

The NOP activity of CS from ray cartilage was demonstrated to be expressed through the HGF signaling pathway, suggesting that ray cartilage CS may be useful for studying the cooperative function of CS and HGF.     

Chloropupukeananin and Pestalofone C Regulate Autophagy through AMPK and Glycolytic Pathway

Chloropupukeananin (RN56‐6) and Pestalofone C (RN56‐49), isolated from the culture of the plant endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis fici, have been shown cytotoxic, anti‐HIV, and antimicrobial activities. However, the underlying mechanism of their regulatory roles in autophagy remains unknown. In the present study, we revealed that both compounds increased the formation of autophagosome and enhanced autophagic flux. While RN56‐6 upregulated the expression of HK2, one of the key rate‐limiting enzymes of glycolysis, the inhibition of glycolysis chemically attenuated RN56‐6‐induced autophagy. On the contrary, RN56‐49 downregulated the expression of HK2, while the suppression of glycolysis promoted RN56‐49‐dependent autophagic flux. Moreover, the knockdown of AMPKβ1, a scaffolding subunit of AMPK, decreased autophagy induced by these two compounds. Collectively, these findings revealed that RN56‐6 and RN56‐49 regulated autophagic process through AMPK and glycolytic pathway.     

Refined definition of the 56K and other autoantigens in the 50–60 kDa region

Alteration of the acrylamide: bisacrylamide ratio in the SDS-polyacrylamide gel used for Western blotting strongly improved the unambiguous detection of antibodies against 50–60 kDa autoantigens present in autoimmune patient sera. The relative migration of Ro 52, the 56K autoantigen and calreticulin increased with reduced acrylamide: bisacrylamide ratios in contrast to that of Ro60, La and Jo-1. These analyses indicated that these six autoantigens correspond to six distinct polypeptides.Further analyses using recombinant calreticulin showed that (i) the 56K autoantigen is neither identical nor related to calreticulin and (ii) calreticulin is not a Ro autoantigen.A series of experiments designed to better characterize the 56K autoantigen showed that (i) the antigen is not detectable in fixed cells, presumably due to masking of the epitopes; (ii) about equal amounts of the antigen were recovered in nuclear and cytoplasmic cell, fractions after enucleation of the cells; (iii) the 56K autoantigen is not stably associated with either RNA or other proteins.Abbreviations a- anti- - CaR calreticulin - NHS normal human serum - NRS normal rabbit serum - r recombinant - RA rheumatoid arthritis - SLE systemic lupus erythematosus - SS Sjögren's syndrome     

Differential effects of lipopolysaccharide on energy metabolism in murine microglial N9 and cholinergic SN56 neuronal cells

There are significant differences between acetyl‐CoA and ATP levels, enzymes of acetyl‐CoA metabolism, and toll‐like receptor 4 contents in non‐activated microglial N9 and non‐differentiated cholinergic SN56 neuroblastoma cells. Exposition of N9 cells to lipopolysaccharide caused concentration‐dependent several‐fold increases of nitrogen oxide synthesis, accompanied by inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, aconitase, and α‐ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex activities, and by nearly proportional depletion of acetyl‐CoA, but by relatively smaller losses in ATP content and cell viability (about 5%). On the contrary, SN56 cells appeared to be insensitive to direct exposition to high concentration of lipopolysaccharide. However, exogenous nitric oxide resulted in marked inhibition pyruvate dehydrogenase and aconitase activities, depletion of acetyl‐CoA, along with respective loss of SN56 cells viability. These data indicate that these two common neurodegenerative signals may differentially affect energy‐acetyl‐CoA metabolism in microglial and cholinergic neuronal cell compartments in the brain. Moreover, microglial cells appeared to be more resistant than neuronal cells to acetyl‐CoA and ATP depletion evoked by these neurodegenerative conditions. Together, these data indicate that differential susceptibility of microglia and cholinergic neuronal cells to neurotoxic signals may result from differences in densities of toll‐like receptors and degree of disequilibrium between acetyl‐CoA provision in mitochondria and its utilization for energy production and acetylation reactions in each particular group of cells.

     

干扰素诱导蛋白P56与糖皮质激素受体的相互作用及对其转录活性的影响

糖皮质激素受体（GR）在严重创伤早期及全身性炎症反应中具有重要作用,为寻找与GR相互作用的新的蛋白质,以期调节GR的功能活性,应用酵母双杂交技术,以糖皮质激素受体配体结合区（GR-LBD）为诱饵蛋白,在人骨髓cDNA文库中筛选到42个阳性克隆.测序结果表明,其中一个克隆为干扰素诱导蛋白P56的大部分编码序列（221～1 642 bp,编码第53位至第478位氨基酸）.利用酵母双杂交实验再次验证P56与GR具有结合作用.并用PCR方法从酵母质粒中扩增出P56片段,进行GST-P56原核融合蛋白表达与纯化,及真核表达与免疫共沉淀.蛋白质结合实验表明,P56与GR-LBD在体内外有结合作用.CAT报告基因检测表明P56抑制GR的转录激活能力.