Structure-activity relationship study of a series of caspase inhibitors containing γ-amino acid moiety for treatment of cholestatic liver disease

A series of caspase inhibitors containing γ-amino acid moiety have been synthesized. A systemic study on their structure-activity relationship of anti-apoptotic cellular activity is presented. These efforts led to the discovery of compound 20o as a potent caspase inhibitor, which demonstrated preclinical ameliorating total bilirubin efficacy with a significantly improved pharmacokinetic profile.     

Gibberellic acid is selectively downregulated in response to aphid-induced gall formation

The fluid-feeding aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis (Bell) induces horned galls on its primary host, the Chinese Sumac (Rhus chinensis Mill). Horned galls are harvested for their high content of tannins, and used in a range of medical and chemical applications. Gall development is a complex and highly controlled physiological process, where the growing insect population manipulates the plant developmental programs that allow the transformation of plant tissue into a gall. In this study, we examine whether Schlechtendalia alters the balance of plant hormones in the host tree as a means to achieve gall formation. For this, we measured concentrations for a series of endogenous hormones, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinin (CTK), gibberellic acid (GA), abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethylene (ETH). Specifically, we conducted a time course (namely, 30, 85, 100, 115, 125, 140, 155, and 170 days from gall initiation) analysis, where we measured both gall and leaf samples representing different developmental stages that spanned an entire growing season. To correlate these hormone data with developmental parameters during gall growth, we determined gall volume, tannin content, and aphid population size for the same time points. Interestingly, tannin production rose steeply in the early stages of gall development, while the aphid population size grew little. After this single peak (day 100), tannin concentrations declined moderately and aphid population size increased from then on. This switch in population growth was accompanied by notable changes in plant hormone titers. In general, all hormones but GA were elevated in all sample types isolated from the host tree (gall, leaves near and distant from gall) when compared with samples from an uninfected tree. Most of the elevated hormones showed similar changes over time; however, GA appeared to display the opposite behavior in all samples, suggesting that GA is a key target for controlling gall growth. When tannin concentrations spiked, GA levels peaked as well, while the remaining plant hormones exhibited a decline at that time. Principle component analysis revealed distinct functional groups in our hormone cohort. This yielded three groups comprising (1) CTK, ABA, ETH, and JA, (2) IAA and SA, (3) GA. The fact that GA comprised its own group and exhibited a unique profile during gall development prompted us to examine whether exogenous GA would alter the rate of gall growth. Indeed, we found that ectopic GA significantly accelerated gall growth, and more strongly than all other hormones, consistent with the notion that controlling GA levels within the gall is crucial for stimulating gall development. We propose a model, whereby the host plant downregulates GA concentrations in an attempt to throttle gall growth, while the gall-inducing aphid population counters these attempts.     

Preferential extension of short telomeres induced by low extracellular pH

The majority of tumor cells overcome proliferative limit by expressing telomerase. Whether or not telomerase preferentially extends the shortest telomeres is still under debate. When human cancer cells are cultured at neutral pH, telomerase extends telomeres in telomere length-independent manner. However, the microenvironment of tumor is slightly acidic, and it is not yet known how this influences telomerase action. Here, we examine telomere length homeostasis in tumor cells cultured at pHe 6.8. The results indicate that telomerase preferentially extends short telomeres, such that telomere length distribution narrows and telomeres become nearly uniform in size. After growth at pHe 6.8, the expression of telomerase, TRF1, TRF2 and TIN2 decreases, and the abundance of Cajal bodies decreases. Therefore, telomerase are insufficient for extending every telomere and shorter telomeres bearing less shelterin proteins are more accessible for telomerase recruitment. The findings support the ‘protein-counting mechanism’ in which extended and unextended state of telomere is determined by the number of associated shelterin proteins and the abundance of telomerase. Decreased expression of telomerase and preferential extension of short telomeres have important implications for tumor cell viability, and generate a strong rationale for research on telomerase-targeted anti-cancer therapeutics.     

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Increases Synaptic Protein Levels via the MAPK/Erk Signaling Pathway and Nrf2/Trx Axis Following the Transplantation of Neural Stem Cells in a Rat Model of Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in promoting the growth, differentiation, survival and synaptic stability of neurons. Presently, the transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is known to induce neural repair to some extent after injury or disease. In this study, to investigate whether NSCs genetically modified to encode the BDNF gene (BDNF/NSCs) would further enhance synaptogenesis, BDNF/NSCs or naive NSCs were directly engrafted into lesions in a rat model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Immunohistochemistry, western blotting and RT-PCR were performed to detect synaptic proteins, BDNF-TrkB and its downstream signaling pathways, at 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks after transplantation. Our results showed that BDNF significantly increased the expression levels of the TrkB receptor gene and the phosphorylation of the TrkB protein in the lesions. The expression levels of Ras, phosphorylated Erk1/2 and postsynaptic density protein-95 were elevated in the BDNF/NSCs-transplanted groups compared with those in the NSCs-transplanted groups throughout the experimental period. Moreover, the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2/Thioredoxin (Nrf2/Trx) axis, which is a specific therapeutic target for the treatment of injury or cell death, was upregulated by BDNF overexpression. Therefore, we determined that the increased synaptic proteins level implicated in synaptogenesis might be associated with the activation of the MAPK/Erk1/2 signaling pathway and the upregulation of the antioxidant agent Trx modified by BDNF-TrkB following the BDNF/NSCs transplantation after TBI.     

中国南部亚热带森林地表植被动态变化

系统研究了南方5个亚热带森林生态系统地表植被的动态变化情况.研究方法是:在每个研究区域内,按照地形梯度分别布设50个1m2 的样方,记录样方内所有物种的频度及相关的环境变量,5个研究区域共设250个样方,每个样方分别调查两次.通过单元及多元统计方法分析表明:维管植物物种频度在一个区域明显下降,另二个区域显著增加;苔藓物种频度在一个区域有明显下降,另一个区域明显增加;苔藓物种数量在3个区域显著增加,另二个区域显著下降;维管植物物种数量显著增加在二个区域;物种组成沿着第一个植被梯度轴DCA 1没有显著变化,沿着第二个植被梯度轴DCA 2在二个区域有显著变化.综合分析表明,苔藓对气候变化及其波动反映敏感,是较好的气候变化及气候波动生物指示因子,而管植物数量及频度的变化没有明显证据显示与土壤酸化和大气污染有紧密关系.     

Preinfection Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Failed To Prevent HIV Type 1 Infection from Strains Genetically Unrelated to Viruses in Long-Term Exposed Partners

Understanding the mechanisms underlying potential altered susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in highly exposed seronegative (ES) individuals and the later clinical consequences of breakthrough infection can provide insight into strategies to control HIV-1 with an effective vaccine. From our Seattle ES cohort, we identified one individual (LSC63) who seroconverted after over 2 years of repeated unprotected sexual contact with his HIV-1-infected partner (P63) and other sexual partners of unknown HIV-1 serostatus. The HIV-1 variants infecting LSC63 were genetically unrelated to those sequenced from P63. This may not be surprising, since viral load measurements in P63 were repeatedly below 50 copies/ml, making him an unlikely transmitter. However, broad HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses were detected in LSC63 before seroconversion. Compared to those detected after seroconversion, these responses were of lower magnitude and half of them targeted different regions of the viral proteome. Strong HLA-B27-restricted CTLs, which have been associated with disease control, were detected in LSC63 after but not before seroconversion. Furthermore, for the majority of the protein-coding regions of the HIV-1 variants in LSC63 (except gp41, nef, and the 3′ half of pol), the genetic distances between the infecting viruses and the viruses to which he was exposed through P63 (termed the exposed virus) were comparable to the distances between random subtype B HIV-1 sequences and the exposed viruses. These results suggest that broad preinfection immune responses were not able to prevent the acquisition of HIV-1 infection in LSC63, even though the infecting viruses were not particularly distant from the viruses that may have elicited these responses.Understanding the mechanisms of altered susceptibility or control of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in highly exposed seronegative (ES) persons may provide invaluable information aiding the design of HIV-1 vaccines and therapy (9, 14, 15, 33, 45, 57, 58). In a cohort of female commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya, a small proportion of individuals remained seronegative for over 3 years despite the continued practice of unprotected sex (12, 28, 55, 56). Similarly, resistance to HIV-1 infection has been reported in homosexual men who frequently practiced unprotected sex with infected partners (1, 15, 17, 21, 61). Multiple factors have been associated with the resistance to HIV-1 infection in ES individuals (32), including host genetic factors (8, 16, 20, 37-39, 44, 46, 47, 49, 59, 63), such as certain HLA class I and II alleles (41), as well as cellular (1, 15, 26, 55, 56), humoral (25, 29), and innate immune responses (22, 35).Seroconversion in previously HIV-resistant Nairobi female commercial sex workers, despite preexisting HIV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses, has been reported (27). Similarly, 13 of 125 ES enrollees in our Seattle ES cohort (1, 15, 17) have become late seroconverters (H. Zhu, T. Andrus, Y. Liu, and T. Zhu, unpublished observations). Here, we analyze the virology, genetics, and immune responses of HIV-1 infection in one of the later seroconverting subjects, LSC63, who had developed broad CTL responses before seroconversion.     

Structure and Functional Implications of the Human Rad9-Hus1-Rad1 Cell Cycle Checkpoint Complex

Cellular DNA lesions are efficiently countered by DNA repair in conjunction with delays in cell cycle progression. Previous studies have demonstrated that Rad9, Hus1, and Rad1 can form a heterotrimeric complex (the 9-1-1 complex) that plays dual roles in cell cycle checkpoint activation and DNA repair in eukaryotic cells. Although the 9-1-1 complex has been proposed to form a toroidal structure similar to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which plays essential roles in DNA replication and repair, the structural basis by which it performs different functions has not been elucidated. Here we report the crystal structure of the human 9-1-1 complex at 3.2 Å resolution. The crystal structure, together with biochemical assays, reveals that the interdomain connecting loops (IDC loop) of hRad9, hHus1, and hRad1 are largely divergent, and further cocrystallization study indicates that a PCNA-interacting box (PIP box)-containing peptide derived from hFen1 binds tightly to the interdomain connecting loop of hRad1, providing the molecular basis for the damage repair-specific activity of the 9-1-1 complex in contrast to PCNA. Furthermore, structural comparison with PCNA reveals other unique structural features of the 9-1-1 complex that are proposed to contribute to DNA damage recognition.Cellular DNA damage triggers the activation of the cell cycle checkpoint, leading to a delay or arrest in cell cycle progression to prevent replication and inducing DNA damage repair (1, 2). In response to DNA damage, the 9-1-1³ complex can be loaded onto DNA lesion sites by Rad17-RFC2–5 (which consists of one large subunit, Rad17, and four small subunits, RFC2–5), where it triggers the activation of the cell cycle checkpoint (3, 4). Moreover, the 9-1-1 complex can also directly participate in DNA repair via physical association with many factors involved in base excision repair (BER), translesion synthesis, homologous recombination, and mismatch repair pathways (5–9).Although both the 9-1-1 and the PCNA complexes perform critical functions in eukaryotic cells with predicted similar structures (10), their specific roles are distinct. First, the 9-1-1 complex is a DNA damage sensor in the cell cycle checkpoint but does not function as a scaffold for the major DNA replication factors; however, PCNA plays exactly the opposite role (1, 11). Second, although both the complexes function in DNA repair, their specific activities are different. Previous observations indicated that some BER enzymes, such as MYH (MutY glycosylate homolog) (12), TDG (thymine DNA glycosylate) (7), and NEIL (Nei-like glycosylate) (8), interact with the 9-1-1 complex via motifs that are located outside the conserved PCNA-interacting box (the PIP box), implying that the 9-1-1 complex functions as a damage repair-specific clamp, in contrast to PCNA. However, the structural basis for this hypothesis remains unclear. Another important unresolved issue concerns the damage-sensing mechanism of the 9-1-1 complex. During the DNA replication process, the PCNA·RFC clamp·clamp loader specifically recognizes the primer-template junction (13). However, the molecular basis by which the 9-1-1·Rad17-RFC2–5 clamp·clamp loader specifically recognizes the damaged DNA is little known. To address these questions, we performed structural and biochemical studies on the 9-1-1 complex.