NM23-H2 involves in negative regulation of Diva and Bcl2L10 in apoptosis signaling

The Bcl-2 family members are evolutionally conserved and crucial regulators of apoptosis. Diva (Boo), an ortholog of Bcl2L10 or Bcl-B, is a member of the Bcl-2 family that has contradictory functions in apoptosis. To understand the signaling mechanisms of Diva, we searched for proteins that interact with Diva using the yeast two-hybrid system. We identified a nucleoside diphosphate kinase isoform, NM23-H2. Here, we show that Diva bound to NM23-H2 in cells in which the transmembrane domain of Diva was required, and both proteins were colocalized in cytoplasm. Of interest, Diva protein level was significantly down-regulated by NM23-H2 as knock down of NM23-H2 restored Diva expression. Overexpression of NM23-H2 induced apoptosis, and the depletion of NM23-H2 led to the increase of Diva's apoptotic activity. Thus, these results indicate the existence of a previously undiscovered mechanism by which NM23-H2 involves in the regulation of Diva-mediated apoptosis.     

基于MAXENT模型和Arc GIS预测蜡梅适生域在中国的潜在分布

蜡梅(Chimonanthus praecox)是我国二级濒危珍稀植物,是重要的冬季传统观花植物。利用已报道的246个分布点和worldclim中提取的19个气候因子,基于最大熵(Maxent)模型和地理信息系统(Arc Gis)对蜡梅在中国的潜在适生区分布进行预测分析,采用受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线对预测结果进行检验和评价。结果表明蜡梅的潜在适生范围相对集中,主要集中在西南的四川盆地、华中、华东及华北的中南部地区,其他地区则适应性较低。温度是影响蜡梅分布的决定性因子,其中,当最冷季度平均温度接近0℃,等温性范围为0—10℃,降雨量变异系数约为45时,蜡梅的分布概率最大。与原分布区相比较,蜡梅的适生区范围正向中国东部地区和北部地区迁移。ROC曲线检验评价结果表明,Maxent模型的ROC曲线分析法的面积(AUC)值为0.986,预测结果达到了极高精度。     

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance study of protein–protein interactions involving apoptosis regulator Diva (Boo) and the BH3 domain of proapoptotic Bcl‐2 members

According to biochemical assays, the Bcl‐2 protein Diva from mouse regulates programmed cell death by heterodimerizing with other members of the family and by interacting with the apoptotic protease‐activating factor Apaf‐1. In typical Bcl‐2 heterodimers, peptide fragments comprising the Bcl‐2 homology domain 3 (BH3 domain) of proapoptotic members are capable of forming functional complexes with prosurvival proteins. High‐resolution structural studies have revealed that the BH3 peptide forms an α‐helix positioned in a canonical hydrophobic cleft of the antiapoptotic protein. Because Diva shows mutations in conserved residues within this area, it has been proposed to have a different interacting surface. However, we showed previously that Diva binds through the canonical groove the BH3 peptide of the human Bcl‐2 killing member Harakiri. To further test Diva's binding capabilities, here we show Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data, indicating that Diva binds peptides derived from the BH3 domain of several other proapoptotic Bcl‐2 proteins, including mouse Harakiri, Bid, Bak and Bmf. We have measured the binding affinities of the heterodimers, which show significant variability. Structural models of the protein–peptide complexes based on NMR chemical shift perturbation data indicate that the binding surface is analogous. These models do not rely on NMR NOE (Nuclear Overhauser Effect) data, and thus our results can only suggest that the complexes share similar intermolecular interactions. However, the observed affinity differences correlate with the α‐helical population of the BH3‐peptides obtained from circular dichroism experiments, which highlights a role of conformational selection in the binding mechanism. Altogether, our results shed light on important factors governing Diva‐BH3 peptide molecular recognition mode. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.