Inhibition of the yeast metal reductase heme protein fre1 by nitric oxide (NO): a model for inhibition of NADPH oxidase by NO

Nitric oxide (NO) has been found to inhibit the actions of the transmembrane metal reductase Fre1 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This membrane-spanning heme protein is homologous to the gp91(PHOX) protein of the NADPH oxidase enzyme complex and is responsible for reducing extracellular oxidized metals (i.e., ferric and cupric ions) before high-affinity uptake. Consistent with its role in metal metabolism, inhibition of Fre1 by NO also inhibited yeast growth in low-iron medium. Inhibition by NO was found to be O(2)-dependent and irreversible. Further examination of the chemistry responsible for activity loss shows that the generation of N(2)O(3) via NO-O(2) chemistry was responsible for the activity loss, possibly via nitrosation of the protein followed by loss of the heme prosthetic group.     

The role of ADAMTSs in arthritis

The ADAMTSs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) family is composed of 19 proteases. These enzymes are known to play an important role in development, angiogenesis and coagulation, and their dysregulation or mutation has been implicated in disease processes such as inflammation, cancer, arthritis and atherosclerosis. In addition to a brief summary of the structural organization and functional roles of ADAMTSs in normal and pathological conditions, this review focuses on the members known to be involved in the degradation of extracellular matrix and loss of cartilage in arthritis, including the aggrecanases (with special focus on ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5), and ADAMTS-7 and ADAMTS-12, both of which associate with cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a component of cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). Expression patterns of these metalloproteinases, as well as the regulation of their activities at multiple levels, such as their interaction with substrates, induction by pro-inflammatory cytokines, protein processing, inhibition (e.g., TIMP-3, alpha-2-macroglobulin, GEP) and activation (e.g., syndecan-4, PACE-4) are reviewed.     

硬化蛋白基因在淇河鲫成鱼不同肌间骨相邻肌组织的表达差异分析

为探究硬化蛋白(sclerostin, SOST)基因在淇河鲫肌间骨不同分布位置中的作用,以淇河鲫成鱼为研究对象,对其肌间骨的形态与分布进行了统计,并在此基础上利用qRT-PCR技术检测SOST基因在淇河鲫背部和尾部肌肉中的mRNA表达,通过Western印迹和免疫组织化学技术检测SOST蛋白的表达定位情况。结果显示：淇河鲫肌间骨包括髓弓小骨和脉弓小骨,髓弓小骨为56～58根,位于淇河鲫背部肌肉的肌隔中,脉弓小骨27～28根,分布于泄殖孔之后的肌隔中。背部肌肉SOST的mRNA表达水平显著高于尾部肌肉（P < 0.05）。与mRNA表达水平相比,背部肌肉和尾部肌肉中SOST蛋白呈现相同表达趋势。免疫组织化学结果显示SOST在肌隔组织中特异性表达,并且在背部肌肉中的表达强烈,尾部肌肉中没有阳性反应。上述结果表明,SOST在淇河鲫肌间骨的背部和尾部肌肉中存在差异性表达,从而影响肌隔组织中肌间骨的骨化,对背部和尾部肌间骨形态发生产生影响。     

Association of the 16-kDa subunit c of vacuolar proton pump with the ileal Na+-dependent bile acid transporter: protein-protein interaction and intracellular trafficking

The rat ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (Asbt) transports conjugated bile acids in a Na+-dependent fashion and localizes specifically to the apical surface of ileal enterocytes. The mechanisms that target organic anion transporters to different domains of the ileal enterocyte plasma membrane have not been well defined. Previous studies (Sung, A.-Q., Arresa, M. A., Zeng, L., Swaby, I'K., Zhou, M. M., and Suchy, F. J. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 6825-6833) from our laboratory demonstrated that rat Asbt follows an apical sorting pathway that is brefeldin A-sensitive and insensitive to protein glycosylation, monensin treatment, and low temperature shift. Furthermore, a 14-mer signal sequence that adopts a beta-turn conformation is required for apical localization of rat Asbt. In this study, a vacuolar proton pump subunit (VPP-c, the 16-kDa subunit c of vacuolar H+-ATPase) has been identified as an interacting partner of Asbt by a bacterial two-hybrid screen. A direct protein-protein interaction between Asbt and VPP-c was confirmed in an in vitro pull-down assay and in an in vivo mammalian two-hybrid analysis. Indirect immunofluorescence confocal microscopy demonstrated that the Asbt and VPP-c colocalized in transfected COS-7 and MDCK cells. Moreover, bafilomycin A1 (a specific inhibitor of VPP) interrupted the colocalization of Asbt and VPP-c. A taurocholate influx assay and membrane biotinylation analysis showed that treatment with bafilomycin A1 resulted in a significant decrease in bile acid transport activity and the apical membrane localization of Asbt in transfected cells. Thus, these results suggest that the apical membrane localization of Asbt is mediated in part by the vacuolar proton pump associated apical sorting machinery.