Methylparaben induces malformations and alterations on apoptosis,oxidant–antioxidant status,ccnd1 and myca expressions in zebrafish embryos

Methylparabens (MP) are widely used as preservatives in cosmetics, pharmacy, and food industry. Although acute toxicity studies in animals indicated that parabens are not significantly toxic, the effects of chronic exposure under sublethal doses are still unknown and the number of related studies is limited. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of MP on the development of zebrafish embryos focusing on development, locomotor activity, oxidant–antioxidant status, apoptosis, and ccnd1 and myca expressions. The expressions of ccnd1 and myca were determined by RT‐PCR. Lipid peroxidation (LPO), nitric oxide (NO), and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) activities were determined spectrophotometrically. Apoptosis was determined using acridine orange staining. Locomotor activity was measured using touch‐evoked movement test. MP exposure increased malformations, LPO, apoptosis, ccnd1 and myca expressions, and decreased GST activities and NO levels compared with the control group. Our findings will lead to further understanding of the mechanism of MP toxicity, and merit further research.     

Mucosal Whole Mounts Of Rodent Forestomach

The most convenient separation of the mucosa of the f orestomach of rats and mice was secured when the opened stomach was pinned flat (mucosa up) to the bottom of a paraffined petri dish and immersed 1-3 hours in 0.5-1.0% oxalic or acetic acid at room temperature. The separated mucosa was spread on a spatula and immersed in fixing fluid. Staining, dehydration, clearing and mounting in a syndietic mounting medium were by standard methods as used for celloidin sections.     

The Glc7 phosphatase subunit of the cleavage and polyadenylation factor is essential for transcription termination on snoRNA genes

Glc7, the yeast protein phosphatase 1, is a component of the cleavage and polyadenylation factor (CPF). Here we show that downregulation of Glc7, or its dissociation from CPF in the absence of CPF subunits Ref2 or Swd2, results in similar snoRNA termination defects. Overexpressing a C-terminal fragment of Sen1, a superfamily I helicase required for snoRNA termination, suppresses the growth and termination defects associated with loss of Swd2 or Ref2, but not Glc7. Suppression by Sen1 requires nuclear localization and direct interaction with Glc7, which can dephosphorylate Sen1 in vitro. The suppressing fragment, and in a similar manner full-length Sen1, copurifies with the snoRNA termination factors Nrd1 and Nab3, suggesting loss of Glc7 from CPF can be compensated by recruiting Glc7 to Nrd1-Nab3 through Sen1. Swd2 is also a subunit of the Set1c histone H3K4 methyltransferase complex and is required for its stability and optimal methyltransferase activity.     

Cellular functions of GEF-H1, a microtubule-regulated Rho-GEF: is altered GEF-H1 activity a crucial determinant of disease pathogenesis?

The Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor GEF-H1 is uniquely regulated by microtubule binding and is crucial in coupling microtubule dynamics to Rho-GTPase activation in a variety of normal biological situations. Here, we review the roles of GEF-H1 in epithelial barrier permeability, cell motility and polarization, dendritic spine morphology, antigen presentation, leukemic cell differentiation, cell cycle regulation, and cancer. GEF-H1 might also contribute to pathophysiological signaling involved in leukemias, and in cancers associated with mutated p53 tumor suppressor gene, epithelial and endothelial cell dysfunction, infectious disease, and cardiac hypertrophy. We suggest that GEF-H1 could be a novel therapeutic target in multiple human diseases.     

IL12, IL10, IFNγ and TNFα Expression in Human Primary Monocytes Stimulated with Bacterial Heat Shock GroEL (Hsp64) Protein

Actinobacillus (Aggregatibacter) actinomycetemicomitans (Aa) is a bacterium that lives in the oral cavity and plays an important role in periodontal diseases. The effect of A.actinomycetemcomitans’s heat shock family protein GroEL on host or immune cells including monocytes is quite limited. In this study, the recombinant A.actinomycetemcomitans’s GroEL protein (rAaGroEL) was used as an antigen and its effects on monocytes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was investigated. To do that, PBMCs were stimulated with rAaGroEL protein at different time points (16h to 96h) and the cytokines of CD14+ monocytes were detected with intracellular cytokine staining by Flow cytometry. Data showed that AaGroEL protein has an antigenic effect on human primary monocytes. AaGroEL protein responsive CD14 monocytes stimulates the expression of IL12, IL10, IFNγ and TNFα cytokines with different kinetics and expression profile. Therefore, A. actinomycetemcomitans’s heat shock GroEL protein can modulate innate and adaptive immune responses and contribute to an inflammatory diseases pathology.     

Positive feedback between Cdc42 activity and H+ efflux by the Na-H exchanger NHE1 for polarity of migrating cells

A fundamental feature of cell polarity in response to spatial cues is asymmetric amplification of molecules generated by positive feedback signaling. We report a positive feedback loop between the guanosine triphosphatase Cdc42, a central determinant in eukaryotic cell polarity, and H(+) efflux by Na-H(+) exchanger 1 (NHE1), which is necessary at the front of migrating cells for polarity and directional motility. In response to migratory cues, Cdc42 is not activated in fibroblasts expressing a mutant NHE1 that lacks H(+) efflux, and wild-type NHE1 is not activated in fibroblasts expressing mutationally inactive Cdc42-N17. H(+) efflux by NHE1 is not necessary for release of Cdc42-guanosine diphosphate (GDP) from Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor or for the membrane recruitment of Cdc42 but is required for GTP binding by Cdc42 catalyzed by a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). Data indicate that GEF binding to phosphotidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate is pH dependent, suggesting a mechanism for how H(+) efflux by NHE1 promotes Cdc42 activity to generate a positive feedback signal necessary for polarity in migrating cells.     

Nonionic, Water Self-Dispersible "Hairy-Rod" Poly(p-phenylene)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) Copolymer/Carbon Nanotube Conjugates for Targeted Cell Imaging

The generation and fabrication of nanoscopic structures are of critical technological importance for future implementations in areas such as nanodevices and nanotechnology, biosensing, bioimaging, cancer targeting, and drug delivery. Applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in biological fields have been impeded by the incapability of their visualization using conventional methods. Therefore, fluorescence labeling of CNTs with various probes under physiological conditions has become a significant issue for their utilization in biological processes. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and additional fluorophore-free approach for cancer cell-imaging and diagnosis by combining multiwalled CNTs with a well-known conjugated polymer, namely, poly(p-phenylene) (PP). In this approach, PP decorated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was noncovalently (π-π stacking) linked to acid-treated CNTs. The obtained water self-dispersible, stable, and biocompatible f-CNT/PP-g-PEG conjugates were then bioconjugated to estrogen-specific antibody (anti-ER) via -COOH functionalities present on the side-walls of CNTs. The resulting conjugates were used as an efficient fluorescent probe for targeted imaging of estrogen receptor overexpressed cancer cells, such as MCF-7. In vitro studies and fluorescence microscopy data show that these conjugates can specifically bind to MCF-7 cells with high efficiency. The represented results imply that CNT-based materials could easily be fabricated by the described approach and used as an efficient "fluorescent probe" for targeting and imaging, thereby providing many new possibilities for various applications in biomedical sensing and diagnosis.     

PyK2 and FAK connections to p190Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor regulate RhoA activity, focal adhesion formation, and cell motility

Integrin binding to matrix proteins such as fibronectin (FN) leads to formation of focal adhesion (FA) cellular contact sites that regulate migration. RhoA GTPases facilitate FA formation, yet FA-associated RhoA-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) remain unknown. Here, we show that proline-rich kinase-2 (Pyk2) levels increase upon loss of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Additionally, we demonstrate that Pyk2 facilitates deregulated RhoA activation, elevated FA formation, and enhanced cell proliferation by promoting p190RhoGEF expression. In normal MEFs, p190RhoGEF knockdown inhibits FN-associated RhoA activation, FA formation, and cell migration. Knockdown of p190RhoGEF-related GEFH1 does not affect FA formation in FAK^−/− or normal MEFs. p190RhoGEF overexpression enhances RhoA activation and FA formation in MEFs dependent on FAK binding and associated with p190RhoGEF FA recruitment and tyrosine phosphorylation. These studies elucidate a compensatory function for Pyk2 upon FAK loss and identify the FAK–p190RhoGEF complex as an important integrin-proximal regulator of FA formation during FN-stimulated cell motility.