Learning-Induced Expression of Meningeal Ependymin mRNA and Demonstration of Ependymin in Neurons and Glial Cells

Abstract: The turnover of a CNS-specific cell adhesion glycoprotein, ependymin, has earlier been found to increase during periods of neuronal plasticity. Here, ependymin mRNA expression was analyzed by semiquantitative in situ hybridization in goldfish. Learning of an active avoidance response resulted in a significant increase in ependymin mRNA expression 20 min to 4 h after acquisition of the task. In contrast, yoked control animals that were exposed to the same numbers of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in a random, unpaired manner exhibited a strong down-regulation of ependymin mRNA. Hybridization signals were also increased by injection of anti-ependymin antiserum into brain ventricles. Ependymin mRNA was exclusively localized to reticular-shaped fibroblasts of the inner endomeningeal cell layer. Immunoelectron microscopic investigation, however, revealed ependymin also in distinct neuronal and glial cell populations in which no ependymin mRNA had been detected. Uptake of meningeal protein factors into glial and neuronal cells may therefore be of functional importance for plastic adaptations of the CNS.     

Selective modification of alkyne-linked peptides and proteins by cyclometalated gold(III) (C^N) complex-mediated alkynylation

Alkyne is a useful functionality incorporated in proteins for site-selective bioconjugation reactions. Although effective bioconjugation reactions such as copper(I)-catalyzed and/or copper-free 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of alkynes and azides are the most common approaches, the development of new alkyne-based bioconjugation reactions is still an ongoing interest in chemical biology. In this work, a new approach has been developed for selective modification of alkyne-linked peptides and proteins through the formation of arylacetylenes by a cross-coupling reaction of 6-membered ring cyclometalated gold(III) (C^N) complexes (HC^N = 2-arylpyridines) with terminal alkynes. Screening of the reaction conditions with a series of cyclometalated gold(III) complexes with phenylacetylene gave an excellent yield (up to 82%) by conducting the reaction in slightly alkaline aqueous conditions. The reaction scope was expanded to various alkynes, including alkyne-linked peptides to achieve up to >99% conversion. Using fluorescent dansyl (1l) and BODIPY (1m)-linked gold(III) complexes, alkyne-linked lysozyme has been selectively modified.     

Methylation of KvDMR1 involved in regulating the imprinting of CDKN1C gene in cattle

The CDKN1C gene encodes a cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor and is one of the key genes involved in the development of Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome and cancer. In this study, using a direct sequencing approach based on a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at genomic DNA and cDNA levels, we show that CDKN1C exhibits monoallelic expression in all seven studied organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, muscle and subcutaneous fat) in cattle. To investigate how methylation regulates imprinting of CDKN1C in cattle, allele‐specific methylation patterns in two putative differential methylation regions (DMRs), the CDKN1C DMR and KvDMR1, were analyzed in three tissues (liver, spleen and lung) using bisulfite sequencing PCR. Our results show that in the CDKN1C DMR both parental alleles were unmethylated in all three analyzed tissues. In contrast, KvDMR1 was differentially methylated between the two parental alleles in the same tissues. Statistical analysis showed that there is a significant difference in the methylation level between the two parental alleles (P < 0.01), confirming that this region is the DMR of KvDMR1 and that it may be correlated with CDKN1C imprinting.