茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571 GGDEF和EAL结构域蛋白的预测及功能研究

[目的]环二鸟苷酸c-di-GMP是细菌中广泛存在的第二信使,能够调控多种细胞功能。c-di-GMP的合成与水解分别由含有GGDEF结构域和EAL结构域的蛋白催化。本研究针对茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571的GGDEF和EAL结构域相关蛋白进行基因组学分析,并对三个同时含有GGDEF和EAL结构域的蛋白（AZC_3085、AZC_3226和AZC_4658）进行功能研究。[方法]利用SMART数据库对含有GGDEF和EAL结构域的蛋白进行结构域预测。利用CLUSTALW程序对蛋白序列进行比较分析。通过同源重组的方法构建突变株,并对突变株的细胞运动能力、胞外多糖合成、生物膜形成及与豆科宿主的结瘤等表型进行测定。[结果]茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571中一共存在37个GGDEF和EAL结构域蛋白。突变株△4658的运动能力较野生型有下降,但是其胞外多糖合成能力、生物膜形成能力和竞争性结瘤能力较野生型有提高。此外,实验结果表明突变株△4658的胞内c-di-GMP水平高于野生型。突变株△3085和△3226的各种表型与野生型相比没有明显差异。[结论]茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571编码如此大数量的GGDEF和EAL结构域蛋白,表明c-di-GMP可能在其信号转导过程中起到非常重要的作用。同时具有GGDEF和EAL结构域的蛋白AZC_4658对茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571的运动能力、胞外多糖合成、生物膜形成及与宿主的结瘤起到一定的调节作用。     

C. elegans STI-1, the Homolog of Sti1/Hop, Is Involved in Aging and Stress Response

Environmental and physiological stresses such as heat shock, oxidative stress, heavy metals, and pathogenic conditions induce cellular stress response. This response is often mediated by heat shock proteins that function as molecular chaperones. A stress-inducible cochaperone, Sti1/Hop (Hsp organizer protein), functions as an adaptor protein that simultaneously binds with Hsp70 and Hsp90 to transfer client proteins from Hsp70 to Hsp90. However, the biological role of STI-1 in vivo is poorly understood in metazoans. Here, we report the characterization of the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of Sti1/Hop, which is approximately 56% identical with human STI-1. C. elegans STI-1 (CeSTI-1) is expressed in the pharynx, intestine, nervous system, and muscle from larvae to adults. Analysis of proteins immunoprecipitated with anti-STI-1 antibody by mass spectrometry revealed that CeSTI-1 can bind with both Hsp70 and Hsp90 homologs like its mammalian counterpart. sti-1 expression is elevated by heat stress, and an sti-1(jh125) null mutant shows decreased fertility under heat stress conditions. These mutants also show abnormally high lethality in extreme heat and may be functioning with DAF-16 in thermotolerance. In addition, sti-1(jh125) mutants have a shortened life span. Our results confirm that CeSTI-1 is a cochaperone protein that may maintain homeostatic functions during episodes of stress and can regulate longevity in nematodes.     

Erlotinib antagonizes ABC transporters in acute myeloid leukemia

Erlotinib was originally developed as an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific inhibitor for the treatment of solid malignancies, yet also exerts significant EGFR-independent antileukemic effects in vitro and in vivo. The molecular mechanisms underlying the clinical antileukemic activity of erlotinib as a standalone agent have not yet been precisely elucidated. Conversely, in preclinical settings, erlotinib has been shown to inhibit the constitutive activation of SRC kinases and mTOR, as well as to synergize with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor azacytidine (a reference therapeutic for a subset of leukemia patients) by promoting its intracellular accumulation. Here, we show that both erlotinib and gefitinib (another EGFR inhibitor) inhibit transmembrane transporters of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family, including P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), also in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells that do not overexpress these pumps. Thus, inhibition of drug efflux by erlotinib and gefitinib selectively exacerbated (in a synergistic or additive fashion) the cytotoxic response of KG-1 cells to chemotherapeutic agents that are normally extruded by ABC transporters (e.g., doxorubicin and etoposide). Erlotinib limited drug export via ABC transporters by multiple mechanisms, including the downregulation of surface-exposed pumps and the modulation of their ATPase activity. The effects of erlotinib on drug efflux and its chemosensitization profile persisted in patient-derived CD34⁺ cells, suggesting that erlotinib might be particularly efficient in antagonizing leukemic (stem cell) subpopulations, irrespective of whether they exhibit or not increased drug efflux via ABC transporters.     

CR1-mediated ATP Release by Human Red Blood Cells Promotes CR1 Clustering and Modulates the Immune Transfer Process

Humans and other higher primates are unique among mammals in using complement receptor 1 (CR1, CD35) on red blood cells (RBC) to ligate complement-tagged inflammatory particles (immune complexes, apoptotic/necrotic debris, and microbes) in the circulation for quiet transport to the sinusoids of spleen and liver where resident macrophages remove the particles, but allow the RBC to return unharmed to the circulation. This process is called immune-adherence clearance. In this study we found using luminometric- and fluorescence-based methods that ligation of CR1 on human RBC promotes ATP release. Our data show that CR1-mediated ATP release does not depend on Ca²⁺ or enzymes previously shown to mediate an increase in membrane deformability promoted by CR1 ligation. Furthermore, ATP release following CR1 ligation increases the mobility of the lipid fraction of RBC membranes, which in turn facilitates CR1 clustering, and thereby enhances the binding avidity of complement-opsonized particles to the RBC CR1. Finally, we have found that RBC-derived ATP has a stimulatory effect on phagocytosis of immune-adherent immune complexes.     

茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571鞭毛马达基因fliN与fliM的功能分析

【目的】考察茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571中鞭毛马达蛋白FliN、FliM的编码基因分别缺失的突变体表型,初步探究其功能机理。【方法】本研究采用同源重组和三亲本接合转移的方法构建突变体,测定野生型及突变株的生长曲线、趋化性、胞外多糖的分泌、生物膜的形成及细胞絮凝等表型。【结果】三种菌株的生长速率基本无差,与野生型菌株相比突变株鞭毛结构丧失,趋化能力、分泌的胞外多糖和生物膜形成能力均下降,但相同时间内细胞絮凝程度比野生型明显。【结论】实验表明,鞭毛基因fliN、fliM对茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571鞭毛的形成、趋化运动、胞外多糖的分泌、生物膜的形成及细胞絮凝能力等均有调控作用。     

Modulation of the F-actin cytoskeleton by c-Abl tyrosine kinase in cell spreading and neurite extension

The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase encoded by the c-Abl gene has the unique feature of an F-actin binding domain (FABD). Purified c-Abl tyrosine kinase is inhibited by F-actin, and this inhibition can be relieved through mutation of its FABD. The c-Abl kinase is activated by physiological signals that also regulate the actin cytoskeleton. We show here that c-Abl stimulated the formation of actin microspikes in fibroblasts spreading on fibronectin. This function of c-Abl is dependent on kinase activity and is not shared by c-Src tyrosine kinase. The Abl-dependent F-actin microspikes occurred under conditions where the Rho-family GTPases were inhibited. The FABD-mutated c-Abl, which is active in detached fibroblasts, stimulated F-actin microspikes independent of cell attachment. Moreover, FABD-mutated c-Abl stimulated the formation of F-actin branches in neurites of rat embryonic cortical neurons. The reciprocal regulation between F-actin and the c-Abl tyrosine kinase may provide a self-limiting mechanism in the control of actin cytoskeleton dynamics.     

Erlotinib antagonizes ABC transporters in acute myeloid leukemia

Erlotinib was originally developed as an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific inhibitor for the treatment of solid malignancies, yet also exerts significant EGFR-independent antileukemic effects in vitro and in vivo. The molecular mechanisms underlying the clinical antileukemic activity of erlotinib as a standalone agent have not yet been precisely elucidated. Conversely, in preclinical settings, erlotinib has been shown to inhibit the constitutive activation of SRC kinases and mTOR, as well as to synergize with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor azacytidine (a reference therapeutic for a subset of leukemia patients) by promoting its intracellular accumulation. Here, we show that both erlotinib and gefitinib (another EGFR inhibitor) inhibit transmembrane transporters of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family, including P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRPs) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), also in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells that do not overexpress these pumps. Thus, inhibition of drug efflux by erlotinib and gefitinib selectively exacerbated (in a synergistic or additive fashion) the cytotoxic response of KG-1 cells to chemotherapeutic agents that are normally extruded by ABC transporters (e.g., doxorubicin and etoposide). Erlotinib limited drug export via ABC transporters by multiple mechanisms, including the downregulation of surface-exposed pumps and the modulation of their ATPase activity. The effects of erlotinib on drug efflux and its chemosensitization profile persisted in patient-derived CD34⁺ cells, suggesting that erlotinib might be particularly efficient in antagonizing leukemic (stem cell) subpopulations, irrespective of whether they exhibit or not increased drug efflux via ABC transporters.     

田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌对小麦叶组织的促生作用研究

利用GFP标记的田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌(Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS 571)侵染露白24h的小麦种子,分别在侵染后0、6、12、24、48、72和96h采样,利用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测小麦体内6条与促生作用相关miRNAs(miR156、miR159、miR160、miR167、miR168和miR403)的表达模式,检测其中3条miRNAs(miR159、miR167和miR168)的靶基因表达模式;以接菌8d的小麦样品做切片,利用激光共聚焦显微镜检测小麦叶部田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌的分布,并测定小麦的生理指标。结果显示:(1)田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌侵染小麦后能够在叶片边缘部位定殖。(2)小麦叶片中与促生作用相关的6条miRNAs出现了不同程度变化,在12~24h到达其峰值,随后逐渐下降,其中miR159在峰值时的表达量为初始表达量的2.88倍。(3)3条miRNAs的靶基因表达模式与相应miRNA表达模式相对应,但并不严格。(4)生理指标测定结果显示,接种田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌对小麦叶片产生明显的促生作用,其中叶鲜重在96h的变化与对照差异极显著。研究表明,接种的田菁茎瘤固氮根瘤菌能够到达小麦叶组织,对小麦叶片的生长产生明显的促生作用,其中miRNAs在促生过程中发挥重要作用。