Curcumin binds to the alpha-helical intermediate and to the amyloid form of prion protein - a new mechanism for the inhibition of PrP(Sc) accumulation

Conversion of the native, predominantly α-helical conformation of prion protein (PrP) into the β-stranded conformation is characteristic for the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeld–Jakob disease. Curcumin, an extended planar molecule and a dietary polyphenol, inhibits in vitro conversion of PrP and formation of protease resistant PrP in neuroblastoma cell lines. Curcumin recognizes the converted β-form of the PrP both as oligomers and fibrils but not the native form. Curcumin binds to the prion fibrils in the left-handed chiral arrangement as determined by circular dichroism. We show that curcumin labels the plaques of the brain sections of variant Creutzfeld–Jakob disease cases and stains the same structures as antibodies against the PrP. In contrast to thioflavin T, curcumin also binds to the α-helical intermediate of PrP present at acidic pH at stoichiometry of 1 : 1. Congo red competes with curcumin for binding to the α-intermediate as well as to the β-form of PrP but is toxic and binds also to the native form of PrP. We therefore show that the partially unfolded structural intermediate of the PrP can be targeted by non-toxic compound of natural origin.     

烟曲霉sho1、pbs2基因额外拷贝对几种应激能力的影响

目的构建烟曲霉额外拷贝菌株,了解额外拷贝烟曲霉sho 1、pbs 2基因能否增强菌株对高渗透压、过氧化氢(H2O2)、碱性pH、刚果红应激的抵抗能力,探讨HOG通路(high osmolarity glycerol pathway)参与的应激反应。方法用原生质体法构建分别含有烟曲霉sho 1、pbs 2基因的额外拷贝菌株,采用Real-time PCR方法检测额外拷贝株中sho 1、pbs 2的表达情况。观察并比较缺陷株、额外拷贝株对NaCl(1 mol/L)、H2O2(5 mmol/L)、刚果红(400 mg/L)及碱性pH(10.0)应激的反应。结果获得了含有烟曲霉sho 1、pbs 2基因的额外拷贝菌株MCsho1、MCpbs2,和含空白质粒的对照株Empty。额外拷贝株sho 1、pbs 2的表达水平增高,对NaCl(1 mol/L)、H2O2(5 mmol/L)、刚果红(400 mg/L)、碱性pH(10.0)应激的抵抗强于Empty。MCpbs2对这些应激的抵抗较MCsho1更显著。烟曲霉缺陷株△sho 1、△pbs 2对NaCl(1 mol/L)、H2O2(5mmol/L)、碱性pH(10.0)的敏感性高于野生株AF293。△sho 1对刚果红(400 mg/L)的敏感性高于野生株,△pbs 2对刚果红的敏感性与野生株比,无显著差别。结论额外拷贝烟曲霉sho 1或pbs 2基因能增强菌株对高渗透压、氧化压力、刚果红、碱性pH应激的抵抗能力。     

Ferritin forms dynamic oligomers to associate with microtubules in vivo: implication for the role of microtubules in iron metabolism

Ferritin, a ubiquitously distributed iron storage protein, has been reported to interact with microtubules in vitro (Hasan et al., 2005, FEBS journal 272:822-831). Here, we demonstrate that ferritin binds with the microtubules in an oligomeric form and that the microtubule-bound ferritin contains more than two-fold amount of iron compared to the unbound ferritin fraction in vitro. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy showed that a significant fraction of the ferritin molecules colocalized with the microtubules as oligomers in a wide variety of cell lines. These findings are consistent with the immediate oligomerization of rhodamine-labeled ferritin, microinjected in living human hepatoma cells. Ferritin oligomers were dynamic in the cytoplasm, and an anti-microtubule drug significantly inhibited their intracellular movement. Treatment of cells with an iron donor, ferric ammonium citrate, remarkably increased the number of cells containing ferritin oligomers. On the other hand, when the cells, such as mouse neuroblastoma cells, were deprived of iron, ferritin oligomers were localized in the microtubule dense, neurite shafts, but were disappeared from the microtubule deficient neurite tips. These data indicate that the microtubules provide a scaffold for the cytoplasmic distribution and transport of the iron-rich ferritin and implicate the role of microtubules in iron metabolism.     

The relationship between surface sediment diatom assemblages and pH in 33 Galloway lakes: Some regression models for reconstructing pH and their application to sediment cores

The species composition of surface sediment diatom assemblages in 33 Galloway lakes, pH range c. 4.5 to 7.4, is related in a statistically significant manner to water acidity (or to factors closely associated with pH). Predictive models of summer mean pH, using simple regression equations of Index B (Renberg & Hellberg, 1982) with both Scandinavian and Galloway data sets, and multiple regression equations using diatom pH preference groups and individual species, are described and applied to fossil diatoms in six sediment cores. Although multiple regression of individual species gives the highest correlation coefficient (r²=0.87) in the modern data set this method is least appropriate for reconstructing pH values from fossil material where predictor species are often absent. Of the four methods examined here it is suggested that multiple regression of diatom preference groups is probably the most suitable for pH reconstructions from sediment cores.     

The identification of a new role for LEKTI in the skin: The use of protein 'bait' arrays to detect defective trafficking of dermcidin in the skin of patients with Netherton syndrome

Lympho-Epithelial Kazal-Type-related Inhibitor (LEKTI) has been demonstrated to be an inhibitor of various kallikreins and is thought to play a role in the regulation of skin desquamation. In order to identify and investigate the potential of LEKTI to interact with other proteins, a method was developed using immobilised proteins onto arrays and nanoUPLC/MALDI-TOF MS. Using various domains of LEKTI, we demonstrated that these domains bound a number of kallikreins (5, 13 and 14) to varied extents on the array surface. Inhibitory assays confirmed that binding on the protein array surface corresponded directly to levels of inhibition. The method was then tested using skin epidermal extracts. All forms of rLEKTI with the exception of rLEKTI 12-15, demonstrated the binding of several potential candidate proteins. Surprisingly, the major binding partners of LEKTI were found to be the antimicrobial peptide dermcidin and the serine protease cathepsin G and no kallikreins. Using confocal microscopy and Netherton syndrome skin sections, we confirmed the co-localisation of LEKTI with dermcidin and demonstrated altered trafficking of dermcidin in these patients. This potential new role for LEKTI as a multifunctional protein in the protection and transport of proteins in the epidermis and its role in disease are discussed.