植物细胞中的前纤维蛋白

肌动蛋白组成的微丝骨架是真核细胞中的重要结构,在体内处于高度动态变化之中,受多种肌动蛋白结合蛋白（actin-binding proteins）的调节。前纤维蛋白（profilin）是一种单体肌动蛋白结合蛋白,存在于所有的真核细胞中,在植物细胞中也得到较多的研究。前纤维蛋白除可以结合单体肌动蛋白之外,还可以与磷脂酰肌醇及富含多聚脯氨酸的蛋白质等多种分子结合,在细胞信号转导中行使着重要的功能。本文结合本实验室的研究结果,概述了前纤维蛋白的最新研究进展。     

前纤维蛋白影响花粉肌动蛋白聚合分析

利用超速离心沂淀及紫外分光光度测定等技术,研究了不同比例的玉米（Ｚｅａ ｎａｙｓ Ｌ．）花粉内泊前纤维蛋白对玉米（Ｚｅａ ｍａｙｓ Ｌ．）花烩肌动蛋白（前纤维蛋白与肌动蛋白摩尔数比分别为２：１,１．５：１,１：１,０．５：１,０．１：１）聚合与解聚的影响。初步实验结果显示,前纤维蛋白在各种比例下均可与Ｍｇ＝ＡＴＰ肌动蛋白结合并抑制肌动蛋白的聚实验条件下尚水见玻有前纤维蛋白促进植物肌动蛋白聚合的作用     

前纤维蛋白影响花粉肌动蛋白体外聚合分析

利用超速离心沉淀及紫外分光光度测定等技术 ,研究了不同比例的玉米 (ZeamaysL .)花粉内源前纤维蛋白对玉米 (ZeamaysL .)花粉肌动蛋白 (前纤维蛋白与肌动蛋白摩尔数比分别为 2∶1,1.5∶1,1∶1,0 .5∶1,0 .1∶1)聚合与解聚的影响。初步实验结果显示 ,前纤维蛋白在各种比例下均可与Mg_ATP_肌动蛋白结合并抑制肌动蛋白的聚合作用。这种抑制作用随着前纤维蛋白比例的增加而增大。其解离常数值 (Kd)为 (1.30± 0 .33) μmol/L。在本实验条件下尚未见到有前纤维蛋白促进植物肌动蛋白聚合的作用 ,表明玉米花粉前纤维蛋白具有螯合G_肌动蛋白的作用。     

前纤维蛋白点突变对粗糙脉孢菌生长的影响及其生化机制研究

【目的】为进一步了解前纤维蛋白(profilin,PFN)在丝状真菌中的功能,本文以粗糙脉孢菌(Neurospora crassa)为研究对象,进行了前纤维蛋白对其菌落生长和肌动蛋白(actin)聚合特性影响的探究。【方法】通过采用定点突变、同源重组、分生孢子过膜和PCR等技术,获得粗糙脉孢菌前纤维蛋白F78 (F78A和F78D)和V113 (V113E、V113R和V113W)的点突变体。利用平板生长法、竞争性生长管和显微镜观察检测表型变化,并结合多聚脯氨酸亲和层析纯化、荧光分光光度技术和高速共沉淀等技术分析点突变的前纤维蛋白对肌动蛋白聚合特性的影响。【结果】获得的粗糙脉孢菌前纤维蛋白点突变株F78A、F78D、V113E、V113R和V113W,与对照菌株ku70RIP相比,突变株生长均明显减慢(P<0.05),其中PFN (F78D)和PFN (V113W)的突变体在生长的12–48 h,菌落直径分别仅为对照的20.0%–75.7%和12.7%–39.2%。竞争性生长管分析表明,PFN (F78D)和PFN(V113W)突变株菌丝生长速度受到显著抑制,分生孢子形成的节律并...     

ATP和钾离子对肌动蛋白与前纤维蛋白结合的影响及其在植物肌动蛋白纯化中的应用

根据ATP和钾离子影响肌动蛋白聚合及肌动蛋白及肌动蛋白与前纤维蛋白结合的实验结果,通过对以往报道的利用多聚脯氨酸-琼脂糖亲和柱层析法纯化植物肌动蛋白过程中ATP及钾离子浓度的改变,不需要加源前纤维蛋白。可得到较大量高纯度具活性的花粉肌动蛋白。SDS凝胶电泳、免疫印迹、电镜负染及紫外检测表明,所得肌动蛋白在纯度、聚合特性等方面均与原方法所得结果相同,肌动蛋白产率为原方法的73.5%,而整个肌动蛋白提纯过程所需时间缩短了1/3,节省了纯化重组前纤维蛋白所需的费用,消除了外源前纤维蛋白的使用对一些实验室的限制,而且同时得到了大量纯化的花粉前纤维蛋白。     

ADF／cofilin分子家族的研究进展

细胞骨架中的肌动蛋白参与了一系列重要生理活动,如肌肉收缩、胞质环流、细胞运动、胞质分裂等。这些过程的发生除了需要肌动蛋白以外,还需要一些与之结合的调节蛋白参与,现在已经发现了100多种肌动蛋白结合蛋白,其中有一类分子量为15—20KD的蛋白,如肌动蛋白解聚因子(actin depolymerizing factor,ADF)、cofilin、profilin、actophorin、depactin、de-strin、UNC-60)等,在一定条件下可以使肌动蛋白微丝解聚,统称为ADF/cofilin分子家族。     

细胞迁移中微丝微管的变化及其信号转导通路研究进展

细胞迁移是一个多步骤协调的过程。在此过程中,细胞骨架蛋白微丝和微管的动态变化提供了细胞运动的主要动力。而迁移的过程又被多种信号分子组成的复杂的网络所调控。本文主要综述了细胞迁移中微丝和微管的变化以及调控此种变化的分子机制。     

肌动蛋白结合蛋白

肌动蛋白结合蛋白是一类调节肌动蛋白聚合、成束或交联的蛋白质,迄今已经发现160多种。通过与肌动蛋白相互作用,直接或间接参与肌动蛋白纤丝的聚合及解聚、纤丝成束与交联,从而介导细胞形态的维持、细胞运动等众多生物学功能。     

Formin的功能与疾病

Formin是一种保守的肌动蛋白成核因子,其中只有少数Formin没有肌动蛋白成核能力。Formin家族包括DAAM(dishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis)和INF(inverted formin)等成员。DAAM1表达上调会导致机体功能紊乱,进而导致特发性肺动脉高压、卵巢癌、乳腺癌、胃癌的发生。DAAM2在机体内功能失调会导致髓鞘结构异常、类固醇耐药性肾病综合征、肾细胞癌、胰腺癌等疾病的发生。INF2表达上调可以诱导线粒体的分裂,促进细胞的增殖迁移,促进局灶节段性肾小球硬化、子宫内膜癌、甲状腺癌等疾病的发展。Formin的功能与人类疾病的发生和发展密切相关。本文综述了近年来Formin的研究进展及其与人类疾病之间的联系,为Formin相关疾病的深入研究和治疗提供参考和依据。     

三叶木通花粉前纤维蛋白基因的克隆与表达

以三叶木通花蕾为材料,采用RT-PCR、3-′RACE方法克隆了三叶木通花粉前纤维蛋白基因,命名为Atf-Pro(GenBank登录号GQ478584)。结果表明:AtfPro的cDNA全长735 bp、阅读框393 bp、编码131个氨基酸,有1个342 bp的3′端非翻译区。预测分子量约为14.081 kD,等电点4.74。氨基酸和核苷酸序列的同源性分析发现,AtfPro基因属于植物花粉profilin基因家族的新成员。RT-PCR定性分析表明,AtfPro基因在三叶木通花蕾、花药、雌花花瓣和柱头组织中均有表达,但在幼叶、茎尖、根尖组织中低水平表达或不表达,生殖器官中的表达时期从花序分化发育开始到开花散粉结束。     

水稻花粉[肌动蛋白]抑制蛋白基因的克隆和表达分析

[肌动蛋白]抑制蛋白（profilin）是一种低分子量、与肌动蛋白结构的蛋白质。通过筛选水稻成熟花粉的cDNA文库,获得了两个全长cDNA片段,序列分析结果表明,两个cDNA片段长度分别为821bp和805bp;共同拥有一个由131个氨基酸组成的开放密码框、5′末端翻译区和一个带有poly(A)的3′区域。[肌动蛋白]抑制蛋白与玉米、C.dactylon、H.brasiliensis、P.pratense中的该蛋白质的同源性分别为89％、87％、83％、89％。Southern杂交分析显示,在基因组至少有两个基因存在。Northern杂交和RT-PCR结果显示它在花粉和花粉中特异表达。     

Profilin enhances Cdc42-induced nucleation of actin polymerization

We find that profilin contributes in several ways to Cdc42-induced nucleation of actin filaments in high speed supernatant of lysed neutrophils. Depletion of profilin inhibited Cdc42-induced nucleation; re-addition of profilin restored much of the activity. Mutant profilins with a decreased affinity for either actin or poly-l-proline were less effective at restoring activity. Whereas Cdc42 must activate Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASP) to stimulate nucleation by the Arp2/3 complex, VCA (verpolin homology, cofilin, and acidic domain contained in the COOH-terminal fragment of N-WASP) constitutively activates the Arp2/3 complex. Nucleation by VCA was not inhibited by profilin depletion. With purified N-WASP and Arp2/3 complex, Cdc42-induced nucleation did not require profilin but was enhanced by profilin, wild-type profilin being more effective than mutant profilin with reduced affinity for poly-l-proline.Nucleation by the Arp2/3 complex is a function of the free G-actin concentration. Thus, when profilin addition decreased the free G-actin concentration, it inhibited Cdc42- and VCA-induced nucleation. However, when profilin was added with G-actin in a ratio that maintained the initial free G-actin concentration, it increased the rate of both Cdc42- and VCA-induced nucleation. This enhancement, also seen with purified proteins, was greatest when the free G-actin concentration was low. These data suggest that under conditions present in intact cells, profilin enhances nucleation by activated Arp2/3 complex.     

Assembly and Turnover of Short Actin Filaments by the Formin INF2 and Profilin

INF2 (inverted formin 2) is a formin protein with unique biochemical effects on actin. In addition to the common formin ability to accelerate actin nucleation and elongation, INF2 can also sever filaments and accelerate their depolymerization. Although we understand key attributes of INF2-mediated severing, we do not understand the mechanism by which INF2 accelerates depolymerization subsequent to severing. Here, we show that INF2 can create short filaments (<60 nm) that continuously turn over actin subunits through a combination of barbed end elongation, severing, and WH2 motif-mediated depolymerization. This pseudo-steady state condition occurs whether starting from actin filaments or monomers. The rate-limiting step of the cycle is nucleotide exchange of ADP for ATP on actin monomers after release from the INF2/actin complex. Profilin addition has two effects: 1) to accelerate filament turnover 6-fold by accelerating nucleotide exchange and 2) to shift the equilibrium toward polymerization, resulting in longer filaments. In sum, our findings show that the combination of multiple interactions of INF2 with actin can work in concert to increase the ATP turnover rate of actin. Depending on the ratio of INF2:actin, this increased flux can result in rapid filament depolymerization or maintenance of short filaments. We also show that high concentrations of cytochalasin D accelerate ATP turnover by actin but through a different mechanism from that of INF2.     

Profilin1 is required for glial cell adhesion and radial migration of cerebellar granule neurons

Cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) exploit Bergmann glia (BG) fibres for radial migration, and cell-cell contacts have a pivotal role in this process. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanisms that control CGN-BG interaction. Here we demonstrate that the actin-binding protein profilin1 is essential for CGN-glial cell adhesion and radial migration. Profilin1 ablation from mouse brains leads to a cerebellar hypoplasia, aberrant organization of cerebellar cortex layers and ectopic CGNs. Conversely, neuronal progenitor proliferation, tangential migration of neurons and BG morphology appear to be independent of profilin1. Our mouse data and the mapping of developmental neuropathies to the chromosomal region of PFN1 suggest a similar function for profilin1 in humans.     

Effects of ATP and K+ on Actin Binding to Profilin and the Application on Purification of Actin from Maize Pollen

The method for purifying actin from maize pollen by poly-L-proline-sepharose affinity chromatography was modified by improving some of the experimental conditions (concentration of ATP and K+) and eliminating the use of recombinant human platelet profilin. SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, electron microscopy and ultraviolet absorption analysis demonstrated that the quality of the purified actin was similar to that obtained with the previous method. The yield was 73.5% of that of the previous method. However, the time required for preparation was 2/3 of that in the previous method and the cost of purifying recombinant profilin was saved. Furthermore, a large amount of purified pollen profilin could be obtained at the same time.     

Profilin1 activity in cerebellar granule neurons is required for radial migration in vivo

Neuron migration defects are an important aspect of human neuropathies. The underlying molecular mechanisms of such migration defects are largely unknown. Actin dynamics has been recognized as an important determinant of neuronal migration, and we recently found that the actin-binding protein profilin1 is relevant for radial migration of cerebellar granule neurons (CGN). As the exploited brain-specific mutants lacked profilin1 in both neurons and glial cells, it remained unknown whether profilin1 activity in CGN is relevant for CGN migration in vivo. To test this, we capitalized on a transgenic mouse line that expresses a tamoxifen-inducible Cre variant in CGN, but no other cerebellar cell type. In these profilin1 mutants, the cell density was elevated in the molecular layer, and ectopic CGN occurred. Moreover, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine tracing experiments revealed impaired CGN radial migration. Hence, our data demonstrate the cell autonomous role of profilin1 activity in CGN for radial migration.     

Profilin1 activity in cerebellar granule neurons is required for radial migration in vivo

Neuron migration defects are an important aspect of human neuropathies. The underlying molecular mechanisms of such migration defects are largely unknown. Actin dynamics has been recognized as an important determinant of neuronal migration, and we recently found that the actin-binding protein profilin1 is relevant for radial migration of cerebellar granule neurons (CGN). As the exploited brain-specific mutants lacked profilin1 in both neurons and glial cells, it remained unknown whether profilin1 activity in CGN is relevant for CGN migration in vivo. To test this, we capitalized on a transgenic mouse line that expresses a tamoxifen-inducible Cre variant in CGN, but no other cerebellar cell type. In these profilin1 mutants, the cell density was elevated in the molecular layer, and ectopic CGN occurred. Moreover, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine tracing experiments revealed impaired CGN radial migration. Hence, our data demonstrate the cell autonomous role of profilin1 activity in CGN for radial migration.