Nuclear DNAase of the yeast Candida tropicalis

Using stepwise extraction of chromatin from Candida tropicalis by NaCl (0.1-1.0 M) the protein dissociated by 0.3 and 0.6 M NaCl (fractions 0.3 and 0.6) possessing the DNAase activity were obtained. These DNAases are activated by Mg2+ and cause preferential hydrolysis of heat-denaturated DNA. Fraction 0.3 DNAase has a maximum at neutral values of pH (around 7.0) and causes endonucleolytic hydrolysis of DNA. Fraction 0.6 DNAase causes exonucleolytic hydrolysis of DNA but a maximum at alkaline pH (8.0). The properties of isolated chromatin DNAases of Candida tropicalis differ from those of the known DNAases of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

DNAase activities in embryonic chicken lens: in epithelial cells or in differentiating fibers where chromatin is progressively cleaved.

Lens is an organ composed of a layer of epithelial cells and a mass of fibers. During terminal differentiation, epithelial cells from the equatorial region elongate into fibers, nuclei change shape, the chromatin appears much condensed in the last step of differentiation and the DNA breaks down into nucleosomes. The pattern of DNAase activities has been recorded at different chick embryonic stages (11 and 18 days) using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with DNA substrate in the gel matrix. Two DNAases (30 and 40 kDa) have been observed in lens epithelia and fibers at both stages. However, the activities of both of the enzymes are augmented in fiber cells. The 30 kDa DNAase requires and Ca2+ and Mg2+ (5-15 mM) to hydrolyze the DNA substrate while the 40 kDa-activity is inhibited by added divalent cations (5-15 mM). The 30 kDa protein is inhibited by Na+ and is probably an endonuclease. Both nuclease activities probably are involved in the cleavage of fiber chromatin into nucleosomes during lens terminal differentiation, but variables such as chromatin configuration, unmasked DNA sequences, presence of cations, and pH gradients probably determine the extent of involvement of each DNAase.     

Effect of exogenous DNAses on various stages of DNA replication in microorganisms

Effect of DNAase 1 on DNA synthesis and cell division was studied in microorganisms deficient in some stages of DNA replication initiation. The DNA synthesis induced by exogenous DNAase was found to be a replicative origin since it was registered from the "origin" of chromosomal replication under the conditions of initiation of proteins functioning. Stimulation of DNA synthesis in bacterial cells having mutations in DNA B and DNA G genes by DNAase 1 indicates that exogenous DNAases participate in replicative fork during the DNA synthesis.     

Adipocyte differentiation-related protein reduces the lipid droplet association of adipose triglyceride lipase and slows triacylglycerol turnover

Although neutral lipid storage droplets are ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells, very little is known about how their synthesis and turnover are controlled. Adipocyte differentiation-related protein (ADRP; also known as adipophilin) is found on the surface of lipid droplets in most mammalian cell types. To learn how ADRP affects lipid storage, we stably expressed the protein in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells, which express little endogenous ADRP. As expected, ADRP was targeted to the surface of lipid droplets and caused an increase in triacylglycerol (TAG) mass under both basal and oleate-supplemented conditions. At least part of the increased mass resulted from a 50% decrease in the rate of TAG hydrolysis in ADRP-expressing cells. Furthermore, ADRP expression increased the fraction of total cellular TAG that was stored in lipid droplets. ADRP expression induced a striking decrease in the association of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and mannose-6-phosphate receptor tail-interacting protein of 47 kDa with lipid droplets and also decreased the lipid droplet association of several other unknown proteins. Transient expression of ADRP in two other cell lines also reduced the lipid droplet association of catalytically inactive ATGL. We conclude that the reduced lipid droplet association of ATGL and/or other lipases may explain the decrease in TAG turnover observed in ADRP-expressing HEK 293 cells.     

Regulatory effects of resveratrol on antioxidant enzymes: A mechanism of growth inhibition and apoptosis induction in cancer cells

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenol that is known as a powerful chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic anticancer molecule. This study focused on the effects of RSV on the activities and expression levels of antioxidant enzymes in the cancer cells. Prostate cancer PC-3 cells, hepatic cancer HepG2 cells, breast cancer MCF-7 cells and the non-cancerous HEK293T kidney epithelial cells were treated with a wide range of RSV concentrations (10-100 μM) for 24–72 h. Cell growth was estimated by trypan blue staining, activities of the antioxidant enzymes were measured spectrophotometrically, expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes were quantified by digitalizing the protein band intensities on Western blots, and the percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by flow cytometry. Treatment with a low concentration of RSV (25 μM) significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in PC-3, HepG2 and MCF-7 cells, but not in HEK293T cells. Catalase (CAT) activity was increased in HepG2 cells, but no effect was found on glutathione peroxidase (GPX) upon RSV treatment. RSV-induced SOD2 expression was observed in cancer cells, although the expression of SOD1, CAT and GPX1 was unaffected. Apoptosis increased upon RSV treatment of cancer cells, especially in PC-3 and HepG2 cells. Together, our data demonstrated that RSV inhibits cancer cell growth with minimal effects on non-cancerous cells. We postulate that the disproportional up-regulation of SOD, CAT and GPX expression and enzymatic activity in cancer cells results in the mitochondrial accumulation of H₂O₂, which in turn induces cancer cell apoptosis.     

GLUTX1, a novel mammalian glucose transporter expressed in the central nervous system and insulin-sensitive tissues

Based on homology with GLUT1-5, we have isolated a cDNA for a novel glucose transporter, GLUTX1. This cDNA encodes a protein of 478 amino acids that shows between 29 and 32% identity with rat GLUT1-5 and 32-36% identity with plant and bacterial hexose transporters. Unlike GLUT1-5, GLUTX1 has a short extracellular loop between transmembrane domain (TM) 1 and TM2 and a long extracellular loop between TM9 and TM10 that contains the only N-glycosylation site. When expressed in Xenopus oocytes, GLUTX1 showed strong transport activity only after suppression of a dileucine internalization motif present in the amino-terminal region. Transport activity was inhibited by cytochalasin B and partly competed by D-fructose and D-galactose. The Michaelis-Menten constant for glucose was approximately 2 mM. When translated in reticulocytes lysates, GLUTX1 migrates as a 35-kDa protein that becomes glycosylated in the presence of microsomal membranes. Western blot analysis of GLUTX1 transiently expressed in HEK293T cells revealed a diffuse band with a molecular mass of 37-50 kDa that could be converted to a approximately 35-kDa polypeptide following enzymatic deglycosylation. Immunofluorescence microscopy detection of GLUTX1 transfected into HEK293T cells showed an intracellular staining. Mutation of the dileucine internalization motif induced expression of GLUTX1 at the cell surface. GLUTX1 mRNA was detected in testis, hypothalamus, cerebellum, brainstem, hippocampus, and adrenal gland. We hypothesize that, in a similar fashion to GLUT4, in vivo cell surface expression of GLUTX1 may be inducible by a hormonal or other stimulus.     

Characterization of deoxyribonuclease activities derived from control and inflammation-associated mouse peritoneal macrophages.

Native DNAase (deoxyribonuclease) activities derived from mouse peritoneal cavity and peripheral blood components were separated, detected, and characterized by electrophoresis into polyacrylamide gels containing DNA, followed by incubation of the gels, and staining of the substrate to reveal only the DNAase activities. Resident peritoneal macrophages contained 12 DNAase-II-like activities that were characteristic of that cell type, whereas lymphocytes and granulocytes each contained five DNAases. Induction of inflammation by peritoneal injection of thioglycollate resulted in changes in macrophage DNAase expression, including: increased total DNAase activity, a decrease in the number of activities from 12 to 11, increased activity of a specific subset of the enzymes, and a change in the apparent size of a specific subset of the enzymes. Electrophoretic and enzymic properties and sensitivity to endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H indicated that the macrophage activities probably represented charge variants of one or two parent peptide chains.     

反转录病毒载体介导的猪APOBEC3F在猪源细胞PK15中的表达

目的:利用反转录病毒载体构建猪载脂蛋白B mRNA编辑酶催化多肽样蛋白(APOBEC)3F重组质粒,并实现其在猪肾细胞PK15中的表达。方法:用RT-PCR方法扩增五指山猪来源的外周血淋巴细胞APOBEC3F基因,将其定点插入反转录病毒载体pMSCV neo中,同时于插入位点两侧分别添加FLAG和GFP标签,构建重组质粒pMSCV-FLAG-A3F-GFP,并进行酶切、测序鉴定;将鉴定正确的重组质粒与pVSV-G、pGag-Pol共转染包装细胞HEK293T,分别于转染后48~72 h收集细胞的培养上清以获得假型病毒粒子;用该假型病毒感染猪源细胞PK15,通过PCR、Western印迹检测目的基因的整合及表达。结果:PCR扩增到1254 bp的猪APOBEC3F基因,重组质粒pMSCV-FLAG-A3F-GFP经酶切、测序,结果无误;3质粒共转染HEK293T细胞包装出的假型病毒感染PK15细胞后观察到GFP表达;从感染假型病毒的PK15细胞基因组中扩增到1254 bp的猪APOBEC3F基因,Western印迹检测到78.1×103的猪APOBEC3F蛋白的表达。结论:实现了反转录病毒载体介导的猪APOBEC3F在猪源细胞PK15中的整合与表达,为深入研究该分子对猪内源性反转录病毒(PERV)的抑制作用奠定了基础。     

肝素酶超表达对HEK293细胞中Arc基因的调节

目的:利用RT-PCR验证基于肝素酶转基因小鼠的大脑皮层组织表达芯片发现的表达上调基因Arc,研究肝素酶基因Hpse对Arc基因表达的影响。方法:在稳定转染小鼠肝素酶基因Hpse的HEK293细胞体系中,采用半定量PCR的方法分析Arc的mRNA表达情况。结果:与前期的小鼠大脑皮层表达芯片结果相反,Hpse下调Arc基因的表达。结论:推断肝素酶可能通过影响Arc基因的表达,从而影响细胞功能。     

The effect of aflatoxin B 1 , aflatoxin B 2 and sterigmatocystin on nuclear deoxyribonucleases from rat and mouse livers

Certain carcinogens have an effect on the activity of pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I (DNAase I, EC 3.1.4.5). The effect of two potent mycocarcinogens, viz. aflatoxin B₁ and sterigmatocystin, as well as the weak carcinogen, aflatoxin B₂, on the activity of two nuclear DNAases (DNAases I and II) from rat liver was therefore investigated.     

人ANKRD49基因真核表达载体的构建及其功能的初步研究和RNA干扰靶点的鉴定

目的: 克隆人ANKRD49基因并构建其真核表达重组体,利用构建成功的ANKRD49真核表达重组体对其进行功能的初步研究,并筛选和鉴定其RNA干扰靶点. 方法: 提取人肺腺癌细胞株A549总RNA,逆转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)对ANKRD49进行扩增,扩增产物与真核表达载体p3×Flag-CMV-14同时进行双酶切,酶切产物连接后转化入感受态细胞Top10,阳性重组质粒p3×Flag-CMV-14/ANKRD49经菌液PCR、双酶切和测序鉴定正确后,用脂质体法(Lipofectamine^TM 2000)转染人胚肾细胞(HEK 293T),免疫印迹(Immunoblotting)和免疫荧光技术检测表达产物.免疫荧光法检测ANKRD49在宿主细胞内的定位.MTT法检测ANKRD49对宿主细胞的增殖作用.设计并合成针对人ANKRD49基因的RNA干扰靶点序列,与p3×Flag-CMV-14/ANKRD49共转染HEK 293T细胞后,Immunoblotting鉴定ANKRD49的RNA干扰靶点. 结果: RT-PCR结果显示,从A549细胞中扩增出约720 bp的片段.菌液PCR、双酶切及测序结果显示重组质粒p3×Flag-CMV-14/ANKRD49构建成功且序列正确.免疫荧光和Immunoblotting结果显示,在转染p3×Flag-CMV-14/ANKRD49的细胞中有ANKRD49的表达,蛋白质相对分子质量(Mr)约为27kDa,而转染空质粒组未见表达.MTT结果显示,ANKRD49对细胞增殖没有影响.共转染实验结果显示,1号和4号RNA干扰序列可以有效降低人ANKRD49的表达. 结论: 成功构建了真核表达重组体p3×Flag-CMV-14/ANKRD49,该蛋白质位于细胞核,不参与细胞增殖;同时鉴定出该基因的2个有效干扰靶点,为进一步研究其功能奠定了基础.     

Caveolin-1 does not affect SR-BI-mediated cholesterol efflux or selective uptake of cholesteryl ester in two cell lines

Free cholesterol (FC) has been reported to efflux from cells through caveolae, which are 50-100 nm plasma membrane pits. The 22 kDa protein caveolin-1 is concentrated in caveolae and is required for their formation. The HDL scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI), which stimulates both FC efflux and selective uptake of HDL-derived cholesteryl ester (CE), has been reported to be concentrated in caveolae, suggesting that this localization facilitates flux of FC and CE across the membrane. However, we found that overexpression of caveolin-1 in Fischer rat thyroid (FRT) cells, which lack caveolin-1 and caveolae, or HEK 293 cells, which normally express very low levels of caveolin-1, did not affect FC efflux to HDL or liposomes. Transient expression of SR-B1 did not affect this result. Similarly, caveolin-1 expression did not affect selective uptake of CE from labeled HDL particles in FRT or HEK 293 cells transfected with SR-BI. We conclude that basal and SR-BI-stimulated FC efflux to HDL and liposomes and SR-BI-mediated selective uptake of HDL CE are not affected by caveolin-1 expression in HEK 293 or FRT cells.     

Transfection of bovine fetal fibroblast with polyethylenimine (PEI) nanoparticles: effect of particle size and presence of fetal bovine serum on transgene delivery and cytotoxicity

The development of efficient transfection protocols for livestock cells is crucial for implementation of cell-based transgenic methods to produce genetically modified animals. We synthetized fully deacylated linear 22, 87 and 217 kDa polyethylenimine (PEI) nanoparticles and compared their transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity to commercial branched 25 kDa PEI and linear 58 kDa poly(allylamine) hydrochloride. We studied the effect of PEI size and presence of serum on transfection efficiency on primary cultures of bovine fetal fibroblasts and established cells lines (HEK 293 and Hep G2). We found that transfection efficiency was affected mainly by polymer/pDNA ratio and DNA concentration and in less extent by PEI MW. In bovine fibroblast, preincubation of PEI nanoparticles with fetal bovine serum (FBS) greatly increased percentage of cells expressing the transgene (up to 82%) while significantly decreased the polymer cytotoxic effect. 87 and 217 kDa PEI rendered the highest transfection rates in HEK 293 and Hep G2 cell lines (>50% transfected cells) with minimal cell toxicity. In conclusion, our results indicate that fully deacylated PEI of 87 and 217 kDa are useful DNA vehicles for non-viral transfection of primary cultures of bovine fetal fibroblast and HEK 293 and Hep G2 cell lines.     

The regulation of p53, p38 MAPK,JNK and XBP-1s by sphingosine kinases in human embryonic kidney cells

Since inhibitors of sphingosine kinases (SK1, SK2) have been shown to induce p53-mediated cell death, we have further investigated their role in regulating p53, stress activated protein kinases and XBP-1s in HEK293T cells. Treatment of these cells with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor, SKi, which fails to induce apoptosis, promoted the conversion of p53 into two proteins with molecular masses of 63 and 90 kDa, and which was enhanced by over-expression of ubiquitin. The SKi induced conversion of p53 to p63/p90 was also enhanced by siRNA knockdown of SK1, but not SK2 or dihydroceramide desaturase (Degs1), suggesting that SK1 is a negative regulator of this process. In contrast, another sphingosine kinase inhibitor, ABC294640 only very weakly stimulated formation of p63/p90 and induced apoptosis of HEK293T cells. We have previously shown that SKi promotes the polyubiquitination of Degs1, and these forms positively regulate p38 MAPK/JNK pathways to promote HEK293T cell survival/growth. siRNA knockdown of SK1 enhanced the activation of p38 MAPK/JNK pathways in response to SKi, suggesting that SK1 functions to oppose these pro-survival pathways in HEK293T cells. SKi also enhanced the stimulatory effect of the proteasome inhibitor, MG132 on the expression of the pro-survival protein XBP-1s and this was reduced by siRNA knockdown of SK2 and increased by knockdown of p53. These findings suggest that SK1 and SK2 have opposing roles in regulating p53-dependent function in HEK293T cells.     

斑马鱼notch3基因真核表达载体的构建及其表达分析

为了进一步研究notch3基因在斑马鱼中的功能,构建了斑马鱼notch3真核表达载体并在真核细胞中成功表达.其中斑马鱼notch3基因编码序列(coding sequence,CDS)从NCBI的在线数据库中获得,根据序列克隆其胞内段(notch intracellular domain,NICD),接着利用同源重组技...     

Inhibition of thimet oligopeptidase by siRNA alters specific intracellular peptides and potentiates isoproterenol signal transduction

Mammalian cells have a large number of intracellular peptides that are generated by extralysosomal proteases. In this study, the enzymatic activity of thimet oligopeptidase (EP24.15) was inhibited in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells using a specific siRNA sequence. The semi-quantitative intracellular peptidome analyses of siRNA-transfected HEK293 cells shows that the levels of specific intracellular peptides are either increased or decreased upon EP24.15 inhibition. Decreased expression of EP24.15 was sufficient to potentiate luciferase gene reporter activation by isoproterenol (1-10 μM). The protein kinase A inhibitor KT5720 (1 μM) reduced the positive effect of the EP24.15 siRNA on isoproterenol signaling. Thus, EP24.15 inhibition by siRNA modulates the levels of specific intracellular peptides and isoproterenol signal transduction.     

Overexpression of PrPc triggers caspase 3 activation: potentiation by proteasome inhibitors and blockade by anti-PrP antibodies

We examined the influence of cellular prion protein (PrPc) in the control of cell death in stably transfected HEK293 cell line and in the PrPc-inducible Rov9 cells. PrPc expression in stably transfected HEK293 human cells did not modify basal apoptotic tonus but drastically potentiated staurosporine-stimulated cellular toxicity and DNA fragmentation as well as caspase 3-like activity and immunoreactivity. An identical staurosporine-induced caspase 3 activation was observed after doxycycline in the PrPc-inducible Rov9 cell line. Interestingly, proteasome inhibitors increase PrPc-like immunoreactivity and unmasked a basal caspase 3 activation. Conversely, we show that anti-PrPc antibodies sequestrate PrPc at the cell surface and drastically lower PrPc-dependent caspase activation. We suggest that intracellular PrPc could sensitize human cells to pro-apoptotic phenotype and that blockade of PrPc internalization could be a track to prevent intracellular toxicity associated with PrPc overexpression.     

Cleavage of GSK‐3β by calpain counteracts the inhibitory effect of Ser9 phosphorylation on GSK‐3β activity induced by H2O2

Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 beta (GSK‐3β) dysfunction may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of psychiatric, metabolic, neurodegenerative diseases, in which oxidative stress exists concurrently. Some studies have shown that GSK‐3β activity is up‐regulated under oxidative stress. This study evaluated how oxidative stress regulates GSK‐3β activity in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293)/Tau cells treated with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Here, we show that H₂O₂ induced an obvious increase of GSK‐3β activity. Surprisingly, H₂O₂ dramatically increased phosphorylation of GSK‐3β at Ser9, an inactive form of GSK‐3β,while there were no changes of phosphorylation of GSK‐3β at Tyr216. Moreover, H₂O₂ led to a transient [Ca²⁺]_i elevation, and simultaneously increased the truncation of GSK‐3β into two fragments of 40 kDa and 30 kDa, whereas inhibition of calpain decreased the truncation and recovered the activity of GSK‐3β. Furthermore, tau was hyperphosphorylated at Ser396, Ser404, and Thr231, three most common GSK‐3β targeted sites after 100 μM H₂O₂ administration in HEK293/Tau cells, whereas inhibition of calpain blocked the tau phosphorylation. In addition, we found that there were no obvious changes of Cyclin‐dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) expression (responsible for tau phosphorylation) and of p35 cleavage, the regulatory subunit of CDK5 in H₂O₂‐treated HEK293/Tau cells. In conclusion, Ca²⁺‐dependent calpain activation leads to GSK‐3β truncation, which counteracts the inhibitory effect of Ser9 phosphorylation, up‐regulates GSK‐3β activity, and phosphorylates tau in H₂O₂‐treated HEK293/Tau cells.