Liver function parameters in HIV/HCV co-infected patients treated with amprenavir and ritonavir and correlation with plasma levels

Acute liver toxicity is a frequent adverse event that occurs during antiretroviral therapy and was observed in 6-30% of the patients on treatment, especially in presence of HCV coinfection (Cooper et al., 2002, Maida et al., 2006, Sulkowski et al., 2000). A correlation between HCV-associated liver-fibrosis severity and the risk of HAART associated hepatoxicity has been demonstrated (Aranzabal et al., 2005, Sulkowski et al., 2004). This high liver toxicity rate might be due to increased drug exposure in patients with liver disease (Veronese et al., 2000). It has been reported that patients with chronic hepatitis C show significantly reduced CPY3A4 and CYP2D6 activity in comparison with healthy volunteers (Becquemont et al., 2002). The aim of this study was to evaluate the liver function tests in HCV-co-infected patients treated with fos-amprenavir and ritonavir.     

Knockdown of CELL DIVISION CYCLE16 Reveals an Inverse Relationship between Lateral Root and Nodule Numbers and a Link to Auxin in Medicago truncatula

The postembryonic development of lateral roots and nodules is a highly regulated process. Recent studies suggest the existence of cross talk and interdependency in the growth of these two organs. Although plant hormones, including auxin and cytokinin, appear to be key players in coordinating this cross talk, very few genes that cross-regulate root and nodule development have been uncovered so far. This study reports that a homolog of CELL DIVISION CYCLE16 (CDC16), a core component of the Anaphase Promoting Complex, is one of the key mediators in controlling the overall number of lateral roots and nodules. A partial suppression of this gene in Medicago truncatula leads to a decrease in number of lateral roots and a 4-fold increase in number of nodules. The roots showing lowered expression of MtCDC16 also show reduced sensitivity to phytohormone auxin, thus providing a potential function of CDC16 in auxin signaling.As in all eukaryotic organisms, cell division in plants is strictly controlled by a concerted action of several key regulators, such as cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclins (De Veylder et al., 2007). The progression of the cell cycle from one phase to another requires the targeted degradation of selected cyclin molecules mediated by two ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic pathways. The SKP1-Cullin/F-Box protein (SCF) pathway acts in the G1-to-S phase transition by degrading the D-type cyclins and other substrate proteins (Yanagawa and Kimura, 2005). The second pathway, mediated by Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C), regulates the sequential destruction of A- and B-type cyclins in a D-box or a KEN-box-dependent manner, resulting in chromosome segregation and exit from mitosis (Genschik et al., 1998; Pfleger and Kirschner, 2000). Evidence of the role of the APC/C in plant development comes from studies of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) hobbit (hbt) mutant that shows defects in root growth. The HBT gene is required for both cell division and cell differentiation in root meristems and encodes CDC27, a core subunit of APC/C (Blilou et al., 2002; Perez-Perez et al., 2008). Cebolla et al. (1999) used the root nodule system of the model legume Medicago truncatula to study the function of an APC/C activator, CCS52, which is homologous to the yeast APC/C activator CDH1. A nodule-specific homolog of CCS52, CCS52A, was found to be required to initiate endoreduplication in the dividing cells, and its down-regulation affected nodule development, resulting in lower ploidy, reduced cell size, and inefficient rhizobial invasion and nodule maturation (Vinardell et al., 2003; Kondorosi et al., 2005). T-DNA insertions in the Arabidopsis CELL DIVISION CYCLE16 (CDC16) and APC2 genes result in gametophytic lethality due to the failure to degrade mitotic cyclins (Capron et al., 2003b; Kwee and Sundaresan, 2003). Although the completed Arabidopsis genome has allowed the identification of homologs of almost all vertebrate APC/C subunits in plants (Capron et al., 2003a), the functions of most of these subunits still remains largely unexplored.Direct links between root growth and auxin signaling have been well documented. Several Arabidopsis mutants with decreased auxin sensitivity often exhibit an overall defect in both primary and lateral root development (Hellmann and Estelle, 2002; Casimiro et al., 2003; Hellmann et al., 2003; Vanneste et al., 2005). A number of these auxin-resistant mutants belong to the SCF proteolysis pathway, supporting a role for the SCF pathway in auxin signaling (Teale et al., 2006; Benjamins and Scheres, 2008). Auxin appears to control lateral root development by promoting G1-to-S transition in selected xylem pericycle cells, perhaps by targeting KRP2, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, and E2F, an S phase inhibitor to SCF-mediated proteolysis (del Pozo et al., 2002; Himanen et al., 2002). Unlike SCF, the role of APC/C in auxin-mediated plant development is not clear. The only report that has so far integrated APC/C with auxin signaling pertains to the hbt mutant, which shows an increased resistance to exogenous auxin due to accumulation of Aux/IAAs in the roots (Blilou et al., 2002).As in lateral roots, auxin is an important player in the development of nodules on the roots of leguminous plants (Beveridge et al., 2007). Studies with auxin-responsive reporter gene constructs have shown auxin''s participation in cortical cell reactivation and initiation of nodule primordia (Mathesius et al., 1998). The exogenous application of Nod factor results in a transient inhibition of auxin transport capacity in roots of Vicia sativa (Boot et al., 1999) and Trifolium repens (Mathesius et al., 1998). Consistent with this, localized application of synthetic auxin transport inhibitors on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) roots induces pseudonodules (Hirsch et al., 1989). Complementing these findings, a more recent study in M. truncatula has demonstrated that increased auxin transport, caused by silencing the flavonoid pathway, results in reduced nodule formation in response to rhizobia (Wasson et al., 2006). Finally, hypernodulating mutants like sunn and skl show defective long-distance transport of auxin, further suggesting the importance of polar auxin transport, not only in regulating nodule induction but also in controlling nodule numbers (Prayitno et al., 2006; van Noorden et al., 2006).In this report, we investigated the role of the APC/C component CDC16 in root and nodule development in M. truncatula. CDC16 was identified via microarray analysis as a gene that was significantly induced in roots of M. truncatula following inoculation by Sinorhizobium meliloti and in nodules relative to uninoculated roots (Kuppusamy, 2005), thus encouraging further functional analysis of this gene. To overcome the problem of the gametophytic lethality resulting from CDC16 knockout, as seen from analysis of an insertional mutation in Arabidopsis (Kwee and Sundaresan, 2003) we undertook an RNA interference (RNAi) approach to partially suppress the expression of CDC16 gene in Agrobacterium rhizogenes-transformed roots of M. truncatula. We report that roots transformed with the CDC16 RNAi construct (hereafter called Mtcdc16i roots) displayed a decreased sensitivity to auxin, defective primary root growth, and fewer lateral roots. Interestingly, in response to S. meliloti, the Mtcdc16i roots showed almost 4-fold increase in number of nodules, suggesting that decreased sensitivity to auxin leads to a hypernodulation phenotype. Thus, this work highlights the importance of CDC16 in root and nodule development and indicates a possible role for this gene in auxin signaling.     

Destruction with a box: substrate recognition by the anaphase-promoting complex

Destruction boxes mark cyclin B and other proteins degraded in mitosis for ubiquitination by the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C). In a paper in this issue of Molecular Cell, Yamano et al. show that destruction boxes directly bind to the APC/C in a cell cycle-regulated manner. Interestingly, this interaction does not require APC/C activators of the Cdc20 family, which were thought to be essential for recruiting substrates to the APC/C.     

All roads lead to FoxO

Stress-activated kinases control metabolism by antagonizing the early steps of insulin signal transduction. Two papers now demonstrate that Jnk, the prototypical stress-activated kinase, controls life span in Drosophila and C. elegans by promoting phosphorylation of the forkhead protein FoxO (Oh et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2005). The findings provide yet another mechanism by which metabolic and stress responses are integrated via phosphorylation of FoxO proteins.     

Yos9p: a sweet-toothed bouncer of the secretory pathway

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Bhamidipati et al., (2005) and Kim et al., (2005), and Szathmary et al. (2005), and demonstrate that Yos9p selectively binds to aberrant glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and targets them for destruction through the ER-associated protein degradation pathway.     

Regulation of Akt/PKB Ser473 phosphorylation

For years the Akt/PKB research field has been in turmoil, trying to understand how the activating phosphorylation of Akt/PKB at Ser473 is regulated. In the past month, papers in a recent issue of Molecular Cell (Gao et al., 2005) and in Science (Sarbassov et al., 2005) may have identified the phosphatase and kinase acting on this residue.     

Cdh1 is a HECT of an activator

Cdh1 is a well-established activator of APC/C, a RING-type ubiquitin ligase. In this issue of Molecular Cell, Wan et al. (2011) report an APC/C-independent role of Cdh1 during development as an activator for Smurf1, a HECT-type ubiquitin ligase.     

Mechanisms involved in the neurotoxic and cognitive effects of developmental methamphetamine exposure

Methamphetamine exposure in utero leads to a variety of higher‐order cognitive deficits, such as decreased attention and working, and spatial memory impairments in exposed children (Piper et al., 2011; Roussotte et al., 2011; Kiblawi et al., 2011). As with other teratogens, the timing of methamphetamine exposure greatly determines its effects on both neuroanatomical and behavioral outcomes. Methamphetamine exposure in rodents during the third trimester human equivalent period of brain development results in distinct and long‐lasting route‐based and spatial navigation deficits (Williams et al., 2003; Vorhees et al., 2005, 2008, 2009;). Here, we examine the impact of neonatal methamphetamine‐induced neurotoxicity on behavioral outcomes, neurotransmission, receptor changes, plasticity proteins, and DNA damage. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:131–141, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

DeTEKting ubiquitination of APC/C substrates

Regulated protein degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway ensures the unidirectionality of mitotic progression by removing cell-cycle regulators required at earlier stages. The APC/C ubiquitin-protein ligase targets proteins by appending polyubiquitin degradation signals that are subsequently recognized by the 26S proteasome. Reporting in this issue, Jin et al. (2008) identify a TEK motif in both ubiquitin and substrates of APC/C that mediates assembly of these degradation signals.     

ROS: really involved in oxygen sensing

The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cellular response to cellular oxygen sensing has been controversial. Three papers in this issue of Cell Metabolism (Brunelle et al., Guzy et al., 2005; Mansfield et al., 2005) used genetic tools to establish that ROS produced by mitochondria are required for the normal induction of HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor), which is a master regulator of oxygen-sensitive gene expression, by low oxygen.     

Temperature-dependency of electron-transport activity in mitochondria with exogenous mitochondrial DNA in Drosophila.

In mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy induced artificially in Drosophila melanogaster (Matsuura et al., 1989), foreign mtDNA derived from D. mauritiana was selectively transmitted at 25 degrees C but was lost at 19 degrees C (Niki et al., 1989; Matsuura et al., 1990, 1991). To investigate temperature-dependent factors in the selective transmission of mtDNA, the temperature-dependency of electron-transport activity of mitochondria from D. melanogaster in which endogenous mtDNA was completely replaced by the foreign mtDNA was compared with that of D. melanogaster and D. mauritiana. For NADH-oxidase activity, the optimum temperature of D. mauritiana mitochondria was 35 degrees C while for two types of mitochondria from D. melanogaster each possessing either endogenous or exogenous mtDNA, maximum activity was noted at 32 degrees C. This observation suggests that the temperature-dependency of mitochondrial electron-transport activity is mainly determined by a nuclear genome. NADH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome c oxidase activities were not significantly different among the three types of mitochondria. The temperature-dependency of mitochondrial function apparently is not involved in the temperature-dependent selective transmission of mtDNA in the heteroplasmic state.     

Evolution of NAD biosynthetic enzymes

Two research groups have solved crystal structures of nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase (PRTase) and made the argument that PRTases in three distinct pathways of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis evolved from a common ancestor (Shin et al., 2005 and Chappie et al., 2005).     

Structural mechanisms of constitutive activation in the C5a receptors with mutations in the extracellular loops: molecular modeling study

Previously we demonstrated by random saturation mutagenesis a set of mutations in the extracellular (EC) loops that constitutively activate the C5a receptor (C5aR) (Klco et al., Nat Struct Mol Biol 2005;12:320-326; Klco et al., J Biol Chem 2006;281:12010-12019). In this study, molecular modeling revealed possible conformations for the extracellular loops of the C5a receptors with mutations in the EC2 loop or in the EC3 loop. Comparison of low-energy conformations of the EC loops defined two distinct clusters of conformations typical either for strongly constitutively active mutants of C5aR (the CAM cluster) or for nonconstitutively active mutants (the non-CAM cluster). In the CAM cluster, the EC3 loop was turned towards the transmembrane (TM) helical bundle and more closely interacted with EC2 than in the non-CAM cluster. This suggested a structural mechanism of constitutive activity where EC3 contacts EC2 leading to EC2 interactions with helix TM3, thus triggering movement of TM7 towards TM2 and TM3. The movement initiates rearrangement of the system of hydrogen bonds between TM2, TM3 and TM7 including formation of the hydrogen bond between the side chains of D82(2.50) in TM2 and N296(7.49) in TM7, which is crucial for formation of the activated states of the C5a receptors (Nikiforovich et al., Proteins: Struct Funct Gene 2011;79:787-802). Since the relative large length of EC3 in C5aR (13 residues) is comparable with those in many other members of rhodopsin family of GPCRs (13-19 residues), our findings might reflect general mechanisms of receptor constitutive activation. The very recent X-ray structure of the agonist-induced constitutively active mutant of rhodopsin (Standfuss et al., Nature 2011;471:656-660) is discussed in view of our modeling results.     

GCN2 whets the appetite for amino acids

In response to amino acid starvation, the kinase GCN2 in yeast activates amino acid biosynthesis. Two recent studies (Maurin et al., 2005; Hao et al., 2005) reveal that GCN2 in the brain of mice restricts intake of diets lacking essential amino acids.