Vasodilating Effect of Di-Peptides in Thoracic Aortas from Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

In this study, we found that antihypertensive di-peptide Val-Tyr (VY) showed a vascular relaxation effect in KCl-induced contraction of thoracic aorta rings from 18-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats among di-peptides of VY, Ile-Tyr, and Tyr-Val irrespective of their angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activity. The effect was endothelium-independent, and was closely associated with vascular responses in the vascular smooth muscle layer.     

Combined administration of captopril with an antihypertensive Val-Tyr di-peptide to spontaneously hypertensive rats attenuates the blood pressure lowering effect

Some di-peptides have been proven to exert an antihypertensive effect in mild-hypertensive subjects. The aim of this study was to clarify whether combined administration of an ACE inhibitor, captopril, with an antihypertensive di-peptide Val-Tyr (VY) would alter their potent antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Single oral administration of captopril (2.5 mg/kg), VY (25 mg/kg), or captopril (2.5 mg/kg)+VY (25 mg/kg) to 18-week-old male SHRs was performed. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured up to 9 h, and plasma captopril concentrations were determined. A transport study of captopril and/or VY across living rat jejunum from SHRs was also performed to evaluate the kinetics of absorption. Combined administration of captopril with VY failed to lower the BP during the 9-h experiment. A transport study of captopril or VY revealed that VY inhibited captopril transport, and vice versa, in a competitive manner and exhibited an approximately 1/3-fold lower Ki value for captopril compared with that for VY; indicating that both compounds compete for the same membrane transport pathway. A 50% decrease in plasma captopril levels by combined administration with VY supported that the attenuation of the BP lowering effect was due to inhibition of captopril uptake by VY. Consequently, our findings suggest that subjects treated with ACE inhibitors for hypertension should avoid combined-intake with antihypertensive foods that are rich in small peptides due to the competitive inhibition of drug uptake by these peptides.     

Tissue distribution of antihypertensive dipeptide, Val-Tyr, after its single oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The distribution of an antihypertensive dipeptide, Val-Tyr (VY), in the tissues of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was investigated in this study. A single oral administration of VY (10 mg/kg) to 18-week-old SHR resulted in a prolonged reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) up to 9 h (SBP0h 198.0+/-3.6 mmHg; SBP9h 154.6+/-3.5 mmHg). As a result of VY determination, a roughly 10-fold higher increment of plasma VY level was observed at 1 h than that at 0 h, whereas thereafter the level declined rapidly. In tissues, VY was widely accumulated in the kidney, lung, heart, mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta with the area under the curve over 9 h of more than 40 pmol h/g tissue; of these a higher VY level was observed in the kidney and lung. In addition, a mean resident time (MRT) for each tissue (>5 h except for liver) revealed that VY preferably accumulated in the tissues rather than in the plasma (MRT 3.8 h). Significant reductions of tissue angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity and angiotensin II level were found in the abdominal aorta as well as in the kidney, suggesting that these organs could be a target site associated with the antihypertensive action of VY.     

Improvement of a monopartite ecdysone receptor gene switch and demonstration of its utility in regulation of transgene expression in plants

In plants, regulation of transgene expression is typically accomplished through the use of inducible promoter systems. The ecdysone receptor (EcR) gene switch is one of the best inducible systems available to regulate transgene expression in plants. However, the monopartite EcR gene switches developed to date require micromolar concentrations of ligand for activation. We tested several EcR mutants that were generated by changing one or two amino acid residues in the highly flexible ligand-binding domain of Choristoneura fumiferana EcR (CfEcR). Based on the transient expression assays, we selected a double mutant, V395I + Y415E (VY), of CfEcR (CfEcR(VY)) for further testing in stable transformation experiments. The CfEcR(VY) mutant only slightly improved the induction characteristics of the two-hybrid gene switch, whereas the CfEcR(VY) mutant significantly improved the induction characteristics of the monopartite gene switch (VGCfE(VY)). The ligand sensitivity of the VGCfE(VY) switch was improved by 125-15 625-fold in different transgenic lines analyzed, compared to the VGCfE(Wt) switch. The utility of the VGCfE(VY) switch was tested by regulating the expression of an Arabidopsis zinc finger protein gene (AtZFP11) in both tobacco and Arabidopsis plants. These data showed that the VGCfE(VY) switch efficiently regulated the expression of AtZFP11 and that the phenotype of AtZFP11 could be induced by the application of ligand. In addition, the affected plants recovered after withdrawal of the ligand, demonstrating the utility of this gene switch in regulating the expression of critical transgenes in plants.     

CD8+ T cell epitope-flanking mutations disrupt proteasomal processing of HIV-1 Nef

CTL play a critical role in the control of HIV and SIV. However, intrinsic genetic instability enables these immunodeficiency viruses to evade detection by CTL through mutation of targeted antigenic sites. These mutations can impair binding of viral epitopes to the presenting MHC class I molecule or disrupt TCR-mediated recognition. In certain regions of the virus, functional constraints are likely to limit the capacity for variation within epitopes. Mutations elsewhere in the protein, however, might still enable immune escape through effects on Ag processing. In this study, we describe the coincident emergence of three mutations in a highly conserved region of Nef during primary HIV-1 infection. These mutations (R69K, A81G, and H87R) flank the HLA B*35-restricted VY8 epitope and persisted to fixation as the early CTL response to this Ag waned. The variant form of Nef showed a reduced capacity to activate VY8-specific CTL, although protein stability and expression levels were unchanged. This effect was associated with altered processing by the proteasome that caused partial destruction of the VY8 epitope. Our data demonstrate that a variant HIV genotype can significantly impair proteasomal epitope processing and substantiate the concept of immune evasion through diminished Ag generation. These observations also indicate that the scale of viral escape may be significantly underestimated if only intraepitope variation is evaluated.     

腹侧黄斑小鼠的部分特征及其突变基因的染色体定位

腹侧黄斑小鼠(VYSlac)是在B6小鼠繁殖生产过程中被发现、分离的突变系小鼠,呈单基因显性遗传,其头颈及躯干的腹侧为黄色。VYSlac腹部表皮多巴(+)黑色素细胞及毛囊内黑色素较其背景品系B6少;腹部毛发颜色浅黄、多数无黑色素沉积,但结构正常。通过微卫星标记与48只F2小鼠(VYSlacD2F1回交D2)的连锁分析发现,突变基因与D2Mit229间的LOD值为5.79,确定连锁。随后,在突变基因附近反复多次筛选新的微卫星或SNP标记,通过对196例F2小鼠的多次连锁分析,将突变基因所在区域缩小到rs13476833(距着丝粒149804749bp)与rs27310903(距着丝粒155060764bp)间约5256015bp的范围内。     

CD8+ T Cell Cross-Reactivity Profiles and HIV-1 Immune Escape towards an HLA-B35-Restricted Immunodominant Nef Epitope

Antigen cross-reactivity is an inbuilt feature of the T cell compartment. However, little is known about the flexibility of T cell recognition in the context of genetically variable pathogens such as HIV-1. In this study, we used a combinatorial library containing 24 billion octamer peptides to characterize the cross-reactivity profiles of CD8⁺ T cells specific for the immunodominant HIV-1 subtype B Nef epitope VY8 (VPLRPMTY) presented by HLA-B^*35∶01. In conjunction, we examined naturally occurring antigenic variations within the VY8 epitope. Sequence analysis of plasma viral RNA isolated from 336 HIV-1-infected individuals revealed variability at position (P) 3 and P8 of VY8; Phe at P8, but not Val at P3, was identified as an HLA-B^*35∶01-associated polymorphism. VY8-specific T cells generated from several different HIV-1-infected patients showed unique and clonotype-dependent cross-reactivity footprints. Nonetheless, all T cells recognized both the index Leu and mutant Val at P3 equally well. In contrast, competitive titration assays revealed that the Tyr to Phe substitution at P8 reduced T cell recognition by 50–130 fold despite intact peptide binding to HLA-B^*35∶01. These findings explain the preferential selection of Phe at the C-terminus of VY8 in HLA-B^*35∶01⁺ individuals and demonstrate that HIV-1 can exploit the limitations of T cell recognition in vivo.     

Genetic analysis of an osmotic sensitive

Summary The genetic analysis of VY1160 sorbitol dependent, osmotic sensitive yeast mutant led to the identification of three different nuclear recessive mutations. Two of them, designated sorb^- and ts1 are closely linked to one another. The mutation sorb^- determines the lysis, while the mutation tsl increases the ability for lysis of the sorbitol dependent cells. The third mutation ts2 segregates independently from the other two and confers the sensitivity of VY1160 mutant cells towards rifampicin.     

Hepatic glutathione S-transferase activity in mice: effects of Avy/-genotype, obesity, lindane treatment, and sex

Phenotypically distinct but genetically identical obese mottled yellow Avy/a and lean pseudoagouti Avy/a sibling mice and their congeneic black a/a littermates provide an experimental system for distinguishing phenotypic effects from genotypic effects in the expression of the genotype at the organismic level. Hepatic glutathione S-transferase activity in obese yellow Avy/a (YS X VY) F-1 hybrid female mice was only about 66% of that found in their lean black a/a sisters. This decreased enzyme activity was not a direct effect of the Avy/a genotype but was associated with the obesity of the yellow mice since the enzyme activity in lean pseudoagouti Avy/a female siblings was similar to that found in the black a/a mice. Long-term feeding of 160 ppm lindane in the diet decreased the enzyme activity in all phenotypes but did not eliminate the difference between the obese yellow and lean pseudoagouti and black mice. Interpretation of the available data suggests that no direct relationship exists between the level of hepatic glutathione S-transferase activity and the enhancement of tumor formation in yellow Avy/a mice. Several inbred mouse strains and F-1 hybrids were also screened for this enzyme activity. No strain differences were found but sex differences within different inbred strains were not uniform. In the AE and YS strains and their F-1 hybrid enzyme activity was higher in female than in males. In contrast, BALB/c and VY strain males had higher enzyme activity than the corresponding females.     

VY bipedicle flap for resurfacing the nasal supratip region

A procedure for the coverage of surgically created supratip defects up to 1.5 cm in diameter is described utilizing a VY bipedicle flap of nasal skin.     

Low ribonuclease activity in cellular lysates of osmotic sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants.

Summary Cellular lysates with very low total ribonuclease activities are obtained by lysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae VY1160 osmotic sensitive mutant cells in 1% sorbitol solution. These lysates could be used for isolation of intact polysomes and messenger RNA molecules, or for studying of specific ribonucleases.     

Different composition of the cell wall polysaccharides in Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288 and in an osmosis sensitive mutant]

Determination of the polysaccharide contents and structural studies on the mannan by acetolysis and permethylation analysis shows an altered polysaccharide biosynthesis of the osmotic-sensitive mutant VY 1160 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae S 288. The mutant contains more glucan, less mannan, and less alkali-soluble glycogen. Its mannan is characterized by more short side chains and less long side chains. Its main chain is 1 leads to 6-linked, but its side chains consist of more 1 leads to 3- than 1 leads to 2-linked mannose units.     

The VY tensor fasciae latae musculocutaneous flap

When first introduced in 1978, the tensor fasciae latae flap was used both as a free-tissue transfer and as a local rotational flap. Its use as a free flap has diminished as other more appropriate flaps for free-tissue transfer have been described. The tensor fasciae latae flap has remained, however, an instrumental flap in the coverage of anterior and posterior soft-tissue defects around the hip region. The purpose of this paper is to present a new design of the tensor fasciae latae flap in the coverage of trochanteric pressure sores. By essentially creating a VY advancement flap into the trochanteric defect with the tensor fasciae latae, one can cover the trochanteric defect with the best-vascularized portion of the flap and avoid the dog-ear deformity.     

Genetic Regulation of Plasma Corticosterone Concentration and its Response to Castration and Allogeneic Tumour Growth in the Mouse

EXCESS fat deposition after castration is thought to be a response to hyperinsulinism induced by an increased level of adrenal glucocorticoids¹. Two mutant alleles, lethal yellow (A^y) and viable yellow (A^vy), at the agouti locus in the mouse induce excess fat deposition; the A^y allele has also been found to induce insulin resistance². Katsh³ concluded that in adrenalectomized KL strain mice a considerable portion of the high insulin tolerance depended on normal adrenal function. In the inbred YS/Wf and VY/Wf strains, both yellow pheno-types modulate serum insulin concentration⁴. Castration of inbred YS strain males causes a large decrease in serum insulin⁴, suggesting a possible relationship¹ to the concentration of adrenal glucocorticoids. Growth of allogeneic tumour cells has different effects on the serum insulin concentrations of YS and VY strain mice⁴.     

Meiotic mapping of the nuclear determinant of cell lysis of the osmotic dependent Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant VY1160

Summary A recessive nuclear mutation, sorb ^-, which determines the ability for lysis of the osmotic dependent Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant VY1160 has been mapped on the right arm of chromosome I. sorb ^- is not centromere linked and is approximately 31 recombination units from ade1.     

Decreased synthesis of alkali-soluble glucan in a cell-wall mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In vivo studies and quantitative measurements of glucans provide evidence for a decreased rate of synthesis and a lower amount of alkali-soluble glucan in cells of the osmotically fragile VY1160 mutant of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Combined genetic and biochemical analysis shows that the srb1 mutation is responsible for the reduction of alkali-soluble glucan. Data on beta(1----3) glucan synthase activity did not indicate the participation of the enzyme in the in vivo synthesis of alkali-soluble glucan and suggest the existence of other glucan synthases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

大鼠卵黄囊的分化及其肿瘤性转化研究

目的研究12d大鼠胚胎脏层卵黄囊(VYS)向多胚层组织分化的潜能和在逆转录病毒感染下的肿瘤性转化特征。方法在不同培养条件、移植位点的条件下,观察VYS体内外分化的改变;另外利用逆转录病毒载体将荧光蛋白基因(GFP)转染12d卵黄囊细胞,对GFP标记的转化细胞进行体内外研究。结果在不同培养条件下,均对体外培养的或体内移植的大鼠卵黄囊向三个胚层分化的进程无特异的导向性。将荧光蛋白标记卵黄囊克隆细胞接种在裸鼠皮下长出了未分化的间质细胞肉瘤。结论12d大鼠胚胎脏层卵黄囊具有向三胚层分化的潜能;逆转录病毒感染导致卵黄囊间质细胞发生肿瘤性转化。     

Therapeutic activity of mTOR inhibitors in mantle cell lymphoma: Clues but no clear answers

Therapeutic inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has recently demonstrated a 30% to 40% response rate in patients with relapsed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).^1,2 However, the exact mechanisms underlying this clinically significant response rate remain poorly understood. Here, we discuss the potential molecular mechanisms underlying this activity, and how to improve the therapeutic value of mTOR inhibitors by combining them with other agents that may target different molecular pathways.

Addendum to: Yazbeck VY, Buglio D, Georgakis GV, et al. Temsirolimus downregulates p21 without altering cyclin D1 expression and induces autophagy and synergizes with vorinostat in mantle cell lymphoma. Exp Hematol 2008; 36:443-50.