Functional analysis of B144/LST1: a gene in the tumor necrosis factor cluster that induces formation of long filopodia in eukaryotic cells

B144/LST1 is a gene encoded in the human major histocompatibility complex that produces multiple forms of alternatively spliced mRNA and encodes peptides fewer than 100 amino acids in length. B144/LST1 is strongly expressed in dendritic cells. Transfection of B144/LST1 into a variety of cells induces morphologic changes including the production of long, thin filopodia differing from those seen on transfection of a dominant active CDC42 gene. The structures are dynamically rearranging and sometimes connect one cell with another. The full effect of B144/LST1 protein on cell morphology requires the retention of at least one of the four cysteines of the peptide plus the presence of a hydrophobic segment in the protein, but requires only one of the two coding regions present in the terminal 3' exons.     

A protein, connected with the integrity of the recF gene in Escherichia coli K-12

Summary A protein of molecular weight 74,000, called protein Z, has been identified in cells of the genotype recB21 recC22 sbcB15 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This protein has not been detected in cells of the genotype recB21 recC22 sbcB15 recF144. The transductional transfer of recF144 into the rec ⁺ cells leads to the disappearance of the protein Z band. These results demonstrate that the recF gene is essential for protein Z synthesis. Of two recF ^– mutants studied, recF144 completely lacks protein Z, while recF143 preserves a functionally inactive protein Z, probably resulting from a missense mutation.The recF144 cells are characterizied by a very low frequency of genetic exchange between the donor and recipient chromosomes after conjugation. The scale of the genetic map for these cells is 3-fold higher than for wild-type cells.     

Inhibition of PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 gene expression highlights its role in the early events of the cell cycle in NIH3T3 fibroblasts

Abstract

The PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 gene encodes for a protein with a phosphotyrosine-binding domain, which interacts with the lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1. Previous work by us and others suggested a function of the gene in cell proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts and 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. The molecular characterization of PCLI1 protein, ectopically expressed in NIH3T3 fibroblasts, revealed two phosphorylation sites at Ser154 and Ser165. In order to clarify the functions of this gene, we analyzed the effects of its downregulation on cellular proliferation and cell cycle progression in NIH3T3 cell cultures. Downregulation of PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 mRNA levels by short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) elicited decreased proliferation rate in mammalian cell lines; cell cycle analysis of serum-starved, synchronized NIH3T3 fibroblasts showed an increased accumulation of shRNA-interfered cells in the G1 phase. Decreased levels of FOS and MYC mRNAs were accordingly associated with these events. The molecular scenario emerging from our data suggests that PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 controls cellular proliferation and cell cycle progression in NIH3T3 cells.     

Downregulation of microRNA-144 inhibits proliferation and promotes the apoptosis of myelodysplastic syndrome cells through the activation of the AKAP12-dependent ERK1/2 signaling pathway

BackgroundMyelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) represent a family of hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis. While the functions of many microRNAs have been identified in MDS, microRNA-144 (miR-144) remains poorly understood. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of miR-144 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in MDS cells and mechanism thereof.MethodsMDS-related microarrays were used for screening differentially expressed genes in MDS. The relationship between miR-144 and A-kinase anchoring protein 12 (AKAP12) was determined by a dual luciferase reporter gene assay. Subsequently, gain- and loss-function approaches were used to assess the effects of miR-144 and AKAP12 on cell proliferation, cell cycle and cell apoptosis by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Following the induction of a mouse model with MDS, the tumor tissues were extract for evaluation of apoptosis and the expression of miR-144, AKAP12, and the relevant genes associated with extracellular-regulated protein kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway and apoptosis.ResultsWe observed significantly diminished expression of AKAP12 in MDS samples. miR-144 directly bound to AKAP12 3′UTR and reduced its expression in hematopoietic cells. Downregulation of miR-144 or upregulation of AKAP12 was observed to prolong cell cycle, inhibit cell proliferation, and induce apoptosis, accompanied by increased expression of AKAP12, p-ERK1/2, caspase-3, caspase-9, Bax, and p53, as well as decreased expression of Bcl-2. The transplanted tumors in mice with down-regulated miR-144 exhibited a lower mean tumor diameter and weight, and increased apoptosis index and expression of AKAP12 and ERK1/2.ConclusionTaken together, these studies demonstrate the stimulative role of miR-144 in MDS progression by regulating AKAP12-dependent ERK1/2 signaling pathway.     

Characterization of a staurosporine- and temperature-sensitive mutant, stt1, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: STT1 is allelic to PKC1

Summary Staurosporine is an antibiotic that specifically inhibits protein kinase C. Fourteen staurosporine- and temperature-sensitive (stt) mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were isolated and characterized. These mutants were divided into ten complementation groups, and characterized for their cross-sensitivity to K-252a, neomycin, or CaCl₂, The STT1 gene was cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of the STT1 gene revealed that STT1 is the same gene as PKC1. The STT1 gene conferred resistance to staurosporine on wild-type cells, when present on a high copy number plasmid. STT1/stt1::HIS3 diploid cells were more sensitive to staurosporine than STT1/STT1 diploid cells. Analysis of temperature-sensitive stt1 mutants showed that the STT1 gene product functioned in S or G2/M phase. These results suggest that a protein kinase (the STT1 gene product) is one of the essential targets of staurosporine in yeast cells.     

家蚕二分浓核病毒ns1基因序列的改造、表达和鉴定

探讨翻译起始区(TIR)部分密码子发生同义突变后,对家蚕二分浓核病毒(BmBDV)ns1基因表达的影响,以及对BmBDV NS1蛋白毒性进行鉴定,设计特异性上游引物,对BmBDV ns1基因中第3、4、9和10个密码子进行同义突变,利用原核表达系统对野生型和改造后的ns1序列进行表达,通过SDS-PAGE电泳对这两种序列的表达产量进行分析。利用Protein Iso~(TM)GST Resin从超声破碎的菌液上清中纯化融合有GST的NS1蛋白,进而对纯化的靶蛋白在细胞水平和家蚕体内进行毒性分析。结果表明:TIR突变后的BmBDV ns1序列,其与野生型序列的表达产量之间没有明显差异;BmBDV NS1蛋白具有抑制细胞增殖和诱导家蚕致死的生化活性。     

Duplication of theDR3Gene on Human Chromosome 1p36 and Its Deletion in Human Neuroblastoma

The humanDR3gene, whose product is also known as Wsl-1/APO-3/TRAMP/LARD, encodes a tumor necrosis factor-related receptor that is expressed primarily on the surface of thymocytes and lymphocytes. DR3 is capable of inducing both NF-κB activation and apoptosis when overexpressed in mammalian cells, although its ligand has not yet been identified. We report here that theDR3gene locus is tandemly duplicated on human chromosome band 1p36.2–p36.3 and that these genes are hemizygously deleted and/or translocated to another chromosome in neuroblastoma (NB) cell lines with amplifiedMYCN.Duplication of at least a portion of theDR3gene, including the extracellular and transmembrane regions but not the cytoplasmic domain, was demonstrated by both fluorescencein situhybridization and genomic Southern blotting. In most NB cell lines, both theDR3and theDR3Lsequences are simultaneously deleted and/or translocated to another chromosome. Finally, DR3/Wsl-1 protein expression is quite variable among these NB cell lines, with very low or undetectable levels in 7 of 17 NB cell lines.     

The uvp1 gene of plasmid pR cooperates with mucAB genes in the DNA repair process

Summary We show that a DNA fragment that contains the uvp1 gene of the plasmid pR directs the synthesis in Escherichia coli minicells of a protein of apparent molecular weight 20 kDa. Inspection of the nucleotide sequence of the region reveals an open reading frame that has the capacity to encode a protein of 198 amino acids. The uvp1 gene product has been found, in two different systems, to enhance the recombination activity of E. coli cells. We have also observed a striking similarity to resolvase and invertase proteins. The significance of this finding for the function of the uvp1 gene product requires further investigation. We conclude that the uvp1 gene encodes a 20 kDa protein which appears to be responsible for enhancement of both UV survival and recominational activity in E. coli.     

Intratumoral activation of cyclophosphamide by retroviral transfer of the cytochrome P450 2B1 in a pancreatic tumor model. Combination with the HSVtk/GCV system

Background

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human tumors and the development of new therapeutic approaches is particularly urgent since current therapies are not effective. The use of pro‐drug‐activating genes is a possible approach for cancer gene therapy.

Methods

The present study evaluated the efficiency of the cytochrome P4502B1 (CYP2B1) suicide gene that encodes the enzyme responsible for activating the pro‐drug cyclophosphamide (CPA), in pancreatic tumor cells invitro and in vivo. The effects on tumor growth of the combination of two suicide systems, CYP2B1/CPA and herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV), were also studied.

Results

Retroviral CYP2B1 transfer followed by CPA treatment highly sensitized pancreatic tumor cells NP‐9, NP‐18, and NP‐31, and led to stabilization of tumor growth in a pancreatic tumor model. Differences in tumor volume at the end of the treatment were statistically significant when compared with animals injected with CPA alone. The combination of both suicide systems CYP2B1/CPA and HSVtk/GCV in vitro resulted in a potentiation of the killing effect. However, no potentiation was achieved in vivo, although retardation in tumor growth was evident.

Conclusions

The results show that in situ transduction of pancreatic tumor cells with the CYP2B1 gene by retroviral vectors clearly increases the sensitivity to CPA. Moreover, they suggest that in order to achieve a potentiation on cell killing when the two suicide systems HSVtk/GCV and CYP2B1/CPA are combined, co‐expression of both genes in the same tumor cell would be necessary. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Down-regulation of PKHD1 induces cell apoptosis through PI3K and NF-κB pathways

Mutations in PKHD1 (polycystic kidney and hepatic disease gene 1) gene cause the autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). Fibrocystin/polyductin (FPC), encoded by PKHD1, is a membrane-associated receptor-like protein. Although it is widely accepted that cystogenesis is mostly due to aberrant cell proliferation and apoptosis, it is still unclear how apoptosis is regulated. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship among apoptosis, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in FPC knockdown kidney cells. We show that PKHD1-silenced HEK293 cells demonstrate a higher PI3K/Akt activity. Selective inhibition of PI3K/Akt using LY294002 or wortmannin in these cells increases serum starvation-induced HEK293 cell apoptosis with a concomitant decrease in cell proliferation and higher caspase-3 activity. PI3K/Akt inhibition also leads to increased NF-κB activity in these cells. We conclude that the PI3K/Akt pathway is involved in apoptotic function in PKHD1-silenced cells, and PI3K/Akt inhibition correlates with upregulation of NF-κB activity. These observations provide a potential platform for determining FPC function and therapeutic investigation of ARPKD.     

Genetic interaction between the Ras-CAMP pathway and the Dis2s1/Glc7 protein phosphatase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae DIS2S1/GLC7 gene encodes a type 1 protein phosphatase indispensable for cell proliferation. We found that introduction of a multicopy DIS2S1 plasmid impaired growth of cells with reduced activity of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase. In order to understand further the interaction between the two enzymes, a temperature-sensitive mutation in the DIS2S1 gene was isolated. The mutant accumulated less glycogen than wild type at the permissive temperature, indicating that activity of the Dis2s1 protein phosphatase is attenuated by the mutation. Furthermore, the dis2s1 ^ts mutation was shown to be suppressed by a multicopy plasmid harboring PDE2, a gene for cAMP phosphodiesterase. These results indicate that the Ras-cAMP pathway interacts genetically with the DIS2S1/GLC7 gene.     

Epigenetic silencing of Na,K-ATPase β1 subunit gene ATP1B1 by methylation in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

The Na,K-ATPase or sodium pump carries out the coupled extrusion of Na⁺ and uptake of K⁺ across the plasma membranes of cells of most higher eukaryotes. We have shown earlier that Na,K-ATPase-β₁ (NaK-β) protein levels are highly reduced in poorly differentiated kidney carcinoma cells in culture and in patients' tumor samples. The mechanism(s) regulating the expression of NaK-β in tumor tissues has yet to be explored. We hypothesized that DNA methylation plays a role in silencing the NaK-β gene (ATP1B1) expression in kidney cancers. In this study, to the best of our knowledge we provide the first evidence that ATP1B1 is epigenetically silenced by promoter methylation in both renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients’ tissues and cell lines. We also show that knockdown of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene in RCC cell lines results in enhanced ATP1B1 promoter AT hypermethylation, which is accompanied by reduced expression of NaK-β. Furthermore, treatment with 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine rescued the expression of ATP1B1 mRNA as well as NaK-β protein in these cells. These data demonstrate that promoter hypermethylation is associated with reduced NaK-β expression, which might contribute to RCC initiation and/or disease progression.     

Target of rapamycin and LST8 proteins associate with membranes from the endoplasmic reticulum in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The highly conserved target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is a central controller of cell growth in all eukaryotes. TOR exists in two functionally and structurally distinct complexes, termed TOR complex 1 (TORC1) and TORC2. LST8 is a TOR-interacting protein that is present in both TORC1 and TORC2. Here we report the identification and characterization of TOR and LST8 in large protein complexes in the model photosynthetic green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We demonstrate that Chlamydomonas LST8 is part of a rapamycin-sensitive TOR complex in this green alga. Biochemical fractionation and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy studies indicate that TOR and LST8 exist in high-molecular-mass complexes that associate with microsomal membranes and are particularly abundant in the peri-basal body region in Chlamydomonas cells. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae complementation assay demonstrates that Chlamydomonas LST8 is able to functionally and structurally replace endogenous yeast LST8 and allows us to propose that binding of LST8 to TOR is essential for cell growth.     

利用CRISPR/Cas9系统构建稳定敲除anxa6基因的Caco-2细胞株

【目的】利用CRISPR/Cas9系统构建稳定敲除anxa6基因的Caco-2细胞株,为研究大肠杆菌O157:H7效应蛋白Esp F与宿主膜联蛋白A6 (ANXA6)相互作用及其致病机制奠定基础。【方法】根据CRISPR/Cas9靶向原理设计并合成3个特异性识别anxa6基因的向导RNA (single guide RNA,sgRNA),基于Lenti CRISPRv2载体构建Lenti CRISPRv2-sg RNA重组质粒,转入293T细胞中,制备sgRNA-Cas9慢病毒,将慢病毒感染Caco-2细胞,经嘌呤霉素筛选阳性细胞,有限稀释法分离培养单克隆细胞,提取单克隆细胞基因组DNA,并对敲除位点附近的DNA片段进行PCR扩增,测序并进行脱靶效应评估;免疫印记法检测ANXA6蛋白表达情况,细胞计数试剂盒8 (cell counting kit 8,CCK8)试剂盒检测细胞增殖能力,免疫荧光法检测细胞紧密连接分布情况。【结果】Western blotting及序列测序表明anxa6基因敲除单克隆细胞构建成功;脱靶效应评估结果显示预测的10个脱靶位点均无脱靶现象;基因敲除对细胞增殖能力...