Synthesis and activity of small molecule GPR40 agonists

The first report on the identification and structure-activity relationships of a novel series of GPR40 agonists based on a 3-(4-{[N-alkyl]amino}phenyl)propanoic acid template is described. Structural modifications to the original screening hit yielded compounds with a 100-fold increase in potency at the human GPR40 receptor and pEC(50)s in the low nanomolar range. The carboxylic acid moiety is not critical for activity but typically elicits an agonistic response higher than those observed with carboxamide replacements. These compounds may prove useful in unraveling the therapeutic potential of this receptor for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.     

Core formation and the acquisition of fusion competence are linked during secretory granule maturation in Tetrahymena

The formation of dense core secretory granules is a multistage process beginning in the trans Golgi network and continuing during a period of granule maturation. Direct interactions between proteins in the membrane and those in the forming dense core may be important for sorting during this process, as well as for organizing membrane proteins in mature granules. We have isolated two mutants in dense core granule formation in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, an organism in which this pathway is genetically accessible. The mutants lie in two distinct genes but have similar phenotypes, marked by accumulation of a set of granule cargo markers in intracellular vesicles resembling immature secretory granules. Sorting to these vesicles appears specific, since they do not contain detectable levels of an extraneous secretory marker. The mutants were initially identified on the basis of aberrant proprotein processing, but also showed defects in the docking of the immature granules. These defects, in core assembly and docking, were similarly conditional with respect to growth conditions, and therefore are likely to be tightly linked. In starved cells, the processing defect was less severe, and the immature granules could dock but still did not undergo stimulated exocytosis. We identified a lumenal protein that localizes to the docking-competent end of wildtype granules, but which is delocalized in the mutants. Our results suggest that dense cores have functionally distinct domains that may be important for organizing membrane proteins involved in docking and fusion.     

Multiple TLRs are expressed in human cholangiocytes and mediate host epithelial defense responses to Cryptosporidium parvum via activation of NF-kappaB

Infection of epithelial cells by Cryptosporidium parvum triggers a variety of host-cell innate and adaptive immune responses including release of cytokines/chemokines and up-regulation of antimicrobial peptides. The mechanisms that trigger these host-cell responses are unclear. Thus, we evaluated the role of TLRs in host-cell responses during C. parvum infection of cultured human biliary epithelia (i.e., cholangiocytes). We found that normal human cholangiocytes express all known TLRs. C. parvum infection of cultured cholangiocytes induces the selective recruitment of TLR2 and TLR4 to the infection sites. Activation of several downstream effectors of TLRs including IL-1R-associated kinase, p-38, and NF-kappaB was detected in infected cells. Transfection of cholangiocytes with dominant-negative mutants of TLR2 and TLR4, as well as the adaptor molecule myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88), inhibited C. parvum-induced activation of IL-1R-associated kinase, p-38, and NF-kappaB. Short-interfering RNA to TLR2, TLR4, and MyD88 also blocked C. parvum-induced NF-kappaB activation. Moreover, C. parvum selectively up-regulated human beta-defensin-2 in directly infected cells, and inhibition of TLR2 and TLR4 signals or NF-kappaB activation were each associated with a reduction of C. parvum-induced human beta-defensin-2 expression. A significantly higher number of parasites were detected in cells transfected with a MyD88 dominant-negative mutant than in the control cells at 48-96 h after initial exposure to parasites, suggesting MyD88-deficient cells were more susceptible to infection. These findings demonstrate that cholangiocytes express a variety of TLRs, and suggest that TLR2 and TLR4 mediate cholangiocyte defense responses to C. parvum via activation of NF-kappaB.     

Continuous-Flow Capillary Assay for Measuring Bacterial Chemotaxis

Bacterial chemotaxis may have a significant impact on the structure and function of bacterial communities. Quantification of chemotactic motion is necessary to identify chemoeffectors and to determine the bacterial transport parameters used in predictive models of chemotaxis. When the chemotactic bacteria consume the chemoeffector, the chemoeffector gradient to which the bacteria respond may be significantly perturbed by the consumption. Therefore, consumption of the chemoeffector can confound chemotaxis measurements if it is not accounted for. Current methods of quantifying chemotaxis use bacterial concentrations that are too high to preclude chemoeffector consumption or involve ill-defined conditions that make quantifying chemotaxis difficult. We developed a method of quantifying bacterial chemotaxis at low cell concentrations (~10⁵ CFU/ml), so metabolism of the chemoeffector is minimized. The method facilitates quantification of bacterial-transport parameters by providing well-defined boundary conditions and can be used with volatile and semivolatile chemoeffectors.     

N-terminally extended surfactant protein (SP) C isolated from SP-B-deficient children has reduced surface activity and inhibited lipopolysaccharide binding

In both humans and mice, a deficiency of surfactant protein B (SP-B) is associated with a decreased concentration of mature SP-C and accumulation of a larger SP-C peptide, denoted SP-C(i), which is not observed under normal conditions. Isolation of hydrophobic polypeptides from the lungs of children who died with two different SP-B mutations yielded pure SP-C(i) and showed only trace amounts of mature SP-C. Determination of the SP-C(i) covalent structure revealed a 12-residue N-terminal peptide segment, followed by a 35-residue segment that is identical to mature SP-C. The SP-C(i) structure determined herein is similar to that of a proposed late intermediate in the processing of proSP-C, suggesting that SP-C(i) is the immediate precursor of SP-C. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from transgenic mice with a focal deficiency of SP-B, SP-C(i) was detected in the biophysically active, large aggregate fraction and was associated with membrane structures that are typical for a large aggregate surfactant. However, unlike SP-C, SP-C(i) exhibited a very poor ability to promote phospholipid adsorption, gave high surface tension during cyclic film compression, and did not bind lipopolysaccharide in vitro. SP-C(i) is thus capable of associating with surfactant lipids, but its N-terminal dodecapeptide segment must be proteolytically removed to generate a biologically functional peptide. The results of this study indicate that the early postnatal fatal respiratory distress seen in SP-B-deficient children is combined with the near absence of active variants of SP-C.