Diversification of the RAB Guanosine Triphosphatase Family in Dicots and Monocots

RAB guanosine triphosphatases （GTPases） are key regulators of vesicle trafficking and are essential to the growth and development of all eukaryotic cells. During evolution, the RAB family has expanded in different patterns to facilitate distinct cellular, developmental and physiological adaptations. Yeast has only 11 family members, whereas mammalian RABs have expanded to 18 RAB subfamilies. Plant RABs have diversified primarily by duplicating members within a single subfamily. Plant RABs are divided into eight subfamilies, corresponding to mammalian RAB1, RAB2, RAB5, RAB6, RAB7, RAB8, RAB11 and RAB18. Functional diversification of these is exemplified by the RAB1 ls, orthologs of which are partitioned into unique cell compartments in plants where they function to transport vesicles during localized tip growth. Similarly, the RAB2 family in grasses is likely involved in vesicle secretion associated with wall expansion, as determined by analysis of over-expression mutants. We propose that dicots and monocots have also diverged in their RAB profiles to accommodate unique cellular functions between the two groups. Here we present a bioinformatics analysis comparing the RAB sub-families of rice, maize and Arabidopsis. These results will guide future functional studies to test for the role of diversification of subfamilies unique to monocots compared to dicots.     

Difficulties implementing a mental health guideline: an exploratory investigation using psychological theory

Background

Monitoring and Messaging Devices (MMDs) are telehealth systems used by patients in their homes, and are designed to promote patient self-management, patient education, and clinical monitoring and follow-up activities. Although these systems have been widely promoted by health care systems, including the Veterans Health Administration, very little information is available on factors that facilitate use of the MMD system, or on barriers to use.

Methods

We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with clinicians using MMD-based telehealth programs at two Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the Midwestern United States.

Results

Findings suggest that MMD program enrollment is limited by both clinical and non-clinical factors, and that patients have varying levels of program participation and system use. Telehealth providers see MMDs as a useful tool for monitoring patients who are interested in working on management of their disease, but are concerned with technical challenges and the time commitment required to use MMDs.

Conclusion

Telehealth includes a rapidly evolving and potentially promising range of technologies for meeting the growing number of patients and clinicians who face the challenges of diabetes care, and future research should explore the most effective means of ensuring successful program implementation.     

1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignments of YajG, an Escherichia coli protein of unknown structure and function

The ampG gene codes for a permease required to uptake anhydro-muropeptides into bacterial cytoplasm. Located upstream in the same operon, is another 579-base-pair-long open reading frame encoding a putative lipoprotein YajG, whose nearly complete ¹H,¹³C,¹⁵N assignments are reported here.     

National mass drug administration costs for lymphatic filariasis elimination

Background

Because lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination efforts are hampered by a dearth of economic information about the cost of mass drug administration (MDA) programs (using either albendazole with diethylcarbamazine [DEC] or albendazole with ivermectin), a multicenter study was undertaken to determine the costs of MDA programs to interrupt transmission of infection with LF. Such results are particularly important because LF programs have the necessary diagnostic and treatment tools to eliminate the disease as a public health problem globally, and already by 2006, the Global Programme to Eliminate LF had initiated treatment programs covering over 400 million of the 1.3 billion people at risk.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To obtain annual costs to carry out the MDA strategy, researchers from seven countries developed and followed a common cost analysis protocol designed to estimate 1) the total annual cost of the LF program, 2) the average cost per person treated, and 3) the relative contributions of the endemic countries and the external partners. Costs per person treated ranged from $0.06 to $2.23. Principal reasons for the variation were 1) the age (newness) of the MDA program, 2) the use of volunteers, and 3) the size of the population treated. Substantial contributions by governments were documented – generally 60%–90% of program operation costs, excluding costs of donated medications.

Conclusions/Significance

MDA for LF elimination is comparatively inexpensive in relation to most other public health programs. Governments and communities make the predominant financial contributions to actual MDA implementation, not counting the cost of the drugs themselves. The results highlight the impact of the use of volunteers on program costs and provide specific cost data for 7 different countries that can be used as a basis both for modifying current programs and for developing new ones.     

The renewal and differentiation of Isl1+ cardiovascular progenitors are controlled by a Wnt/beta-catenin pathway

Isl1(+) cardiovascular progenitors and their downstream progeny play a pivotal role in cardiogenesis and lineage diversification of the heart. The mechanisms that control their renewal and differentiation are largely unknown. Herein, we show that the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is a major component by which cardiac mesenchymal cells modulate the prespecification, renewal, and differentiation of isl1(+) cardiovascular progenitors. This microenvironment can be reconstituted by a Wnt3a-secreting feeder layer with ES cell-derived, embryonic, and postnatal isl1(+) cardiovascular progenitors. In vivo activation of beta-catenin signaling in isl1(+) progenitors of the secondary heart field leads to their massive accumulation, inhibition of differentiation, and outflow tract (OFT) morphogenic defects. In addition, the mitosis rate in OFT myocytes is significantly reduced following beta-catenin deletion in isl1(+) precursors. Agents that manipulate Wnt signals can markedly expand isl1(+) progenitors from human neonatal hearts, a key advance toward the cloning of human isl1(+) heart progenitors.     

Specificity of Phage Display Selected Peptides for Modified Anticodon Stem and Loop Domains of tRNA

Protein recognition of RNA has been studied using Peptide Phage Display Libraries, but in the absence of RNA modifications. Peptides from two libraries, selected for binding the modified anticodon stem and loop (ASL) of human tRNA^Lys3 having 2-thiouridine (s²U₃₄) and pseudouridine (Ψ₃₉), bound the modified human ASL^Lys3(s²U₃₄;Ψ₃₉) preferentially and had significant homology with RNA binding proteins. Selected peptides were narrowed to a manageable number using a less sensitive, but inexpensive assay before conducting intensive characterization. The affinity and specificity of the best binding peptide (with an N-terminal fluorescein) were characterized by fluorescence spectrophotometry. The peptide exhibited the highest binding affinity for ASL^Lys3(s²U₃₄;Ψ₃₉), followed by the hypermodified ASL^Lys3 (mcm⁵s²U₃₄;ms²t⁶A₃₇) and the unmodified ASL^Lys3, but bound poorly to singly modified ASL^Lys3 constructs (Ψ₃₉, ms²t⁶A_37, s²U₃₄), ASL^Lys1,2 (t⁶A₃₇) and Escherichia coli ASL^Glu (s²U₃₄). Thus, RNA modifications are potentially important recognition elements for proteins and can be targets for selective recognition by peptides.     

Deletion of complement factor H-related genes CFHR1 and CFHR3 is associated with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is associated with defective complement regulation. Disease-associated mutations have been described in the genes encoding the complement regulators complement factor H, membrane cofactor protein, factor B, and factor I. In this study, we show in two independent cohorts of aHUS patients that deletion of two closely related genes, complement factor H-related 1 (CFHR1) and complement factor H-related 3 (CFHR3), increases the risk of aHUS. Amplification analysis and sequencing of genomic DNA of three affected individuals revealed a chromosomal deletion of approximately 84 kb in the RCA gene cluster, resulting in loss of the genes coding for CFHR1 and CFHR3, but leaving the genomic structure of factor H intact. The CFHR1 and CFHR3 genes are flanked by long homologous repeats with long interspersed nuclear elements (retrotransposons) and we suggest that nonallelic homologous recombination between these repeats results in the loss of the two genes. Impaired protection of erythrocytes from complement activation is observed in the serum of aHUS patients deficient in CFHR1 and CFHR3, thus suggesting a regulatory role for CFHR1 and CFHR3 in complement activation. The identification of CFHR1/CFHR3 deficiency in aHUS patients may lead to the design of new diagnostic approaches, such as enhanced testing for these genes.     

Personalized medicine and proteomics: lessons from non-small cell lung cancer

Personalized medicine allows the selection of treatments best suited to an individual patient and disease phenotype. To implement personalized medicine, effective tests predictive of response to treatment or susceptibility to adverse events are needed, and to develop a personalized medicine test, both high quality samples and reliable data are required. We review key features of state-of-the-art proteomic profiling and introduce further analytic developments to build a proteomic toolkit for use in personalized medicine approaches. The combination of novel analytical approaches in proteomic data generation, alignment and comparison permit translation of identified biomarkers into practical assays. We further propose an expanded statistical analysis to understand the sources of variability between individuals in terms of both protein expression and clinical variables and utilize this understanding in a predictive test.