Inhibition Mode of Soybean Lipoxygenase‐1 by Quercetin

Quercetin noncompetitively inhibited the peroxidation of linoleic acid catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase‐1 (EC 1.13.11.12, Type 1) with an IC₅₀ value of 4.8 μM (1.45 μg/ml). This inhibition is considered to proceed in sequential order, by initially reducing the ferric form of the enzyme to an inactive ferrous form and then, by chelating the iron of the active site of the enzyme. In the pseudoperoxidase assay, quercetin was slowly oxidized by hydroperoxides to a rather stable intermediate, 2‐(3,4‐dihydroxybenzoyl)‐2,4,6‐trihydroxybenzofuran‐3(2H)‐one, and this oxidized intermediate still inhibited the enzymatic oxidation, probably as a chelator. Rutin and kaempferol also exhibited lipoxygenase‐1 inhibitory activity, but to a much lesser extent than quercetin.     

Let-7 microRNA family is selectively secreted into the extracellular environment via exosomes in a metastatic gastric cancer cell line

Background

Exosomes play a major role in cell-to-cell communication, targeting cells to transfer exosomal molecules including proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs (miRNAs) by an endocytosis-like pathway. miRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules on average 22 nucleotides in length that regulate numerous biological processes including cancer pathogenesis and mediate gene down-regulation by targeting mRNAs to induce RNA degradation and/or interfering with translation. Recent reports imply that miRNAs can be stably detected in circulating plasma and serum since miRNAs are packaged by exosomes to be protected from RNA degradation. Thus, profiling exosomal miRNAs are in need to clarify intercellular signaling and discover a novel disease marker as well.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Exosomes were isolated from cultured cancer cell lines and their quality was validated by analyses of transmission electron microscopy and western blotting. One of the cell lines tested, a metastatic gastric cancer cell line, AZ-P7a, showed the highest RNA yield in the released exosomes and distinctive shape in morphology. In addition, RNAs were isolated from cells and culture media, and profiles of these three miRNA fractions were obtained using microarray analysis. By comparing signal intensities of microarray data and the following validation using RT-PCR analysis, we found that let-7 miRNA family was abundant in both the intracellular and extracellular fractions from AZ-P7a cells, while low metastatic AZ-521, the parental cell line of AZ-P7a, as well as other cancer cell lines showed no such propensity.

Conclusions/Significance

The enrichment of let-7 miRNA family in the extracellular fractions, particularly, in the exosomes from AZ-P7a cells may reflect their oncogenic characteristics including tumorigenesis and metastasis. Since let-7 miRNAs generally play a tumor-suppressive role as targeting oncogenes such as RAS and HMGA2, our results suggest that AZ-P7a cells release let-7 miRNAs via exosomes into the extracellular environment to maintain their oncogenesis.     

MyD88 and TNF receptor-associated factor 6 are critical signal transducers in Helicobacter pylori-infected human epithelial cells

Helicobacter pylori induces NF-kappaB activation, leading to mucosal inflammation via cag pathogenicity island. Although recent studies have implicated several candidate proteins of both H. pylori and host, the molecular mechanism by which H. pylori activates NF-kappaB remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the mechanism of cag pathogenicity island-mediated NF-kappaB activation in epithelial cells. The responses of human cell lines and mouse embryonic fibroblasts to infection with wild-type H. pylori or cagE mutant were investigated. The effect of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for several NF-kappaB signaling intermediate molecules was evaluated in H. pylori-induced IkappaBalpha phosphorylation and IL-8 production. Protein interactions of exogenously expressed TNFR-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and MyD88 or receptor-interacting protein 2 and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 or those of endogenous IkappaB kinase, TGF-beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), and TRAF6 were assessed by immunoprecipitation. Cag pathogenicity island-dependent NF-kappaB activation was observed in human cell lines, but not in mouse fibroblasts. In human epithelial cells, H. pylori-induced IkappaBalpha phosphorylation and IL-8 production were severely inhibited by siRNAs directed against TAK1, TRAF6, and MyD88. In contrast, siRNAs for TRAF2, IL-1R-associated kinases 1 and 4, and cell surface receptor proteins did not affect these responses. H. pylori infection greatly enhanced MyD88 and TRAF6 complex formation in a cag-dependent manner, but did not enhance Nod1 and receptor-interacting protein 2 complex formation. H. pylori also induced TAK1 and TRAF6 complexes. These results suggest that the cag pathogenicity island of H. pylori is a cell type-specific NF-kappaB activator. TAK1, TRAF6, and MyD88 are important signal transducers in H. pylori-infected human epithelial cells.     

Survey of catalytic residues and essential roles of glutamate-alpha170 and aspartate-alpha335 in coenzyme B12-dependent diol dehydratase

The importance of each active-site residue in adenosylcobalamin-dependent diol dehydratase of Klebsiella oxytoca was estimated using mutant enzymes in which one of the residues interacting with substrate and/or K(+) was mutated to Ala or another amino acid residue. The Ealpha170A and Dalpha335A mutants were totally inactive, and the Halpha143A mutant showed only a trace of activity, indicating that Glu-alpha170, Asp-alpha335, and His-alpha143 are catalytic residues. The Qalpha141A, Qalpha296A, and Salpha362A mutants showed partial activity. It was suggested from kinetic parameters that Gln-alpha296 is important for substrate binding and Gln-alpha296 and Gln-alpha141 for preventing the enzyme from mechanism-based inactivation. The Ealpha221A, Ealpha170H, and Dalpha335A did not form the (alphabetagamma)(2) complex, suggesting that these mutations indirectly disrupt subunit contacts. Among other Glu-alpha170 and Asp-alpha335 mutants, Ealpha170D and Ealpha170Q were 2.2 +/- 0.3% and 0.02% as active as the wild-type enzyme, respectively, whereas Dalpha335N was totally inactive. Kinetic analysis indicated that the presence and the position of a carboxyl group in the residue alpha170 are essential for catalysis as well as for the continuous progress of catalytic cycles. It was suggested that the roles of Glu-alpha170 and Asp-alpha335 are to participate in the binding of substrate and intermediates and keep them appropriately oriented and to function as a base in the dehydration of the 1,1-diol intermediate. In addition, Glu-alpha170 seems to stabilize the transition state for the hydroxyl group migration from C2 to C1 by accepting the proton of the spectator hydroxyl group on C1.     

NDR2 acts as the upstream kinase of ARK5 during insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling

ARK5 is a tumor progression-associated factor that is directly phosphorylated by AKT at serine 600 in the regulatory domain, but phosphorylation at the conserved threonine residue on the active T loop has been found to be required for its full activation. In this study, we identified serine/threonine protein kinase NDR2 as a protein kinase that phosphorylates and activates ARK5 during insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling. Upon stimulation with IGF-1, NDR2 was found to directly phosphorylate the conserved threonine 211 on the active T loop of ARK5 and to promote cell survival and invasion of colorectal cancer cell lines through ARK5. During IGF-1 signaling, phosphorylation at three residues (threonine 75, serine 282, and threonine 442) was also found to be required for NDR2 activation. Among these three residues, phosphorylation of serine 282 seemed to be the most important for NDR2 activation (the same as for the mouse homologue) because its aspartic acid-converted mutant (NDR2/S282D) induced ARK5-mediated cell survival and invasion activities even in the absence of IGF-1. As in the mouse homologue, threonine 75 in NDR2 was required for interaction with S100B, and binding was in a calcium ion- and phospholipase C-gamma-dependent manner. We also found that PDK-1 plays an important role in NDR2 activation especially in the phosphorylation of threonine 442. Based on the results of this study, we report here that NDR2 is an upstream kinase of ARK5 that plays an essential role in tumor progression through ARK5.     

A pull-down assay for 5' AMP-activated protein kinase activity using the GST-fused protein

An assay using a specific peptide (SAMS peptide) as a substrate is widely used for determination of AMP-activated protein kinases (AMPK) activity. However, it is not an efficient assay for crude AMPK preparations. In this study, we modified the assay by using the SAMS peptide fused to glutathione-S-transferase (GST-SAMS) instead of the SAMS peptide on its own. Radioactivity incorporated into GST-SAMS can be recovered easily by precipitation with glutathione-agarose. The kinetic parameters of partially purified AMPK for the GST-SAMS were as follows. The V_max was 0.26±0.012 nmol/min/mg of total proteins and K _m for GST-SAMS was 110±12 μM. The parameters for ATP were 0.40±0.016 nmol/min/mg of total proteins (V_max) and 202±21 μM (K _m ). The activity of AMPK in this system was stimulated about threefold by the AMPK activators, AMP or 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide ribotide (ZMP), and inhibited by the AMPK inhibitors, adenine 9-β-d-arabinofuranoside (ara-A) and iodotubercidin. These values correlate well with those for the SAMS peptide reported previously. Thus, we succcssfully established a convenient and rapid method to measure AMPK applicable, even for crude enzyme preparations.     

Ion flow regulates left–right asymmetry in sea urchin development

The degree of conservation among phyla of early mechanisms that pattern the left–right (LR) axis is poorly understood. Larvae of sea urchins exhibit consistently oriented LR asymmetry. The main part of the adult rudiment is formed from the left coelomic sac of larvae, the left hydrocoel. Although this left preference is conserved among all echinoderm larvae, its mechanism is largely not understood. Using two marker genes, HpNot and HpFoxFQ-like, which are asymmetrically expressed during larval development of the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, we examined in this study the possibility that the recently discovered ion flux mechanism controls asymmetry in sea urchins as it does in several vertebrate species. Several ion-transporter inhibitors were screened for the ability to alter the expression of the asymmetric marker genes. Blockers of the H⁺/K⁺-ATPase (omeprazole, lansoprazole and SCH28080), as well as a calcium ionophore (A23187), significantly altered the normal sidedness of asymmetric gene expression. Exposure to omeprazole disrupted the consistent asymmetry of adult rudiment formation in larvae. Immuno-detection revealed that H⁺/K⁺-ATPase-like antigens in sea urchin embryos were present through blastula stage and exhibited a striking asymmetry being present in a single blastomere in 32-cell embryos. These results suggest that, as in vertebrates, endogenous spatially-regulated early transport of H⁺ and/or K⁺, and also of Ca²⁺, functions in the establishment of LR asymmetry in sea urchin development.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Clonal origin of germ cell colonies after spermatogonial transplantation in mice

Spermatogenesis originates from a small number of spermatogonial stem cells that can reinitiate spermatogenesis and produce germ cell colonies following transplantation into infertile recipient testes. Although several previous studies have suggested a single-cell origin of germ cell colonies, only indirect evidence has been presented. In this investigation, we tested the clonal origin hypothesis using a retrovirus, which could specifically mark an individual spermatogonial stem cell. Spermatogonial stem cells were infected in vitro with an enhanced green fluorescence protein-expressing retrovirus and subsequently transplanted into infertile recipient mice. Live haploid germ cells were recovered from individual colonies and were microinjected into eggs to create offspring. In total, 45 offspring were produced from five colonies, and 23 (51%) of the offspring were transgenic. Southern blot analysis indicated that the transgenic offspring from the single colony carried a common integration site, and the integration site was different among the transgenic offspring from different colonies. These results provide evidence that germ cell colonies develop from single spermatogonial stem cells.