The small GTPase Cdc42 interacts with Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) and controls its movement from endocytic recycling compartment to plasma membrane in a cholesterol-dependent manner

Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) is a multi-transmembrane protein that mediates the absorption of dietary and biliary cholesterol through vesicular endocytosis. The subcellular localization of NPC1L1 is regulated by cholesterol. Cholesterol depletion induces the transport of NPC1L1 to plasma membrane (PM) from endocytic recycling compartment that requires MyoVb·Rab11a·Rab11-FIP2 triple complex, and cholesterol-replenishment renders the internalization of NPC1L1 together with cholesterol. Here, we find that GTP-bound Cdc42 interacts with NPC1L1. Cholesterol depletion regulates the activation of Cdc42 and enhances NPC1L1-Cdc42 interaction. Overexpression of constitutive GTP-bound Cdc42 mutant form or knockdown of Cdc42 inhibits the transport of NPC1L1 to the PM and disturbs the cholesterol-regulated binding of NPC1L1 to Rab11a, MyoVb, and actin. Knockdown of Cdc42 downstream effectors N-WASP or Arp3 also leads to the similar results. In liver-specific Cdc42 knock-out (Cdc42 LKO) mice, NPC1L1 fails to localize to bile canaliculi, and the biliary cholesterol cannot be efficiently reabsorbed. These results indicate that Cdc42 controls the cholesterol-regulated transport and localization of NPC1L1, and plays a role in cholesterol absorption.     

Forward Genetic Screening for Regulators Involved in Cholesterol Synthesis Using Validation-Based Insertional Mutagenesis

Somatic cell genetics is a powerful approach for unraveling the regulatory mechanism of cholesterol metabolism. However, it is difficult to identify the mutant gene(s) due to cells are usually mutagenized chemically or physically. To identify important genes controlling cholesterol biosynthesis, an unbiased forward genetics approach named validation-based insertional mutagenesis (VBIM) system was used to isolate and characterize the 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC)-resistant and SR-12813-resisitant mutants. Here we report that five mutant cell lines were isolated. Among which, four sterol-resistant mutants either contain a truncated NH₂-terminal domain of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-2 terminating at amino acids (aa) 400, or harbor an overexpressed SREBP cleavage-activating protein (SCAP). Besides, one SR-12813 resistant mutant was identified to contain a truncated COOH-terminal catalytic domain of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase). This study demonstrates that the VBIM system can be a powerful tool to screen novel regulatory genes in cholesterol biosynthesis.     

人α-乳清蛋白基因的克隆及其在转基因小鼠中高效表达

从粘粒文库中筛选出人α-乳清蛋白基因,构建9.5 kb的转基因表达载体.利用显微注射的方法获得68只F₀代小鼠,经PCR检测和DNA印迹分析证实有8只小鼠（4♂,4♀）为整合人α-乳清蛋白基因的转基因阳性小鼠,整合率为11.7%,整合拷贝数在1至8之间.利用SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳检测和蛋白质印迹分析,4只雌性F₀代转基因阳性小鼠全部表达了人α-乳清蛋白.放射免疫测定法测定,含量分别为0.62 g/L、0.48 g/L、0.56 g/L、3.21 g/L;同时测定F₀代50号转基因公鼠的后代阳性母鼠（50-2号）乳样中人α-乳清蛋白含量也达到1.03 g/L,证明由原代转基因公鼠遗传给后代的人α-乳清蛋白基因亦获得了稳定的表达.所构建的人α-乳清蛋白转基因载体具有结构较小,表达量高,可以稳定遗传等优点.为利用人α-乳清蛋白基因改善牛乳成分和品质奠定了基础.     

Two human ACAT2 mRNA variants produced by alternative splicing and coding for novel isoenzymes

Acyl coenzyme A：cholesterol acyltransferase 2 （ACAT2） plays an important role in cholesterol absorption. Human ACAT2 is highly expressed in small intestine and fetal liver, but its expression is greatly diminished in adult liver. The full-length human ACAT2 mRNA encodes a protein, designated ACAT2a, with 522 amino acids. We have previously reported the organization of the human ACAT2 gene and the differentiation-dependent promoter activity in intestinal Caco-2 cells. In the current work, two human ACAT2 mRNA variants produced by alternative splicing are cloned and predicted to encode two novel ACAT2 isoforms, named ACAT2b and ACAT2c, with 502 and 379 amino acids, respectively. These mRNA variants differ from ACAT2a mRNA by lack of the exon 4 （ACAT2b mRNA） and exons 4-5 plus 8-9-10 （ACAT2c mRNA）. Significantly, comparable amounts of the alternatively spliced ACAT2 mRNA variants were detected by RT- PCR, and Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of their corresponding proteins in human liver and intestine cells. Furthermore, phosphorylation and enzymatic activity analyses demonstrated that the novel isoenzymes ACAT2b and ACAT2c lacked the phosphorylatable site SLLD, and their enzymatic activities reduced to 25%-35% of that of ACAT2a. These evidences indicate that alternative splicing produces two human ACAT2 mRNA variants that encode the novel ACAT2 isoenzymes. Our findings might help to understand the regulation of the ACAT2 gene expression under certain physiological and pathological conditions.     

毛细管电泳测定蛋白激酶A活力的新方法

建立了以毛细管电泳为基础的蛋白激酶Ａ活力测定的新方法,对其他一些激酶的活力测定具有一定的通用性。此方法是基于蛋白激酶Ａ的检测底物及其磷酸化产物容易在毛细管电泳中分开,并且可以通过在线检测进行积分定量。同时发展了连续进样技术,使能在一个电泳过程中分析十个以上的样品,大大节省分析时间和费用。     

Hitching a ride to the top: peroxisomes fuel cilium with cholesterol

正Primary cilium, which protrudes from the cell, is a microtubule-based structure ensheathed by a highly specialized plasma membrane (PM). It serves as a signaling hub for sensing and transducing various external stimuli including fluids, light, odorants as well as extracellular molecules.