Altering Developmental Trajectories in Mice by Restricted Index Selection

A restricted index selection experiment on mice was carried out for 14 generations on rate of early postnatal development (growth rate from birth to 10 days of age) vs. rate of development much later in ontogeny (growth rate from 28 to 56 days of age). Early rate of development (E) approximates hyperplasia (changes in cell number) and later rate (L) reflects hypertropy (changes in cell size). The selection criteria were as follows: E+L0 was selected to increase early body weight gain while holding late body weight gain constant; E-L0 was selected to decrease early body gain while holding late gain constant; E0L+ was selected to increase late gain holding early gain constant; and E0L- was selected to decrease late gain holding early gain constant. After 14 generations of selection, significant divergence among lines has occurred and the changes in the growth trajectories are very close to expectation. The genetic and developmental bases of complex traits are discussed as well as the concept of developmental homoplasy.     

Involvement of the fastigial nuclei in vagally mediated respiratory responses

Xu, Fadi, and Donald T. Frazier. Involvement of thefastigial nuclei in vagally mediated respiratory responses.J. Appl. Physiol. 82(6):1853-1861, 1997.Previous studies have demonstrated that thecerebellum, especially the fastigial nucleus (FN), is capable ofmodulating respiratory responses to chemical and mechanical stimuli.Because there is evidence to show projections from vagal afferents tothe FN, the goal of this study was to determine the role of the FN inthe respiratory reflexes elicited by activation of vagal afferents.Experiments were performed in anesthetized (chloralose), paralyzed, andartificially ventilated cats with an occipital exposure of thecerebellum. Administration of capsaicin (Cap; 5-10 µg/kg) viathe right external jugular vein at the end of inspiration andapplication of lung inflation (LI; 10 cmH₂O) during inspiration werecarried out to stimulate nonmyelinated and myelinated vagal afferents,respectively. The phrenic neurogram was recorded as anindex of the respiratory motor output. Control cardiorespiratoryvariables [expiratory duration(TE), arterial bloodpressure] and their immediate responses to stimuli were comparedbefore and after bilateral lesions of the FN. The results showed thefollowing. 1) Capinjection and LI resulted in a dramatic increase inTE (apnea).2) FN lesions did not significantlyalter the control TE; however,the apneic duration induced by Cap injection was prolonged.3) Neither FN lesions norcerebellectomy affected the apneic duration that resulted fromapplication of LI. 4) Cold blockadeof the vagi (6-8°C) eliminated the respiratory responses elicited by LI but not Cap injection; vagotomy abolished the responses to both stimuli. 5) FN lesions didnot change the control ABP or its responses to either LI or Capinjection. It is concluded that the FN is involved in vagally mediatedrespiratory reflexes elicited by activation of nonmyelinated (C-fiber)vagal afferents.

     

稀土元素Pr~(3+)、Nd~(3+)对蚕豆(Vicia feba)叶片原生质膜上Ca~(2+)·Mg~(2+)-ATPase活性的影响

本文介绍用二相分配法制备蚕豆叶片原生质膜上的Ca~(2+)·Mg~(2+)-ATPase,用以研究镧系,稀土离子对此酶活性的影响。初步证实Pr~(3+)、Nd~(3+)对依赖于CaM的以及不依赖于CaM的蚕豆叶片原生质膜上Ca~(2+)·Mg~(2+)-ATPase活性的抑制不是CaM专一的。     

Serine utilization as a precursor of phosphatidylserine and alkenyl-(plasmenyl)-, alkyl-, and acylethanolamine phosphoglycerides in cultured glioma cells

In several tissues and cell lines, serine utilized for phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis is an eventual precursor of the base moiety of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (PE). We investigated the biosynthesis and decarboxylation of PS in cultured C6 glioma cells, with particular attention to 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (plasmenylethanolamine) biosynthesis. Incorporation of [3H]serine into PS reached a maximum within 4-8 h, and label in nonplasmenylethanolamine phosphoglyceride (NP-PE) and plasmenylethanolamine was maximal by 12-24 h and 48 h, respectively. After 8 h, label in PS decreased even though 40-60% of initial label remained in the culture medium. Serial additions of fresh [3H]serine restored PS synthesis to higher levels of labeled PS accumulation followed by a subsequent decrease in 4-8 h. High performance liquid chromatographic analyses confirmed that medium serine was depleted by 8 h, and thereafter metabolites, including acetate and formate, accounted for radioactivity in the medium. The rapid but transient appearance of labeled glycine and ATP inside the cells indicated conversion of serine by hydroxymethyltransferase. 78-85% of label from serine was in headgroup of PS or of PE formed by decarboxylation. A precursor-product relationship was suggested for label from [3H]serine appearing in the headgroup of diacyl, alkylacyl, and alkenylacyl subclasses of PE. By 48 h, a constant specific activity, ratio of approximately 1:1 was reached between plasmenylethanolamine and NP-PE, similar to the molar distribution of these lipids. In contrast, equilibrium was not achieved in cells incubated with [1,2-14C]ethanolamine; plasmenylethanolamine had 2-fold greater specific activity than labeled NP-PE by 72-96 h. These observations indicate that in cultured glioma cells 1) serine serves as a precursor of the head group of PS and of both plasmenyl and non-plasmenyl species of PE; 2) exchange of headgroup between NP-PE and plasmenylethanolamine may involve different donor pools of PE depending on whether the headgroup originates with exogenous serine or ethanolamine; 3) serine is rapidly converted to other metabolites, which limits exogenous serine as a direct phospholipid precursor.     

Identification of six phosphorylation sites in the COOH-terminal tail region of the rat neurofilament protein M.

The COOH-terminal tail domain of the neurofilament polypeptide M from rat nervous tissue contains approximately six molecules of phosphate. We report here that protein kinases in a crude cytoskeleton preparation of rat nervous tissue phosphorylated a set of tryptic peptides of M similar (but not identical) to those phosphorylated by living dorsal root ganglion cells in culture. Using these phosphopeptides as markers, we purified these same peptides from rat spinal cord and identified six specific phosphorylation sites in M by enzymatic and chemical criteria. These sites, serines 502, 506, 536, 606, 608, and 666, are all located in the COOH-terminal tail domain. Four are embedded in the repeated motif KSP whereas two are within variants of this motif, KSD and ESP. All of the sites that were preceded by lysine were resistant to alkaline phosphatase prior to modification of the lysine with citraconic anhydride. The identification of these sites should aid in investigations of the function of the phosphorylation of this protein and provides criteria for identifying the relevant kinases.     

Cryo-EM structure of the fatty acid reductase LuxC–LuxE complex provides insights into bacterial bioluminescence

The discovery of reduced flavin mononucleotide and fatty aldehydes as essential factors of light emission facilitated study of bacterial luminescence. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial luminescence have been studied for more than 60 years, the structure of the bacterial fatty acid reductase complex remains unclear. Here, we report the cryo-EM structure of the Photobacterium phosphoreum fatty acid reductase complex LuxC–LuxE to a resolution of 2.79 Å. We show that the active site Lys238/Arg355 pair of LuxE is >30 Å from the active site Cys296 of LuxC, implying that catalysis relies on a large conformational change. Furthermore, mutagenesis and biochemical experiments support that the L-shaped cleft inside LuxC plays an important role in substrate binding and reaction. We obtained a series of mutants with significantly improved activity as measured by in vitro bioluminescence assays and demonstrated that the double mutant W111A/F483K displayed the highest activity (370% of the WT). Our results indicated that the activity of LuxC significantly affects the bacterial bioluminescence reaction. Finally, we expressed this mutated lux operon in Escherichia coli but observed that the in vivo concentrations of ATP and NADPH limited the enzyme activity; thus, we conclude that the luminous intensity mainly depends on the level of metabolic energy.     

SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein causes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like pathological damages and constitutes an antiviral target

Cytokine storm and multi-organ failure are the main causes of SARS-CoV-2-related death. However, the origin of excessive damages caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains largely unknown. Here we show that the SARS-CoV-2 envelope (2-E) protein alone is able to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like damages in vitro and in vivo. 2-E proteins were found to form a type of pH-sensitive cation channels in bilayer lipid membranes. As observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells, heterologous expression of 2-E channels induced rapid cell death in various susceptible cell types and robust secretion of cytokines and chemokines in macrophages. Intravenous administration of purified 2-E protein into mice caused ARDS-like pathological damages in lung and spleen. A dominant negative mutation lowering 2-E channel activity attenuated cell death and SARS-CoV-2 production. Newly identified channel inhibitors exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and excellent cell protective activity in vitro and these activities were positively correlated with inhibition of 2-E channel. Importantly, prophylactic and therapeutic administration of the channel inhibitor effectively reduced both the viral load and secretion of inflammation cytokines in lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE-2). Our study supports that 2-E is a promising drug target against SARS-CoV-2.Subject terms: Cell death, Molecular biology