Infrared and 31P-NMR studies of the interaction of Mg2+ with phosphatidylserines: effect of hydrocarbon chain unsaturation

Infrared and 31P-NMR spectra of aqueous dispersions of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DMPS), 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (POPS), 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DOPS) and ox brain phosphatidylserine in the presence of excess Mg2+ have been recorded. A consistent picture emerges from the application of infrared and 31P-NMR spectroscopy to Mg2+-PS interactions. Mg2+ forms crystalline complexes with saturated phosphatidylserines, such as DMPS, and probably with POPS. In these crystalline PS-Mg2+ complexes the phosphate group loses its water of hydration but the serine carboxylate remains hydrated. Furthermore, there is formation of an additional hydrogen bond to one of the ester carbonyl groups of DMPS, and interchain interactions appear to be enhanced as reflected by a tighter packing of the fatty acyl chains. One main conclusion of this work is that Mg2+ binding to PS bilayers shows a gradation, the binding is in the order DMPS greater than POPS greater than ox brain PS greater than DOPS. The molecular area increases in the order DMPS less than ox brain PS less than POPS less than DOPS and is apparently an important parameter determining the affinity of PS for Mg2+. The general trend is that with increasing molecular area, and hence spacing of the ligands, the binding of Mg2+ decreases. While PS with two saturated fatty acyl chains forms tightly packed, crystalline Mg2+ complexes with an immobilized headgroup, the unsaturated PS molecules such as ox brain PS and DOPS interact only weakly with Mg2+. Their interaction seems to be restricted to electrostatic shielding, since no major changes in molecular conformation, chain packing and headgroup hydration are found. The interaction of POPS with Mg2+ is intermediate between that of saturated PS and that of DOPS. POPS exhibits a higher affinity for Mg2+ than ox brain PS, although their molecular areas (and the surface charge density) are approximately the same. This apparent anomaly is proposed to be due to a discreteness of charge effect. It is proposed that a lipid surface with regularly spaced polar groups has a higher affinity for binding Mg2+.     

Infrared studies of fully hydrated saturated phosphatidylserine bilayers. Effect of Li+ and Ca2+

The thermotropic phase behavior of fully hydrated Na+ and/or NH4+ salts of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DMPS) was determined by temperature-dependent infrared spectra. The molecular level properties and thermal phase behavior of DMPS-Li+ complexes were also characterized by infrared spectroscopy. With increasing concentrations of Li+, the infrared spectra reveal the appearance of a second, more ordered, lipid phase which shows a gel to liquid-crystal transition at significantly higher temperatures (75-95 degrees C) than the Na+ or NH4+ salts of DMPS (39 degrees C). Li+ binds to the phosphate and carboxylate groups of DMPS, resulting in the following changes: (1) water of hydration is lost from both the carboxylate and phosphate groups; (2) there are changes in the conformation of the glycerol backbone but not in the P-O ester bonds of the phosphate group which remain in the gauche-gauche conformation; and (3) the packing of the fatty acyl chains becomes more ordered. In addition, the properties of the DMPS-Ca2+ complex were studied by infrared spectroscopy. While the DMPS-Ca2+ complex is also characterized by rigidly packed, well-ordered fatty acyl chains, the mode of Ca2+ binding to the DMPS head groups differs significantly from that of Li+ binding. By comparison, with dry DMPS-Ca2+ [Casal, H. L., Mantsch, H. H., Paltauf, F., & Hauser, H. (1987) Biochim. Biophys. Acta (in press)], the phosphate group undergoes a conformational change, probably to the antiplanar-antiplanar conformation, and loses its water of hydration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Proteomic analysis of the resistance to aplidin in human cancer cells

Aplidin (plitidepsin) is an antitumoral agent that induces apoptosis via Rac1-JNK activation. A proteomic approach using 2D-DIGE technology found 52 cytosolic and 39 membrane proteins differentially expressed in wild-type and Aplidin-resistant HeLa cells, of which 39 and 27 were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and database interrogation. A number of proteins involved in apoptosis pathways were found to be deregulated. Alterations in Rab geranylgeranyltransferase, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), cystathionine gamma-lyase, ezrin, and cyclophilin A (CypA) were confirmed by immunoblotting. Moreover, the role of PDI and CypA in Aplidin resistance was functionally confirmed by using the inhibitor bacitracin and overexpression, respectively. These deregulated proteins are candidates to mediate, at least partially, Aplidin action and might provide a route to the cells to escape the induction of apoptosis by this drug.     

Biodiversity of Saccharomyces yeast strains from grape berries of wine-producing areas using starter commercial yeasts

The use of commercial wine yeast strains as starters has grown extensively over the past two decades. In this study, a large-scale sampling plan was devised over a period of 3 years in three different vineyards in the south of France, to evaluate autochthonous wine yeast biodiversity in vineyards around wineries where active dry yeasts have been used as fermentation starters for more than 5 years. Seventy-two spontaneous fermentations were completed from a total of 106 grape samples, and 2160 colonies were isolated. Among these, 608 Saccharomyces strains were identified and 104 different chromosomal patterns found. The large majority of these (91) were found as unique patterns, indicating great biodiversity. There were differences in biodiversity according to the vineyard and year, showing that the biodiversity of Saccharomyces strains is influenced by climatic conditions and specific factors associated with the vineyards, such as age and size. Strains that were terroir yeast candidates were not found. The biodiversity of S. cerevisiae strains after harvest was similar to that in the early campaign; moreover, a temporal succession of S. cerevisiae strains is shown. This fact, together with the differences in biodiversity levels verifies that other factors were more important than commercial yeast utilization in the biodiversity of the vineyard.     

A molecular switch on an arrestin-like protein relays glucose signaling to transporter endocytosis

Endocytosis regulates the plasma membrane protein landscape in response to environmental cues. In yeast, the endocytosis of transporters depends on their ubiquitylation by the Nedd4-like ubiquitin ligase Rsp5, but how extracellular signals trigger this ubiquitylation is unknown. Various carbon source transporters are known to be ubiquitylated and endocytosed when glucose-starved cells are exposed to glucose. We show that this required the conserved arrestin-related protein Rod1/Art4, which was activated in response to glucose addition. Indeed, Rod1 was a direct target of the glucose signaling pathway composed of the AMPK homologue Snf1 and the PP1 phosphatase Glc7/Reg1. Glucose promoted Rod1 dephosphorylation and its subsequent release from a phospho-dependent interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Consequently, this allowed Rod1 ubiquitylation by Rsp5, which was a prerequisite for transporter endocytosis. This paper therefore demonstrates that the arrestin-related protein Rod1 relays glucose signaling to transporter endocytosis and provides the first molecular insights into the nutrient-induced activation of an arrestin-related protein through a switch in post-translational modifications.     

Proteomic analysis of p38alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase-regulated changes in membrane fractions of RAS-transformed fibroblasts

Oncogenic Ras signaling has been long known to play an important role in tumorigenesis and human cancer. In this report, we have used the sensitive 2-D-DIGE coupled to MS for the identification of proteins differentially expressed at the cell membrane level between oncogenic H-RasV12-transformed wild-type and p38alpha-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs). Following trifluoroethanol solubilization, 76 proteins were found to be differentially regulated. After PMF, 63 spots containing 42 different proteins were unequivocally identified by MALDI-TOF MS coupled with database interrogation. As expected, many of them were membrane proteins. Six proteins were selected for further validation studies based on their potential functional link with malignant transformation and signal transduction. These were prohibitin (PHB), protein disulfide isomerase 3 (PDIA3), focal adhesion kinase 2 (FAK2), c-GMP dependent protein kinase 2 (KGP2), NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase 30 kDa subunit (NUGM) and translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP). All these proteins were up-regulated in the membranes of H-RasV12-transformed p38alpha-/-cells, except for prohibitin, which was down-regulated. An excellent correlation was found between DIGE results and Western blot studies, indicating the reliability of the 2-D-DIGE analysis. The available evidence about the putative function of the identified proteins supports the emerging role of p38alpha as a negative regulator of tumorigenesis. Further studies are in progress to elucidate the implications of these findings in the regulation of H-Ras-induced transformation by p38alpha signaling.     

Global Documentation of Fish Introductions: the Growing Crisis and Recommendations for Action

Fish provides 15% of the total animal protein in human diets. It is also the primary source of livelihood for 35 million people (30 M in Asia and 2.6 M in Africa). The increase in global population and demand for fish protein cannot be met by capture fisheries alone. Governments are turning towards aquaculture as the source of fish protein. However, it has also led to the introduction and establishment of non-native species in local ecosystems through their escapement from aquaculture facilities to the wild. In freshwater ecosystems with relatively high endemism, this has become a significant problem. Documenting the international movement of fish is one way of providing a general view of the magnitude of these movements and the existing and potential threat faced by ecosystems due to species invasiveness. Information, however, is limited and scattered in different journals and agency/project reports. Several agencies, both local and international, have databases that provide information on invasive species (terrestrial and aquatic, local, regional or international in scope). The critical challenge is for consolidation, common access through data sharing and development of risk assessment and management tools. This is proposed through the use of Internet technology, sharing of databases or having a gateway or portal to which all introduced and invasive fish species related databases link. The fusion of these information sources will allow access to updated and reliable information. The experience of the WorldFish Center in documenting these phenomena through developing the FishBase information system and global partnerships is presented with recommendations for harmonizing approaches. An erratum to this article is available at .     

High-irradiance responses induced by far-red light in grass seedlings of the wild type or overexpressing phytochrome A

The occurrence of phytochrome-mediated highirradiance responses (HIR), previously characterised largely in dicotyledonous plants, was investigated in Triticum aestivum L., Zea mays L., Lolium multiflorum Lam. and in both wild-type Oryza sativa L. and in transgenic plants overexpressing oat phytochrome A under the control of a 35S promoter. Coleoptile growth was promoted (maize, ryegrass) or inhibited (wild-type rice) by continuous far-red light (FRc). However, at equal fluences, hourly pulses of far-red light (FRp) were equally effective, indicating that the growth responses to FRc were not true HIR. In contrast, in maize and rice, FRc increased anthocyanin content in the coleoptile in a fluence-rate dependent manner. This response was a true HIR as FRp had reduced effects. In maize, anthocyanin levels were significantly higher under FRc than under continuous red light. In rice, overexpression of phytochrome A increased the inhibition of coleoptile growth and the levels of anthocyanin under FRc but not under FRp or under continuous red light. The effect of FRc was fluence-rate dependent. In light-grown rice, overexpression of phytochrome A reduced leaf-sheath length, impaired the response to supplementary far-red light, but did not affect the response to canopy shade-light. In grasses, typical HIR, i.e. fluence-rate dependent responses showing reciprocity failure, can be induced by FRc. Under FRc, overexpressed phytochrome A operates through this action mode in transgenic rice.Abbreviations FR far-red light - FRc continuous far-red light - FRp pulses of far-red light - HIR high-irradiance responses - LFR low-fluence responses - OPHYA transgenic rice overexpressing oat phytochrome A - Pfr far-red light-absorbing form of phytochrome - phyA phytochrome A - R red light - Rc continuous red light - VLFR very low-fluence responses - WT wildtype We thank Marcelo J. Yanovsky for his help with the photographs and Professor Rodolfo A. Sanchez for providing a reprint of the paper by P.J.A.L. de Lint. This work was supported by grants from UBA (AG041) and Fundacion Antorchas (A-13218/1-15) to J.J.C.