Activation of the Ca2+-sensing receptor stimulates the activity of the epithelial Ca2+ channel TRPV5

The extracellular Ca²⁺-sensing receptor (CaR) is a key-player in plasma Ca²⁺ homeostasis. It is essentially expressed in the parathyroid glands and along the kidney nephron. The distal convoluted tubules (DCT) and connecting tubules (CNT) in the kidney are involved in active Ca²⁺ reabsorption, but the function of the CaR has remained unclear in these segments. Here, the Ca²⁺-selective Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid-subtype 5 channel (TRPV5) determines active Ca²⁺ reabsorption by forming the apical entry gate. In this study we show that the CaR and TRPV5 co-localize at the luminal membrane of DCT/CNT. Furthermore, by patch-clamp and Fura-2-ratiometric measurements we demonstrate that activation of the CaR leads to elevated TRPV5-mediated currents and increases intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations in cells co-expressing TRPV5 and CaR. Activation of CaR initiated a signaling cascade that activated phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-insensitive protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Importantly, mutation of two putative PKC phosphorylation sites, S299 and S654, in TRPV5 prevented the stimulatory effect of CaR activation on channel activity, as did a dominant negative CaR construct, CaR^R185Q. Interestingly, the activity of TRPV6, TRPV5′ closest homologue, was not affected by the activated CaR. We conclude that activation of the CaR stimulates TRPV5-mediated Ca²⁺ influx via a PMA-insensitive PKC isoform pathway.     

No evidence of inhibition of horizontal gene transfer by CRISPR–Cas on evolutionary timescales

The CRISPR (clustered, regularly, interspaced, short, palindromic repeats)–Cas (CRISPR-associated genes) systems of archaea and bacteria provide adaptive immunity against viruses and other selfish elements and are believed to curtail horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Limiting acquisition of new genetic material could be one of the sources of the fitness cost of CRISPR–Cas maintenance and one of the causes of the patchy distribution of CRISPR–Cas among bacteria, and across environments. We sought to test the hypothesis that the activity of CRISPR–Cas in microbes is negatively correlated with the extent of recent HGT. Using three independent measures of HGT, we found no significant dependence between the length of CRISPR arrays, which reflects the activity of the immune system, and the estimated number of recent HGT events. In contrast, we observed a significant negative dependence between the estimated extent of HGT and growth temperature of microbes, which could be explained by the lower genetic diversity in hotter environments. We hypothesize that the relevant events in the evolution of resistance to mobile elements and proclivity for HGT, to which CRISPR–Cas systems seem to substantially contribute, occur on the population scale rather than on the timescale of species evolution.     

Racial differences in genome-wide methylation profiling and gene expression in breast tissues from healthy women

Breast cancer is more common in European Americans (EAs) than in African Americans (AAs) but mortality from breast cancer is higher among AAs. While there are racial differences in DNA methylation and gene expression in breast tumors, little is known whether such racial differences exist in breast tissues of healthy women. Genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression profiling was performed in histologically normal breast tissues of healthy women. Linear regression models were used to identify differentially-methylated CpG sites (CpGs) between EAs (n = 61) and AAs (n = 22). Correlations for methylation and expression were assessed. Biological functions of the differentially-methylated genes were assigned using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Among 485 differentially-methylated CpGs by race, 203 were hypermethylated in EAs, and 282 were hypermethylated in AAs. Promoter-related differentially-methylated CpGs were more frequently hypermethylated in EAs (52%) than AAs (27%) while gene body and intergenic CpGs were more frequently hypermethylated in AAs. The differentially-methylated CpGs were enriched for cancer-associated genes with roles in cell death and survival, cellular development, and cell-to-cell signaling. In a separate analysis for correlation in EAs and AAs, different patterns of correlation were found between EAs and AAs. The correlated genes showed different biological networks between EAs and AAs; networks were connected by Ubiquitin C. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive genome-wide study to identify differences in methylation and gene expression between EAs and AAs in breast tissues from healthy women. These findings may provide further insights regarding the contribution of epigenetic differences to racial disparities in breast cancer.     

Collagen functionalized with unsaturated cyclic anhydrides—interactions in solution and solid state

Maleic anhydride (CMA) and itaconic anhydride modified collagen (CITA) were prepared as precursors for production of interpenetrated polymer networks (IPN). Calculated values for Huggins coefficient in aqueous diluted and semi‐diluted solutions of modified collagen indicated a slightly tendency of aggregation for itaconic anhydride‐modified collagen. In semi‐diluted solution collagen (Coll) and CMA present slightly differences in the thixotropic behavior, while CITA has a pronounced thixotropic behavior. Flow and oscillatory measurements revealed an elastic behavior of the collagen solutions, pure and modified with MA or ITA, as the storage modulus (G′) has always a superior value compared with the loss modulus (G″). The denaturation temperature (T_d) of unmodified collagen increased from 34^oC to 40^oC for CMA and to 39^oC for CITA respectively, by formation of covalent bonds that stabilize the triple helix. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 101: 228–236, 2014.     

Necessity,Futility and the Possibility of Defining Life are all Embedded in its Origin as a Punctuated-gradualism

The criteria used for defining life are influenced by various philosophical visions about life, ranging from holism to reductionism and from mechanistic-reductionism to vitalism. Using different scenarios about the origin and evolution of life as well as properties of energy-dissipative systems, artificial life simulations and basic tenets of xenobiology, guidelines can be established for formulating a definition of life. A definition of life is proposed that is parametric, non-Earth-centric, quantitative and capable of discriminating ‘living entities’ from ‘life’. Living entities are defined as self-maintained systems, capable of adaptive evolution individually, collectively or as a line of descend. Life is a broader concept indicating that the capacity to express these attributes is either virtual or actual. At least four major phase transitions can be recognized during the origin of life (reflexive activity; self-regulated homeostasis; the advent of informatons and the origin of adaptive evolution); these make the origin and evolution of early life an example of ‘punctuated gradualism’. Such phase transitions can be used to identify a boundary in early evolution where life began. This contribution identifies the step in the evolution of a dynamic system when digital control of the system’s state becomes dominant over analogical control, and genetic information is irreversibly used for adaptive evolution, as the boundary between non-living and living systems.     

MicroDSC study of Staphylococcus epidermidis growth

Background  

A microcalorimetric study was carried out using a Staphylococcus epidermidis population to determine the reproducibility of bacterial growth and the variability of the results within certain experimental parameters (temperature, bacterial concentration, sample thermal history). Reproducibility tests were performed as series of experiments within the same conditions using either freshly prepared populations or samples kept in cold storage. In both cases, the samples were obtained by serial dilution from a concentrated TSB bacterial inoculum incubated overnight.     

Neuron Specific Rab4 Effector GRASP-1 Coordinates Membrane Specialization and Maturation of Recycling Endosomes

The endosomal pathway in neuronal dendrites is essential for membrane receptor trafficking and proper synaptic function and plasticity. However, the molecular mechanisms that organize specific endocytic trafficking routes are poorly understood. Here, we identify GRIP-associated protein-1 (GRASP-1) as a neuron-specific effector of Rab4 and key component of the molecular machinery that coordinates recycling endosome maturation in dendrites. We show that GRASP-1 is necessary for AMPA receptor recycling, maintenance of spine morphology, and synaptic plasticity. At the molecular level, GRASP-1 segregates Rab4 from EEA1/Neep21/Rab5-positive early endosomal membranes and coordinates the coupling to Rab11-labelled recycling endosomes by interacting with the endosomal SNARE syntaxin 13. We propose that GRASP-1 connects early and late recycling endosomal compartments by forming a molecular bridge between Rab-specific membrane domains and the endosomal SNARE machinery. The data uncover a new mechanism to achieve specificity and directionality in neuronal membrane receptor trafficking.     

A new nonlinear model of age-dependent population growth

A new nonlinear age-structured population model is presented. Within its framework the occurence of time-persistent age distributions is possible, even if the population sizes are nonstationary. The age distribution as well as the moments of the generation index can be determined analytically. The proposed model is a nonlinear generalization of Lotka's theory of stable populations.     

Synthesis, characterization and assessment of the cytotoxic properties of cis and trans-[Pd(L)(2)Cl(2)] complexes involving 6-benzylamino-9-isopropylpurine derivatives

A series of square-planar Pd(II) complexes of the composition cis-[Pd(L(n))(2)Cl(2)] {L(1)=2-chloro-6-benzylamino-9-isopropylpurine (1), L(2)=2-chloro-6-[(4-methoxybenzyl)amino]-9-isopropylpurine (2), L(3)=2-chloro-6-[(2-methoxybenzyl)amino]-9-isopropylpurine (3) and 2-[(chloropropyl)amino]-6-benzylamino-9-isopropylpurine (6)} has been synthesized by the reaction of PdCl(2) with L(n) in a 1:2 molar ratio. In contrast, the same reaction followed by recrystallization of the product from N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) leads to trans-[Pd(L(n))(2)Cl(2)] x nDMF {L(3), n=0 (4), n=1(4( *)DMF); L(4)=2-chloro-6-[(2,3-dimethoxybenzyl)-amino]-9-isopropylpurine, n=0 (5), n=1.5 (5( *)DMF). The compounds have been characterized by elemental analyses, conductivity measurements, electrospray mass spectra in the positive ion mode (ES+MS), FTIR, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Moreover, the complexes 2 and 6 have been also investigated by (15)N NMR spectroscopy. The molecular structures of L(5), {(H(2+)L(5))(Cl(-))(2)} x H(2)O, i.e. the protonated form of L(5), trans-[Pd(L(3))(2)Cl(2)] (4) and trans-[Pd(L(4))(2)Cl(2)] (5) have been determined by single crystal X-ray analysis. NMR data and X-ray structures revealed that the organic molecules are coordinated to Pd via N7 atom of a purine moiety. All the complexes and the corresponding ligands have been tested in vitro for their cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines: breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7), malignant melanoma (G361), chronic myelogenous leukaemia (K562) and osteogenic sarcoma (HOS). Promising in vitro cytotoxic effect has been found for cis-[Pd(L(2))(2)Cl(2)] (2), having the IC(50) values of 12, 10, 25, and 14 microM against MCF7, G361, K562, and HOS, respectively, and for trans-[Pd(L(3))(2)Cl(2)].DMF (4) with the IC(50) value of 15 microM against G361.     

Synthesis and characterization of complexes of the type [Pt(amine)4]I2 and trans-[Pt(CH3NH2)2(H3CNC(CH3)2)2]I2 by crystallography and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Complexes of the type [Pt(amine)₄]I₂ were synthesized and characterized mainly by multinuclear (¹⁹⁵Pt, ¹H and ¹³C) magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The compounds were prepared with different primary amines, but not with bulky amines, due to steric hindrance. In ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR, the signals were observed between −2715 and −2769 ppm in D₂O. The coupling constant ³J(¹⁹⁵Pt-¹H) for the MeNH₂ complex is 42 Hz. In ¹³C NMR, the average values of the coupling constants ²J(¹⁹⁵Pt-¹³C) and ³J(¹⁹⁵Pt-¹³C) are 18 and 30 Hz, respectively. The crystal structure of [Pt(EtNH₂)₄]I₂ was determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The Pt atom is located on an inversion center. The structure is stabilized by H-bonding between the amines and the iodide ions. The compound with n-BuNH₂ was found by crystallographic methods to be [Pt(n-BuNH₂)₄]₂I₃(n-BuNHCOO). The crystal contains two independent [Pt(CH₃NH₂)₄]²⁺ cations, three iodide ions and a carbamate ion formed from the reaction of butylamine with CO₂ from the air. When the compound [Pt(CH₃NH₂)₄]I₂ was dissolved in acetone, crystals identified as trans-[Pt(CH₃NH₂)₂(H₃CNC(CH₃)₂)₂]I₂ were isolated and characterized by crystallographic methods. Two trans bonded MeNH₂ ligands had reacted with acetone to produce the two N-bonded Schiff base Pt(II) compound.