Tropomyosin metabolism in muscles and its blood levels during physical exertion

Physical exercise induces phasic changes in the tropomyosin content and metabolism in muscles and its concentration in blood. The intensive catabolic processes (decrease of 14C-leicin inclusion and time of half-life) of muscle tropomyosin and its appearance in blood were shown 2-24 hours after the exercise. Intensive anabolic processes of muscle tropomyosin were found at the late period of rest (72-144 h). These results reveal the biochemical mechanism of muscle adaptation to physical exercise. Data on the tropomyosin content in blood permit recommending tropomyosin for development of the diagnostic test of functional condition of the skeletal muscle.     

Inhibition of drug-induced Fas ligand transcription and apoptosis by Bcl-XL.

Fas/Fas ligand system triggers apoptosis in many cell types. Bcl-XL overexpresion antagonizes Fas/Fas ligand-mediated cell death. The mechanism by which Bcl-XL influences Fas-mediated cell death is unclear. We have found that microtubule-damaging drugs (e.g. Paclitaxel) induce apoptosis in a Fas/FasL-dependent manner. Inhibition of Fas/FasL pathway by anti-FasL antibody, mutant Fas or a dominant negative FADD blocks paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. Paclitaxel induced apoptosis through activation of both caspase-8 and caspase-3. Overexpression of Bcl-XL leads to inhibition of paclitaxel-induced FasL expression and apoptosis. Bcl-XL prevents the nuclear translocation of NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T lymphocytes) by inhibiting the activation of calcineurin, a calcium-dependent phosphatase that must dephosphorylate NFAT for it to move to the nucleus. The loop domain in Bcl-XL can suppress the anti-apoptotic function of Bcl-XL and may be a target for regulatory post-translational modifications. Upon phosphorylation, Bcl-XL loses its ability to bind with calcineurin. Without NFAT nuclear translocation, the FasL gene is not transcribed. Thus, paclitaxel and other drugs that disturb microtubule function kill cells, at least in part, through the induction of FasL, and Bcl-XL-mediated resistance to these agents is related to failure to induce FasL expression.     

Cloning and characterization of a novel beta-transaminase from Mesorhizobium sp. strain LUK: a new biocatalyst for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure beta-amino acids

A novel beta-transaminase gene was cloned from Mesorhizobium sp. strain LUK. By using N-terminal sequence and an internal protein sequence, a digoxigenin-labeled probe was made for nonradioactive hybridization, and a 2.5-kb gene fragment was obtained by colony hybridization of a cosmid library. Through Southern blotting and sequence analysis of the selected cosmid clone, the structural gene of the enzyme (1,335 bp) was identified, which encodes a protein of 47,244 Da with a theoretical pI of 6.2. The deduced amino acid sequence of the beta-transaminase showed the highest sequence similarity with glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase of transaminase subgroup II. The beta-transaminase showed higher activities toward d-beta-aminocarboxylic acids such as 3-aminobutyric acid, 3-amino-5-methylhexanoic acid, and 3-amino-3-phenylpropionic acid. The beta-transaminase has an unusually broad specificity for amino acceptors such as pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate/oxaloacetate. The enantioselectivity of the enzyme suggested that the recognition mode of beta-aminocarboxylic acids in the active site is reversed relative to that of alpha-amino acids. After comparison of its primary structure with transaminase subgroup II enzymes, it was proposed that R43 interacts with the carboxylate group of the beta-aminocarboxylic acids and the carboxylate group on the side chain of dicarboxylic alpha-keto acids such as alpha-ketoglutarate and oxaloacetate. R404 is another conserved residue, which interacts with the alpha-carboxylate group of the alpha-amino acids and alpha-keto acids. The beta-transaminase was used for the asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure beta-aminocarboxylic acids. (3S)-Amino-3-phenylpropionic acid was produced from the ketocarboxylic acid ester substrate by coupled reaction with a lipase using 3-aminobutyric acid as amino donor.     

Efficient transient expression and transformation of PEG-mediated gene uptake into mesophyll protoplasts of pepper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annuum</Emphasis> L.)

PEG-mediated transformation was used for gene delivery and evaluation of various parameters affecting the transient expression of a gene for ß-glucuronidase (gus) in mesophyll protoplasts of Capsicum annuum. Transient expression was found to be dependent on PEG concentration and exposure time of plasmid DNA to protoplasts as well as the amount of plasmid DNA. Maximum GUS activity was obtained when protoplasts were applied to 40% concentration and molecular weight was 6,000 of PEG solution with 30 min of exposure time. Protoplasts of pepper were transformed with a vector, pCAMBIA::Ac, which contained a pCAMBIA1302 T-DNA vector carrying a maize transposable element, Ac (activator), a selection marker HPT (hygromycin phosphotransferase), and a GFP-coding region driven by the 35S promoter in the presence of PEG. Approximately 30% of the protoplasts expressed GFP. Visibly transformed colonies were obtained from protoplasts after 2 months of culture and GFP was expressed. Southern hybridization confirmed the presence of Ac in the pepper genome.     

Analysis of gene-trap Ds rice populations in Korea

Insertional mutagen-mediated gene tagging populations have been essential resources for analyzing the function of plant genes. In rice, maize transposable elements have been successfully utilized to produce transposant populations. However, many generations and substantial field space are required to obtain a sufficiently sized transposant population. In rice, the japonica and indica subspecies are phenotypically and genetically divergent. Here, callus cultures with seeds carrying Ac and Ds were used to produce 89,700 lines of Dongjin, a japonica cultivar, and 6,200 lines of MGRI079, whose genome is composed of a mixture of the genetic backgrounds of japonica and indica. Of the more than 3,000 lines examined, 67% had Ds elements. Among the Ds-carrying lines, 81% of Dongjin and 63% of MGRI079 contained transposed Ds, with an average of around 2.0 copies. By examining more than 15,000 lines, it was found that 12% expressed the reporter gene GUS during the early-seedling stage. GUS was expressed in root hairs and crown root initials at estimated frequencies of 0.78% and 0.34%, respectively. The 5,271 analyzed Ds loci were found to be randomly distributed over all of the rice chromosomes. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Sung Han Park, Nam Soo Jun, Chul Min Kim are contributed equally to this paper     

A Ds-insertion mutant of OSH6 (Oryza sativa Homeobox 6) exhibits outgrowth of vestigial leaf-like structures, bracts, in rice

OSH6 (Oryza sativa Homeobox6) is an ortholog of lg3 (Liguleless3) in maize. We generated a novel allele, termed OSH6-Ds, by inserting a defective Ds element into the third exon of OSH6, which resulted in a truncated OSH6 mRNA. The truncated mRNA was expressed ectopically in leaf tissues and encoded the N-terminal region of OSH6, which includes the KNOX1 and partial KNOX2 subdomains. This recessive mutant showed outgrowth of bracts or produced leaves at the basal node of the panicle. These phenotypes distinguished it from the OSH6 transgene whose ectopic expression led to a “blade to sheath transformation” phenotype at the midrib region of leaves, similar to that seen in dominant Lg3 mutants. Expression of a similar truncated OSH6 cDNA from the 35S promoter (35S::ΔOSH6) confirmed that the ectopic expression of this product was responsible for the aberrant bract development. These data suggest that OSH6-Ds interferes with a developmental mechanism involved in bract differentiation, especially at the basal nodes of panicles. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Regulation of TRPV5 Single-Channel Activity by Intracellular pH

The transient receptor potential channel TRPV5 contributes to the apical entry pathway for transcellular calcium reabsorption in the kidney. Acid load causes hypercalciuria in animals and humans. We have previously reported that intracellular protons directly inhibit TRPV5. Here, we examined the effects of intracellular pH on single-channel activity of TRPV5. We found that TRPV5 channels exhibit full and subconductance open states in excised inside–out patches of Chinese hamster ovary cells. The slope conductance values (Na⁺ as a charge carrier, between −25 and −75 mV) for full and subconductance opening at intracellular pH 7.4 were 59 ± 6 and 29 ± 3 pS, respectively. Intracellular acidification caused a small decrease in single-channel conductance. Importantly, intracellular acidification decreased open probability for the full and subconductance states and increased probability for closing. To investigate how intracellular protons decrease open probability of the channel, we proposed a simple three-state model for open–subconductance–closed state transition and examined the effects of acidification on the respective forward and reverse rate constants. We found that intracellular acidification decreases opening of TRPV5 predominantly by promoting a transition from the subconductance to the closed state. Thus, intracellular acidification directly inhibits TRPV5 by causing a conformational change(s) leading to a decrease of open probability of TRPV5 as well as of the single-channel conductance. Seung-Kuy Cha and Wasey Jabbar contributed equally to this work.     

Effects of genetic polymorphism of uncoupling protein 2 on body fat and calorie restriction-induced changes

The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of Ala55Val genetic polymorphism of uncoupling protein 2 on computed tomography-measured body fat area and calorie restriction-induced changes. Among 386 Korean female subjects, the AlaAla type was seen in 30.3%, the AlaVal type was seen in 47.2%, and the ValVal type was seen in 22.5%. This finding was in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequency of the major Ala allele was 0.54, and that of the minor Val allele was 0.46, which were similar to those seen in Caucasian populations. When cross-sectional areas of fat tissues in the subjects were measured by computed tomography, it was shown that the total abdominal fat area and abdominal subcutaneous fat area were significantly smaller in the ValVal type compared with the AlaVal or AlaAla type (p=0.043 and p=0.044, respectively). The Ala55Val polymorphism had no effects on visceral fat area and thigh subcutaneous fat area. Among the 386 subjects, 236 subjects finished the 1-month calorie restriction program. The results showed that the body fat was reduced significantly less in the ValVal type compared with the other types (p=0.016), whereas the changes in lean body mass, protein, mineral, and water contents were not significantly different according to the Ala55Val polymorphism.     

Identification, biological activity, and mechanism of the anti-ischemic quinolone analog

The quinolone analog SQ-4004 has been identified as a potentially excellent anti-ischemic agent, which exhibited highly potent efficacy in reducing infarct volume size in vivo rat MCAO model (32.1% at 0.01mg/kg) and potent cardioprotective effect at myocardial infarction in vivo model (26.6% at 0.01mg/kg) while it exhibited highly reduced anti-bacterial activity. The mechanistic study revealed that the anti-ischemic activity might exert via an anti-apoptotic pathway, which implies its therapeutic uses against the ischemic cell injuries including ischemic stroke and ischemic heart disease.