The function of Ca channel subtypes in exocytotic secretion: new perspectives from synaptic and non-synaptic release

By mediating the Ca²⁺ influx that triggers exocytotic fusion, Ca²⁺ channels play a central role in a wide range of secretory processes. Ca²⁺ channels consist of a complex of protein subunits, including an ₁ subunit that constitutes the voltage-dependent Ca²⁺-selective membrane pore, and a group of auxiliary subunits, including β, γ, and ₂–δ subunits, which modulate channel properties such as inactivation and channel targeting. Subtypes of Ca²⁺ channels are constituted by different combinations of ₁ subunits (of which 10 have been identified) and auxiliary subunits, particularly β (of which 4 have been identified). Activity-secretion coupling is determined not only by the biophysical properties of the channels involved, but also by the relationship between channels and the exocytotic apparatus, which may differ between fast and slow types of secretion. Colocalization of Ca²⁺ channels at sites of fast release may depend on biochemical interactions between channels and exocytotic proteins. The aim of this article is to review recent work on Ca²⁺ channel structure and function in exocytotic secretion. We discuss Ca²⁺ channel involvement in selected types of secretion, including central neurotransmission, endocrine and neuroendocrine secretion, and transmission at graded potential synapses. Several different Ca²⁺ channel subtypes are involved in these types of secretion, and their function is likely to involve a variety of relationships with the exocytotic apparatus. Elucidating the relationship between Ca²⁺ channel structure and function is central to our understanding of the fundamental process of exocytotic secretion.     

Application of free-flow electrophoresis/2-dimentional gel electrophoresis for fractionation and characterization of native proteome of Pseudomonas putida KT2440

Free Flow Electrophoresis (FFE) is a liquid-based isoelectric focusing method. Unlike conventional in-gel fractionation of proteins, FFE can resolve proteins in their native forms and fractionation of subcellular compartments of the cell is also possible. To test the efficacy of the FFE method, the native cytosol proteome of a bacterium, Pseudomonas putida KT2440 was fractionated by FFE and the spectrum of protein elutes was characterized in association with 2-dimentional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Major native proteins of P. putida KT2440 were eluted in the range of pH 4.8 approximately 6.0 in FFE, whereas the denatured proteome of P. putida KT2440 was widely distributed in the rage of pH 4 approximately 10 in the 2-DE analysis. In addition, one of the three FFE major fractions, which was eluted at pH 5.0, was further analyzed using 2-DE/MS-MS. Then, the pH range of identified proteins eluted in 2-DE/MS-MS was 4.72 approximately 5.89, indicating that observed pi values of native cytosolic proteomes in FFE were narrower than those of denatured cytosolic proteome. These results suggest that FFE fractionation and 2-DE/MS analysis may be useful tools for characterization of native proteomes of P. putida KT2440 and comparative analysis between denatured and native proteomes.     

球形芽孢杆菌C3—41二元毒素基因在苏云金芽孢杆菌以色列亚种中的？…

球形芽孢杆菌Ｃ３－４１是我国分离的一株对蚊幼虫有毒杀作用的高毒力菌株,对库蚊、按蚊幼虫的毒性高于２３６２菌株,Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂交证明Ｃ３－４１总ＤＮＡ中３．５ＫｂＨｉｎｄＩＩＩ片段上带有４１．９和５１．４ｋＤ二元毒素基因。     

Combinatorial polymer electrospun matrices promote physiologically-relevant cardiomyogenic stem cell differentiation

Myocardial infarction results in extensive cardiomyocyte death which can lead to fatal arrhythmias or congestive heart failure. Delivery of stem cells to repopulate damaged cardiac tissue may be an attractive and innovative solution for repairing the damaged heart. Instructive polymer scaffolds with a wide range of properties have been used extensively to direct the differentiation of stem cells. In this study, we have optimized the chemical and mechanical properties of an electrospun polymer mesh for directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) towards a cardiomyogenic lineage. A combinatorial polymer library was prepared by copolymerizing three distinct subunits at varying molar ratios to tune the physicochemical properties of the resulting polymer: hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG), hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and negatively-charged, carboxylated PCL (CPCL). Murine ESCs were cultured on electrospun polymeric scaffolds and their differentiation to cardiomyocytes was assessed through measurements of viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), α-myosin heavy chain expression (α-MHC), and intracellular Ca(2+) signaling dynamics. Interestingly, ESCs on the most compliant substrate, 4%PEG-86%PCL-10%CPCL, exhibited the highest α-MHC expression as well as the most mature Ca(2+) signaling dynamics. To investigate the role of scaffold modulus in ESC differentiation, the scaffold fiber density was reduced by altering the electrospinning parameters. The reduced modulus was found to enhance α-MHC gene expression, and promote maturation of myocyte Ca(2+) handling. These data indicate that ESC-derived cardiomyocyte differentiation and maturation can be promoted by tuning the mechanical and chemical properties of polymer scaffold via copolymerization and electrospinning techniques.     

Measurement of Mesoscale Conformational Dynamics of Freely Diffusing Molecules with Tracking FCS

Few techniques are suited to probe the structure and dynamics of molecular complexes at the mesoscale level ($～$100–1000 nm). We have developed a single-molecule technique that uses tracking fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (tFCS) to probe the conformation and dynamics of mesoscale molecular assemblies. tFCS measures the distance fluctuations between two fluorescently labeled sites within an untethered, freely diffusing biomolecule. To achieve subdiffraction spatial resolution, we developed a feedback scheme that allows us to maintain the molecule at an optimal position within the laser intensity gradient for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. We characterized tFCS spatial sensitivity by measuring the Brownian end-to-end dynamics of DNA molecules as short as 1000 bp. We demonstrate that tFCS detects changes in the compaction of reconstituted nucleosome arrays and can assay transient protein-mediated interactions between distant sites in an individual DNA molecule. Our measurements highlight the applicability of tFCS to a wide variety of biochemical processes involving mesoscale conformational dynamics.     

Phosphorylated p40PHOX as a negative regulator of NADPH oxidase

The leukocyte NADPH oxidase catalyzes the production of O(2)(-) from oxygen at the expense of NADPH. Activation of the enzyme requires interaction of the cytosolic factors p47(PHOX), p67(PHOX), and Rac2 with the membrane-associated cytochrome b(558). Activation of the oxidase in a semirecombinant cell-free system in the absence of an amphiphilic activator can be achieved by phosphorylation of the cytosolic factor p47(PHOX) by protein kinase C. Another cytosolic factor, p40(PHOX), was recently shown to be phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues upon activation of NADPH oxidase, but both stimulatory and inhibitory roles were reported. In the present study, we demonstrate that the addition of phosphorylated p40(PHOX) to the cell-free system inhibits NADPH oxidase activated by protein kinase C-phosphorylated p47(PHOX), an effect not observed with the unphosphorylated p40(PHOX). Moreover phosphorylated p40(PHOX) inhibits the oxidase if added before or after full activation of the enzyme. Direct mutagenesis of protein kinase C consensus sites enables us to conclude that phosphorylation of threonine 154 is required for the inhibitory effect of p40(PHOX) to occur. Although the phosphorylated mutants and nonphosphorylated mutants are still able to interact with both p47(PHOX) and p67(PHOX) in pull-down assays, their proteolysis pattern upon thrombin treatment suggests a difference in conformation between the phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated mutants. We postulate that phosphorylation of p40(PHOX) on threonine 154 leads to an inhibitory conformation that shifts the balance toward an inhibitory role and blocks oxidase activation.     

MCPIP1 ribonuclease antagonizes dicer and terminates microRNA biogenesis through precursor microRNA degradation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are versatile regulators of gene expression and undergo complex maturation processes. However, the mechanism(s) stabilizing or reducing these small RNAs remains poorly understood. Here we identify mammalian immune regulator MCPIP1 (Zc3h12a) ribonuclease as a broad suppressor of miRNA activity and biogenesis, which counteracts Dicer, a central ribonuclease in miRNA processing. MCPIP1 suppresses miRNA biosynthesis via cleavage of the terminal loops of precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs). MCPIP1 also carries a vertebrate-specific oligomerization domain important for pre-miRNA recognition, indicating its recent evolution. Furthermore, we observed potential antagonism between MCPIP1 and Dicer function in human cancer and found a regulatory role of MCPIP1 in the signaling axis comprising miR-155 and its target c-Maf. These results collectively suggest that the balance between processing and destroying ribonucleases modulates miRNA biogenesis and potentially affects pathological miRNA dysregulation. The presence of this abortive processing machinery and diversity of MCPIP1-related genes may imply a dynamic evolutional transition of the RNA silencing system.     

Impact of emotion on consciousness: positive stimuli enhance conscious reportability

Emotion and reward have been proposed to be closely linked to conscious experience, but empirical data are lacking. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays a central role in the hedonic dimension of conscious experience; thus potentially a key region in interactions between emotion and consciousness. Here we tested the impact of emotion on conscious experience, and directly investigated the role of the ACC. We used a masked paradigm that measures conscious reportability in terms of subjective confidence and objective accuracy in identifying the briefly presented stimulus in a forced-choice test. By manipulating the emotional valence (positive, neutral, negative) and the presentation time (16 ms, 32 ms, 80 ms) we measured the impact of these variables on conscious and subliminal (i.e. below threshold) processing. First, we tested normal participants using face and word stimuli. Results showed that participants were more confident and accurate when consciously seeing happy versus sad/neutral faces and words. When stimuli were presented subliminally, we found no effect of emotion. To investigate the neural basis of this impact of emotion, we recorded local field potentials (LFPs) directly in the ACC in a chronic pain patient. Behavioural findings were replicated: the patient was more confident and accurate when (consciously) seeing happy versus sad faces, while no effect was seen in subliminal trials. Mirroring behavioural findings, we found significant differences in the LFPs after around 500 ms (lasting 30 ms) in conscious trials between happy and sad faces, while no effect was found in subliminal trials. We thus demonstrate a striking impact of emotion on conscious experience, with positive emotional stimuli enhancing conscious reportability. In line with previous studies, the data indicate a key role of the ACC, but goes beyond earlier work by providing the first direct evidence of interaction between emotion and conscious experience in the human ACC.     

A Weight of Evidence Approach to the Aquatic Hazard Assessment of Bisphenoi A

Bisphenol A (BPA; 4,4-isopropylidene diphenol) is a chemical intermediate used primarily in the production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate products. BPA has been identified in surface waters and, hence, has been the subject of considerable research into its potential effects on aquatic organisms. Available literature on the aquatic toxicity of BPA was reviewed for quality against European Union TGD and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development GLP principles. From this review, studies of suitable quality covering numerous ecologically relevant endpoints were identified to evaluate the survival, growth, and reproductive success of aquatic organisms exposed to BPA. Those studies yielded approximately 70 no observed effect concentrations (ranging from 16 to 3640 μg/L) and lowest observed effect concentrations (160 to 11,000 μg/L) that were considered in this weight of evidence assessment. Across all data, adverse effects on survival, growth, and reproduction occurred only at concentrations of 160 μg/L and above. Secondary biochemical (e.g., vitellogenin induction) and morphological (e.g., gonad histology) data provide insight into mechanisms of action, but do not correlate with apical endpoints related to survival, growth, and reproduction. Comparing the weight of the evidence of the aquatic toxicity data that showed chronic effects at 160 μg/L and higher with typical surface water concentrations in the range of 0.001 to 0.10 μg/ L, BPA is unlikely to cause adverse effects on aquatic populations or ecosystems.