A novel osteoblast-derived C-type lectin that inhibits osteoclast formation

We have cloned and expressed murine osteoclast inhibitory lectin (mOCIL), a 207-amino acid type II transmembrane C-type lectin. In osteoclast formation assays of primary murine calvarial osteoblasts with bone marrow cells, antisense oligonucleotides for mOCIL increased tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive mononucleate cell formation by 3-5-fold, whereas control oligonucleotides had no effect. The extracellular domain of mOCIL, expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli, dose-dependently inhibited multinucleate osteoclast formation in murine osteoblast and spleen cell co-cultures as well as in spleen cell cultures treated with RANKL and macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Furthermore, mOCIL acted directly on macrophage/monocyte cells as evidenced by its inhibitory action on adherent spleen cell cultures, which were depleted of stromal and lymphocytic cells. mOCIL completely inhibited osteoclast formation during the proliferative phase of osteoclast formation and resulted in 70% inhibition during the differentiation phase. Osteoblast OCIL mRNA expression was enhanced by parathyroid hormone, calcitriol, interleukin-1alpha and -11, and retinoic acid. In rodent tissues, Northern blotting, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry demonstrated OCIL expression in osteoblasts and chondrocytes as well as in a variety of extraskeletal tissues. The overlapping tissue distribution of OCIL mRNA and protein with that of RANKL strongly suggests an interaction between these molecules in the skeleton and in extraskeletal tissues.     

Effect of Culture Conditions on Ergosterol as an Indicator of Biomass in the Aquatic Hyphomycetes

Ergosterol is a membrane component specific to fungi that can be used to estimate fungal biomass using appropriate factors of conversion. Our objectives were to determine the limits of use of ergosterol content as a measure of biomass for aquatic hyphomycetes, and to evaluate a previously established ergosterol-to-biomass conversion factor. We varied inoculum quality, growth medium, and degree of shaking of four aquatic hyphomycete species. In cultures inoculated with homogenized mycelium, we found a significant effect of shaking condition and culture age on ergosterol content. In liquid cultures with defined medium, ergosterol content reached 10 to 11 μg/mg of mycelium (dry mass) and varied by factors of 2.2 during exponential growth and 1.3 during stationary phase. The increase in ergosterol content during exponential phase could be attributed, at least in part, to rapid depletion of glucose. Oxygen availability to internal hyphae within the mycelial mass is also responsible for the differences found between culture conditions. Ergosterol concentration ranged from 0.8 to 1.6 μg/mg in static cultures inoculated with agar plugs. Ergosterol content varied by a factor of 4 in two media of different richnesses. For different combinations of these parameters, strong (r² = 0.83 to 0.98) and highly significant (P 0.001) linear relationships between ergosterol and mycelial dry mass (up to 110 mg) were observed. Overall, the ergosterol content varied by a factor of 14 (0.8 to 11 mg/g). These results suggest that care must be taken when the ergosterol content is used to compare data generated in different field environments.     

Naturally processed HLA class II peptides reveal highly conserved immunogenic flanking region sequence preferences that reflect antigen processing rather than peptide-MHC interactions

MHC class II heterodimers bind peptides 12-20 aa in length. The peptide flanking residues (PFRs) of these ligands extend from a central binding core consisting of nine amino acids. Increasing evidence suggests that the PFRs can alter the immunogenicity of T cell epitopes. We have previously noted that eluted peptide pool sequence data derived from an MHC class II Ag reflect patterns of enrichment not only in the core binding region but also in the PFRS: We sought to distinguish whether these enrichments reflect cellular processes or direct MHC-peptide interactions. Using the multiple sclerosis-associated allele HLA-DR2, pool sequence data from naturally processed ligands were compared with the patterns of enrichment obtained by binding semicombinatorial peptide libraries to empty HLA-DR2 molecules. Naturally processed ligands revealed patterns of enrichment reflecting both the binding motif of HLA-DR2 (position (P)1, aliphatic; P4, bulky hydrophobic; and P6, polar) as well as the nonbound flanking regions, including acidic residues at the N terminus and basic residues at the C terminus. These PFR enrichments were independent of MHC-peptide interactions. Further studies revealed similar patterns in nine other HLA alleles, with the C-terminal basic residues being as highly conserved as the previously described N-terminal prolines of MHC class II ligands. There is evidence that addition of C-terminal basic PFRs to known peptide epitopes is able to enhance both processing as well as T cell activation. Recognition of these allele-transcending patterns in the PFRs may prove useful in epitope identification and vaccine design.     

EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS OF CULTIVATED ANTARCTIC OSCILLATORIANS (CYANOBACTERIA)

The evolutionary relationships of cultivated psychrophilic and psychrotolerant polar oscillatorians were examined, based on small subunit rDNA sequences. Psychrophilic oscillatorians from the Antarctic were affiliated in one well-supported clade, which also includes two Arctic strains. Two of the Antarctic psychrophiles contain an 11-nucleotide insertion that is identical to, and previously only described in, an Arctic oscillatorian. The psychrotolerant phenotype, conversely, has arisen multiple times in the cyanobacterial lineage, and psychrotolerant strains are sometimes most closely related to organisms of temperate latitudes. These findings support the hypothesis that oscillatorians in both polar regions originated from more temperate species. Furthermore, morphological designations of these filamentous cyanobacteria often do not have phylogenetic significance.     

Species pairs of north temperate freshwater fishes: Evolution,taxonomy, and conservation

Many fish species contain morphologically, ecologically and geneticallydistinct populations that are sympatric during at least some portion oftheir life cycle. Such reproductively isolated populations act asdistinct biological species, but are identified by a common Latinbinomial. These species pairs are particularly common in freshwaterfish families such as Salmonidae, Gasterosteidae and Osmeridae and aretypically associated with postglacial lakes in north temperateenvironments. The nature of the divergences between sympatric species,factors contributing to reproductive isolation, and modes of evolutionare reviewed with particular emphasis on benthic and limnetic pairs ofthreespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and anadromous(sockeye salmon) and nonanadromous (kokanee) pairs of Oncorhynchusnerka. Phylogenetic analyses typically indicate that divergencesbetween members of replicate pairs have occurred independently and,hence, particular phenotypes are not monophyletic. Consequently,taxonomic resolution of such species complexes is a vexing problem foradherents to our traditional Linnaean classification system. Sympatricspecies pairs represent a significant component of the biodiversity oftemperate freshwater ecosystems which may be underestimated because oursystem of formal taxonomy tends to obscure diversity encompassed byspecies pairs. Conservation of such systems should be recognized as apriority without formal taxonomic designation of members of speciespairs because taxonomic resolution will likely continue to proveextremely difficult when employing traditional hierarchies andprocedures.     

A Protocol for the Fluorometric Quantification of mGFP5-ER and sGFP(S65T) in Transgenic Plants

The Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria has begun to be used as a reporter protein in plants. It is particularly useful as GFP fluorescence can be detected in a non-destructive manner, whereas detection of enzyme-based reporters often requires destruction of the plant tissue. The use of GFP as a reporter enables transgenic plant tissues to be screened in vivo at any growth stage. Quantification of GFP in transgenic plant extracts will increase the utility of GFP as a reporter protein. We report herein the quantification of a mGFP5-ER variant in tobacco leaf extracts by UV excitation and a sGFP(S65T) variant in sugarcane leaf and callus extracts by blue light excitation using the BioRad VersaFluor^TM Fluorometer System or the Labsystems Fluoroskan Ascent FL equipped with a narrow band emission filter (510 ± 5 nm). The GFP concentration in transgenic plant extracts was determined from a GFP-standard series prepared in untransformed plant extract with concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 4 g/ml of purified rGFP. Levels of sgfp(S65T) expression, driven by the maize ubiquitin promoter, in sugarcane calli and leaves ranged up to 0.525 g and 2.11 g sGFP(S65T) per mg of extractable protein respectively. In tobacco leaves the expression of mgfp5-ER, driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, ranged up to 7.05 g mGFP5-ER per mg extractable protein.     

Role of the Membrane-Proximal Domain in the Initial Stages of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope Glycoprotein-Mediated Membrane Fusion

We have examined mutations in the ectodomain of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 within a region immediately adjacent to the membrane-spanning domain for their effect on the outcome of the fusion cascade. Using the recently developed three-color assay (I. Muñoz-Barroso, S. Durell, K. Sakaguchi, E. Appella, and R. Blumenthal, J. Cell Biol. 140:315–323, 1998), we have assessed the ability of the mutant gp41s to transfer lipid and small solutes from susceptible target cells to the gp120-gp41-expressing cells. The results were compared with the syncytium-inducing capabilities of these gp41 mutants. Two mutant proteins were incapable of mediating both dye transfer and syncytium formation. Two mutant proteins mediated dye transfer but were less effective at inducing syncytium formation than was wild-type gp41. The most interesting mutant proteins were those that were not capable of inducing syncytium formation but still mediated dye transfer, indicating that the fusion cascade was blocked beyond the stage of small fusion pore formation. Fusion mediated by the mutant gp41s was inhibited by the peptides DP178 and C34.

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120-gp41 fusion machine consists of an assembly of viral envelope glycoprotein oligomers which forms a molecular scaffold responsible for bringing the viral membrane close to the target cell membrane and creating the architecture that enables lipid bilayers to merge (7). The fusion reaction undergoes multiple steps before the final event occurs which allows delivery of the nucleocapsid into the cell. In the case of influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA), we have dissected these steps kinetically and analyzed the molecular features of the kinetic intermediates (1). In order to examine the modus operandi of the fusion machine, mutations in various domains of viral envelope glycoproteins have been examined for their effect on the outcome of the fusion cascade. For instance, replacement of the membrane-spanning domain of influenza virus HA with a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor results in a very stable hemifusion intermediate (6). Moreover, single-site mutations in the fusion peptide of HA significantly affect fusion pore dilation (9). Recently, cytoplasmic tail acylation mutants of influenza virus HA were identified which induce transfer of lipids and small aqueous molecules but do not induce syncytium formation (4a).High-resolution crystallographic determinations (4, 10, 11) of gp41 fragments from HIV-1 have revealed a bent-in-half, antiparallel, heterotrimeric coiled-coil structure. This is made up of a triple-stranded coiled coil of α-helices from the leucine zipper-like 4-3 repeat domain in gp41 close to the N-terminal fusion peptide termed HR1 (8) flanked by α-helices from the domain in gp41 close to the C-terminal membrane anchor termed HR2 (8). Comparison with the crystal structure of the influenza virus HA2 subunits in a low-pH-induced conformation (2) reveals common structural motifs which provide growing support for the “spring-loaded” type of mechanistic models (3). In this scenario, activation of the fusion protein results in release of the fusion peptide and extension of the central coiled-coil structure. The new positioning of the fusion peptides at the tip of the stalk provides for easy contact with the target cell membrane. A small group of proximal fusion proteins which are simultaneously inserted into both the viral and target membranes would constitute a potential fusion site. A concerted collapse of this protein complex, actuated by the bending in half of the stalks at a central hinge region, would presumably position the C-terminal transmembrane anchors and N-terminal fusion peptides on top of each other in the center, bring the two membranes into contact, and thus allow formation of the fusion pore (7). In this study, we examined the effects on the various stages of the fusion reaction of mutations in the region between HR2 and the transmembrane (TM) anchor (Fig. ​(Fig.1)1) described in detail by Salzwedel et al. (8a). Open in a separate windowFIG. 1Amino acid sequence and mutations in gp41. FP is the predicted fusion peptide region, and HR1 and HR2 (8) represent, respectively, the N-terminal and C-terminal α-helices of the triple-stranded coiled coil (4, 11). Mutations in the region between HR2 and the TM anchor include deletions of amino acids 665 to 682 and 678 to 682, insertion of a FLAG sequence (YKDDDD), insertion of a DAF sequence (PNKGSGTTS), scrambling of the underlined sequence to SC7 (INNWNFT), and replacement of the five tryptophans with alanines [W(1-5)A]. Peptide C34 represents HR2 amino acids 628 to 663, and peptide DP178 represents amino acids 638 to 673.Mutagenesis of HIV-1 env, construction of plasmids, cell surface expression, CD4 binding, and cell fusion were performed as previously described (8a). The simian virus 40-based env expression plasmids (1 μg of DNA) were transfected into COS-1 cells in 35-mm-diameter plates by using DEAE-dextran (1 mg/ml). At 14 h posttransfection, the cells were replated, and starting at 36 to 48 h posttransfection, they were incubated with 20 μM CMAC (7-amino-4-chloromethylcoumarin) in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium overnight at 37°C. All constructs expressed similar amounts of envelope glycoprotein on the cell surface (8a). The transfected cells were then washed and incubated in fresh medium for 2 h at 37°C before addition of HeLa-CD4 cells which were labeled in the membrane with octadecyl indocarbocyanine (DiI) and in the cytosol with calcein as previously described (7). The method used to detect cell-cell fusion was a three-color assay (7) based on the redistribution of fluorescent probes between effector and target cells upon fusion. The application of three different probes was used to monitor lipid versus cytosolic mixing in the same cell population. Fluorescently labeled gp120-gp41-expressing cells and CD4⁺ cells were cocultured at a 1:10 ratio for 2 h at 37°C in uncoated microwells (MatTek Corp., Ashland, Mass.). Bright-field and fluorescent images were acquired with an Olympus IX70 microscope coupled to a charge-coupled device camera (Princeton Instruments, Trenton, N.J.) with a 40× UplanApo oil immersion objective. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (exciter, BP470-490; beam splitter, DM505; emitter, BA515-550), rhodamine (exciter, BP530-550; beam splitter, DM570; emitter, BA590), and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (exciter, D360/40; beam splitter, 400DCLP; emitter, D450/60) optical filter cubes were carefully chosen to avoid spillover when observing the fluorescence of the three dyes. For each sample, three or four different fields were collected, and data were analyzed by overlaying the images using Metamorph software (Universal Imaging Corporation, West Chester, Pa.). The percentage of lipid mixing and cytoplasmic mixing was calculated as 100 times the number of COS-1 cells stained with DiI and calcein divided by the total number of COS-1–HeLa-CD4 conjugates. Although not all COS-1 cells express env since the transfection efficiency is not 100%, env-expressing COS-1 cells are more likely to adhere to HeLa-CD4 cells.Figure ​Figure22 shows a montage of video images taken 2 h following incubation of COS-1 cells expressing wild-type (WT), W(1-5)A, and +DAF env with HeLa-CD4 cells at 37°C. As described in detail in the legend to Fig. ​Fig.2,2, we clearly observed COS-1 cells attached to HeLa-CD4 cells, which showed continuity of all three dyes (CMAC, calcein, and DiI). We know that for +DAF and W(1-5)A env-expressing COS-1 cells, these images do not represent syncytia since even small heterokaryons will show up in the MAGI cell assay (6a), which is based on the transfer of HIV-1 Tat coexpressed with env in COS-1 cells to HeLa-CD4 cells as a result of cell fusion. This transfer induces the expression of a β-galactosidase reporter gene engineered in HeLa-CD4 (MAGI) cells under the control of the viral long terminal repeat promoter (8a). Because the β-galactosidase has been modified to contain a nuclear targeting signal, the nuclei of the resulting heterokaryons stain dark blue with 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) in situ. The MAGI assay is extremely sensitive and clearly identifies syncytia as small as two nuclei. Such nuclei were common for the Δ678-682 mutant, which produced syncytia with an average size of ∼5 nuclei (Fig. ​(Fig.3).3). The assay can detect even a few of these fusion events per 100,000 cells. In the MAGI assay, we did not observe any blue nuclei with the W(1-5)A and +DAF constructs, an experiment repeated several times. The three-color assay therefore reveals a distinct phenotype exhibited by the +DAF and W(1-5)A mutant envelope glycoproteins, which form small fusion pores allowing movement of lipids and small molecules (<1,000 Da) but not of large molecules (HIV-1 Tat is about 14 kDa [4b]). Open in a separate windowFIG. 2Three-color assay for WT and mutant HIV-1 gp41s. Simian virus 40-based env expression plasmids (1 μg) containing WT (A to D), W(1-5)A (E to H), and +DAF (I to L) env genes were transfected into COS-1 cells in 35-mm plates using DEAE-dextran (1 μg/ml). At 14 h posttransfection, the cells were replated, and starting at 36 to 48 h posttransfection they were incubated with 20 μM CMAC in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium overnight at 37°C. All constructs expressed similar amounts of envelope glycoprotein on the cell surface (8a). The transfected cells were then washed and incubated in fresh medium for 2 h at 37°C before addition of HeLa-CD4 cells which were labeled in the membrane with DiI and in the cytosol with calcein as previously described (7). The COS-1 cells, labeled with CMAC, were cocultured 1:10 at 37°C for 2 h with HeLa-CD4 cells labeled with DiI and calcein, and images were examined by bright-field microscopy (A, E, and I) and fluorescence microscopy for CMAC staining (B, F, and J), for DiI staining (C, G, and K), and for calcein staining (D, H, and L). CMAC is a fluorescent chloromethyl derivative that freely diffuses through the membranes of live cells. Once inside the cell, this mildly thiol-reactive probe undergoes what is believed to be a glutathione S-transferase-mediated reaction to produce membrane-impermeant fluorescent dye adducts with glutathione, as well as with other intracellular components. Staining of COS-1 cells with CMAC gives rise to bright fluorescence due to reaction with proteins in the perinuclear, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi regions, which are immobile, as well as to weaker fluorescence due to the fluorescent glutathione adduct (molecular mass, ∼600 Da) in the cytosol, which is able to diffuse through small fusion pores. The COS-1 cells identified by CMAC staining (B, F, and J) are large and often appear multinuclear, although we do not know whether the round granular structures seen by bright-field microscopy of the COS-1 cells are nuclei or large granules. Panels A to D show one large cell triple stained with CMAC, DiI, and calcein (indicated by a star). DiI is internalized after 2 h at 37°C and appears punctate with nuclear sparing due to its localization in membranes of intracellular organelles. Calcein (465 Da) is evenly distributed throughout the cell (D). One large, granular COS-1 cell (A, left) is only stained with CMAC (B); its lack of staining with DiI (C) and calcein (D) indicates that it has not fused with HeLa-CD4 cells. In panel F, a large structure is seen which seems in continuity with CMAC. However, since the bottom left part of this structure is not in continuity with DiI (G) and calcein (H), it represent two cells. The top right cell (indicated by a star) is in continuity with CMAC, DiI, and calcein. Since COS-1 cells expressing W(1-5)A env do not produce blue nuclei when incubated with MAGI cells (see Fig. ​Fig.3),3), which requires transfer of the 14-kDa HIV-1 Tat protein (see text), we conclude that this COS-1–HeLa-CD4 conjugate represents a phenotype in which small fusion pores form, allowing movement of lipids and small molecules (<1,000 Da) but not of large molecules. The same phenotype is seen with COS-1 cells expressing DAF env: the COS-1–HeLa-CD4 conjugate indicated by a star in panels J, K, and L is in continuity with CMAC, DiI, and calcein but does not allow transfer of HIV-1 Tat (see Fig. ​Fig.33).Open in a separate windowFIG. 3Fusogenic activity of WT and mutant HIV-1 gp41s. The three-color assay was performed as described in the legend to Fig. ​Fig.2.2. Since multiple rounds of fusion may interfere with quantitation in the case of WT and mutant env genes which produce a large number of blue nuclei after 24 h at 37°C (grey bars), incubations were done for 2 h at 37°C. Black bars represent 100 times the number of COS-1 cells stained with DiI and calcein over the total number of COS-1–HeLa-CD4 conjugates measured in the three-color assay. The data are representative of five separate experiments. In each experiment, a total of 30 to 50 COS-1–HeLa-CD4 conjugates were counted. The number of nuclei per syncytium (grey bars) was obtained from the MAGI assay (8a) and represents the ability of HIV-1 Tat to transfer from COS-1 cells to HeLa-CD4 cells.We tallied data from many cell pairs similar to those shown in Fig. ​Fig.22 and plotted the average percentage of COS-1 cells stained with DiI and calcein. Figure ​Figure33 shows the data for the WT and a number of mutants described by Salzwedel et al. (8a). The data fall into three groups, in which the envelope glycoproteins mediate (i) both dye and HIV-1 Tat redistribution (WT, Δ678-682, and SC7), (ii) neither dye nor HIV-1 Tat redistribution (Δ665-682 and +FLAG), or (iii) dye but not HIV-1 Tat redistribution [W(1-5)A and +DAF]. The latter represents a nonexpanding fusion pore phenotype.Dye redistribution induced by WT and mutant gp41s was inhibited by the peptide inhibitors DP178 and C34 (Fig. ​(Fig.4).4). The latter peptide is from the HR2 sequence (residues 628 to 663) which forms the flanking peptide of the heterotrimeric coiled coil in the crystal structure. DP178 is frameshifted 10 amino acids toward the C terminus (residues 638 to 673). The inhibition data indicate that dye redistribution mediated by WT and mutant gp41 molecules is specific for the gp120-gp41-induced fusion reaction and not due to nonspecific transfer. Interestingly, W(1-5)A and SC7 exhibited greater sensitivity than the WT to DP178 inhibition. In the case of C34, inhibition was about the same for the WT and the two mutants. We observed no inhibition by DP178 or C34 of HIV-2 env-mediated fusion at up to 100 nM peptide (data not shown). Open in a separate windowFIG. 4Inhibition of cell-cell fusion by DP178 and C34 peptides. Cell fusion was calculated as a percentage of the control by using the three-color assay method shown in Fig. ​Fig.22 and ​and33 and described in the text for the WT, W(1-5)A, and SC7.Although the crystal structure of the gp41 core (4, 11) is based on the HR1-HR2 coiled coil, it is possible that in intact gp41 the bundle is extended to include amino acids downstream from HR2 and upstream from HR1. Extension of the coiled coil might lead to tilting of the TM anchor, which is presumably important for producing sufficient lipid curvature to form a fusion junction (1). Removal of amino acids 665 to 682 may leave no possibility to form this extended coiled coil. Similarly, insertion of the FLAG sequence, which contains four aspartic acid residues, would presumably insert charged residues into a hydrophobic domain, which could also prevent extension of the coiled coil. The other mutations presumably allow extended coiled-coil formation but reduce its efficiency because of weaker interactions between the amino acids in the extended region. The coiled-coil structure might be so frail in mutant gp41s W(1-5)A and +DAF that it is not present for a sufficient amount of time to create the fusion pore dilation necessary to allow transfer of HIV-1 Tat. Since the Δ678-682 and SC7 proteins are, to a limited extent, capable of inducing syncytium formation and dye transfer, we surmise that they possess intermediate extended coiled-coil-forming propensities.Based on the structural information about the gp41 core (4, 10, 11), it has been proposed that the binding site for the peptide inhibitors is in the HR1 bundle. The C34 and DP178 peptides presumably bind in the same way as the corresponding amino acid sequence regions of the three HR2 helices in the crystal structures. At this position, the peptides would sterically block the regular binding of the HR2 helices to the inner core of HR1 helices and thus prevent formation of the bent-in-half, antiparallel, heterotrimeric coiled-coil structure presumably required to bring the viral and target cell membranes into contact for fusion. Since C34 corresponds to HR2 with no amino acids in the extended region, we do not expect any enhanced inhibitory effect on fusion mediated by the mutant gp41s. Figure ​Figure4b4b shows that this is the case. Since DP178 does contain 10 amino acids downstream from HR2 whose interaction with amino acids upstream from HR1 is weaker in the mutants, we expect greater sensitivity to DP178 inhibition in the mutant proteins. This does seem to be the case, as shown in Fig. ​Fig.44a.The recent high-resolution X-ray crystallographic determination of the structure of the gp41 core from HIV-1 provides well-defined landmarks in the terrain the viral envelope glycoproteins navigate following CD4 and coreceptor-induced conformational changes (5). The structures include neither fusion peptides and TM anchors nor regions between those domains and HR1 and HR2, respectively, which are crucial for fusion activity. Therefore, mutagenesis of those undetermined domains combined with sensitive assays for the activity of the modified proteins will lead to refinement of our thinking about the HIV-1 gp120-gp41 fusion machine.     

The human HLA-A*0201 allele, expressed in hamster cells, is not a high-affinity receptor for adenovirus type 5 fiber

The coxsackie B virus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alpha2 domain have been identified as high-affinity cell receptors for adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) fiber. In this study we show that CAR but not MHC class I allele HLA-A*0201 binds to Ad5 with high affinity when expressed on hamster cells. When both receptors are coexpressed on the cell surface of hamster cells, Ad5 fiber bind to a single high-affinity receptor, which is CAR.     

Mitochondrial Group II Introns, Cytochrome c Oxidase, and Senescence in Podospora anserina

Podospora anserina is a filamentous fungus with a limited life span. It expresses a degenerative syndrome called senescence, which is always associated with the accumulation of circular molecules (senDNAs) containing specific regions of the mitochondrial chromosome. A mobile group II intron (alpha) has been thought to play a prominent role in this syndrome. Intron alpha is the first intron of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COX1). Mitochondrial mutants that escape the senescence process are missing this intron, as well as the first exon of the COX1 gene. We describe here the first mutant of P. anserina that has the alpha sequence precisely deleted and whose cytochrome c oxidase activity is identical to that of wild-type cells. The integration site of the intron is slightly modified, and this change prevents efficient homing of intron alpha. We show here that this mutant displays a senescence syndrome similar to that of the wild type and that its life span is increased about twofold. The introduction of a related group II intron into the mitochondrial genome of the mutant does not restore the wild-type life span. These data clearly demonstrate that intron alpha is not the specific senescence factor but rather an accelerator or amplifier of the senescence process. They emphasize the role that intron alpha plays in the instability of the mitochondrial chromosome and the link between this instability and longevity. Our results strongly support the idea that in Podospora, "immortality" can be acquired not by the absence of intron alpha but rather by the lack of active cytochrome c oxidase.     

A dual approach in the study of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase: In vitro random mutagenesis and generation of deficient mice

A dual approach to the study of poly (ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) in terms of its structure and function has been developed in our laboratory. Random mutagenesis of the DNA binding domain and catalytic domain of the human PARP, has allowed us to identify residues that are crucial for its enzymatic activity.In parallel PARP knock-out mice were generated by inactivation of both alleles by gene targeting. We showed that: (i) they are exquisitely sensitive to -irradiation, (ii) they died rapidly from acute radiation toxicity to the small intestine, (iii) they displayed a high genomic instability to -irradiation and MNU injection and, (iv) bone marrow cells rapidly underwent apoptosis following MNU treatment, demonstrating that PARP is a survival factor playing an essential and positive role during DNA damage recovery and survival.