ATPase inhibitor from yeast mitochondria. Purification and properties.

1. Mitochondria from Candida utilis CBS 1516 and Sacchromyces cerevisiae JB 65 possess an ATPase-inhibitor activity. The inhibitor activity depends on the growth conditions of the yeast cells. It is markedly decreased when the cells are grown in the presence of a high concentration of glucose, which suggests that glucose represses the synthesis of the ATPase inhibitor or of a protein required for the insertion of the inhibitor into the inner mitochondrial membrane. 2. The ATPase inhibitor has been isolated from D. utilis mitochondria and purified to homogeneity. The minimal molecular weight calculated from amino acid composition is close to 7500. Dtermination of the molecular weight by sokium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gives a value close to 6000. 3. The ATPas inhibitor of C. utilis mitochondria differs from the beef heart ATPase inhibitor by a number of properties. It has a lower molecular weight (6000-7500 vs 10500), a different amino acid composition, and a more acidic isoelectric point 5, 6 vs 7, 6). In spite of these differences, the C. utilis inhibitor cross-reacts with the ATPase of beef heart submitochondrial inhibitor-depleted particles. 4. The interaction of the C. utilis inhibitor with the ATPase of inhibitor-depleted particles requires the addition of Mg-2+-ATP or ATP in the incubation medium. 5. 14-C labelling of the C.utilis inhibitor has been achieved by growing C. utilis in a medium supplemented with [14-C]leucine. It has been found by titration experiments that the C. utilis 14-C-labelled inhibitor binds to the homologous submitochondrial inhibitor-depleted particles with a KD of about 10- minus 7 M. The number of binding sites is of the order of 0.1 nmol/mg protein.     

Primary structure of sorghum malate dehydrogenase (NADP) deduced from cDNA sequence. Homology with malate dehydrogenase (NAD)

Malate dehydrogenase (NADP) (NADP-MDH) is an important enzyme of the photosynthetic CO2 fixation pathway of C4 plants. We have isolated two clones from a sorghum lambda gt11 cDNA library (CM3, 932 bp, and CM7, 1441 bp). Nucleotide sequence analysis of the cDNAs CM3 and CM7 showed the existence of two NADP-MDH mRNA species encoding different enzyme subunits. Microsequencing of the N-terminus of the mature protein indicated that a specific cleavage of 13 amino acids occurred during the purification steps of the enzyme. The full-length cDNA CM7 contains a large open reading frame encoding an NH2-terminal transit peptide of 40 amino acids and a mature protein of 389 amino acids (42.207 kDa). Alignment of the NADP-MDH sequence with those of several malate dehydrogenases revealed some similarities with NAD-MDHs.     

PIK3R1 Mutations Cause Syndromic Insulin Resistance with Lipoatrophy

Short stature, hyperextensibility of joints and/or inguinal hernia, ocular depression, Rieger anomaly, and teething delay (SHORT) syndrome is a developmental disorder with an unknown genetic cause and hallmarks that include insulin resistance and lack of subcutaneous fat. We ascertained two unrelated individuals with SHORT syndrome, hypothesized that the observed phenotype was most likely due to de novo mutations in the same gene, and performed whole-exome sequencing in the two probands and their unaffected parents. We then confirmed our initial observations in four other subjects with SHORT syndrome from three families, as well as 14 unrelated subjects presenting with syndromic insulin resistance and/or generalized lipoatrophy associated with dysmorphic features and growth retardation. Overall, we identified in nine affected individuals from eight families de novo or inherited PIK3R1 mutations, including a mutational hotspot (c.1945C>T [p.Arg649Trp]) present in four families. PIK3R1 encodes the p85α, p55α, and p50α regulatory subunits of class IA phosphatidylinositol 3 kinases (PI3Ks), which are known to play a key role in insulin signaling. Functional data from fibroblasts derived from individuals with PIK3R1 mutations showed severe insulin resistance for both proximal and distal PI3K-dependent signaling. Our findings extend the genetic causes of severe insulin-resistance syndromes and provide important information with respect to the function of PIK3R1 in normal development and its role in human diseases, including growth delay, Rieger anomaly and other ocular affections, insulin resistance, diabetes, paucity of fat, and ovarian cysts.     

MEPE-Derived ASARM Peptide Inhibits Odontogenic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Impairs Mineralization in Tooth Models of X-Linked Hypophosphatemia

Mutations in PHEX (phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidases on the X-chromosome) cause X-linked familial hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH), a disorder having severe bone and tooth dentin mineralization defects. The absence of functional PHEX leads to abnormal accumulation of ASARM (acidic serine- and aspartate-rich motif) peptide − a substrate for PHEX and a strong inhibitor of mineralization − derived from MEPE (matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein) and other matrix proteins. MEPE-derived ASARM peptide accumulates in tooth dentin of XLH patients where it may impair dentinogenesis. Here, we investigated the effects of ASARM peptides in vitro and in vivo on odontoblast differentiation and matrix mineralization. Dental pulp stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) were seeded into a 3D collagen scaffold, and induced towards odontogenic differentiation. Cultures were treated with synthetic ASARM peptides (phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated) derived from the human MEPE sequence. Phosphorylated ASARM peptide inhibited SHED differentiation in vitro, with no mineralized nodule formation, decreased odontoblast marker expression, and upregulated MEPE expression. Phosphorylated ASARM peptide implanted in a rat molar pulp injury model impaired reparative dentin formation and mineralization, with increased MEPE immunohistochemical staining. In conclusion, using complementary models to study tooth dentin defects observed in XLH, we demonstrate that the MEPE-derived ASARM peptide inhibits both odontogenic differentiation and matrix mineralization, while increasing MEPE expression. These results contribute to a partial mechanistic explanation of XLH pathogenesis: direct inhibition of mineralization by ASARM peptide leads to the mineralization defects in XLH teeth. This process appears to be positively reinforced by the increased MEPE expression induced by ASARM. The MEPE-ASARM system can therefore be considered as a potential therapeutic target.     

The cytokinesis gene KEULE encodes a Sec1 protein that binds the syntaxin KNOLLE

KEULE is required for cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. We have positionally cloned the KEULE gene and shown that it encodes a Sec1 protein. KEULE is expressed throughout the plant, yet appears enriched in dividing tissues. Cytokinesis-defective mutant sectors were observed in all somatic tissues upon transformation of wild-type plants with a KEULE-green fluorescent protein gene fusion, suggesting that KEULE is required not only during embryogenesis, but at all stages of the plant's life cycle. KEULE is characteristic of a Sec1 protein in that it appears to exist in two forms: soluble or peripherally associated with membranes. More importantly, KEULE binds the cytokinesis-specific syntaxin KNOLLE. Sec1 proteins are key regulators of vesicle trafficking, capable of integrating a large number of intra- and/or intercellular signals. As a cytokinesis-related Sec1 protein, KEULE appears to represent a novel link between cell cycle progression and the membrane fusion apparatus.     

Two cases of terminal deletion of chromosome 13: clinical features, conventional and molecular cytogenetic analysis

We report the cases of two unrelated patients with psychomotor retardation and craniofacial abnormalities, in whom cytogenetic studies have revealed a terminal deletion of chromosome 13 confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This del(13)(q33.2) is the smallest terminal deletion of the 13q reported so far. Interestingly enough, the serum level of coagulation factors VII and X, whose genes are located in 13q34, were reduced in both patients. These cases illustrate the difficulties in identifying precisely chromosome deletions and demonstrate that FISH techniques allow to obtain a more precise correlation between clinical phenotype and cytogenetic abnormalities.