Mig-6 plays a critical role in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis and bile Acid synthesis

The disruption of cholesterol homeostasis leads to an increase in cholesterol levels which results in the development of cardiovascular disease. Mitogen Inducible Gene 6 (Mig-6) is an immediate early response gene that can be induced by various mitogens, stresses, and hormones. To identify the metabolic role of Mig-6 in the liver, we conditionally ablated Mig-6 in the liver using the Albumin-Cre mouse model (Alb(cre/+)Mig-6(f/f); Mig-6(d/d)). Mig-6(d/d) mice exhibit hepatomegaly and fatty liver. Serum levels of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and hepatic lipid were significantly increased in the Mig-6(d/d) mice. The daily excretion of fecal bile acids was significantly decreased in the Mig-6(d/d) mice. DNA microarray analysis of mRNA isolated from the livers of these mice showed alterations in genes that regulate lipid metabolism, bile acid, and cholesterol synthesis, while the expression of genes that regulate biliary excretion of bile acid and triglyceride synthesis showed no difference in the Mig-6(d/d) mice compared to Mig-6(f/f) controls. These results indicate that Mig-6 plays an important role in cholesterol homeostasis and bile acid synthesis. Mice with liver specific conditional ablation of Mig-6 develop hepatomegaly and increased intrahepatic lipid and provide a novel model system to investigate the genetic and molecular events involved in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis and bile acid synthesis. Defining the molecular mechanisms by which Mig-6 regulates cholesterol homeostasis will provide new insights into the development of more effective ways for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.     

Phylogeny of Rhus gall aphids (Hemiptera : Pemphigidae) based on combined molecular analysis of nuclear EF1α and mitochondrial COII genes

Rhus gall aphids (Fordinae : Melaphidini) have a disjunct distribution in East Asia and North America and have specific host plant relationships. Some of them are of economic importance and all species form sealed galls which show great variation in shape, size, structure, and galling‐site. We present a phylogeny incorporating ten species and four subspecies of Rhus gall aphids based on 1694 base pairs of nuclear elongation factor‐1α (EF1α) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) DNA sequence data. The results suggest that Melaphidini is monophyletic and at the genus level, Schlechtendalia, Nurudea, and Floraphis were each monophyletic. Kaburagia and Meitanaphis were not monophyletic and therefore inconsistent with the current classification. The North American sumac gall aphid, Melaphis rhois, was most closely related to the East Asian Floraphis species, although this was poorly supported. The conservation of gall morphology with respect to aphid phylogeny rather than their host plants suggests that gall morphology is largely determined by the aphids. While there is no evidence of strict co‐speciation between the aphids and their primary host plants, switching between recently diverged host plants may be involved in the speciation process in Melaphidini.     

Facilitation of Expression and Purification of an Antimicrobial Peptide by Fusion with Baculoviral Polyhedrin in Escherichia coli

Several fusion strategies have been developed for the expression and purification of small antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in recombinant bacterial expression systems. However, some of these efforts have been limited by product toxicity to host cells, product proteolysis, low expression levels, poor recovery yields, and sometimes an absence of posttranslational modifications required for biological activity. For the present work, we investigated the use of the baculoviral polyhedrin (Polh) protein as a novel fusion partner for the production of a model AMP (halocidin 18-amino-acid subunit; Hal18) in Escherichia coli. The useful solubility properties of Polh as a fusion partner facilitated the expression of the Polh-Hal18 fusion protein (~33.6 kDa) by forming insoluble inclusion bodies in E. coli which could easily be purified by inclusion body isolation and affinity purification using the fused hexahistidine tag. The recombinant Hal18 AMP (~2 kDa) could then be cleaved with hydroxylamine from the fusion protein and easily recovered by simple dialysis and centrifugation. This was facilitated by the fact that Polh was soluble during the alkaline cleavage reaction but became insoluble during dialysis at a neutral pH. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was used to further purify the separated recombinant Hal18, giving a final yield of 30% with >90% purity. Importantly, recombinant and synthetic Hal18 peptides showed nearly identical antimicrobial activities against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which were used as representative gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively. These results demonstrate that baculoviral Polh can provide an efficient and facile platform for the production or functional study of target AMPs.     

尼古丁对败血症大鼠存活率的影响

目的:研究尼古丁对败血症大鼠晚期炎症介质HMGB-1血清浓度及存活率的影响.方法:盲肠结扎穿孔法建立败血症大鼠模型.应用随机数字表随机分为5组(假手术组,空白对照组,生理盐水组,阳性对照组,尼古丁组).运用酶联免疫吸附试验检测各组大鼠血清中TNF-α、IL-6及HMGB-1等炎症因子,比较浓度变化情况.Kaplan-Meier法对各组大鼠存活率经行分析,比较不同剂量尼古丁,不同时间点给药对败血症大鼠存活率的影响.结果:各组大鼠血清TNF-α、IL-6浓度在模型建立后即开始增高,空白对照及生理盐水组较其它3组增高明显(p<0.05),在建模后第2天达最高值后开始下降.各组HMGB-1浓度在模型建立后第2天开始显著增高,尼古丁组及假手术组较其它3组增加缓慢(p<0.05),到第5天达最高值后均开始下降.尼古丁的最佳作用浓度为200ug/kg体重,最佳给药时间为模型建立后24h.与其它四组相比,尼古丁能显著降低败血症大鼠的血清HMGB-1浓度(p<0.05),对败血症大鼠存活率的影响,尼古丁组与生理盐水组及空白对照组相比差异有统计学意义(p<0.05),与假手术组及阳性对照组相比差异无统计学意义(p>0.05).结论:尼古丁能显著降低败血症大鼠血清HMGB-1浓度,提高败血症大鼠的存活率,对败血症大鼠具有一定的治疗作用.     

Broad-spectrum antioxidant peptides derived from His residue-containing sequences present in human paraoxonase 1

Hydroxyl or peroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) are known to cause the oxidation of lipoproteins. Here, we examined Cu²⁺-binding property of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), and antioxidant actions of peptides, resembling His residue-containing sequences in PON1, against oxidations by Cu²⁺, peroxyl radicals or HOCl. When Cu²⁺-binding property of PON1 was examined spectrophotometrically, the maximal Cu²⁺ binding was achieved at 1:1 molar ratio of PON1: Cu²⁺. Additionally, Cu²⁺-catalyzed oxidative inactivation of PON1 was prevented by Ca²⁺-depleted PON1 at 1:1 ratio, but not diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC)-modified PON1, suggesting the participation of His residue in Cu²⁺-binding. When His-containing peptides were examined for antioxidant actions, those with either His residue at N-terminal position 2 or 3, or His-Pro sequence at C-terminal remarkably prevented Cu²⁺-mediated low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and PON1 inactivation. Especially, FHKALY, FHKY or NHP efficiently prevented Cu²⁺-induced LDL oxidation (24 h), indicating a tight binding of Cu²⁺ by peptides. In support of this, the peptide/Cu²⁺ complexes exhibited a superoxide-scavenging activity. Separately, in oxidations by 2,2'-azobis-2-amidinopropane hydrochloride or HOCl, the presence of Tyrosine (Tyr) or Cysteine (Cys) residue markedly enhanced antioxidant action of His-containing peptides. These results indicate that His-containing peptides with Tys or Cys residues correspond to broad spectrum antioxidants in oxidation models employing Cu²⁺, 2,2'-azobis-2-amidinopropane hydrochloride (AAPH) or HOCl.     

单核细胞增多性李斯特菌氨基肽酶Lmo1711体外表达及其酶活分析

对单核细胞增多性李斯特菌(简称单增李斯特菌)lmo1711基因编码的氨基肽酶进行克隆表达与纯化,并研究该重组蛋白的体外酶学特性。首先通过生物信息学分析预测Lmo1711与氨基肽酶家族成员的亲缘关系及关键活性位点的保守性。利用SWISS-MODEL模拟预测该蛋白的空间结构;构建Lmo1711原核表达载体并转化入E.coli Rosetta中,诱导表达重组目的蛋白,并利用镍离子亲和层析方法纯化目的蛋白;以氨基酸-对硝基苯胺偶联物为底物,Lmo1711通过水解底物N端氨基酸残基产生游离对硝基苯胺单体,405 nm处检测吸光值对该产物进行检测从而分析Lmo1711的酶学特性。在此基础上系统研究Lmo1711对不同氨基酸残基底物的催化特异性,及不同金属离子对该酶活性的影响。经原核表达纯化获得49.3 kDa的重组Lmo1711蛋白,与预测分子量一致;生物信息学分析推测Lmo1711属于M29氨基肽酶家族,且存在保守关键氨基酸活性位点(Glu250、Glu316、His345、Tyr352、His378、Asp380);酶活分析显示,Lmo1711具有较强的氨基肽酶活性,针对不同底物的结合和催化能力差异较大,对亮氨酸残基的亲和程度最高;Lmo1711氨基肽酶活性具有金属离子依赖性,Co~(2+)、Cd~(2+)、Zn~(2+)等多种金属离子均能显著增强其活性,其中Co~(2+)的激活效应最显著。本试验首次发现并证实,单增李斯特菌Lmo1711属于M29氨基肽酶家族成员,具有较强的催化活性,且对金属离子具有不同程度的依赖性。     

A role for cell cycle proteins in the serum-starvation resistance of Epstein-Barr virus immortalized B lymphocytes.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a B-lymphotropic human herpes virus that infects B lymphocytes and is associated with a broad spectrum of benign and malignant diseases. B cell infection by EBV causes indefinite cell proliferation that results in the development of immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). We found that SNU-1103, a latency type III EBV-transformed LCL developed from a Korean cancer patient, resisted the G1 arrest that was normally caused by serum starvation. Western blot analyses revealed several alterations in the expression of key regulatory cell cycle proteins involved in the G1 phase. High expression of cyclin D2 and time-dependent increases in cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) and cyclin D3 were observed in SNU-1103 during serum starvation. Very unexpectedly, in SNU-1103, the key G1 phase CDK inhibitor p21CiP1 was expressed at a consistently high level, while p27KiP1 expression was increased. Of three pRb family proteins, pRb expression was reduced and it became hypophosphorylated in SNU-1103 during serum starvation. Instead, p107 and p130 were expressed at consistently high levels in SNU-1103 during serum starvation. In conclusion, compared with an EBV-negative BJAB cell line, multiple cell cycle regulatory proteins were abnormally or inversely expressed in SNU-1103 during serum starvation.     

Isolation and characterization of a marine algicidal bacterium against the harmful raphidophyceae <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chattonella marina</Emphasis>

A bacterial strain named AB-4 showing algicidal activity against Chattonella marina was isolated from coastal water of ULjin, Republic of Korea. The isolated strain was identified as Bacillus sp. by culture morphology, biochemical reactions, and homology research based on 16S rDNA. The bacterial culture led to the lysis of algal cells, suggesting that the isolated strain produced a latent algal-lytic compound. Amongst changes in algicidal activity by different culture filtrate volumes, the 10% (100 μl/ml) concentration showed the biggest change in algicidal activity; there, estimated algicidal activity was 95%. The swimming movements of Chattonella marina cells were inhibited because of treatment of the bacterial culture; subsequently, Chattonella marina cells became swollen and rounded. With longer exposure time, algal cells were disrupted and cellular components lost their integrity and decomposed. The released algicide(s) were heat-tolerant and stable in pH variations, except pH 3, 4, and 5. Culture filtrate of Bacillus sp. AB-4 was toxic against harmful algae bloom (HAB) species and nontoxic against livefood organisms. Bacillus sp. AB-4 showed comparatively strong activity against Akashiwo sanguinea, Fibriocapsa japonica, Heterosigma akashiwo, and Scrippsiella trochoidea. These results suggest that the algicidal activity of Bacillus sp. AB-4 is potentially useful for controlling outbreaks of Chattonella marina.     

Proteomics analysis reveals diabetic kidney as a ketogenic organ in type 2 diabetes

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. To date, the molecular mechanisms of DN remain largely unclear. The present study aimed to identify and characterize novel proteins involved in the development of DN by a proteomic approach. Proteomic analysis revealed that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) synthase 2 (HMGCS2), the key enzyme in ketogenesis, was increased fourfold in the kidneys of type 2 diabetic db/db mice. Consistently, the activity of HMGCS2 in kidneys and 24-h urinary excretion of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB) were significantly increased in db/db mice. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and real-time PCR studies further demonstrated that HMGCS2 was highly expressed in renal glomeruli of db/db mice, with weak expression in the kidneys of control mice. Because filtered ketone bodies are mainly reabsorbed in the proximal tubules, we used RPTC cells, a rat proximal tubule cell line, to examine the effect of the increased level of ketone bodies. Treating cultured RPTC cells with 1 mM β-HB significantly induced transforming growth factor-β1 expression, with a marked increase in collagen I expression. β-HB treatment also resulted in a marked increase in vimentin protein expression and a significant reduction in E-cadherin protein levels, suggesting an enhanced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in RPTCs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that diabetic kidneys exhibit excess ketogenic activity resulting from increased HMGCS2 expression. Enhanced ketone body production in the diabetic kidney may represent a novel mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of DN.