Osmotic stress blocks NF-kappaB-dependent inflammatory responses by inhibiting ubiquitination of IkappaB

The inhibitory effects of hypertonic conditions on immune responses have been described in clinical studies; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon has yet to be defined. Here we investigate osmotic stress-mediated modification of the NF-kappaB pathway, a central signaling pathway in inflammation. We unexpectedly found that osmotic stress could activate IkappaBalpha kinase but did not activate NF-kappaB. Osmotic stress-induced phosphorylated IkappaBalpha was not ubiquitinated, and osmotic stress inhibited interleukin 1-induced ubiquitination of IkappaBalpha and ultimately blocked expression of cytokine/chemokines. Thus, blockage of IkappaBalpha ubiquitination is likely to be a major mechanism for inhibition of inflammation by hypertonic conditions.     

The functional analysis of the CHMP2B missense mutation associated with neurodegenerative diseases in the endo-lysosomal pathway

Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs) regulate a key sorting step of protein trafficking between endosomal compartments in lysosomal degradation. Interestingly, mutations in charged multivesicular body protein 2B (CHMP2B), which is a core subunit of ESCRT-III, have been identified in some neurodegenerative diseases. However, the cellular pathogenesis resulting from CHMP2B missense mutations is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about their functional analysis in post-mitotic neurons. In order to examine their cellular pathogenesis, we analyzed their effects in the endo-lysosomal pathway in post-mitotic neurons. Interestingly, of the missense mutant proteins, CHMP2B(T104N) mostly accumulated in the Rab5- and Rab7-positive endosomes and caused delayed degradation of EGFR as compared to CHMP2B(WT). Furthermore, CHMP2B(T104N) showed less association with Vps4 ATPase and was avidly associated with Snf7-2, a core component of ESCRT-III, suggesting that it may cause defects in the process of dissociation from ESCRT. Of the missense variants, CHMP2B(T104N) caused prominent accumulation of autophagosomes. However, neuronal cell survival was not dramatically affected by expression of CHMP2B(T104N). These findings suggested that, from among the various missense mutants, CHMP2B(T104N) was associated with relatively mild cellular pathogenesis in post-mitotic neurons. This study provided a better understanding of the cellular pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases associated with various missense mutations of CHMP2B as well as endocytic defects.     

Genome-wide identification of novel microRNAs from genome sequences using computational approach in the mudskipper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Boleophthalmus pectinirostris</Emphasis>)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), approximately 22 nucleotides (nt) long, are small, non-coding RNA molecules with important regulatory functions in gene expression. They are mostly conserved among the organisms and this conservation makes them a good source for the identification of novel miRNAs by computational genomic homology. The miRNA repertoire of a major aquaculture species, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris, has been unknown until recently. Currently, the B. pectinirostris whole-genome sequences have been completed, making it more convenient for us to focus on computational prediction for novel miRNA homologs. Following a range of strict filtering criteria, a total of 62 potential miRNAs were identified for the first time; they belong to 39 different miRNA families. All these miRNAs were observed in the stem portion of the stable stem–loop structures. The minimum free energy (MFE) of the predicted miRNAs ranged from ?21.6 to ?62.7 kcal/mol with an average of ?39.2 kcal/mol. The A + U ranged from 32.5 to 69.1% with an average value of 52.2%. The phylogenetic analysis of predicted miRNAs revealed that miR-23a-3p, miR-184-3p, miR-214-5p, and miR-338-3p from B. pectinirostris are evolutionary highly conserved showing more similarity with other fish species. To verify the predicted miRNAs, selected miRNAs representing 16 of the 39 families were confirmed by stem–loop RT-PCR, indicating that the computational approach that we used to identify the miRNAs is a highly efficient and affordable alternative method. Taken together, these findings provide a reference point for further research on miRNAs identification in fish species, meanwhile, our study also will be useful for further insight into biological functions of miRNAs and improved understanding of genome in B. pectinirostris.     

Oral administration of freeze-dried kefir reduces intestinal permeation of and oral sensitization to ovalbumin in mice

An increase in plasma ovalbumin concentrations after intragastric administration of ovalbumin was suppressed by concomitant freeze-dried kefir in BALB/c mice. Serum levels of ovalbumin-specific immunoglobulin G and proliferation of splenic mononuclear cells in mice immunized orally with ovalbumin were suppressed by feeding freeze-dried kefir. We propose that kefir reduces intestinal permeation of food antigen, which contributes to suppression of oral sensitization.     

Yeast-based fluorescence reporter assay of G protein-coupled receptor signalling for flow cytometric screening: FAR1-disruption recovers loss of episomal plasmid caused by signalling in yeast

Here, we describe a yeast-based fluorescence reporter assay for G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling using a flow cytometer (FCM). The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene was integrated into the FUS1 locus as a reporter gene. The engineered yeast was able to express the EGFP in response to ligand stimulation. Gene-disrupted yeast strains were constructed to evaluate the suitability of the yeast-based fluorescence screening system for heterologous GPCR. When receptor was expressed by episomal plasmid, the proportion of the signalling-activated cells in response to ligand stimulation decreased significantly. The GPCR-signalling-activated and non-activated cell clusters were individually isolated by analysing the fluorescence intensity at the single-cell level with FCM, and it was found that the plasmid retention rate decays markedly in the non-activated cell cluster. We attributed the loss of plasmid to G1 arrest in response to signalling, and successfully improved the plasmid retention rate by disrupting the FAR1 gene and avoiding cell cycle arrest. Our system will be a powerful tool for the quantitative and high-throughput GPCR screening of yeast-based combinatorial libraries using FCM.