The heteroplasmy level of some mutations in gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">MT-CYB</Emphasis> among women with asymptomatic atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a polygenic socially significant disease whose risk factors include coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and myocardial infarction. According to the literature, mutations m.14846G>A (G34S), m.15762G>A (G339Q), m.15084G>A (W113Ter), and m.15059G>A (G190Ter) of cytochrome B gene (MT-CYB) are associated with mitochondrial myopathies, myoglobinuria, and exercise intolerance. Preliminary studies carried out by the authors made it possible to discover an association of certain mitochondrial genome mutations with atherosclerotic lesions of aortic intima in people who died as a result of an accident or sudden death. The most interesting seemed to be the data on the association of mutations m.14846G>A and m.15059G>A of the cytochrome B gene with lipofibrous aortic plaques, because these mutations affect the mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme. Defects in the given chain may be the reason for the launch of pathogenic mechanisms in the human body. Owing to the fact that mutations in the mitochondrial genome are inherited by the maternal type, it was decided to analyze cytochrome B gene mutations in a sample of female volunteers from Moscow oblast. According to the findings, mutations m.14846G>A and m.15059G>A are highly significantly associated with atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid arteries: m.14846G>A is antiatherogenic and m.15059G>A is proatherogenic.     

Molecular cloning and biochemical characterization of VIM-12, a novel hybrid VIM-1/VIM-2 metallo-beta-lactamase from a Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolate, reveal atypical substrate specificity

Metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) are considered an emerging family of Zn2+-dependent enzymes that significantly contribute to the resistance of many nosocomial pathogens against beta-lactam antimicrobials. Since these plasmid-encoded enzymes constitute specific molecular targets for beta-lactams, their exact mode of action is greatly important in deploying efficient anti-infective treatments and for the control of severe multi-resistant nosocomial infections, which becomes a global problem. A novel hybrid VIM-1/VIM-2-type beta-lactamase (named VIM-12) has recently been identified in a clinical isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae in Greece. The sequence of this enzyme is highly similar with that of VIM-1 at its N-terminal region and with that of VIM-2 at its C-terminal region, raising the question of whether this sequence similarity reflects also a similar functional role. Moreover, the possible contribution of this novel beta-lactamase to the overall antibiotic resistance of this specific clinical isolate was investigated. The gene encoding VIM-12 was cloned and expressed, and the recombinant enzyme was used for detailed kinetic analysis, using a variety of beta-lactam antibiotics. VIM-12 was found to exhibit narrow substrate specificity, compared to other known beta-lactamases, limited mainly to penicillin and to a much lesser extent to imipenen. Interestingly, meropenem was found to act as a noncompetitive inhibitor of the enzyme, although the active site of VIM-12 exhibited complete conservation of residues among VIM enzymes. We conclude that VIM-12 represents a novel and unique member of the family of known metallo-beta-lactamases, exhibiting atypical substrate specificity.     

Gap junction-mediated bystander effect in primary cultures of human malignant gliomas with recombinant expression of the HSVtk gene

The ability of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-tk)-expressing cells incubated with ganciclovir (GCV) to induce cytotoxicity in neighboring HSV-tk-negative (bystander) cells has been well documented. Although it has been suggested that this bystander cell killing occurs via the transfer of phosphorylated GCV, the mechanism(s) of this bystander effect and the importance of gap junctions for the effect of prodrug/suicide gene therapy in primary human glioblastoma cells remains elusive. Surgical biopsies of malignant gliomas were used to establish explant primary cultures. Proliferating tumor cells were characterized immunohistochemically and found to express glial tumor markers including nestin, vimentin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S-100, and gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43). Western blot analysis revealed the presence of phosphorylated isoforms of Cx43 and Calcein/DiI fluorescent dye transfer showed evidence of efficient gap junction communication (GJC). In order to study the effect(s) of prodrug/suicide gene therapy in these cultures, human glioblastoma cell cultures were transfected with the HSVtk gene for transient or stable expression. Ganciclovir treatment of these cultures led to >90% of cells dead within 1 week. Eradication of cells could be inhibited by the addition of α-glycyrrhetinic acid (AGA), a GJC inhibitor. In parallel experiments, AGA decreased the immunodetection of phosphorylated Cx43 as analyzed by Western blot and inhibited fluorescent dye transfer. In conclusion, these observations are consistent with GJC as the mediator of the bystander effect in primary cultures of human glioblastoma cells by the transfer of phosphorylated GCV from HSVtk gene transfected cells to untransfected ones.     

Identification and characterization of microsatellite DNA markers developed in ide Leuciscus idus and Siberian roach Rutilus rutilus

The first five microsatellite markers for the ide, Leuciscus idus, and four microsatellite markers for the Siberian roach, Rutilus rutilus, were designed. Cross‐amplification of ide markers was examined in Siberian roach and vice versa. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 13 in ide and from two to eight in roach. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.313 to 0.909 in ide and from 0.119 to 0.775 in roach. These markers could be used to evaluate the genetic population structure of these species and other fish from the Cyprinidae family.     

Sperm-Specific Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase–An Evolutionary Acquisition of Mammals

This review is focused on the mammalian sperm-specific glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDS). GAPDS plays the major role in the production of energy required for sperm cell movement and does not perform non-glycolytic functions that are characteristic of the somatic isoenzyme of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The GAPDS sequence is composed of 408 amino acid residues and includes an additional N-terminal region of 72 a.a. that binds the protein to the sperm tail cytoskeleton. GAPDS is present only in the sperm cells of mammals and lizards, possibly providing them with certain evolutionary advantages in reproduction. In this review, studies concerning the problems of GAPDS isolation, its catalytic properties, and its structural features are described in detail. GAPDS is much more stable compared to the somatic isoenzyme, perhaps due to the necessity of maintaining the enzyme function in the absence of protein expression. The site-directed mutagenesis approach revealed the two GAPDS-specific proline residues, as well as three salt bridges, which seem to be the basis of the increased stability of this protein. As distinct from the somatic isoenzyme, GAPDS exhibits positive cooperativity in binding of the coenzyme NAD⁺. The key role in transduction of structural changes induced by NAD⁺ is played by the salt bridge D311–H124. Disruption of this salt bridge cancels GAPDS cooperativity and twofold increases its enzymatic activity instead. The expression of GAPDS was detected in some melanoma cells as well. Its role in the development of certain pathologies, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, is discussed.     

Matrix domain modulates HIV-1 Gag's nucleic acid chaperone activity via inositol phosphate binding

Retroviruses replicate by reverse transcribing their single-stranded RNA genomes into double-stranded DNA using specific cellular tRNAs to prime cDNA synthesis. In HIV-1, human tRNA(3)(Lys) serves as the primer and is packaged into virions during assembly. The viral Gag protein is believed to chaperone tRNA(3)(Lys) placement onto the genomic RNA primer binding site; however, the timing and possible regulation of this event are currently unknown. Composed of the matrix (MA), capsid (CA), nucleocapsid (NC), and p6 domains, the multifunctional HIV-1 Gag polyprotein orchestrates the highly coordinated process of virion assembly, but the contribution of these domains to tRNA(3)(Lys) annealing is unclear. Here, we show that NC is absolutely essential for annealing and that the MA domain inhibits Gag's tRNA annealing capability. During assembly, MA specifically interacts with inositol phosphate (IP)-containing lipids in the plasma membrane (PM). Surprisingly, we find that IPs stimulate Gag-facilitated tRNA annealing but do not stimulate annealing in Gag variants lacking the MA domain or containing point mutations involved in PM binding. Moreover, we find that IPs prevent MA from binding to nucleic acids but have little effect on NC or Gag. We propose that Gag binds to RNA either with both NC and MA domains or with NC alone and that MA-IP interactions alter Gag's binding mode. We propose that MA's interactions with the PM trigger the switch between these two binding modes and stimulate Gag's chaperone function, which may be important for the regulation of events such as tRNA primer annealing.     

Dynamics of DNA-demethylation in early mouse and rat embryos developed in vivo and in vitro

Virtually all mammalian species including mouse, rat, pig, cow, and human, but not sheep and rabbit, undergo genome-wide epigenetic reprogramming by demethylation of the male pronucleus in early preimplantation development. In this study, we have investigated and compared the dynamics of DNA demethylation in preimplantation mouse and rat embryos by immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against 5-methylcytosine. We performed for the first time a detailed analysis of demethylation kinetics of early rat preimplantation embryos and have shown that active demethylation of the male pronucleus in rat zygotes proceeds with a slower kinetic than that in mouse embryos. Using dated mating we found that equally methylated male and female pronuclei were observed at 3 hr after copulation for mouse and 6 hr for rat embryos. However, a difference in methylation levels between male and female pronuclei could be observed already at 8 hr after copulation in mouse and 10 hr in rat. At 10 hr after copulation, mouse male pronuclei were completely demethylated, whereas rat zygotes at 16 hr after copulation still exhibited detectable methylation of the male pronucleus. In addition in both species, a higher DNA methylation level was found in embryos developed in vitro compared to in vivo, which may be one of the possible reasons for the described aberrations in embryonic gene expression after in vitro embryo manipulation and culture.     

Quantifying force-dependent and zero-force DNA intercalation by single-molecule stretching

We used single DNA molecule stretching to investigate DNA intercalation by ethidium and three ruthenium complexes. By measuring ligand-induced DNA elongation at different ligand concentrations, we determined the binding constant and site size as a function of force. Both quantities depend strongly on force and, in the limit of zero force, converge to the known bulk solution values, when available. This approach allowed us to distinguish the intercalative mode of ligand binding from other binding modes and allowed characterization of intercalation with binding constants ranging over almost six orders of magnitude, including ligands that do not intercalate under experimentally accessible solution conditions. As ligand concentration increased, the DNA stretching curves saturated at the maximum amount of ligand intercalation. The results showed that the applied force partially relieves normal intercalation constraints. We also characterized the flexibility of intercalator-saturated dsDNA for the first time.     

Molecular Characterisation and Structural Relationship of the Synapse-Enriched Glycoproteins gp65 and gp55

gp65 and gp55 are glycoprotein components of CNS synapses that are recognised by a single monoclonal antibody, SMgp65. This antibody has now been used to investigate the molecular properties of these two glycoproteins and the structural relationship between them. Both gp65 and gp55 occur in most brain regions as doublets of apparent molecular masses of 63 and 67 kDa, and 52 and 57 kDa, respectively. Striatal samples, however, are enriched in a novel gp65 isoform of 69 kDa. Removal of oligosaccharide residues from gp65 and gp55 with trifluoromethanesulphonic acid shows that gp65 and gp55 are composed of single polypeptide chains of 40 and 28 kDa, respectively. Removal of sialic acid residues with neuraminidase lowers the apparent molecular mass of both glycoproteins by 5-6 kDa. Triton X-114 phase partitioning and alkaline extraction of synaptic membranes indicate that both gp65 and gp55 are integral membrane glycoproteins. Treatment of synaptic membranes with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C does not solubilise either glycoprotein. One-dimensional peptide and epitope maps obtained by digestion of gp65 and gp55 with endoproteinase lys C or subtilisin are consistent with a close structural relationship between the two molecules. Tryptic digestion of samples enriched in gp65 and/or gp55 results in the formation of a novel immunoreactive 53-kDa species that is resistant to further trypsin degradation except in the presence of 0.1% (wt/vol) sodium dodecyl sulphate. Trypsin treatment of cultures of forebrain neurones in situ lowers the apparent molecular mass of gp65 to 53 kDa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)