Altered -3 substrate specificity of Escherichia coli signal peptidase 1 mutants as revealed by screening a combinatorial peptide library

Signal peptidase functions to cleave signal peptides from preproteins at the cell membrane. It has a substrate specificity for small uncharged residues at -1 (P1) and aliphatic residues at the -3 (P3) position. Previously, we have reported that certain alterations of the Ile-144 and Ile-86 residues in Escherichia coli signal peptidase I (SPase) can change the specificity such that signal peptidase is able to cleave pro-OmpA nuclease A in vitro after phenylalanine or asparagine residues at the -1 position (Karla, A., Lively, M. O., Paetzel, M. and Dalbey, R. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 6731-6741). In this study, screening of a fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based peptide library revealed that the I144A, I144C, and I144C/I86T SPase mutants have a more relaxed substrate specificity at the -3 position, in comparison to the wild-type SPase. The double mutant tolerated arginine, glutamine, and tyrosine residues at the -3 position of the substrate. The altered specificity of the I144C/I86T mutant was confirmed by in vivo processing of pre-beta-lactamase containing non-canonical arginine and glutamine residues at the -3 position. This work establishes Ile-144 and Ile-86 as key P3 substrate specificity determinants for signal peptidase I and demonstrates the power of the fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based peptide library approach in defining the substrate specificity of proteases.     

妊娠期糖耐量标准与妊娠结局的关系

目的:探讨不同的诊断标准的妊娠期糖尿病的妊娠结局。方法:回顾性分析我院2001-2004年产前检查并分娩,无显性糖尿病及其他内分泌疾病的单胎孕妇共337例,按糖尿痛不同的诊断标准分成三组进行比较:干预组78例(OGTT(oral glucose toler- ante test)血糖值达到妊娠期糖尿病诊断标准,予饮食调整、运动指导,和或胰岛素治疗);未干预组91例(OGTT值小于妊娠期糖尿病诊断标准,但第2小时血糖≥7.8mmol/L,一般产科检查,无相应血糖的检测与治疗);对照组168例(OGTT正常,且第2小时血糖<7.8mmol/L一般产科检查)。结果:未干预组在巨大胎与干预组及对照组间有显著差异。干预组在妊娠周数与对照组及未干预组之间有差异。三组在年龄、分娩前体重指数、分娩方式等方面无显著差异。结论:未干预糖尿病组与巨大胎有关。建议诊断妊娠期糖尿病标准采用空腹血糖≥5.8mmol/L和或75克糖耐量试验2小时血糖≥7.8mmol/L。     

Synthesis of safflomide and its HPLC measurement in mouse plasma after oral administration

Safflomide (N-caffeoyltryptamine) is a compound belonging to a group of phenylpropanoid amides found in plants. In this study, safflomide was chemically synthesized and confirmed by LC-MS, LC-MS/MS and NMR spectroscopic methods, and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for quantifying safflomide in biological samples. The synthesis was simple, and the yield of safflomide was greater than 50%. Using the synthesized safflomide as a standard, HPLC separation was performed on a Nova-Pak C18 column using an isocratic buffer, and the separation was detected using a coulometric electrochemical detector. The detection of safflomide yielded an excellent peak resolution at the retention time of 21 min, and the lower limit of the detection was as little as 100 fmol. Using this HPLC method, the plasma concentrations of safflomide were determined in mouse blood, collected at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 min following its oral administrations (1 and 3 mg/30 g body weight). This HPLC method standardized with safflomide is the first reported method able to quantify the compound in standard and plasma samples with good detection limit and consistent reproducibility.     

绿狐尾藻光合色素组成及氮磷化学计量学特征对外源铵的响应

绿狐尾藻(Myriophyllum aquaticum)对高浓度铵(NH⁺₄)具有较高的耐受性, 是处理养殖废水的优选植物。探究外源铵对绿狐尾藻光合色素组成及氮(N)、磷(P)化学计量学特征的影响, 对提高绿狐尾藻人工湿地系统的处理效率具有重要意义。该研究设置0、0.1、1、5、15、30 mmol·L^-1 6个NH₄⁺浓度, 室内培养21天, 测定分析不同铵浓度下绿狐尾藻叶绿素含量、N含量、P含量和N:P的变化特征。结果表明, 随外源铵浓度增加, 绿狐尾藻的相对茎高和相对生物量先升高后降低, 且通过拟合曲线方程发现, 外源铵在16.22和12.58 mmol·L^-1时, 其相对茎高和相对生物量达到最大值。随外源铵浓度的增加, 绿狐尾藻叶片叶绿素含量显著降低, 而茎中叶绿素含量增加, 且叶绿素a含量变化的幅度比叶绿素b大, 但对叶绿素a/b影响不显著, 仅在5 mmol·L^-1处理时茎叶绿素a/b显著下降。随外源铵浓度增加, 与CK相比, 叶片和茎的N含量分别显著增加了85%-235%和127%-373%, 叶片P含量增幅为49%-51%。当外源铵浓度不大于15 mmol·L^-1时, 叶片和茎的N含量、N:P增加速度较快, 且相对茎高和相对生物量增长较快。相关分析表明, 叶片N、P含量和N:P与总叶绿素含量呈极显著负相关关系, 而在茎中呈显著或极显著正相关关系。综上所述, 外源铵浓度在12-16 mmol·L^-1范围内时, 绿狐尾藻生长良好, 生物量更大, N和P的吸收量更高, 从而利用其构建的人工湿地可以有效去除污染废水的N、P, 达到高效净化水体的目的。     

Exosomes from human-bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells protect against renal ischemia/reperfusion injury via transferring miR-199a-3p

Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is the main reason for acute kidney injury (AKI) and is closely related to high morbidity and mortality. In this study, we found that exosomes from human-bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC-Exos) play a protective role in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury. hBMSC-Exos were enriched in miR-199a-3p, and hBMSC-Exo treatment increased the expression level of miR-199a-3p in renal cells. We further explored the function of miR-199a-3p on H/R injury. miR-199a-3p was knocked down in hBMSCs with a miR-199a-3p inhibitor. HK-2 cells cocultured with miR-199a-3p-knockdown hBMSCs were more susceptible to H/R injury and showed more apoptosis than those cocultured with hBMSCs or miR-199a-3p-overexpressing hBMSCs. Meanwhile, we found that HK-2 cells exposed to H/R treatment incubated with hBMSC-Exos decreased semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) and activated the protein kinase B (AKT) and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. However, HK-2 cells cocultured with miR-199a-3p-knockdown hBMSCs restored Sema3A expression and blocked the activation of the AKT and ERK pathways. Moreover, knocking down Sema3A could reactivate the AKT and ERK pathways suppressed by a miR-199a-3p inhibitor. In vivo, we injected hBMSC-Exos into mice suffering from I/R injury; this treatment induced functional recovery and histologic protection and reduced cleaved caspase-3 and Sema3A expression levels, as shown by immunohistochemistry. On the whole, this study demonstrated an antiapoptotic effect of hBMSC-Exos, which protected against I/R injury, via delivering miR-199a-3p to renal cells, downregulating Sema3A expression and thereby activating the AKT and ERK pathways. These findings reveal a novel mechanism of AKI treated with hBMSC-Exos and provide a therapeutic method for kidney diseases.     

Wnt1-inducible signaling protein 1 regulates laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma glycolysis and chemoresistance via the YAP1/TEAD1/GLUT1 pathway

Wnt1-inducible signaling protein 1 (WISP1) is a matricellular protein and downstream target of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. This study sought to determine the role of WISP1 in glucose metabolism and chemoresistance in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. WISP1 expression was silenced or upregulated in Hep-2 cells by the transfection of WISP1 siRNA or AdWISP1 vector. Ectopic WISP1 expression regulated glucose uptake and lactate production in Hep-2 cells. Subsequently, the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) was significantly modulated by WISP1. Furthermore, WISP1 increased cell survival rates, diminished cell death rates, and suppressed ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)-mediated DNA damage response pathway in cancer cells treated with cisplatin through GLUT1. WISP1 also promoted cancer cell tumorigenicity and growth in mice implanted with Hep-2 cells. Additionally, WISP1 activated the YAP1/TEAD1 pathway that consequently contributed to the regulation of GLUT1 expression. In summary, WISP1 regulated glucose metabolism and cisplatin resistance in laryngeal cancer by regulating GLUT1 expression. WISP1 may be used as a potential therapeutic target for laryngeal cancer.     

Interleukin-2 induces extracellular matrix synthesis and TGF-β2 expression in retinal pigment epithelial cells

Macular fibrosis is a vital obstacle of vision acuity improvement of age-related macular degeneration patients. This study was to investigate the effects of interleukin 2 (IL-2) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2) expression in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. 10 μg/L IL-2 was used to induce fibrosis in RPE cells for various times. Western blot was used to detect the EMT marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), ECM markers fibronectin (Fn) and type 1 collagen (COL-1), TGF-β2, and the activation of the JAK/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, JAK/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways were specifically blocked by WP1066 or BAY11-7082, respectively, and the expression of α-SMA, COL-1, Fn and TGF-β2 protein were detected. Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to measure cell migration ability of IL-2 with or without WP1066 or BAY11-7082. After induction of IL-2, the expressions of Fn, COL-1, TGF-β2 protein were significantly increased, and this effect was correlated with IL-2 treatment duration, while α-SMA protein expression did not change significantly. Both WP1066 and BAY11-7082 could effectively downregulate the expression of Fn, COL-1 and TGF-β2 induced by IL-2. What's more, both NF-κB and JAK/STAT3 inhibitors could suppress the activation of the other signaling pathway. Additionally, JAK/STAT3 inhibitor WP1066 and NF-κB inhibitor BAY 11-7082 could obviously decrease RPE cells migration capability induced by IL-2. IL-2 promotes cell migration, ECM synthesis and TGF-β2 expression in RPE cells via JAK/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways, which may play an important role in proliferative vitreoretinopathy.     

Rice sulfoquinovosyltransferase SQD2.1 mediates flavonoid glycosylation and enhances tolerance to osmotic stress

Sulfoquinovosyltransferase 2 (SQD2) catalyses the final step in the sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) biosynthetic pathway. It is involved in the phosphate starvation response. Here, we show that rice SQD2.1 has dual activities catalysing SQDG synthesis and flavonoid glycosylation. SQD2.1 null mutants (sqd2.1) in rice had decreased levels of glycosidic flavonoids, particularly apigenin 7‐O‐glucoside (A7G), whereas these metabolites were increased in rice plants overexpressing SQD2.1. The sqd2.1 mutants and SQD2.1 overexpressing lines showed reduced and enhanced, respectively, tolerance to salinity and drought. Treating the sqd2.1 mutants with A7G decreased oxidative damage and restored stress tolerance to the wild‐type levels. These findings demonstrate that SQD2.1 has a novel function in the glycosylation of flavonoids that is required for osmotic stress tolerance in rice. The novel activity of SQD2.1 in the production of glycosidic flavonoids improves scavenging of reactive oxygen species and protects against excessive oxidation.     

SAMD9 is a (epi-) genetically regulated anti-inflammatory factor activated in RA patients

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - The immune responses, involved in recognition of cancer-specific antigens, are of particular interest as this may provide major leads towards developing new...