Bioinformatics and discovery: induction beckons again

With the flood of information from genomics, proteomics, and microarrays, what we really need now is the computer software to tell us what it all means. Or do we?     

Mutation of the IIB myosin heavy chain gene results in muscle fiber loss and compensatory hypertrophy

The fast skeletal IIb gene is the source of most myosin heavy chain (MyHC) in adult mouse skeletal muscle. We have examined the effects of a null mutation in the IIb MyHC gene on the growth and morphology of mouse skeletal muscle. Loss in muscle mass of several head and hindlimb muscles correlated with amounts of IIb MyHC expressed in that muscle in wild types. Decreased mass was accompanied by decreases in mean fiber number, and immunological and ultrastructural studies revealed fiber pathology. However, mean cross-sectional area was increased in all fiber types, suggesting compensatory hypertrophy. Loss of muscle and body mass was not attributable to impaired chewing, and decreased food intake as a softer diet did not prevent the decrease in body mass. Thus loss of the major MyHC isoform produces fiber loss and fiber pathology reminiscent of muscle disease.     

Glycosylated molecular variants of C-reactive proteins from the major carp Catla catla in fresh and polluted aquatic environments

Elevated level of pollutant specific glycosylated molecular variants of C-reactive protein have been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from the sera of major carp, Catla catla confined in freshwater (CRP_N) and water polluted with nonlethal doses of cadmium (CRP_Cd), mercury (CRP_Hg), phenol (CRP_Ph) and hexachlorocyclohexane (CRP_Hex). These CRPs differ amongst themselves in electrophoretic mobility, and in their carbohydrate content ranging from 20–50%. CRPs interact with pneumococcal C-polysaccharide (CPS) showing different binding constants. Both phosphorylcholine (PC) and calcium are indispensable for binding. Studies on amino acid compositions, electrophoretic analysis, isoelectric focusing, binding to PC & CPS and secondary structures of the purified CRPs indicate, that, they differ from each other. However, they share the common properties of a CRP, including pentraxin structure revealed by electron microscopy. Taken together, our results provide a new structural insight regarding the connection between the presence of unique molecular variants and probably the toxicity therein combated.     

Insulin increases NO-stimulated guanylate cyclase activity in cultured VSMC while raising redox potential

Insulin acutely stimulates cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) production in primary confluent cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from canine femoral artery, but the mechanism is not known. These cells contain the inducible isoform of nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS), and insulin-stimulated cGMP production in confluent cultured cells is blocked by the NOS inhibitor, N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA). In the present study, it is shown that iNOS is also present in freshly dispersed VSMC from this artery, indicating that iNOS expression in cultured VSMC is not an artifact of the culture process. Insulin did not stimulate NOS activity in primary confluent cultured cells because it did not affect citrulline or combined NO(-)(3)/NO(-)(2) production. To see whether insulin required the permissive presence of NO to stimulate cGMP production, iNOS and basal cGMP production were inhibited with L-NMMA, and the cells were incubated with or without 1 nM insulin and/or the NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine (SNAP) at a concentration (0.1 microM) that restored cGMP production to the basal value. In the presence of L-NMMA, insulin no longer affected cGMP production but when insulin was added to L-NMMA plus SNAP, cGMP production was increased by 69% (P < 0.05 vs. L-NMMA plus SNAP). Insulin, which increases glucose uptake by these cells, increased the cell lactate content and the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio (LPR) by 81 and 97%, respectively (both P < 0.05), indicating that the hormone increased aerobic glycolysis and the redox potential. The effects of insulin on LPR and cGMP production were blocked by removing glucose or by adding 2-deoxyglucose to the incubation media and were duplicated by the reducing substrate, beta-hydroxybutyrate. We conclude that insulin does not acutely affect iNOS activity in these VSMC but it does augment cGMP production induced by the NO already present in the cell while increasing aerobic glycolysis and the cell redox potential.     

Effect of hepatic denervation on the counterregulatory response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in the dog

Our aim was to determine whether complete hepatic denervation would affect the hormonal response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in dogs. Two weeks before study, dogs underwent either hepatic denervation (DN) or sham denervation (CONT). In addition, all dogs had hollow steel coils placed around their vagus nerves. The CONT dogs were used for a single study in which their coils were perfused with 37 degrees C ethanol. The DN dogs were used for two studies in a random manner, one in which their coils were perfused with -20 degrees C ethanol (DN + COOL) and one in which they were perfused with 37 degrees C ethanol (DN). Insulin was infused to create hypoglycemia (51 +/- 3 mg/dl). In response to hypoglycemia in CONT, glucagon, cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, pancreatic polypeptide, glycerol, and hepatic glucose production increased significantly. DN alone had no inhibitory effect on any hormonal or metabolic counterregulatory response to hypoglycemia. Likewise, DN in combination with vagal cooling also had no inhibitory effect on any counterregulatory response except to reduce the arterial plasma pancreatic polypeptide response. These data suggest that afferent signaling from the liver is not required for the normal counterregulatory response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia.     

Integrity of tritiated orphanin FQ/nociceptin: implications for establishing a reliable binding assay

In the course of establishing a reliable and reproducible binding assay for the orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) ligand-receptor system we used reversed phase-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (RP-HPLC) to monitor the integrity of [(3)H]OFQ/N obtained from three different manufacturers. This means of analysis revealed that the stability of [(3)H]OFQ/N during storage varied considerably depending on the manufacturer. Furthermore, the integrity of [(3)H]OFQ/N was significantly compromised in the presence of COS-7 cell membranes. Interestingly, if the peptide was added to COS-7 membranes after they had been exposed to low pH it remained intact, suggesting that the peptide's breakdown during binding is, in part, enzymatically mediated. Although a variety of protease inhibitors were tested, none proved completely effective at protecting the tritiated peptide. The intention of the studies presented here was to evaluate OFQ/N binding components, namely the available [(3)H]OFQ/N ligands, in an effort to standardize the binding conditions for this receptor ligand system. Consequently, this study underscores the importance of monitoring the integrity of the trace ligand being used in a given binding assay.     

Transmembrane redox sensor of ryanodine receptor complex

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP(3)R) and ryanodine receptors (RyR) mediate the release of endoplasmic and sarcoplasmic reticulum (ER/SR) Ca(2+) stores and regulate Ca(2+) entry through voltage-dependent or ligand-gated channels of the plasma membrane. A prominent property of ER/SR Ca(2+) channels is exquisite sensitivity to sulfhydryl-modifying reagents. A plausible role for sulfhydryl chemistry in physiologic regulation of Ca(2+) release channels and the fidelity of Ca(2+) release from ER/SR is lacking. This study reveals the existence of a transmembrane redox sensor within the RyR1 channel complex that confers tight regulation of channel activity in response to changes in transmembrane redox potential produced by cytoplasmic and luminal glutathione. A transporter selective for glutathione is co-localized with RyR1 within the SR membrane to maintain local redox potential gradients consistent with redox regulation of ER/SR Ca(2+) release. Hyperreactive sulfhydryls previously shown to reside within the RyR1 complex (Liu, G., and Pessah, I. N. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 33028-33034) are an essential biochemical component of a transmembrane redox sensor. Transmembrane redox sensing may represent a fundamental mechanism by which ER/SR Ca(2+) channels respond to localized changes in transmembrane glutathione redox potential produced by physiologic and pathophysiologic modulators of Ca(2+) release from stores.     

Low-frequency low-field magnetic susceptibility of ferritin and hemosiderin

The biologic effects and mechanisms by which bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) function in breast cancer cells are not well defined. A member of this family of growth and differentiation factors, BMP-2, inhibited both basal and estradiol-induced growth of MCF-7 breast tumor cells in culture. Flow cytometric analysis showed that in the presence of BMP-2, 62% and 45% of estradiol-stimulated MCF-7 cells progressed to S-phase at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. Estradiol mediates growth of human breast cancer cells by stimulating cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). BMP-2 significantly increased the level of the cyclin kinase inhibitor, p21, which in turn associated with and inactivated cyclin D1. BMP-2 inhibited estradiol-induced cyclin D1-associated kinase activity. Also estradiol-induced CDK2 activity was inhibited by BMP-2. This inhibition of CDK activity resulted in hypophosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein thus keeping it in its active form. These data provide the first evidence by which BMP-2 inhibits estradiol-induced proliferation of human breast cancer cells.