Anticoagulant activity of synthetic hirudin peptides

Synthetic peptides based on the COOH-terminal 21 residues of hirudin were prepared in order to 1) evaluate the role of this segment in hirudin action toward thrombin, 2) define the shortest peptide derivative with anticoagulant activity, and 3) investigate the role of tyrosine sulfation in the peptides' inhibitory activities. A hirudin derivative of 20 amino acids, Hir45-64 (derived from residues 45-64 of the hirudin polypeptide), was found to effect a dose-dependent increase in the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of normal human plasma but to have no measurable inhibitory activity toward thrombin cleavage of a tripeptidyl p-nitroanilide substrate. Anticoagulant activity in hirudin derivatives was comparable in peptides of 20, 16, and 12 residues truncated from the NH2 terminus. Additional truncated peptides prepared by synthesis and carboxypeptidase treatment reveal that the minimal sequence of a hirudin peptide fragment with maximal anticoagulant activity is contained within the sequence: NH2-Asn-Gly-Asp-Phe-Glu-Glu-Ile-Pro-Glu-Glu-Tyr-Leu-COOH. The 12-residue derivative thus identified was reacted with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in the presence of sulfuric acid to yield a Tyr-sulfated peptide, S-Hir53-64. By comparison to unsulfated peptide, S-Hir53-64 was found to contain a specific inhibitory activity enhanced by one order of magnitude toward increase in APTT and to effect a dose-dependent increase in thrombin time of normal human plasma to yield a 4-fold increase in thrombin time with 2.5 micrograms/ml peptide using 0.8 units/ml alpha-thrombin. Comparison of S-Hir53-64 to hirudin in thrombin time and APTT assays reveals a 50-fold difference in molar specific activities toward inhibition of thrombin. Comparison of antithrombin activities of S-Hir53-64 using a variety of animal thrombins demonstrates greatest inhibitory activity toward murine, rat, and human enzymes and a 10-fold reduced activity toward bovine thrombin.     

Tissue kallikrein infusion prevents cardiomyocyte apoptosis, inflammation and ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction

We investigated the effect of tissue kallikrein infusion on cardiac protection at acute and sub-acute phases after myocardial infarction (MI). Immediately after MI, rats were infused with purified tissue kallikrein, with or without icatibant (a kinin B2 receptor antagonist). Intramyocardial injection of kallikrein reduced myocardial infarct size and inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis at 1 day after MI associated with increased nitric oxide levels, Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylation and decreased caspase-3 activation. Kallikrein infusion for 7 days improved cardiac function, normalized left ventricular wall thickness and decreased monocyte/macrophage infiltration in the infarct heart. Kallikrein treatment reduced NADH oxidase expression and activity, superoxide formation and malondialdehyde levels, and reduced MAPK and Ikappa-Balpha phosphorylation, NF-kappaB activation and MCP-1 and VCAM-1 expression. Kallikrein's effects were all blocked by icatibant. These results indicate that kallikrein through kinin B2 receptor activation prevents apoptosis, inflammation and ventricular remodeling by increased nitric oxide formation and suppression of oxidative stress-mediated signaling pathways.     

大豆下胚轴可溶性蛋白中钙激活的蛋白激酶

大豆（Ｇｌｙｃｉｎｅ ｍ ａｘ Ｌ．） 下胚轴可溶性蛋白提取液进行自磷酸化,以ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ电泳分析其标记产物时发现,当有较高浓度的Ｃａ２＋ 存在于反应液中时,有一条１８ ｋＤ蛋白带被高强度标记,同时也可观察到另一条标记强度不高的６７ ｋＤ蛋白带． 当反应时间延长到１５ 或３０ｍ ｉｎ 时,它们的标记强度都逐渐减弱,最终从放射自显影底片上消失;在反应液中加入钙螯合剂ＥＧＴＡ 时,则只有６７ ｋＤ 被高强度标记;在磷酸化反应过程中加入非标记ＡＴＰ,蛋白中的３２Ｐ逐渐被非标记磷取代,表明反应体系处于磷酸化－脱磷酸化的平衡过程中,并有结果显示这一过程是钙依赖性的． 组蛋白Ｈ１ 可以使反应进程加快,表明提取液中的蛋白激酶可以利用它作为底物． 综合结果表明,１８ ｋＤ和６７ ｋＤ蛋白可能是具有自磷酸化能力且对Ｃａ２＋ 敏感的蛋白激酶,它们对Ｃａ２＋ 的不同反应,使得钙信号的传递更具可控性     

Elevated amniotic fluid F₂-isoprostane: a potential predictive marker for preeclampsia

In the complex mechanism of preeclampsia, oxidative stress is an important pathogenic factor, and F₂-isoprostane is a marker of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. The objective of this study was to identify if the amniotic fluid (AF) levels of F₂-isoprostanes were elevated in women who later developed preeclampsia. In this study, we analyzed AF F₂-isoprostane concentrations with enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and the EIA results could be validated by quantitative mass spectrometry. The mean AF concentration of F₂-isoprostanes was significantly higher in pregnancies with subsequent development of preeclampsia (123.1 ± 57.6 pg/ml, n = 85) than in controls (73.8 ± 36.6 pg/ml, n = 85). The AF elevation of F₂-isoprostanes was even higher in the preeclampsia with intrauterine growth restriction group (138.3 ± 65.2 pg/ml, n = 39). The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristics analysis for AF F₂-isoprostanes assay was 0.81, supporting its potential as a biomarker for preeclampsia. These results indicate that oxidative stress existed before the onset of clinical preeclampsia, further suggesting that the elevation of AF F₂-isoprostanes may be used as a guide for antioxidant supplementation to reduce the risk and/or severity of preeclampsia.     

Control of gluconeogenic growth by pps and pck in Escherichia coli.

It is well-known that Escherichia coli grows more slowly on gluconeogenic carbon sources than on glucose. This phenomenon has been attributed to either energy or monomer limitation. To investigate this problem further, we varied the expression levels of pck, encoding phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pck), and pps, encoding phosphoenolpyruvate synthase (Pps). We found that the growth rates of E. coli in minimal medium supplemented with succinate and with pyruvate are limited by the levels of Pck and Pps, respectively. Optimal overexpression of pck or pps increases the unrestricted growth rates on succinate and on pyruvate, respectively, to the same level attained by the wild-type growth rate on glycerol. Since Pps is needed to supply precursors for biosyntheses, we conclude that E. coli growing on pyruvate is limited by monomer supply. However, because pck is required both for biosyntheses and catabolism for cells growing on succinate, it is possible that growth on succinate is limited by both monomer and energy supplies. The growth yield with respect to oxygen remains approximately constant, even though the overproduction of these enzymes enhances gluconeogenic growth. It appears that the constant yield for oxygen is characteristic of efficient growth on a particular substrate and that the yield is already optimal for wild-type strains. Further increases in either Pck or Pps above the optimal levels become growth inhibitory, and the growth yield for oxygen is reduced, indicating less efficient growth.     

内质网膜复合亚基3调控内质网应激影响人畸胎瘤细胞的存活

内质网膜蛋白复合物(endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex,EMC)在跨膜蛋白质的生物发生和膜整合中发挥重要作用.内质网膜复合亚基3 (endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex 3,EMC3)是EMC的重要组成部分,但其在生殖细胞中发挥的作用未见...     

Expression of arabinogalactan proteins involved in Taxol production by immobilized Taxus cuspidata cells

The expression of arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs), known as extracellular signal molecules, in immobilized T. cuspidata cells was investigated by immunofluorescence localization and Western blot analysis. It was found that the relative intensity of JIM13-reactive AGPs and Taxol production by T. cuspidata cells was increased 1.43-fold and 2.2-fold by immobilized cultures on day 25, respectively. Particularly, the expression levels of JIM13-reactive AGPs were much higher in the cells located in central and middle zones of the immobilized support matrices than these in the outer zone or in the suspension. Whether in immobilized T. cuspidata cells or in suspended T. cuspidata cells, the expression level of JIM13-reactive AGPs and Taxol production after two to three subcultures had no significant changes, but the immobilized cells always kept high-level expression of JIM13-reactive AGP and Taxol production during subcultures. Moreover, the enhancement of Taxol production was accompanied with a high-level expression of JIM13-reactive AGPs by T. cuspidata cells after treatment with 200 microM methyl jasmonate. Taken together, these results implicate that the AGPs in T. cuspidata cells may be taken as potential signal molecular involved in regulating the Taxol production by immobilized T. cuspidata cells.     

Domains within the GARP subunit Vps54 confer separate functions in complex assembly and early endosome recognition

Tethering complexes contribute to the specificity of membrane fusion by recognizing organelle features on both donor and acceptor membranes. The Golgi-associated retrograde protein (GARP) complex is required for retrograde traffic from both early and late endosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN), presenting a paradox as to how a single complex can interact specifically with vesicles from multiple upstream compartments. We have found that a subunit of the GARP complex, Vps54, can be separated into N- and C-terminal regions that have different functions. Whereas the N-terminus of Vps54 is important for GARP complex assembly and stability, a conserved C-terminal domain mediates localization to an early endocytic compartment. Mutation of this C-terminal domain has no effect on retrograde transport from late endosomes. However, a specific defect in retrieval of Snc1 from early endosomes is observed when recycling from late endosomes to the Golgi is blocked. These data suggest that separate domains recruit tethering complexes to different upstream compartments to regulate individual trafficking pathways.