Estimation of protein and metabolite release rates from damaged mammalian cells by using GFP as a marker molecule

The quantification of metabolite leakage from damaged mammalian cells to the surrounding medium is of high interest for the processing of samples for metabolomic analysis. It is also of relevance to know the typical time span which is required for a promoted metabolite release through a selectively permeabilized cell membrane. The real-time observation of such a process is difficult since small metabolites cannot be observed directly by optical methods and other more indirect assays can disturb the metabolite concentration itself. However, the diffusion based loss of metabolites from the cytoplasm can be predicted on the basis of reference measurements taken from an easy-to-detect molecule with known diffusion coefficient. In this work, we use green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker and model its release from damaged cells using the finite-element method. A correlation between the disrupted membrane area fraction, A _d , the distribution of membrane ruptures and the rate of GFP efflux, k _e , has been established. k _e has been determined experimentally for Chinese hamster ovary cells, which have been damaged mechanically by passage through a micronozzle geometry in a microfluidic system. The immediate GFP release downstream of the micronozzles has been observed in real-time and the corresponding membrane damage has been predicted. On this basis, we calculated the expected times required for the drainage of freely diffusable cytosolic glucose and found a loss of ??90% within 1 s for a disrupted membrane area fraction of ??5%. Hence, even minimal membrane damage would lead to a rapid loss of cytosolic metabolites by diffusion unless membrane resealing processes take place.     

Trisubstituted and tetrasubstituted pyrazolines as a novel class of cell-growth inhibitors in tumor cells with wild type p53

Derivatives with scaffolds of 1,3,5-tri-substituted pyrazoline and 1,3,4,5-tetra-substituted pyrazoline were synthesized and tested for their inhibitory effects versus the p53^+/+ HCT116 and p53^?/? H1299 human tumor cell lines. Several compounds were active against the two cell lines displaying IC₅₀ values in the low micromolar range with a clearly more pronounced effect on the p53^+/+ HCT116 cells. The compound class shows excellent developability due to the modular synthesis, allowing independent optimization of all three to four key substituents to improve the properties of the molecules.     

Natural Variation in Maize Aphid Resistance Is Associated with 2,4-Dihydroxy-7-Methoxy-1,4-Benzoxazin-3-One Glucoside Methyltransferase Activity

Plants differ greatly in their susceptibility to insect herbivory, suggesting both local adaptation and resistance tradeoffs. We used maize (Zea mays) recombinant inbred lines to map a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for the maize leaf aphid (Rhopalosiphum maidis) susceptibility to maize Chromosome 1. Phytochemical analysis revealed that the same locus was also associated with high levels of 2-hydroxy-4,7-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one glucoside (HDMBOA-Glc) and low levels of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one glucoside (DIMBOA-Glc). In vitro enzyme assays with candidate genes from the region of the QTL identified three O-methyltransferases (Bx10a-c) that convert DIMBOA-Glc to HDMBOA-Glc. Variation in HDMBOA-Glc production was attributed to a natural CACTA family transposon insertion that inactivates Bx10c in maize lines with low HDMBOA-Glc accumulation. When tested with a population of 26 diverse maize inbred lines, R. maidis produced more progeny on those with high HDMBOA-Glc and low DIMBOA-Glc. Although HDMBOA-Glc was more toxic to R. maidis than DIMBOA-Glc in vitro, BX10c activity and the resulting decline of DIMBOA-Glc upon methylation to HDMBOA-Glc were associated with reduced callose deposition as an aphid defense response in vivo. Thus, a natural transposon insertion appears to mediate an ecologically relevant trade-off between the direct toxicity and defense-inducing properties of maize benzoxazinoids.     

Implication of Progranulin and C1q/TNF-Related Protein-3 (CTRP3) on Inflammation and Atherosclerosis in Subjects with or without Metabolic Syndrome

Objective

Progranulin and C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) were recently discovered as novel adipokines which may link obesity with altered regulation of glucose metabolism, chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Research Design and Methods

We examined circulating progranulin and CTRP3 concentrations in 127 subjects with (n = 44) or without metabolic syndrome (n = 83). Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship of progranulin and CTRP3 levels with inflammatory markers and cardiometabolic risk factors, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and adiponectin serum concentrations, as well as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).

Results

Circulating progranulin levels are significantly related with inflammatory markers, hsCRP (r = 0.30, P = 0.001) and IL-6 (r = 0.30, P = 0.001), whereas CTRP3 concentrations exhibit a significant association with cardiometabolic risk factors, including waist circumference (r = −0.21), diastolic blood pressure (r = −0.21), fasting glucose (r = −0.20), triglyceride (r = −0.34), total cholesterol (r = −0.25), eGFR (r = 0.39) and adiponectin (r = 0.26) levels. Serum progranulin concentrations were higher in patients with metabolic syndrome than those of the control group (199.55 [179.33, 215.53] vs. 185.10 [160.30, 204.90], P = 0.051) and the number of metabolic syndrome components had a significant positive correlation with progranulin levels (r = 0.227, P = 0.010). In multiple regression analysis, IL-6 and triglyceride levels were significant predictors of serum progranulin levels (R ² = 0.251). Furthermore, serum progranulin level was an independent predictor for increased CIMT in subjects without metabolic syndrome after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors (R ² = 0.365).

Conclusions

Serum progranulin levels are significantly associated with systemic inflammatory markers and were an independent predictor for atherosclerosis in subjects without metabolic syndrome.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01668888","term_id":"NCT01668888"}}NCT01668888     

Influence of Host Plant Genotype, Presence of a Pathogen, and Coinoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens Strains on the Rhizosphere Expression of Hydrogen Cyanide- and 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol Biosynthetic Genes in P. fluorescens Biocontrol Strain CHA0

The production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) is a major factor in the control of soil-borne diseases by Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0. We investigated the impact of different biotic factors on the expression of HCN–in comparison to DAPG biosynthetic genes in the rhizosphere. To this end, the influence of plant cultivar, pathogen infection, and coinoculation with other biocontrol strains on the expression of hcnA-lacZ and phlA-lacZ fusion in strain CHA0 was monitored on the roots of bean. Interestingly, all the tested factors influenced the expression of the two biocontrol traits in a similar way. For both genes, we observed a several-fold higher expression in the rhizosphere of cv. Derakhshan compared with cvs. Goli and Naz, although bacterial rhizosphere colonization levels were similar on all cultivars tested. Root infection by Rhizoctonia solani stimulated total phlA and hcnA gene expression in the bean rhizosphere. Coinoculation of strain CHA0 with DAPG-producing P. fluorescens biocontrol strains Pf-68 and Pf-100 did neither result in a substantial alteration of hcnA nor of phlA expression in CHA0 on bean roots. To our best knowledge, this is the first study investigating the impact of biotic factors on HCN production by a bacterial biocontrol strain in the rhizosphere.     

TSH compensates thyroid-specific IGF-I receptor knockout and causes papillary thyroid hyperplasia

Although TSH stimulates all aspects of thyroid physiology IGF-I signaling through a tyrosine kinase-containing transmembrane receptor exhibits a permissive impact on TSH action. To better understand the importance of the IGF-I receptor in the thyroid in vivo, we inactivated the Igf1r with a Tg promoter-driven Cre-lox system in mice. We studied male and female mice with thyroidal wild-type, Igf1r(+/-), and Igf1r(-/-) genotypes. Targeted Igf1r inactivation did transiently reduce thyroid hormone levels and significantly increased TSH levels in both heterozygous and homozygous mice without affecting thyroid weight. Histological analysis of thyroid tissue with Igf1r inactivation revealed hyperplasia and heterogeneous follicle structure. From 4 months of age, we detected papillary thyroid architecture in heterozygous and homozygous mice. We also noted increased body weight of male mice with a homozygous thyroidal null mutation in the Igf1r locus, compared with wild-type mice, respectively. A decrease of mRNA and protein for thyroid peroxidase and increased mRNA and protein for IGF-II receptor but no significant mRNA changes for the insulin receptor, the TSH receptor, and the sodium-iodide-symporter in both Igf1r(+/-) and Igf1r(-/-) mice were detected. Our results suggest that the strong increase of TSH benefits papillary thyroid hyperplasia and completely compensates the loss of IGF-I receptor signaling at the level of thyroid hormones without significant increase in thyroid weight. This could indicate that the IGF-I receptor signaling is less essential for thyroid hormone synthesis but maintains homeostasis and normal thyroid morphogenesis.     

Silintaphin-1--interaction with silicatein during structure-guiding bio-silica formation

Silicateins are unique enzymes of sponges (phylum Porifera) that template and catalyze the polymerization of nanoscale silicate to siliceous skeletal elements. These multifunctional spicules are often elaborately shaped, with complex symmetries. They carry an axial proteinaceous filament, consisting of silicatein and the scaffold protein silintaphin-1, which guides silica deposition and subsequent spicular morphogenesis. In vivo, the synthesis of the axial filament very likely proceeds in three steps: (a) assembly of silicatein monomers to form one pentamer; (b) assembly of pentamers to form fractal-like structures; and finally (c) assembly of fractal-like structures to form filaments. The present study was aimed at exploring the effect of self-assembled complexes of silicatein and silintaphin-1 on biosilica synthesis in vitro. Hence, in a comparative approach, recombinant silicatein and recombinant silintaphin-1 were used at different stoichiometric ratios to form axial filaments and to synthesize biosilica. Whereas recombinant silicatein-α reaggregates to randomly organized structures, coincubation of silicatein-α and silintaphin-1 (molecular ratio 4 : 1) resulted in synthetic filaments via fractal-like patterned self-assemblies, as observed by electron microscopy. Concurrently, owing to the concerted action of both proteins, the enzymatic activity of silicatein-α strongly increased by 5.3-fold (with the substrate tetraethyl orthosilicate), leading to significantly enhanced synthesis of biosilica. These results indicate that silicatein-α-mediated biosilicification depends on the concomitant presence of silicatein-α and silintaphin-1. Accordingly, silintaphin-1 might not only enhance the enzymatic activity of silicatein-α, but also accelerate the nonenzymatic polycondensation of the silica product before releasing the fully synthesized biosiliceous polymer.