Pregnancy associated glycoprotein-1, -6, -7, and -17 are major products of bovine binucleate trophoblast giant cells at midpregnancy

Pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are extensively glycosylated secretory proteins of ruminant trophoblast cells. In cattle placenta several PAG cDNAs are expressed, but the variety of correspondent proteins and their degree of glycosylation are not well characterized. Thus, we purified PAGs by using a protocol which included a lectin (Vicia villosa agglutinin) affinity chromatography. Due to their specific glycosylation pattern, PAGs derived from binucleate trophoblast giant cells were highly enriched by this protocol. PAGs were purified from cotyledons of 2 day 100 placentas and from a single placenta at day 155 and 180. In all samples three major bands (75; 66; 56 kDa) were detected by one-dimensional SDS-PAGE. Mass-spectrometric analysis identified the 75 kDa band as a mixture of PAG-7 and PAG-6, the 66 kDa band as PAG-1 and the 56 kDa band as PAG-17. N-terminal sequencing of the day 100 sample confirmed the mass spectrometric identifications. Enzymatic release of N-glycans with peptide-N-glycanase-F from PAGs reduced the molecular weight to approximately 37 kDa which corresponds to the theoretical molecular mass of PAGs. Limited peptide-N-glycanase-F treatment revealed that all four N-glycosylation sites are quantitatively occupied in PAG-1. Compared to PAG-1 the number of potential N-glycosylation sites is lower in PAG-17 (three sites) and higher in PAG-6 and -7 (five and six sites, respectively). This suggests that the number of attached N-glycans is the main determinant of molecular mass of bovine PAGs. The degree of glycosylation may be a major factor regulating the plasma half life of PAGs.     

Taurine kinetics assessed using [1,2-13C2]taurine in healthy adult humans

To assess the dynamics of taurine metabolism in vivo, two sets of studies were carried out in healthy volunteers. First, pilot studies were carried in a single human subject to determine the time course of plasma and whole blood isotope enrichment over the course of an 8-h, unprimed continuous infusion of [1,2-(13)C(2)]taurine. Second, five healthy adult males received two tracer infusions on separate days and in randomized order: 1) a 6-h continuous infusion of [1,2-(13)C(2)]taurine (3.1 +/- 0.2 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1)) and 2) a bolus injection of [(13)C(2)]taurine (3.0 +/- 0.1 micromol/kg). Isotope enrichments in plasma and whole blood taurine were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The pilot experiments allowed us to establish that steady-state isotope enrichment was reached in plasma and whole blood by the 5th h of tracer infusion. The plateau enrichment reached in whole blood was lower than that obtained in plasma taurine (P < 0.02). In the second set of studies, the appearance rate (R(a)) of plasma taurine, determined from continuous infusion studies was 31.8 +/- 3.1 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1). After a bolus injection of tracer, the enrichment decay over the subsequent 2 h was best fitted by a two-exponential curve. Taurine R(a) was approximately 85% higher when determined using the bolus injection technique compared with continuous infusion of tracer. We conclude that 1) taurine R(a) into plasma is very low in healthy postabsorptive humans, and, due to taurine compartmentation between the extra- and intracellular milieus, may represent only interorgan taurine transfer and merely a small fraction of whole body taurine turnover; and 2) the bolus injection technique may overestimate taurine appearance into plasma. Further studies are warranted to determine whether alterations in bile taurine dynamics affect taurine R(a).     

Proteomic analysis of nuclear proteins from proliferative and differentiated human colonic intestinal epithelial cells

Self-renewing tissues such as the intestine contain progenitor proliferating cells which subsequently differentiate. Cell proliferation and differentiation involve gene regulation processes which take place in the nucleus. A human intestinal epithelial cell line model (Caco2/TC7) which reproduces these dynamic processes has been used to perform proteomic studies on nuclear proteins. Nuclei from Caco2/TC7 cells at proliferative and differentiated stages were purified by subcellular fractionation. After two-dimensional gel electrophoresis separation and ruthenium staining, 400 protein spots were detected by image analysis. Eighty-five spots corresponding to 60 different proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in nuclei from proliferative cells. Comparison of nuclear proteomes from proliferative or differentiated cells by differential display resulted in the identification of differentially expressed proteins such as nucleolin, hnRNP A2/B1 and hnRNP A1. By using Western blot analysis, we found that the expression and number of specific isoforms of these nuclear proteins decreased in differentiated cells. Immunocytochemistry experiments also showed that in proliferative cells nucleolin was distributed in nucleoli-like bodies. In contrast, hnRNPs A2/B1 and A1 were dispersed throughout the nucleus. This study of the nuclear proteome from intestinal epithelial cells represents the first step towards the establishment of a protein database which will be a valuable resource in future studies on the differential expression of nuclear proteins in response to physiological, pharmacological and pathological modulations.     

Molecular hydrogen from water radiolysis as an energy source for bacterial growth in a basin containing irradiating waste

Although being deionized, filtered and therefore normally deeply oligotrophic, the water from a basin containing irradiating waste presented relatively high bacterial concentrations (ca 10(5) cfu ml(-1)) and biofilm development at its surface and on the walls. This water was characterized by a high concentration of molecular H2 due to water radiolysis, while its electrochemical potential was around +400 mV due the presence of dissolved O2 and active oxygen compounds. This combination of H2 availability and of an oxidant environment is completely original and not described in nature. From surface and wall biofilms, we enumerated the autotrophic populations ( approximately 10(5) bacteria ml(-1)) able to grow in presence of H2 as energy source and CO2 as carbon source, and we isolated the most abundant ones among cultivable bacteria. They efficiently grew on a mineral medium, in the presence of H2, O2 and CO2, the presence of the three gases being indispensable. Two strains were selected and identified using their rrs gene sequence as Ralstonia sp. GGLH002 and Burkholderia sp. GGLH005. In pure culture and using isotope exchange between hydrogen and deuterium, we demonstrated that these strains are able to oxidize hydrogen as energy source, using oxygen as an electron acceptor, and to use carbon dioxide as carbon source. These chemoautotroph hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria probably represent the pioneer bacterial populations in this basin and could be primary producers in the bacterial community.     

Molecular genetic analysis of 400-year-old human remains found in two Yakut burial sites

The excavation of five frozen graves at the Sytygane Syhe and Istekh-Myrane burial sites (dated at 400 years old) in central Yakutia revealed five human skeletons belonging to the Yakut population. To investigate the origin and evolution of the Yakut population as well as the kinship system between individuals buried in these two sites, DNA was extracted from bone samples and analyzed by autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) and by sequencing hypervariable region I (HV1) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. The results showed a diversity of sepulchral organizations linked probably to the social or genetic background of the subjects. Comparison of STR profiles, mitochondrial haplotypes, and haplogroups with data from Eurasian populations indicated affinities with Asian populations and suggested a relative specificity and continuity of part of the Yakut mitochondrial gene pool during the last five centuries. Moreover, our results did not support a Central Asian (with the exception of maternal lineage of West Eurasian origin) or Siberian origin of the maternal lineages of these ancient Yakut subjects, implying an ethnogenesis of the Yakut population probably more complex than previously proposed.     

Chemotaxonomy of Portuguese Ulex: quinolizidine alkaloids as taxonomical markers

Six species of Portuguese Ulex L. in a total of nineteen populations were studied by GC-EIMS as to their content in quinolizidine alkaloids. Sparteine, beta-isosparteine, jussiaeiine A, N-methylcytisine, cytisine, 5,6-dehydrolupanine, rhombifoline, lupanine, jussiaeiine B, N-formylcytisine, N-acetylcytisine, anagyrine, jussiaeiine C, jussiaeiine D, pohakuline, baptifoline, and epibaptifoline were detected. Analysis of the chromatograms showed that the chemical profile of all species was mainly composed of N-methylcytisine, cytisine, anagyrine, and jussiaeiines A, B, C and D. Therefore a quantification study of these alkaloids in all the populations studied was done by GC. These data were then submitted to cluster analysis and principal component analysis, which allowed the definition of five chemotypes and the recognition of hybrids. N-methylcytisine, cytisine, and jussiaeiines A, C and D are recognized as markers of this genus in Portugal.     

Interactions of earthworms with Atrazine-degrading bacteria in an agricultural soil

In the last 10 years, accelerated mineralization of Atrazine (2-chloro-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine) has been evidenced in agricultural soils repeatedly treated with this herbicide. Here, we report on the interaction between earthworms, considered as soil engineers, and the Atrazine-degrading community. The impact of earthworm macrofauna on Atrazine mineralization was assessed in representative soil microsites of earthworm activities (gut contents, casts, burrow linings). Soil with or without earthworms, namely the anecic species Lumbricus terrestris and the endogenic species Aporrectodea caliginosa, was either inoculated or not inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. ADP, an Atrazine-degrading strain, and was either treated or not treated with Atrazine. The structure of the bacterial community, the Atrazine-degrading activity and the abundance of atzA, B and C sequences in soil microsites were investigated. Atrazine mineralization was found to be reduced in representative soil microsites of earthworm activities. Earthworms significantly affected the structure of soil bacterial communities. They also reduced the size of the inoculated population of Pseudomonas sp. ADP, thereby contributing to the diminution of the Atrazine-degrading genetic potential in representative soil microsites of earthworm activities. This study illustrates the regulation produced by the earthworms on functional bacterial communities involved in the fate of organic pollutants in soils.     

Characterization of membrane association domains within the Tomato ringspot nepovirus X2 protein, an endoplasmic reticulum-targeted polytopic membrane protein

Replication of nepoviruses (family Comoviridae) occurs in association with endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived membranes. We have previously shown that the putative nucleoside triphosphate-binding protein (NTB) of Tomato ringspot nepovirus is an integral membrane protein with two ER-targeting sequences and have suggested that it anchors the viral replication complex (VRC) to the membranes. A second highly hydrophobic protein domain (X2) is located immediately upstream of the NTB domain in the RNA1-encoded polyprotein. X2 shares conserved sequence motifs with the comovirus 32-kDa protein, an ER-targeted protein implicated in VRC assembly. In this study, we examined the ability of X2 to associate with intracellular membranes. The X2 protein was fused to the green fluorescent protein and expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana by agroinfiltration. Confocal microscopy and membrane flotation experiments suggested that X2 is targeted to ER membranes. Mutagenesis studies revealed that X2 contains multiple ER-targeting domains, including two C-terminal transmembrane helices and a less-well-defined domain further upstream. To investigate the topology of the protein in the membrane, in vitro glycosylation assays were conducted using X2 derivatives that contained N-glycosylation sites introduced at the N or C termini of the protein. The results led us to propose a topological model for X2 in which the protein traverses the membrane three times, with the N terminus oriented in the lumen and the C terminus exposed to the cytoplasmic face. Taken together, our results indicate that X2 is an ER-targeted polytopic membrane protein and raises the possibility that it acts as a second membrane anchor for the VRC.     

Interaction with Grb14 results in site-specific regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor

The dynamics of interaction of the insulin receptor (IR) with Grb14 was monitored, in real time, in living human embryonic kidney cells, using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). We observed that insulin rapidly and dose-dependently stimulated this interaction. We also observed that insulin-induced BRET between the IR and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) was markedly reduced by Grb14, suggesting that Grb14 regulated this interaction in living cells. Using site-specific antibodies against phosphorylated tyrosines of the IR, we showed that Grb14 protected the three tyrosines of the kinase loop from dephosphorylation by PTP1B, while favouring dephosphorylation of tyrosine 972. This resulted in decreased IRS-1 binding to the IR and decreased activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway. Increased Grb14 expression in human liver-derived HuH7 cells also seemed to specifically decrease the phosphorylation of Y972. Our work therefore suggests that Grb14 may regulate signalling through the IR by controlling its tyrosine dephosphorylation in a site-specific manner.