Potential role of muscarinic receptors in schizophrenia

The role of muscarinic receptors in schizophrenia was investigated using the muscarinic agonist PTAC. PTAC was highly selective for muscarinic receptors, was a partial agonist at muscarinic M2/M4 receptors and an antagonist at M1, M3 and M5 receptors. PTAC was highly active in animal models predictive of antipsychotic behavior including inhibition of conditioned avoidance responding in rats and blockade of apomorphine-induced climbing behavior in mice. d-Amphetamine-induced Fos expression in rat nucleus accumbens was inhibited by PTAC, thus directly demonstrating the ability of PTAC to modulate DA activity. In electrophysiological studies in rats, PTAC acutely inhibited the firing of A10 DA cells and after chronic administration decreased the number of spontaneously firing DA cells in the A10 brain area. However, PTAC did not appreciably alter the firing of A9 DA cells. Thus, PTAC appears to have novel antipsychotic-like activity and these data suggest that muscarinic compounds such as PTAC may represent a new class of antipsychotic agents.     

Identification of the [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Responsible for Hydrogen Generation in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum and Demonstration of Increased Ethanol Yield via Hydrogenase Knockout

Three putative hydrogenase enzyme systems in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum were investigated at the genetic, mRNA, enzymatic, and phenotypic levels. A four-gene operon containing two [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes, provisionally termed hfs (hydrogenase-Fe-S), was found to be the main enzymatic catalyst of hydrogen production. hfsB, perhaps the most interesting gene of the operon, contains an [FeFe]-hydrogenase and a PAS sensory domain and has several conserved homologues among clostridial saccharolytic, cellulolytic, and pathogenic bacteria. A second hydrogenase gene cluster, hyd, exhibited methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase enzymatic activity, but hyd gene knockouts did not influence the hydrogen yield of cultures grown in closed-system batch fermentations. This result, combined with the observation that hydB contains NAD(P)+ and FMN binding sites, suggests that the hyd genes are specific to the transfer of electrons from NAD(P)H to hydrogen ions. A third gene cluster, a putative [NiFe]-hydrogenase with homology to the ech genes, did not exhibit hydrogenase activity under any of the conditions tested. Deletion of the hfs and hydA genes resulted in a loss of detectable methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase activity. Strains with a deletion of the hfs genes exhibited a 95% reduction in hydrogen and acetic acid production. A strain with hfs and ldh deletions exhibited an increased ethanol yield from consumed carbohydrates and represents a new strategy for engineering increased ethanol yields in T. saccharolyticum.Thermophilic anaerobic bacteria have long been of interest for studies of cellulosic biomass conversion due to their native hydrolytic and fermentative abilities (5, 33). However, all thermophilic anaerobes isolated to date have branched fermentation pathways which produce organic acids in addition to solvents such as ethanol (12). For cellulosic fuel production, significant yield loss is likely to be economically unfeasible (11).In their natural environments, saccharolytic fermentative bacteria participate in interspecies hydrogen transfer, producing hydrogen from carbohydrates that is rapidly consumed by methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria (30). As a result, the hydrogen partial pressure remains exceedingly low, allowing hydrogen (E₀′, −414 mV) to be produced not only from ferredoxin (E₀′, ∼−400 mV) but also from the less favorable electron source NAD(P)H (E₀′, −320 mV). Fermentative bacteria benefit from hydrogen production, because they are able to coproduce acetic acid and an additional ATP via acetate kinase (23). When grown in pure culture in a closed fermentation vessel, hydrogen is generated primarily from reduced ferredoxin, since generation from NAD(P)H becomes less favorable as the concentration of hydrogen increases (7).We have recently demonstrated high-yield ethanol production in the thermophilic anaerobe Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485 through deletion of the l-lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), phosphate acetyltransferase (pta), and acetate kinase (ack) genes (20). In addition to producing ethanol at high yield, this strain produced significantly less hydrogen, as is required to balance end product electron stoichiometry, although hydrogenase activity in cell extracts remained high. In this study, we used gene knockout to identify gene clusters that are implicated in hydrogenase activity in T. saccharolyticum and to identify the hfs gene operon, which is required for hydrogen production. The hfs operon contains a protein with [FeFe]-hydrogenase and PAS sensory domains that is conserved among a few members of the genera Clostridium and Thermoanaerobacter. Strains with hfs deletions showed decreased acetic acid production, and a strain with hfs and ldh deletions produced ethanol at an increased yield.     

Conversion for Avicel and AFEX pretreated corn stover by Clostridium thermocellum and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation: insights into microbial conversion of pretreated cellulosic biomass

In this study, efforts were taken to compare solubilization of Avicel and AFEX pretreated corn stover (AFEX CS) by SSF and Clostridium thermocellum fermentation, with an aim to gain insights into microbial conversion of pretreated cellulosic biomass. Solubilization rates for AFEX CS are comparable for the two systems while solubilization of Avicel is much faster by C. thermocellum. Initial catalyst loading impacts final cellulose conversion for SSF but not for C. thermocellum. Hydrolysis of the two substrates using cell-free C. thermocellum fermentation broth revealed much smaller difference in cellulose conversion than the difference observed for growing cultures. Tests on hemicellulose removal and particle size reduction for AFEX CS indicated that substrate accessibility is very important for enhanced solubilization by C. thermocellum.     

Topology scanning and putative three-dimensional structure of the extracellular binding domains of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (SLC10A2)

The apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT, SLC10A2) facilitates the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts and plays a key role in cholesterol metabolism. The membrane topology of ASBT was initially scanned using a consensus topography analysis that predominantly predicts a seven transmembrane (TM) domain configuration adhering to the "positive inside" rule. Membrane topology was further evaluated and confirmed by N-glycosylation-scanning mutagenesis, as reporter sites inserted in the putative extracellular loops 1 and 3 were glycosylated. On the basis of a 7TM topology, we built a three-dimensional model of ASBT using an approach of homology-modeling and remote-threading techniques for the extramembranous domains using bacteriorhodopsin as a scaffold for membrane attachment points; the model was refined using energy minimizations and molecular dynamics simulations. Ramachandran scores and other geometric indicators show that the model is comparable in quality to the crystal structures of similar proteins. Simulated annealing and docking of cholic acid, a natural substrate, onto the protein surface revealed four distinct binding sites. Subsequent site-directed mutagenesis of the predicted binding domain further validated the model. This model agrees further with available data for a pathological mutation (P290S) because the mutant model after in silico mutagenesis loses the ability to bind bile acids.