Expression and purification of the C-terminal fragments of TRPV5/6 channels

The transient receptor potential vanniloid 5 and 6 (TRPV5 and TRPV6) Ca(2+)-ion channels are crucial for the regulation of minute-to-minute whole body calcium homeostasis. They act as the gatekeepers of active Ca(2+) reabsorption in kidney and intestine, respectively. In spite of the great progress in the TRP channels characterization, very little is known at the atomic level about their structure and interactions with other proteins. To the major extent it is caused by difficulties in obtaining suitable samples. Here, we report expression and purification of 36 intracellular C-terminal fragments of TRPV5 and TRPV6 channels, for which no structural information is reported thus far. We demonstrate that these proteins contain intrinsically disordered regions and identify fragments suitable for biophysical characterization. By combining bioinformatic predictions and experimental results, we propose several criteria that may aid in designing a scheme for large-scale production of difficult proteins.     

Large deletion on the Y-chromosome long arm (Yq) of C57BL/6JBomTac inbred mice

Mammalian Genome - The Y-chromosome of mice has a crucial role in sex determination, gender ratio equilibrium as well as male fertility, and is moreover involved in behavioral, immunological, and...     

Early Temporal Changes in Ecto-Nucleotidase Activity after Cortical Stab Injury in Rat

During a variety of insults to the brain adenine nucleotides are released in large quantities from damaged cells, triggering multiple cellular responses to injury. Here, we evaluated changes in extracellular ATP, ADP and AMP hydrolysis at different times (0–24 hours) after unilateral cortical stab injury (CSI) in adult rats. Results demonstrated that 24 hours following CSI, ATP and ADP hydrolyzing activities were not significantly altered in injured cortex. Based on calculated V _ATP/V _ADP ratio it was concluded that ATP/ADP hydrolysis was primarily catalyzed by NTPDase1 enzyme form. In contrast, AMP hydrolysis, catalyzed by 5’-nucleotidase, was significantly reduced at least 4 hours following CSI. Kinetic analysis and Lineweaver-Burk transformation of the enzyme velocities obtained over the range of AMP concentrations (0.05–1.50 mM) revealed that inhibition of 5’-nucleotidase activity after CSI was of the uncompetitive type. Taken together our data suggest that injured tissue has reduced potential for extracellular metabolism of adenine nucleotides in early stages after CSI.     

Labeling, characterization, and in vivo localization of a new 90Y-based phosphonate chelate 2,3-dicarboxypropane-1,1-diphosphonic acid for the treatment of bone metastases: Comparison with 99mTc-DPD complex

The goal of this investigation was to examine the possibilities for yttrium-90-labeling of the 2,3-dicarboxypropane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (DPD), which is currently labeled with technetium-99m and as a (99m)Tc-DPD clinically used as bone imaging agent. Analysis of the complex enclosed the radiochemical quality control methods, biodistribution studies, as well as the determination of pharmacokinetic parameters. The biological behavior of complexes (90)Y-DPD, (99m)Tc-DPD and (90)Y-labeled DPD-kit formulation [(90)Y-(Sn)-DPD] in animal model was compared. The labeling conditions were standardized to give the maximum yield, which ranged between 93% and 98%. The examined (90)Y complex could be easily prepared, with an outstanding yield and was also found to be very stable for at least 10h after (90)Y-labeling. Protein binding value was 4.6+/-0.7% for (90)Y-DPD complex and the complex possess a hydrophilic character. The satisfactory results of (90)Y-DPD biodistribution in healthy test animals were obtained; the uptake in the bone was 11-13%ID/g after 24h depending on the pH value during the preparation. With high skeletal uptake, a minimum uptake in soft tissues and rapid blood clearance the (90)Y-DPD complex proved to be an excellent candidate for targeting tumor therapy.     

The mammalian pannexin family is homologous to the invertebrate innexin gap junction proteins

We have cloned the genes PANX1, PANX2 and PANX3, encoding putative gap junction proteins homologous to invertebrate innexins, which constitute a new family of mammalian proteins called pannexins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that pannexins are highly conserved in worms, mollusks, insects and mammals, pointing to their important function. Both innexins and pannexins are predicted to have four transmembrane regions, two extracellular loops, one intracellular loop and intracellular N and C termini. Both the human and mouse genomes contain three pannexin-encoding genes. Mammalian pannexins PANX1 and PANX3 are closely related, with PANX2 more distant. The human and mouse pannexin-1 mRNAs are ubiquitously, although disproportionately, expressed in normal tissues. Human PANX2 is a brain-specific gene; its mouse orthologue, Panx2, is also expressed in certain cell types in developing brain. In silico evaluation of Panx3 expression predicts gene expression in osteoblasts and synovial fibroblasts. The apparent conservation of pannexins between species merits further investigation.     

A novel mouse Chr5 locus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diht</Emphasis> controls dopamine-induced hypothermia

Mice of the strain C3H.PRI-Flv^r, carrying genetically determined resistance to flaviviruses, have been shown to be more sensitive to the hypothermic effect of dopamine than congenic flavivirus-susceptible C3H/HeJARC mice. In the current study, the greater sensitivity to dopamine-induced hypothermia observed in flavivirus-resistant mice was shown to be dose-dependent, with strain differences being the most prominent at a moderate dose of apomorphine (1 mg/kg). In addition, hypothermic responses to apomorphine were shown to be under developmental regulation; aging increased the potency of apomorphine-induced hypothermia and abrogated strain and sex differences observed in young mice. Linkage analysis of mouse strain-dependent co-inheritance between flavivirus resistance and greater sensitivity to the hypothermic effect of dopamine was performed using two genetically unrelated flavivirus-susceptible and two highly congenic flavivirus-resistant mouse strains in parallel with C3H.PRI-Flv^r-and C3H/HeJARC reference strains. This study has revealed a clear segregation between flavivirus resistance conferred by the Flv locus and sensitivity to dopamine-controlled hypothermia conferred by a novel locus, Diht. Parallel studies in F1 and F2 heterozygote mice showed that the high sensitivity to hypothermic effect of dopamine (Diht^high) is inherited as the Chr5-linked dominant trait. The novel locus, Diht, has been mapped proximal to the Flv locus on a distal part of mouse Chr5 between microsatellite markers D5Mit41 and D5Mit158.     

Is flavivirus resistance interferon type I-independent?

Interferon type I comprises a group of major virus-inducible host antiviral factors that control infection with a great number of human and animal viruses. They are ubiquitously expressed cytokines that interfere with virus replication within different cell types by activating a number of host genes and several parallel antiviral pathways. Two major intracellular actors of IFN-I-induced antiviral states are ribonucleic acid-dependent protein kinase and 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetases/RNase L, both being induced by IFN-I and activated by viral double stranded ribonucleic acid. In addition, Mx proteins and ribonucleic acid-specific adenosine deaminase have also been implicated in IFN-I-induced antiviral responses to some RNA viruses. Viruses, in turn, have evolved different strategies to escape a control imposed by IFN-I and by IFN-I-induced antiviral factors. The fatal outcome of virus infection as well as the efficiency of IFN-I-based antiviral therapies in its prevention, are determined by complex interactions between viral virulence factors and cellular antiviral IFN-I inducible factors. In the light of these facts and current knowledge on IFN-I involvement in flavivirus infection, I discuss a possible role of IFN-I signalling in resistance to flavivirus infection in a model of congenic mouse strains that express different levels of susceptibility/resistance to common flaviviruses. Specifically, this review emphasizes importance of fully operative 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetases/RNase L pathway for the IFN-I-induced stimulation of flavivirus resistance conferred by Flv.     

Orthodontic status and head morphology in young males

Complete anthropometrical data on a sample of 111 Russian males aged 20.0+/-2.3 years were obtained to investigate craniofacial morphology according to individual orthodontic status (OS). Subsample analyses were performed, using a variety of grouping factors. a) 1-spacing on both dental arches; 2-absence of crowding, spacing, rotation, or displacement of teeth on both dental arches; 3-crowding on both dental arches; b) 1-spacing on mandible; 2-absence of crowding, spacing, rotation, or displacement of teeth on mandible; 3-crowding on mandible; c) 1-spacing on maxilla; 2-absence of crowding, spacing, rotation, or displacement of teeth on maxilla; 3-crowding on maxilla. Wilks' Lambdas were found to be 0.29 to 0.59; all were significant. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Significant positive and negative correlations were found between craniofacial measurements and an individual's OS. 2. Measurements exhibited statistically significant differences between the groups with different OS at the p<0.05 level and some at p<0.01. 3. Using forward stepwise discriminant analysis, a high difference in craniofacial architecture between the groups with different OS was found. Canonical discriminant analysis indicates the face pattern connected to crowding: relatively high medial vertical mandible height in combination with a vertically long and narrow face; to spacing: a wide face with wide nose and high upper lip is combined with shortened medial vertical mandible height. 4. Depending upon the grouping factor, 10 to 12 variables were chosen in the canonical discriminant model. Classification functions and means of canonical roots were calculated; morphological interpretations of canonical roots were performed. 5. Definitive OS is a complicated product of interaction during the ontogenesis of jaws between the time of teeth eruption and the growth of two growth fields (alveolar and corpus) under the simultaneous influence of hormonal status and the chronological age of the individual.     

Immunohistological Determination of Ecto-nucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolase1 (NTPDase1) and 5′-nucleotidase in Rat Hippocampus Reveals Overlapping Distribution

Distribution of two enzymes involved in the ectonucleotidase enzyme chain, ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase1 (NTPDase1) and ecto-5′-nucleotidase, was assessed by immunohistochemistry in the rat hippocampus. Obtained results have shown co-expression of the enzymes in the hippocampal region, as well as wide and strikingly similar cellular distribution. Both enzymes were expressed at the surface of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 and CA2 sections, while cells in the CA3 section were faintly stained. The granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus was moderately stained for NTPDase1, as well as for ecto-5′-nucleotidase. Glial association for ecto-5′-nucleotidase was also observed, and fiber tracts were intensively stained for both enzymes. This is the first comparative study of NTPDase1 and ecto-5′-nucleotidase distribution in the rat hippocampus. Obtained results suggest that the broad overlapping distribution of these enzymes in neurons and glial cells reflects the functional importance of ectonucleotidase actions in the nervous system.     

Tissue-Specific Evolution of Protein Coding Genes in Human and Mouse

Protein-coding genes evolve at different rates, and the influence of different parameters, from gene size to expression level, has been extensively studied. While in yeast gene expression level is the major causal factor of gene evolutionary rate, the situation is more complex in animals. Here we investigate these relations further, especially taking in account gene expression in different organs as well as indirect correlations between parameters. We used RNA-seq data from two large datasets, covering 22 mouse tissues and 27 human tissues. Over all tissues, evolutionary rate only correlates weakly with levels and breadth of expression. The strongest explanatory factors of purifying selection are GC content, expression in many developmental stages, and expression in brain tissues. While the main component of evolutionary rate is purifying selection, we also find tissue-specific patterns for sites under neutral evolution and for positive selection. We observe fast evolution of genes expressed in testis, but also in other tissues, notably liver, which are explained by weak purifying selection rather than by positive selection.