Characterization of the ptr5+ gene involved in nuclear mRNA export in fission yeast

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. It is necessary to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in lung cancer in order to develop more effective therapeutics for the treatment of this disease. Recent reports have shown that Wnt signaling pathway is important in a number of cancer types including lung cancer. However, the role of Frizzled-8 (Fzd-8), one of the Frizzled family of receptors for the Wnt ligands, in lung cancer still remains to be elucidated. Here in this study we showed that Fzd-8 was over-expressed in human lung cancer tissue samples and cell lines. To investigate the functional importance of the Fzd-8 over-expression in lung cancer, we used shRNA to knock down Fzd-8 mRNA in lung cancer cells expressing the gene. We observed that Fzd-8 shRNA inhibited cell proliferation along with decreased activity of Wnt pathway in vitro, and also significantly suppressed A549 xenograft model in vivo (p<0.05). Furthermore, we found that knocking down Fzd-8 by shRNA sensitized the lung cancer cells to chemotherapy Taxotere. These data suggest that Fzd-8 is a putative therapeutic target for human lung cancer and over-expression of Fzd-8 may be important for aberrant Wnt activation in lung cancer.     

Identification of cold-inducible inner membrane proteins of the psychrotrophic bacterium, Shewanella livingstonensis Ac10, by proteomic analysis

Shewanella livingstonensis Ac10 is a psychrotrophic Gram-negative bacterium that grows at temperatures close to 0°C. Previous proteomic studies of this bacterium identified cold-inducible soluble proteins and outer membrane proteins that could possibly be involved in its cold adaptation (Kawamoto et al. in Extremophiles 11:819–826, 2007). In this study, we established a method for separating the inner and outer membranes by sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and performed proteomic studies of the inner membrane fraction. The cells were grown at temperatures of 4 and 18°C, and phospholipid-enriched inner membrane fractions were obtained. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and peptide mass fingerprinting analysis of the proteins identified 14 cold-inducible proteins (more than a 2-fold increase at 4°C). Six of these proteins were predicted to be inner membrane proteins. Two predicted periplasmic proteins, 5 predicted cytoplasmic proteins, and 1 predicted outer membrane protein were also found in the inner membrane fraction, suggesting their association with the inner membrane proteins and/or lipids. These cold-inducible proteins included proteins that are presumed to be involved in chemotaxis (AtoS and PspA), membrane protein biogenesis (DegP, SurA, and FtsY), and morphogenesis (MreB). These findings provide a basis for further studies on the cold-adaptation mechanism of this bacterium.     

Histochemical analyses of hepatic architecture of the hagfish with special attention to periportal biliary structures

The hagfish liver was histochemically examined with special attention to biliary structures around the portal veins. Hepatocytes were organized into tubular structures surrounded by sinusoids. Biliary ductule structures, which resemble the ductal plates transiently appearing in mammalian liver development, were observed around the portal veins, but they did not appear around central veins. Thus, the hagfish liver demonstrates the same basic structure as the mammalian liver; that is, a vascular system from portal to central veins via sinusoids, and portal triad structures consisting of portal veins, hepatic arteries, and intrahepatic bile ducts. The epithelial cells of the ductal platelike structures strongly expressed cytokeratin, had some lectin-binding sites, and were delineated by the basal lamina, which was reactive for periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining and Iectin histochemistry. The lumina of the ductal plate-like structures were comparatively small and heterogeneous in diameter around the portal veins, suggesting that the biliary structures may not be efficient for bile secretion. The epithelial cells of the gall bladder had a simple columnar shape and were a PAS-positive cytoplasm. Those of bile ducts near the hilus, including extrahepatic and hepatic ducts, were simple columnar or cuboidal cells, and had large lumina. The cytoplasm in these cells was PAS-positive. These phenotypes with the expression of lectin-binding sites were clearly different from those of the ductal plate-like structures in the liver proper, suggesting that the extrahepatic and intrahepatic biliary structures may have different developmental origins.     

A novel big protein TPRBK possessing 25 units of TPR motif is essential for the progress of mitosis and cytokinesis

Through the comprehensive analysis of the genomic DNA sequence of human chromosome 22, we identified a novel gene of 702 kb encoding a big protein of 2481 amino acid residues, and named it as TPRBK (TPR containing big gene cloned at Keio). A novel protein TPRBK possesses 25 units of the TPR motif, which has been known to associate with a diverse range of biological functions. Orthologous genes of human TPRBK were found widely in animal species, from insecta to mammal, but not found in plants, fungi and nematoda. Northern blotting and RT-PCR analyses revealed that TPRBK gene is expressed ubiquitously in the human and mouse fetal tissues and various cell lines of human, monkey and mouse. Immunofluorescent staining of the synchronized monkey COS-7 cells with several relevant antibodies indicated that TPRBK changes its subcellular localization during the cell cycle: at interphase TPRBK locates on the centrosomes, during mitosis it translocates from spindle poles to mitotic spindles then to spindle midzone, and through a period of cytokinesis it stays on the midbody. Co-immunoprecipitation assay and immunofluorescent staining with adequate antibodies revealed that TPRBK binds to Aurora B, and those proteins together translocate throughout mitosis and cytokinesis. Treatments of cells with two drugs (Blebbistatin and Y-27632), that are known to inhibit the contractility of actin–myosin, disturbed the proper intracellular localization of TPRBK. Moreover, the knockdown of TPRBK expression by small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppressed the bundling of spindle midzone microtubules and disrupted the midbody formation, arresting the cells at G₂ + M phase. These observations indicated that a novel big protein TPRBK is essential for the formation and integrity of the midbody, hence we postulated that TPRBK plays a critical role in the progress of mitosis and cytokinesis during mammalian cell cycle.     

micro-Crystallin as an intracellular 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine holder in vivo

Previously, we identified reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent cytosolic T(3) binding protein in rat cytosol. Cytosolic T(3)-binding protein is identical to mu-crystallin (CRYM). Recently, CRYM mutations were found in patients with nonsyndromic hereditary deafness. Although it has been established that CRYM plays pivotal roles in reserving and transporting T(3) into the nuclei in vitro and has a clinical impact on hearing ability, the precise functions of CRYM remain to be elucidated in vivo. To further investigate the in vivo functions of CRYM gene products, we have generated mice with targeted disruption of the CRYM gene, which abrogates the production of CRYM. CRYM knockout loses the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent T(3) binding activity in the cytosol of the brain, kidney, heart, and liver. At the euthyroid state, knockout significantly suppresses the serum concentration of T(3) and T(4) despite normal growth, heart rate, and hearing ability. The disruption of the gene does not alter the expression of TSHbeta mRNA in the pituitary gland or glutathione-S-transferase alpha2 and deiodinase 1 mRNAs in either the liver or kidney. When radiolabeled T(3) is injected intravenously, labeled T(3) rapidly enters into and then escapes from the tissues in CRYM-knockout mice. These data suggest that because of rapid T(3) turnover, disruption of the CRYM gene decreases T(3) concentrations in tissues and serum without alteration of peripheral T(3) action in vivo.     

Intertypic modular exchanges of genomic segments by homologous recombination at universally conserved segments in human adenovirus species D

Human adenovirus species D (HAdV-D), which is composed of clinically and epidemiologically important pathogens worldwide, contains more taxonomic “types” than any other species of the genus Mastadenovirus, although the mechanisms accounting for the high level of diversity remain to be disclosed. Recent studies of known and new types of HAdV-D have indicated that intertypic recombination between distant types contributes to the increasing diversity of the species. However, such findings raise the question as to how homologous recombination events occur between diversified types since homologous recombination is suppressed as nucleotide sequences diverge. In order to address this question, we investigated the distribution of the recombination boundaries in comparison with the landscape of intergenomic sequence conservation assessed according to the synonymous substitution rate (d_S). The results revealed that specific genomic segments are conserved between even the most distantly related genomes; we call these segments “universally conserved segments” (UCSs). These findings suggest that UCSs facilitate homologous recombination, resulting in intergenomic segmental exchanges of UCS-flanking genomic regions as recombination modules. With the aid of such a mechanism, the haploid genomes of HAdV-Ds may have been reshuffled, resulting in chimeric genomes out of diversified repertoires in the HAdV-D population analogous to the MHC region reshuffled via crossing over in vertebrates. In addition, some HAdVs with chimeric genomes may have had the opportunity to avoid host immune responses thereby causing epidemics.     

Mg-chelatase I subunit 1 and Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase affect the stomatal aperture in Arabidopsis thaliana

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of stomatal opening and closure, we performed a genetic screen using infrared thermography to isolate stomatal aperture mutants. We identified a mutant designated low temperature with open-stomata 1 (lost1), which exhibited reduced leaf temperature, wider stomatal aperture, and a pale green phenotype. Map-based analysis of the LOST1 locus revealed that the lost1 mutant resulted from a missense mutation in the Mg-chelatase I subunit 1 (CHLI1) gene, which encodes a subunit of the Mg-chelatase complex involved in chlorophyll synthesis. Transformation of the wild-type CHLI1 gene into lost1 complemented all lost1 phenotypes. Stomata in lost1 exhibited a partial ABA-insensitive phenotype similar to that of rtl1, a Mg-chelatase H subunit missense mutant. The Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase (CHLM) gene encodes a subsequent enzyme in the chlorophyll synthesis pathway. We examined stomatal movement in a CHLM knockdown mutant, chlm, and found that it also exhibited an ABA-insensitive phenotype. However, lost1 and chlm seedlings all showed normal expression of ABA-induced genes, such as RAB18 and RD29B, in response to ABA. These results suggest that the chlorophyll synthesis enzymes, Mg-chelatase complex and CHLM, specifically affect ABA signaling in the control of stomatal aperture and have no effect on ABA-induced gene expression.     

Bacterial artificial chromosome library for genome‐wide analysis of Chinese hamster ovary cells

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines are widely used for scientific research and biotechnology. A CHO genomic bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library was constructed from a mouse dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene‐amplified CHO DR1000L‐4N cell line for genome‐wide analysis of CHO cell lines. The CHO BAC library consisted of 122,281 clones and was expected to cover the entire CHO genome five times. A CHO chromosomal map was constructed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) imaging using BAC clones as hybridization probes (BAC‐FISH). Thirteen BAC‐FISH marker clones were necessary to identify all the 20 individual chromosomes in a DHFR‐deficient CHO DG44 cell line because of the aneuploidy of the cell line. To determine the genomic structure of the exogenous Dhfr amplicon, a 165‐kb DNA region containing exogenous Dhfr was cloned from the BAC library using high‐density replica (HDR) filters and Southern blot analysis. The nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a novel genomic structure in which the vector sequence containing Dhfr was sandwiched by long inverted sequences of the CHO genome. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 986–994. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Comparative genomics of medaka and fugu

A small freshwater fish medaka (Oryzias latipes) has been one of the most attractive experimental systems for research in genetics and developmental biology. We have formed an international consortium Medaka Genome Initiative (MGI) to collect and share various information and resources on medaka. The MGI has set an ambitious goal aiming at the complete sequencing of the medaka genome and as a feasibility study we have begun sequencing one particular chromosome, linkage group 22 (LG22) of 22 Mb in size. Initial sequence analysis revealed unique features of the medaka genome in comparison to fugu genome.