Pyrrolysine analogs as substrates for bacterial pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase in vitro and in vivo

Pyrrolysine-tRNA(Pyl) complex is produced by pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS). In this study, we investigated the substrate specificity of Desulfitobacterium hafnience PylRS. PylRS incorporated various L-lysine derivatives into tRNA(Pyl) in vitro. In addition, the PylRS/tRNA(Pyl) pair introduced these lysine derivatives into the recombinant protein by the Escherichia coli expression system, indicating that this PylRS/tRNA(Pyl) pair can be used in protein engineering technology.     

Evidence that PI3K, Rac, Rho, and Rho kinase are involved in basic fibroblast growth factor-stimulated fibroblast-Collagen matrix contraction

Fibroblast-collagen matrix contraction has been used as a model system to study how cells organize connective tissue. Previous work showed that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-stimulated floating collagen matrix contraction is independent of Rho kinase while platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated contraction is Rho kinase-dependent. The current studies were carried out to determine the signaling mechanisms of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-stimulated fibroblast-collagen matrix contraction. Both bFGF and LPA promoted equally collagen matrix contraction well. Three different inhibitors, LY294002 for phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), C3 exotransferase for Rho and Y27632 for Rho kinase, suppressed the bFGF-stimulated fibroblast-collagen matrix contraction. With bFGF stimulation, fibroblasts spread with prominent stress fiber network formation and focal adhesions. In the presence of Rho kinase inhibitor, focal adhesions and stress fibers were mostly lost. We demonstrated that bFGF stimulation for fibroblast caused transient Rac and Rho activation but did not activate Cdc42. In addition, bFGF enhanced fibroblast migration in wound healing assay. The present study implicates PI3K, Rac, Rho, and Rho kinase as being involved in bFGF-stimulated collagen matrix contraction. The elucidation of bFGF-triggered signal transduction may be an important clue to understand the roles of bFGF in wound healing.     

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 deficiency suppresses osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in mice

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is known as an inhibitor of fibrinolytic system. Previous studies suggest that PAI-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy, diabetes, and glucocorticoid excess in mice. However, the roles of PAI-1 in early-stage osteogenic differentiation have remained unknown. In the current study, we investigated the roles of PAI-1 in osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) using wild-type (WT) and PAI-1-deficient (PAI-1 KO) mice. PAI-1 mRNA levels were increased with time during osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs or mesenchymal ST-2 cells. However, the increased PAI-1 levels declined at the mineralization phase in the experiment using MC3T3-E1 cells. PAI-1 deficiency significantly blunted the expression of osteogenic gene, such as osterix and alkaline phosphatase enhanced by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 in bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs), adipose-tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs), and bone marrow stromal cells of mice. Moreover, a reduction in endogenous PAI-1 levels by small interfering RNA significantly suppressed the expression of osteogenic gene in ST-2 cells. Plasmin did not affect osteoblastic differentiation of AD-MSCs induced by BMP-2 with or without PAI-1 deficiency. PAI-1 deficiency and a reduction in endogenous PAI-1 levels did not affect the phosphorylations of receptor-specific Smads by BMP-2 and transforming growth factor-β in AD-MSCs and ST-2 cells, respectively. In conclusion, we first showed that PAI-1 is crucial for the differentiation of MSCs into osteoblasts in mice.     

Effect of forskolin on collagen production in clonal osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells

The effect of forskolin on collagen production in osteoblasts was investigated by using clonal osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells cultured in a-minimum essential medium containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin. Forskolin increased the adenylate cyclase activity in membranes pelleted from homogenates of the cell line in a dose-dependent manner. The drug caused a 13-fold stimulation at 10(-4) M, indicating that the compound directly acts on adenylate cyclase, leading to an increase in the intracellular cAMP content of the cells. Collagen accumulation in the cultures was elevated by one-day treatment with 5 X 10(-5) M forskolin to about twice that in the controls. The stimulation was mainly due to an elevation in collagen synthesis but not to an inhibition of intracellular collagen degradation because forskolin dose-dependently increased collagen synthesis; it also significantly increased the amount of low-molecular-weight hydroxyproline found in the cultures. Cells treated with forskolin produced mainly type I collagen, as found in bone matrix in situ, with only small amounts of other types of collagen. Furthermore, forskolin time-dependently inhibited DNA synthesis in the cells, indicating that the increase in type I collagen synthesis by forskolin was not due to stimulated cell proliferation. These results suggest that cAMP is closely linked to the differentiation of osteoblasts in vitro.     

Rat gastric mucins recognized by monoclonal antibodies RGM21 and HIK1083: isolation of mucin species characteristic of the surface and glandular mucosa.

Whole mucins and reduced subunits were extracted from the corpus of the rat stomach. After purification by Sepharose CL-4B chromatography followed by cesium trifluoroacetate equilibrium centrifugation, they were analyzed by Sepharose CL-2B chromatography, rate-zonal sedimentation centrifugation, and Q-Sepharose chromatography. Monoclonal antibodies RGM21 and HIK1083, which histochemically stained mucins in the surface and glandular mucosa of the rat stomach, respectively, were used to detect the site-specific mucins. Although RGM21- and HIK1083-reactive mucins both had a multimerized structure, the density and size of both the whole mucins and reduced subunits differed, thus indicating the presence of distinct mucin species in the surface and glandular mucosa. The mucin subunits were separated into four fractions, UB, B1, B2a, and B2b, by Q-Sepharose chromatography. HIK1083 reacted mainly with UB, while RGM21 reacted with B1, B2a, and B2b. These results, combined with dot-blot, amino acid, and carbohydrate composition analyses, showed that the surface mucins may consist of three kinds of subunits. In contrast, the glandular mucins may consist of one kind of subunit which differs from that of surface mucins.     

The unique action for bone metabolism of 1 alpha,25-(OH)2D3-26,23-lactone

[23 (S), 25 (R)]-1 alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3-26,23-lactone [( 23 (S),25 (R)]-1 alpha,25-(OH) 2D3-26,23-lactone) increased dose-dependently alkaline phosphatase activity in osteoblastic cells, clone MC3T3-E1, in medium containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin. The maximal stimulated enzyme activity per mg protein was 1.6-fold over that of control cultures at 250 pg/ml. The metabolite also increased collagen synthesis in a dose-related fashion. On the other hand, [23 (S),25 (R)]-1 alpha,25-(OH)2D3-26,23-lactone decreased slightly but significantly 45Ca mobilization, and blocked the resorptive action of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 but not that of parathyroid hormone, in mouse calvaria in organ culture. These results indicate that [23 (S),25 (R)]-1 alpha, 25-(OH)2D3-26,23-lactone stimulates the differentiation of osteoblasts and inhibits bone resorption in vitro.     

Parallel evolution in radiation ofOhomopterus ground beetles inferred from mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences

Molecular phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene sequences representing all 15 species and the majority of subspecies or races of theOhomopterus ground beetles from all over the Japanese archipelago have uncovered a remarkable evolutionary history. Clustering of the species in the molecular phylogenetic tree is linked to their geographic distribution and does not correlate with morphological characters. Taxonomically the same species or the members belonging to the same species-group fall out in more than two different places on the ND5 tree. Evidence has been presented against a possible participation of ancestral polymorphism and random lineage sorting or of hybrid individuals for the observed distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. The most plausible explanation of our results is that parallel evolution took place in different lineages. Most notably,O. dehaanii, O. yaconinus, andO. japonicus in a lineage reveal almost identical morphology with those of the same species (or subspecies) but belonging to the phylogenetically remote lineages.The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ, EMBL, and GenBank nucleotide sequence databases with accession numbers D50711-DD-50733 and D87131-D87186.     

Plant Growth-regulating Activities of 4-Methoxydiphenylmethanes and Their Related Compounds

The discovery that anisomycin showed plant growth-regulating activity led to the investigation of compounds having p-methoxyphenyl group; the p-anisole derivatives. 4-Methoxydiphenylmethanes and related compounds inhibited the growth of both shoots and roots in test plants. Growth-inhibitory activity in the series of 4-methoxydiphenylmethanes was lowered by an increase in the electron donating or withdrawing ability of the substituent and was parabolically dependent on the Hammett’s σ. Selective actions of these compounds in their growth inhibition are discussed based on correlations between their activities against barnyard grass and other test plants.

Some 4-methoxydiphenylmethanes induced chlorosis, a disturbance in phototropism or geotropism, and root hypertrophy.     

Syntheses of α and γ-BHC Alkylthio Analogs

Meso-(1245/36)-1,2,4,5,6-pentachloro-3-methylthiocyclohexane, and (124/356)-1,2,4,5,6-pentachloro-3-methylthio and ethylthiocyclohexanes were prepared from (1234/56)-1,4,5,6-tetrachloro-2,3-epoxycyclohexane (α-BTC cis-epoxide).     

The Role of NF-κB Signaling in the Maintenance of Pluripotency of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

NF-κB signaling plays an essential role in maintaining the undifferentiated state of embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, opposing roles of NF-κB have been reported in mouse and human ES cells, and the role of NF-κB in human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has not yet been clarified. Here, we report the role of NF-κB signaling in maintaining the undifferentiated state of human iPS cells. Compared with differentiated cells, undifferentiated human iPS cells showed an augmentation of NF-κB activity. During differentiation induced by the removal of feeder cells and FGF2, we observed a reduction in NF-κB activity, the expression of the undifferentiation markers Oct3/4 and Nanog, and the up-regulation of the differentiated markers WT-1 and Pax-2. The specific knockdown of NF-κB signaling using p65 siRNA also reduced the expression of Oct3/4 and Nanog and up-regulated WT-1 and Pax-2 but did not change the ES-like colony formation. Our results show that the augmentation of NF-κB signaling maintains the undifferentiated state of human iPS and suggest the importance of this signaling pathway in maintenance of human iPS cells.