Potassium bromate but not X-rays cause unexpectedly elevated levels of DNA breakage similar to those induced by ultraviolet light in Cockayne syndrome (CS-B) fibroblasts

It has been previously reported that the elevated accumulation of repair incision intermediates in cells from patients with combined characteristics of xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XP-D) and Cockayne syndrome (CS) XP-D/CS fibroblasts following UV irradiation is caused by an "uncontrolled" incision of undamaged genomic DNA induced by UV-DNA-lesions which apparently are not removed. This could be an explanation for the extreme sensitivity of these cells to UV light. In the present study, we confirm the immediate DNA breakage following UV irradiation also for CS group B (CS-B) fibroblasts by DNA migration in the "comet assay" and extend these findings to other lesions such as 8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), selectively induced by KBrO3 treatment. In contrast, X-ray exposure does not induce differential DNA breakage. This indicates that additional lesions other than the UV-induced photoproducts (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, CPD, and 6-pyrimidine-4-pyrimidone products, 6-4 PP), such as 8-oxodG, specifically induced by KBrO3, are likely to trigger "uncontrolled" DNA breakage in the undamaged genomic DNA in the CS-B fibroblasts, thus accounting for some of the clinical features of these patients.     

The influence of N-glycosylation on biochemical properties of Amy1, an α-amylase from the yeast Cryptococcus flavus

The yeast Cryptococcus flavus secretes a glycosylated α-amylase (Amy1) when grown in a starch-containing medium. The effects of N-glycosylation on secretion, enzyme activity, and stability of this glycoprotein were studied. Addition of tunicamycin (TM) to the medium at a concentration higher than 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ affected C. flavus growth. Amy1 activity increased by 55% in the intracellular fraction after C. flavus growth in the presence of 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ TM. SDS–PAGE and gel activity detection showed that native enzyme and deglycosylated enzyme had apparent molecular mass of 68 and 64.5 kDa, respectively. The N-glycosylation process did not affect either optimum pH or optimum temperature. The K_M values of native and non-glycosylated α-amylases were 0.052 and 0.098 mg mL⁻¹, and V_max values were 0.038 and 0.047 mg min⁻¹, respectively. However, the non-glycosylated form was more sensitive to inactivation by both the proteolytic enzyme trypsin and high temperature. Furthermore, the activity of the non-glycosylated enzyme was affected by Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ suggesting that N-glycosylation is involved in the folding of Amy1.     

Viral mimicry of cytokines,chemokines and their receptors

Viruses have evolved elegant mechanisms to evade detection and destruction by the host immune system. One of the evasion strategies that have been adopted by large DNA viruses is to encode homologues of cytokines, chemokines and their receptors--molecules that have a crucial role in control of the immune response. Viruses have captured host genes or evolved genes to target specific immune pathways, and so viral genomes can be regarded as repositories of important information about immune processes, offering us a viral view of the host immune system. The study of viral immunomodulatory proteins might help us to uncover new human genes that control immunity, and their characterization will increase our understanding of not only viral pathogenesis, but also normal immune mechanisms. Moreover, viral proteins indicate strategies of immune modulation that might have therapeutic potential.     

Conformation-activity relationship of a novel peptide antibiotic: structural characterization of dermaseptin DS 01 in media that mimic the membrane environment

Dermaseptins, small polycationic peptides synthesized by amphibians, exert a lytic action on bacteria, protozoa, yeast, and filamentous fungi at micromolar concentrations, but unlike polylysines, show little hemolytic activity. Dermaseptins S are active only against bacteria and form aggregates at high peptide/lipid ratios, whereas dermaseptins B are active also against fungi and form aggregates at low peptide/lipid ratios. A new dermaseptin, named DS 01, from the skin secretion of Phyllomedusa oreades, showed not only strong antibacterial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria but also antiprotozoan activity in the microM range. An analysis of the sequences of all dermaseptins only shows a common tendency to adopt amphipathic helical conformations but does not hint at significant differences. In order to rationalize the biological differences among dermaseptins, it is necessary to analyze their conformational properties in greater detail. A structural characterization in media that mimic the membrane environment shows that the surface properties of DS 01, as compared to those of dermaseptins S1 and B2, are intermediate, in agreement with its peculiar pharmacological profile. The regular alternation of positive and negative patches on the surface suggests a plausible aggregation mechanism.     

Endogenous nitric oxide mechanisms mediate the stretch dependence of Ca2+ release in cardiomyocytes

Stretching of cardiac muscle modulates contraction through the enhancement of the Ca2+ transient, but how this occurs is still not known. We found that stretching of myocytes modulates the elementary Ca2+ release process from ryanodine-receptor Ca2+-release channels (RyRCs), Ca2+ sparks and the electrically stimulated Ca2+ transient. Stretching induces PtdIns-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K)-dependent phosphorylation of both Akt and the endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), nitric oxide (NO) production, and a proportionate increase in Ca2+-spark frequency that is abolished by inhibiting NOS and PI(3)K. Exogenously generated NO reversibly increases Ca2+-spark frequency without cell stretching. We propose that myocyte NO produced by activation of the PI(3)K-Akt-endothelial NOS axis acts as a second messenger of stretch by enhancing RyRC activity, contributing to myocardial contractile activation.     

2'-Deoxy-8-(propyn-1-yl)adenosine-containing oligonucleotides: effects on stability of duplex and quadruplex structures

2'-Deoxy-8-(propyn-1-yl)adenosine has been incorporated in synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides and its influence on thermal stability of duplex and quadruplex structures investigated by UV, CD and 1H NMR. The obtained results seem to indicate that the presence of the modified base negatively affects the stability of double stranded DNA whereas remarkably increases the stability of parallel quadruplex structures.     

First cell cycles of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus are dramatically impaired by exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field

Exposure of fertilized eggs of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to an electromagnetic field of 75-Hz frequency and low amplitudes (from 0.75 to 2.20 mT of magnetic component) leads to a dramatic loss of synchronization of the first cell cycle, with formation of anomalous embryos linked to irregular separation of chromatids during the mitotic events. Because acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) is thought to regulate the embryonic first developmental events of the sea urchin, its enzymatic activity was assayed in embryo homogenates and decreased by 48% when the homogenates were exposed to the same pulsed field. This enzymatic inactivation had a threshold of about 0.75 +/- 0.01 mT. The same field threshold was found for the effect on the formation of anomalous embryos of P. lividus. Moreover, ACHE inhibitors seem to induce the same teratological effects as those caused by the field, while blockers of acetylcholine (ACh) receptors are able to antagonize those effects. We conclude that one of the main causes of these dramatic effects on the early development of the sea urchin by field exposure could be the accumulation of ACh due to ACHE inactivation. The crucial role of the membrane in determining the conditions for enzyme inactivation is discussed.     

Localizing alpha-helices in human tropoelastin: assembly of the elastin "puzzle"

Polyalanine cross-linking domains encoded by exons 6, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31 of human tropoelastin were synthesized, and their conformations were studied in different solutions and at different temperatures by CD and (1)H NMR. The results demonstrated the presence of poly-proline II helix (PPII) in aqueous solvent and of alpha-helical conformation in TFE. The (1)H NMR results allowed the precise localization of the helices along the peptide sequence. These data were further refined by prediction algorithms in order to take into account the reduced helix stability at the end of the peptides. Furthermore, the influence of flanking residues was checked by synthesizing and by determining the structure of a peptide spanning exon 31 coded domain and the first five residues of the following exon 32 coded domain. These studies, together with those previously published [Tamburro, A. M., Bochicchio, B., and Pepe, A. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 13147-62], are used to propose a coherent recomposition of the elastin pieces (domains) in order to give an acceptable solution to the elastin structure-function problem.