Antizyme suppression leads to an increment of the cellular redox potential and an induction of HIF-1alpha: its involvement in resistance to gamma-radiation

The mammalian antizyme (AZ) promotes ubiqutin-independent degradation of ornithine decarboxylase, a key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis. This study shows that AZ suppression in human lung carcinoma A549 cells caused growth defects and death, but made the cells resistant to DNA damaging agents such as gamma-radiation and cisplatin. In these cells, the cellular redox potential (glutathione/glutathione disulfide [GSH/GSSG] ratio) was increased and thus intracellular reactive oxygen species were severely diminished, which might cause growth defects and cell death. The increase of cellular redox potential was mainly caused by dramatic increase of the cytoplasmic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP)(+)-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, which generates the reducing equivalents NADPH. In the AZ-suppressed cells, the hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) was also increased. As in other cases which showed an increment of HIF-1alpha and the cellular redox potential, the AZ-suppressed cells showed resistance to gamma-radiation and anticancer drugs. Therefore, these facts might be considered as important for the use of radio- and chemotherapy on tumor cells which show an unbalance in their polyamine levels.     

Protocol for the recovery of in vivo matured canine oocytes based on once daily measurement of serum progesterone

The collection of in vivo matured canine oocytes relies on the accurate prediction of ovulation. The present study was designed to develop a protocol for the recovery of in vivo matured canine oocytes based on once daily measurements of serum progesterone (P(4)) concentrations. Blood samples (2 mL) were collected every day at 0900 h, and P(4) concentrations were analyzed using a DSL-3900 ACTIVE((R)) Progesterone Coated-Tube Radioimmunoassay Kit. The average number of oocytes at the metaphase II (M II) stage was significantly higher at or after 72 h (6.7 to 7.5) compared to 56 h (1.7) following ovulation. The highest numbers of corpora lutea, and therefore the highest numbers of oocytes, were recovered from bitches with initial ovulatory P(4) concentrations ranging from 6.0 to 8.0 ng/ mL (12.2 and 11.4, respectively) compared to from 4.0 to 4.9 ng/ mL (9.6 and 8.8, respectively; p < 0.05). The average number of M II oocytes recovered at 84 h from bitches with initial ovulatory P(4) levels of 5.0 to 5.9 ng/mL (7.7) was higher compared to bitches with P(4) levels of 4.0 to 4.9 ng/ mL (3.5) and 6.0 to 8.0 ng/ mL (4.8; p < 0.05). When oocyte recovery time was adjusted for initial ovulatory P(4) concentration, no significant difference in recovery rates or oocyte quality were observed. In conclusion, once daily measurements of P(4) can be used to predict ovulation in bitches, and oocyte recovery time should be adjusted for initial ovulatory serum P(4) concentrations.     

FITC示踪在优化小麦花粉管通道转化方法中的应用

利用FITC(fluorescein is othiocyanate,异硫氰酸荧光素)标记的外源DNA对小麦进行了花粉管通道法转化,在荧光显微镜下观察了外源DNA进入小麦胚囊的情况,并初步研究了转化时间及转化溶液组成对DNA进入胚囊效率的影响。结果表明,外源DNA沿着花粉管生长过程中形成的花粉管通道进入胚囊;授粉45 min和60min进行转化外源DNA进入胚囊的几率较大,因此在此段时间开始转化较为合适;相对于TE缓冲液,将0.05%Silwet L-77和5%蔗糖作为转化溶液可以缩短DNA进入胚囊的时间,但不能提高外源DNA进入胚囊的几率。研究表明,使用FITC标记观察外源DNA进入胚囊效率的方法,可简便有效地应用于花粉管通道法转化条件的初步优化。     

Picometer-scale conformational heterogeneity separates functional from nonfunctional states of a photoreceptor protein

Protein structural fluctuations occur over a wide spatial scale, ranging from minute, picometer-scale displacements, to large, interdomain motions and partial unfolding. While large-scale protein structural changes and their effects on protein function have been the focus of much recent attention, small-scale fluctuations have been less well studied, and are generally assumed to have proportionally smaller effects. Here we use the bacterial photoreceptor photoactive yellow protein (PYP) to test if subtle structural changes do, indeed, imply equally subtle functional effects. We flash froze crystals of PYP to trap the protein's conformational ensemble, and probed the molecules in this ensemble for their ability to facilitate PYP's biological function (i.e., light-driven isomerization of its chromophore). Our results indicate that the apparently homogeneous structural state observed in a 0.82 A crystal structure in fact comprises an ensemble of conformational states, in which subpopulations with nearly identical structures display dramatically different functional properties.     

The effect of histidine residue modification on tyrosinase activity and conformation: inhibition kinetics and computational prediction

We found that the histidine chemical modification of tyrosinase conspicuously inactivated enzyme activity. The substrate reactions with diethylpyridinecarbamate showed slow-binding inhibition kinetics (K(I) = 0.24 +/- 0.03 mM). Bromoacetate, as another histidine modifier, was also applied in order to study inhibition kinetics. The bromoacetate directly induced the exposures of hydrophobic surfaces following by complete inactivation via ligand binding. For further insights, we predicted the 3D structure of tyrosinase and simulated the docking between tyrosinase and diethylpyridinecarbamate. The docking simulation was shown to the significant binding energy scores (-3.77 kcal/mol by AutoDock4 and -25.26 kcal/mol by Dock6). The computational prediction was informative to elucidate the role of free histidine residues at the active site, which are related to substrate accessibility during tyrosinase catalysis.     

Rosiglitazone promotes tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-induced apoptosis by reactive oxygen species-mediated up-regulation of death receptor 5 and down-regulation of c-FLIP

Death receptor 5 (DR5/TRAIL-R2) is an apoptosis-inducing membrane receptor for tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). In this study, we show that rosiglitazone sensitizes human renal cancer cells to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, but not normal human mesangial cells. Furthermore, because rosiglitazone-enhanced TRAIL-mediated apoptosis is induced in various types of cancer cells but is not interrupted by Bcl-2 overexpression, this combinatory treatment may provide an attractive strategy for cancer treatment. We found that treatment with rosiglitazone significantly induces DR5 expression at both its mRNA and its protein levels, accompanying the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Both treatment with DR5/Fc chimeric protein and silencing of DR5 expression using small interfering RNAs attenuated rosiglitazone plus TRAIL-induced apoptosis, showing the critical role of DR5 in this cell death. Pretreatment with GSH significantly inhibited rosiglitazone-induced DR5 up-regulation and the cell death induced by the combined treatment with rosiglitazone and TRAIL, suggesting that ROS mediate rosiglitazone-induced DR5 up-regulation, contributing to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. However, both DR5 up-regulation and sensitization of TRAIL-mediated apoptosis induced by rosiglitazone are likely PPARgamma-independent, because a dominant-negative mutant of PPARgamma and a potent PPARgamma inhibitor, GW9662, failed to block DR5 induction and apoptosis. Interestingly, we also found that rosiglitazone treatment induced down-regulation of cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIPs), and ectopic expression of c-FLIPs attenuated rosiglitazone plus TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, demonstrating the involvement of c-FLIPs in this apoptosis. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate that rosiglitazone enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in various cancer cells by ROS-mediated DR5 up-regulation and down-regulation of c-FLIPs.