MAIR‐II deficiency ameliorates cardiac remodelling post‐myocardial infarction by suppressing TLR9‐mediated macrophage activation

Macrophages are fundamental components of inflammation in post‐myocardial infarction (MI) and contribute to adverse cardiac remodelling and heart failure. However, the regulatory mechanisms in macrophage activation have not been fully elucidated. Previous studies showed that myeloid‐associated immunoglobulin–like receptor II (MAIR‐II) is involved in inflammatory responses in macrophages. However, its role in MI is unknown. Thus, this study aimed to determine a novel role and mechanism of MAIR‐II in MI. We first identified that MAIR‐II–positive myeloid cells were abundant from post‐MI days 3 to 5 in infarcted hearts of C57BL/6J (WT) mice induced by permanent left coronary artery ligation. Compared to WT, MAIR‐II–deficient (Cd300c2 ^−/−) mice had longer survival, ameliorated cardiac remodelling, improved cardiac function and smaller infarct sizes. Moreover, we detected lower pro‐inflammatory cytokine and fibrotic gene expressions in Cd300c2 ^−/−‐infarcted hearts. These mice also had less infiltrating pro‐inflammatory macrophages following MI. To elucidate a novel molecular mechanism of MAIR‐II, we considered macrophage activation by Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 9–mediated inflammation. In vitro, we observed that Cd300c2 ^−/− bone marrow–derived macrophages stimulated by a TLR9 agonist expressed less pro‐inflammatory cytokines compared to WT. In conclusion, MAIR‐II may enhance inflammation via TLR9‐mediated macrophage activation in MI, leading to adverse cardiac remodelling and poor prognosis.     

A targeted gene knockout method using a newly constructed temperature-sensitive plasmid mediated homologous recombination in Bifidobacterium longum

Bifidobacteria are the main component of the human microflora. We constructed a temperature-sensitive (Ts) plasmid by random mutagenesis of the Bifidobacterium-Escherichia coli shuttle vector pKKT427 using error-prone PCR. Mutant plasmids were introduced into Bifidobacterium longum 105-A and, after screening approximately 3,000 colonies, candidate clones that grew at 30?°C but not at 42?°C were selected. According to DNA sequence analysis of the Ts plasmid, five silent and one missense mutations were found in the repB region. The site-directed mutagenesis showed only the missense mutation to be relevant to the Ts phenotype. We designated this plasmid pKO403. The Ts phenotype was also observed in B. longum NCC2705 and Bifidobacterium adolescentis ATCC15703. Single-crossover homologous-recombination experiments were carried out to determine the relationship between the length of homologous sequences encoded on the plasmid and recombination frequency: fragments greater than 1?kb gave an efficiency of more than 10(3) integrations per cell. We performed gene knockout experiments using this Ts plasmid. We obtained gene knockout mutants of the pyrE region of B. longum 105-A, and determined that double-crossover homologous recombination occurred at an efficiency of 1.8?%. This knockout method also worked for the BL0033 gene in B. longum NCC2705.     

Diversity of the Formyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase (FTHFS) Gene in the Proximal and Mid Ostrich Colon

We analysed fragments of the formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) gene, which encodes a key enzyme in reductive acetogenesis, from the bacterial flora in the proximal (PC) and mid (MC) colon of three ostriches to assess and compare bacterial diversity in this organ. Two clone libraries of FTHFS fragments were constructed from DNA extracted from digesta of the PC and MC, and a total of 46 cloned sequences were analysed from each library. A wide variety of FTHFS sequences were recovered. The coverage of the PC and MC libraries was 90.0% and 83.3%, respectively. Shannon–Wiener index (H’) and Chao1 of the MC library were higher than those of PC library. The sequences from each library were classified into 15 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and clusters. Only four OTUs in cluster I were distantly related to known acetogens from human feces and rumen, suggesting the presence of the novel acetogens. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that composition of FTHFS sequences differs for the PC and MC.     

Isolation of phenolic constituents and characterization of antioxidant markers from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed extract

A new compound, benzyl alcohol β-d-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-(4-O-caffeoyl) glucopyranoside (1), was isolated from the seed of sunflower (Helianthus annuus), together with eight known phenolic compounds: caffeic acid (2), methyl caffeoate (3), chlorogenic acid (4), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5), 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (6), methyl chlorogenate (7), 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (8), and eriodictyol 5-O-β-d-glucoside (9). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods and chemical evidence. The antioxidative effect of the phenolic constituents from the sunflower seeds was also evaluated based on the oxygen-radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and the fraction containing caffeic acid derivatives showed a high antioxidant potency.     

Oocytes in newborn MRL mouse testes

Although mammals produce either sperm or eggs depending on their sex, we found oocytes in the testes of newborn MRL/MpJ male mice. In the present study, we report the morphological characteristics of testicular oocytes, the postnatal change of oocyte number per testis, and the expression of a few oocyte-specific genes in the testes of MRL/MpJ mice. The testicular oocytes had a diameter of 50-70 microm and were surrounded by zonae pellucidae, which were observed between oocytes and follicular epithelial cells. Ultrastructurally, the testicular oocytes contained numerous microvilli and cortical granules, receiving cytoplasmic projections from follicular epithelial cells. The testicular oocytes appeared as early as at birth, and the largest number was found on Day 14. The testicular oocytes were detected in only MRL strains and B6MRLF1, but not in C57BL/6, C3H/He, BALB/c, DBA/2, A/J, and MRLB6F1. The expression of the oocyte-specific genes Zp1, Zp2, Zp3, and Omt2a was detected in testes from MRL/MpJ mice. These results suggest that newborn male MRL/MpJ mice with XY chromosomes can produce oocytes in their testes and that one of the genes causing this exists on the Y chromosome.     

CD437 induces apoptosis in ovarian adenocarcinoma cells via ER stress signaling

A synthetic retinoid, CD437, has been shown to exert potent anti-tumor activity against various types of cancer cell lines, regardless of their sensitivities to natural retinoids. We herein demonstrate that CD437 induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, including the up-regulation of CHOP, BIP and GADD34 mRNA through ER stress transducer (PERK and IRE1α) activation in an ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line, SKOV3. It was also shown that CD437 induced the CHOP and GADD34 expressions in another four ovarian adenocarcinoma cell lines, indicating that CD437 functions as an ER stress inducer in these cell lines. Moreover, the siRNA-mediated knockdown of inducible CHOP expression prevented the cytotoxic effect of CD437. These results suggest that ER stress plays an important role in the mechanism by which CD437 induces apoptosis in ovarian adenocarcinoma cells.     

The c‐MYC‐ABCB5 axis plays a pivotal role in 5‐fluorouracil resistance in human colon cancer cells

c‐MYC overexpression is frequently observed in various cancers including colon cancer and regulates many biological activities such as aberrant cell proliferation, apoptosis, genomic instability, immortalization and drug resistance. However, the mechanism by which c‐MYC confers drug resistance remains to be fully elucidated. In this study, we found that the c‐MYC expression level in primary colorectal cancer tissues correlated with the recurrence rate following 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU)‐based adjuvant chemotherapy. Supporting this finding, overexpression of exogenous c‐MYC increased the survival rate following 5‐FU treatment in human colon cancer cells, and knockdown of endogenous c‐MYC decreased it. Furthermore, c‐MYC knockdown decreased the expression level of ABCB5, which is involved in 5‐FU resistance. Using a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we found that c‐MYC bound to the ABCB5 promoter region. c‐MYC inhibitor (10058‐F4) treatment inhibited c‐MYC binding to the ABCB5 promoter, leading to a decrease in ABCB5 expression level. ABCB5 knockdown decreased the survival rate following 5‐FU treatment as expected, and the ABCB5 expression level was increased in 5‐FU‐resistant human colon cancer cells. Finally, using a human colon cancer xenograft murine model, we found that the combined 5‐FU and 10058‐F4 treatment significantly decreased tumorigenicity in nude mice compared with 5‐FU or 10058‐F4 treatment alone. 10058‐F4 treatment decreased the ABCB5 expression level in the presence or absence of 5‐FU. In contrast, 5‐FU treatment alone increased the ABCB5 expression level. Taken together, these results suggest that c‐MYC confers resistance to 5‐FU through regulating ABCB5 expression in human colon cancer cells.     

Characterization of the nitrate-nitrite transporter of the major facilitator superfamily (the nrtP gene product) from the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme strain ATCC 29133

The products of the NpR1527 and NpR1526 genes of the filamentous, diazotrophic, fresh-water cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme strain ATCC 29133 were identified as a nitrate transporter (NRT) and nitrate reductase (NR) respectively, by complementation of nitrate assimilation mutants of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC 7942. While other fresh-water cyanobacteria, including S. elongatus, have an ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-type NRT, the NRT of N. punctiforme belongs to the major facilitator superfamily, being orthologous to the one found in marine cyanobacteria (NrtP). Unlike the ABC-type NRT, which transports both nitrate and nitrite with high affinity, Nostoc NrtP transported nitrate preferentially over nitrite. NrtP was distinct from ABC-type NRT also in its insensitivity to ammonium-promoted regulation at the post-translational level. The nitrate reductase of N. punctiforme was, on the other hand, inhibited upon addition of ammonium to medium, lending ammonium sensitivity to nitrate assimilation.     

Differential contribution of Puma and Noxa in dual regulation of p53-mediated apoptotic pathways

The activation of tumor suppressor p53 induces apoptosis or cell cycle arrest depending on the state and type of cell, but it is not fully understood how these different responses are regulated. Here, we show that Puma and Noxa, the well-known p53-inducible proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family, differentially participate in dual pathways of the induction of apoptosis. In normal cells, Puma but not Noxa induces mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), and this function is mediated in part by a pathway that involves calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the subsequent caspase activation. However, upon E1A oncoprotein expression, cells also become susceptible to MOMP induction by Noxa, owing to their sensitization to the ER-independent pathway. These findings offer a new insight into differential cellular responses induced by p53, and may have therapeutic implications in cancer.     

A glycoside hydrolase family 31 dextranase with high transglucosylation activity from Flavobacterium johnsoniae

Glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 31 enzymes exhibit various substrate specificities, although the majority of members are α-glucosidases. Here, we constructed a heterologous expression system of a GH31 enzyme, Fjoh_4430, from Flavobacterium johnsoniae NBRC 14942, using Escherichia coli, and characterized its enzymatic properties. The enzyme hydrolyzed dextran and pullulan to produce isomaltooligosaccharides and isopanose, respectively. When isomaltose was used as a substrate, the enzyme catalyzed disproportionation to form isomaltooligosaccharides. The enzyme also acted, albeit inefficiently, on p-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside, and p-nitrophenyl α-isomaltoside was the main product of the reaction. In contrast, Fjoh_4430 did not act on trehalose, kojibiose, nigerose, maltose, maltotriose, or soluble starch. The optimal pH and temperature were pH 6.0 and 60 °C, respectively. Our results indicate that Fjoh_4430 is a novel GH31 dextranase with high transglucosylation activity.