Abi1 regulates the activity of N-WASP and WAVE in distinct actin-based processes

Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) and WAVE are members of a family of proteins that use the Arp2/3 complex to stimulate actin assembly in actin-based motile processes. By entering into distinct macromolecular complexes, they act as convergent nodes of different signalling pathways. The role of WAVE in generating lamellipodial protrusion during cell migration is well established. Conversely, the precise cellular functions of N-WASP have remained elusive. Here, we report that Abi1, an essential component of the WAVE protein complex, also has a critical role in regulating N-WASP-dependent function. Consistently, Abi1 binds to N-WASP with nanomolar affinity and, cooperating with Cdc42, potently induces N-WASP activity in vitro. Molecular genetic approaches demonstrate that Abi1 and WAVE, but not N-WASP, are essential for Rac-dependent membrane protrusion and macropinocytosis. Conversely, Abi1 and N-WASP, but not WAVE, regulate actin-based vesicular transport, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) endocytosis, and EGFR and transferrin receptor (TfR) cell-surface distribution. Thus, Abi1 is a dual regulator of WAVE and N-WASP activities in specific processes that are dependent on actin dynamics.     

Pressure overload and neurohumoral activation differentially affect the myocardial proteome

Treatment with monocrotaline causes pulmonary hypertension in rats. This results in severe pressure overload-induced hypertrophy of the right ventricles, whilst the normally loaded left ventricles do not hypertrophy. Both ventricles are affected by enhanced neuroendocrine stimulation in this model. We analyzed in this model load-induced and catecholamine-induced changes of right and left ventricular proteome by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, tryptic in-gel digest, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. All analyzed animals showed right ventricular hypertrophy without signs of heart failure. Changes of 27 proteins in the right and 21 proteins in the left ventricular myocardium were found. Given the hemodynamic features of this animal model, proteome changes restricted to the right ventricle are caused by pressure overload. We describe for the first time a potentially novel pathway (BRAP2/BRCA1) that is involved in myocardial hypertrophy. Furthermore, we demonstrate that increased afterload-induced hypertrophy leads to striking changes in the energy metabolism with down-regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (subunit beta E1), isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinyl coenzyme A ligase, NADH dehydrogenase, ubiquinol-cytochrome C reductase, and propionyl coenzyme A carboxylase. These changes go in parallel with alterations of the thin filament proteome (troponin T, tropomyosin), probably associated with Ca(2+) sensitization of the myofilaments. In contrast, neurohumoral stimulation of the left ventricle increases the abundance of proteins relevant for energy metabolism. This study represents the first in-depth analysis of global proteome alterations in a controlled animal model of pressure overload-induced myocardial hypertrophy.     

Cellular retinol-binding protein type III is needed for retinoid incorporation into milk

The physiologic role(s) of cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP)-III, an intracellular retinol-binding protein that is expressed solely in heart, muscle, adipose, and mammary tissue, remains to be elucidated. To address this, we have generated and characterized CRBP-III-deficient (CRBP-III(-/-)) mice. Mice that lack CRBP-III were viable and healthy but displayed a marked impairment in retinoid incorporation into milk. Milk obtained from CRBP-III(-/-) dams contains significantly less retinyl ester, especially retinyl palmitate, than milk obtained from wild type dams. We demonstrated that retinol bound to CRBP-III is an excellent substrate for lecithin-retinol acyltransferase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing retinyl ester formation from retinol. Our data indicated that the diminished milk retinyl ester levels arise from impaired utilization of retinol by lecithin-retinol acyltransferase in CRBP-III(-/-) mice. Interestingly, CRBP-I and CRBP-III each appeared to compensate for the absence of the other, specifically in mammary tissue, adipose tissue, muscle, and heart. For CRBP-III(-/-) mice, CRBP-I protein levels were markedly elevated in adipose tissue and mammary gland. In addition, in CRBP-I(-/-) mice, CRBP-III protein levels were elevated in tissues that normally express CRBP-III but were not elevated in other tissues that do not normally express CRBP-III. Our data suggested that CRBP-I and CRBP-III share some physiologic actions within tissues and that each can compensate for the absence of the other to help maintain normal retinoid homeostasis. However, under conditions of high demand for retinoid, such as those experienced during lactation, this compensation was incomplete.     

Novel small molecule inhibitors of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1)/Akt signaling pathway plays a key role in cancer cell growth, survival, and tumor angiogenesis and represents a promising target for anticancer drugs. Here, we describe three potent PDK1 inhibitors, BX-795, BX-912, and BX-320 (IC(50) = 11-30 nm) and their initial biological characterization. The inhibitors blocked PDK1/Akt signaling in tumor cells and inhibited the anchorage-dependent growth of a variety of tumor cell lines in culture or induced apoptosis. A number of cancer cell lines with elevated Akt activity were >30-fold more sensitive to growth inhibition by PDK1 inhibitors in soft agar than on tissue culture plastic, consistent with the cell survival function of the PDK1/Akt signaling pathway, which is particularly important for unattached cells. BX-320 inhibited the growth of LOX melanoma tumors in the lungs of nude mice after injection of tumor cells into the tail vein. The effect of BX-320 on cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo indicates that PDK1 inhibitors may have clinical utility as anticancer agents.     

Characterization of the NifS-like domain of ABA3 from Arabidopsis thaliana provides insight into the mechanism of molybdenum cofactor sulfuration

The molybdenum cofactor sulfurase ABA3 from Arabidopsis thaliana specifically regulates the activity of the molybdenum enzymes aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase by converting their molybdenum cofactor from the desulfo-form into the sulfo-form. ABA3 is a two-domain protein with an NH2-terminal domain sharing significant similarities to NifS proteins that catalyze the decomposition of l-cysteine to l-alanine and elemental sulfur for iron-sulfur cluster synthesis. Although different in its physiological function, the mechanism of ABA3 for sulfur mobilization was found to be similar to NifS proteins. The protein binds a pyridoxal phosphate cofactor and a substrate-derived persulfide intermediate, and site-directed mutagenesis of strictly conserved binding sites for the cofactor and the persulfide demonstrated that they are essential for molybdenum cofactor sulfurase activity. In vitro, the NifS-like domain of ABA3 activates aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase in the absence of the C-terminal domain, but in vivo, the C-terminal domain is required for proper activation of both target enzymes. In addition to its cysteine desulfurase activity, ABA3-NifS also exhibits selenocysteine lyase activity. Although l-selenocysteine is unlikely to be a natural substrate for ABA3, it is decomposed more efficiently than l-cysteine. Besides mitochondrial AtNFS1 and plastidial AtNFS2, which are both proposed to be involved in iron-sulfur cluster formation, ABA3 is proposed to be a third and cytosolic NifS-like cysteine desulfurase in A. thaliana. However, the sulfur transferase activity of ABA3 is used for post-translational activation of molybdenum enzymes rather than for iron-sulfur cluster assembly.     

Identification of novel mutations of the human N-acetylglutamate synthase gene and their functional investigation by expression studies

The mitochondrial enzyme N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) produces N-acetylglutamate serving as an allosteric activator of carbamylphosphate synthetase 1, the first enzyme of the urea cycle. Autosomal recessively inherited NAGS deficiency (NAGSD) leads to severe neonatal or late-onset hyperammonemia. To date few patients have been described and the gene involved was described only recently. In this study, another three families affected by NAGSD were analyzed for NAGS gene mutations resulting in the identification of three novel missense mutations (C200R [c.598T > C], S410P [c.1228T > C], A518T [c.1552G > A]). In order to investigate the effects of these three and two additional previously published missense mutations on enzyme activity, the mutated proteins were overexpressed in a bacterial expression system using the NAGS deficient E. coli strain NK5992. All mutated proteins showed a severe decrease in enzyme activity providing evidence for the disease-causing nature of the mutations. In addition, we expressed the full-length NAGS wild type protein including the mitochondrial leading sequence, the mature protein as well as a highly conserved core protein. NAGS activity was detected in all three recombinant proteins but varied regarding activity levels and response to stimulation by l-arginine. In conclusion, overexpression of wild type and mutated NAGS proteins in E. coli provides a suitable tool for functional analysis of NAGS deficiency.     

Variogram analysis of the spatial genetic structure of continuous populations using multilocus microsatellite data

A geostatistical perspective on spatial genetic structure may explain methodological issues of quantifying spatial genetic structure and suggest new approaches to addressing them. We use a variogram approach to (i) derive a spatial partitioning of molecular variance, gene diversity, and genotypic diversity for microsatellite data under the infinite allele model (IAM) and the stepwise mutation model (SMM), (ii) develop a weighting of sampling units to reflect ploidy levels or multiple sampling of genets, and (iii) show how variograms summarize the spatial genetic structure within a population under isolation-by-distance. The methods are illustrated with data from a population of the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria, using six microsatellite markers. Variogram-based analysis not only avoids bias due to the underestimation of population variance in the presence of spatial autocorrelation, but also provides estimates of population genetic diversity and the degree and extent of spatial genetic structure accounting for autocorrelation.     

A high-density screen for linkage in multiple sclerosis

To provide a definitive linkage map for multiple sclerosis, we have genotyped the Illumina BeadArray linkage mapping panel (version 4) in a data set of 730 multiplex families of Northern European descent. After the application of stringent quality thresholds, data from 4,506 markers in 2,692 individuals were included in the analysis. Multipoint nonparametric linkage analysis revealed highly significant linkage in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6p21 (maximum LOD score [MLS] 11.66) and suggestive linkage on chromosomes 17q23 (MLS 2.45) and 5q33 (MLS 2.18). This set of markers achieved a mean information extraction of 79.3% across the genome, with a Mendelian inconsistency rate of only 0.002%. Stratification based on carriage of the multiple sclerosis–associated DRB1*1501 allele failed to identify any other region of linkage with genomewide significance. However, ordered-subset analysis suggested that there may be an additional locus on chromosome 19p13 that acts independent of the main MHC locus. These data illustrate the substantial increase in power that can be achieved with use of the latest tools emerging from the Human Genome Project and indicate that future attempts to systematically identify susceptibility genes for multiple sclerosis will have to involve large sample sizes and an association-based methodology.