Collapsed xylem phenotype of Arabidopsis identifies mutants deficient in cellulose deposition in the secondary cell wall.

Recessive mutations at three loci cause the collapse of mature xylem cells in inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis. These irregular xylem (irx) mutations were identified by screening plants from a mutagenized population by microscopic examination of stem sections. The xylem cell defect was associated with an up to eightfold reduction in the total amount of cellulose in mature inflorescence stems. The amounts of cell wall-associated phenolics and polysaccharides were unaffected by the mutations. Examination of the cell walls by using electron microscopy demonstrated that the decreases in cellulose content of irx lines resulted in an alteration of the spatial organization of cell wall material. This suggests that a normal pattern of cellulose deposition may be required for assembly of lignin or polysaccharides. The reduced cellulose content of the stems also resulted in a decrease in stiffness of the stem material. This is consistent with the irregular xylem phenotype and suggests that the walls of irx plants are not resistant to compressive forces. Because lignin was implicated previously as a major factor in resistance to compressive forces, these results suggest either that cellulose has a direct role in providing resistance to compressive forces or that it is required for the development of normal lignin structure. The irx plants had a slight reduction in growth rate and stature but were otherwise normal in appearance. The mutations should be useful in facilitating the identification of factors that control the synthesis and deposition of cellulose and other cell wall components.     

Identification of cell-wall stress as a hexose-dependent and osmosensitive regulator of plant responses

Development, abiotic and biotic stress each affect the physical architecture and chemical composition of the plant cell wall, making maintenance of cell-wall integrity an important component of many plant processes. Cellulose biosynthesis inhibition (CBI) was employed to impair the functional integrity of the cell wall, and the plant's response to this specific stress was characterized in an Arabidopsis seedling model system. CBI caused changes in the expression of genes involved in mechanoperception, the response to microbial challenge, and lignin and cell-wall polysaccharide biosynthesis. Following CBI, activation of a UDP- d -xylose 4-epimerase gene correlated with increases in arabinose and uronic acid content in seedling cell walls. Activation of pathogen response genes, lignin deposition and lesion formation were dependent on externally supplied sugars and were suppressed by osmotic support. Lignin deposition in the root elongation zone caused by CBI was reduced in atrbohd (NADPH oxidase) mutant seedlings but increased in jasmonic acid resistant1 ( jar1-1 ) mutant seedlings. Phytohormone measurements showed that CBI-induced increases in jasmonic (JA) and salicylic acids were dependent on sugar availability and prevented by osmotic support. We show that CBI activates responses commonly attributed to both abiotic and microbial challenges. Glucose/sucrose and turgor pressure are critical components in maintenance of cell-wall integrity and the regulation of induced responses, including JA biosynthesis. Lignin deposition induced by CBI is regulated by JAR1-1 and NADPH oxidase-dependent signalling processes. Our results identify components of the mechanism that mediates the response to impairment of cell-wall integrity in Arabidopsis thaliana .     

Discovery of novel dihydro-9,10-ethano-anthracene carboxamides as glucocorticoid receptor modulators

A series of dihydro-9,10-ethano-anthracene-11-carboxamides as novel glucocorticoid receptor modulators is reported. SAR exploration identified compounds from this series displaying a promising dissociation profile in discriminating between transrepression and transactivation activities. 17a is a partial agonist of GR-mediated transactivation which elicits potent and efficacious transrepression in reporter gene assays. A hypothetical binding mode is provided which accounts for the induction of functional activity by a bridgehead methyl group.     

Staphylococcus aureus ClpC ATPase is a late growth phase effector of metabolism and persistence

Staphylococcus aureus Clp ATPases (molecular chaperones) alter normal physiological functions including an aconitase‐mediated effect on post‐stationary growth, acetate catabolism, and entry into death phase (Chatterjee et al., J. Bacteriol. 2005, 187, 4488–4496). In the present study, the global function of ClpC in physiology, metabolism, and late‐stationary phase survival was examined using DNA microarrays and 2‐D PAGE followed by MALDI‐TOF MS. The results suggest that ClpC is involved in regulating the expression of genes and/or proteins of gluconeogenesis, the pentose‐phosphate pathway, pyruvate metabolism, the electron transport chain, nucleotide metabolism, oxidative stress, metal ion homeostasis, stringent response, and programmed cell death. Thus, one major function of ClpC is balancing late growth phase carbon metabolism. Furthermore, these changes in carbon metabolism result in alterations of the intracellular concentration of free NADH, the amount of cell‐associated iron, and fatty acid metabolism. This study provides strong evidence for ClpC as a critical factor in staphylococcal energy metabolism, stress regulation, and late‐stationary phase survival; therefore, these data provide important insight into the adaptation of S. aureus toward a persister state in chronic infections.     

Optimization of CCR4 antagonists: side-chain exploration

The design, synthesis, and activity of novel and selective small molecule antagonists of the CC chemokine receptor-4 (CCR4) are presented. Compound 8c was efficacious in a murine allergic inflammation model (ED(50) 30 mg/kg).     

The role of plant cell wall polysaccharide composition in disease resistance

The high degree of structural complexity of plant cell wall polysaccharides has led to suggestions that some components might function as latent signal molecules that are released during pathogen infections and elicit defensive responses by the plant. However, there has been a paucity of genetic evidence supporting the idea that variation in cell wall composition plays a role in the outcome of host-pathogen interactions. Recently, several genetic studies have provided new lines of evidence implicating cell wall polysaccharides as factors in host-pathogen interactions.