A role for PYK2 in regulation of ERK1/2 MAP kinases and PI 3-kinase by ANG II in vascular smooth muscle

Abnormal vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth plays a key role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II (ANG II) elicits a hypertrophic growth response characterized by an increase in protein synthesis without cell proliferation. The present study investigated the role of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase PYK2 in the regulation of ANG II-induced signaling pathways that mediate VSMC growth. Using coimmunoprecipitation analysis, the role of PYK2 as an upstream regulator of both extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) 1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) pathways was examined in cultured rat aortic VSMC. ANG II (100 nM) promoted the formation of a complex between PYK2 and the ERK1/2 regulators Shc and Grb2. ANG II caused a rapid and Ca(2+)-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of the adapter molecule p130Cas, which coimmunoprecipitated both PYK2 and PI 3-kinase in ANG II-treated VSMC. Complex formation between PI 3-kinase and p130Cas and PYK2 was associated with a rapid phosphorylation of the ribosomal p70(S6) kinase in a Ca(2+)- and tyrosine kinase-dependent manner. These data suggest that PYK2 is an important regulator of multiple signaling pathways involved in ANG II-induced VSMC growth.     

The Adaptive Evolution Database (TAED)

Background  

Developing an understanding of the molecular basis for the divergence of species lies at the heart of biology. The Adaptive Evolution Database (TAED) serves as a starting point to link events that occur at the same time in the evolutionary history (tree of life) of species, based upon coding sequence evolution analyzed with the Master Catalog. The Master Catalog is a collection of evolutionary models, including multiple sequence alignments, phylogenetic trees, and reconstructed ancestral sequences, for all independently evolving protein sequence modules encoded by genes in GenBank [1].     

A New Stain for Pollen Fertility Studies

The juice from the berries of Cocculus hirsutum was extracted and used for pollen fertility studies in various crops. Two stains were prepared: P. H. Ramanjini (PHR) stain and modified PHR stain. The modified PHR stain contains lactic acid and produces the best staining differentiation. The intensity of the staining was dependent on the thickness of the pollen cell walls, hence PHR stain is recommended for thick walled pollen grains and the modified PHR stain for pollen with relatively thin walls. The preparation of both the stains are very simple, quick and inexpensive.     

Aspartic acid functions as carbonyl trapper to inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end products by chemical chaperone activity

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were implicated in pathology of numerous diseases. In this study, we present the bioactivity of aspartic acid (Asp) to inhibit the AGEs. Hemoglobin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were glycated with glucose, fructose, and ribose in the presence and absence of Asp (100–200 μM). HbA₁c inhibition was investigated using human blood and characterized by micro-column ion exchange chromatography. The effect of methyl glyoxal (MG) on hemoglobin and BSA was evaluated by fluorescence spectroscopy and gel electrophoresis. The effect of MG on red blood cells morphology was characterized by scanning electron micrographs. Molecular docking was performed on BSA with Asp. Asp is capable of inhibiting the formation of fluorescent AGEs by reacting with the reducing sugars. The presence of Asp as supplement in whole blood reduced the HbA₁c% from 8.8 to 6.1. The presence of MG showed an increase in fluorescence and the presence of Asp inhibited the glycation thereby the fluorescence was quenched. MG also affected the electrophoretic mobility of hemoglobin and BSA by forming high molecular weight aggregates. Normal RBCs showed typical biconcave shape. MG modified RBCs showed twisted and elongated shape whereas the presence of ASP tends to protect RBC from twisting. Asp interacted with arginine residues of bovine serum albumin particularly ARG 194, ARG 198, and ARG 217 thereby stabilized the protein complex. We conclude that Asp has dual functions as a chemical chaperone to stabilize protein and as a dicarbonyl trapper, and thereby it can prevent the complications caused by glycation.     

A landscape-level assessment of Asian elephant habitat,its population and elephant–human conflict in the Anamalai hill ranges of southern Western Ghats,India

Spatial information at the landscape scale is extremely important for conservation planning, especially in the case of long-ranging vertebrates. The biodiversity-rich Anamalai hill ranges in the Western Ghats of southern India hold a viable population for the long-term conservation of the Asian elephant. Through rapid but extensive field surveys we mapped elephant habitat, corridors, vegetation and land-use patterns, estimated the elephant population density and structure, and assessed elephant–human conflict across this landscape. GIS and remote sensing analyses indicate that elephants are distributed among three blocks over a total area of about 4600 km². Approximately 92% remains contiguous because of four corridors; however, under 4000 km² of this area may be effectively used by elephants. Nine landscape elements were identified, including five natural vegetation types, of which tropical moist deciduous forest is dominant. Population density assessed through the dung count method using line transects covering 275 km of walk across the effective elephant habitat of the landscape yielded a mean density of 1.1 (95% CI = 0.99–1.2) elephant/km². Population structure from direct sighting of elephants showed that adult male elephants constitute just 2.9% and adult females 42.3% of the population with the rest being sub-adults (27.4%), juveniles (16%) and calves (11.4%). Sex ratios show an increasing skew toward females from juvenile (1:1.8) to sub-adult (1:2.4) and adult (1:14.7) indicating higher mortality of sub-adult and adult males that is most likely due to historical poaching for ivory. A rapid questionnaire survey and secondary data on elephant–human conflict from forest department records reveals that villages in and around the forest divisions on the eastern side of landscape experience higher levels of elephant–human conflict than those on the western side; this seems to relate to a greater degree of habitat fragmentation and percentage farmers cultivating annual crops in the east. We provide several recommendations that could help maintain population viability and reduce elephant–human conflict of the Anamalai elephant landscape.     

Distinctive microRNA expression signatures in proton-irradiated mice

Proton particles comprise the most abundant ionizing radiation (IR) in outer space. These high energy particles are known to cause frequent double- and single-stranded DNA lesions that can lead to cancer and tumor formation. Understanding the mechanism of cellular response to proton-derived IR is vital for determining health risks to astronauts during space missions. Our understanding of the consequences of these high energy charged particles on microRNA (miRNA) regulation is still in infancy. miRNAs are non-coding, single-stranded RNAs of ~22 nucleotides that constitute a novel class of gene regulators. They regulate diverse biological processes, and each miRNA can control hundreds of gene targets. To investigate the effect of proton radiation on these master regulators, we examined the miRNA expression in selected mice organs that had been exposed to whole-body proton irradiation (2 Gy), and compared this to control mice (0 Gy exposure). RNA was isolated from three tissues (testis, brain, and liver) from treated and control mice and subjected to high-throughput small RNA sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis of small RNA sequencing data revealed dysregulation of (p < 0.05; 20 up- and 10 down-regulated) 14 mouse testis, 8 liver, and 8 brain miRNAs. The statistically significant and unique miRNA expression pattern found among three different proton-treated mouse tissues indicates a tissue-specific response to proton radiation. In addition to known miRNAs, sequencing revealed differential expression of 11 miRNAs in proton-irradiated mice that have not been previously reported in association with radiation exposure and cancer. The dysregulation of miRNAs on exposure to proton radiation suggest a possible mechanism of proton particles involvement in the onset of cell tumorgenesis. In summary, we have established that specific miRNAs are vulnerable to proton radiation, that such differential expression profile may depend upon the tissue, and that there are more miRNAs affected by proton radiation than have been previously observed.