Lipid Bilayer Composition Can Influence the Orientation of Proteorhodopsin in Artificial Membranes

Artificial membrane systems allow researchers to study the structure and function of membrane proteins in a matrix that approximates their natural environment and to integrate these proteins in ex vivo devices such as electronic biosensors, thin-film protein arrays, or biofuel cells. Given that most membrane proteins have vectorial functions, both functional studies and applications require effective control over protein orientation within a lipid bilayer. In this work, we explored the role of the bilayer surface charge in determining transmembrane protein orientation and functionality during formation of proteoliposomes. We reconstituted a model vectorial ion pump, proteorhodopsin, in liposomes of opposite charges and varying charge densities and determined the resultant protein orientation. Antibody-binding assay and proteolysis of proteoliposomes showed physical evidence of preferential orientation, and functional assays verified the vectorial nature of ion transport in this system. Our results indicate that the manipulation of lipid composition can indeed control orientation of an asymmetrically charged membrane protein, proteorhodopsin, in liposomes.     

A Point Mutation in PDGFRB Causes Autosomal-Dominant Penttinen Syndrome

Penttinen syndrome is a distinctive disorder characterized by a prematurely aged appearance with lipoatrophy, epidermal and dermal atrophy along with hypertrophic lesions that resemble scars, thin hair, proptosis, underdeveloped cheekbones, and marked acro-osteolysis. All individuals have been simplex cases. Exome sequencing of an affected individual identified a de novo c.1994T>C p.Val665Ala variant in PDGFRB, which encodes the platelet-derived growth factor receptor β. Three additional unrelated individuals with this condition were shown to have the identical variant in PDGFRB. Distinct mutations in PDGFRB have been shown to cause infantile myofibromatosis, idiopathic basal ganglia calcification, and an overgrowth disorder with dysmorphic facies and psychosis, none of which overlaps with the clinical findings in Penttinen syndrome. We evaluated the functional consequence of this causative variant on the PDGFRB signaling pathway by transfecting mutant and wild-type cDNA into HeLa cells, and transfection showed ligand-independent constitutive signaling through STAT3 and PLCγ. Penttinen syndrome is a clinically distinct genetic condition caused by a PDGFRB gain-of-function mutation that is associated with a specific and unusual perturbation of receptor function.     

Enhanced electroporation in plant tissues via low frequency pulsed electric fields: influence of cytoplasmic streaming

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) are known to be effective at permeabilizing plant tissues. Prior research has demonstrated that lower pulse frequencies induce higher rates of permeabilization, but the underlying reason for this response is unclear. Intriguingly, recent microscopic observations with onion tissues have also revealed a correlation between PEF frequency and the subsequent speed of intracellular convective motion, i.e., cytoplasmic streaming. In this paper, we investigate the effect of cytoplasmic streaming on the efficacy of plant tissue permeabilization via PEF. Onion tissue samples were treated with Cytochalasin B, a known inhibitor of cytoplasmic streaming, and changes in cellular integrity and viability were measured over a wide range of frequencies and field strengths. We find that at low frequencies (f < 1 Hz), the absence of cytoplasmic streaming results in a 19% decrease in the conductivity disintegration index compared with control samples. Qualitatively, similar results were observed using a microscopic cell viability assay. The results suggest that at low frequencies convection plays a statistically significant role in distributing more conductive fluid throughout the tissue, making subsequent pulses more efficacious. The key practical implication is that PEF pretreatment at low frequency can increase the rate of tissue permeabilization in dehydration or extraction processes, and that the treatment will be most effective when cytoplasmic streaming is most active, i.e., with freshly prepared plant tissues.     

Genetic engineering approach to toxic waste management: case study for organophosphate waste treatment.

Currently, there has been limited use of genetic engineering for waste treatment. In this work, we are developing a procedure for the in situ treatment of toxic organophosphate wastes using the enzyme parathion hydrolase. Since this strategy is based on the use of an enzyme and not viable microorganisms, recombinant DNA technology could be used without the problems associated with releasing genetically altered microorganisms into the environment. The gene coding for parathion hydrolase was cloned into a Streptomyces lividans, and this transformed bacterium was observed to express and excrete this enzyme. Subsequently, fermentation conditions were developed to enhance enzyme production, and this fermentation was scaled-up to the pilot scale. The cell-free culture fluid (i.e., a nonpurified enzyme solution) was observed to be capable of effectively hydrolyzing organophosphate compounds under laboratory and simulated in situ conditions.     

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex: a keratin 5 mutation is a fully dominant allele in epidermal cytoskeleton function.

To explore the relationship between abnormal keratin molecules, 10-nm intermediate filament (IF) organization, and epidermal fragility and blistering, we sought to determine the functional consequences of homozygosity for a dominant keratin defect. We describe a family with an autosomal dominant skin-blistering disorder, epidermolysis bullosa simplex, Koebner subtype (EBS-K), that has a novel point mutation, occurring in the keratin 5 gene (KRT5), that predicts the substitution of an evolutionarily conserved lysine by an asparagine residue (K173N). Unlike previous heterozygous mutations located within the initial segment of domain 1A of keratin molecules, K173N heterozygosity did not result in severe disease or clumping of keratin filaments. One family member was found to be homozygous for the K173N allele, having inherited it from each of her affected first-cousin parents. Despite a lack of normal keratin 5 molecules, and an effective doubling of abnormal molecules, available for heterodimerization with keratin 14 during IF formation, there were no significant differences in the clinical severity or the ultrastructural organization of the keratin IF cytoskeleton of the homozygous individual. These data demonstrate that the K173N mutation behaves as a fully dominant allele and indicate that a limited number of abnormal keratin molecules are sufficient to impair cytoskeletal function and elicit epidermal fragility and blistering.     

Definitive evidence for an autosomal recessive form of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia clinically indistinguishable from the more common X-linked disorder.

A crucial issue in genetic counseling is the recognition of nonallelic genetic heterogeneity. Hypohidrotic (anhidrotic) ectodermal dysplasia (HED), a genetic disorder characterized by defective development of hair, teeth, and eccrine sweat glands, is usually inherited as an X-linked recessive trait mapped to the X-linked ectodermal dysplasia locus, EDA, at Xq12-q13.1. The existence of an autosomal recessive form of the disorder had been proposed but subsequently had been challenged by the hypothesis that the phenotype of severely affected daughters born to unaffected mothers in these rare families may be due to marked skewing of X inactivation. Five families with possible autosomal recessive HED have been identified, on the basis of the presence of severely affected females and unaffected parents in single sibships and in highly consanguineous families with multiple affected family members. The disorder was excluded from the EDA locus by the lack of its cosegregation with polymorphic markers flanking the EDA locus in three of five families. No mutations of the EDA gene were detected by SSCP analysis in the two families not excluded by haplotype analysis. The appearance of affected males and females in autosomal recessive HED was clinically indistinguishable from that seen in males with X-linked HED. The findings of equally affected males and females in single sibships, as well as the presence of consanguinity, support an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The fact that phenotypically identical types of HED can be caused by mutations at both X-linked and autosomal loci is analogous to the situation in the mouse, where indistinguishable phenotypes are produced by mutations at both X-linked (Tabby) and autosomal loci (crinkled and downless).     

The genetic basis of Cowden’s syndrome: three novel mutations in PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1

Cowden’s syndrome (CS) is an autosomal dominant disorder associated with an increased risk of developing benign and malignant tumors in a variety of tissues, including the skin, thyroid, breast and brain. Women with CS are felt to have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, and virtually all women with CS develop bilateral fibrocystic disease of the breast. Recently, a series of germline mutations have been identified from CS families in a gene known as PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1. In this study, we used heteroduplex analysis and direct sequencing analysis and identified three novel germline mutations in the PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 coding sequence from unrelated individuals with CS. We report a de novo transition (T→C) at nucleotide 335 in exon 5. This missense mutation resulted in a leucine to proline (CTA to CCA) change at codon 112. We also describe a novel splice site mutation (801+2T→G) in intron 7 that caused exon skipping in PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 mRNA. The third mutation we report is a missense mutation, consisting of a transition (T→C) at nucleotide 202 in exon 3, resulting in a tyrosine to histidine (TAC to CAC) change at codon 68. Finally, we also detected a rare polymorphism in exon 7 of the PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 coding sequence. These data confirm the observation that mutations of the PTEN/MMAC1/ TEP1 coding sequence are responsible for at least some cases of CS, and further define the spectrum of mutations in this autosomal dominant disorder. Received: 21 October 1997 / Accepted: 15 December 1997     

Ranges of phenotypic flexibility in healthy subjects

Background

A key feature of metabolic health is the ability to adapt upon dietary perturbations. A systemic review defined an optimal nutritional challenge test, the “PhenFlex test” (PFT). Recently, it has been shown that the PFT enables the quantification of all relevant metabolic processes involved in maintaining or regaining homeostasis of metabolic health. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that quantification of PFT response was more sensitive as compared to fasting markers in demonstrating reduced phenotypic flexibility in metabolically impaired type 2 diabetes subjects.

Methods

This study aims to demonstrate that quantification of PFT response can discriminate between different states of health within the healthy range of the population. Therefore, 100 healthy subjects were enrolled (50 males, 50 females) ranging in age (young, middle, old) and body fat percentage (low, medium, high), assuming variation in phenotypic flexibility. Biomarkers were selected to quantify main processes which characterize phenotypic flexibility in response to PFT: flexibility in glucose, lipid, amino acid and vitamin metabolism, and metabolic stress. Individual phenotypic flexibility was visualized using the “health space” by representing the four processes on the health space axes. By quantifying and presenting the study subjects in this space, individual phenotypic flexibility was visualized.

Results

Using the “health space” visualization, differences between groups as well as within groups from the healthy range of the population can be easily and intuitively assessed. The health space showed a different adaptation to the metabolic PhenFlex test in the extremes of the recruited population; persons of young age with low to normal fat percentage had a markedly different position in the health space as compared to persons from old age with normal to high fat percentage.

Conclusion

The results of the metabolic PhenFlex test in conjunction with the health space reliably assessed health on an individual basis. This quantification can be used in the future for personalized health quantification and advice.

     

Multi-parameter comparison of a standardized mixed meal tolerance test in healthy and type 2 diabetic subjects: the PhenFlex challenge

Background

A key feature of metabolic health is the ability to adapt upon dietary perturbations. Recently, it was shown that metabolic challenge tests in combination with the new generation biomarkers allow the simultaneous quantification of major metabolic health processes. Currently, applied challenge tests are largely non-standardized. A systematic review defined an optimal nutritional challenge test, the “PhenFlex test” (PFT). This study aimed to prove that PFT modulates all relevant processes governing metabolic health thereby allowing to distinguish subjects with different metabolic health status. Therefore, 20 healthy and 20 type 2 diabetic (T2D) male subjects were challenged both by PFT and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). During the 8-h response time course, 132 parameters were quantified that report on 26 metabolic processes distributed over 7 organs (gut, liver, adipose, pancreas, vasculature, muscle, kidney) and systemic stress.

Results

In healthy subjects, 110 of the 132 parameters showed a time course response. Patients with T2D showed 18 parameters to be significantly different after overnight fasting compared to healthy subjects, while 58 parameters were different in the post-challenge time course after the PFT. This demonstrates the added value of PFT in distinguishing subjects with different health status. The OGTT and PFT response was highly comparable for glucose metabolism as identical amounts of glucose were present in both challenge tests. Yet the PFT reports on additional processes, including vasculature, systemic stress, and metabolic flexibility.

Conclusion

The PFT enables the quantification of all relevant metabolic processes involved in maintaining or regaining homeostasis of metabolic health. Studying both healthy subjects and subjects with impaired metabolic health showed that the PFT revealed new processes laying underneath health. This study provides the first evidence towards adopting the PFT as gold standard in nutrition research.