Hsp70 and thermal pretreatment mitigate developmental damage caused by mitotic poisons in Drosophila

To assess the ability of the heat-inducible molecular chaperone heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) to mitigate a specific developmental lesion, we administered the antimicrotubule drugs vinblastine (VB) and colchicine (COL) to larvae of Drosophila engineered to express differing levels of Hsp70 after heat pretreatment (HP). VB and COL decreased survival during metamorphosis, disrupted development of the adult eye and other structures as well as their precursor imaginal disks, and induced chromosome nondisjunction in the wing imaginal disk as indicated by the somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) assay. Hsp70-inducing HP reduced many of these effects. For the traits viability, adult eye morphology, eye imaginal disk morphology, cell death in the eye imaginal disks, and single and total mutant clone formation in the SMART assay, HP reduced the impact of VB to a greater extent in Drosophila with 6 hsp70 transgenes than in a sister strain from which the transgenes had been excised. Because the extra-copy strain has higher levels of Hsp70 than does the excision strain but is otherwise almost identical in genetic background to the excision strain, these outcomes are attributable to Hsp70. The hsp70 copy number had a variable interaction with HP and COL administration.     

Branchpoint selection in the splicing of U12-dependent introns in vitro

In metazoans, splicing of introns from pre-mRNAs can occur by two pathways: the major U2-dependent or the minor U12-dependent pathways. Whereas the U2-dependent pathway has been well characterized, much about the U12-dependent pathway remains to be discovered. Most of the information regarding U12-type introns has come from in vitro studies of a very few known introns of this class. To expand our understanding of U12-type splicing, especially to test the hypothesis that the simple base-pairing mechanism between the intron and U12 snRNA defines the branchpoint of U12-dependent introns, additional in vitro splicing substrates were created from three putative U12-type introns: the third intron of the Xenopus RPL1 a gene (XRP), the sixth intron of the Xenopus TFIIS.oA gene (XTF), and the first intron of the human Sm E gene (SME). In vitro splicing in HeLa nuclear extract confirmed U12-dependent splicing of each of these introns. Surprisingly, branchpoint mapping of the XRP splicing intermediate shows use of the upstream rather than the downstream of two consecutive adenosines within the branchpoint sequence (BPS), contrary to the prediction based on alignment with the sixth intron of human P120, a U12-dependent intron whose branch site was previously determined. Also, in the SME intron, the position of the branchpoint A residue within the region base paired with U12 differs from that in P120 and XTF. Analysis of these three additional introns therefore rules out simple models for branchpoint selection by the U12-type spliceosome.     

In vitro production of adaline and coccinelline,two defensive alkaloids from ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

In vitro experiments using [1-(14)C] and [2-(14)C]acetate were devised to study the biosynthesis of the defensive coccinellid alkaloids adaline and coccinelline in Adalia 2-punctata and Coccinella 7-punctata, respectively. The labelled alkaloids obtained in these experiments had a specific activity about ten times higher than that of the samples obtained in feeding experiments. This in vitro assay has enabled us to demonstrate that these two alkaloids are most likely biosynthesised through a fatty acid rather than a polyketide pathway, that glutamine is the preferred source of the nitrogen atom and that alkaloid biosynthesis takes place in the insect fat body.     

Nitric oxide inhibits ADP-ribosyl cyclase through a cGMP-independent pathway in airway smooth muscle

There is evidence for a role of cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) in intracellular Ca2+ regulation in smooth muscle. cADPR is synthesized and degraded by ADP-ribosyl cyclase and cADPR hydrolase, respectively, by a bifunctional protein, CD38. Nitric oxide (NO) inhibits intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in airway smooth muscle. The present study was designed to determine whether this inhibition is due to regulation of ADP-ribosyl cyclase and/or cADPR hydrolase activity. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, NO donors, produced a concentration-dependent decrease in ADP-ribosyl cyclase, but not cADPR hydrolase, activity. The NO scavenger carboxy-PTIO prevented and reversed, and reduced glutathione prevented, the inhibition of ADP-ribosyl cyclase by SNP, suggesting S-nitrosylation by NO as a mechanism. N-ethylmaleimide, which covalently modifies protein sulfhydryl groups, making them incapable of nitrosylation, produced a marked inhibition of ADP-ribosyl cyclase, but not cADPR hydrolase, activity. SNP and N-ethylmaleimide significantly inhibited the ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity in recombinant human CD38 without affecting the cADPR hydrolase activity. These results provide a novel mechanism for differential regulation of CD38 by NO through a cGMP-independent pathway involving S-nitrosylation of thiols.     

Role of resident alveolar macrophages in leukocyte traffic into the alveolar air space of intact mice

Intratracheal instillation of the monocyte chemoattractant JE/monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 in mice was recently shown to cause increased alveolar monocyte accumulation in the absence of lung inflammation, whereas combined JE/MCP-1/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge provoked acute lung inflammation with early alveolar neutrophil and delayed alveolar monocyte influx. We evaluated the role of resident alveolar macrophages (rAM) in these leukocyte recruitment events and related phenomena of lung inflammation. Depletion of rAM by pretreatment of mice with liposomal clodronate did not affect the JE/MCP-1-driven alveolar monocyte accumulation, despite the observation that rAM constitutively expressed the JE/MCP-1 receptor CCR2, as analyzed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. In contrast, depletion of rAM largely suppressed alveolar cytokine release as well as neutrophil and monocyte recruitment profiles upon combined JE/MCP-1/LPS treatment. Despite this strongly attenuated alveolar inflammatory response, increased lung permeability was still observed in rAM-depleted mice undergoing JE/MCP-1/LPS challenge. Lung leakage was abrogated by codepletion of circulating neutrophils or administration of anti-CD18. Collectively, rAM are not involved in JE/MCP-1-driven alveolar monocyte recruitment in noninflamed lungs but largely contribute to the alveolar cytokine response and enhanced early neutrophil and delayed monocyte influx under inflammatory conditions (JE/MCP-1/LPS deposition). Loss of lung barrier function observed under these conditions is rAM independent but involves circulating neutrophils via beta(2)-integrin engagement.     

Protein mutagenesis with monodispersity-based quality probing: selective inactivation of p53 degradation and DNA-binding properties of HPV E6 oncoprotein

Interpretation of protein mutagenesis experiments requires the ability to distinguish functionally relevant mutations from mutations affecting the structure. When a protein is expressed soluble in bacteria, properly folded mutants are expected to remain soluble whereas misfolded mutants should form insoluble aggregates. However, this rule may fail for proteins fused to highly soluble carrier proteins. In a previous study, we analysed the biophysical status of HPV oncoprotein E6 fused to the C-terminus of maltose-binding protein (MBP) and found that misfolded E6 moieties fused to MBP formed soluble aggregates of high molecular weight. By contrast, preparations of properly folded E6 fused to MBP were monodisperse. Here, we have used this finding to evaluate the quality of 19 MBP-fused E6 site-directed mutants by using a light scattering assay performed in a fluorimeter. This assay guided us to rule out structurally defective mutants and to obtain functionally relevant E6 mutants selectively altered for two molecular activities: degradation of tumour suppressor p53 and DNA recognition.     

The effect of host size on the sex ratio of Syngaster lepidus, a parasitoid of Eucalyptus longhorned borers (Phoracantha spp.)

The solitary larval ectoparasitoid, Syngaster lepidus Brullé, parasitizes the cryptic larvae of two wood-boring beetles, Phoracantha recurva Newman and Phoracantha semipunctata F. The objective of this study was to determine how the female parasitoids allocated the sex of progeny when presented with larval hosts of uniform size classes. Host size was directly correlated with age of the Phoracantha larval hosts. Groups of Phoracantha larvae of a single age class (2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-week-old) were exposed to parasitoids, and sex ratios of the resulting parasitoid progeny from each host age class were determined. A significant relationship was observed among the sizes of P. recurva and P. semipunctata hosts and the sex ratio of emerging parasitoids. Parasitized 2-week-old beetle larvae of both Phoracantha spp. produced only male S. lepidus progeny, whereas older larval hosts produced increasing proportions of female parasitoids (up to 80% females from 5-week-old hosts). Two-week-old Phoracantha larvae of both species produced fewer parasitoids than host larvae 3–5-week-old. The size of parasitoid progeny consistently increased with host larval age (size), and female parasitoids were larger than males across all host size classes. Male S. lepidus developed in approximately 25 days from 2-week-old hosts, and 19–21 days in 3–5-week-old hosts. Female S. lepidus developed in 22–25 days, with developmental time increasing with host size.     

GLUT4 retention in adipocytes requires two intracellular insulin-regulated transport steps

Insulin regulates glucose uptake into fat and muscle by modulating the distribution of the GLUT4 glucose transporter between the surface and interior of cells. The GLUT4 trafficking pathway overlaps with the general endocytic recycling pathway, but the degree and functional significance of the overlap are not known. In this study of intact adipocytes, we demonstrate, by using a compartment-specific fluorescence-quenching assay, that GLUT4 is equally distributed between two intracellular pools: the transferrin receptor-containing endosomes and a specialized compartment that excludes the transferrin receptor. These pools of GLUT4 are in dynamic communication with one another and with the cell surface. Insulin-induced redistribution of GLUT4 to the surface requires mobilization of both pools. These data establish a role for the general endosomal system in the specialized, insulin-regulated trafficking of GLUT4. Trafficking through the general endosomal system is regulated by rab11. Herein, we show that rab11 is required for the transport of GLUT4 from endosomes to the specialized compartment and for the insulin-induced translocation to the cell surface, emphasizing the importance of the general endosomal pathway in the specialized trafficking of GLUT4. Based on these findings we propose a two-step model for GLUT4 trafficking in which the general endosomal recycling compartment plays a specialized role in the insulin-regulated traffic of GLUT4. This compartment-based model provides the framework for understanding insulin-regulated trafficking at a molecular level.     

A subset of chaperones and folding enzymes form multiprotein complexes in endoplasmic reticulum to bind nascent proteins

We demonstrate the existence of a large endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized multiprotein complex that is comprised of the molecular chaperones BiP; GRP94; CaBP1; protein disulfide isomerase (PDI); ERdj3, a recently identified ER Hsp40 cochaperone; cyclophilin B; ERp72; GRP170; UDP-glucosyltransferase; and SDF2-L1. This complex is associated with unassembled, incompletely folded immunoglobulin heavy chains. Except for ERdj3, and to a lesser extent PDI, this complex also forms in the absence of nascent protein synthesis and is found in a variety of cell types. Cross-linking studies reveal that the majority of these chaperones are included in the complex. Our data suggest that this subset of ER chaperones forms an ER network that can bind to unfolded protein substrates instead of existing as free pools that assembled onto substrate proteins. It is noticeable that most of the components of the calnexin/calreticulin system, which include some of the most abundant chaperones inside the ER, are either not detected in this complex or only very poorly represented. This study demonstrates an organization of ER chaperones and folding enzymes that has not been previously appreciated and suggests a spatial separation of the two chaperone systems that may account for the temporal interactions observed in other studies.