Structural Mechanism of the Arrestin-3/JNK3 Interaction

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Rat liver peroxisomes after fibrate treatment. A survey using quantitative mass spectrometry

Fibrates are known to induce peroxisome proliferation and the expression of peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes. To analyze fibrate-induced changes of complex metabolic networks, we have compared the proteome of rat liver peroxisomes from control and bezafibrate-treated rats. Highly purified peroxisomes were subfractionated, and the proteins of the matrix, peripheral, and integral membrane subfractions thus obtained were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometry after labeling of tryptic peptides with the iTRAQ reagent. By means of this quantitative technique, we were able to identify 134 individual proteins, covering most of the known peroxisomal proteome. Ten predicted new open reading frames were verified by cDNA cloning, and seven of them could be localized to peroxisomes by immunocytochemistry. Moreover, quantitative mass spectrometry substantiated the induction of most of the known peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha-regulated peroxisomal proteins upon treatment with bezafibrate, documenting the suitability of the iTRAQ procedure in larger scale experiments. However, not all proteins reacted to a similar extent but exerted a fibrate-specific induction scheme showing the variability of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptoralpha-transmitted responses to specific ligands. In view of our data, rat hepatic peroxisomes are apparently not specialized to sequester very long chain fatty acids (C22-C26) but rather metabolize preferentially long chain fatty acids (C16-18).     

MACF1, Involved in the 1p34.2p34.3 Microdeletion Syndrome,is Essential in Cortical Progenitor Polarity and Brain Integrity

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology - 1p34.2p34.3 deletion syndrome is characterized by an increased risk for autism. Microtubule Actin Crosslinking Factor 1 (MACF1) is one candidate gene for this...     

Novel Anthropometry-Based Calculation of the Body Heat Capacity in the Korean Population

Heat capacity (HC) has an important role in the temperature regulation process, particularly in dealing with the heat load. The actual measurement of the body HC is complicated and is generally estimated by body-composition-specific data. This study compared the previously known HC estimating equations and sought how to define HC using simple anthropometric indices such as weight and body surface area (BSA) in the Korean population. Six hundred participants were randomly selected from a pool of 902 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 70 years for the training set. The remaining 302 participants were used for the test set. Body composition analysis using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to access body components including body fat, water, protein, and mineral mass. Four different HCs were calculated and compared using a weight-based HC (HC_Eq1), two HCs estimated from fat and fat-free mass (HC_Eq2 and HC_Eq3), and an HC calculated from fat, protein, water, and mineral mass (HC_Eq4). HC_Eq1 generally produced a larger HC than the other HC equations and had a poorer correlation with the other HC equations. HC equations using body composition data were well-correlated to each other. If HC estimated with HC_Eq4 was regarded as a standard, interestingly, the BSA and weight independently contributed to the variation of HC. The model composed of weight, BSA, and gender was able to predict more than a 99% variation of HC_Eq4. Validation analysis on the test set showed a very high satisfactory level of the predictive model. In conclusion, our results suggest that gender, BSA, and weight are the independent factors for calculating HC. For the first time, a predictive equation based on anthropometry data was developed and this equation could be useful for estimating HC in the general Korean population without body-composition measurement.     

Simulation Predicts IGFBP2-HIF1α Interaction Drives Glioblastoma Growth

Tremendous strides have been made in improving patients’ survival from cancer with one glaring exception: brain cancer. Glioblastoma is the most common, aggressive and highly malignant type of primary brain tumor. The average overall survival remains less than 1 year. Notably, cancer patients with obesity and diabetes have worse outcomes and accelerated progression of glioblastoma. The root cause of this accelerated progression has been hypothesized to involve the insulin signaling pathway. However, while the process of invasive glioblastoma progression has been extensively studied macroscopically, it has not yet been well characterized with regards to intracellular insulin signaling. In this study we connect for the first time microscale insulin signaling activity with macroscale glioblastoma growth through the use of computational modeling. Results of the model suggest a novel observation: feedback from IGFBP2 to HIF1α is integral to the sustained growth of glioblastoma. Our study suggests that downstream signaling from IGFI to HIF1α, which has been the target of many insulin signaling drugs in clinical trials, plays a smaller role in overall tumor growth. These predictions strongly suggest redirecting the focus of glioma drug candidates on controlling the feedback between IGFBP2 and HIF1α.     

The New 4-O-Methylhonokiol Analog GS12021 Inhibits Inflammation and Macrophage Chemotaxis: Role of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase α Activation

Preventing pathologic tissue inflammation is key to treating obesity-induced insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Previously, we synthesized a series of methylhonokiol analogs and reported that compounds with a carbamate structure had inhibitory function against cyclooxygenase-2 in a cell-free enzyme assay. However, whether these compounds could inhibit the expression of inflammatory genes in macrophages has not been investigated. Here, we found that a new 4-O-methylhonokiol analog, 3′,5-diallyl-4′-methoxy-[1,1′-biphenyl]-2-yl morpholine-4-carboxylate (GS12021) inhibited LPS- or TNFα-stimulated inflammation in macrophages and adipocytes, respectively. LPS-induced phosphorylation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/p65 was significantly decreased, whereas NF-κB luciferase activities were slightly inhibited, by GS12021 treatment in RAW 264.7 cells. Either mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation or AP-1 luciferase activity was not altered by GS12021. GS12021 increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α and the expression of sirtuin (SIRT) 1. Inhibition of mRNA expression of inflammatory genes by GS12021 was abolished in AMPKα1-knockdown cells, but not in SIRT1 knockout cells, demonstrating that GS12021 exerts anti-inflammatory effects through AMPKα activation. The transwell migration assay results showed that GS12021 treatment of macrophages prevented the cell migration promoted by incubation with conditioned medium obtained from adipocytes. GS12021 suppression of p65 phosphorylation and macrophage chemotaxis were preserved in AMPKα1-knockdown cells, indicating AMPK is not required for these functions of GS12021. Identification of this novel methylhonokiol analog could enable studies of the structure-activity relationship of this class of compounds and further evaluation of its in vivo potential for the treatment of insulin-resistant states and other chronic inflammatory diseases.     

MicroRNA in intervertebral disc degeneration

Aetiology of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is complex, with genetic, developmental, biochemical and biomechanical factors contributing to the disease process. It is becoming obvious that epigenetic processes influence evolution of IDD as strongly as the genetic background. Deregulated phenotypes of nucleus pulposus cells, including differentiation, migration, proliferation and apoptosis, are involved in all stages of progression of human IDD. Non‐coding RNAs, including microRNAs, have recently been recognized as important regulators of gene expression. Research into roles of microRNAs in IDD has been very active over the past 5 years. Our review summarizes current research enlightenment towards understanding roles of microRNAs in regulating nucleus pulposus cell functions in IDD. These exciting findings support the notion that specific modulation of microRNAs may represent an attractive approach for management of IDD.