Phosphorylation of cardiac troponin I by mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1

Mst1 (mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine kinase and its activation in the heart causes cardiomyocyte apoptosis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Its myocardial substrates, however, remain unknown. In a yeast two-hybrid screen of a human heart cDNA library with a dominant-negative Mst1 (K59R) mutant used as bait, cTn [cardiac Tn (troponin)] I was identified as an Mst1-interacting protein. The interaction of cTnI with Mst1 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation in both co-transfected HEK-293 cells (human embryonic kidney cells) and native cardiomyocytes, in which cTnI interacted with full-length Mst1, but not with its N-terminal kinase fragment. in vitro phosphorylation assays demonstrated that cTnI is a sensitive substrate for Mst1. In contrast, cTnT was phosphorylated by Mst1 only when it was incorporated into the Tn complex. MS analysis indicated that Mst1 phosphorylates cTnI at Thr(31), Thr(51), Thr(129) and Thr(143). Substitution of Thr(31) with an alanine residue reduced Mst1-mediated cTnI phosphorylation by 90%, whereas replacement of Thr(51), Thr(129) or Thr(143) with alanine residues reduced Mst1-catalysed cTnI phosphorylation by approx. 60%, suggesting that Thr(31) is a preferential phosphorylation site for Mst1. Furthermore, treatment of cardiomyocytes with hydrogen peroxide rapidly induced Mst1-dependent phosphorylation of cTnI at Thr(31). Protein epitope analysis and binding assays showed that Mst1-mediated phosphorylation modulates the molecular conformation of cTnI and its binding affinity to TnT and TnC, thus indicating functional significances. The results of the present study suggest that Mst1 is a novel mediator of cTnI phosphorylation in the heart and may contribute to the modulation of myofilament function under a variety of physiological and pathophysiological conditions.     

In vivo functional expression of a screened P. aeruginosa chaperone-dependent lipase in E.coli

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Microbial lipases particularly Pseudomonas lipases are widely used for biotechnological applications. It is a meaningful work to design experiments to obtain high-level active lipase. There is a limiting factor for functional overexpression of the Pseudomonas lipase that a chaperone is necessary for effective folding. As previously reported, several methods had been used to resolve the problem. In this work, the lipase (LipA) and its chaperone (LipB) from a screened strain named AB which belongs to Pseudomonas aeruginosa were overexpressed in E.coli with two dual expression plasmid systems to enhance the production of the active lipase LipA without in vitro refolding process. RESULTS: In this work, we screened a lipase-produced strain named AB through the screening procedure, which was identified as P. aeruginosa on the basis of 16S rDNA. Genomic DNA obtained from the strain was used to isolate the gene lipA (936 bp) and lipase specific foldase gene lipB (1023 bp). One single expression plasmid system E.coli BL21/pET28a-lipAB and two dual expression plasmid systems E.coli BL21/pETDuet-lipA-lipB and E.coli BL21/pACYCDuet-lipA-lipB were successfully constructed. The lipase activities of the three expression systems were compared to choose the optimal expression method. Under the same cultured condition, the activities of the lipases expressed by E.coli BL21/pET28a-lipAB and E.coli BL21/pETDuet-lipA-lipB were 1300U/L and 3200U/L, respectively, while the activity of the lipase expressed by E.coli BL21/pACYCDuet-lipA-lipB was up to 8500U/L. The lipase LipA had an optimal temperature of 30[degree sign]C and an optimal pH of 9 with a strong pH tolerance. The active LipA could catalyze the reaction between fatty alcohols and fatty acids to generate fatty acid alkyl esters, which meant that LipA was able to catalyze esterification reaction. The most suitable fatty acid and alcohol substrates for esterification were octylic acid and hexanol, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of different plasmid system on the active LipA expression was significantly different. pACYCDuet-lipA-lipB was more suitable for the expression of active LipA than pET28a-lipAB and pETDuet-lipA-lipB. The LipA showed obvious esterification activity and thus had potential biocatalytic applications. The expression method reported here can give reference for the expression of those enzymes that require chaperones.     

齿肋赤藓早期光诱导蛋白ELIPs的生物信息学分析

从齿肋赤藓转录组数据库出发,共得到39条注释的早期光诱导蛋白Sc ELIPs unigene,其中2条(Sc ELIP1与Sc ELIP2)具有完整ORF。利用多种生物信息学分析工具,对这2条Sc ELIPs序列的同源性、理化性质、保守域、信号肽、疏水性、亚细胞定位、二级结构、跨膜结构、三维结构、活性位点等方面进行分析。结果表明:2条Sc ELIPs序列的ORF全长分别为711 bp和624 bp,分别编码236和207个氨基酸,二者都具有完整的Chloroa_b-bind功能域,定位于叶绿体类囊体膜,含有3个跨膜α螺旋,第1、3螺旋通过Glu和Arg残基形成双重对称结构,且具有至少4个叶绿素结合活性位点。通过对得到的2条Sc ELIPs进行氨基酸序列比对及基因树分析,得出Sc ELIP1与小立碗藓、山墙藓及盐生杜氏藻聚为一支,而Sc ELIP2与高等植物聚为一支,表现出ELIP从低等到高等植物的进化特征。本研究为Sc ELIPs基因后续的克隆和功能研究奠定了基础。     

miR167c is induced by high alkaline stress and inhibits two auxin response factors in Glycine soja

Soil alkalinity is one of the major environmental factors limiting crop productivity worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (21?C25 nucleotides) single-stranded non-coding RNAs that regulate developmental and stress responses in plants by cleaving target mRNAs. However, little is known about the role of miRNAs in the response to alkaline stress. In this study, we identified the miR167c as a high alkaline-responsive miRNAs in wild soybean based on genome microarray and RNA gel blot. The presence of a cis-acting abscisic acid (ABA) responsive element (ABRE) in the upstream region and the ABA inducement of primiR167c suggested that miR167c might be regulated by ABA. We also showed that two auxin response factors (ARF), Gs14g03650 and Gs18g05330, were target genes of the alkaline-inducible miR167c and rapidly down-regulated following alkaline treatment. Our results reveal that miR167c regulated the expression pattern of ARFs, which could be vital for both development and stress adaptation.     

组织学与胚胎学PBL教学对学生创新能力的培养

中国医科大学组织学与胚胎学教研室承担了CMB03-#793项目,连续五年在临床医学七年制日文班实施了PBL（problem based learning）的教学模式,根据其教学特点确立了组织学与胚胎学（组胚）PBL教程,编写了＂组织学与胚胎学PBL病例集＂并制作了多媒体课件。学生在PBL中受到启发,激发了主动学习积级性,也制作了多媒体课件。同学课下查阅文献,准备资料。讨论病例分组进行,同学主持。大家踊跃发言,举证说明,用学得的知识,联系组胚理论去解释生命现象并和疾病相联系。我们对实施过PBL教学的几个年级的学生257人进行了追踪问卷调查,结果看出得到明显提高的依次是学生的主动学习的能力,独立查阅资料的能力、拓宽知识面、对相关领域感兴趣、分析解决问题的能力及对知识的理解能力。提高的相关指标就是创新思维的基础和前提。学生拓宽了知识面、开阔了视野,自然就会产生兴趣迸发出学习的生机去主动思维,也就有了分析解决问题的能力。由此产生不同以往的看法和想法,有了新的认识、新的观点和新的所为,丰富的想像力就会迸发出创造力,这些就是创新的萌芽。这是PBL教学带给学生的新的理念。刷新理念将会产生更多的创新。     

The Shape Trail Test: Application of a New Variant of the Trail Making Test

Objective

The Trail making test (TMT) is culture-loaded because of reliance on the Latin alphabet, limiting its application in Eastern populations. The Shape Trail Test (STT) has been developed as a new variant. This study is to examine the applicability of the STT in a senile Chinese population and to evaluate its potential advantages and disadvantages.

Method

A total of 2470 participants were recruited, including 1151 cognitively normal control (NC), 898 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 421 mild Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Besides the STT, the Mini mental state examination and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery involving memory, language, attention, executive function and visuospatial ability were administered to all the participants. In a subgroup of 100 NC and 50 AD patients, both the STT and the Color Trail Test (CTT) were performed.

Results

In NC, the time consumed for Part A and B (STT-A and STT-B) significantly correlated with age and negatively correlated with education (p<0.01). STT-A and B significantly differed among the AD, aMCI and NC. The number that successfully connected within one minute in Part B (STT-B-1 min) correlated well with STT-B (r = 0.71, p<0.01) and distinguished well among NC, aMCI and AD. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the AUCs (area under the curve) for STT-A, STT-B, and STT-B-1min in identifying AD were 0.698, 0.694 and 0.709, respectively. The STT correlated with the CTT, but the time for completion was longer.

Conclusion

The TMT is a sensitive test of visual search and sequencing. The STT is a meaningful attempt to develop a “culture-fair” variant of the TMT in addition to the CTT.     

High Expression of Lewis y Antigen and CD44 Is Correlated with Resistance to Chemotherapy in Epithelial Ovarian Cancers

Objectives

To measure Lewis y antigen and CD44 antigen expression in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and to correlate the levels of these antigens with clinical response to chemotherapy.

Methods

The study cases included 34 cases of ovarian carcinoma with resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, 6 partially drug-sensitive cases, and 52 drug-sensitive cases (92 total).

Results

The rates of expression of Lewis y antigen and CD44 antigen were significantly greater in the drug-resistant group than that in the partially-sensitive or sensitive groups. Surgical stage, residual tumor size and expression of CD44 and Lewis y antigen in ovarian carcinoma tissues were independent risk factors for chemotherapeutic drug resistance.

Conclusions

Over-expression of Lewis y and CD44 antigen are strong risk factors for chemotherapeutic drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma patients.