Afrotropical forest‐dwelling mongooses (Mammalia: Herpestidae: Crossarchus) investigated by craniometry and mitochondrial DNA

On the basis of craniometry, the last systematic revision of cusimanses recognized four species distributed from Guinea (Conakry) to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Here, we (re)investigated cusimanses including new specimens collected in Benin, in eastern Cameroon (near the Dja River) and in Central African Republic (CAR) where cusimanses were so far presumed to be absent or had been barely sampled. Using craniometry and two mitochondrial DNA fragments (16S rDNA and cytochrome b), we were able to classify most investigated specimens according to the current taxonomy (viz. Crossarchus obscurus, C. platycephalus, C. alexandri and C. ansorgei). Interestingly, all the specimens from CAR clustered unambiguously with Crossarchus alexandri in the DNA‐based analyses but exhibited skull dimensions that were distinct from the four recognized species. Our craniometric and mitochondrial DNA analyses offered two valuable complementary viewpoints to characterize cusimanses but were insufficient to provide a firm taxonomic conclusion about the specimens from CAR. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA suggested that the two sympatric species living on the left bank of the Congo River were sister‐species.     

HER2 monoclonal antibodies that do not interfere with receptor heterodimerization-mediated signaling induce effective internalization and represent valuable components for rational antibody-drug conjugate design

The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2 provides an excellent target for selective delivery of cytotoxic drugs to tumor cells by antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) as has been clinically validated by ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla^TM). While selecting a suitable antibody for an ADC approach often takes specificity and efficient antibody-target complex internalization into account, the characteristics of the optimal antibody candidate remain poorly understood. We studied a large panel of human HER2 antibodies to identify the characteristics that make them most suitable for an ADC approach. As a model toxin, amenable to in vitro high-throughput screening, we employed Pseudomonas exotoxin A (ETA’) fused to an anti-kappa light chain domain antibody. Cytotoxicity induced by HER2 antibodies, which were thus non-covalently linked to ETA’, was assessed for high and low HER2 expressing tumor cell lines and correlated with internalization and downmodulation of HER2 antibody-target complexes. Our results demonstrate that HER2 antibodies that do not inhibit heterodimerization of HER2 with related ErbB receptors internalize more efficiently and show greater ETA’-mediated cytotoxicity than antibodies that do inhibit such heterodimerization. Moreover, stimulation with ErbB ligand significantly enhanced ADC-mediated tumor kill by antibodies that do not inhibit HER2 heterodimerization. This suggests that the formation of HER2/ErbB-heterodimers enhances ADC internalization and subsequent killing of tumor cells. Our study indicates that selecting HER2 ADCs that allow piggybacking of HER2 onto other ErbB receptors provides an attractive strategy for increasing ADC delivery and tumor cell killing capacity to both high and low HER2 expressing tumor cells.     

The Clathrin Adaptor Complex AP-2 Mediates Endocytosis of BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 in Arabidopsis

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) regulates many aspects of plant development, including hormone signaling and responses to environmental stresses. Despite the importance of this process, the machinery that regulates CME in plants is largely unknown. In mammals, the heterotetrameric ADAPTOR PROTEIN COMPLEX-2 (AP-2) is required for the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles at the plasma membrane (PM). Although the existence of AP-2 has been predicted in Arabidopsis thaliana, the biochemistry and functionality of the complex is still uncharacterized. Here, we identified all the subunits of the Arabidopsis AP-2 by tandem affinity purification and found that one of the large AP-2 subunits, AP2A1, localized at the PM and interacted with clathrin. Furthermore, endocytosis of the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase, BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 (BRI1), was shown to depend on AP-2. Knockdown of the two Arabidopsis AP2A genes or overexpression of a dominant-negative version of the medium AP-2 subunit, AP2M, impaired BRI1 endocytosis and enhanced the brassinosteroid signaling. Our data reveal that the CME machinery in Arabidopsis is evolutionarily conserved and that AP-2 functions in receptor-mediated endocytosis.     

Assessment of Heat Resistance of Bacterial Spores from Food Product Isolates by Fluorescence Monitoring of Dipicolinic Acid Release

This study is aimed at the development and application of a convenient and rapid optical assay to monitor the wet-heat resistance of bacterial endospores occurring in food samples. We tested the feasibility of measuring the release of the abundant spore component dipicolinic acid (DPA) as a probe for heat inactivation. Spores were isolated from the laboratory type strain Bacillus subtilis 168 and from two food product isolates, Bacillus subtilis A163 and Bacillus sporothermodurans IC4. Spores from the lab strain appeared much less heat resistant than those from the two food product isolates. The decimal reduction times (D values) for spores from strains 168, A163, and IC4 recovered on Trypticase soy agar were 1.4, 0.7, and 0.3 min at 105°C, 120°C, and 131°C, respectively. The estimated Z values were 6.3°C, 6.1°C, and 9.7°C, respectively. The extent of DPA release from the three spore crops was monitored as a function of incubation time and temperature. DPA concentrations were determined by measuring the emission at 545 nm of the fluorescent terbium-DPA complex in a microtiter plate fluorometer. We defined spore heat resistance as the critical DPA release temperature (T_c), the temperature at which half the DPA content has been released within a fixed incubation time. We found T_c values for spores from Bacillus strains 168, A163, and IC4 of 108°C, 121°C, and 131°C, respectively. On the basis of these observations, we developed a quantitative model that describes the time and temperature dependence of the experimentally determined extent of DPA release and spore inactivation. The model predicts a DPA release rate profile for each inactivated spore. In addition, it uncovers remarkable differences in the values for the temperature dependence parameters for the rate of spore inactivation, DPA release duration, and DPA release delay.     

The reactivity of thiol groups in bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase towards 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid)

Bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase consists of 12 stoicheiometric polypeptide chains of at least 11 different types. The enzyme contains 14–16 cysteine residues; the distribution of nearly all cysteine residues over the subunits has been established. In native cytochrome c oxidase two thiol groups reacted rapidly and stoicheiometrically with 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB). These thiol groups are located in subunits I and III, respectively. This implies that subunit I is not fully buried in the hydrophobic core of the enzyme. After dissociation of the enzyme by sodium dodecyl sulphate more thiol groups became available to DTNB, in addition to those in subunits I and III, at least one in subunit II, two in fraction V/VI and one to two in the smallest subunit fraction. It is shown that separation of the subunits of cytochrome c oxidase by gel permeation chromatography in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate depends on the pH of the elution medium. The elution volume of subunits I, III and VII is dependent on pH, that of the others independent.     

Molecular mechanism of allosteric substrate activation in a thiamine diphosphate-dependent decarboxylase

Thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes are involved in a wide variety of metabolic pathways. The molecular mechanism behind active site communication and substrate activation, observed in some of these enzymes, has since long been an area of debate. Here, we report the crystal structures of a phenylpyruvate decarboxylase in complex with its substrates and a covalent reaction intermediate analogue. These structures reveal the regulatory site and unveil the mechanism of allosteric substrate activation. This signal transduction relies on quaternary structure reorganizations, domain rotations, and a pathway of local conformational changes that are relayed from the regulatory site to the active site. The current findings thus uncover the molecular mechanism by which the binding of a substrate in the regulatory site is linked to the mounting of the catalytic machinery in the active site in this thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme.     

Solution structures of a 30-residue amino-terminal domain of the carp granulin-1 protein and its amino-terminally truncated 3-30 subfragment: implications for the conformational stability of the stack of two beta-hairpins

Carp granulins are members of an emerging class of proteins with a sequence motif encoding a parallel stack of two to four beta-hairpins. The carp granulin-1 protein forms a stack of four beta-hairpins, whereas its amino-terminal fragment appears to adopt a very stable stack of two beta-hairpins in solution. Here we determined a refined three-dimensional structure of this peptide fragment to examine potential conformational changes compared with the full-length protein. The structures were calculated with both a traditional method and a fast semiautomated method using ambiguous NMR distance restraints. The resulting sets of structures are very similar and show that a well-defined stack of two beta-hairpins is retained in the peptide. Conformational rearrangements compensating the loss of the carboxy-terminal subdomain of the native protein are restricted to the carboxy-terminal end of the peptide, the turn connecting the two beta-hairpins, and the Tyr(21) and Tyr(25) aromatic side chains. Further removal of the Val(1) and Ile(2) residues, which are part of the first beta-hairpin and components of two major hydrophobic clusters in the two beta-hairpin structure, results in the loss of the first beta-hairpin. The second beta-hairpin, which is closely associated with the first, retains a similar but somewhat less stable conformation. The invariable presence of the second beta-hairpin and the dependence of its stability on the first beta-hairpin suggest that the stack of two beta-hairpins may be an evolutionary conserved and autonomous folding unit. In addition, the high conformational stability makes the stack of two beta-hairpins an attractive scaffold for the development of peptide-based drug candidates.