Arf6 Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Cytohesin-2 Binds to CCDC120 and Is Transported Along Neurites to Mediate Neurite Growth

The mechanism of neurite growth is complicated, involving continuous cytoskeletal rearrangement and vesicular trafficking. Cytohesin-2 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Arf6, an Arf family molecular switch protein, controlling cell morphological changes such as neuritogenesis. Here, we show that cytohesin-2 binds to a protein with a previously unknown function, CCDC120, which contains three coiled-coil domains, and is transported along neurites in differentiating N1E-115 cells. Transfection of the small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific for CCDC120 into cells inhibits neurite growth and Arf6 activation. When neurites start to extend, vesicles containing CCDC120 and cytohesin-2 are transported in an anterograde manner rather than a retrograde one. As neurites continue extension, anterograde vesicle transport decreases. CCDC120 knockdown inhibits cytohesin-2 localization into vesicles containing CCDC120 and diffuses cytohesin-2 in cytoplasmic regions, illustrating that CCDC120 determines cytohesin-2 localization in growing neurites. Reintroduction of the wild type CCDC120 construct into cells transfected with CCDC120 siRNA reverses blunted neurite growth and Arf6 activity, whereas the cytohesin-2-binding CC1 region-deficient CCDC120 construct does not. Thus, cytohesin-2 is transported along neurites by vesicles containing CCDC120, and it mediates neurite growth. These results suggest a mechanism by which guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Arf6 is transported to mediate neurite growth.     

Structure, regulation and function of ghrelin

Ghrelin is a stomach hormone that acts as an endogenous ligand of orphan G-protein-coupled receptor. Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide existing in two major forms: n-octanoyl-modified ghrelin, which possesses an n-octanoyl modification on serine-3 and des-acyl ghrelin. Fatty acid modification of ghrelin is essential for ghrelin-induced growth hormone release from the pituitary and appetite stimulation. This acyl-modification of ghrelin is catalysed by ghrelin-O-acyl transferase recently identified. Despite the number of innovative advancements in this field of research, there are still many aspects of ghrelin function and biosynthesis process that remain to be clarified. Here, we review the current understanding of the structure, regulation and function of ghrelin; this review is intended for researchers who will be involved in this field in the future.     

Fern gametophytes of Angiopteris lygodiifolia and Osmunda japonica harbor diverse Mucoromycotina fungi

Journal of Plant Research - Mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi is ubiquitous, and has been played key roles in plant terrestrialization and diversification. Although arbuscular...     

High Cell Density Upregulates Calcium Oscillation by Increasing Calcium Store Content via Basal Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activity

Calcium releases of non-excitable cells are generally a combination of oscillatory and non-oscillatory patterns, and factors affecting the calcium dynamics are still to be determined. Here we report the influence of cell density on calcium increase patterns of clonal cell lines. The majority of HeLa cells seeded at 1.5 x 10⁴/cm² showed calcium oscillations in response to histamine and ATP, whereas cells seeded at 0.5 x 10⁴/cm² largely showed transient and sustained calcium increases. Cell density also affected the response of HEK293 cells to ATP in a similar manner. High cell density increased the basal activity of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and calcium store content, and both calcium oscillation and calcium store content were down-regulated by a MAP kinase inhibitor, U0126. Thus, MAP kinase-mediated regulation of calcium store likely underlie the effect of cell density on calcium oscillation. Calcium increase patterns of HeLa cells were conserved at any histamine concentrations tested, whereas the overexpression of histamine H1 receptor, which robustly increased histamine-induced inositol phospholipid hydrolysis, converted calcium oscillations to sustained calcium increases only at high histamine concentrations. Thus, the consequence of modulating inositol phospholipid metabolism was distinct from that of changing cell density, suggesting the effect of cell density is not attributed to inositol phospholipid metabolism. Collectively, our results propose that calcium increase patterns of non-excitable cells reflect calcium store, which is regulated by the basal MAP kinase activity under the influence of cell density.     

Evaluation of mismatch-binding ligands as inhibitors for Rev-RRE interaction

Drugs targeting the stem-loop IIB of Rev responsible element (RRE) of HIV-1 mRNA are potential therapeutic agents for HIV-1 infection. The stem loop is characterized by an internal loop consist of consecutive G-G and G-A mismatches, which is the single binding site for Rev protein for nuclear export of viral mRNA. We report here that ligands binding to G-G and G-A mismatches in duplex DNA also bind to the internal loop in competition with Rev peptide and lead to the dissociation of pre-formed Rev-RRE complex in a model system.     

MHC class I A loci polymorphism and diversity in three Southeast Asian populations of cynomolgus macaque

Cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis, Mafa) have emerged as important animal models for biomedical research, necessitating a more extensive characterization of their major histocompatibility complex polymorphic regions. The current information on the polymorphism or diversity of the polygenetic Mafa class I A loci is limited in comparison to the more commonly studied rhesus macaque Mafa class I A loci. Therefore, in this paper, to better elucidate the degree and types of polymorphisms and genetic differences of Mafa-A1 among three native Southeast Asian populations (Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Filipino) and to investigate how the allele differences between macaques and humans might have evolved to affect their respective immune responses, we identified 83 Mafa-A loci-derived alleles by DNA sequencing of which 66 are newly described. Most alleles are unique to each population, but seven of the most frequent alleles were identical in sequence to some alleles in other macaque species. We also revealed (1) the large and dynamic genetic and structural differences and similarities in allelic variation by analyzing the population allele frequencies, Hardy-Weinberg’s equilibrium, heterozygosity, nucleotide diversity profiles, and phylogeny, (2) the difference in genetic structure of populations by Wright’s FST statistic and hierarchical analysis of molecular variance, and (3) the different demographic and selection pressures on the three populations by performing Tajima’s D test of neutrality. The large level of diversity and polymorphism at the Mafa-A1 was less evident in the Filipino than in the Vietnam or the Indonesian populations, which may have important implications in animal capture, selection, and breeding for medical research.     

N-octyl-beta-valienamine up-regulates activity of F213I mutant beta-glucosidase in cultured cells: a potential chemical chaperone therapy for Gaucher disease

Gaucher disease (GD) is the most common form of sphingolipidosis and is caused by a defect of beta-glucosidase (beta-Glu). A carbohydrate mimic N-octyl-beta-valienamine (NOV) is an inhibitor of beta-Glu. When applied to cultured GD fibroblasts with F213I beta-Glu mutation, NOV increased the protein level of the mutant enzyme and up-regulated cellular enzyme activity. The maximum effect of NOV was observed in F213I homozygous cells in which NOV treatment at 30 microM for 4 days caused a approximately 6-fold increase in the enzyme activity, up to approximately 80% of the activity in control cells. NOV was not effective in cells with other beta-Glu mutations, N370S, L444P, 84CG and RecNciI. Immunofluorescence and cell fractionation showed localization of the F213I mutant enzyme in the lysosomes of NOV-treated cells. Consistent with this, NOV restored clearance of 14C-labeled glucosylceramide in F213I homozygous cells. F213I mutant beta-Glu rapidly lost its activity at neutral pH in vitro and this pH-dependent loss of activity was attenuated by NOV. These results suggest that NOV works as a chemical chaperone to accelerate transport and maturation of F213I mutant beta-Glu and may suggest a therapeutic value of this compound for GD.