If phosphatidylserine is the death knell, a new phosphatidylserine-specific receptor is the bellringer

Recognition of phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) is essential for engulfment of apoptotic cells by mammalian phagocytes. Engagement of a new phosphatidylserine-specific receptor (PtdSerR) appears to be necessary for uptake of apoptotic cells. Many other mammalian receptors have been described to function in the clearance of apoptotic cells. The emerging picture is that many of these receptors may provide the strong adhesion needed to increase the likelihood of contact between the PtdSerR and its phospholipid ligand, which is required for uptake. Furthermore, stimulation of this receptor on different types of phagocytes by apoptotic cells, PtdSer-containing liposomes or an IgM monoclonal anti-PtdSer antibody initiates release of TGFbeta, known to be involved in the anti-inflammatory effects of apoptotic cells. Although highly homologous genes exist in C. elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, their role in engulfment of apoptotic cells remains to be determined.     

Light and brassinosteroid signals are integrated via a dark-induced small G protein in etiolated seedling growth

Plant growth and development are regulated through coordinated interactions between light and phytohormones. Here, we demonstrate that a dark-induced small G protein, pea Pra2, regulates a variant cytochrome P450 that catalyzes C-2 hydroxylation in brassinosteroid biosynthesis. The cytochrome P450 is dark-induced and predominantly expressed in the rapidly elongating zone of etiolated pea epicotyls, where Pra2 is also most abundant. Transgenic plants with reduced Pra2 exhibit a dark-specific dwarfism, which is completely rescued by exogenous brassinolide. Overexpression of the cytochrome P450 results in enhanced hypocotyl growth even in the light, which phenocopies the etiolated hypocotyls. We therefore propose that Pra2 and its orthologs are molecular mediators for the cross-talk between light and brassinosteroids in the etiolation process in plants.     

Regio- and stereo-selective synthesis of vinyl glucose ester catalyzed by an alkaline protease of Bacillus subtilis

The transesterification of -d-glucose with divinylsuccinate, divinyladipate and divinylsebacate in pyridine at 55 °C for 3 days was catalyzed by an alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis to give corresponding 6-O-vinyl glucose esters at 30%, 53% and 35% yield, respectively. The stereo-selectivity of the alkaline protease toward the -anomer was affected by the acyl donor chain length. 6-O-Vinylsuccinyl-d-glucose was mixture of - and -anomers (/=44/56), the other two products were the pure -d-glucose derivatives.     

Gene therapy for hemophilia B mediated by recombinant adeno-associated viral vector with hFIXR338A, a high catalytic activity mutation of human coagulation factor IX

A mutant human factor IX with arginine at 338 residual changed to alanine (hFIXR338A) by site-directed mutagenesis was introduced into AAV vectors, and a recombinant adeno-associ-ated viral vector containing hFIXR338A, prepared by rHSV/AAV hybrid helper virus system, was directly introduced to the hind leg muscle of factor IX knock out mice. The expression and the biological activity of human factor IX mutant, hFIXR338A, and the immune response against it in the treated mice were assayed and detected. The results showed that (i) the high-level expression of human factor IX mutant protein, hFIXR338A, has been detected in rAAV-hFIXR338A treated hemophilia B mice and lasted more than 15 weeks; (ii) the clotting activity of hFIXR338A in plasma is 34.2%± 5.23%, which is remarkably higher than that of (14.27%±3.4%) of wild type hFIX treated mice in the activated partial thromboplastin assay; (iii) immune response against factor IX R338A was absent, with no factor IX mutant protein (hFIXR338A) inhibitors deve     

The genomic organization of the gene encoding the vanilloid receptor: evidence for multiple splice variants

Vanilloid receptor subtype-1 (VR1) is a nonselective cation channel that is expressed in sensory neurons and is activated by multiple noxious stimuli. Rat Vr1, stretch-inactivated channel (SIC), and vanilloid receptor 5' splice variant (VR.5'sv) have been hypothesized to be derived from a common VR gene. Characterization of the genomic structure encoding the 5' portion of rat Vr1 confirmed that VR.5'sv is derived from the VR gene; however, SIC seemed to be derived from two related but independent genes. We also deduced the genomic organization of the human gene VR1. Comparative studies of rat and human VR genes showed substantial conservation in genomic organization. The splice site flanking exon-intron 7 in rat and human VR1 diverged from the expected consensus sequence; this may help to explain the skipping of exon 7 within VR.5'sv and other VR splice variants.     

Mechanism of RhoA/Rho kinase activation in endothelin-1- induced contraction in rabbit basilar artery

This study was undertaken to demonstrate the role of the RhoA/Rho kinase pathway in endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced contraction of the rabbit basilar artery. Isometric tension and Western blot were used to examine ET-1-induced contraction and RhoA activation. The upstream effect on ET-1-induced RhoA activity was determined by using ET(A) and ET(B) receptor antagonists, protein kinase C (PKC), tyrosine kinase, and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase inhibitors. The downstream effect of ET-1-induced contraction and RhoA activity was studied in the presence of the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632. The effect of Rho kinase inhibitor on ET-1-induced myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation was investigated by using urea-glycerol-PAGE immunoblotting. We found 1) ET-1 increased RhoA activity (membrane binding RhoA) in a concentration-dependent manner; 2) ET(A), but not ET(B), receptor antagonist abolished the effect of ET-1 on RhoA activation; 3) phosphodylinositol-3 kinase inhibitor, but not PKC and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, reduced ET-1-induced RhoA activation; 4) Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (10 microM) inhibited ET-1-induced contraction; and 5) ET-1 increased the level of MLC phosphorylation. Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 reduced the effect of ET-1 on MLC phosphorylation. This study demonstrated that RhoA/Rho kinase activation is involved in ET-1-induced contraction in the rabbit basilar artery. Phosphodylinositol-3 kinase and MLC might be the upstream and downstream factors of RhoA activation.     

Determinants of cardiac Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger temperature dependence: NH(2)-terminal transmembrane segments

The cardiacNa⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCX) in troutexhibits profoundly lower temperature sensitivity in comparison to themammalian NCX. In this study, we attempt to characterize the regions of the NCX molecule that are responsible for its temperature sensitivity. Chimeric NCX molecules were constructed using wild-type trout andcanine NCX cDNA and expressed in Xenopus oocytes.NCX-mediated currents were measured at 7, 14, and 30°C using thegiant excised-patch technique. By using this approach, the differentialtemperature dependence of NCX was found to reside within theNH₂-terminal region of the molecule. Specifically, we foundthat ~75% of the Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchangedifferential energy of activation is attributable to sequencedifferences in the region that include the first four transmembranesegments, and the remainder is attributable to transmembrane segmentfive and the exchanger inhibitory peptide site.

     

肠缺血/再灌注损伤后白介素1-β水平与磷脂酶A2激活的关系

为了探讨肠缺血/再灌注损伤后IL-1β基因表达和蛋白含量变化与磷脂酶A2抑制之间的关系,采用大鼠肠缺血/再灌注损伤模型,在对照组,损伤组和磷脂酶A2抑制剂处理组动物中收集血清,肺灌洗液,腹腔灌洗液及全身重要脏器组织样品,采用放射免疫法测定IL-1β含量,并且RT-PCR法测定肺组织中IL-1β和Ⅱ型PLA2基因表达,结果表明,损伤后6h血清中IL-1β含量明显高于对照组;损伤后1和3h,腹腔注保IL-1β也明显高于对照组;损伤后肝组织中IL-1β水平有明显增加,而肺,肾、肠组织中IL-1β没有明显变化。损伤后肺灌洗液中IL-1β也明显高于对照组水平,肺组织中IL-1βmRNA表达增加,而Ⅱ型PLA2mRNA在损伤后表达反而有所下降,采用磷脂酶A2抑制剂氯喹,环氧化物酶抑制剂消炎痛,血小板活化因子受体阻断剂SR27417后,IL-1β蛋白和基因表达有不同的改变,提示肠缺血/再灌注损伤后一定时间内,肝内IL-1βmRNA表达和血中IL-1β水平明显增高,但是否与磷脂酶A2激活或其代谢产物的释放有关尚需进一步证明。     

Involvement of p38 MAP kinase during iron chelator-mediated apoptotic cell death

Iron is an essential element for the neoplastic cell growth, and iron chelators have been tested for their potential anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects. To determine the mechanism of cell death induced by iron chelators, we explored the pathways of the three structurally related mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase subfamilies during apoptosis induced by iron chelators. We report that the chelator deferoxamine (DFO) strongly activates both p38 MAP kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) at an early stage of incubation, but slightly activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) at a late stage of incubation. Among three MAP kinase blockers used, however, the selective p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB203580 could only protect HL-60 cells from chelator-induced cell death, indicating that p38 MAP kinase serves as a major mediator of apoptosis induced by iron chelator. DFO also caused release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and induced activation of caspase 3 and caspase 8. Interestingly, treatment of HL-60 cells with SB203580 greatly abolished cytochrome c release, and activation of caspase 3 and caspase 8. Collectively, the current study reveals that p38 MAP kinase plays an important role in iron chelator-mediated cell death of HL-60 cells by activating downstream apoptotic cascade that executes cell death pathway.