TSP50 promotes hepatocyte proliferation and tumour formation by activating glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)

Background & AimsHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumour with high morbidity and mortality. Metabolic regulation by oncogenes is necessary for tumour growth. Testes‐specific protease 50 (TSP50) has been found to promote cell proliferation in multiple tumour types. However, the mechanism that TSP50 promotes HCC progression are not known.MethodsHepatocyte proliferation was analysed by MTT and BrdU incorporation after TSP50 transfection. Furthermore, LC‐MS/MS, co‐immunoprecipitation and GST pull‐down assays were performed to analyse protein(s) binding to TSP50. Moreover, the site‐specific mutation of G6PD was used to reveal the key site critical for G6PD acetylation mediated by TSP50. Finally, the role of G6PD K171 acetylation regulated by TSP50 in cell proliferation and tumour formation was investigated.ResultsOur data suggest that the overexpression of TSP50 accelerates hepatocyte proliferation. In addition, G6PD is an important protein that binds to TSP50 in the cytoplasm. TSP50 activates G6PD activity by inhibiting the acetylation of G6PD at the K171 site. In addition, TSP50 promotes the binding of G6PD to SIRT2. Furthermore, the K171ac of G6PD regulated by TSP50 is required for TSP50‐induced cell proliferation in vitro and tumour formation in vivo. Additionally, according to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) programme, TSP50 and G6PD are negatively correlated with the survival of HCC patients.ConclusionsCollectively, our findings demonstrate that TSP50‐induced cell proliferation and tumour formation are mediated by G6PD K171 acetylation.     

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluations of PLGA Microspheres Containing Nalmefene

Poor patient compliance, untoward reactions and unstable blood drug levels after the bolus administration are impeding the pharmacotherapy for insobriety. A long-acting preparation may address these limitations. The aim of this paper was to further investigate the in vitro characteristics and in vivo performances of nalmefene microspheres. Nalmefene was blended with poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) to prepare the target microspheres by an O/O emulsification solvent evaporation method. The prepared microspheres exhibited a controlled release profile of nalmefene in vitro over 4 weeks, which was well fitted with a first-order model. In vitro degradation study showed that the drug release in vitro was dominated by both drug diffusion and polymer degradation mechanisms. Pharmacokinetics study indicated that the prepared microspheres could provide a relatively constant of nalmefene plasma concentration for at least one month in rats. The in vivo pharmacokinetics profile was well correlated with the in vitro drug release. Pharmacodynamics studies revealed that the drug loaded microspheres could produce a long-acting antagonism efficacy on rats. These results demonstrated the promising application of injectable PLGA microspheres containing nalmefene for the long-term treatment of alcohol dependence.     

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) as a marker for diagnosis, prognosis and tumor immune escape in human malignancies

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a non-classical HLA-class Ib molecule with multiple immunoregulatory properties. Its main functions in physiological conditions are to abolish maternal immune cell activity against fetus and to establish immune tolerance at the maternal-fetal interface. In oncology, HLA-G molecules are aberrantly expressed in a variety of human neoplastic diseases and play an important role in the escape of tumor cells from immune surveillance. In the past few years, making use of HLA-G protein expression in tissues and circulating levels in body fluids as a tumor marker have been the focus of extensive research in the diagnosis and prognosis of several human malignancies. In addition, this molecule might be a promising target for future immune therapeutic approaches based on its immune tolerant functions and its highly specific expression for malignant transformation. In this review, we will summarize available literature data as well as our own works on HLA-G in cancer, and address some of the issues concerning its application in human neoplasia.     

Classification and prediction of rice wines with different marked ages by using a voltammetric electronic tongue

A voltammetric electronic tongue (VE-tongue) was developed to discriminate the difference between Chinese rice wines in this research. Three types of Chinese rice wine with different marked ages (1, 3, and 5 years) were classified by the VE-tongue by principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). The VE-tongue consisted of six working electrodes (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, tungsten, and titanium) in a standard three-electrode configuration. The multi-frequency large amplitude pulse voltammetry (MLAPV), which consisted of four segments of 1 Hz, 10 Hz, 100 Hz, and 1000 Hz, was applied as the potential waveform. The three types of Chinese rice wine could be classified accurately by PCA and CA, and some interesting regularity is shown in the score plots with the help of PCA. Two regression models, partial least squares (PLS) and back-error propagation-artificial neural network (BP-ANN), were used for wine age prediction. The regression results showed that the marked ages of the three types of Chinese rice wine were successfully predicted using PLS and BP-ANN.     

Retinoic acid promotes neural conversion of mouse embryonic stem cells in adherent monoculture

Retinoic acid (RA) plays multiple roles in the nervous system, including induction of neural differentiation, axon outgrowth and neural patterning. Previously, RA for neural differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells always relies on embryoid bodies (EBs) formation. Here we report an in vitro adherent monoculture system to induce mouse ES cells into neural cells accompanied with RA. RA (1 μM) treatment, during initial 2 days of differentiation, can enhance the expression of neural markers, such as Nestin, Tuj1 and MAP2, and result in an earlier neural differentiation of ES cells. Furthermore, RA promotes a significant increase in neurite elongation of ES-derived neurons. Our study also implies that RA induced to express Wnt antagonist Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1) for neural differentiation. However, the mechanisms of RA triggering neural induction remain to be determined. Our simple and efficient strategy is proposed to provide a basis for studying RA signaling pathways in neural differentiation in vitro.     

The C. elegans Tousled-like kinase contributes to chromosome segregation as a substrate and regulator of the Aurora B kinase

BACKGROUND: The Aurora kinases control multiple aspects of mitosis, among them centrosome maturation, spindle assembly, chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis. Aurora activity is regulated in part by a subset of Aurora substrates that, once phosphorylated, can enhance Aurora kinase activity. Aurora A substrate activators include TPX2 and Ajuba, whereas the only known Aurora B substrate activator is the chromosomal passenger INCENP. RESULTS: We report that the C. elegans Tousled kinase TLK-1 is a second substrate activator of the Aurora B kinase AIR-2. Tousled kinase (Tlk) expression and activity have been linked to ongoing DNA replication, and Tlk can phosphorylate the chromatin assembly factor Asf. Here, we show that TLK-1 is phosphorylated by AIR-2 during prophase/prometaphase and that phosphorylation increases TLK-1 kinase activity in vitro. Phosphorylated TLK-1 increases AIR-2 kinase activity in a manner that is independent of TLK-1 kinase activity but depends on the presence of ICP-1/INCENP. In vivo, TLK-1 and AIR-2 cooperate to ensure proper mitotic chromosome segregation. CONCLUSIONS: The C. elegans Tousled kinase TLK-1 is a substrate and activator of the Aurora B kinase AIR-2. These results suggest that Tousled kinases have a previously unrecognized role in mitosis and that Aurora B associates with discrete regulatory complexes that may impart distinct substrate specificities and functions to the Aurora B kinase.     

Bovine mitochondrial peroxiredoxin III forms a two-ring catenane

A crystal structure is reported for the C168S mutant of a typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxin III (Prx III) from bovine mitochondria at a resolution of 3.3 A. Prx III is present as a two-ring catenane comprising two interlocking dodecameric toroids that are assembled from basic dimeric units. Each ring has an external diameter of 150 A and encompasses a central cavity that is 70 A in width. The concatenated dodecamers are inclined at an angle of 55 degrees, which provides a large contact surface between the rings. Dimer-dimer contacts involved in toroid formation are hydrophobic in nature, whereas the 12 areas of contact between interlocked rings arise from polar interactions. These two major modes of subunit interaction provide important insights into possible mechanisms of catenane formation.     

The Caenorhabditis elegans Aurora B kinase AIR-2 phosphorylates and is required for the localization of a BimC kinesin to meiotic and mitotic spindles

BimC kinesins are required for mitotic spindle assembly in a variety of organisms. These proteins are localized to centrosomes, spindle microtubules, and the spindle midzone. We have previously shown that the Caenorhabditis elegans Aurora B kinase AIR-2 is required for the localization of the ZEN-4 kinesin protein to midzone microtubules. To determine whether the association of BimC kinesins with spindle microtubules is also dependent on AIR-2, we examined the expression pattern of BMK-1, a C. elegans BimC kinesin, in wild-type and AIR-2-deficient embryos. BMK-1 is highly expressed in the hermaphrodite gonad and is localized to meiotic spindle microtubules in the newly fertilized embryo. In mitotic embryos, BMK-1 is associated with spindle microtubules from prophase through anaphase and is concentrated at the spindle midzone during anaphase and telophase. In the absence of AIR-2, BMK-1 localization to meiotic and mitotic spindles is greatly reduced. This is not a consequence of loss of ZEN-4 localization because BMK-1 is appropriately localized in ZEN-4-deficient embryos. Furthermore, AIR-2 and BMK-1 directly interact with one another and the C-terminal tail domain of BMK-1 is specifically phosphorylated by AIR-2 in vitro. Together with our previous data, these results suggest that at least one function of the Aurora B kinases is to recruit spindle-associated motor proteins to their sites of action.     

Cytosolic thioredoxin reductase 1 is required for correct disulfide formation in the ER

Folding of proteins entering the secretory pathway in mammalian cells frequently requires the insertion of disulfide bonds. Disulfide insertion can result in covalent linkages found in the native structure as well as those that are not, so‐called non‐native disulfides. The pathways for disulfide formation are well characterized, but our understanding of how non‐native disulfides are reduced so that the correct or native disulfides can form is poor. Here, we use a novel assay to demonstrate that the reduction in non‐native disulfides requires NADPH as the ultimate electron donor, and a robust cytosolic thioredoxin system, driven by thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1 or TXNRD1). Inhibition of this reductive pathway prevents the correct folding and secretion of proteins that are known to form non‐native disulfides during their folding. Hence, we have shown for the first time that mammalian cells have a pathway for transferring reducing equivalents from the cytosol to the ER, which is required to ensure correct disulfide formation in proteins entering the secretory pathway.