Abnormal Pelage Color in an Isolated Population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alouatta guariba clamitans</Emphasis> Cabrera, 1940 in South Brazil

We located 4 brown howlers (1 adult male, 2 adult females, and 1 juvenile male) showing abnormally lighter pelage in 3 social groups comprising 5, 6, and 9 individuals in a 20 ha-forest fragment in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Two additional groups composed only of normally colored individuals also live in the fragment, which is isolated from nearby fragments by 267–1009 m. They were the only brown howlers with abnormal pelage color out of a total of 386 individuals belonging to 67 groups in 21 fragments in the 5876-ha study area. The isolation of the forest fragment, its high howler density (2.2 individuals⁄ha), and large group size (8.8 ± 2.4 individuals) may decrease the likelihood of successful immigration into the population, leading to an increased probability of inbreeding that may facilitate the expression of rare alleles.     

KIF14 promotes tumor progression and metastasis and is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in human gastric cancer

The kinesin family member 14 (KIF14) is a potential oncogene and is involved in the metastasis of various cancers. Nevertheless, its function in gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly defined. The expression of KIF14 was examined in GC cell lines and a clinical cohort of GC specimens by qPCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The relationship between KIF14 expression and the clinicopathological features was analyzed. The effect of KIF14 on cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion and migration were investigated in vitro and in vivo. The expression of KIF14 was significantly increased in the GC tissues and cell lines. High KIF14 expression was associated with tumor stage, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and metastasis. KIF14 was an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival of GC, and a higher expression of KIF14 predicted a poorer survival. KIF14 silencing resulted in attenuated proliferation, invasion and migration in human gastric cancer cells, whereas KIF14 ectopic expression facilitated these biological abilities. Notably, the depressed expression of KIF14 inhibited Akt phosphorylation, while overexpressed KIF14 augmented Akt phosphorylation. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the expression of KIF14 and p?Akt in GC tissues. Importantly, the proliferation, invasion and migration of the GC cells, which was promoted by KIF14 overexpression, was abolished by the Akt inhibitor MK-2206, while Akt overexpression greatly rescued the effects induced by KIF14 knockdown. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that KIF14 is overexpressed in GC, is correlated with poor prognosis and plays a crucial role in the progression and metastasis of GC.     

The Hippo–YAP pathway regulates the proliferation of alveolar epithelial progenitors after acute lung injury

Regeneration of pulmonary epithelial cells plays an important role in the recovery of acute lung injury (ALI), which is defined by pulmonary epithelial cell death. However, the mechanism of the regenerative capacity of alveolar epithelial cells is unknown. Using a lung injury mouse model induced by hemorrhagic shock and lipopolysaccharide, a protein mass spectrometry‐based high‐throughput screening and linage tracing technology to mark alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AEC2s), we analyzed the mechanism of alveolar epithelial cells proliferation. We demonstrated that the expression of Hippo‐yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) key proteins were highly consistent with the regularity of the proliferation of alveolar epithelial type 2 cells after ALI. Furthermore, the results showed that YAP1+ cells in lung tissue after ALI were mainly Sftpc lineage‐labeled AEC2s. An in vitro proliferation assay of AEC2s demonstrated that AEC2 proliferation was significantly inhibited by both YAP1 small interfering RNA and Hippo inhibitor. These findings revealed that YAP functioned as a key regulator to promote AEC2s proliferation, with the Hippo signaling pathway playing a pivotal role in this process.     

CMTM6, the newly identified PD-L1 regulator,correlates with PD-L1 expression in lung cancers

Modulation of Immune check point regulators, especially the PD-1/PD-L1 axis, plays a critical role in successful management of a small proportion of lung cancer patients, but not so effective in the rest of lung cancer patients. A better understanding of immunotherapy non-responsive or resistant patients therefore warranted for future development of novel therapeutics. The newly identified regulator CMTM6 (CKLF-like MARVEL transmembrane domain containing 6) has been reported to serves as the stabilizer of PD-L1 and enhances the inhibitory effect of PD-L1 on immune system in both cell line and animal models, but its clinical relevance associated with PD-L1 is unknown and the current study is designed to address this question. The study using immunohistochemistry demonstrated that CMTM6 positivity from 15 out of 19 types of cancers with our in-house tissue microarray, and PD-L1 expression is always found only in CMTM6 positive cancers. CMTM6 and PD-L1 expression were analyzed in 81 lung cancer patient sample, and we observed that CMTM6 expression correlated with cancer histotypes and inversely correlated with cancer metastases, but not with patients’ age and gender. No PD-L1 expression was observed in negative CMTM6 samples. Higher expression PD-L1 is also associated with higher CMTM6 expression. In summary, CMTM6 expression is associated with PD-L1 expression, as well as lung cancer histotypes and metastasis. The results thus for the first time confirmed earlier reports on CMTM6/PD-L1 connection, from a clinical aspect of analysis.     

Modulation of the K(v)4.3 channel by syntaxin 1A

The SNARE protein syntaxin 1A (Syn1A) is known to inhibit delayed rectifier K(+) channels of the K(v)1 and K(v)2 families with heterogeneous effects on their gating properties. In this study, we explored whether Syn1A could directly modulate K(v)4.3, a rapidly inactivating K(v) channel with important roles in neuroendocrine cells and cardiac myocytes. Immunoprecipitation studies in HEK293 cells coexpressing Syn1A and K(v)4.3 revealed a direct interaction with increased trafficking to the plasma membrane without a change in channel synthesis. Paradoxically, Syn1A inhibited K(v)4.3 current density. In particular, Syn1A produced a left-shift in steady-state inactivation of K(v)4.3 without affecting either voltage dependence of activation or gating kinetics, a pattern distinct from other K(v) channels. Combined with our previous reports, our results further verify the notion that the mechanisms involved in Syn1A-K(v) interactions vary significantly between K(v) channels, thus providing a wide scope for Syn1A modulation of exocytosis and membrane excitability.     

Ataxin-3 Regulates Aggresome Formation of Copper-Zinc Superoxide Dismutase (SOD1) by Editing K63-linked Polyubiquitin Chains

Polyubiquitination of misfolded proteins, especially K63-linked polyubiquitination, is thought to be associated with the formation of inclusion bodies. However, it is not well explored whether appropriate editing of the different types of ubiquitin linkages by deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) affects the dynamics of inclusion bodies. In this study, we report that a specific DUB, ataxin-3, is required for the efficient recruitment of the neurodegenerative disease-associated protein copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) to aggresomes. The overexpression of ataxin-3 promotes mutant SOD1 aggresome formation by trimming K63-linked polyubiquitin chains. Moreover, knockdown of ataxin-3 decreases mutant SOD1 aggresome formation and increases cell death induced by mutant SOD1. Thus, our data suggest that the sequestration of misfolded SOD1 into aggresomes, which is driven by ataxin-3, plays an important role in attenuating protein misfolding-induced cell toxicity.     

缺氧诱导因子-1的调控及其转录后修饰(英文)

缺氧诱导因子-1(hypoxia inducible factor-1,HIF-1)是一种异源二聚体转录因子,由结构表达型β亚基和氧调节型α亚基组成。在低氧环境下,HIF-1调控一系列促进细胞成活的基因,这些基因涉及血管生成、铁代谢、葡萄糖代谢和细胞增殖与存活。α亚基主要受到诸如乙酰化、羟基化、磷酸化和相扑化等转录后修饰,这些修饰可以稳定或激活HIF-1的活性。除氧环境外,胞内氧化还原稳态、铁代谢、线粒体代谢物和生长因子还可通过影响转录后修饰进而调节HIF-1的活性。此外,近来的研究表明HIF-1在病原学方面也发挥重要作用,在中风和神经退行性疾病这样的脑紊乱疾病中提供潜在神经保护作用。本文总结了HIF-1研究的最新进展,谨以此文献给忻文娟教授80周年诞辰。