The crystal structures of the Salmonella type III secretion system tip protein SipD in complex with deoxycholate and chenodeoxycholate

The type III secretion system (T3SS) is a protein injection nanomachinery required for virulence by many human pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella and Shigella. An essential component of the T3SS is the tip protein and the Salmonella SipD and the Shigella IpaD tip proteins interact with bile salts, which serve as environmental sensors for these enteric pathogens. SipD and IpaD have long central coiled coils and their N-terminal regions form α-helical hairpins and a short helix α3 that pack against the coiled coil. Using AutoDock, others have predicted that the bile salt deoxycholate binds IpaD in a cleft formed by the α-helical hairpin and its long central coiled coil. NMR chemical shift mapping, however, indicated that the SipD residues most affected by bile salts are located in a disordered region near helix α3. Thus, how bile salts interact with SipD and IpaD is unclear. Here, we report the crystal structures of SipD in complex with the bile salts deoxycholate and chenodeoxycholate. Bile salts bind SipD in a region different from what was predicted for IpaD. In SipD, bile salts bind part of helix α3 and the C-terminus of the long central coiled coil, towards the C-terminus of the protein. We discuss the biological implication of the differences in how bile salts interact with SipD and IpaD.     

Protective effects of R-alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine in MIN6 and isolated rat islet cells chronically exposed to oleic acid

Mitochondrial dysfunction due to oxidative stress and concomitant impaired beta-cell function may play a key role in type 2 diabetes. Preventing and/or ameliorating oxidative mitochondrial dysfunction with mitochondria-specific nutrients may have preventive or therapeutic potential. In the present study, the oxidative mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction in pancreatic beta-cells exposed to sublethal levels of oleic acid (OA) and the protective effects of mitochondrial nutrients [R-alpha-lipoic acid (LA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC)] were investigated. Chronic exposure (72 h) of insulinoma MIN6 cells to OA (0.2-0.8 mM) increased intracellular oxidant formation, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), enhanced uncoupling protein-2 (UCP-2) mRNA and protein expression, and consequently, decreased glucose-induced ATP production and suppressed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Pretreatment with LA and/or ALC reduced oxidant formation, increased MMP, regulated UCP-2 mRNA and protein expression, increased glucose-induced ATP production, and restored glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The key findings on ATP production and insulin secretion were verified with isolated rat islets. These results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in OA-induced pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction and that pretreatment with mitochondrial protective nutrients could be an effective strategy to prevent beta-cell dysfunction.     

The Legionella pneumophila Methyltransferase RomA Methylates Also Non-histone Proteins during Infection

RomA is a SET-domain containing protein lysine methyltransferase encoded by the Gram-negative bacterium Legionella pneumophila. It is exported into human host cells during infection and has been previously shown to methylate histone H3 at lysine 14 [Rolando et al. (2013), Cell Host Microbe, 13, 395–405]. Here, we investigated the substrate specificity of RomA on peptide arrays showing that it mainly recognizes a G-K-X-(PA) sequence embedded in a basic amino acid sequence context. Based on the specificity profile, we searched for possible additional RomA substrates in the human proteome and identified 34 novel peptide substrates. For nine of these, the corresponding full-length protein or protein domains could be cloned and purified. Using radioactive and antibody-based methylation assays, we showed that seven of them are methylated by RomA, four of them strongly, one moderately, and two weakly. Mutagenesis confirmed for the seven methylated proteins that methylation occurs at target lysine residues fitting to the specificity profile. Methylation of one novel substrate (AROS) was investigated in HEK293 cells overexpressing RomA and during infection with L. pneumophila. Methylation could be detected in both conditions, confirming that RomA methylates non-histone proteins in human cells. Our data show that the bacterial methyltransferase RomA methylates also human non-histone proteins suggesting a multifaceted role in the infection process.     

刺五加、短梗五加的花蜜分泌节律、花蜜成分及访花者多样性的比较研究

野外定位观测刺五加（Eleutherococcus senticosus）、短梗五加（E.sessiliflorus）的花蜜分泌节律、访花者的多样性,室内分析其花蜜的主要成分。结果表明,刺五加雄株的花杂在开花1－3（4)d分泌花蜜,雌株在开花5－7,6－8或7－9d分泌花蜜;短梗五加以及刺五加两性株的部分花杂,在开花后有两次分泌花蜜的过程：第1次与花药开裂散粉时间一致,第2次与柱头具可授性的时间一致。而且,刺五加和短梗五加都由动物帮助传粉,花蜜分泌的时间与多数访花者的访花时间一致,在一天之中,散出花粉的花朵分泌花蜜的时间早于接受花粉的花杂,这种时间差异应该是植物控制该 花者流向并导致传粉成功的关键。短梗五加与刺五加之间以及刺五加不同性别的植株之间,花蜜的成分及相对含量各有特点,但都以果糖和葡萄糖为主。在刺五加、短梗五加花朵上记录到的访花昆明分别为50余种和40余种,多数隶属于膜翅目、鳞翅目、鞘翅目和半翅目。其中膜翅目的胡蜂、马蜂、熊蜂,双翅目的食蚜蝇、寄蝇等是刺五加、短梗五加的常见访花者。     

Gastric dysfunction in sheep infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, a nematode inhabiting the small intestine

Barker I. K. and Titchen D. A. 1982. Gastric dysfunction in sheep infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, a nematode inhabiting the small intestine. International Journal for Parasitology12: 345–356. Six of 12 lambs infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis had reduced abomasal acidification (pH 4.0–8.1) in comparison with uninfected pair-fed and replete controls (pH <3.5), though less than 0.8% of the worm burden was in the abomasum. Loss of prominence of parietal cells and encroachment of mucous cells deep into fundic glands was seen by light microscopy. Under the electron microscope, parietal cells had little canalicular or tubulovesicular development, had large vacuoles, many polyribosomes and few mitochondria in comparison with those in controls. In a further 8 sheep prepared with abomasal fistulae and separated fundic pouches and inoculated orally with T. colubriformis, the volume of fundic pouch secretion declined as feed intake dropped and in 7 out of 8 animals H⁺ concentration in fundic pouch secretion also fell. Infection generally reduced volume and acidity of pouch secretion more than did a pre-inoculation fast. In 5 sheep, abomasal content exceeded pH 4. Inoculation of T. colubriformis by enterotomy and Ostertagia circumcincta per os, in a lamb with a separated fundic pouch, caused depression of volume and acidity of pouch secretion characteristic of T. colubriformis infection, rather than the hypersecretion typical of abomasal infection with Ostertagia. Factors inhibitory to parietal cell differentiation and gastric acid secretion may be released from the small intestine of some sheep in response to changes in the gut induced by the presence of T. colubriformis. Abomasal dysfunction is a manifestation of severe intestinal trichostrongylosis.     

Corticotropin-releasing factor inhibits gastric emptying in dogs: Studies on its mechanism of action

The effects of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) on gastric emptying of a saline solution was further investigated in six dogs prepared with gastric fistulas and chronic cerebroventricular guides and in four other dogs with chronic gastric fistulas and pancreatic (Herrera) cannulas. Intravenous infusion of CRF significantly inhibited gastric emptying whereas intracerebroventricular injection of CRF had no effect. Pharmacologic blockade of β-adrenergic system by propranolol did not modify intravenous CRF induced delay in gastric emptying. Intravenous CRF did not influence basal pancreatic secretion whereas secretin infused stimulated bicarbonate secretion. These results indicate that intravenous but not intracerebroventricular administration of CRF inhibited gastric emptying of a saline solution in dogs. The inhibitory effect of intravenous CRF on gastric emptying is not mediated by the β-adrenergic nervous system, and not secondary to the release of other peptides that affect both pancreatic secretion and gastric emptying such as cholecystokinin and peptide YY.     

Essential Role of Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uniporter in the Generation of Mitochondrial pH Gradient and Metabolism-Secretion Coupling in Insulin-releasing Cells

In pancreatic β-cells, ATP acts as a signaling molecule initiating plasma membrane electrical activity linked to Ca²⁺ influx, which triggers insulin exocytosis. The mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uniporter (MCU) mediates Ca²⁺ uptake into the organelle, where energy metabolism is further stimulated for sustained second phase insulin secretion. Here, we have studied the contribution of the MCU to the regulation of oxidative phosphorylation and metabolism-secretion coupling in intact and permeabilized clonal β-cells as well as rat pancreatic islets. Knockdown of MCU with siRNA transfection blunted matrix Ca²⁺ rises, decreased nutrient-stimulated ATP production as well as insulin secretion. Furthermore, MCU knockdown lowered the expression of respiratory chain complexes, mitochondrial metabolic activity, and oxygen consumption. The pH gradient formed across the inner mitochondrial membrane following nutrient stimulation was markedly lowered in MCU-silenced cells. In contrast, nutrient-induced hyperpolarization of the electrical gradient was not altered. In permeabilized cells, knockdown of MCU ablated matrix acidification in response to extramitochondrial Ca²⁺. Suppression of the putative Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiporter leucine zipper-EF hand-containing transmembrane protein 1 (LETM1) also abolished Ca²⁺-induced matrix acidification. These results demonstrate that MCU-mediated Ca²⁺ uptake is essential to establish a nutrient-induced mitochondrial pH gradient which is critical for sustained ATP synthesis and metabolism-secretion coupling in insulin-releasing cells.     

黄鼬肛腺分泌物的挥发性成分

利用顶空取样、溶剂解吸附和气质联用技术分析了黄鼬（Mustela sibirica)肛腺分泌物的挥发性成分。鉴定出的六种化合物均为含硫的环状有机物：（1）2,2－二甲基硫代环丁烷;（2）顺或反2,4－二甲基硫代环丁烷;（3）反－2,3－二甲基硫代环丁烷;（4）2－乙基硫代环丁烷;（5）2－丙基硫代环丁烷;（6）3,3－二甲基－1,2－二硫代环戊烷。尽管黄鼬肛腺成分的组成和鼬鼠其它种存在很大的相似性,但是成分组成的种间差异很明显。另外,2－乙基硫代环丁烷仅存在于雌性黄鼬中。很多研究已经证明对鼠类有驱赶作用的2,2－二甲基硫代环丁烷和2－丙基硫代环丁烷在黄鼬肛腺分泌物同时存在,说明黄鼬肛腺分泌物对鼠类可能有很强的驱避作用。     

Induction of the Yersinia type 3 secretion system as an all-or-none phenomenon

Pathogenic Yersinia spp. possess a protein secretion system, designated as type 3, that plays a clear role in promoting their survival vis-à-vis the macrophage. Inductive expression of the Yersinia type 3 secretion system (T3SS), triggered either by host cell contact, or, in the absence of host cells, by a reduction in extracellular calcium ion levels, is accompanied by a withdrawal from the bacterial division cycle. Here, we analyzed Ca(2+)-dependent induction of the T3SS at the single-cell level to understand how Yersinia coordinates pro-survival and growth-related activities. We utilized a novel high-throughput quantitative microscopy approach as well as flow cytometry to determine how Ca(2+) levels, T3SS expression, and cellular division are interrelated. Our analysis showed that there is a high degree of homogeneity in terms of T3SS expression levels among a population of Y. pseudotuberculosis cells following the removal of Ca(2+), and that T3SS expression appears to be independent of the cellular division cycle. Unexpectedly, our analysis showed that Ca(2+) levels are inversely related to the initiation of inductive T3SS expression, and not to the intensity of activation once initiated, thus providing a basis for the seemingly graded response of T3SS activation observed in bulk-level analyses. The properties of the system described here display both similarities to and differences from that of the lac operon first described 50 years ago by Novick and Weiner.     

Sorting of transgenic secretory proteins in miniature pig parotid glands following adenoviral-mediated gene transfer

BACKGROUND: Gene transfer to salivary glands for use in treating both systemic and upper gastrointestinal tract diseases shows considerable potential. Numerous studies in rodents demonstrate that salivary glands can secrete transgenic secretory proteins either into saliva, primarily via the regulated secretory pathway (RSP), or into the bloodstream, primarily by the constitutive secretory pathway (CSP). The purpose of the present study was to assess the sorting characteristics of human growth hormone (hGH), a RSP protein, and human erythropoietin (hEpo), a CSP protein, in a large animal model of salivary gland gene transfer, the miniature pig. METHODS: Recombinant serotype 5 adenoviral (Ad5; 10(11) particles/gland) vectors encoding either hGH (AdCMVhGH) or hEpo (AdCMVhEpo) were administered to both parotid glands of male miniature pigs by intraductal cannulation. The secretion of hGH or hEpo was measured in both saliva and serum on days 3, 7 and 14 following administration. Detailed serum chemistry and hematological analyses were performed, and the presence of serum antibodies to hGH and hEpo was measured. For AdCMVhEpo-treated minipigs vector distribution in multiple tissues was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR). RESULTS: The RSP protein hGH was secreted entirely into saliva, while the CSP protein hEpo was secreted into both saliva and serum. Most hEpo was found in saliva, but serum hEpo levels were sufficient to significantly increase hematocrit levels in treated animals by approximately 10%. Expression of both transgenes was maximal on day 3 and declined to near background by day 14. The amount of vector found in the targeted glands was 100 x more than in other tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Secretion of transgenic hGH from minipig parotid glands occurred principally into saliva via the RSP, as seen in rodents, while hEpo was secreted into both saliva and serum, the latter presumably via the CSP. Even though hEpo secretion into the bloodstream was not to the extent previously observed in rodents, serum hEpo levels were considerable and the hEpo was biologically active. Ad5 vector distribution was highly restricted to the parotid glands with little vector detected elsewhere. While the results in this large animal model support the established notion that salivary gland gene transfer can be used for treating systemic single protein deficiency disorders, they also highlight differences in transgenic CSP protein sorting between rodents and miniature pigs.