Overexpression of small glutamine-rich TPR-containing protein promotes apoptosis in 7721 cells

It is known that small glutamine-rich TPR-containing protein (SGT) is the member of TPR motif family. However, the biological functions of SGT remain unclear. In this paper, we report that SGT plays a role in apoptotic signaling. Ectopic expression of SGT enhances DNA fragment and nucleus breakage after the induction of apoptosis. Increasing mRNA level of SGT is also observed in 7721 cells undergoing apoptosis, knockdown the expression of endogenous SGT contributes to the decrease of apoptosis of 7721 cells. Deletion analysis reveals that TPR domain is critical to pro-apoptotic function of SGT. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the PARP cleavage and cytochrome c release are enhanced when SGT is overexpressed in 7721 cells during apoptosis. Collectively, our results indicate that SGT is a new pro-apoptotic factor.     

Methylation of CpG dinucleotides in the lacI gene of the Big Blue® transgenic mouse

Cytosine residues at CpG dinucleotides can be methylated by endogenous methyltransferases in mammalian cells. The resulting 5-methylcytosine base may undergo spontaneous deamination to form thymine causing G/C to A/T transition mutations. Methylated CpGs also can form preferential targets for environmental mutagens and carcinogens. The Big Blue® transgenic mouse has been used to investigate tissue and organ specificity of mutations and to deduce mutational mechanisms in a mammal in vivo. The transgenic mouse contains approximately 40 concatenated lambda-like shuttle vectors, each of which contains one copy of an Escherichia coli lacI gene as a mutational target. lacI mutations in lambda transgenic mice are characterized by a high frequency of spontaneous mutations targeted to CpG dinucleotides suggesting an important contribution from methylation-mediated events. To study the methylation status of CpGs in the lacI gene, we have mapped the distribution of 5-methylcytosines along the DNA-binding domain and flanking sequences of the lacI gene of transgenic mice. We analyzed genomic DNA from various tissues including thymus, liver, testis, and DNA derived from two thymic lymphomas. The mouse genomic DNAs and methylated and unmethylated control DNAs were chemically cleaved, then the positions of 5-methylcytosines were mapped by ligation-mediated PCR which can be used to distinguish methylated from unmethylated cytosines. Our data show that most CpG dinucleotides in the DNA binding domain of the lacI gene are methylated to a high extent (>98%) in all tissues tested; only a few sites are partially (70–90%) methylated. We conclude that tissue-specific methylation is unlikely to contribute significantly to tissue-specific mutational patterns, and that the occurrence of common mutation sites at specific CpGs in the lacI gene is not related to selective methylation of only these sequences. The data confirm previous suggestions that the high frequency of CpG mutations in lacI transgenes is related to the presence of 5-methylcytosine bases.     

Salinity induced changes in haemolymph osmolality and total metabolic rate of the mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii Gould, 1841 from Baltic coastal waters

The specific metabolic rate (SMR) and haemolymph osmolality (HO) of the mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii Gould, 1841 from Baltic brackish waters were measured at a habitat salinity of 7 psu (T = 15 °C, full air saturation) and after step-wise acclimation to a salinity range of 3-27 psu. Values of SMR at 7 psu varied between 0.40 and 3.89 J g^− 1 WW h^− 1 (n = 25, wet weight range 0.051-1.142 g) and were significantly (p < 0.05) related to the specimen's wet weight (WW) according to the power regression SMR = 0.94 WW^− 0.41 (R² = 0.68). The SMR of females did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) from those of males. When exposed to higher salinities, the SMR of R. harrisii decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and reached a minimum value at 23 psu (0.55 ± 0.05 J g^− 1 WW h^− 1, n = 6). Mean haemolymph osmolality at 7 psu amounted to 581 ± 26 mOsm kg^− 1 (n = 5) and was 2.9 times higher than that of the external medium. R. harrisii hyperosmoregulated its body fluids up to 24 psu (727 mOsm kg^− 1) at which salinity the isosmotic point was reached.     

Do the ornamented osteoderms influence the heat conduction through the skin? A finite element analysis in Crocodylomorpha

In order to assess the implication of the crocodylomorph ornamented osteoderms on the skin conduction during basking, we have performed three dimensional modeling and finite element analyses on a sample which includes both extant dry bones and well-preserved fossils tracing back to the Early Jurassic. In purpose to reveal the possible implication of the superficial ornamentation on the osteoderm heat conduction, we repeated the simulation on an equivalent set of smoothed 3D-modeled osteoderms. The comparison of the results evidenced that the presence of the apical sculpture has no significant impact on the osteoderm global conduction. Furthermore, as we also aimed to assess the influence of the inner bone porosity on the osteoderm conduction, we modified the heat equation parameters so that the 3D-modeled osteoderms successively score the compact and the cancellous bone properties (i.e. mass density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity). Finally, we repeated the analyses using the soft-dermis properties which lead to outline that neither the degree of porosity nor the presence of the osteoderms (in itself) significantly modifies the heat conduction through the crocodylomorph skin. Consequently, as hypothesized by previous authors, if the dermal shield happens to be involved into heat capture during basking for crocodylians, this process must mainly rely on a convective effect based on the osteoderm relative degree of vascularization. This last assumption could thus explain why the crocodylians which produce little metabolic heat would carry an entire vascularized osteoderm shield.     

Transthiocarbamoylation of proteins by thiolated isothiocyanates

Isothiocyanates, membrane-permeable electrophiles that form adducts with thiols, have been suggested to have important medical benefits. Here we shed light on isothiocyanate-thiol conjugates and studied their electrophilic potential transferring an isothiocyanate moiety to cellular proteins. When we examined the effect of sulfhydryl molecules on cellular response induced by 6-methylsulfinylhexyl isothiocyanate (6-HITC), an analog of sulforaphane isolated from broccoli, we observed significant induction of heme oxygenase-1 by 6-HITC even in the presence of N-acetyl-L-cysteine or glutathione (GSH). In addition, the authentic 6-HITC-β-mercaptoethanol (6-HITC-ME) conjugate markedly up-regulated the enzyme expression, suggesting the electrophilic potential of thiolated isothiocyanates. To gain a chemical insight into the cellular response induced by thiolated isothiocyanates, we studied the occurrence of transthiocarbamoylation of sulfhydryl molecules by 6-HITC-ME and observed that, upon incubation of 6-HITC-ME with GSH, a single product corresponding to the GSH conjugate of 6-HITC was generated. To test the functional ability of thiolated isothiocyanates to thiocarbamoylate proteins in living cells, we designed a novel probe, combining an isothiocyanate-reactive group and an alkyne functionality, and revealed that the transthiocarbamoylation of proteins occurred in the cells upon exposure to 6-HITC-ME. The target of thiocarbamoylation included heat shock protein 90 β (Hsp90β), a chaperone ATPase of the Hsp90 family implicated in protein maturation and targeting. To identify the sites of the Hsp90β modification, we utilized nano-LC/MALDI-TOF MS/MS and suggested that a thiol group on the peptide containing Cys-521 reacted with 6-HITC, resulting in a covalent adduct in a 6-HITC-treated recombinant Hsp90β in vitro. The site-selective binding to Cys-521 was supported by in silico modeling. Further study on the thiocarbamoylation of Hsp90β suggested that the formation of 6-HITC-Hsp90β conjugate might cause activation of heat shock factor-1, rapidly signaling a potential heat shock response. These data suggest that thiolated isothiocyanates are an active metabolite that could contribute to cellular responses through transthiocarbamoylation of cellular proteins.     

Capacity for protein synthesis following heat stimulus of Drosophila associates with heat tolerance but does not underlie the latitudinal tolerance cline

Across populations of Drosophila melanogaster along the Australian eastern coastline latitudinal clines occur in both heat-knockdown tolerance and hardened heat-knockdown tolerance – low latitude tropical populations being more tolerant. A latitudinal cline also occurs for rates of total protein synthesis following a mild heat stress, with tropical populations having higher rates. Since the control of protein synthesis following heat stress is an important component of the cellular heat-shock response, we hypothesised that the higher rates of synthesis that follow a heat stimulus lead to higher knockdown tolerance and underpins the cline. However, levels of heat-stimulated total protein synthesis have been negatively related to heat-hardening capacity, a somewhat conflicting result. Here we examine the relationship between these physiological and adaptive traits in a set of 40 family lines derived from a hybrid laboratory population established by crossing populations from either end of the latitudinal transect. Among these lines high levels of heat-stimulated total protein synthesis were associated with both low basal and low heat-hardened adult knockdown time, confirming the importance of a negative relationship between protein synthesis and thermal tolerance. This result, when considered along with the directions of the latitudinal clines in protein synthesis and tolerance, suggests that variation in rates of heat-stimulated total protein synthesis is not a factor contributing to the latitudinal cline in heat tolerance. Given the robustness of this negative relationship we discuss possible explanations and future experiments to elucidate how the cellular heat stress response might facilitate increased knockdown tolerance.     

Expression of heat shock protein in host macrophages correlates with a protective potential against infection with Leishmania major in mice

We studied the relationship between the expression of 65-kDa heat shock protein (HSP65) and resistance of mice to infection with Leishmania major (L. major), an obligate intracellular protozoan. C57BL/6 (B6) mice, a strain genetically resistant to L. major infection, expressed high level of HSP65 in their peritoneal and draining lymph node macrophages after infection, whereas susceptible BALB/c mice expressed only slightly at the early stage of infection. This protein was not expressed in the parasite itself and macrophages of non-infected mice. We examined the role of T cells in the expression of HSP65 by using SCID mice grafted with the fetal thymus from B6 or BALB/c mice (B6-TG or BALB-TG mice, respectively). Either BALB-TG or B6-TG mice were reconstituted with T cells derived from each grafted fetal thymus. B6-TG mice were markedly resistant against infection with L. major, compared with BALB-TG mice. Furthermore, the HSP65 expression in macrophages of thymus-grafted mice was similar to that of the thymus-donor type. That is, B6-TG mice expressed a high level of this protein, whereas BALB-TG mice did in lower level than B6-TG mice. These results show that T cells are necessary to express HSP65 and the expression correlates with a protective potential of T cells against infection with L. major.