褐家鼠精母细胞中联会复合体的研究Ⅳ.常染色体联会复合体的发育和偶线期节的研究

采用表面铺展-SDS处理、硝酸银和磷钨酸（Phosphotungsticacid,PTA）染色电镜技术,研究了褐家鼠精母细胞中常染色体联会复合体（Synaptonemacomplex,SC）的发育及偶线期节（Zygotenenodule,ZN）。在褐家鼠精母细胞的细线期,常染色体轴心（Axialcores,ACs）已形成,同源轴心在空间上靠近,偶线期SCs开始形成,到粗线期SCs完全形成,于双线期SCs开始解体。在双线期除了个别SCs侧生组分分开外,大多数SCs发生碎片化（fragmentation）．在偶线期未配对的ACs和SCs侧生组分及中央组分上均发现电子密度高的球形或椭圆形的节状结构──偶线期节,ZNss在同源染色体配对过程中起很重要的作用。     

Purification and characterization of recombinant ligand-binding domains from the ecdysone receptors of four pest insects

Cloned EcR and USP cDNAs encoding the ecdysone receptors of four insect pests (Lucilia cuprina, Myzus persicae, Bemisia tabaci, Helicoverpa armigera) were manipulated to allow the co-expression of their ligand binding domains (LBDs) in insect cells using a baculovirus vector. Recombinant DE/F segment pairs (and additionally, for H. armigera, an E/F segment pair) from the EcR and USP proteins associated spontaneously with high affinity to form heterodimers that avidly bound an ecdysteroid ligand. This shows that neither ligand nor D-regions are essential for the formation of tightly associated and functional LBD heterodimers. Expression levels ranged up to 16.6mg of functional apo-LBD (i.e., unliganded LBD) heterodimer per liter of recombinant insect cell culture. Each recombinant heterodimer was affinity-purified via an oligo-histidine tag at the N-terminus of the EcR subunit, and could be purified further by ion exchange and/or gel filtration chromatography. The apo-LBD heterodimers appeared to be more easily inactivated than their ligand-containing counterparts: after purification, populations of the former were <40% active, whereas for the latter >70% could be obtained as the ligand-LBD heterodimer complex. Interestingly, we found that the amount of ligand bound by recombinant LBD heterodimer preparations could be enhanced by the non-denaturing detergent CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethyl-ammonio]-1-propanesulfonate). Purity, integrity, size and charge data are reported for the recombinant proteins under native and denaturing conditions. Certain intra- and intermolecular disulfide bonds were observed to form in the absence of reducing agents, and thiol-specific alkylation was shown to suppress this phenomenon but to introduce microheterogeneity.     

Structural and functional characterization of type three secretion system ATPase PscN and its regulator PscL from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Type Three Secretion Systems (T3SS) from many gram-negative bacteria utilize ATPases for the translocation of effector proteins into the eukaryotic host cells through injectisome. Cytosolic regulators effectively control the action of these ATPases. PscN from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was an ATPase which was regulated by an uncharacterized PscL. Here we have bioinformatically, biochemically, and biophysically characterized PscN as a T3SS ATPase and PscL as its regulator. In solution, PscN exists predominantly as oligomer and hydrolyzes ATP with V_max of 3.9 ± 0.2 μmol/min/mg and K _m 0.93 ± 0.06 mM. Hexameric structure of PscN was observed under AFM and TEM in the presence of ATP. PscL was dimeric in solution and interacted with PscN strongly in Ni-NTA pull-down assay and SPR analysis. PscL was shown to downregulate PscN ATPase activity up to 80% when mixed with PscN in 1:2 ratio (PscN:PscL). SEC data reconfirm the PscN–PscL interaction stoichiometry (ie, 1:2 ratio) which can also be visualized under AFM. In the present study, we have also found out the existence of an oligomeric form of the PscN–PscL heterotrimeric complex. PscL being the regulator of PscN and interacts to form this conformation, which may play an important role too in the regulation of T3SS utilized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For structural aspect, three dimensional in silico models of PscN, PscL, and PscN–PscL were generated. So, in short, present study tried to enlighten both the structural, functional and mechanistic insights into the action of PscN–PscL complex in T3SS mediated pathogenic pathway.     

Polypeptide composition,assembly and phosphorylation patterns of the photosystem II antenna system of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

In recent years major progress has been made in describing the gene families that encode the polypeptides of the light-harvesting antenna system of photosystem II (PSII). At the same time, advances in the biochemical characterization of these antennae have been hampered by the high degree of similarity between the apoproteins. To help interpret the molecular results, we have re-examined the composition, the assembly and the phosphorylation patterns of the light-harvesting antenna of PSII (LHCII) in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang, using a non-Tris SDS-PAGE system capable of resolving polypeptides that differ by as little as 200 daltons. Research to date has suggested that in C. reinhardtii the LHCII comprises just four polypeptides (p11, p13, p16 and p17), and CP29 and CP26 just one polypeptide each (p9 and p10, respectively), i.e. a total of six polypeptides. We report here that these antenna systems contain at least 15 polypeptides, 10 associated with LHCII, 3 with CP29, and 2 with CP26. All of these polypeptides have been positively identified by means of appropriate antibodies. We also demonstrate substantial heterogeneity to the pattern of in-vitro phosphorylation, with major differences found among members of closely spaced and immunologically related polypeptides. Most intriguing is the fact that the polypeptides that cross-react with the anti-type 2 LHCII antibodies of higher plants (p16, and to a lesser extent p11) are not phosphorylated, whereas in higher plants these are the most highly phosphorylated polypeptides. Also, unlike in higher plants, CP29 is heavily phosphorylated. Phosphorylation does not appear to have any effect on the mobility of polypeptides on fully denaturing SDS-PAGE gels. To learn more about the accumulation and organization of the light-harvesting polypeptides, we have also investigated a chlorophyll b-less mutant, cbn1-48. The LHCII is almost completely lost in this mutant, along with at least some LHCI. But the accumulation of CP29 and CP26 and their binding to PSII core complexes, is relatively unaffected. As expected, the loss of antenna polypeptides is accompanied by a reduction of the size of large reaction-center complexes. Following in-vitro phosphorylation the number of phosphorylated proteins is greatly increased in the mutant thylakoids compared to wildtype thylakoids. We present a model of the PSII antenna system to account for the new polypeptide complexity we have demonstrated.This work was supported by National Institute of Health grant GM22912 to L.A.S. We would like to thank Anastasios Melis for helpful discussions.     

Amplification of bacterial DNA bound on clay minerals by the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique

Abstract: Chromosomal DNA from Bacillus subtilis , bound on the clay minerals, montmorillonite (Wyoming (W) and Apache County (Ap)) and kaolinite (K), was subjected to the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. DNA bound on the clays was not amplified with 0.625, 1.875, 6.25, and 12.5 U of Taq DNA polymerase, but amplification occurred when the clay-DNA complexes were diluted 10- and 20-fold or when 21 U of Taq DNA polymerase was added. DNA desorbed from the Ap-DNA and K-DNA equilibrium complexes was amplified with 0.625 U of Taq DNA polymerase, whereas amplification of DNA desorbed from the W-DNA complex occurred only after a 10-fold dilution or when 1.875 U of Taq DNA polymerase was used. These observations indicate that clay minerals differentially affect the amplification process, probably by inhibiting the activity of Taq DNA polymerase.     

Deficiency of the Cog8 Subunit in Normal and CDG‐Derived Cells Impairs the Assembly of the COG and Golgi SNARE Complexes

Multiple mutations in different subunits of the tethering complex Conserved Oligomeric Golgi (COG) have been identified as a cause for Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) in humans. Yet, the mechanisms by which COG mutations induce the pleiotropic CDG defects have not been fully defined. By detailed analysis of Cog8 deficiency in either HeLa cells or CDG‐derived fibroblasts, we show that Cog8 is required for the assembly of both the COG complex and the Golgi Stx5‐GS28‐Ykt6‐GS15 and Stx6‐Stx16‐Vti1a‐VAMP4 SNARE complexes. The assembly of these SNARE complexes is also impaired in cells derived from a Cog7‐deficient CDG patient. Likewise, the integrity of the COG complex is also impaired in Cog1‐, Cog4‐ and Cog6‐depleted cells. Significantly, deficiency of Cog1, Cog4, Cog6 or Cog8 distinctly influences the production of COG subcomplexes and their Golgi targeting. These results shed light on the structural organization of the COG complex and its subcellular localization, and suggest that its integrity is required for both tethering of transport vesicles to the Golgi apparatus and the assembly of Golgi SNARE complexes. We propose that these two key functions are generally and mechanistically impaired in COG‐associated CDG patients, thereby exerting severe pleiotropic defects.     

DNA repair mechanisms in dividing and non-dividing cells

DNA damage created by endogenous or exogenous genotoxic agents can exist in multiple forms, and if allowed to persist, can promote genome instability and directly lead to various human diseases, particularly cancer, neurological abnormalities, immunodeficiency and premature aging. To avoid such deleterious outcomes, cells have evolved an array of DNA repair pathways, which carry out what is typically a multiple-step process to resolve specific DNA lesions and maintain genome integrity. To fully appreciate the biological contributions of the different DNA repair systems, one must keep in mind the cellular context within which they operate. For example, the human body is composed of non-dividing and dividing cell types, including, in the brain, neurons and glial cells. We describe herein the molecular mechanisms of the different DNA repair pathways, and review their roles in non-dividing and dividing cells, with an eye toward how these pathways may regulate the development of neurological disease.     

Biological and Structural Characterization of Glycosylation on Ephrin-A1, a Preferred Ligand for EphA2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase

The EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase is overexpressed in a number of malignancies and is activated by ephrin ligands, most commonly by ephrin-A1. The crystal structure of the ligand-receptor complex revealed a glycosylation on the Asn-26 of ephrin-A1. Here we report for the first time the significance of the glycosylation in the biology of EphA2 and ephrin-A1. Ephrin-A1 was enzymatically deglycosylated, and its activity was evaluated in several assays using glioblastoma (GBM) cells and recombinant EphA2. We found that deglycosylated ephrin-A1 does not efficiently induce EphA2 receptor internalization and degradation, and does not activate the downstream signaling pathways involved in cell migration and proliferation. Data obtained by surface plasmon resonance confirms that deglycosylated ephrin-A1 does not bind EphA2 with high affinity. Mutations in the glycosylation site on ephrin-A1 result in protein aggregation and mislocalization. Analysis of Eph/ephrin crystal structures reveals an interaction between the ligand''s carbohydrates and two residues of EphA2: Asp-78 and Lys-136. These findings suggest that the glycosylation on ephrin-A1 plays a critical role in the binding and activation of the EphA2 receptor.     

Regulation of the spatial order of cortical microtubules in developing guard cells ofAllium

The organization of microtubules (MTs) in the cortex of cells at interphase is an important element in morphogenesis. Mechanisms controlling the initiation of MTs and their spatial ordering, however, are largely unknown. Our recent study concerning the generation of a radial array of MTs in stomatal guard cells inAllium showed that the MTs initiate in a cortical MT-organizing zone adjacent to the ventral wall separating the two young guard cells (Marc, Mineyuki and Palevitz, 1989, Planta179, 516, 530). In an attempt to detect MT-ordering mechanisms separate from the sites of MT initiation, we now employ various drugs to manipulate the geometry and integrity of the ventral wall and thereby also the associated MT-organizing zone. In the presence of cytochalasin D the ventral wall is tilted away from its normal mid-longitudinal anticlinal alignment, while treatments with the herbicide chloroisopropyl-N-phenylcarbamate (CIPC) induce the formation of a branched ventral wall. Nonetheless, in either case the MTs still form a radial array, although this is asymmetric as it is centered in accordance with the misaligned or branched ventral wall. Since the MTs maintain their original course undisturbed as they extend beyond the abnormal ventral wall, there is no evidence for the presence of an inherent MT-ordering mechanism at locations remote from MT-initiation sites. Following treatments with caffeine, which abolishes the formation of the ventral wall, the MTs revert to a transversely oriented cylindrical array as in normal epidermal cells. Thus the presence of the ventral wall, and presumably also the associated MT-organizing zone, is essential for the establishment of the radial array. The MT-organizing zone is therefore involved not only in the initiation of MTs, but also in determining their spatial order throughout the cell cortex. We thank Drs. Richard J. Cyr and Yoshi Mineyuki for providing valueable suggestions during the course of this work, and Ms. Elizabeth Bruce printing some of the figures. This research was supported by Funds from the National Science Foundation grants DCB-8703292 to B.A.P. and DCB-8803286 to B.A.P. and J.M.