Modulation of the K+ efflux activity of Bacillus subtilis YhaU by YhaT and the C-terminal region of YhaS

The cation/proton antiporter 2 (CPA2) family is a large family of cation transporters and putative channel proteins that are found in bacteria, archaea as well as eukaryotes. Consistent with a K+ efflux capacity that is found in several other CPA2 proteins, it is shown here that the YhaU protein of Bacillus subtilis greatly increased the concentration of K+ required for growth of a K+ uptake-defective mutant of Escherichia coli. No YhaU-dependent K+(Na+)/H+ antiport activity was found in membrane vesicles. Two genes, yhaS and yhaT, are located upstream of yhaU and form an apparent operon with it. The YhaS protein has no reported homologues while the YhaT protein has sequence similarity to a sub-domain of KTN proteins that are associated with potassium-translocating channels and transporters. YhaT and the C-terminal region of YhaS were shown to modulate the K+ transport capacities of YhaU in complementation experiments. Expression studies, conducted by monitoring the beta-galactosidase levels in pMutin-disrupted mutants of the yhaU locus, indicated that yhaU is strongly induced by alkaline pH- plus salt-induced stress and that there are additional sodium-specific responses of yhaS and yhaT.     

The role of GRAS proteins in plant signal transduction and development

GRAS proteins are a recently discovered family of plant-specific proteins named after GAI, RGA and SCR, the first three of its members isolated. Although the Arabidopsis genome encodes at least 33 GRAS protein family members only a few GRAS proteins have been characterized so far. However, it is becoming clear that GRAS proteins exert important roles in very diverse processes such as signal transduction, meristem maintenance and development. Here we present a survey of the different GRAS proteins and review the current knowledge of the function of individual members of this protein family.     

Purification,Cloning and Functional Expression of hydroxyphenylpyruvate Reductase Involved in Rosmarinic Acid Biosynthesis in Cell Cultures of Coleus Blumei

Hydroxyphenylpyruvate reductase (HPPR) is an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid in Lamiaceae reducing hydroxyphenylpyruvates in dependence of NAD(P)H to the corresponding hydroxyphenyllactates. The HPPR protein was purified from suspension cells of Coleus blumei accumulating high levels of rosmarinic acid by ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion exchange chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography, chromatography on 2',5'-ADP-Sepharose 4B and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The protein was tryptically digested and the peptides sequenced. Sequence information was used to isolate a full-length cDNA-clone for HPPR (EMBL accession number AJ507733) by RT-PCR, screening of a C. blumei cDNA-library and 5'-RACE-PCR. The open reading frame of the HPPR-cDNA consists of 939 nucleotides encoding a protein of 313 amino acid residues. The sequence showed that HPPR belongs to the family of D-isomer-specific 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenases. The HPPR-cDNA was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and the protein was shown to catalyse the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate to 4-hydroxyphenyllactate and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpyruvate to 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactate.     

Alternative splicing modulates Disabled-1 (Dab1) function in the developing chick retina

The Reelin-Disabled 1 (Dab1)-signaling pathway plays a critical role in neuronal cell positioning in the brain. We have isolated two alternatively spliced variants of Dab1 from chick retina, an early form (chDab1-E) expressed in undifferentiated cells and a late form (chDab1-L) expressed in amacrine and ganglion cells. A key difference between the two forms is the exclusion in chDab1-E of two Src-related tyrosine kinase recognition sites implicated in Reelin-mediated Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation. Retinal cultures transfected with a chDab1-L expression construct undergo a dramatic change in morphology, accompanied by the formation of numerous thin elongated processes, increased tyrosine phosphorylation, activation of Src family kinase(s) and increased levels of the axonal outgrowth protein growth-associated protein-43. In contrast, chDab1-E transfectants retain an undifferentiated morphology. Mutational analysis implicates a specific tyrosine (tyr-198) in the morphological and biochemical alterations associated with chDab1-L expression. We propose that alternative splicing of chDab1 represents an effective and flexible way of regulating the Reelin-Dab1-signaling pathway in a mixed cell population, by ensuring that secreted Reelin activates the signaling cascade only in target neuronal cells.     

Isolation and characterization of a root nodule-specific cysteine proteinase cDNA from soybean

We have determined that a nodule-specific cDNA clone (GmCysP1), obtained from a soybean root nodule-specific EST pool, encodes cysteine proteinase. Its amino acid sequence homology, as well as the conservation of typical motifs and amino acid residues involved in active site formation, shows that GmCysP1 can be classified as a legumain (C13) family cysteine proteinase, belonging to clan CD. Moreover, based on its expression patterns,GmCysP1 is a nodule-specific cysteine proteinase gene that is possibly associated with nodule development or senescence. Our genomic Southern analysis also suggests thatGmCysP1 is a member of a multigene family. Therefore, we propose that GmCysP1 is the first to be identified as a nodule-specific and senescence-related cysteine proteinase that belongs to the legumain family from soybean.     

The inhibitor of apoptosis protein family and its antagonists in acute leukemias

The Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein family (IAP) functions as inhibitors of apoptotic pathways, both death receptor- and mitochondrial mediated. We detail the current body of knowledge for the IAP family with regard to their structure and function, their expression in normal and leukemic cells, and their prognostic importance in acute leukemia. Although there is some evidence that IAPs play an important role in the chemoresistance of leukemia cell lines, little is known about their influence on this phenomenon in acute leukemia cells of human origin. IAPs are also explored as a specific target for new antitumor strategies, including antisense oligonucleotides of XIAP (X-chromosome-linked IAP) or survivin and small molecules of polyphenylurea-based XIAP inhibitors. Several proteins negatively regulate the function of the IAP family. One of those antagonists is Smac/DIABLO. Short peptides of Smac were found to enhanced apoptosis, induced by chemo- or immunotherapy, in the leukemic cells in vitro. Moreover, small-molecule agents, resembling Smac/DIABLO in function, were shown to potentiate cytotoxicity of chemotherapy in different malignancies. IAPs, exhibiting downstream influence on both external and intrinsic pathways as well as on some caspase-independent mechanisms of apoptosis, are potentially attractive target for anti-tumor therapy, although their role in the pathology and prognosis of acute leukemia has to be further elucidated.     

Lipid function in plant cell polarity

The establishment and maintenance of cell polarity play pivotal roles during plant development. During the past five years, proteins that are required for different aspects of plant cell polarity have been identified. However, the functions of lipids and their interactions with proteins that mediate polarity remained largely unaddressed. Recent genetic studies have discovered cell and tissue polarity mutants that have defects in sterol composition, glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, glycosylphosphatidylinositol biosynthesis and phospholipid signalling. Analyses of the affected gene products have provided a first glance at the roles of lipids in cell polarity signalling, as well as in the trafficking and anchoring of polar proteins.