Extension of cell membrane boosting squalene production in the engineered Escherichia coli

Squalene is a lipophilic and non-volatile triterpene with many industrial applications for food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Metabolic engineering focused on optimization of the production pathway suffer from little success in improving titers because of a limited space of the cell membrane accommodating the lipophilic product. Extension of cell membrane would be a promising approach to overcome the storage limitation for successful production of squalene. In this study, Escherichia coli was engineered for squalene production by overexpression of some membrane proteins. The highest production of 612 mg/L was observed in the engineered E. coli with overexpression of Tsr, a serine chemoreceptor protein, which induced invagination of inner membrane to form multilayered structure. It was also observed an increase in unsaturated fatty acid in membrane lipids composition, suggesting cellular response to maintain membrane fluidity against squalene accumulation in the engineered strain. This study potentiates the capability of E. coli for squalene production and provides an effective strategy for the enhanced production of such compounds.     

YAP1 and PRDM14 converge to promote cell survival and tumorigenesis

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Combination of Hansen Robotic system with cryocatheter in a challenging parahisian accessory pathway ablation

A perceived distinctive feature of cryoablation is the stability (cryoadherence) of the catheter tip during cold temperatures at the desired location, even during tachycardia. We report the case report of a young patient with a parahisian accessory pathway where stability of the ablation catheter was not achieved despite using the cryocatheter with a steerable sheath. Ultimately, stability at the desired location was achieved robotically by means of Hansen system (Hansen Medical, Mountain View, CA, USA).     

DIA-Based Proteomics Identifies IDH2 as a Targetable Regulator of Acquired Drug Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Drug resistance is a critical obstacle to effective treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. To understand the underlying resistance mechanisms in response to imatinib mesylate (IMA) and adriamycin (ADR), the parental K562 cells were treated with low doses of IMA or ADR for 2 months to generate derivative cells with mild, intermediate, and severe resistance to the drugs as defined by their increasing resistance index. PulseDIA-based (DIA [data-independent acquisition]) quantitative proteomics was then employed to reveal the proteome changes in these resistant cells. In total, 7082 proteins from 98,232 peptides were identified and quantified from the dataset using four DIA software tools including OpenSWATH, Spectronaut, DIA-NN, and EncyclopeDIA. Sirtuin signaling pathway was found to be significantly enriched in both ADR-resistant and IMA-resistant K562 cells. In particular, isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 was identified as a potential drug target correlated with the drug resistance phenotype, and its inhibition by the antagonist AGI-6780 reversed the acquired resistance in K562 cells to either ADR or IMA. Together, our study has implicated isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 as a potential target that can be therapeutically leveraged to alleviate the drug resistance in K562 cells when treated with IMA and ADR.     

Resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy is mediated by TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway in male Wistar rats

The TGF-β1-Smad pathway is a well-known negative regulator of muscle growth; however, its potential role in resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy is not clear. The present study proposed to determine whether and how this pathway may be involved in resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy. Skeletal muscle samples were collected from the control, trained (RT), control + SB431542 (CI_TGF), and trained + SB431542 (RTI_TGF) animals following 3, 5, and 8 weeks of resistance training. Inhibition of the TGF-β1-Smad pathway by SB431542 augmented muscle satellite cells activation, upregulated Akt/mTOR/S6K1 pathway, and attenuated FOXO1 and FOXO3a expression in the CI_TGF group (all p < .01), thereby causing significant muscle hypertrophy in animals from the CI_TGF. Resistance training significantly decreased muscle TGF-β1 expression and Smad3 (P-Smad3^S423/425) phosphorylation at COOH-terminal residues, augmented Smad2 (P-Smad2-L^S245/250/255) and Smad3 (P-Smad3-L^Ser208) phosphorylation levels at linker sites (all p < .01), and led to a muscle hypertrophy which was unaffected by SB431542, suggesting that the TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway is involved in resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy. The effects of inhibiting the TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway were not additive to the resistance training effects on FOXO1 and FOXO3a expression, muscle satellite cells activation, and the Akt/mTOR/S6K1 pathway. Resistance training effect of satellite cell differentiation was independent of the TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway. These results suggested that the effect of the TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway on resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy can be attributed mainly to its diminished inhibitory effects on satellite cell activation and protein synthesis. Suppressed P-Smad3^S423/425 and enhanced P-Smad2-L^S245/250/255 and P-Smad3-L^Ser208 are the molecular mechanisms that link the TGF-β1-Smad signaling pathway to resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy.     

Cloning of an Arabidopsis thaliana gene encoding 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase: sequence analysis and manipulation to obtain glyphosate-tolerant plants

Summary 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs), the target of the herbicide glyphosate, catalyzes an essential step in the shikimate pathway common to aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. We have cloned an EPSP synthase gene from Arabidopsis thaliana by hybridization with a petunia cDNA probe. The Arabidopsis gene is highly homologous to the petunia gene within the mature enzyme but is only 23% homologous in the chloroplast transit peptide portion. The Arabidopsis gene contains seven introns in exactly the same positions as those in the petunia gene. The introns are, however, significantly smaller in the Arabidopsis gene. This reduction accounts for the significantly smaller size of the gene as compared to the petunia gene. We have fused the gene to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35 S promoter and reintroduced the chimeric gene into Arabidopsis. The resultant overproduction of EPSPs leads to glyphosate tolerance in transformed callus and plants.