Cell membrane enolase of Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells is involved in the entrance mechanism of dengue virus (DENV)

Currently, there are no antiviral drugs that effectively reduce the risks and treat the symptoms associated with dengue virus (DENV). Consequently, efforts remain primarily focused on transmission reduction. One such effort concerns DENV receptors in mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Despite a lack of direct evidence demonstrating the binding of DENV to cells in mosquito vectors, one putative DENV binding protein has been α-enolase. To develop a deeper understanding, this study tested whether DENV proteins bind to enolase localized in the cytoplasmic membrane of C6/36 cells using both anti-enolase-specific antibodies, and by colocalization analysis, using confocal microscopy.Additionally, to probe the interaction of enolase with the DENV E protein, we performed a docking analysis using PatchDock and FireDock software packages. Study results demonstrate that the DENV E protein interacts with enolase in the plasma membrane of C6/36 cells of Ae. albopictus. Specific anti-enolase antibodies were found to inhibit DENV infection of these cells. Moreover, enolase was found to be localized to the cytoplasmic membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. These combined findings suggest that enolase participates in the entrance mechanism of DENV into vector cells.     

血清pNF-H、NSE、ESR与老年脊柱手术患者病情和术后认知功能的相关性研究

摘要 目的：研究老年脊柱手术患者血清神经丝蛋白H磷酸化亚型（pNF-H）、神经元特异性烯醇化酶（NSE）以及红细胞沉降率（ESR）水平与患者病情以及术后认知功能障碍发生的相关性。方法：选取2017年6月到2021年6月在我院进行脊柱手术的老年患者82例,根据病情严重程度分为脊髓未损伤组（n=35）、脊髓不完全损伤组（n=27）和脊髓完全损伤组（n=20）,根据术后是否发生认知功能障碍（POCD）分为认知功能障碍组（POCD组,n=30）和无认知功能障碍组（No-POCD组,n=52）。比较各组患者术前和术后1天、3天、7天血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR水平。结果：（1）脊髓未完全损伤组患者血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR均显著高于脊髓未损伤组患者,而均显著低于脊髓完全损伤组患者（P<0.05）;（2）No-POCD组和POCD组在性别、年龄、体重、BMI、手术时间以及术中失血量均具有可比性（P>0.05）;（3）POCD组患者术前和术后1天、3天、7天血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR水平均显著高于No-POCD组患者（P<0.05）。结论：老年脊柱手术患者血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR水平与患者病情以及术后认知功能障碍发生有关,术前及术后血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR水平升高可能增加老年脊柱手术患者术后认知功能障碍风险,检测血清pNF-H、NSE和ESR水平有助于评估老年手术患者病情和术后认知功能障碍发生风险。     

Target selection and annotation for the structural genomics of the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies

To study the substrate specificity of enzymes, we use the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies as model systems; members of these superfamilies share a common TIM barrel fold and catalyze a wide range of chemical reactions. Here, we describe a collaboration between the Enzyme Specificity Consortium (ENSPEC) and the New York SGX Research Center for Structural Genomics (NYSGXRC) that aims to maximize the structural coverage of the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies. Using sequence- and structure-based protein comparisons, we first selected 535 target proteins from a variety of genomes for high-throughput structure determination by X-ray crystallography; 63 of these targets were not previously annotated as superfamily members. To date, 20 unique amidohydrolase and 41 unique enolase structures have been determined, increasing the fraction of sequences in the two superfamilies that can be modeled based on at least 30% sequence identity from 45% to 73%. We present case studies of proteins related to uronate isomerase (an amidohydrolase superfamily member) and mandelate racemase (an enolase superfamily member), to illustrate how this structure-focused approach can be used to generate hypotheses about sequence–structure–function relationships. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

N-Myc knockdown and apigenin treatment controlled growth of malignant neuroblastoma cells having N-Myc amplification

Malignant neuroblastomas mostly occur in children and are frequently associated with N-Myc amplification. Oncogene amplification, which is selective increase in copy number of the oncogene, provides survival advantages in solid tumors including malignant neuroblastoma. We have decreased expression of N-Myc oncogene using short hairpin RNA (shRNA) plasmid to increase anti-tumor efficacy of the isoflavonoid apigenin (APG) in human malignant neuroblastoma SK-N-DZ and SK-N-BE2 cell lines that harbor N-Myc amplification. N-Myc knockdown induced morphological and biochemical features of neuronal differentiation. Combination of N-Myc knockdown and APG most effectively induced morphological and biochemical features of apoptotic death. This combination therapy also prevented cell migration and decreased N-Myc driven survival, angiogenic, and invasive factors. Collectively, N-Myc knockdown and APG treatment is a promising strategy for controlling the growth of human malignant neuroblastoma cell lines that harbor N-Myc amplification.     

Physicochemical Determinants of Chaperone Requirements

We describe a series of stringent relationships between abundance, solubility and chaperone usage of proteins. Based on these relationships, we show that the need of Escherichia coli proteins for the chaperonin GroEL can be predicted with 86% accuracy. Furthermore, from the observation that the abundance and solubility of proteins depend on the physicochemical properties of their amino acid sequences, we demonstrate that the requirement for GroEL can also be predicted directly from the sequences with 90% accuracy. These results indicate that the physicochemical properties of the amino acid sequences represent an essential component of the cellular quality control system that ensures the maintenance of protein homeostasis in living systems.     

Purification and differential expression of enolase from maize

Enolase was purified from maze ( Zea mays L. inbred B73)seeds to a 55 and 56 kDa protein doublet based upon sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Purification included ammonium sulfate-precipitation, gel filtration, Mono Q, and Phenyl Superose chromatography. Two-dimensional gels further resolved the 56 kDa protein into three isoselectric forms. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the purified proteins, were found to bind specifically to both the 55 and 56 kDa proteins during purification. Theses antibodies did not recognized a 56 kDa protein when the strain was complemented with maize enolase (pZM245). Maize enolase antibodies recognized a extracts indicated that the 55 kDa form of enolase was more abundant in roots. Enolase protein levels remained unchanged in maize roots after 24 h of anaerobiosis, even though the specific activity of enolase increased to twice its initial levels. A plastid form of enolase in maize could not be found as either enolase activity or protein (with immunoblots).     

Enolase1 overexpression regulates the growth of gastric cancer cells and predicts poor survival

Gastric cancer has become the third most common cancer around the world. In patients with gastric cancer, the 5-year survival rate is still low. However, the mechanism underlying gastric cancer remains largely unknown. As a glycolytic enzyme, enolase 1 (ENO1) is widely expressed in most tissues. The functions of ENO1 have been reported in various types of cancer. Here in this study, we identified that ENO1 promoted the growth of gastric cancer cells through diverse mechanisms. Our immunohistochemical, bioinformatic and Western blot data showed that ENO1 was significantly overexpressed in human gastric cancer cell lines and tissues. The survival analysis revealed that ENO1 overexpression predicted poor survival in the patients suffering gastric cancer. Knockdown of ENO1 expression repressed the rate of proliferation and capacity of colony formation in two human gastric cancer cell lines (MGC-803 and MKN-45). In addition, knockdown of the expression of ENO1 led to the arrest of the cell cycle at the G1 phase and promoted the apoptosis of MKN-45 and MGC-803 cells. The further microarray and bioinformatic analysis revealed that ENO1 regulated the expression of diverse genes, many of which are involved in the progress of cancer. Taken together, our data demonstrated that ENO1 was an oncogene-like factor and might serve as a promising target for the treatment of human gastric cancer.     

Cloning, expression and characterization of an extracellular enolase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides

Enolase on the surface of streptococci putatively facilitates pathogenic invasion of the host organisms. The related Leuconostoc mesenteroides 512FMCM is nonpathogenic, but it too has an extracellular enolase. Purified isolates of extracellular dextransucrase from cultures of L. mesenteroides contain minute amounts of enolase, which separate as small crystals. Expression of L. mesenteroides enolase in Escherichia coli provides a protein (calculated subunit mass of 47 546 Da) catalyzing the conversion of 2-phsopho-D-glycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate. The pH optimum is 6.8, with Km and kcat values of 2.61 mM and 27.5 s(-1), respectively. At phosphate concentrations of 1 mM and below, fluoride is a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to 2-phospho-D-glycerate, but in the presence of 20 mM phosphate, fluoride becomes a competitive inhibitor. Recombinant enolase significantly inhibits the activity of purified dextransucrase, and does not bind human plasminogen. Results here suggest that in some organisms enolase may participate in protein interactions that have no direct relevance to pathogenic invasion.