JAK2-STAT3信号通路在天麻素改善小鼠抑郁样行为中的作用研究

摘要 目的：观察天麻素对小鼠抑郁症模型异常行为的改善以及Janus激酶2-信号转导和转录激活因子3（JAK2 -STAT3）信号通路的表达变化。方法：40只雄性昆明小鼠,随机分为正常组和模型组。模型组小鼠经过4周CUMS刺激建模,第6周检测小鼠行为学变化以验证建模效果。随后将模型组分为CUMS+生理盐水、CUMS+氟西汀以及CUMS+天麻素3个亚组,第7-8周继续进行CUMS刺激,同时对3个亚组小鼠腹腔注射给药。第9周再次进行行为学检测。取小鼠脑组织进行HE染色（hematoxylin-eosin staining）和蛋白免疫印迹（western blot）检测。结果：第6周检测结果显示：与对照组比较,模型组小鼠体重增幅显著降低（P＜0.001）,悬尾和强迫游泳不动时间显著增加（P＜0.001、P＜0.001）,糖水消耗率显著降低（P＜0.001）。第9周检测结果显示：与CUMS+生理盐水组相比,CUMS+氟西汀组和CUMS+天麻素组小鼠体重增幅显著增加（P＜0.001,P＜0.001）,强迫游泳不动时间显著降低（P＜0.001,P＜0.001）,悬尾不动时间显著降低（P＜0.01,P＜0.01）,糖水消耗率显著增加（P＜0.001、P＜0.001）。与CUMS+生理盐水组比较,CUMS+天麻素组小鼠JAK2、STAT3、IL-1β蛋白表达显著降低（P＜0.01、P＜0.01、P＜0.05）;HE染色结果提示,CUMS+生理盐水组小鼠神经元形态发生改变,细胞结构不清晰,细胞核固缩、深染;与CUMS+生理盐水组相比,CUMS+天麻素组小鼠神经元形态得到改善。结论：天麻素可以有效改善CUMS诱导的小鼠抑郁样行为,其作用可能与JAK2-STAT3信号通路关键蛋白的表达有关。     

Gain-of-function hot spot mutant p53R248Q regulation of integrin/FAK/ERK signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

PurposeTP53, encoding the protein p53, is among the most frequently mutated genes in all cancers. A high frequency of 60 – 90% mutations is seen in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Certain p53 mutants show gain-of-function (GoF) oncogenic features unrelated to its wild type functions.MethodsThis study functionally characterized a panel of p53 mutants in individual ESCC cell lines and assayed for GoF oncogenic properties.ResultsThe ESCC cell line with endogenous p53^R248Q expression showed suppressed tumor growth in an immunocompromised mouse model and suppressed colony growth in in vitro three-dimensional culture, when depleted of the endogenous p53 protein expression. This suppression is accompanied by suppressed cell cycle progression, along with reduced integrin expression and decreased focal adhesion kinase and extracellular-regulated protein kinase signaling and can be compensated by expression of a constitutively active mitogen-activated protein. P53^R248Q enhances cell proliferation upon glutamine deprivation, as compared to other non-GoF mutants.ConclusionsIn summary, study of the functional contributions of endogenous p53 mutants identified a novel GoF mechanism through which a specific p53 mutant exerts oncogenic features and contributes to ESCC tumorigenesis.     

The Expression of Urotensin II Receptor (U2R) is Up‐regulated by Interferon‐γ

Abstract

Urotensin‐II (U‐II) was identified as the natural ligand of the G protein‐coupled receptor GPR14, which has been correspondingly renamed Urotensin‐II receptor (U2R). The tissue distribution of U2R and the pharmacological effects of U‐II suggest a novel neurohormonal system with potent cardiovascular effects. We here report the human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line TE‐671 as the first natural and endogenous source of functional U2R in an immortalized cell line. In TE‐671 cells, U‐II stimulated extracellular signal regulated kinase phosphorylation and increased c‐fos mRNA expression. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the expression of U2R mRNA and functional U‐II high affinity binding sites are serum‐responsive and that they are specifically up‐regulated by interferon γ (IFNγ). We propose that IFNγ contributes to the previously observed increase of U2R density in the heart tissue of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients and we suggest that U2R up‐regulation, as a consequence of an inflammatory response, could lead to a clinical worsening of this disease.     

Foldamers Derived From Nucleoside β-Amino Acids: Pna Or Dna? Can We Have Both In One Place?

The synthesis of a modified thymidine (nucleoside β-amino acid) monomer and preliminary investigations into the solid phase peptide synthesis of PNA/DNA chimeras containing a neutral, internucleoside amide linkage are described.     

Plant secretome — From cellular process to biological activity

Recent studies suggest that plants secrete a large number of proteins and peptides into the extracellular space. Secreted proteins play a crucial role in stress response, communication and development of organisms. Here we review the current knowledge of the secretome of more than ten plant species, studied in natural conditions or during (a)biotic stress. This review not only deals with the classical secretory route via endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi followed by proteins containing a known N-terminal signal peptide, but also covers new findings about unconventional secretion of leaderless proteins. We describe alternative secretion pathways and the involved compartments like the recently discovered EXPO. The well characterized secreted peptides that function as ligands of receptor proteins exemplify the biological significance and activity of the secretome. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: An Updated Secretome.     

Methodologies to decipher the cell secretome

The cell secretome is a collection of proteins consisting of transmembrane proteins (TM) and proteins secreted by cells into the extracellular space. A significant portion (~ 13–20%) of the human proteome consists of secretory proteins. The secretory proteins play important roles in cell migration, cell signaling and communication. There is a plethora of methodologies available like Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE), DNA microarrays, antibody arrays and bead-based arrays, mass spectrometry, RNA sequencing and yeast, bacterial and mammalian secretion traps to identify the cell secretomes. There are many advantages and disadvantages in using any of the above methods. This review aims to discuss the methodologies available along with their potential advantages and disadvantages to identify secretory proteins. This review is a part of a Special issue on The Secretome. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: An Updated Secretome.     

Increased proteome coverage by combining PAGE and peptide isoelectric focusing: Comparative study of gel‐based separation approaches

The in‐depth analysis of complex proteome samples requires fractionation of the sample into subsamples prior to LC‐MS/MS in shotgun proteomics experiments. We have established a 3D workflow for shotgun proteomics that relies on protein separation by 1D PAGE, gel fractionation, trypsin digestion, and peptide separation by in‐gel IEF, prior to RP‐HPLC‐MS/MS. Our results show that applying peptide IEF can significantly increase the number of proteins identified from PAGE subfractionation. This method delivers deeper proteome coverage and provides a large degree of flexibility in experimentally approaching highly complex mixtures by still relying on protein separation according to molecular weight in the first dimension.     

STEPS: A grid search methodology for optimized peptide identification filtering of MS/MS database search results

For bottom‐up proteomics, there are wide variety of database‐searching algorithms in use for matching peptide sequences to tandem MS spectra. Likewise, there are numerous strategies being employed to produce a confident list of peptide identifications from the different search algorithm outputs. Here we introduce a grid‐search approach for determining optimal database filtering criteria in shotgun proteomics data analyses that is easily adaptable to any search. Systematic Trial and Error Parameter Selection‐–referred to as STEPS‐–utilizes user‐defined parameter ranges to test a wide array of parameter combinations to arrive at an optimal “parameter set” for data filtering, thus maximizing confident identifications. The benefits of this approach in terms of numbers of true‐positive identifications are demonstrated using datasets derived from immunoaffinity‐depleted blood serum and a bacterial cell lysate, two common proteomics sample types.     

Amino‐functionalized macroporous silica for efficient tryptic digestion in acidic solutions

Amino‐functionalized macroporous silica foam (NH₂‐MOSF) has been developed as a host reactor to realize highly efficient proteolysis in acidic solutions where normal tryptic reactions cannot occur. The digestion protocol consists simply of adding the functionalized NH₂‐MOSF into the protein and trypsin solutions without altering the bulk pH or preloading the enzymes on the materials. With this protocol, digestion of sample fractions from LC can be efficiently realized in the acidic solutions directly. Digestion of a protein fraction extracted from rat liver tissue after LC separation was performed to illustrate this principle, where 103 proteins were successfully identified at pH 3 after 1.5 h of tryptic digestion.