Synthetic antimicrobial β‐peptide in dual‐treatment with fluconazole or ketoconazole enhances the in vitro inhibition of planktonic and biofilm Candida albicans

Fungal infections are a pressing concern for human health worldwide, particularly for immunocompromised individuals. Current challenges such as the elevated toxicity of common antifungal drugs and the emerging resistance towards these could be overcome by multidrug therapy. Natural antimicrobial peptides, AMPs, in combination with other antifungal agents are a promising avenue to address the prevailing challenges. However, they possess limited biostability and susceptibility to proteases, which has significantly hampered their development as antifungal therapies. β‐peptides are synthetic materials designed to mimic AMPs while allowing high tunability and increased biostability. In this work, we report for the first time the inhibition achieved in Candida albicans when treated with a mixture of a β‐peptide model and fluconazole or ketoconazole. This combination treatment enhanced the biological activity of these azoles in planktonic and biofilm Candida, and also in a fluconazole‐resistant strain. Furthermore, the in vitro cytotoxicity of the dual treatment was evaluated towards the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, a widely used model derived from liver tissue, which is primarily affected by azoles. Analyses based on the LA‐based method and the mass‐action law principle, using a microtiter checkerboard approach, revealed synergism of the combination treatment in the inhibition of planktonic C. albicans. The dual treatment proved to be fungicidal at 48 and 72 h. Interestingly, it was also found that the viability of HepG2 was not significantly affected by the dual treatments. Finally, a remarkable enhancement in the inhibition of the highly azole‐resistant biofilms and fluconazole resistant C. albicans strain was obtained. Copyright © 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PKA modulates GSK-3beta- and cdk5-catalyzed phosphorylation of tau in site- and kinase-specific manners

Phosphorylation of tau protein is regulated by several kinases, especially glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3beta), cyclin-dependent protein kinase 5 (cdk5) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Phosphorylation of tau by PKA primes it for phosphorylation by GSK-3beta, but the site-specific modulation of GSK-3beta-catalyzed tau phosphorylation by the prephosphorylation has not been well investigated. Here, we found that prephosphorylation by PKA promotes GSK-3beta-catalyzed tau phosphorylation at Thr181, Ser199, Ser202, Thr205, Thr217, Thr231, Ser396 and Ser422, but inhibits its phosphorylation at Thr212 and Ser404. In contrast, the prephosphorylation had no significant effect on its subsequent phosphorylation by cdk5 at Thr181, Ser199, Thr205, Thr231 and Ser422; inhibited it at Ser202, Thr212, Thr217 and Ser404; and slightly promoted it at Ser396. These studies reveal the nature of the inter-regulation of tau phosphorylation by the three major tau kinases.     

Cholest-4-en-3-one attenuates TGF-β responsiveness by inducing TGF-β receptors degradation in Mv1Lu cells and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells

Purpose: The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) pathway is an important in the initiation and progression of cancer. Due to a strong association between an elevated colorectal cancer risk and increase fecal excretion of cholest-4-en-3-one, we aim to determine the effects of cholest-4-en-3-one on TGF-β signaling in the mink lung epithelial cells (Mv1Lu) and colorectal cancer cells (HT29) in vitro.

Methods: The inhibitory effects of cholest-4-en-3-one on TGF-β-induced Smad signaling, cell growth inhibition, and the subcellular localization of TGF-β receptors were investigated in epithelial cells using a Western blot analysis, luciferase reporter assays, DNA synthesis assay, confocal microscopy, and subcellular fractionation.

Results: Cholest-4-en-3-one attenuated TGF-β signaling in Mv1Lu cells and HT29 cells, as judged by a TGF-β-specific reporter gene assay of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), Smad2/3 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. We also discovered that cholest-4-en-3-one suppresses TGF-β responsiveness by increasing lipid raft and/or caveolae accumulation of TGF-β receptors and facilitating rapid degradation of TGF-β and thus suppressing TGF-β-induced signaling.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that cholest-4-en-3-one inhibits TGF-β signaling may be due, in part to the translocation of TGF-β receptor from non-lipid raft to lipid raft microdomain in plasma membranes. Our findings also implicate that cholest-4-en-3-one may be further explored for its potential role in colorectal cancer correlate to TGF-β deficiency.     

胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白-3

胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白(IGFBPs)是能与胰岛素样生长因子(IGFs)结合的调节蛋白,调节IGFs与其受体(ICFR)的结合能力,影响IGFR下游信号转导通路中信号强度,调控靶细胞的生长和增殖。IGFBP-3的作用方式有IGF依赖性和非IgF依赖性两种。IGFs、成纤维细胞生长因子(FgF)、胰岛素、细胞表面受体,甚至转录调节区都有可能成为IGFBP-3的结合对象并引起增殖抑制;IGFBP—3的水解片段化、糖基化和磷酸化修饰都可能影响它对靶细胞的增殖抑制能力。     

A static pressure sensitive receptor APJ promote H9c2 cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via PI3K-autophagy pathway

This study is designed to investigate whether APJ receptor acts as a sensor in static pressure-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and to investigate the mechanism of PI3K- autophagy pathway. The left ventricular hypertrophy rat model was established by coarctation of abdominal aorta. H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes were cultured in the presence of static pressure which was given by a custom-made pressure in- cubator. The results revealed that the expression of apelin/ APJ system, PI3K, Akt and their phosphorylation were sig- nificantly increased in the operation group. Static pressure up-regulated the APJ expression, PI3K phosphorylation, Akt phosphorylation, LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ and beclin-1 expression in cardio- myocytes. APJ shRNA pGPU6/Neo-rat-399, PI3K inhibitor LY294002, Akt inhibitor 1701-1 blocked the up-regulation of APJ, PI3K phosphorylation, Akt phosphorylation, LC3-H/I and beclin-1 expression, respectively. Moreover, static pres- sure increased the diameter, volume, protein content of cells, and these could be reversed when the cells were treated with pGPU6/Neo-rat-399, LY294002, and autop- hagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine, respectively. These results suggested that static pressure up-regulates APJ expression to promote cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by a PI3K-autop- hagy pathway.     

Characterization of a mutation that results in independence of oxidosqualene cyclase (Erg7) activity from the downstream 3-ketoreductase (Erg27) in the yeast ergosterol biosynthetic pathway

In yeast, deletion of ERG27, which encodes the sterol biosynthetic enzyme, 3-keto-reductase, results in a concomitant loss of the upstream enzyme, Erg7p, an oxidosqualene cyclase (OSC). However, this phenomenon occurs only in fungi, as mammalian Erg27p orthologues are unable to rescue yeast Erg7p activity. In this study, an erg27 mutant containing the mouse ERG27 orthologue was isolated that was capable of growing without sterol supplementation (FGerg27). GC/MS analysis of this strain showed an accumulation of squalene epoxides, 3-ketosterones, and ergosterol. This strain which was crossed to a wildtype and daughter segregants showed an accumulation of squalene epoxides as well as ergosterol indicating that the mutation entailed a leaky block at ERG7. Upon sequencing the yeast ERG7 gene an A598S alteration was found in a conserved alpha helical region. We theorize that this mutation stabilizes Erg7p in a conformation that mimics Erg27p binding. This mutation, while decreasing OSC activity still retains sufficient residual OSC activity such that the strain in the presence of the mammalian 3-keto reductase enzyme functions and no longer requires the yeast Erg27p. Because sterol biosynthesis occurs in the ER, a fusion protein was synthesized combining Erg7p and Erg28p, a resident ER protein and scaffold of the C-4 demethyation complex. Both FGerg27 and erg27 strains containing this fusion plasmid and the mouse ERG27 orthologue showed restoration of ergosterol biosynthesis with minimal accumulation of squalene epoxides. These results indicate retention of Erg7p in the ER increases its activity and suggest a novel method of regulation of ergosterol biosynthesis.     

Phycobilisome from Anabaena Variabilis Kütz. and its Model Conjugates

The model conjugates phycocyanin-allophycocyanin (C-PC-APC) and phycoerythrocyanin-phycocyanin-allophycocyanin (PEC-C-PC-APC) were synthesized by using a heterobifunctional coupling reagent N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate. The rod-core complex (αβ)₆ ^PCL_RC ²⁷(αβ)₃ ^APCL_C ^8.9 and phycobilisomes were separated from Anabaena variabilis. Energy transfer features for the conjugates and the complexes were compared. The absorption and fluorescence emission spectra indicated that the linker-peptides mediate interaction of phycobiliproteins and prompt energy transfer. The energy transfer in the conjugates was detected by fluorescence emission spectra and confirmed by the addition of dithiothreitol. The conjugates may be used as models for studying the energy transfer mechanism in phycobilisomes. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

一步法扩增克隆IBDV上海超强毒VP2-4-3基因

分离、纯化了鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒超强毒 (vvIBDV) 上海株SH95的病毒核酸dsRNA,应用随机引物将RNA反转录成cDNA,以此为模板一步扩增出A片段前体融合蛋白基因即VP2-4-3基因,将其克隆入pGEM-T载体,并进行序列分析,其与超强毒株HK46的核苷酸序列的同源性达98%,整个基因有5个氨基酸差异,同源性达99.51%(1007/1012).     

Characterization of Acetylcholine-induced Increases in Cytosolic Free Calcium Concentration in Individual Rat Pancreatic β-cells

The intracellular free Ca²⁺ ion concentration ([Ca²⁺]i) was measured using fura-2 microspec-trofluorimetry in individual rat pancreatic β-cells prepared by enzymatic digestion and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The mean basal concentration of [Ca²⁺]i in β-cells in the presence of 4.4 mM glucose and 1.8 mM Ca²⁺ was 112±1.6 nM (n=207). The action of acetylcholine (ACh) was concentration-dependent, and raising the concentration resulted in [Ca²⁺]i spikes of increasing amplitude and duration in some, but not all of the β-cells. In addition, the β-cells demonstrated variable sensitivity to ACh. The increases in [Ca²⁺]i were rapid, transient and were blocked by atropine at 10^-6M. A brief exposure to 50 mM K⁺ resulted in a transient increase in [Ca²⁺]i similar to that induced by ACh, but resistant to atropine. A high concentration of ACh (100μL 10^-4M or 10^-3M) induced [Ca²⁺]i oscillations in 11 out of 57 β-cells in the presence of 4.4 mM glucose. Using calcium channel blockers and Ca²⁺ free medium, the source of the increase in [Ca²⁺]i was deduced to be from extracellular spaces. Changing the temperature from 22 to 37°C did not affect the action of ACh on [Ca²⁺]i. These data strongly suggest that ACh exerted a direct action on [Ca²⁺]i in normal rat pancreatic β-cells and support a role for Ca²⁺ as a second messenger in the action of ACh.     

人胸腺上皮细胞培养及其分泌产物

本文通过降低培养基中血清含量,向RPMI 1640培养基中补加三碘甲腺原氨酸而获得一种人胸腺网状上皮细胞占优势生长的培养物。在此培养基中细胞经传代培养长达90天,仍维持正常形态特征。胸腺组织在培养14天后,新生细胞的突起形成网状结构,细胞化学检查和电镜观察表明具有丰富的分泌颗粒,囊泡及张力原纤维束和桥粒等上皮细胞特征。收集合并细胞培养液,经部分纯化后检查其生物活性,表现出具有促进玫瑰花结形成和降低胸腺细胞TdT活性的作用,说明培养细胞的分泌产物具有胸腺激素活性。根据形态学,细胞化学和生物活性检测结果,我们倾向于认为该培养物主要为网状上皮细胞。