Generation of cortactin floxed mice and cellular analysis of motility in fibroblasts

Cortactin is an F‐actin binding protein that has been suggested to play key roles in various cellular functions. Here, we generated mice carrying floxed alleles of the cortactin (Cttn) gene (Cttn^flox/flox mice). Expression of Cre recombinase in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) isolated from Cttn^flox/flox embryos depleted cortactin within days, without disturbing F‐actin distribution and localization of multiple actin‐binding proteins. Cre‐mediated deletion of Cttn also did not affect cell migration. To obtain mice with a Cttn null allele, we next crossed Cttn^flox/flox mice with transgenic mice that express Cre recombinase ubiquitously. Western blot and immunocytochemical analysis confirmed complete elimination of cortactin expression in MEFs carrying homozygously Cttn null alleles. However, we found no marked alteration of F‐actin organization and cell migration in Cttn null‐MEFs. Thus, our results indicate that depletion of cortactin in MEFs does not profoundly influence actin‐dependent cell motility. genesis 47:638–646, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

产小檗碱诱变菌株培养条件的优化

S-NU-3-2菌株是对源自药用植物黄檗的内生真菌S6进行诱变获得的小檗碱产量比出发菌株有明显提高的突变株,本研究对其培养条件进行了优化,以期进一步提高其产量,为开发利用真菌发酵生产植物活性成分的新途径奠定基础。以菌丝生长和小檗碱产量为指标,筛选出了适宜该菌株发酵的基本培养基、碳源、氮源、光照和培养温度,并经进一步的正交试验优化,得出该高产菌株的最佳培养条件为豆芽汁基本培养基含蔗糖3%,酵母膏0.2%,pH7.0,温度26℃,全光照培养。与初始培养条件相比,在优化后的条件下,该菌株的小檗碱得率提高了47.2%,菌体生物量提高了24%。     

The Novel Use of a Heterozygous Knockout Mouse for Embryofetal Development Assessment of a Glucokinase Activator

Glucokinase activators (GKAs), such as AZD1656, are designed as antihyperglycemic agents for diabetics and can cause dose‐limiting hypoglycemia in normal animals used in embryofetal development studies. Genetically modified heterozygous GK knockout (gk^del/wt) mice are less susceptible to severe GKA‐induced hypoglycemia than wild‐type mice due to their elevated baseline glucose levels. In this study, the gk^del/wt mouse was used as an alternative rodent strain for embryofetal development studies with AZD1656. Heterozygous global knockout gk^del/wt females were dosed with 20, 50, or 130 mg/kg/day of AZD1656 or vehicle for a minimum of 14 consecutive days before mating with wild‐type males and throughout organogenesis. Maternal effects were confined to slightly reduced food consumption, reduced body weight gain, and the pharmacologic effect of decreased plasma glucose. Fetuses were genotyped. Fetal weights at the high dose were slightly reduced but there was no effect on fetal survival. There were two specific major malformations, omphalocele and right‐sided aortic arch, with increased fetal incidence in mid‐ and high‐dose fetuses (e.g., omphalocele fetal incidence of 0.6, 0.7, 4.6, and 2% across the dose groups) plus increased incidences of minor abnormalities and variants indicative of either delayed or disturbed development. Fetal weight and abnormalities were unaffected by fetal genotype. The fetal effects are considered hypoglycemia related. There was no effect on embryofetal survival in the gk^del/wt mouse at AZD1656 exposures, which were 70× higher than those causing 75% fetal death in rabbits. This illustrates the value of genetically modified animals in unraveling target versus chemistry‐related effects.     

Regulation of oxygen affinity by quaternary enhancement: Does hemoglobin ypsilanti represent an allosteric intermediate?

Recent crystallographic studies on the mutant human hemoglobin Ypsilanti (beta 99 Asp-->Tyr) have revealed a previously unknown quaternary structure called "quaternary Y" and suggested that the new structure may represent an important intermediate in the cooperative oxygenation pathway of normal hemoglobin. Here we measure the oxygenation and subunit assembly properties of hemoglobin Ypsilanti and five additional beta 99 mutants (Asp beta 99-->Val, Gly, Asn, Ala, His) to test for consistency between their energetics and those of the intermediate species of normal hemoglobin. Overall regulation of oxygen affinity in hemoglobin Ypsilanti is found to originate entirely from 2.6 kcal of quaternary enhancement, such that the tetramer oxygenation affinity is 85-fold higher than for binding to the dissociated dimers. Equal partitioning of this regulatory energy among the four tetrameric binding steps (0.65 kcal per oxygen) leads to a noncooperative isotherm with extremely high affinity (pmedian = .14 torr). Temperature and pH studies of dimer-tetramer assembly and sulfhydryl reaction kinetics suggest that oxygenation-dependent structural changes in hemoglobin Ypsilanti are small. These properties are quite different from the recently characterized allosteric intermediate, which has two ligands bound on the same side of the alpha 1 beta 2 interface (see ref. 1 for review). The combined results do, however, support the view that quaternary Y may represent the intermediate cooperativity state of normal hemoglobin that binds the last oxygen.     

Fine-mapping of an Arabidopsis cell death mutation locus

An Arabidopsis cell death mutation locus was mapped to chromosome 2 between lGS1 and mi421. The YAC clone ends, CIC9A3R, CIC11C7L, CIC2G5R and RFLP marker CDs3 within this interval, were used to probe TAMU BAC library and 31 BAC clones were obtained. A BAC contig encompassing the mutation locus, which consists of T6P5, T7M23, T12A21, T8L6 and T18A18, was identified by Southern hybridization with the BAC ends as probes. 11 CAPS and 12 STS markers were developed in this region. These results will facilitate map-based cloning of the genes and sequencing of the genomic DNA in this region.     

Changes in DNA supertwist as a response of Bacillus subtilis towards different kinds of stress

Abstract The silent parD ( kis/kid ) stability operon of plasmid R1 is normally repressed by the co-ordinated action of the Kis and Kid proteins. In this report it is shown that a mutation in repA , the gene of the plasmid replication protein, that reduces two-fold the copy number of the plasmid, leads to the derepression of the parD system. This derepression can be prevented by a suppressor mutation in copB, a copy number control gene of plasmid R1, that increases the efficiency of replication of the repA mutant. Derepression of the wild-type parD system leads to high plasmid stability. These data show the activation of a plasmid stability operon by a mutation that reduces the efficiency of wild-type plasmid replication.     

Protein profiling in F<Subscript>1</Subscript> and F<Subscript>2</Subscript> generations of two tomato genotypes differing in ripening time

Pericarp polypeptide profiles were analyzed at three ripening stages in the F₁ hybrid and the F₂ population from the cross between the accessions: LA1385 (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) and 804627 (L. esculentum, a homozygous genotype for the nor mutant). Six polymorphic polypeptides were observed in LA1385, while no polymorphic polypeptides among ripening stages was observed in 804627. On the other hand, some polypeptides in the F₁ hybrid were not observed in the parents whereas others were present in both parental genotypes and were unnoticeable in the hybrid genotype. From a cluster analysis on the protein profiles of the F₂ population, the differential expression of proteins allowed to distinguish mature green (MG) stage from the others two stages, while for breaker stage (BR) and red ripe stage, the genetic background was more important in forming groups. The differential expression of proteins could be associated with fruit morphology traits such as a 72 kDa polypeptide present in MG stage with fruit diameter, height and mass and a 47 kDa polypeptide found in BR with fruit shelf life.     

Distinct roles of the Y1 and Y2 receptors on neuropeptide Y-induced sensitization to sedation

Intracranial injection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) increases the sensitivity to sodium pentobarbital and ketamin sedation and has similar properties as GABA agonists on sleep. Mice sensitive to sedation have increased levels of NPY in many brain regions and Y1(-/-) mice show a marked resistance to barbiturates. Here we characterized the role of the NPY Y receptors in anesthetic-induced sedation. We show that Y1 and Y2, but not Y5, receptors participate in the modulation of sedation. Administration of a Y1 agonist increased the sodium pentobarbital-induced sedation and Y1(-/-) mice were less sensitive to this anesthetic. However, Y2(-/-) mice display increased sensitivity, showing that Y2 modulates GABAergic induced sedation both pharmacologically and physiologically and has a functionally opposing role to the Y1 receptor. Analysis of Y1(-/-)/Y2(-/-) double mutant mice show that increased sensitivity by Y1 occurs independent of the Y2 receptor, while the decreased sensitivity mediated by Y2 depend on an intact Y1 receptor. In contrast to sodium pentobarbital, both Y1 and Y2 receptors increase the sensitivity in a collaborative fashion to NMDA antagonist-induced sedation. These data demonstrate the physiological and pharmacological impact of the Y1 and Y2 receptors on sedation.     

Mutations in the E1a gene of type 5 adenovirus result in oncogenic transformation of Fischer rat embryo cells

Transformation of a specific clone of Fischer rat embryo (CREF) cells with wild-type 5 adenovirus (Ad5) or the E1a plus E1b transforming gene regions of Ad5 results in epithelioid transformants that grow efficiently in agar but that do not induce tumors when inoculated into nude mice or syngeneic Fischer rats. In contrast, CREF cells transformed by a host-range Ad5 mutant, H5hrl, which contains a single base-pair deletion of nucleotide 1055 in E1a resulting in a 28-kd protein (calculated) in place of the wild-type 51-kd acidic protein, display a cold-sensitive transformation phenotype and an incomplete fibroblastic morphology but surprisingly do induce tumors in nude mice and syngeneic rats. Tumors develop in both types of animals following injection of CREF cells transformed by other cold-sensitive Ad5 E1a mutants (H5dl101 and H5in106), which contain alterations in their 13S mRNA and consequently truncated 289AA proteins. CREF cells transformed with only the E1a gene (0-4.5 m.u.) from H5hrl or H5dl101 also produce tumors in these animals. To directly determine the role of the 13S E1a encoded 289AA protein and the 12S E1a encoded 243AA protein in initiating an oncogenic phenotype in adenovirus-transformed CREF cells, we generated transformed cell lines following infection with the Ad2 mutant pm975, which synthesizes the 289AA E1a protein but not the 243AA protein, and the Ad5 mutant H5dl520 and the Ad2 mutant H2dl1500, which do not produce the 289AA E1a protein but synthesize the normal 243AA E1a protein. All three types of mutant adenovirus-transformed CREF cells induced tumors in nude mice and syngeneic rats. Tumor formation by these mutant adenovirus-transformed CREF cells was not associated with changes in the arrangement of integrated adenovirus DNA or in the expression of adenovirus early genes. These results indicate, therefore, that oncogenic transformation of CREF cells can occur in the presence of a wild-type 13S E1a protein or a wild-type 12S E1a protein when either protein is present alone, but does not occur when both wild-type E1a proteins are present.     

Key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis are increased in kidneys of growth hormone receptor knockout (GHRKO) mice

The growth hormone receptor knockout (GHRKO) mice are remarkably long-lived and highly insulin sensitive. Alterations in mitochondrial biogenesis are associated with aging and various metabolic derangements. We have previously demonstrated increased gene expression of key regulators of mitochondriogenesis in kidneys, hearts and skeletal muscles of GHRKO mice. The aim of the present study was to quantify the protein levels of the following regulators of mitochondriogenesis: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α), AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα), phospho-AMPKα (p-AMPKα), sirtuin-3 (SIRT-3), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), phospho-eNOS (p-eNOS), nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) and mitofusin-2 (MFN-2) in skeletal muscles and kidneys of GHRKOs in comparison to normal mice. We also were interested in the effects of calorie restriction (CR) and visceral fat removal (VFR) on these parameters. Both CR and VFR improve insulin sensitivity and can extend life span. Results: The renal levels of PGC-1α, AMPKα, p-AMPKα, SIRT-3, eNOS, p-eNOS and MFN-2 were increased in GHRKOs. In the GHRKO skeletal muscles, only MFN-2 was increased. Levels of the examined proteins were not affected by CR (except for PGC-1α and p-eNOS in skeletal muscles) or VFR. Conclusion: GHRKO mice have increased renal protein levels of key regulators of mitochondriogenesis, and this may contribute to increased longevity of these knockouts.