Processing, secretion, and biological properties of a novel growth factor of the fibroblast growth factor family with oncogenic potential.

We recently reported that the protein encoded in a novel human oncogene isolated from Kaposi sarcoma DNA was a growth factor with significant homology to basic and acidic fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). To study the properties of this growth factor (referred to as K-FGF) and the mechanism by which the K-fgf oncogene transforms cells, we have studied the production and processing of K-FGF in COS-1 cells transfected with a plasmid encoding the K-fgf cDNA. The results show that, unlike basic and acidic FGFs, the K-FGF protein is cleaved after a signal peptide, glycosylated, and efficiently secreted as a mature protein of 176 or 175 amino acids. Inhibition of glycosylation impaired secretion, and the stability of the secreted K-FGF was greatly enhanced by the presence of heparin in the cultured medium. We have used the conditioned medium from transfected COS-1 cells to test K-FGF biological activity. Similar to basic FGF, the K-FGF protein was mitogenic for fibroblasts and endothelial cells and induced the growth of NIH 3T3 mouse cells in serum-free medium. Accordingly, K-fgf-transformed NIH 3T3 cells grew in serum-free medium, consistent with an autocrine mechanism of growth. We have also expressed the protein encoded in the K-fgf protooncogene in COS-1 cells, and it was indistinguishable in its molecular weight, glycosylation, secretion, and biological activity from K-FGF. Taken together, these results suggest that the mechanism of activation of this oncogene is due to overexpression rather than to mutations in the coding sequences.     

Salicylic acid-independent plant defence pathways

Salicylic acid is an important signalling molecule involved in both locally and systemically induced disease resistance responses. Recent advances in our understanding of plant defence signalling have revealed that plants employ a network of signal transduction pathways, some of which are independent of salicylic acid. Evidence is emerging that jasmonic acid and ethylene play key roles in these salicylic acid-independent pathways. Cross-talk between the salicylic acid-dependent and the salicylic acid-independent pathways provides great regulatory potential for activating multiple resistance mechanisms in varying combinations.     

Fetal nucleated erythrocyte recovery: fluorescence activated cell sorting-based positive selection using anti-gamma globin versus magnetic activated cell sorting using anti-CD45 depletion and anti-gamma globin positive selection

BACKGROUND: Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)-based anti-gamma (gamma) positive selection and magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS)-based anti-CD45 depletion followed by anti-gamma positive staining have been two of the most frequently used methods to isolate fetal cells from maternal blood. To date, there has been no direct comparison of fetal cell recovery by these two methods. This study was designed to address this issue. METHODS: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on nucleated anti-gamma positive cells using X and Y probes. Twenty-four maternal blood samples were obtained immediately after elective termination of pregnancy to ensure a detectable number of fetal cells. RESULTS: The yield and purity of fetal nucleated erythrocytes (FNRBCs) was statistically higher in FACS sorted samples (P < 0.01). The specificity of staining for FNRBCs was statistically higher in MACS sorted samples (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study demonstrate that both techniques have benefits and limitations. FACS has the advantage of having higher yield, higher purity, higher FISH efficiency and ease in microscope analysis, and MACS has the advantage of having higher specificity and less cell loss during FISH.     

Androgen receptor status predicts response to chemotherapy, not risk of breast cancer in Indian women

Voltage gated potassium channels have been extensively studied in relation to cancer. In this review, we will focus on the role of two potassium channels, Ether à-go-go (Eag), Human ether à-go-go related gene (HERG), in cancer and their potential therapeutic utility in the treatment of cancer. Eag and HERG are expressed in cancers of various organs and have been implicated in cell cycle progression and proliferation of cancer cells. Inhibition of these channels has been shown to reduce proliferation both in vitro and vivo studies identifying potassium channel modulators as putative inhibitors of tumour progression. Eag channels in view of their restricted expression in normal tissue may emerge as novel tumour biomarkers.     

Airway cellularity, lipid laden macrophages and microbiology of gastric juice and airways in children with reflux oesophagitis

Background and methods

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently discovered respiratory virus associated with bronchiolitis, pneumonia, croup and exacerbations of asthma. Since respiratory viruses are frequently detected in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AE-COPD) it was our aim to investigate the frequency of hMPV detection in a prospective cohort of hospitalized patients with AE-COPD compared to patients with stable COPD and to smokers without by means of quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Results

We analysed nasal lavage and induced sputum of 130 patients with AE-COPD, 65 patients with stable COPD and 34 smokers without COPD. HMPV was detected in 3/130 (2.3%) AE-COPD patients with a mean of 6.5 × 10⁵ viral copies/ml in nasal lavage and 1.88 × 10⁵ viral copies/ml in induced sputum. It was not found in patients with stable COPD or smokers without COPD.

Conclusion

HMPV is only found in a very small number of patients with AE-COPD. However it should be considered as a further possible viral trigger of AE-COPD because asymptomatic carriage is unlikely.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> ETO1 specifically interacts with and negatively regulates type 2 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthases

Background  

In Arabidopsis, ETO1 (ETHYLENE-OVERPRODUCER1) is a negative regulator of ethylene evolution by interacting with AtACS5, an isoform of the rate-limiting enzyme, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthases (ACC synthase or ACS), in ethylene biosynthetic pathway. ETO1 directly inhibits the enzymatic activity of AtACS5. In addition, a specific interaction between ETO1 and AtCUL3, a constituent of a new type of E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, suggests the molecular mechanism in promoting AtACS5 degradation by the proteasome-dependent pathway. Because orthologous sequences to ETO1 are found in many plant species including tomato, we transformed tomato with Arabidopsis ETO1 to evaluate its ability to suppress ethylene production in tomato fruits.     

Clinical features and predictors for disease natural progression in adults with Pompe disease: a nationwide prospective observational study

Background

Due partly to physicians’ unawareness, many adults with Pompe disease are diagnosed with great delay. Besides, it is not well known which factors influence the rate of disease progression, and thus disease outcome. We delineated the specific clinical features of Pompe disease in adults, and mapped out the distribution and severity of muscle weakness, and the sequence of involvement of the individual muscle groups. Furthermore, we defined the natural disease course and identified prognostic factors for disease progression.

Methods

We conducted a single-center, prospective, observational study. Muscle strength (manual muscle testing, and hand-held dynamometry), muscle function (quick motor function test), and pulmonary function (forced vital capacity in sitting and supine positions) were assessed every 3–6 months and analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results

Between October 2004 and August 2009, 94 patients aged between 25 and 75 years were included in the study. Although skeletal muscle weakness was typically distributed in a limb-girdle pattern, many patients had unfamiliar features such as ptosis (23%), bulbar weakness (28%), and scapular winging (33%). During follow-up (average 1.6 years, range 0.5-4.2 years), skeletal muscle strength deteriorated significantly (mean declines of ?1.3% point/year for manual muscle testing and of ?2.6% points/year for hand-held dynamometry; both p<0.001). Longer disease duration (>15 years) and pulmonary involvement (forced vital capacity in sitting position <80%) at study entry predicted faster decline. On average, forced vital capacity in supine position deteriorated by 1.3% points per year (p=0.02). Decline in pulmonary function was consistent across subgroups. Ten percent of patients declined unexpectedly fast.

Conclusions

Recognizing patterns of common and less familiar characteristics in adults with Pompe disease facilitates timely diagnosis. Longer disease duration and reduced pulmonary function stand out as predictors of rapid disease progression, and aid in deciding whether to initiate enzyme replacement therapy, or when.

     

Self-assembling diblock copolymers of poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide] and a beta-sheet peptide

The self-assembly of hybrid diblock copolymers composed of poly(HPMA) and beta-sheet peptide P11 (CH(3)CO-QQRFQWQFEQQ-NH(2)) blocks was investigated. Copolymers were synthesized via thiol-maleimide coupling reaction, by conjugation of semitelechelic poly(HPMA)-SH with maleimide-modified beta-sheet peptide. As expected, CD and CR binding studies showed that the peptide block imposed its beta-sheet structural arrangement on the structure of diblock copolymers. TEM and AFM proved that peptide and these copolymers had the ability to self-assemble into fibrils.     

Gene structure,transcripts and calciotropic effects of the PTH family of peptides in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xenopus</Emphasis> and chicken

Background  

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide (PTHrP) belong to a family of endocrine factors that share a highly conserved N-terminal region (amino acids 1-34) and play key roles in calcium homeostasis, bone formation and skeletal development. Recently, PTH-like peptide (PTH-L) was identified in teleost fish raising questions about the evolution of these proteins. Although PTH and PTHrP have been intensively studied in mammals their function in other vertebrates is poorly documented. Amphibians and birds occupy unique phylogenetic positions, the former at the transition of aquatic to terrestrial life and the latter at the transition to homeothermy. Moreover, both organisms have characteristics indicative of a complex system in calcium regulation. This study investigated PTH family evolution in vertebrates with special emphasis on Xenopus and chicken.     

Selection of mouse neuroblastoma cell-specific polyoma virus mutants with stage differentiative advantages of replication.

Two mouse neuroblastoma cell lines were analyzed for their permissivity for polyoma virus growth. One (N18) is fully permissive for polyoma replication, the other (41A3) shows limited permissivity and the viral genome persists, without noticeable cell death. Virus persistence does not seem to alter the cells' ability to differentiate in vitro and leads to selection of viral mutants altered in the untranscribed regulatory region of the genome. The mutant types obtained appear to be related to the degree of host cell differentiation. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the restriction fragment covering the regulatory region shows that duplications are present in all mutants, while deletions in the non-duplicated segment are only present in mutants selected from less differentiated cells. These alterations involve both domains of the regulatory region that are considered to be essential for DNA replication and for enhancer activity. Mixed infections with polyoma wild type show that the selected mutants have cis-advantage in replication in neuroblastoma cells and not in 3T6 cells. Mutants carrying the deletion in the non-duplicated segment of the enhancer show a selective advantage in replication over the undeleted one in mixed infection. This advantage is much stronger in neuroblastoma cells in suspension (less-differentiated stage) than in monolayer cells (more-differentiated stage). An interpretation of the overall structure of the regulatory enhancer region, based on the observed differences between the mutants selected at different stages of differentiation in neuroblastoma and previously described mutants selected in undifferentiated cells, is discussed.