Electron transfer between cytochrome c and p66Shc generates reactive oxygen species that trigger mitochondrial apoptosis

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are potent inducers of oxidative damage and have been implicated in the regulation of specific cellular functions, including apoptosis. Mitochondrial ROS increase markedly after proapoptotic signals, though the biological significance and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain undetermined. P66Shc is a genetic determinant of life span in mammals, which regulates ROS metabolism and apoptosis. We report here that p66Shc is a redox enzyme that generates mitochondrial ROS (hydrogen peroxide) as signaling molecules for apoptosis. For this function, p66Shc utilizes reducing equivalents of the mitochondrial electron transfer chain through the oxidation of cytochrome c. Redox-defective mutants of p66Shc are unable to induce mitochondrial ROS generation and swelling in vitro or to mediate mitochondrial apoptosis in vivo. These data demonstrate the existence of alternative redox reactions of the mitochondrial electron transfer chain, which evolved to generate proapoptotic ROS in response to specific stress signals.     

Homobimetallic anthracene-bridged η-cyclopentadienyl derivatives of rhodium(I) and iridium(I): large molecules or supramolecular species?

The reaction of 9,10-bis[(cyclopentadienylmethyl)thallium(I)]anthracene (2), obtained from 9,10-bis(cyclopentadienylmethyl)anthracene (1), with the chloro derivatives of rhodium(I) of formula [RhClL₂]₂ (L=η²-C₈H₁₄ or L₂=η⁴-C₈H₁₂) leads to the corresponding bimetallic complexes [L₂Rh{C₅H₄CH₂(9,10-anthrylene)CH₂C₅H₄}RhL₂] 3 (L=η²-C₈H₁₄) and 4 (L₂=η⁴-C₈H₁₂), in 22.8% and 15.0% yields, respectively. Analogously, by reacting 2 with [IrClL₂]₂ (L=η²-C₈H₁₄ or L₂=η⁴-C₈H₁₂), the corresponding bimetallic iridium(I) complexes [L₂Ir{C₅H₄CH₂(9,10-anthrylene)CH₂C₅H₄}IrL₂] 5 (L=η²-C₈H₁₄) and 6 (L₂=η⁴-C₈H₁₂) were obtained, in 24.5% and 43.0% yields, respectively. All complexes have been characterised by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, and ¹H NMR. The structure of 4 was elucidated also by single crystal X-ray diffraction: it crystallises in the P2₁/c space group with a=19.932(11), b=6.4417(4), c=12.377(2) Å; α=90°, β=100.90(4)°, γ=90°. V=1560.5(9) ų. Z=2, D_calc=1.606 g cm⁻¹, R₁=0.0449 [I>σ(I)], wR₂=0.1121. The UV-Vis spectra (280-530 nm) of 3-6 are indicative of the existence of strong electronic interactions among the 9,10-anthrylene chromophore and the two cyclopentadienylML₂ moieties. When excited at ca. 370 nm, 1 results to be an efficient light-emitting molecule, while the fluorescence emission of the 9,10-anthrylene chromophore is almost completely quenched in complexes 3-6. The study of the electrochemical behaviour of 3-6 in strictly aprotic conditions allows a satisfactory interpretation of the observed electrode processes and gives information about the location of the redox sites along with the thermodynamic characterisation of the corresponding redox processes. These data show that the occurrence of an intramolecular charge-transfer process between the photo-excited 9,10-anthrylene group and the cyclopentadienylML₂ moiety is a possible route for the observed quenching of emission in the compounds 3-6. The one-electron oxidation of compounds 3-6 by thallium(III) trifluoroacetate leads to the formation of the corresponding cation radicals. Three of them, i.e., 3⁺, 5⁺ and 6⁺, give rise to good X-band EPR spectra that were fully interpreted by computer simulation as well as by semi-empirical calculations (PM3 level) of the spin density distribution.     

Detection of exon skipping events in BRCA1 RNA using MLPA kit P002

A rapid and easy method to screen for aberrant cDNA would be a very useful diagnostic tool in genetics since a fraction of the DNA variants found affect RNA splicing. The currently used RT-PCR methods require new primer combinations to study each variant that might affect splicing. Since MLPA is routinely used to detect large genomic deletions and successfully detected exon skipping events in Duchenne muscular dystrophy in cDNA, we performed a pilot study to evaluate its value for BRCA1 cDNA. The effect of puromycin, DNase I and two different DNA cleaning protocols were tested in the RNA analysis of lymphocyte cultures. We used two samples from unrelated families with two different BRCA1 exon deletion events, two healthy unrelated controls and six samples from hereditary breast/ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC) patients without BRCA1/2 mutations. Using RNA treated with DNase I and cleaned in a column system from puromycin-treated fractions, we were able to identify the two BRCA1 deletions. Additional HBOC patients did not show additional splice events. However, we were not able to get reproducible results. Therefore, the cDNA-MLPA technique using kit BRCA1 P002 is in our hands currently not reliable enough for routine RNA analysis and needs further optimization.     

Protein structure prediction using multiple deep neural networks in the 13th Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction (CASP13)

We describe AlphaFold, the protein structure prediction system that was entered by the group A7D in CASP13. Submissions were made by three free-modeling (FM) methods which combine the predictions of three neural networks. All three systems were guided by predictions of distances between pairs of residues produced by a neural network. Two systems assembled fragments produced by a generative neural network, one using scores from a network trained to regress GDT_TS. The third system shows that simple gradient descent on a properly constructed potential is able to perform on par with more expensive traditional search techniques and without requiring domain segmentation. In the CASP13 FM assessors' ranking by summed z-scores, this system scored highest with 68.3 vs 48.2 for the next closest group (an average GDT_TS of 61.4). The system produced high-accuracy structures (with GDT_TS scores of 70 or higher) for 11 out of 43 FM domains. Despite not explicitly using template information, the results in the template category were comparable to the best performing template-based methods.     

Identification of P-Rex1 as a novel Rac1-guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that promotes actin remodeling and GLUT4 protein trafficking in adipocytes

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling promotes the translocation of the glucose transporter, GLUT4, to the plasma membrane in insulin-sensitive tissues to facilitate glucose uptake. In adipocytes, insulin-stimulated reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton has been proposed to play a role in promoting GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake, in a PI3K-dependent manner. However, the PI3K effectors that promote GLUT4 translocation via regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in adipocytes remain to be fully elucidated. Here we demonstrate that the PI3K-dependent Rac exchange factor, P-Rex1, enhances membrane ruffling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and promotes GLUT4 trafficking to the plasma membrane at submaximal insulin concentrations. P-Rex1-facilitated GLUT4 trafficking requires a functional actin network and membrane ruffle formation and occurs in a PI3K- and Rac1-dependent manner. In contrast, expression of other Rho GTPases, such as Cdc42 or Rho, did not affect insulin-stimulated P-Rex1-mediated GLUT4 trafficking. P-Rex1 siRNA knockdown or expression of a P-Rex1 dominant negative mutant reduced but did not completely inhibit glucose uptake in response to insulin. Collectively, these studies identify a novel RacGEF in adipocytes as P-Rex1 that, at physiological insulin concentrations, functions as an insulin-dependent regulator of the actin cytoskeleton that contributes to GLUT4 trafficking to the plasma membrane.     

Are all intertidal wetlands naturally created equal? Bottlenecks,thresholds and knowledge gaps to mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems

Intertidal wetlands such as saltmarshes and mangroves provide numerous important ecological functions, though they are in rapid and global decline. To better conserve and restore these wetland ecosystems, we need an understanding of the fundamental natural bottlenecks and thresholds to their establishment and long‐term ecological maintenance. Despite inhabiting similar intertidal positions, the biological traits of these systems differ markedly in structure, phenology, life history, phylogeny and dispersal, suggesting large differences in biophysical interactions. By providing the first systematic comparison between saltmarshes and mangroves, we unravel how the interplay between species‐specific life‐history traits, biophysical interactions and biogeomorphological feedback processes determine where, when and what wetland can establish, the thresholds to long‐term ecosystem stability, and constraints to genetic connectivity between intertidal wetland populations at the landscape level. To understand these process interactions, research into the constraints to wetland development, and biological adaptations to overcome these critical bottlenecks and thresholds requires a truly interdisciplinary approach.     

During replication stress, non-SMC element 5 (NSE5) is required for Smc5/6 protein complex functionality at stalled forks

The Smc5/6 complex belongs to the SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) family, which also includes cohesin and condensin. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Smc5/6 complex contains six essential non-Smc elements, Nse1-6. Very little is known about how these additional elements contribute to complex function except for Nse2/Mms21, which is an E3 small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) ligase important for Smc5 sumoylation. Characterization of two temperature-sensitive mutants, nse5-ts1 and nse5-ts2, demonstrated the importance of Nse5 within the Smc5/6 complex for its stability and functionality at forks during hydroxyurea-induced replication stress. Both NSE5 alleles showed a marked reduction in Smc5 sumoylation to levels lower than those observed with mms21-11, a mutant of Mms21 that is deficient in SUMO ligase activity. However, a phenotypic comparison of nse5-ts1 and nse5-ts2 revealed a separation of importance between Smc5 sumoylation and the function of the Smc5/6 complex during replication. Only cells carrying the nse5-ts1 allele exhibited defects such as dissociation of the replisome from stalled forks, formation of fork-associated homologous recombination intermediates, and hydroxyurea sensitivity that is additive with mms21-11. These defects are attributed to a failure in Smc5/6 localization to forks in nse5-ts1 cells. Overall, these data support the premise that Nse5 is important for vital interactions between components within the Smc5/6 complex, and for its functionality during replication stress.