Betaig-h3 supports keratinocyte adhesion,migration, and proliferation through alpha3beta1 integrin

betaig-h3 is an extracellular matrix protein and its expression is highly induced by TGF-beta and it has also been suggested to play important roles in skin wound healing. In this paper, we demonstrate that betaig-h3 is present in the papillary layer of dermis and synthesized in the basal keratinocytes in vivo and its expression is induced by TGF-beta in normal human keratinocytes (NHEK) and HaCaT cells. betaig-h3 mediates not only adhesion and spreading of keratinocytes but also supports migration and proliferation. These activities are mediated through interacting with alpha3beta1 integrin. Previously identified two alpha3beta1 integrin-interacting motifs of betaig-h3, EPDIM, and NKDIL, are responsible for these activities. The results suggest that betaig-h3 may regulate keratinocyte functions in normal skin and potentially during wound-healing process.     

A Prospective Study of Fatty Liver Index and Incident Hypertension: The KoGES-ARIRANG Study

Background

Although non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome, its influence on hypertension development is poorly understood. We investigated whether fatty liver disease, as assessed by the fatty liver index, could predict the development of hypertension independently of systemic insulin resistance, inflammatory status and adipokine levels.

Methods

Prospective cohort study of 1,521 adults (484 men and 1037 women) aged 40 to 70 years without baseline hypertension examined. An equation was used to calculate fatty liver index and classify patients as follows: fatty liver index <30, no non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; fatty liver index ≥60, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; and 30≤ fatty liver index <60, intermediate fatty liver index.

Results

During an average of 2.6 years of follow-up, 153 subjects (10.06%) developed hypertension. Fatty liver index was positively associated with baseline blood pressure, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, urinary albumin/creatinine excretion, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein. After adjustment for confounding factors, including markers of insulin resistance, systemic inflammation and adiponectin levels, the odds ratio [95% confidence interval] for the incident hypertension increased in a graded manner with fatty liver index (<30 vs. 30–59 vs. ≥60 = 1 vs. 1.83 [1.16~2.88] vs. 2.09 [1.08~4.055], respectively).

Conclusions

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease assessed by fatty liver index was an independent risk factor for hypertension. Our findings suggest that fatty liver index, a simple surrogate indicator of fatty liver disease, might be useful for identifying subjects at high risk for incident hypertension in clinical practice.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 3-substituted-benzofuran-2-carboxylic esters as a novel class of ischemic cell death inhibitors

A series of 3-substituted-benzofuran-2-carboxylic esters was synthesized and evaluated for biological activity as ischemic cell death inhibitors in H9c2 cells and rat primary cardiac myocytes under conditions of oxygen and glucose deprivation. The introduction of a sulfur atom at the three-position substituent of the benzofuran ring markedly improved ischemic cell death inhibitory potency. In particular, 3-[2-(4-nitro-phenylsulfanyl)-acetylamino]-benzofuran-2-carboxylic acid ester (10) (EC(50)=0.532 μM, cell death=6.18%) and 4-chloro-3-[3-(pyridin-2-ylsulfanyl)-propionylamino]-benzofuran-2-carboxylic ester (18) (EC(50)=0.557 μM, cell death=7.02%) were shown to be the most potent in this series of benzofuran analogs.     

Minimal surface as a model of beta-sheets

The purpose of this article is to present arguments based on experimental data that the beta-sheet structures in proteins are the result of the tendency to minimize surface areas. Thus, we propose the model that all beta-sheet structures are almost minimal surfaces, namely, their mean curvatures are nearly zero. To support this model, we chose 1740 disjoint beta-sheets with less than 10 strands from the all beta-protein class in a nonredundant 40% Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database and applied the least-squares method to fit the minimal surface catenoid (and in some rare cases, the plane) to the beta-sheet structures. The fitting errors were extremely small: The error of 1729 beta-sheets with catenoid minimal surface is 0.90 +/- 0.55 A and the error of the remaining 11 flat sheets with the plane is 0.64 +/- 0.46 A. The fact that the commonly used models for some beta-sheet surfaces (i.e., the hyperboloid and strophoid) have very small mean curvatures (< 0.05) supports our model. Moreover, we showed that this model also includes the isotropically stressed configuration model proposed by Salemme, in which the intrastrand tendency of the individual chains to twist or coil is in equilibrium with the tendency of the interstrand hydrogen bonding to resist twisting of the sheet as a whole. As an application we used our model to quantify the two principal independent modes in the flexibility of beta-sheets, that is, the bending parameter of beta-sheets and the inclined angle of beta-strands in a sheet.     

Possible involvement of neuronal nitric oxide synthase enzyme in early-phase isoflurane-induced hypotension in rats

This study was conducted to demonstrate the involvement of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the early-phase isoflurane-induced hypotension and to ascertain whether this NOS is neuronal NOS (nNOS) or endothelial NOS (eNOS). Mean arterial pressures (MAPs) were directly measured from the femoral arteries of urethane-anesthetized rats. Isoflurane-induced changes in MAP were monitored in rats following pretreatment with vehicle or one of the following NOS inhibitors: L-N^G-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), which is non-selective; L-N^G-nitro arginine (L-NOARG), which is more selective for nNOS and eNOS; and 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), which is selective for nNOS. Exposure to 2% isoflurane in oxygen produced a triphasic reduction in MAP, including an early phase in which mean arterial pressure (MAP) fell by 25-30% during the initial 2½ min. This early hypotensive response, but not subsequent phases, was abolished by i.v. pretreatment with either L-NMMA or L-NOARG. The early-phase hypotension was also significantly attenuated by i.p. pretreatment with 7-NI; however, the blockade was not as complete as with L-NMMA or L-NOARG. Cerebella and aorta were removed from vehicle- and 7-NI pretreated rats and assayed for NOS activity by determining the conversion of [¹⁴C]L-arginine to [¹⁴C]L-citrulline. The 7-NI pretreatment significantly reduced NOS activity in the cerebellum but not the aorta. These findings indicate that the early-phase isoflurane-induced hypotension may involve nNOS as well as eNOS. The nNOS may participate in regulation of isoflurane-induced neuronal release of endogenous opioid peptide, which produces a vasodilation that is dependent on NO derived from an action of eNOS.     

BRCA2 fine-tunes the spindle assembly checkpoint through reinforcement of BubR1 acetylation

Germline mutations that inactivate BRCA2 promote early-onset cancer with chromosome instability. Here, we report that BRCA2 regulates the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Previously, we reported that BubR1 acetylation is essential for SAC activity. In this study we show that BRCA2 recruits the PCAF acetyltransferase and aids in BubR1 acetylation during mitosis. In the absence of BRCA2, BubR1 acetylation is abolished, and the level of BubR1 decreases during mitosis. Similarly, Brca2-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts exhibited weak SAC activity. Transgenic mice that were engineered to have interruptions in the BRCA2-BubR1 association exhibited marked decrease of BubR1 acetylation, weakened SAC activity, and aneuploidy. These transgenic mice developed spontaneous tumors at 40% penetrance. Moreover, immunohistochemical analyses of human breast cancer specimens suggested that BRCA2 mutation and BubR1 status is closely linked. Our results provide an explanation for how mutation of BRCA2 can lead to chromosome instability without apparent mutations in SAC components.     

Negative feedback regulation of Aurora-A via phosphorylation of Fas-associated factor-1

This study reports that Aurora-A (Aur-A) phosphorylates Fas-associated factor-1 (FAF1) at Ser-289 and Ser-291. Forced expression of a FAF1 mutant mimicking phosphorylation at Ser-289 and Ser-291 (FAF1 DD), but not phosphorylation-deficient FAF1 (FAF1 AA), reduced Aur-A expression. However, transfection of FAF1 DD failed to reduce Aur-A expression in the presence of MG132 and MG115, indicating that this decrease is proteasome-mediated. Additionally, transfection of FAF1 DD suppressed the expression of Aur-A in ts20-BALB cells lacking E1 ubiquitin (Ub) activating enzyme activity at restrictive temperatures and also reduced the expression of Aur-A S51D, a mutant resistant to Ub-dependent degradation. Our data indicate that phosphorylated FAF1 mediates the ubiquitin-independent, proteasome-dependent degradation of Aur-A. Overexpression of FAF1 DD blocked Aur-A-induced centrosome amplification and accumulated cells in G(2)/M phase, representing cellular phenotypes consistent with the anticipated loss of Aur-A. Collectively, our findings support the negative feedback regulation of Aur-A via phosphorylation of the death-promoting protein, FAF1, and disclose the presence of molecular cross-talk between constituents of the cell cycle and cell death machinery.     

Improvement of 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase (DhaT) stability against 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde by substitution of cysteine residues

1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase (DhaT), which catalyzes the conversion of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) with the oxidation of NADH to NAD⁺, is a key enzyme in the production of 1,3-PD from glycerol. DhaT is known to be severely inactivated by its physiological substrate, 3-HPA, due to the reaction of 3-HPA with the thiol group of the cysteine residues. In this study, using site-directed mutagenesis, four cysteine residues in Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B DhaT were substituted to alanine, the amino acid commonly found in cysteine’s positions in other DhaT, individually and in combination. Among the total of 15 mutants developed, a double mutant (C28A_C107A) and a triple mutant (C28A_C93A_C107A) exhibited approximately 50 and 16% higher activity than the wild-type counterpart, respectively, after 1 h incubation with 10 mM 3-HPA. According to detailed kinetic studies, the double mutant had slightly better kinetic properties (V _max , K _cat , and K _m for both 3-HPA and NADH) than wild-type DhaT. This study shows that DhaT stability against 3-HPA can be increased by cysteine-residue removal, albeit to a limited extent.