Proteolysis is an early event of apoptosis which appears to be associated with activation of the endonuclease which is responsible for internucleosomal DNA cleavage. The present study was designed to reveal the possible role of proteolysis in other early events, such as chromatin condensation, nuclear breakdown, and destabilization ofin situDNA double-stranded structure. Apoptosis of human leukemic HL-60 cells and rat thymocytes was induced by different agents, including DNA topoisomerase inhibitors, an RNA antimetabolite, and the glucocorticosteroid, prednisolone. DNA degradation was evaluated by pulsed field and conventional gel electrophoresis and by the presence ofin situDNA strand breaks. DNA stability was estimated by the measure of its sensitivityin situto denaturation. Chromatin condensation, nuclear breakdown, and other morphological changes were monitored by interference contrast and UV microscopy following cell staining with the DNA-specific fluorochrome 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole. Several irreversible or reversible serine protease inhibitors prevented internucleosomal DNA degradation, nuclear breakdown, and destabilization of DNA double-stranded structure. The effective inhibitors, however, did not prevent the onset of chromatin condensation, nor the loss of the fine structural framework, nor the initial step of DNA cleavage generating DNA fragments of ≥50 kb in size. The data indicate that in both cell systems the activity of proteases sensitive to the inhibitors tested is needed for internucleosomal DNA cleavage to occur. The data also suggest that these proteases may be involved in dissolution of the nuclear envelope. Because nuclear matrix proteins and histones stabilize DNAin situ,and the decrease in DNA stability which occurs during apoptosis is precluded by the inhibitors, it is likely that serine proteases may degrade DNA stabilizing proteins. The activity of these proteases, however, appears needed neither for DNA cleavage to ≥50-kb fragments nor for the onset of chromatin condensation which is associated with dissolution of the structural framework of the nucleus. 相似文献
Four species of icefishes were sampled in the Yellow River estuary of the Bohai Sea from April 1984 to April 1985 and from February 1988 to June 1989. Morphological analysis showed that they belonged to three subfamilies of Salangidae: one species from Protosalangicae, Protosalanx chinensis ; two species from Salanginae, Salanx ariakensis and Salanx prognathus ; and one species, Neosalanx andersoni , from Salangichthyinae, a new subfamily. External morphological characteristics, population composition, growth, maturity, food habits, longevity, fecundity, abundance and distribution of these icefishes are described. Based on these analyses, a clear outline of taxonomy, zoogeography aod biology of icefishes in the Yellow River estuary of the Bohai Sea was established. 相似文献
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) generally arises from a background of liver cirrhosis (LC). Patients with cirrhosis and suspected HCC are recommended to undergo serum biomarker tests and imaging diagnostic evaluation. However, the performance of routine diagnostic methods in detecting early HCC remains unpromising.
Methods
Here, we conducted a large-scale, multicenter study of 1675 participants including 490 healthy controls, 577 LC patients, and 608 HCC patients from nine clinical centers across nine provinces of China, profiled gene mutation signatures of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) using Circulating Single-Molecule Amplification and Resequencing Technology (cSMART) through detecting 931 mutation sites across 21 genes.
Results
An integrated diagnostic model called “Combined method” was developed by combining three mutation sites and three serum biomarkers. Combined method outperformed AFP in the diagnosis of HCC, especially early HCC, with sensitivities of 81.25% for all stages and 66.67% for early HCC, respectively. Importantly, the integrated model exhibited high accuracy in differentiating AFP-negative, AFP-L3-negative, and PIVKA-II-negative HCCs from LCs.
The Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (Ufm1) is a ubiquitin-like protein that can also be conjugated to protein substrates and subsequently alter their fates. Both UFMylation and de-UFMylation are mediated by Ufm1-specific proteases (UFSPs). In humans, it is widely believed that UFSP2 is the only active Ufm1 protease involved in Ufm1 maturation and de-UFMylation, whereas UFSP1 is thought to be inactive. Here, Liang et al. provide strong evidence showing that human UFSP1 is also an active Ufm1 protease. These results solve an age-old mystery in the human Ufm1 conjugation system and could have a greater impact not only on Ufm1 biology but also on the translation of genes employing nontraditional start codons. 相似文献
Salvador promotes both cell cycle exit and apoptosis through the modulation of both cyclin E and Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis protein in Drosophila. However, the cellular function of human Salvador (hSav1) is rarely reported. To screen for novel binding proteins that interact with hSav1, the cDNA of hSav1 was cloned into a bait protein plasmid, and positive clones were screened from a human fetal liver cDNA library by the yeast two-hybrid system. hSav1 mRNA was expressed in yeast and there was no self-activation and toxicity in the yeast strain AH109. Twenty proteins were found to interact with hSav1, including HS1 (haematopoietic cell specific protein1)-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1); neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally down-regulated 9, pyruvate kinase, liver and RBC, cytochrome c oxidase subunit Vb, enoyl coenzyme A hydratase short chain 1, and NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) 1 beta subcomplex, demonstrating that the yeast two-hybrid system is an efficient method for investigating protein interactions. Among the identified proteins, there were many mitochondrial proteins, indicating that hSav1 may play a role in mitochondrial function. We also confirmed the interaction of HAX-1 and hSav1 in mammalian cells. This investigation provides functional clues for further exploration of potential apoptosis-related proteins in disease biotherapy. 相似文献
Members of the large aggregating chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans are characterized by an N-terminal fragment known as G1 domain, which is composed of an immunoglobulin (IgG)-like motif and two tandem repeats (TR). Previous studies have indicated that the expressed product of aggrecan G1 domain was not secreted. Here we demonstrated that the inability of G1 secretion was associated with the tandem repeats but not the IgG-like motif, and specifically with TR1 of aggrecan. We also demonstrated that the G2 domain, a domain unique to aggrecan, had a similar effect on product secretion. The sequence of TR1 of G1 is highly conserved across species, which suggested similar functions played by these motifs. In a yeast two-hybrid assay, TR1 interacted with the calcium homeostasis endoplasmic reticulum protein. Deletion/mutation experiments indicated that the N-terminal fragment of TR1, in particular, the amino acids H(2)R(4) of this motif were key to its effect on product secretion. However, the N-terminal 55 amino acids were required to exert this function. Taken together, our study suggests a possible molecular mechanism for the function of the tandem repeats in product processing. 相似文献