Interferon alpha induces rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of its receptor.

The mechanisms of generation of second messengers after binding of interferon alpha (IFN alpha) to its receptor remain unknown. We have studied the phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of the IFN alpha receptor, which is recognized by the monoclonal antibody IFNa receptor 3. Immunoblotting experiments showed that IFN alpha induced rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha subunit in the IFN alpha-sensitive H-929, U-266, and Daudi cell lines. Immunoprecipitation experiments performed with 32P-labeled cells showed that the alpha subunit is phosphorylated before IFN alpha treatment and that the level of phosphorylation increases after IFN alpha stimulation. Phosphoamino acid analysis confirmed the IFN alpha-induced tyrosine phosphorylation and demonstrated that the base-line phosphorylation corresponded to serine phosphorylation that increased 50% upon IFN alpha treatment. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha subunit was time- and dose-dependent, further demonstrating the specificity of the process. Phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of the receptor occurred rapidly after IFN alpha binding, both at 37 and 4 degrees C. Exposure of the cells to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein blocked the IFN alpha-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of this subunit of the IFN alpha receptor. In contrast H7, a specific protein kinase C inhibitor, and acute and chronic exposure to phorbol esters had no effect on tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting that protein kinase C does not regulate the tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of the IFN alpha receptor. No IFN alpha-induced tyrosine phosphorylation was observed in the IFN alpha-resistant U-937 cell line that expresses a variant IFN alpha receptor. Altogether these data suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha subunit may play a role in the signal transduction pathway of IFN alpha.     

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.     

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.     

Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase induces preferentially killing of PTEN-null T leukemias through AKT pathway

We examined the functional role of the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase pathway in the growth and survival of cell lines of T-cell origin. Pharmacological inhibition of PI3'-kinase using LY294002 resulted in apoptosis of acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemia (T-ALL) cell lines including CEM, Jurkat, and MOLT-4. On the other hand, the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cell line HUT-78 was found to be refractory to LY294002- inducible apoptosis. Sensitivity or resistance to pharmacological inhibitors of PI3'-kinase correlated with tumor suppressor PTEN gene expression, as sensitive T-ALL cells do not express PTEN and have high level of activated AKT, in contrast to HUT-78 cells. Our data demonstrate that inhibition of PI3'-kinase results in dephosphorylation of AKT and partial inhibition of Bcl-xL expression in T-ALL cells, but not in HUT-78 cells. Interestingly, HUT-78 cells were also found to express higher levels of Bcl-xL protein as compared to T-ALL cells. Inhibition of PI3'-kinase also induces release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and activation of caspase-3 and PARP in all T-ALL cell lines tested, but not in HUT-78 cells. Taken altogether, our data demonstrate that the PI3'-kinase/AKT pathway plays a major role in the growth and survival of PTEN-null T-ALL cells, and identify this cascade as promising target for therapeutic intervention in acute T-cell leukemias.