Computer Simulation of Assembly and Co-operativity of Hexameric AAA ATPases

AAA ATPases form a functionally diverse superfamily of proteins. Most members form homo-hexameric ring complexes, are catalytically active only in the fully assembled state, and show co-operativity among the six subunits. The mutual dependence among the subunits is clearly evidenced by the fact that incorporation of mutated, inactive subunits can decrease the activity of the remaining wild type subunits. For the first time, we develop here models to describe this form of allostery, evaluate them in a simulation study, and test them on experimental data. We show that it is important to consider the assembly reactions in the kinetic model, and to define a formal inhibition scheme. We simulate three inhibition scenarios explicitly, and demonstrate that they result in differing outcomes. Finally, we deduce fitting formulas, and test them on real and simulated data. A non-competitive inhibition formula fitted experimental and simulated data best. To our knowledge, our study is the first one that derives and tests formal allosteric schemes to explain the inhibitory effects of mutant subunits on oligomeric enzymes.     

Interacting forces of predation and fishing affect species’ maturation size

1. Fishing is a strong selective force and is supposed to select for earlier maturation at smaller body size. However, the extent to which fishing‐induced evolution is shaping ecosystems remains debated. This is in part because it is challenging to disentangle fishing from other selective forces (e.g., size‐structured predation and cannibalism) in complex ecosystems undergoing rapid change.
2. Changes in maturation size from fishing and predation have previously been explored with multi‐species physiologically structured models but assumed separation of ecological and evolutionary timescales. To assess the eco‐evolutionary impact of fishing and predation at the same timescale, we developed a stochastic physiologically size‐structured food‐web model, where new phenotypes are introduced randomly through time enabling dynamic simulation of species'' relative maturation sizes under different types of selection pressures.
3. Using the model, we carried out a fully factorial in silico experiment to assess how maturation size would change in the absence and presence of both fishing and predation (including cannibalism). We carried out ten replicate stochastic simulations exposed to all combinations of fishing and predation in a model community of nine interacting fish species ranging in their maximum sizes from 10 g to 100 kg. We visualized and statistically analyzed the results using linear models.
4. The effects of fishing on maturation size depended on whether or not predation was enabled and differed substantially across species. Fishing consistently reduced the maturation sizes of two largest species whether or not predation was enabled and this decrease was seen even at low fishing intensities (F = 0.2 per year). In contrast, the maturation sizes of the three smallest species evolved to become smaller through time but this happened regardless of the levels of predation or fishing. For the four medium‐size species, the effect of fishing was highly variable with more species showing significant and larger fishing effects in the presence of predation.
5. Ultimately our results suggest that the interactive effects of predation and fishing can have marked effects on species'' maturation sizes, but that, at least for the largest species, predation does not counterbalance the evolutionary effect of fishing. Our model also produced relative maturation sizes that are broadly consistent with empirical estimates for many fish species.

     

Effect of Feed Restriction on Performance and Postprandial Nutrient Metabolism in Pigs Co-Infected with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Swine Influenza Virus

As nutritional status and inflammation are strongly connected, feeding and nutritional strategies could be effective to improve the ability of pigs to cope with disease. The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of a feed restriction on the ability of pigs to resist and be tolerant to a coinfection with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) and the European H1N1 swine influenza virus, and the consequences for nutrient metabolism, with a focus on amino acids. Two groups of specific pathogen-free pigs were inoculated with Mhp and H1N1 21 days apart. One group was fed ad libitum, the other group was subjected to a two-week 40% feed restriction starting one week before H1N1 infection. The two respective mock control groups were included. Three days post-H1N1 infection, 200 g of feed was given to pigs previously fasted overnight and serial blood samples were taken over 4 hours to measure plasma nutrient concentrations. Throughout the study, clinical signs were observed and pathogens were detected in nasal swabs and lung tissues. Feed-restricted pigs presented shorter hyperthermia and a positive mean weight gain over the 3 days post-H1N1 infection whereas animals fed ad libitum lost weight. Both infection and feed restriction reduced postprandial glucose concentrations, indicating changes in glucose metabolism. Post-prandial plasma concentrations of the essential amino acids histidine, arginine and threonine were lower in co-infected pigs suggesting a greater use of those amino acids for metabolic purposes associated with the immune response. Altogether, these results indicate that modifying feeding practices could help to prepare animals to overcome an influenza infection. Connections with metabolism changes are discussed.     

Modulation of slow and fast elbow extensor EMG tonic activity by stretch reflexes in man

Reflex EMG responses to sudden passive flexion of the elbow were recorded from anconeus and triceps brachii in 5 human volunteers. While the subjects were required not to resist the flexion movement, they were required to maintain an extension torque of 3.5 or 7.0 Nm prior to its onset. Under these isotonic conditions, the latency and amplitude of the reflex activities from anconeus and triceps brachii did not differ significantly, in contrast to the findings of Le Bozec (1986) in actively relaxed subjects. The myotatic/postmyotatic EMG amplitude ratio did not provide a further quantitative way to distinguish between these muscles. The absence of a difference between the reflex activities of a slow (anconeus) and a fast (triceps brachii) muscle is interpreted as resulting from a strong drive of spindle activity on the whole extensor motoneuron pool, which outweights the differences in recruitment due to the differing relative amounts of type I and type II fibres in the two muscles. Differences like those described between finger and calf muscles by other authors are thought to be due to the relative degree of corticalization of these muscles. All short and long latency responses of the muscles increased in magnitude and decreased in latency with increasing background EMG activity as well as with increasing initial length. The position and tonic activity dependency of these responses is explained in terms of alpha-gamma coactivation.     

Lysosomal accumulation and recycling of lipopolysaccharide to the cell surface of murine macrophages, an in vitro and in vivo study.

In this study, we detailed in a time-dependent manner the trafficking, the recycling, and the structural fate of Brucella abortus LPS in murine peritoneal macrophages by immunofluorescence, ELISA, and biochemical analyses. The intracellular pathway of B. abortus LPS, a nonclassical endotoxin, was investigated both in vivo after LPS injection in the peritoneal cavity of mice and in vitro after LPS incubation with macrophages. We also followed LPS trafficking after infection of macrophages with B. abortus strain 19. After binding to the cell surface and internalization, Brucella LPS is routed from early endosomes to lysosomes with unusual slow kinetics. It accumulates there for at least 24 h. Later, LPS leaves lysosomes and reaches the macrophage cell surface. This recycling pathway is also observed for LPS released by Brucella S19 following in vitro infection. Indeed, by 72 h postinfection, bacteria are degraded by macrophages and LPS is located inside lysosomes dispersed at the cell periphery. From 72 h onward, LPS is gradually detected at the plasma membrane. In each case, the LPS present at the cell surface is found in large clusters with the O-chain facing the extracellular medium. Both the antigenicity and heterogenicity of the O-chain moiety are preserved during the intracellular trafficking. We demonstrate that LPS is not cleared by macrophages either in vitro or in vivo after 3 mo, exposing its immunogenic moiety toward the extracellular medium.     

About the specificity of photoinduced affinity labeling of Escherichia coli ribosomes by dihydrorosaramicin, a macrolide related to erythromycin

Photoactivation of the [3H]dihydrorosaramicin chromophore at a wavelength above 300 nm allows the covalent attachment of the macrolide antibiotic to the bacterial ribosome. Bidimensional electrophoresis shows that the radioactivity is mainly associated with proteins L1, L5, L6, L15, L18, L19, S1, S3, S4, S5 and S9. When photoincorporation of the drug is conducted in the presence of puromycin as effector of [3H]dihydrorosaramicin-binding sites, a decrease in the labeling of most proteins is observed, except for L18 and L19, which are radiolabeled to a larger extent. These results allow us to speculate that L18 and L19 belong to the high-affinity binding site of rosaramicin antibiotic.     

EXO5-DNA structure and BLM interactions direct DNA resection critical for ATR-dependent replication restart

1. Download : Download high-res image (222KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image