Calcitonin forms oligomeric pore-like structures in lipid membranes

Calcitonin is a polypeptidic hormone involved in calcium metabolism in the bone. It belongs to the amyloid protein family, which is characterized by the common propensity to aggregate acquiring a beta-sheet conformation and include proteins associated with important neurodegenerative diseases. Here we show for the first time, to our knowledge, by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that salmon-calcitonin (sCT) forms annular oligomers similar to those observed for beta-amyloid and alpha-sinuclein (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases). We also investigated the interaction between sCT and model membranes, such as liposomes, with particular attention to the effect induced by lipid "rafts" made of cholesterol and G(M1). We observed, by TEM immunogold labeling of sCT, that protein binding is favored by the presence of rafts. In addition, we found by TEM that sCT oligomers inserted in the membrane have the characteristic pore-like morphology of the amyloid proteins. Circular dichroism experiments revealed an increase in beta-content in sCT secondary structure when the protein was reconstituted in rafts mimicking liposomes. Finally, we showed, by spectrofluorimetry experiments, that the presence of sCT allowed Ca(2+) entry in rafts mimicking liposomes loaded with the Ca(2+)-specific fluorophore Fluo-4. This demonstrates that sCT oligomers have ion-channel activity. Our results are in good agreement with recent electrophysiological studies reporting that sCT forms Ca(2+)-permeable ion channels in planar model membranes. It has been proposed that, beyond the well-known interaction of the monomer with the specific receptor, the formation of Ca(2+) channels due to sCT oligomers could represent an extra source of Ca(2+) entry in osteoblasts. Structural and functional data reported here support this hypothesis.     

Concerted transpositions of mobile genetic elements coupled with fitness changes in Drosophila melanogaster

In an inbred low-activity (LA) strain of Drosophila melanogaster with a low level of fitness and a complex of inadaptive characters, in situ hybridization reveals an invariant pattern of distribution of three copia-like elements (mdg-1, mdg-3, and copia). Rare, spontaneous, multiple transpositions of mobile elements in the LA strain were shown to be coupled with a drastic increase of fitness. A changed pattern of various types of mobile elements was also observed on selecting the LA strain for higher fitness. High-fitness strains show transpositions of mobile elements to definite chromosomal sites ("hot spots"). Concerted changes in the location of three different mobile elements were found to be coupled with an increase of fitness. The mdg-1 distribution patterns were also examined in two low-fitness strains independently selected from the high-fitness ones. Fitness decrease was accompanied by mdg-1 excision from the hot spots of their location usually detected in the high-fitness strains. The results suggest the existence of a system of adaptive transpositions of mobile elements that takes part in fitness control.      

ImageParser: a tool for finite element generation from three-dimensional medical images

Background

The finite element method (FEM) is a powerful mathematical tool to simulate and visualize the mechanical deformation of tissues and organs during medical examinations or interventions. It is yet a challenge to build up an FEM mesh directly from a volumetric image partially because the regions (or structures) of interest (ROIs) may be irregular and fuzzy.

Methods

A software package, ImageParser, is developed to generate an FEM mesh from 3-D tomographic medical images. This software uses a semi-automatic method to detect ROIs from the context of image including neighboring tissues and organs, completes segmentation of different tissues, and meshes the organ into elements.

Results

The ImageParser is shown to build up an FEM model for simulating the mechanical responses of the breast based on 3-D CT images. The breast is compressed by two plate paddles under an overall displacement as large as 20% of the initial distance between the paddles. The strain and tangential Young's modulus distributions are specified for the biomechanical analysis of breast tissues.

Conclusion

The ImageParser can successfully exact the geometry of ROIs from a complex medical image and generate the FEM mesh with customer-defined segmentation information.