Interactions between two catalytically distinct MCM subgroups are essential for coordinated ATP hydrolysis and DNA replication.

The six MCM (minichromosome maintenance) proteins are essential DNA replication factors that each contain a putative ATP binding motif and together form a heterohexameric complex. We show that these motifs are required for viability in vivo and coordinated ATP hydrolysis in vitro. Mutational analysis discriminates between two functionally distinct MCM protein subgroups: Mcm4p, 6p, and 7p contribute canonical ATP binding motifs essential for catalysis, whereas the related motifs in Mcm2p, 3p, and 5p serve a regulatory function. Reconstitution experiments indicate that specific functional interactions between these two subgroups are required for robust ATP hydrolysis. Our observations show parallels between the MCM complex and the F1-ATPase, and we discuss how ATP hydrolysis by the MCM complex might be coupled to DNA strand separation.     

蚕豆叶片发育与衰老过程中超氧物歧化酶活性与丙二醛含量变化

蚕豆植株叶片随茎节自上而下表现出明显的发育与衰老顺序,可作为衰老特征的是叶绿素和蛋白质含量明显下降。蚕豆叶中SOD活性主要定位于12 000× g离心后所得的上清液和叶绿体组分。衰老叶片的SOD总活性和叶绿体组分的相对活性都有所下降,SOD同工酶谱也发生了改变。O_2~ 产生速率随叶龄增大而稍上升;而MDA含量在叶片外观表现枯黄衰老征兆前就急剧上升。可能因为衰老叶片过氧化氢酶活性大幅度下降与SOD之间的不平衡,致使O_2~ 代谢中间产物累积而引起膜的损伤.     

Tn1000-mediated insertion mutagenesis of the histidine utilization (hut) gene cluster from Klebsiella aerogenes: genetic analysis of hut and unusual target specificity of Tn1000.

The histidine utilization (hut) genes from Klebsiella aerogenes were cloned in both orientations into the HindIII site of plasmid pBR325, and the two resulting plasmids, pCB120 and pCB121, were subjected to mutagenesis with Tn1000. The insertion sites of Tn1000 into pCB121 were evenly distributed throughout the plasmid, but the insertion sites into pCB120 were not. There was a large excess of Tn1000 insertions in the "plus" or gamma delta orientation in a small, ca. 3.5-kilobase region of the plasmid. Genetic analysis of the Tn1000 insertions in pCB120 and pCB121 showed that the hutUH genes form an operon transcribed from hutU and that the hutC gene (encoding the hut-specific repressor) is independently transcribed from its own promoter. The hutIG cluster appears not to form an operon. Curiously, insertions in hutI gave two different phenotypes in complementation tests against hutG504, suggesting either that hutI contains two functionally distinct domains or that there may be another undefined locus within the hut cluster. The set of Tn1000 insertions allowed an assignment of the gene boundaries within the hut cluster, and minicell analysis of the polypeptides expressed from plasmids carrying insertions in the hut genes showed that the hutI, hutG, hutU, and hutH genes encode polypeptides of 43, 33, 57, and 54 kilodaltons, respectively.     

Biosynthesis of lysosomal hydrolases: their synthesis in bound polysomes and the role of co- and post-translational processing in determining their subcellular distribution

By in vitro translation of mRNA’s isolated from free and membrane-bound polysomes, direct evidence was obtained for the synthesis of two lysosomal hydrolases, β-glucuronidase of the rat preputial gland and cathespin D of mouse spleen, on polysomes bound to rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes. When the mRNA’s for these two proteins were translated in the presence of microsomal membranes, the in vitro synthesized polypeptides were cotranslationally glycosylated and transferred into the microsomal lumen. Polypeptides synthesized in the absence of microsomal membranes were approximately 2,000 daltons larger than the respective unglycosylated microsomal polypeptides found after short times of labeling in cultured rat liver cells treated with tunicamycin. This strongly suggests that nascent chains of the lysosomal enzymes bear transient amino terminal signals which determine synthesis on bound polysomes and are removed during the cotranslational insertion of the polypeptides into the ER membranes. In the line of cultured rat liver cells used for this work, newly synthesized lysosomal hydrolases showed a dual destination; approximately 60 percent of the microsomal polypeptides detected after short times of labeling were subsequently processed proteolytically to lower molecular weight forms characteristic of the mature enzymes. The remainder was secreted from the cells without further proteolytic processing. As previously observed by other investigations in cultured fibroblasts (A. Gonzalez-Noriega, J.H. Grubbs, V. Talkad, and W.S. Sly, 1980, J Cell Biol. 85: 839-852; A. Hasilik and E.F. Neufeld, 1980, J. Biol. Chem., 255:4937-4945.) the lysosomotropic amine chloroquine prevented the proteolytic maturation of newly synthesized hydrolases and enhanced their section. In addition, unglycosylated hydrolases synthesized in cells treated with tunicamycin were exclusively exported from the cells without undergoing proteolytic processing. These results support the notions that modified sugar residues serve as sorting out signals which address the hydrolases to their lysosomal destination and that final proteolytic cleavage of hydrolase precursors take place within lysosome itself. Structural differences in the carbohydrate chains of intracellular and secreted precursors of cathespin D were detected from their differential sensitivity to digestion with endoglycosidases H and D. These observations suggest that the hydrolases exported into the medium follow the normal secretory route and that some of their oligosaccharides are subject to modifications known to affect many secretory glycoproteins during their passage through the Golgi apparatus.     

Ciprofloxacin is an inhibitor of the Mcm2-7 replicative helicase

Most currently available small molecule inhibitors of DNA replication lack enzymatic specificity, resulting in deleterious side effects during use in cancer chemotherapy and limited experimental usefulness as mechanistic tools to study DNA replication. Towards development of targeted replication inhibitors, we have focused on Mcm2-7 (minichromosome maintenance protein 2–7), a highly conserved helicase and key regulatory component of eukaryotic DNA replication. Unexpectedly we found that the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin preferentially inhibits Mcm2-7. Ciprofloxacin blocks the DNA helicase activity of Mcm2-7 at concentrations that have little effect on other tested helicases and prevents the proliferation of both yeast and human cells at concentrations similar to those that inhibit DNA unwinding. Moreover, a previously characterized mcm mutant (mcm4chaos3) exhibits increased ciprofloxacin resistance. To identify more potent Mcm2-7 inhibitors, we screened molecules that are structurally related to ciprofloxacin and identified several that compromise the Mcm2-7 helicase activity at lower concentrations. Our results indicate that ciprofloxacin targets Mcm2-7 in vitro, and support the feasibility of developing specific quinolone-based inhibitors of Mcm2-7 for therapeutic and experimental applications.     

Are the immune responses different in middle-aged and young mice following bone fracture, tissue trauma and hemorrhage?

Although immune responses following soft-tissue trauma-hemorrhage are markedly different in young (6-8 weeks) and aged (18-20 months) mice, it remains unknown if there are any differences in immune responses in middle-aged and young mice following bone fracture, soft-tissue trauma-hemorrhage (Fx-TH). To study this, young (6-8 weeks) and middle-aged (approximately 12 months) C3H/HeN male mice were subjected to sham operation or Fx-TH followed by resuscitation with Ringer's lactate. The mice were sacrificed 2 h thereafter and splenocytes, bone marrow cells (BM) and Kupffer cells (KC) were harvested, purified and stimulated with ConA (for splenocytes) or LPS (for BM and KC) in vitro. Splenocyte release of Th1 (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) cytokines was decreased and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine release was increased following Fx-TH in both young and middle-aged mice. However, the decrease in IL-2 and increase in IL-10 were significantly more in middle-aged mice compared to young mice (p < 0.05). Furthermore, splenocyte proliferation was decreased more in middle-aged mice compared to young mice following Fx-TH (p < 0.05). Additionally, TNF-alpha production was more in BM from middle-aged compared to BM from young mice after Fx-TH (p < 0.05). The production of IL-6 and IL-10 was also significantly higher in KC from middle-aged mice compared to young ones following Fx-TH. These results suggest that at middle age, the immune responses to Fx-TH are significantly different from those observed in young mice in different compartments of the body. Although the mechanism of the difference in various compartments in middle-aged vs. young mice following Fx-TH remains unknown, the decreased IL-2 production along with other altered T cell and macrophage functions may contribute to an increased susceptibility to sepsis in middle-aged vs. young individuals.     

Role of thromboxane in producing portal hypertension following trauma-hemorrhage

Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) have been proposed as the important vasoconstrictors that increase portal venous resistance in paracrine or autocrine fashion. We hypothesized that the hepatic damage following trauma-hemorrhage (T-H) is induced by the impaired hepatic circulation due to the increased production of vasoconstrictors such as ET-1 and TXA2 by the liver. To test this, male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 6/group) were subjected to trauma (i.e., midline laparotomy) and hemorrhage (35-40 mmHg for 90 min followed by fluid resuscitation) or sham operation. At 2 or 5 h after the end of resuscitation, the liver was isolated and perfused and portal inflow pressure, bile flow, and release of ET-1 and thromboxane B2 (TXB2; a stable metabolite of TXA2) into the perfusate were measured. The level of portal pressure was higher at 5 h following T-H compared with 2 h after T-H and sham. The portal pressure was inversely correlated to the amount of bile production. Furthermore, the bile flow was significantly correlated to the hepatic damage as evidenced by release of lactate dehydrogenase into the perfusate. The level of ET-1 at 5 h following T-H in the perfusate after 30 min of recirculation did not show any difference from sham. However, the levels of TXB2 in the T-H group were significantly higher than those in sham at that interval. These results indicate that the increased release of TXA2 but not ET-1 following T-H might be responsible for producing the increased portal resistance, decreased bile production, and hepatic damage.     

Reversal of sexual dimorphism in splenic T lymphocyte responses after trauma-hemorrhage with aging

Previous studies have demonstrated that hemorrhagic shockproduces immunodepression in young male mice, whereas theimmunoresponsivness in young proestrus female mice is enhanced undersuch conditions. This sexually dimorphic immune response to hemorrhageappears to be related to high estrogen and testosterone levels infemales and males, respectively. Nonetheless, it is unknown what impact the age-related decline in the sex steroid levels has on the immune response after hemorrhage. To study this, young (2-3 mo) and aged (18-19 mo) male and female CBA/J NIA mice were subjected tolaparotomy (i.e., soft tissue trauma) and hemorrhage (35 ± 5 mmHg for90 min and fluid resuscitation) or sham operation. Twenty-four hours later, splenocyte responses were assessed in vitro. Splenic T lymphocyte responses [i.e., proliferation, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon- (IFN-) release] were depressed in youngmales and enhanced in young females after trauma-hemorrhage. Incontrast, in the aged male and female groups these parameters ofsplenocyte function were reversed after trauma-hemorrhage (i.e.,increased proliferation and IL-2 release in aged males compared withsuppressed proliferation and IFN- release in aged females).Furthermore, the release of the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10inversely correlated with the age- and gender-related changes insplenocyte responses after trauma-hemorrhage. Thus the sexuallydimorphic immune response in young males and females totrauma-hemorrhage appears to reverse as sex hormone levels decline with age.

     

Molecular evolution of P transposable elements in the genus Drosophila. III. The melanogaster species group

Phylogenetic relationships were determined for 76 partial P-element sequences from 14 species of the melanogaster species group within the Drosophila subgenus Sophophora. These results are examined in the context of the phylogeny of the species from which the sequences were isolated. Sequences from the P-element family fall into distinct subfamilies, or clades, which are often characteristic for particular species subgroups. When examined locally among closely related species, the evolution of P elements is characterized by vertical transmission, whereby the P-element phylogeny traces the species phylogeny. On a broader scale, however, the P-element phylogeny is not congruent with the species phylogeny. One feature of P-element evolution in the melanogaster group is the presence of more than one P-element subfamily, differing by as much as 36%, in the genomes of some species. Thus, P elements from several individual species are not monophyletic, and a likely explanation for the incongruence between P-element and species phylogenies is provided by the comparison of paralogous sequences. In certain instances, horizontal transfer seems to be a valid alternative explanation for lack of congruence between species and P-element phylogenies. The canonical P-element subfamily, which represents the active, autonomous transposable element, is restricted to D. melanogaster. Thus, its origin clearly lies outside of the melanogaster species group, consistent with the earlier conclusion of recent horizontal transfer.      

Noisy-threshold control of cell death

Background  

Cellular responses to death-promoting stimuli typically proceed through a differentiated multistage process, involving a lag phase, extensive death, and potential adaptation. Deregulation of this chain of events is at the root of many diseases. Improper adaptation is particularly important because it allows cell sub-populations to survive even in the continuous presence of death conditions, which results, among others, in the eventual failure of many targeted anticancer therapies.