Delta1 family members are involved in filopodial actin formation and neuronal cell migration independent of Notch signaling

Delta family proteins are transmembrane molecules that bind Notch receptors and activate downstream signaling events in neighboring cells. In addition to serving as Notch ligands, Notch-independent roles for Delta have been suggested but are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate a previously unrecognized role for Delta in filopodial actin formation. Delta1 and Delta4, but not Delta3, exhibit filopodial protrusive activity, and this activity is independent of Notch signaling. The filopodial activity of Delta1 does not depend on the PDZ-binding domain at the C-terminus; however, the intracellular membrane-proximal region that is anchored to the plasma membrane plays an important role in filopodial activity. We further identified a Notch-independent role of DeltaD in neuronal cell migration in zebrafish. These findings suggest a possible functional link between Notch-independent filopodial activity of Delta and the control of cell motility.     

Characterization of conserved motifs in HIV-1 Vif required for APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F interaction

Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like 3G (APOBEC3G, or A3G) and related cytidine deaminases such as apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like 3F (APOBEC3F, or A3F) are potent inhibitors of retroviruses. Formation of infectious human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 requires suppression of multiple cytidine deaminases by Vif. HIV-1 Vif suppresses various APOBEC3 proteins through a common mechanism by recruiting Cullin5, ElonginB, and ElonginC E3 ubiquitin ligase to induce target protein polyubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation. Domains in Vif that mediate APOBEC3 recognition have not been fully characterized. In the present study, we identified a VxIPLx_4-5LxΦx₂YWxL motif in HIV-1 Vif, which is required for efficient interaction between Vif and A3G, Vif-mediated A3G degradation and virion exclusion, and functional suppression of the A3G antiviral activity. Amino acids 52 to 72 of HIV-1 Vif (including the VxIPLx_4-5LxΦx₂YWxL motif) alone could mediate interaction with A3G, and this interaction was abolished by mutations of two hydrophobic amino acids in this region. We have also observed that a Vif mutant was ineffective against A3G, yet it retained the ability to interact with Cullin5-E3 ubiquitin complex and A3G, suggesting that interaction with A3G is necessary but not sufficient to inhibit its antiviral function. Unlike the previously identified motif of HIV-1 Vif amino acids 40 to 44, which is only important for A3G suppression, the VxIPLx_4-5LxΦx₂YWxL motif is also required for efficient A3F interaction and suppression. On the other hand, another motif, TGERxW, of HIV-1 Vif amino acids 74 to 79 was found to be mainly important for A3F interaction and inhibition. Both the VxIPLx_4-5LxΦx₂YWxL and TGERxW motifs are highly conserved among HIV-1, HIV-2, and various simian immunodeficiency virus Vif proteins. Our data suggest that primate lentiviral Vif molecules recognize their autologous APOBEC3 proteins through conserved structural features that represent attractive targets for the development of novel inhibitors.     

Identity and systematic position of Paradinium poucheti and other Paradinium-like parasites of marine copepods based on morphology and nuclear-encoded SSU rDNA

Paradinium and Paradinium-like parasites were detected in various copepod hosts collected in the NW Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Godth?bsfjord (Greenland). The identity and systematic position of the parasitic, plasmodial protist Paradinium was investigated on the basis of SSU rDNA and morphology. SSU rDNA sequences were obtained from 3 specimens of Paradinium poucheti isolated from their cyclopoid copepod host, Oithona similis. In addition, a comparable sequence was obtained from a hitherto undescribed species of Paradinium from the harpactacoid copepod Euterpina acutifrons. Finally, SSU rDNA sequences were acquired from 2 specimens of a red plasmodial parasite (RP parasite) isolated from Clausocalanus sp. Both morphological and SSU rDNA sequence data supported that P. poucheti and Paradinium sp. are closely related organisms. In phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rDNA sequences, Paradinium spp. clustered with sequences from an uncultured eukaryote clone from the Pacific Ocean and two sequences from haplosporidian-like parasites of shrimps, Pandalus spp. This Paradinium clade branched as a sister group to a clade comprising the Haplosporidia and the Foraminifera. The RP parasite had a superficial morphological resemblance to Paradinium and has previously been interpreted as a member of this genus. However, several morphological characters contradict this and SSU rDNA sequence data disagree with the RP parasite and Paradinium being related. The phylogenetic analyses suggested that the RP parasite is a fast-evolved alveolate and a member of the so-called marine alveolate Group I (MAGI) and emerging data now suggest that this enigmatic group may, like the syndinian dinoflagellates, consist of heterotrophic parasites.     

X-ray Crystallographic Study of an HIV-1 Fusion Inhibitor with the gp41 S138A Substitution

The S138A substitution of fusion inhibitory peptides derived from the C-terminal heptad repeat (C-HR) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 leads to enhanced binding affinity to the N-terminal heptad repeat (N-HR). As such, these peptides exhibit highly potent anti-HIV-1 activity. X-ray crystallographic analysis was performed to understand the effect of the substitution on binding affinity. The comparison of the native and S138A crystal structures indicated that the increase in the hydrophobicity of the S138A substitution may aid the stabilization of the N-HR/C-HR complex through additional hydrophobic contacts. Free-energy calculations suggest that the difference between the desolvation free energies of the C-HR-derived peptides with and without the S138A mutation dominates the observed difference in anti-HIV-1 activity.     

Loss of tight junction barrier function and its role in cancer metastasis

As the most apical structure between epithelial and endothelial cells, tight junctions (TJ) are well known as functioning as a control for the paracellular diffusion of ions and certain molecules. It has however, become increasingly apparent that the TJ has a vital role in maintaining cell to cell integrity and that the loss of cohesion of the structure can lead to invasion and thus metastasis of cancer cells. This article will present data showing how modulation of expression of TJ molecules results in key changes in TJ barrier function leading to the successful metastasis of a number of different cancer types.     

Evolution of Metazoan Cell Junction Proteins: The Scaffold Protein MAGI and the Transmembrane Receptor Tetraspanin in the Demosponge Suberites domuncula

Until recently the positioning of the sponges (phylum Porifera) within the metazoan systematics was hampered by the lack of molecular evidence for the existence of junctional structures in the surface cell layers. In this study two genes related to the tight junctions are characterized from the demosponge Suberites domuncula: tetraspanin (SDTM4SF), a cell surface receptor, and MAGI (SDMAGI), a MAGUK (membrane-associated guanylate kinase homologue) protein. Especially the MAGI protein is known in other metazoan animal phyla to exist exclusively in tight junctions. The characteristic domains of MAGI proteins (six PDZ domains, two WW domains, and a truncated guanylate kinase motif) are conserved in the sponge protein. The functional analysis of SDMAGI done by in situ hybridization shows its expression in the surface epithelial layers (exopinacoderm and endopinacoderm). Northern blot studies reveal that expression of SDMAGI and SDTM4SF increases after formation of the pinacoderm layer in the animals as well as in primmorphs. These results support earlier notions that sponges contain junctional structures. We conclude that sponges contain epithelia whose cells are organized by cell junctions.The sequence from Suberites domuncula reported here, the protein membrane-associated guanylate kinase with an inverted arrangement (MAGI), is deposited in the EMBL/GenBank database under accession number AJ580406.     

Surface plasmon resonance analysis of the binding of high‐risk mucosal HPV E6 oncoproteins to the PDZ1 domain of the tight junction protein MAGI‐1

The E6 oncoproteins from high‐risk mucosal human papillomavirus (HPV) induce cervical cancer via two major activities, the binding and the degradation of the p53 protein and PDZ domain‐containing proteins. Human MAGI‐1 is a multi‐PDZ domain protein implicated into protein complex assembly at cell–cell contacts. High‐risk mucosal HPV E6 proteins interact with the PDZ1 domain of MAGI‐1 via a C‐terminal consensus binding motif. Here, we developed a medium throughput protocol to accurately measure by surface plasmon resonance affinity constants of protein domains binding to peptidic sequences produced as recombinant fusions to the glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST). This approach was applied to measure the binding of MAGI‐1 PDZ1 to the C‐termini of viral or cellular proteins. Both high‐risk mucosal HPV E6 C‐terminal peptides and cellular partners of MAGI‐1 PDZ1 bind to MAGI‐1 PDZ1 with comparable dissociation constants in the micromolar range. MAGI‐1 PDZ1 shows a preference for C‐termini with a valine at position 0 and a negative charge at position ?3, confirming previous studies performed with HPV18 E6. A detailed combined analysis via site‐directed mutagenesis of the HPV16 C‐terminal peptide and PDZ1 indicated that interactions mediated by charged residues upstream the PDZ‐binding motif strongly contribute to binding selectivity of this interaction. In addition, our work highlighted the K₄₉₉ residue of MAGI‐1 as a novel determinant of binding specificity. Finally, we showed that MAGI‐1 PDZ1 also binds to the C‐termini of LPP and Tax proteins, which were already known to bind to PDZ proteins but not to MAGI‐1. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanism of action of the HIV-1 integrase inhibitory peptide LEDGF 361-370

The HIV-1 integrase protein (IN) mediates integration of the viral cDNA into the host genome and is a target for anti-HIV drugs. We have recently described a peptide derived from residues 361-370 of the IN cellular partner protein LEDGF/p75, which inhibited IN catalytic activity in vitro and HIV-1 replication in cells. Here we performed a comprehensive study of the LEDGF 361-370 mechanism of action in vitro, in cells and in vivo. Alanine scan, fluorescence anisotropy binding studies, homology modeling and NMR studies demonstrated that all residues in LEDGF 361-370 contribute to IN binding and inhibition. Kinetic studies in cells showed that LEDGF 361-370 specifically inhibited integration of viral cDNA. Thus, the full peptide was chosen for in vivo studies, in which it inhibited the production of HIV-1 RNA in mouse model. We conclude that the full LEDGF 361-370 peptide is a potent HIV-1 inhibitor and may be used for further development as an anti-HIV lead compound.     

Long noncoding MAGI2-AS3 promotes colorectal cancer progression through regulating miR-3163/TMEM106B axis

Colorectal cancer (CRC), is mostly derived from normal colon epithelial cells, and has been reported to be one of most common gastrointestinal malignancies globally. An increasing number of researchers have claimed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) exert significant functions in tumor progression. Nevertheless, the function of MAGI2-AS3 remains uncertain in CRC. The expression of MAGI2-AS3, miR-3163, and transmembrane protein 106B (TMEM106B) messenger RNA was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell apoptosis was measured by caspase-3 activity test. Cell proliferation was tested by cell-counting kit 8 and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine assays. Cell migration was detected by transwell assay. Western blot analysis examined the protein expression of TMEM106B. The expression of Ki-67 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry assay. The binding capacity between miR-3163 and MAGI2-AS3 (or TMEM106B) was studied by radioimmunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. The expression of MAGI2-AS3 and TMEM106B was conspicuously upregulated whereas miR-3163 presented lower expression in CRC cells. MAGI2-AS3 deficiency facilitated cell apoptosis but hampered cell proliferation and migration. MAGI2-AS3 combined with miR-3163 and negatively regulated miR-3163 expression. In addition, the administration of sh-MAGI2-AS3 or miR-3163 mimics suppressed CRC cell growth in vivo. Subsequently, miR-3163 targeted TMEM106B and the transfection of sh-MAGI2-AS3 or miR-3163 mimics downregulated TMEM106B expression. Rescue assays verified that TMEM106B overexpression recovered the effects of MAGI2-AS3 inhibition on cell apoptosis, proliferation, and migration in CRC. MAGI2-AS3 drives CRC progression through regulating miR-3163/TMEM106B axis. This supplies innovative insights on the investigation of molecular mechanism in CRC progression.     

Long noncoding RNA MAGI1-IT1 regulates cardiac hypertrophy by modulating miR-302e/DKK1/Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway

Cardiac hypertrophy (CH) is an adaptive cardiac response to overload whose decompensation eventually leads to heart failure or sudden death. Recently, accumulating studies have indicated the implication of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in CH progression. MAGI1-IT1 is a newly-identified lncRNA that is highly associated with CH, while its specific role in CH progression remains masked. In this study, we uncovered that MAGI1-IT1 was distinctly downregulated in angiotensin (Ang) II-induced hypertrophic H9c2 cells. Also, MAGI1-IT1 overexpression in Ang II-treated H9c2 cells strikingly abolished the enlarged surface area and the enhanced levels of hypertrophic markers such as ANP, BNP, and β-MHC. Mechanically, we found MAGI1-IT1 sponged miR-302e which was identified as a hypertrophy-facilitator here, and that miR-302e upregulation countervailed the inhibition of MAGI1-IT1 overexpression on hypertrophic cells. Moreover, it was confirmed that MAGI1-IT1 boosted DKK1 expression by absorbing miR-302e. Subsequently, we also illustrated that MAGI1-IT1 inactivated Wnt/beta-catenin signaling through a DKK1-dependent pathway. Finally, both the DKK1 inhibition and LiCI (Wnt activator) supplement abrogated the hypertrophy-suppressive impact of MAGI1-IT1 on Ang II-simulated hypertrophic H9c2 cells. Jointly, our findings disclosed that MAGI1-IT1 functioned as a negative regulator in CH through inactivating Wnt/beta-catenin pathway via targeting miR-302e/DKK1 axis, revealing a novel road for CH treatment.