Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) are 2.5 times more likely to die prematurely from cancer in England. Lower participation in screening may be a contributing factor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUNDCytochrome P450 family 8 subfamily B member 1 (CYP8B1) generates 12α-hydroxylated bile acids (BAs) that are associated with insulin resistance in humans.METHODSTo determine whether reduced CYP8B1 activity improves insulin sensitivity, we sequenced CYP8B1 in individuals without diabetes and identified carriers of complete loss-of-function (CLOF) mutations utilizing functional assays.RESULTSMutation carriers had lower plasma 12α-hydroxylated/non-12α-hydroxylated BA and cholic acid (CA)/chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) ratios compared with age-, sex-, and BMI-matched controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in is of increasing concern. This study established a quantitative, scalable proteomics method to examine the WHO panel of isolates with completed closed genomic sequences and well-defined phenotypical and genotypical AMR patterns, to gain a greater understanding of AMR in .
Methods: 14 WHO reference strains were propagated, pooled stable isotope labelled lysates were used as an internal standard (IS).
Mutations in , which encodes leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, are the most common genetic cause of familial and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD), a degenerative disease of the central nervous system that causes impaired motor function and, in advanced stages, dementia. Dementia is a common symptom of another neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's disease, and research suggests that there may be pathophysiological and genetic links between the two diseases. Aggregates of β amyloid [a protein produced through cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP)] are seen in both diseases and in PD patients carrying G2019S-mutant LRRK2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have previously characterised the histone lysine methyltransferase properties of PRDM9, a member of the PRDM family of putative transcriptional regulators. PRDM9 displays broad substrate recognition and methylates a range of histone substrates, including octamers, core histone proteins, and peptides. In the present study, we show that PRDM9 performs intramolecular automethylation on multiple lysine residues localised to a lysine-rich region on the post-SET (suppressor of variegation 3-9, enhancer of zeste and trithorax) domain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is difficult to treat because of its drug resistance, but how it develops drug resistance remains largely unknown. In this study we investigated Ciprofloxacin resistance development in P. aeruginosa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHand, Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious disease caused by a range of human enteroviruses. Outbreaks occur regularly, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, putting a burden on public healthcare systems. Currently, there is no antiviral for treating this infectious disease and the only vaccines are limited to circulation in China, presenting an unmet medical need that needs to be filled urgently.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bone is the predominant site of metastasis from breast cancer, and recent trials have demonstrated that adjuvant bisphosphonate therapy can reduce bone metastasis development and improve survival. There is an unmet need for prognostic and predictive biomarkers so that therapy can be appropriately targeted.
Methods: Potential biomarkers for bone metastasis were identified using proteomic comparison of bone-metastatic, lung-metastatic, and nonmetastatic variants of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells.
C α-formylglycine (FGly) is the catalytic residue of sulfatases in eukaryotes. It is generated by a unique post-translational modification catalysed by the FGly-generating enzyme (FGE) in the endoplasmic reticulum. FGE oxidizes a cysteine residue within the conserved CxPxR sequence motif of nascent sulfatase polypeptides to FGly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnterovirus 71 (EV71) is a highly infectious pathogen primarily responsible for Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, particularly among children. Currently, no approved antiviral drug has been developed against this disease. The EV71 3C protease is deemed an attractive drug target due to its crucial role in viral polyprotein processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPRDM proteins have emerged as important regulators of disease and developmental processes. To gain insight into the mechanistic actions of the PRDM family, we have performed comprehensive characterization of a prototype member protein, the histone methyltransferase PRDM9, using biochemical, biophysical and chemical biology techniques. In the present paper we report the first known molecular characterization of a PRDM9-methylated recombinant histone octamer and the identification of new histone substrates for the enzyme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentification of novel biomarkers and targets in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains a priority and one cellular compartment that is a rich potential source of such molecules is the plasma membrane. A shotgun proteomic analysis of cell surface proteins enriched by cell surface biotinylation and avidin affinity chromatography was explored using the UMRC2- renal cancer cell line, which lacks von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumour suppressor gene function, to determine whether proteins of interest could be detected. Of the 814 proteins identified ~22% were plasma membrane or membrane-associated, including several with known associations with cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is little quantitative information regarding how much splicing occurs co-transcriptionally in higher eukaryotes, and it remains unclear where precisely splicing occurs in the nucleus. Here we determine the global extent of co- and post-transcriptional splicing in mammalian cells, and their respective subnuclear locations, using antibodies that specifically recognize phosphorylated SF3b155 (P-SF3b155) found only in catalytically activated/active spliceosomes. Quantification of chromatin- and nucleoplasm-associated P-SF3b155 after fractionation of HeLa cell nuclei, reveals that ~80% of pre-mRNA splicing occurs co-transcriptionally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmunodepletion of clinical fluids to overcome the dominance by a few very abundant proteins has been explored but studies are few, commonly examining only limited aspects with one analytical platform. We have systematically compared immunodepletion of 6, 14, or 20 proteins using serum from renal transplant patients, analysing reproducibility, depth of coverage, efficiency, and specificity using 2-D DIGE ('top-down') and LC-MS/MS ('bottom-up'). A progressive increase in protein number (≥2 unique peptides) was found from 159 in unfractionated serum to 301 following 20 protein depletion using a relatively high-throughput 1-D-LC-MS/MS approach, including known biomarkers and moderate-lower abundance proteins such as NGAL and cytokine/growth factor receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe need to find biomarkers for hepatobiliary diseases including cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has led to an interest in using bile as a proximal fluid in biomarker discovery experiments, although there are inherent challenges both in its acquisition and analysis. The study described here greatly extends previous studies that have started to characterise the bile proteome. Bile from four patients with hilar CCA was depleted of albumin and immunoglobulin G and analysed by GeLC-MS/MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the near future, personalised medicine and phase-0 trials will require that clinical practitioners move from the "one biomarker per disease" paradigm to the use of molecular signatures of disease for diagnosis and the prediction of a patient's response to treatment. These signatures will be composed of biomarkers specific to the disease, and will include over-expression of normal protein from a gene that does not carry a mutation; loss of expression of an essential protein; expression of a protein from a mutant gene; and metabolites whose levels are altered in disease. Surrogates for protein expression, such as alterations in the messenger RNA that encode for them, have already proved their value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnotated formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue archives constitute a valuable resource for retrospective biomarker discovery. However, proteomic exploration of archival tissue is impeded by extensive formalin-induced covalent cross-linking. Robust methodology enabling proteomic profiling of archival resources is urgently needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreased levels of wild-type (WT) alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) and mutant A53T alpha-syn are associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), a disease linked to abnormal mitochondrial function. This study compared mitochondria prepared from differentiated SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing WT or A53T alpha-syn with control cells, using 2-D difference in-gel electrophoresis. Statistical analysis was carried out primarily using ANOVA (p < 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkin is an ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3), mutations of which cause juvenile onset - autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease, and result in reduced enzymic activity. In contrast, increased levels are protective against mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration, the mechanism of which is largely unknown. In this study, 2-DE and MS proteomic techniques were utilised to investigate the effects of increased Parkin levels on protein expression in whole cell lysates using in an inducible Parkin expression system in HEK293 cells, and also to isolate potential interactants of Parkin using tandem affinity purification and MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the initial phases of a study focussed on discovering new urinary biomarkers for renal cell carcinoma, a number of challenges and limitations were identified, which we subsequently investigated. The purpose of this report is to provide insight into experimental design for such investigations and potential confounding factors that can impact on such studies. Sixty urine samples from 20 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and ten live renal transplant donor patients, pre- and post-nephrectomy, were profiled using SELDI-TOF-MS incorporating stringent quality control and in-house data processing/analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumour suppressor gene plays a central role in development of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Using a cell line pair generated from the VHL-defective RCC cell line UMRC2 by transfection with vector control or VHL (-/+VHL) and stable isotope labelling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) followed by enrichment of plasma membrane proteins by cell surface biotinylation/avidin-affinity chromatography and analysis by GeLC-MS/MS, VHL-associated changes in plasma membrane proteins were analysed. Comparative analysis of -/+VHL cells identified 19 differentially expressed proteins which were confirmed by reciprocal SILAC labelling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMass spectrometric profiling, particularly in the form of SELDI, has been used in many studies, particularly in attempts to generate diagnostic serum profiles. Several studies have generated promising results but one of the limitations is the inability to identify easily potential discriminatory peaks. This may enable specific assays to be developed and increased biological insight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlpha-mannosidosis is a lysosomal storage disorder which manifests itself in the excessive storage of mannose-containing oligosaccharides in the lysosomes of multiple peripheral tissues and in the brain. Here we report on the correction of storage in a mouse model of alpha-mannosidosis after intravenous administration of lysosomal acid alpha-mannosidase (LAMAN) from bovine kidney, and human and mouse recombinant LAMAN. The bovine and the human enzyme were barely phosphorylated, whereas the bulk of the mouse LAMAN contained mannose 6-phosphate recognition markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFC(alpha)-Formylglycine (FGly) is the catalytic residue of sulfatases. FGly is generated by post-translational modification of a cysteine (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) or serine (prokaryotes) located in a conserved (C/S)XPXR motif. AtsB of Klebsiella pneumoniae is directly involved in FGly generation from serine.
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