Selective Termination of Autophagy-Dependent Cancers.

The goal of cancer research is to identify characteristics of cancer cells that allow them to be selectively eliminated without harming the host. One such characteristic is autophagy dependence. Cancer cells survive, proliferate, and metastasize under conditions where normal cells do not.

In vivo dissection of Rhoa function in vascular development using zebrafish.

The small monomeric GTPase RHOA acts as a master regulator of signal transduction cascades by activating effectors of cellular signaling, including the Rho-associated protein kinases ROCK1/2. Previous in vitro cell culture studies suggest that RHOA can regulate many critical aspects of vascular endothelial cell (EC) biology, including focal adhesion, stress fiber formation, and angiogenesis. However, the specific in vivo roles of RHOA during vascular development and homeostasis are still not well understood.

Human Tyrosinase: Temperature-Dependent Kinetics of Oxidase Activity.

Human tyrosinase (Tyr) is involved in pigment biosynthesis, where mutations in its corresponding gene TYR have been linked to oculocutaneous albinism 1, an autosomal recessive disorder. Although the enzymatic capabilities of Tyr have been well-characterized, the thermodynamic driving forces underlying melanogenesis remain unknown. Here, we analyze protein binding using the diphenol oxidase behavior of Tyr and van 't Hoff temperature-dependent analysis.

High-precision registration between zebrafish brain atlases using symmetric diffeomorphic normalization.

Atlases provide a framework for spatially mapping information from diverse sources into a common reference space. Specifically, brain atlases allow annotation of gene expression, cell morphology, connectivity, and activity. In larval zebrafish, advances in genetics, imaging, and computational methods now allow the collection of such information brain-wide.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor protects cone photoreceptor-derived 661W cells from light damage through Akt activation.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) can delay and prevent the death of photoreceptors in vivo. We investigated the survival activity of PEDF on cone photoreceptor-derived 661W cells in culture, the presence of PEDF receptor (PEDF-R) in these cells and the activation of prosurvival Akt. Cell death was induced by light exposure in the presence of 9-cis retinal.

Activation-induced disruption of nucleosome position clusters on the coding regions of Gcn4-dependent genes extends into neighbouring genes.

We have used paired-end sequencing of yeast nucleosomal DNA to obtain accurate genomic maps of nucleosome positions and occupancies in control cells and cells treated with 3-aminotriazole (3AT), an inducer of the transcriptional activator Gcn4. In control cells, 3AT-inducible genes exhibit a series of distinct nucleosome occupancy peaks. However, the underlying position data reveal that each nucleosome peak actually consists of a cluster of mutually exclusive overlapping positions, usually including a dominant position.

MicroRNA expression in human retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells: increased expression of microRNA-9 by N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide.

Purpose: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of many cellular functions due to their ability to target mRNAs for degradation or translational inhibition. Previous studies have reported that the expression of microRNA-9 (miR-9) is regulated by retinoic acid and reactive oxygen species (ROS). We have previously shown that N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide (4HPR), a retinoic acid derivative, induces ROS generation and apoptosis in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, known as ARPE-19 cells.

Recent developments in synthetic oligosaccharide-based bacterial vaccines.

Synthetic advances made possible chemical assembly of complex oligosaccharide fragments of polysaccharide domains on the surface of human pathogenic bacteria. These oligosaccharides may be recognized by antibodies raised against high molecular weight, native, polysaccharides. In addition to their antigenicity, synthetic oligosaccharides can also function as haptens in their protein conjugates that can elicit not only oligo- but also polysaccharide-specific IgG antibodies in animal models and in humans.

Intragenic suppressor mutations restore GTPase and translation functions of a eukaryotic initiation factor 5B switch II mutant.

Structural studies of GTP-binding proteins identified the Switch I and Switch II elements as contacting the gamma-phosphate of GTP and undergoing marked conformational changes upon GTP versus GDP binding. Movement of a universally conserved Gly at the N terminus of Switch II is thought to trigger the structural rearrangement of this element. Consistently, we found that mutation of this Gly in the Switch II element of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5B (eIF5B) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae impaired cell growth and the guanine nucleotide-binding, GTPase, and ribosomal subunit joining activities of eIF5B.

Identification of target genes and a unique cis element regulated by IRF-8 in developing macrophages.

Interferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF-8)/interferon consensus sequence-binding protein (ICSBP) is a transcription factor that controls myeloid-cell development. Microarray gene expression analysis of Irf-8-/- myeloid progenitor cells expressing an IRF-8/estrogen receptor chimera (which differentiate into macrophages after addition of estradiol) was used to identify 69 genes altered by IRF-8 during early differentiation (62 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated). Among them, 4 lysosomal/endosomal enzyme-related genes (cystatin C, cathepsin C, lysozyme, and prosaposin) did not require de novo protein synthesis for induction, suggesting that they were direct targets of IRF-8.

PKR and GCN2 kinases and guanine nucleotide exchange factor eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2B (eIF2B) recognize overlapping surfaces on eIF2alpha.

Four stress-responsive protein kinases, including GCN2 and PKR, phosphorylate eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2alpha (eIF2alpha) on Ser51 to regulate general and gene-specific protein synthesis. Phosphorylated eIF2 is an inhibitor of its guanine nucleotide exchange factor, eIF2B. Mutations that block translational regulation were isolated throughout the N-terminal OB-fold domain in Saccharomyces cerevisiae eIF2alpha, including those at residues flanking Ser51 and around 20 A away in the conserved motif K79GYID83.

Nonphosphorylated human La antigen interacts with nucleolin at nucleolar sites involved in rRNA biogenesis.

La is a RNA-binding protein implicated in multiple pathways related to the production of tRNAs, ribosomal proteins, and other components of the translational machinery (D. J. Kenan and J.

ICSBP/IRF-8 inhibits mitogenic activity of p210 Bcr/Abl in differentiating myeloid progenitor cells.

Interferon consensus sequence binding protein/interferon regulatory factor 8 (ICSBP/IRF-8) is a transcription factor that controls myeloid cell development. ICSBP-/- mice develop a chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)-like syndrome. Several observations on patients and mouse models have implicated ICSBP in the pathogenesis of CML.

Towards a synthetic glycoconjugate vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis A.

Albumin conjugates of synthetic fragments of the capsular polysaccharide of the Gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A were prepared. The fragments include monosaccharides 1 [alpha-D-ManpNAc-(1-->O)-(CH(2))(2)NH(2)] and 2 [6-O-P(O)(O(-))(2)-alpha-D-ManpNAc-(1-->O)-(CH(2))(2)NH(2)], disaccharide 3 [alpha-D-ManpNAc-[1-->O-P(O)(O(-))-->6]-alpha-D-ManpNAc-(1-->O)-(CH(2))(2)NH(2)], and trisaccharide 4 [alpha-D-ManpNAc-[1-->O-P(O)(O(-))-->6]-alpha-D-ManpNAc-[1-->O-P(O)(O(-))-->6]-alpha-D-ManpNAc-(1-->O)-(CH(2))(2)NH(2)]. Two monosaccharide blocks were employed as key intermediates.

Synthesis of Glycoconjugate Vaccines against Shigella dysenteriae Type 1.

Syntheses of a hexadecasaccharide and smaller fragments corresponding to one-four repeating units of the O-specific polysaccharide of Shigella dysenteriae type 1 are reported in a reactive aglycon-linked from. Two tetrasaccharide donor/acceptor repeating units were assembled from monosaccharide precursors in a stepwise fashion and used in a linear, iterative manner to construct the higher-membered saccharides using Schmidt's glycosylation technique that proved superior to others tested. Single-point attachment of the saccharides to human serum albumin, using a secondary heterobifunctional spacer, afforded a range of glycoconjugates for a detailed evaluation of their immunological characteristics.

The mouse zona pellucida: folliculogenesis, fertility and pre-implantation development.

Perinatally, oocytes within the mouse ovary become surrounded by a layer of flattened granulosa cells and form primordial follicles. The subsequent accretion of the zona pellucida between the oocytes and granulosa cells provides a biochemical marker of folliculogenesis. In mice, the zona matrix is composed of three proteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3).

Incorporation of mouse zona pellucida proteins into the envelope of Xenopus laevis oocytes.

All vertebrate eggs have extracellular matrices, referred to as the zona pellucida in Mus musculus and the vitelline envelope in Xenopus laevis. The mouse zona, composed of three sulfated glycoproteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3), is critical for fertilization and early development, and mice lacking a zona pellucida produce no live offspring. The primary structures of mouse ZP1 (623 amino acids), ZP2 (713 amino acids) and ZP3 (424 amino acids) have been deduced from full-length cDNAs, but posttranslational modifications result in mature zona proteins with molecular masses of 200-180 kDa, 140-120 kDa, and 83 kDa, respectively.

O-Crystallin, arginine kinase and ferritin from the octopus lens.

Three proteins have been identified in the eye lens of the octopus, Octopus dofleini. A 22 kDa protein comprising 3-5% of the soluble protein of the lens is 35-43% identical to a family of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins of vertebrates. Other members of this family include the immunodominant antigen of the filarial parasite, Onchocerca volvulus, putative odorant-binding proteins of Drosophila and a protein with unknown function of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Functional and biophysical characterization of recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor isoforms produced in Escherichia coli.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pluripotent secreted protein that stimulates a wide array of cellular targets, including hepatocytes and other epithelial cells, melanocytes, endothelial and haematopoietic cells. Multiple mRNA species transcribed from a single HGF gene encode at least three distinct proteins: the full-length HGF protein and two truncated HGF isoforms that encompass the N-terminal (N) domain through kringle 1 (NK1) or through kringle 2 (NK2). We report the high-level expression in Escherichia coli of NK1 and NK2, as well as the individual kringle 1 (K1) and N domains of HGF.