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Dimerization of Parkinson's disease-causing DJ-1 and formation of high molecular weight complexes in human brain.

Mutations in the DJ-1 gene have been implicated in the PARK7-linked autosomal recessive form of Parkinson's disease (PD). The molecular properties of DJ-1WT, DJ-1L166P, and a newly identified disease-causing mutant DJ-1M26I were explored after they were transiently expressed in mammalian cells. Treatment of intact, living cells with the chemical crosslinker disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS) revealed that DJ-1WT and mutant DJ-1M26I were present as stable homodimers; DJ-1L166P in particular tended to form high-order complexes as well. In contrast to DJ-1L166P that is quickly degraded by the proteasome, DJ-1M26I was found to be an efficiently expressed and stable variant of DJ-1, suggesting that these mutations have distinct biochemical effects on DJ-1. We further provide evidence that in human brain, under nondenaturing conditions, DJ-1 is present in high molecular weight (HMW) complexes of approximately 250-700 kDa containing parkin, another PD-associated protein.

Animals↗

Inhibition of graft arteriosclerosis development in rat aortas following heme oxygenase-1 gene transfer.

Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) is an enzyme which degrades heme into tree end products: biliverdin, free iron and carbon monoxide. This enzyme has recently been shown to have anti-inflammatory and tissue protective effects. HO-1 expression is involved in organ protection in pathological situations, and immunosuppressive treatments resulting in indefinite graft survival without chronic rejection have been associated with HO-1 expression by cells of the vessel wall. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of specific HO-1 overexpression. We used a recombinant adenovirus coding for human HO-1 cDNA in a rat aorta chronic rejection model, 30 days after transplantation. Control groups included rats non treated or treated with a non-coding adenovirus Addl324. We first demonstrated that AdHO-1 was efficiently expressed in endothelial cells in vitro, and in rat aortas ex vivo after adenovirus gene transfer. We found that intimal thickening in AdHO-1 treated aortas (10.8 +/- 3.8%, n=5) was significantly decreased compared to untreated (21.2 +/- 5.6%, n = 5) or Addl324-treated (21.1 +/- 1.2%, n = 4) aortas. Immunohistology showed that treatment with AdHO-1 resulted in a significant reduction in leukocyte infiltration and a decreasing number of VSMC in the intima, compared to Addl324-treated aortas. However, this effect of HO-1 on chronic rejection did not imply modifications on numbers of apoptotic cells in the graft or of alloantibody levels. We have demonstrated, for the first time, that specific HO-1 overexpression following gene transfer of HO-1 inhibited chronic rejection by reducing leukocyte and VSMC infiltration of the aorta intima.

Adenoviridae↗

High-yield expression of fully bioactive N-terminal parathyroid hormone analog in Escherichia coli.

A fully active analog of human parathyroid hormone (hPTH) has been produced by recombinant expression in Escherichia coli. Initially, a nucleotide sequence encoding hPTH(1-34)-Asp-Pro was ligated to a proinsulin gene in the plasmid pUC8, for the eventual expression of a fusion protein of 137 amino acids. Unexpectedly, the proinsulin gene and 340 bp downstream were deleted by an unknown mechanism during transformation of the E. coli. This resulted in a new plasmid encoding a small (72-amino acid) fusion product of hPTH(1-34)-Asp35-Pro36-X, where X is a 36-residue "arbitrary" downstream sequence of pUC8. The fusion product was efficiently expressed and the hPTH analog, [Asp35]hPTH-(1-35), was readily released by acid cleavage, with a yield of 100 mg/L. This analog had an effective concentration for half-maximal adenylyl cyclase stimulation (EC50) in rat osteosarcoma cells of 14 nM, which was identical to that for hPTH-(1-34). In the ovariectomized rat model of osteoporosis, [Asp35]hPTH-(1-35) was fully active as a bone anabolic agent.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Long-term gene expression using the lentiviral vector in rat chondrocytes.

The optimal approach to a long-term stable transgene expression in chondrocytes has not been established. Recently, lentiviral vectors have been used for transfection of some cultured cell lines. Our study tests the hypothesis that lentiviral vectors lead to longer gene expression in primary chondrocytes. We transfected lentiviral and adenoviral vectors carrying the green fluorescence protein gene to chondrocytes at different infection rates and cultured them in collagen Type I gel for up to 6 weeks. We also transplanted the cells of gel-suspended chondrocytes into the backs of nude mice. The mRNA expression of collagen Type II and aggrecan core protein was tested by real time polymerase chain reaction. The morphologic features and proliferation of chondrocytes were observed. Lentiviral vectors could transfect the green fluorescence protein gene to chondrocytes and the adenoviral vector, and there was no influence on the proliferation and phenotype of the chondrocytes. The percentage of lentiviral green fluorescence protein positive cells was much greater than the adenoviral green fluorescence protein at the end of 6 weeks. Stable green fluorescence protein expression was observed only in the lentivirus-transfected implants. The gene transfected by the lentiviral vector can be expressed efficiently for a long time and may be useful for gene transfer in cartilage defect repair.

Animals↗

Deadenylation-dependent and -independent decay pathways for alpha1-tubulin mRNA in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The alpha- and beta-tubulin mRNAs of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exhibit different half-lives under different conditions: when expressed constitutively, they degrade with half-lives of about 1 h, whereas when induced by deflagellation, they degrade with half-lives of only 10 to 15 min. To investigate the decay pathway(s) used under these two conditions, an alpha1-tubulin gene construct which included an insert of 30 guanidylate residues within the 3' untranslated region was introduced into cells. This transgene was efficiently expressed in stably transformed cells, and the mRNA exhibited constitutive and postinduction half-lives like those of the alpha1-tubulin mRNA. Northern blot analysis revealed the occurrence of a 3' RNA fragment derived from the poly(G)-containing alpha1-tubulin transcripts. The 3' fragment was shown to accumulate as full-length mRNA disappeared in actinomycin D-treated cells, indicating a precursor-product relationship. Insertion of a second poly(G) tract upstream of the first resulted in accumulation of only a longer 3' fragment, suggesting that the decay intermediate is generated by 5'-to-3' exonucleolytic digestion. A translational requirement for generation of the 3' fragment was demonstrated by experiments in which cells were deflagellated in the presence of cycloheximide. Analysis of fragment poly(A) length revealed that the fragments were, at most, oligoadenylated in nondeflagellated cells but had a long poly(A) tail in deflagellated cells. These findings suggest that the oligoadenylated fragment is a decay intermediate in a deadenylation-dependent, constitutive degradation pathway and that the requirement for deadenylation is bypassed in deflagellated cells. This represents the first example in which a single transcript has been shown to be targeted to different decay pathways under different cellular conditions.

Animals↗

An investigation into the role of N-glycosylation in the functional expression of a recombinant heteromeric NMDA receptor.

The effect of N-glycosylation on the assembly of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) heteromeric cloned receptors was studied. Thus human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells were cotransfected with N-methyl-D-aspartate R1 (NR1) and N-methyl-D-aspartate R2A (NR2A) clones and the cells grown post-transfection in the presence of tunicamycin (TM). TM treatment resulted in a decrease of the NR1 subunit with M(r) 117 000 with a concomitant increase in a M(r) 97 000 immunoreactive species previously identified as the non-N-glycosylated NR1 subunit. In parallel, TM caused a dose-dependent inhibition of [3H]MK801 binding to the expressed receptor which was a result of an approximate four-fold reduction in the Dissociation Constant (KD) but with no change in the number of binding sites (Bmax). NMDA receptor cell surface expression was unchanged following TM treatment but it did result in a decrease in the percentage cell death post-transfection compared to control samples. The removal of TM from the cell culture media resulted in a return to the control KD value for [3H]MK801 binding and partial reglycosylation of newly synthesized NR1 subunit. These results demonstrate that N-glycosylation is requisite for the efficient expression of functional NR1/NR2A receptors. Furthermore, they suggest that N-glycosylation may be important for the correct formation of the channel domain of the NR1/NR2A receptor.

Animals↗

Bioeffects of low-frequency ultrasonic gene delivery and safety on cell membrane permeability control.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel method of ultrasonic naked gene delivery (UNGD); to examine the relationship between optimal parameters of ultrasound exposure and cell membrane permeability, enzymes, and free radicals; and to find optimal control parameters that were realizable, reliable, and noncytotoxic for use in gene therapy. METHODS: Suspensions of chicken, rabbit, and rat red blood cells and S180 cells were exposed to a calibrated ultrasonic field with different parameters in both the still and flowing states to obtain optimal parameters for UNGD. The optimal parameters then were used to implement UNGD. We examined morphologic characteristics, membrane permeability, enzymes, free radicals, naked gene expression efficiency, cell damage threshold, and cell viability by laser scanning confocal microscopy, fluorescent microscopy, flow cytometry, and spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter was delivered into S180 cells under the optimal parameters without cell damage or cytotoxicity. The transfection rate (mean +/- SD) was approximately 35.83% +/- 2.53% (n = 6) in viable cells, and cell viability was 90.17% +/- 1.47% (n = 6). The intensity of GFP expression with UNGD showed a higher fluorescent peak over both an adeno-associated virus vector-GFP group and a control group (P < .001). Additionally, malondialdehyde, hydroxyl free radicals, alkaline phosphatase, and acid phosphatase displayed an S-shaped growth model (r = 0.98 +/- 0.01) in response to permeability and morphologic alteration. CONCLUSIONS: Under optimal conditions, low-frequency ultrasound can safely deliver naked genes into cells without causing cell damage. The analytical results indicate that, except for subcavitation, free radical products are responsible for bioeffects in gene delivery. The constant E of energy deposition at 90% cell viability is the optimal control factor, and 80% viability represents the damage threshold. Optimal gene uptake by cells and safety depend on E. Constant E can be applied to control the gene delivery effect in combination with other parameters.

Animals↗

[The establishment of conditional MT transgenic mice model].

OBJECTIVE: To construct the doxycycline-inducible MT transgenic mice model, and provide a basis for the study of hemangioma as well as MT molecular function in vivo. METHODS: Tetracycline-controlled expression systems were employed to this study. A conditional transgenic vector combining the two transcriptional units on a single plasmid was constructed, and the MT gene was subcloned into this vector. To minimize any potential interference, the two elements were spaced with a 1.2 kb cHS4 insulator. To shield the transgene from the affection of chromosomal position effect and improve its expression efficiency, another cHS4 insulator was inserted into the upstream of transgene cassette. After transient transfection of cells in vitro, and analyzing the relative quantification of MT transcripts (target) in mRNA samples by semi-quantitative RT-PCR method, the pronuclear microinjection technique was used to introduce the purified transgene into the chromosomes of fertilized mice eggs, in order to obtain transgenic positive animals. The MT expression in positive mouse was induced through adding deoxycycline in drinking water. Phenotype analysis was done by pathology, and MT expression was confirmed by RT-PCR. RESULTS: The conditional transgenic vector was constructed successfully, and the expression of MT in vitro was regulated by doxycycline. Five transgenic positive mice were obtained through pronuclear microinjection. After MT induction, one transgenic mice developed hemangiomas, and the expression of MT was confirmed by RT-PCR method. The others were active and in breeding. CONCLUSION: Conditional MT transgenic animal model was constructed successfully, and may provide platform for the experimental research of hemangioma as well as the MT molecular function in vivo.

Animals↗

Ligand-binding characteristics and related structural features of the expressed goldfish kainate receptors: identification of a conserved disulfide bond and three residues important for ligand binding.

Low-molecular-weight kainate receptors from nonmammalian vertebrate brain belong structurally to the ionotropic glutamate receptor superfamily. In this study, two previously cloned goldfish kainate receptor subunits (GFKAR alpha and GFKAR beta) were transiently expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, and their ligand-binding properties and some associated structural features were characterized, resulting in the following findings. 1) Both subunits form homomeric receptors with high affinity for [3H]kainate (KD = 16 and 31 nM, respectively) and L-glutamate (KD = 2 and 40 microM, respectively). 2) A deletion mutant lacking the originally proposed second-transmembrane domain was efficiently expressed and retains the overall ligand-binding properties of wild-type GFKAR alpha, strongly indicating that this region is not a transmembrane domain. 3) Mutations of Q12, A53, and Y54 of GFKAR beta indicate that these three residues are important for ligand binding (particularly L-glutamate), which is consistent with the sequence homology to bacterial periplasmic binding proteins. 4) Mutation of the three extracellular cysteine residues of GFKAR beta indicated that the two conserved cysteine residues (C305 and C385), located between two transmembrane segments, form a solvent-accessible disulfide bond. Analysis of [3H]kainate binding to wild-type and cysteine mutations of GFKAR beta indicate that in the absence of the disulfide bond, the affinity for kainate is increased 3-fold. These data lend further evidence in support of a model of glutamate receptor topology with three transmembrane segments and reveal several general structural features of the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the kainate receptors. These results are consistent with the notion that the ligand-binding domain has close structural similarities to bacterial periplasmic binding proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Adenovirus-based transfer of wild-type p53 gene increases ovarian tumor radiosensitivity.

The p53 tumor suppressor gene product is known to be active in mediating radiation-induced G1-S cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a number of normal cell lines. These functions are compromised by inactivation of p53, which promotes tumor progression. Because the p53 gene appears to play an important role in the cellular response to radiation, wild-type p53 gene replacement might be expected to increase the sensitivity of malignant cells with mutant p53 to the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation. This study demonstrates that adenovirus (AdV)-mediated transfer and expression of the wild-type p53 in malignant cells lacking the p53 gene results in an increase in cellular radiosensitivity in vitro and tumor radioresponsiveness in vivo. Cultures of the p53 double deletion mutant ovarian cell line SK-OV-3 were infected with nonreplicative adenoviral vectors containing either the wild-type p53 gene (AdVp53) or the luciferase gene (AdVluc). Cultures infected with AdVp53 efficiently expressed wild-type p53 protein and were more sensitive to radiation than uninfected cultures or cultures infected with AdVluc. The ability of AdVp53 to radiosensitize tumors in vivo was tested using SK-OV-3 tumors growing in the flanks of severe combined immune-deficient mice. Intratumoral injection with AdVp53, but not AdVluc, led to enhanced radioresponsiveness and 45% long-term tumor control. These studies demonstrate the ability of AdVp53 to effectively transfer and express p53 protein in established tumors with a resultant increase in radiation responsiveness.

Adenoviridae↗

The Influence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sigma factors on the promotion efficiency of ptpAt promoter in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

It was found in a previous study that Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase ptpAt promoter is a highly active promoter in slow-growing species of mycobacteria, such as M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG, but inert in fast-growing mycobacterial species, such as M. smegmatis. This difference is presumed to be due to the differences between sigma factors systems of slow-growing pathogenic mycobacteria and the fast-growing saprophyte M. smegmatis. Therefore, we constructed a series of plasmids, named pOLYG-13x, which can express various M. tuberculosis sigma factors and also contain a P(ptpAt)-gfp reporter gene construct. By inducing different sigma factor genes of M. tuberculosis in M. smegmatis, we were able to explore the influences of various sigma factors on the expression efficiency of the ptpAt promoter. The result show that of the 10 sigma factors evaluated, only sigF and sigL were able to weakly drive the ptpAt promoter in M. smegmatis and other sigma factors were unable to drive the promoter.

Bacterial Proteins↗

High level expression of monomeric and dimeric human alpha1,3-fucosyltransferase V.

alpha3/4-Fucosyltransferases play a crucial role in inflammatory processes and tumor metastasis. While several human fucosyltransferases (FucTs) with different acceptor substrate specificities have been identified, the design of specific inhibitors for therapeutic approaches is hampered by the lack of structural information. In this study, we evaluated the expression of different constructs of human fucosyltransferase V to generate the large amounts required for structural studies. The truncated constructs lacking the transmembrane region and the cytosolic N-terminus, were expressed in baculovirus-infected Trichoplusia ni (Tn) insect cells and in two non-lytic expression systems, stably transfected human HEK 293 and T. ni cells. Since secretion of some glycosyltransferases is controlled by formation of dimeric molecules via disulfide bonds, one of the fucosyltransferase V constructs contained the N-terminal cysteine residue 64 for dimerization, whereas this residue was replaced in the other construct by serine. In both human and insect cells dimerization did not prove to be essential for efficient expression and secretion. On the basis of enzymatic activity, the yield of secreted fucosyltransferase V was approximately 10-fold higher in stably transfected insect cells than in HEK 293 cells. In particular the monomeric form of the enzyme provides a valuable tool for structural analyses to elucidate the fine specifity of fucosyltransferase V-mediated fucosylation of Lewis type glycans.

Animals↗

pBR322 DNA inhibits simian virus 40 gene expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

SV40 DNA form I is expressed efficiently after its injection into the nuclei of Xenopus laevis oocytes, resulting in the synthesis of RNA and protein products of both viral late and early transcription units. However it was observed that injection of SV40 genes cloned into pBR322 or related plasmids yielded vastly reduced quantities of viral DNA and proteins. If SV40 DNA was cleaved from the plasmid, and then recircularized prior to microinjection, viral expression was regained. The inhibition by plasmid DNA was not confined to an effect in cis because coinjection of circular pBR322 DNA along with SV40 DNA, as separate entities, also blocked viral RNA and protein synthesis. As circular but not linear pBR322 DNA was actively transcribed by polymerase II in oocytes, even in the presence of SV40 DNA, it is likely that pBR322 competes for transcription factors required for viral gene expression. Injection of pBR322 as early as two hours after injection of SV40 DNA into the oocyte nucleus did not inhibit SV40 RNA synthesis, indicating that once initiated, SV40 transcription is stable and insensitive to the competition by plasmid DNA. A plasmid vector was developed that allows expression of SV40 DNA in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Animals↗

Heterologous protein expression in filamentous fungi.

Filamentous fungi are commonly used in the fermentation industry for the large-scale production of proteins--mainly industrial enzymes. Recent advances in fungal genomics and related experimental technologies such as gene arrays and proteomics are rapidly changing the approaches to the development and use of filamentous fungi as hosts for the production of both homologous and heterologous gene products. The emphasis is moving towards sourcing new genes of interest through database mining and unravelling the circuits related to fungal gene regulation, applying, for example, transcriptomics. However, although heterologous fungal proteins are efficiently expressed, expression of gene products from other organisms is subject to several bottlenecks that reduce yield. Current approaches emphasize the study of pathways involved in protein modification and degradation in general rather than gene-by-gene approaches.

Animals↗

[Insect juvenile hormone enhancing gene expression in silkworm baculovirus vector system].

5th instar silkworms were infected with recombinant baculovirus containing phytase gene or wild type BmNPV at 48 hr after ecdysis, then treated with 100 ppm Juvenile hormone. It showed that the expression level of phytase gene and polyhedrin gene per silkworm was increased by 30% and 40%, respectively. The LT50 was lengthened for more than 4 h, and the average weight of sick silkworm was increased by 10%. The results indicated that the improvement of expression efficiency of phytase gene and polyhedrin gene was mainly caused by longer time of virus replication in silkworm after the treatment of Juvenile hormone.

6-Phytase↗

A model transgenic cereal plant with detoxification activity for the estrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogenic mycotoxin produced by the necrotrophic cereal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. This mycotoxin is detoxified by ZHD101, a lactonohydrolase from Clonostachys rosea, or EGFP:ZHD101, its fusion to the C-terminus of an enhanced green fluorescence protein. We previously showed that egfp:zhd101 is efficiently expressed in T(0) leaves of rice. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of in planta detoxification of the mycotoxin using progeny. When protein extract from T(1) leaves was incubated with ZEN, the amount of the toxin decreased significantly as measured by HPLC. ZEN degradation activity was also detected in vivo in transgenic T(2) seeds. These results suggest that zhd101 can be exploited as an efficient and cost-effective system for protection of important cereals that are more susceptible to the pathogen (e.g., wheat and maize) from contamination with the estrogenic mycotoxin.

Base Sequence↗

Structure and promoter analysis of the gene encoding the mouse helix-loop-helix factor HES-5. Identification of the neural precursor cell-specific promoter element.

HES-5 is a mammalian basic helix-loop-helix factor that has a distant sequence homology to the product of the Drosophila pair-rule gene hairy. HES-5 mRNA is present exclusively in the developing nervous system, but its level decreases as neural differentiation proceeds. In this study, to characterize the molecular mechanism of the neural-specific expression of HES-5 we isolated the mouse HES-5 gene. This gene consists of three exons, and Southern blot analysis shows that it is a single copy gene. The transcription initiation site, determined by primer extension and reverse transcriptase-mediated polymerase chain reaction, is located 26 nucleotides downstream of a TATAbox. Transient transfection analysis shows that the upstream region of the HES-5 gene can direct efficient expression in neural precursor cells and moderate expression in undifferentiated NCB20 neuroblastoma-brain hybrid cells but not in glioma or fibroblast cells. The moderate level of expression in NCB20 cells decreases when differentiation into neuron-like cells is induced. Further promoter analysis shows that this undifferentiated neural-specific expression is mediated by the multiple GC stretches present in the HES-5 promoter. Gel mobility shift analysis suggests the presence of a neural precursor cell-specific protein that binds to the GC stretches. These results raise the possibility that HES-5 expression in the developing nervous system is regulated by the GC stretch-binding protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Construction and characterization of a single polypeptide chain containing two enzymatically active dihydrofolate reductase domains.

A single polypeptide chain containing two dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) sequences from Escherichia coli was constructed to determine if a repeat sequence fusion protein could be expressed in an active form. The possibility that intersequence interactions could play a significant role for this enzyme is suggested by the results of Hall and Frieden (1989, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 86, 3060-3064) who observed a substantial decrease in the yield of active enzyme when folded in the presence of a large C-terminal fragment. The fusion protein [DHFR(Cys152Glu)--Ile--DHFR (Met1Gln)] was efficiently expressed in E. coli cells and has an activity which is twice that of the wild-type enzyme in the standard assay. The Michaelis constants of the fusion protein for the substrate, dihydrofolate and the cofactor, NADPH, are essentially unchanged from those of the wild-type protein. The urea-induced in vitro unfolding reaction of the fusion protein at low concentrations was found to be fully reversible and follow a three state model, suggesting that the two domains unfold independently. At higher protein concentrations the unfolding transition broadened and shifted to a higher urea concentration. Size-exclusion chromatography results are consistent with the formation of aggregates at the higher protein concentration, even in the absence of denaturant.

Amino Acid Sequence↗