Aspergillus nidulans Pmts form heterodimers in all pairwise combinations
In this study we show that A. nidulans Pmts form heteromeric complexes in all possible pairwise combinations and that PmtC forms homomeric complexes. We also show that MsbA, an ortholog of a Pmt4-modified protein, is not modified by PmtC. (Source: FEBS Open Bio)
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Inhibition of malignant phenotypes of human osteosarcoma cells by a gene silencer, a pyrrole–imidazole polyamide, which targets an E-box motif
In this study, we have designed 5 pyrrole–imidazole (PI) polyamides recognizing E-box, and found that, among them, Myc-6 significantly suppresses malignant phenotypes of human osteosarcoma MG63 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Intriguingly, knockdown of the putative Myc-6 target MALAT1 encoding long noncoding RNA remarkably impaired cell growth of MG63 cells. Collectively, our present findings strongly suggest that Myc-6 exerts its tumor-suppressive ability at least in part through the specific down-regulation of MALAT1. (Source: FEBS Open Bio)
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Mutation G805R in the transmembrane domain of the LDL receptor gene causes familial hypercholesterolemia by inducing ectodomain cleavage of the LDL receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Thea Bismo Strøm , Kristian Tveten , Jon K. Laerdahl , Trond P. Leren More than 1700 mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene have been found to cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). These are commonly divided into five classes based upon their effects on the structure and function of the LDLR. However, little is known about the mechanism by which mutations in the transmembrane domain of the LDLR gene cause FH. We have studied how the transmembrane mutation G805R affects the function of the LDLR. Based upon Western blot analy...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The role of Cysteine 227 in subcellular localization, water permeability, and multimerization of aquaporin-11
In this study, we examined the subcellular localization, water permeability, and multimerization of AQP11 with a mutation at Cys227. Interestingly, cells expressing the mutants had significantly higher osmotic water permeability. In contrast, the mutation lowered the cell surface expression and multimerization levels. Our observations suggest that Cys227 is crucial for the proper molecular function of AQP11. (Source: FEBS Open Bio)
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
A word of caution about biological inference – Revisiting cysteine covalent state predictions
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Éva Tüdős , Bálint Mészáros , András Fiser , István Simon The success of methods for predicting the redox state of cysteine residues from the sequence environment seemed to validate the basic assumption that this state is mainly determined locally. However, the accuracy of predictions on randomized sequences or of non-cysteine residues remained high, suggesting that these predictions rather capture global features of proteins such as subcellular localization, which depends on composition. This illustrates that even high prediction accuracy is ...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The role of autophagy in the intracellular survival of Campylobacter concisus
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Jose A. Burgos-Portugal , Hazel M. Mitchell , Natalia Castaño-Rodríguez , Nadeem O. Kaakoush Campylobacter concisus is an emerging pathogen that has been associated with gastrointestinal diseases. Given the importance of autophagy for the elimination of intracellular bacteria and the subversion of this process by pathogenic bacteria, we investigated the role of autophagy in C. concisus intracellular survival. Gentamicin protection assays were employed to assess intracellular levels of C. concisus within Caco-2 cells, following autophagy induction a...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Functional characterization of diverse ring-hydroxylating oxygenases and induction of complex aromatic catabolic gene clusters in Sphingobium sp. PNB
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Pratick Khara , Madhumita Roy , Joydeep Chakraborty , Debajyoti Ghosal , Tapan K. Dutta Sphingobium sp. PNB, like other sphingomonads, has multiple ring-hydroxylating oxygenase (RHO) genes. Three different fosmid clones have been sequenced to identify the putative genes responsible for the degradation of various aromatics in this bacterial strain. Comparison of the map of the catabolic genes with that of different sphingomonads revealed a similar arrangement of gene clusters that harbors seven sets of RHO terminal components and a sole set of electr...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Structure of the C-terminal domain of AspA (antigen I/II-family) protein from Streptococcus pyogenes
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Michael Hall , Åsa Nylander , Howard F. Jenkinson , Karina Persson The pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes can cause an array of diseases in humans, including moderate infections such as pharyngitis (strep throat) as well as life threatening conditions such as necrotizing fasciitis and puerperal fever. The antigen I/II family proteins are cell wall anchored adhesin proteins found on the surfaces of most oral streptococci and are involved in host colonization and biofilm formation. In the present study we have determined the crystal structure o...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Tracing the movement of adiponectin in a parabiosis model of wild-type and adiponectin-knockout mice
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Hideaki Nakatsuji , Ken Kishida , Ryohei Sekimoto , Tohru Funahashi , Iichiro Shimomura Adiponectin is exclusively synthesized by adipocytes and exhibits anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory properties. Hypoadiponectinemia is associated in obese individuals with insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms responsible for hypoadiponectinemia remain unclear. Here, we investigated adiponectin movement using hetero parabiosis model of wild type (WT) and adiponectin-deficient (KO) mice. WT mice were parabiosed with...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Lentiviral vector transduction of spermatozoa as a tool for the study of early development
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Anil Chandrashekran , Ihsan Isa , Jayesh Dudhia , Adrian J. Thrasher , Nicholas Dibb , Colin Casimir , Carol Readhead , Robert Winston Spermatozoa and lentiviruses are two of nature’s most efficient gene delivery vehicles. Both can be genetically modified and used independently for the generation of transgenic animals or gene transfer/therapy of inherited disorders. Here we show that mature spermatozoa can be directly transduced with various pseudotyped lentiviral vectors and used in in vitro fertilisation studies. Lentiviral vectors encoding Gr...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Expression of human apolipoprotein E4 reduces insulin-receptor substrate 1 expression and Akt phosphorylation in the ageing liver
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Qi-Rui Ong , Elizabeth S. Chan , Mei-Li Lim , Boon-Seng Wong The diabetic drug rosiglitazone was reported to improve glucose tolerance in insulin-resistant ApoE3 but not ApoE4 knock-in mice. We therefore examined whether apolipoprotein E (ApoE) has genotype-specific effects on liver insulin function. At 12weeks, no difference in liver insulin signaling was detected between fasting ApoE3 and ApoE4 mice. At 72weeks however, ApoE4 mice had lower IRS-1 and PI3K expression, and reduced Akt phosphorylation. This decline was associated with lower insulin and...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
The DNA intercalators ethidium bromide and propidium iodide also bind to core histones
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Amrita Banerjee , Parijat Majumder , Sulagna Sanyal , Jasdeep Singh , Kuladip Jana , Chandrima Das , Dipak Dasgupta Eukaryotic DNA is compacted in the form of chromatin, in a complex with histones and other non-histone proteins. The intimate association of DNA and histones in chromatin raises the possibility that DNA-interactive small molecules may bind to chromatin-associated proteins such as histones. Employing biophysical and biochemical techniques we have characterized the interaction of a classical intercalator, ethidium bromide (EB) and its s...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Identification and characterization of trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline dehydratase and Δ1-pyrroline-2-carboxylate reductase involved in trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline metabolism of bacteria
Publication date: 2014 Source:FEBS Open Bio, Volume 4 Author(s): Seiya Watanabe , Yoshiaki Tanimoto , Seiji Yamauchi , Yuzuru Tozawa , Shigeki Sawayama , Yasuo Watanabe trans-4-Hydroxy-l-proline (T4LHyp) and trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline (T3LHyp) occur mainly in collagen. A few bacteria can convert T4LHyp to α-ketoglutarate, and we previously revealed a hypothetical pathway consisting of four enzymes at the molecular level (J Biol Chem (2007) 282, 6685–6695; J Biol Chem (2012) 287, 32674–32688). Here, we first found that Azospirillum brasilense has the ability to grow not only on T4LHyp but also T3LHyp as a sol...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Ursolic acid, a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid, inhibits intracellular trafficking of proteins and induces accumulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 linked to high-mannose-type glycans in the endoplasmic reticulum
We report here a novel biological activity: ursolic acid inhibits intracellular trafficking of proteins. Ursolic acid markedly inhibited the IL-1α-induced cell-surface ICAM-1 expression in human cancer cell lines and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. By contrast, ursolic acid exerted weak inhibitory effects on the IL-1α-induced ICAM-1 expression at the protein level. Surprisingly, we found that ursolic acid decreased the apparent molecular weight of ICAM-1 and altered the structures of N-linked oligosaccharides bound to ICAM-1. Ursolic acid induced the accumulation of ICAM-1 in the endoplasmic reticulum, which was ...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
Mutational and crystallographic analysis of l-amino acid oxidase/monooxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. AIU 813: Interconversion between oxidase and monooxygenase activities
In this study, it was shown for the first time that l-amino acid oxidase of Pseudomonas sp. AIU813, renamed as l-amino acid oxidase/monooxygenase (l-AAO/MOG), exhibits l-lysine 2-monooxygenase as well as oxidase activity. l-Lysine oxidase activity of l-AAO/MOG was increased in a p-chloromercuribenzoate (p-CMB) concentration-dependent manner to a final level that was five fold higher than that of the non-treated enzyme. In order to explain the effects of modification by the sulfhydryl reagent, saturation mutagenesis studies were carried out on five cysteine residues, and we succeeded in identifying l-AAO/MOG C254I mutant en...
Source: FEBS Open Bio - October 12, 2014 Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research
