Staphylococcus aureus is an extremely adaptable pathogen causing a wide variety of infections. Staphylococcal surface proteins that directly interact with host extracellular proteins greatly contribute to virulence and are involved in adhesion, immune escape and nutrient acquisition. In our extensive search for highly immunogenic, in vivo-expressed, staphylococcal proteins, previously, we identified a novel member of the family of Gram-positive anchor motif proteins with a predicted 895 amino acid long sequence. In order to determine the ligand for this novel LPXTG cell wall protein, we employed affinity purification of human plasma using the recombinant form of the protein. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of eluted plasma proteins identified haptoglobin as a specific binding partner. Importantly, we also observed this specific ligand binding when living S. aureus cells were exposed to biotin-labelled haptoglobin (Hp) in a FACS-based assay. Targeted deletion of the gene eliminated Hp-binding, a function that has not been attributed to S. aureus before. Based on these data we specified the protein as the staphylococcal haptoglobin receptor A (HarA). Similarly to other haptoglobin receptors identified in Gram-negative pathogens, HarA binds not only Hp, but also haptoglobin-haemoglobin complexes with an even higher affinity, as demonstrated in in vitro binding assays. Employing specific deletion mutants, ligand binding was localized to two homologous regions with about 145 amino acid residues located within the N-terminal part of the protein. In addition, we demonstrated that expression of HarA was strictly controlled by iron through the iron-dependent transcriptional regulator Fur. Based on these data we propose that HarA can be added to the list of staphylococcal virulence factors with a most likely function related to iron acquisition.

Several species of enterobacteria are able to utilize citrate as carbon and energy source. Under oxic conditions in the presence of a functional tricarboxylic acid cycle, growth on this compound solely depends on an appropriate transport system. During anaerobiosis, when 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase is repressed, some species such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhimurium, but not Escherichia coli, are capable of growth on citrate by a Na+-dependent pathway forming acetate, formate, and CO2 as products. During the last decade, several novel features associated with this type of fermentation have been discovered in K. pneumoniae. The biotin protein oxaloacetate decarboxylase, one of the key enzymes of the pathway besides citrate lyase, is a Na+ pump. Recently it has been shown that the proton required for the decarboxylation of carboxybiotin is taken up from the side to which Na+ ions are pumped, and a membrane-embedded aspartate residue that is probably involved both in Na+ and in H+ transport was identified. The Na+ gradient established by oxaloacetate decarboxylase drives citrate uptake via CitS, a homodimeric carrier protein with a simultaneous-type reaction mechanism, and NADH formation by reversed electron transfer involving formate dehydrogenase, quinone, and a Na+-dependent NADH:quinone oxidoreductase. All enzymes specifically required for citrate fermentation are induced under anoxic conditions in the presence of citrate and Na+ ions. The corresponding genes form a cluster on the chromosome and are organized as two divergently transcribed operons. Their co-ordinate expression is dependent on a two-component system consisting of the sensor kinase CitA and the response regulator CitB. The citAB genes are part of the cluster and are positively autoregulated. In addition to CitA/CitB, the cAMP receptor protein (Crp) is involved in the regulation of the citrate fermentation enzymes, subjecting them to catabolite repression.

Demembranated Xenopus sperm nuclei were induced to replicate synchronously in a low-speed supernatant (LSS) of Xenopus eggs by preincubation in a high-speed supernatant (HSS). DNA replication was observed by incorporation of [alpha-32P]dATP, BrdUTP or biotin-dUTP. Biotin-dUTP incorporation, visualised with fluorescent streptavidin, reveals a striking pattern of replication foci throughout replicating nuclei. We show that this represents a precursor to the bright uniform fluorescence seen later. Confocal microscopic analysis of nuclei fixed early in replication reveals that these foci of DNA replication number about 100-300 for each nucleus and probably represent the replicon clusters already described for tissue culture cells. Foci are evenly distributed throughout the nuclei and are not concentrated at or near the nuclear envelope. Complete replication of each nucleus occurs in an average time of only one hour in this system. Hence we calculate that there must be at least 300-1000 replication forks together in each cluster. Furthermore, pulse labelling at later times in the period of replication reveals a similar pattern of foci indicating that replication forks remain tightly clustered in groups of at least 300 throughout the period of DNA replication.

The biotin/avidin system was incorporated into the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to increase the sensitivity of the standard ELISA for the detection of mouse antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen ((anti-HBs and HBsAg, respectively). Two biotin/avidin ELISA designs were studied. In both assays, 96-well polystyrene plates were coated with HBsAg, post-coated with 0.5% gelatin and incubated with dilutions of mouse anti-HBs. In the biotin/avidin (BA) ELISA, reagents were added to antibody reacted wells in the following sequence: biotinylated goat anti-mouse IgG (b-GAMG), avidin-alkaline phosphatase (Av-AP) and substrate. The order of reactants after mouse antibody in the biotin/avidin/biotin (BAB) ELISA was b-GAMG, avidin, biotinylated alkaline phosphatase (b-AP) and substrate. The sensitivities of BA ELISA, BAB ELISA and a standard ELISA using a glutaraldehyde conjugated goat anti-mouse enzyme were compared to AUSAB (a commercial radioimmunoassay) using a panel of 23 mouse anti-HBs sera. All 3 ELISAs were more sensitive than AUSAB; the standard ELISA, BAB ELISA and BA ELISA were respectively 50, 1173 and 4134 times more sensitive than AUSAB for detection of mouse anti-HBs activity.

We recently identified a class of pimelic diphenylamide histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors that show promise as therapeutics in the neurodegenerative diseases Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) and Huntington's disease. Here, we describe chemical approaches to identify the HDAC enzyme target of these inhibitors. Incubation of a trifunctional activity-based probe with a panel of class I and class II recombinant HDAC enzymes, followed by click chemistry addition of a fluorescent dye and gel electrophoresis, identifies HDAC3 as a unique high-affinity target of the probe. Photoaffinity labeling in a nuclear extract prepared from human lymphoblasts with the trifunctional probe, followed by biotin addition through click chemistry, streptavidin enrichment, and Western blotting also identifies HDAC3 as the preferred cellular target of the inhibitor. Additional inhibitors with different HDAC specificity profiles were synthesized, and results from transcription experiments in FRDA cells point to a unique role for HDAC3 in gene silencing in Friedreich's ataxia.

The synthesis of biotin, a vitamin required for many carboxylation reactions, is a variable trait in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Many S. cerevisiae strains, including common laboratory strains, contain only a partial biotin synthesis pathway. We here report the identification of the first step necessary for the biotin synthesis pathway in S. cerevisiae. The biotin auxotroph strain S288c was able to grow on media lacking biotin when BIO1 and the known biotin synthesis gene BIO6 were introduced together on a plasmid vector. BIO1 is a paralog of YJR154W, a gene of unknown function and adjacent to BIO6. The nature of BIO1 illuminates the remarkable evolutionary history of the biotin biosynthesis pathway in S. cerevisiae. This pathway appears to have been lost in an ancestor of S. cerevisiae and subsequently rebuilt by a combination of horizontal gene transfer and gene duplication followed by neofunctionalization. Unusually, for S. cerevisiae, most of the genes required for biotin synthesis in S. cerevisiae are grouped in two subtelomeric gene clusters. The BIO1-BIO6 functional cluster is an example of a cluster of genes of "dispensable function," one of the few categories of genes in S. cerevisiae that are positionally clustered.

Vacuolar-type ATPases V1V0 (V-ATPases) are found ubiquitously in the endomembrane organelles of eukaryotic cells. In this study, we genetically introduced a His tag and a biotin tag onto the c and G subunits, respectively, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae V-ATPase. Using this engineered enzyme, we observed directly the continuous counter-clockwise rotation of an actin filament attached to the G subunit when the enzyme was immobilized on a glass surface through the c subunit. V-ATPase generated essentially the same torque as the F-ATPase (ATP synthase). The rotation was inhibited by concanamycin and nitrate but not by azide. These results demonstrated that the V- and F-ATPase carry out a common rotational catalysis.

Drug resistance is a major obstacle to the success of cancer chemotherapy. Overexpression of the drug-efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a key factor contributing to tumor drug resistance. Third generation P-gp inhibitors like tariquidar have shown promising efficacy in early clinical trials. However, for maximum efficacy, it is important to limit the exposure of normal cells and tissues to the efflux inhibitor and the anticancer drug, and temporally colocalize the drug-inhibitor combination in the tumor cells. In this study, we investigated simultaneous and targeted delivery of anticancer drug, paclitaxel, with P-gp modulator, tariquidar, using poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles to overcome tumor drug resistance. Nanoparticles were surface functionalized with biotin for active tumor targeting. Dual agent nanoparticles encapsulating the combination of paclitaxel and tariquidar showed significantly higher cytotoxicity in vitro than nanoparticles loaded with paclitaxel alone. Enhanced therapeutic efficacy of dual agent nanoparticles could be correlated with increased accumulation of paclitaxel in drug-resistant tumor cells. In vivo studies in a mouse model of drug-resistant tumor demonstrated significantly greater inhibition of tumor growth following treatment with biotin-functionalized nanoparticles encapsulating both paclitaxel and tariquidar at a paclitaxel dose that was ineffective in the absence of tariquidar. Taken together, these results suggest that the use of targeted, dual agent nanoparticles delivering a combination of P-gp modulator and anticancer drug is a very promising approach to overcome tumor drug resistance.

GTP-binding proteins have been shown to serve as second messengers in the transduction of hormone signals across animal cell plasma membranes. We present here three lines of evidence to demonstrate that GTP-binding proteins are also involved in the elicitation of the defense response of cultured soybean cells. First, the antigen-binding fragment (Fab) of an antibody that specifically recognizes GTP-binding proteins in plants and animals was delivered into soybean cells using a non-destructive biotin-mediated delivery technique developed previously. Internalization of this Fab enhanced up to 10-fold the rapid oxidative burst induced by elicitor molecules, whereas internalization of its heat-denatured counterpart or unrelated proteins had no effect. Because the antibody recognizes a protein of molecular mass approximately 45 kDa in soybean cell membranes that is protected from ADP-ribosylation by GTP gamma S (guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate), we propose the 45-kDa GTP-binding protein is responsible for these effects. Second, mastoparan, a specific activator of GTP-binding proteins, was shown to induce the defense-related oxidative burst in the absence of elicitor stimulation, thus mimicking an activated receptor as it is thought to do in mammalian systems. Finally, but admittedly less convincing, the A subunit of cholera toxin, an activator of certain stimulatory GTP-binding proteins (Gs), was found to weakly enhance the conventional elicitor-induced oxidative burst. Taken together, these data argue for the involvement of GTP-binding proteins in elicitor signal transduction in soybean cells.

We present a self-powered integrated microfluidic blood analysis system (SIMBAS) that does not require any external connections, tethers, or tubing to deliver and analyze a raw whole-blood sample. SIMBAS only requires the user to place a 5 μL droplet of whole-blood at the inlet port of the device, whereupon the stand-alone SIMBAS performs on-chip removal of red and white cells, without external valving or pumping mechanisms, followed by analyte detection in platelet-containing plasma. Five complete biotin-streptavidin sample-to-answer assays are performed in 10 min; the limit of detection is 1.5 pM. Red and white blood cells are removed by trapping them in an integral trench structure. Simulations and experimental data show 99.9% to 100% blood cell retention in the passive structure. Powered by pre-evacuation of its PDMS substrate, SIMBAS' guiding design principle is the integration of the minimal number of components without sacrificing effectiveness in performing rapid complete bioassays, a critical step towards point-of-care molecular diagnostics.

Liposome-based drug and gene delivery systems have potential for significant roles in a variety of therapeutic applications. Recently, liposomes have been used to entrap gas and drugs for ultrasound-controlled drug release and ultrasound-enhanced drug delivery. Echogenic liposomes have been produced by different preparation methods, including lyophilization, pressurization, and biotin-avidin binding. Presently, significant in vivo applications of liposomal ultrasound-based drug and gene delivery are being made in cardiac disease, stroke and tumor therapy. Translation of these vehicles into the clinic will require a better understanding of improved physical properties to avoid rapid clearance, as well as of possible side effects, including those of the ultrasound. The aim of this review is to provide orientation for new researchers in the area of ultrasound-enhanced liposome drug and gene delivery.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a cAMP/PKA-activated anion channel, undergoes efficient apical recycling in polarized epithelia. The regulatory mechanisms underlying CFTR recycling are understood poorly, yet this process is required for proper channel copy number at the apical membrane, and it is defective in the common CFTR mutant, DeltaF508. Herein, we investigated the function of Rab11 isoforms in regulating CFTR trafficking in T84 cells, a colonic epithelial line that expresses CFTR endogenously. Western blotting of immunoisolated Rab11a or Rab11b vesicles revealed localization of endogenous CFTR within both compartments. CFTR function assays performed on T84 cells expressing the Rab11a or Rab11b GDP-locked S25N mutants demonstrated that only the Rab11b mutant inhibited 80% of the cAMP-activated halide efflux and that only the constitutively active Rab11b-Q70L increased the rate constant for stimulated halide efflux. Similarly, RNAi knockdown of Rab11b, but not Rab11a, reduced by 50% the CFTR-mediated anion conductance response. In polarized T84 monolayers, adenoviral expression of Rab11b-S25N resulted in a 70% inhibition of forskolin-stimulated transepithelial anion secretion and a 50% decrease in apical membrane CFTR as assessed by cell surface biotinylation. Biotin protection assays revealed a robust inhibition of CFTR recycling in polarized T84 cells expressing Rab11b-S25N, demonstrating the selective requirement for the Rab11b isoform. This is the first report detailing apical CFTR recycling in a native expression system and to demonstrate that Rab11b regulates apical recycling in polarized epithelial cells.

S-nitrosylation (SNO) is a reversible protein modification that has the ability to alter the activity of target proteins. However, only a small number of SNO proteins have been found in the myocardium, and even fewer specific sites of SNO have been identified. Therefore, this study aims to characterize potential SNO sites in the myocardium. We utilized a modified version of the SNO-resin-assisted capture technique in tandem with mass spectrometry. In brief, a modified biotin switch was performed using perfused mouse heart homogenates incubated with or without the S-nitrosylating agent S-nitrosoglutathione. Our modified SNO-resin-assisted capture protocol identified 116 unique SNO-modified proteins under basal conditions, and these represent the constitutive SNO proteome. These constitutive SNO proteins are likely to be physiologically relevant targets, since nitric oxide has been shown to play an important role in the regulation of normal cardiovascular physiology. Following S-nitrosoglutathione treatment, we identified 951 unique SNO proteins, many of which contained multiple SNO sites. These proteins show the potential for SNO. This study provides novel information regarding the constitutive SNO proteome of the myocardium, as well as potential myocardial SNO sites, and yields additional information on the SNO sites for many key proteins involved in myocardial contraction, metabolism, and cellular signaling.

Aspartoacylase (ASPA; EC 3.5.1.15) catalyzes deacetylation of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) to generate free acetate in the central nervous system (CNS). Mutations in the gene coding ASPA cause Canavan disease (CD), an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease that results in death before 10 years of age. The pathogenesis of CD remains unclear. Our working hypothesis is that deficiency in the supply of the NAA-derived acetate leads to inadequate lipid/myelin synthesis during development, resulting in CD. To explore the localization of ASPA in the CNS, we used double-label immunohistochemistry for ASPA and several cell-specific markers. A polyclonal antibody was generated in rabbit against mouse recombinant ASPA, which reacted with a single band (approximately 37 kD) on Western blots of rat brain homogenate. ASPA colocalized throughout the brain with CC1, a marker for oligodendrocytes, with 92-98% of CC1-positive cells also reactive with the ASPA antibody. Many cells were labeled with ASPA antibodies in white matter, including cells in the corpus callosum and cerebellar white matter. Relatively fewer cells were labeled in gray matter, including cerebral cortex. No astrocytes were labeled for ASPA. Neurons were unstained in the forebrain, although small numbers of large reticular and motor neurons were faintly to moderately stained in the brainstem and spinal cord. Many ascending and descending neuronal fibers were moderately stained for ASPA in the medulla and spinal cord. Microglial-like cells showed faint to moderate staining with the ASPA antibodies throughout the brain by the avidin/biotin-peroxidase detection method, and colocalization studies with labeled lectins confirmed their identity as microglia. The predominant immunoreactivity in oligodendrocytes is consistent with the proposed role of ASPA in myelination, supporting the case for acetate supplementation as an immediate and inexpensive therapy for infants diagnosed with CD.

OBJECTIVE

To contrast genome-wide gene expression profiles of cultured human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells to that of control and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) HTM tissues.

METHODS

Cultured HTM cells, HTM tissue dissected from control donors, and HTM tissue from POAG donors receiving medication for glaucoma were fixed in RNA latertrade mark. Total RNA extracted from these samples was linearly amplified with the Ovation Biotin RNA Amplification and Labeling System and individually hybridized to Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 high density microarrays. Data analysis was performed using GeneSpring Software 7.0. Selected genes showing significant differential expression were validated by quantitative real-time PCR in nonamplified RNA.

RESULTS

Cultured HTM cells retained the expression of some genes characteristic of HTM tissue, including chitinase 3-like 1 and matrix Gla protein, but demonstrated downregulation of physiologically important genes such as myocilin. POAG HTM tissue showed relatively small changes compared to that of control donors. These changes included the statistically significant upregulation of several genes associated with inflammation and acute-phase response, including selectin-E (ELAM-I), as well as the downregulation of the antioxidants paraoxonase 3 and ceruloplasmin.

CONCLUSIONS

Downregulation in cultured HTM cells of genes potentially relevant for outflow pathway function highlights the importance of developing new conditions for the culture of TM cells capable of preserving the characteristics of TM cells in vivo. Comparative analysis between control and POAG tissues suggests that the upregulation of inflammation-associated genes might be involved in the progression of glaucoma.

Metastasis is a complex, multistep process involved in the progression of cancer from a localized primary tissue to distant sites, often characteristic of the more aggressive forms of this disease. Despite being studied in great detail in recent years, the mechanisms that govern this process remain poorly understood. In this study, we identify a novel role for miR-139-5p in the inhibition of breast cancer progression. We highlight its clinical relevance by reviewing miR-139-5p expression across a wide variety of breast cancer subtypes using in-house generated and online data sets to show that it is most frequently lost in invasive tumors. A biotin pull-down approach was then used to identify the mRNA targets of miR-139-5p in the breast cancer cell line MCF7. Functional enrichment analysis of the pulled-down targets showed significant enrichment of genes in pathways previously implicated in breast cancer metastasis (P < 0.05). Further bioinformatic analysis revealed a predicted disruption to the TGFβ, Wnt, Rho, and MAPK/PI3K signaling cascades, implying a potential role for miR-139-5p in regulating the ability of cells to invade and migrate. To corroborate this finding, using the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line, we show that overexpression of miR-139-5p results in suppression of these cellular phenotypes. Furthermore, we validate the interaction between miR-139-5p and predicted targets involved in these pathways. Collectively, these results suggest a significant functional role for miR-139-5p in breast cancer cell motility and invasion and its potential to be used as a prognostic marker for the aggressive forms of breast cancer.

A truncated rat neurotensin receptor (NTR), expressed in Escherichia coli with the maltose-binding protein fused to its N-terminus and the 13 amino acid Bio tag fused to its C-terminus, was purified to apparent homogeneity in two steps by use of the monomeric avidin system followed by a novel neurotensin column. This purification protocol was developed by engineering a variety of affinity tags on to the C-terminus of NTR. Surprisingly, expression levels varied considerably depending on the C-terminal tag used. Functional expression of NTR was highest (800 receptors/cell) when thioredoxin was placed between the receptor C-terminus and the tag, indicating a stabilizing effect of the thioredoxin moiety. Several affinity chromatography methods were tested for purification. NTR with the in vivo-biotinylated Bio tag was purified with the highest efficiency compared with NTR with the Strep tag or a hexa-histidine tail. Co-expression of biotin ligase improved considerably the in vivo biotinylation of the Bio tag and, therefore, the overall purification yield. Proteolysis of the NTR fusion protein was prevented by removing a protease-sensitive site discovered at the N-terminus of NTR. The ligand binding properties of the purified receptor were similar to those of the membrane-bound protein and the native receptor. The scale-up of this purification scheme, to provide sufficient protein for biophysical studies, is in progress.

An enzymatic mechanism has been proposed by which biotinidase may catalyze biotinylation of histones. Here, human cells were found to covalently bind biotin to histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Cells respond to proliferation with increased biotinylation of histones; biotinylation increases early in the cell cycle and remains increased during the cycle. Notwithstanding the catalytic role of biotinidase in biotinylation of histones, mRNA encoding biotinidase and biotinidase activity did not parallel the increased biotinylation of histones in proliferating cells. Biotinylation of histones might be regulated by enzymes other than biotinidase or by the rate of histone debiotinylation.

Safe and effective cell delivery remains one of the main challenges in cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative disorders. Graft survival, sufficient enrichment of therapeutic cells in the brain, and avoidance of their distribution throughout the peripheral organs are greatly influenced by the method of delivery. Here we demonstrate for the first time noninvasive intranasal (IN) delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the brains of unilaterally 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats. IN application (INA) of MSCs resulted in the appearance of cells in the olfactory bulb, cortex, hippocampus, striatum, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord. Out of 1 × 10⁶ MSCs applied intranasally, 24% survived for at least 4.5 months in the brains of 6-OHDA rats as assessed by quantification of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) DNA. Quantification of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive EGFP-MSCs showed that 3% of applied MSCs were proliferative 4.5 months after application. INA of MSCs increased the tyrosine hydroxylase level in the lesioned ipsilateral striatum and substantia nigra, and completely eliminated the 6-OHDA-induced increase in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine, 5'-triphosphate (dUTP)-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining of these areas. INA of EGFP-labeled MSCs prevented any decrease in the dopamine level in the lesioned hemisphere, whereas the lesioned side of the control animals revealed significantly lower levels of dopamine 4.5 months after 6-OHDA treatment. Behavioral analyses revealed significant and substantial improvement of motor function of the Parkinsonian forepaw to up to 68% of the normal value 40-110 days after INA of 1 × 10⁶ cells. MSC-INA decreased the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines-interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, -6, -12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon-γ (IFN-γ, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-in the lesioned side to their levels in the intact hemisphere. IN administration provides a highly promising noninvasive alternative to the traumatic surgical procedure of transplantation and allows targeted delivery of cells to the brain with the option of chronic application.

OBJECTIVE

Both mitochondria and nitric oxide (NO*) contribute to cardioprotection by ischaemic preconditioning (IPC). IPC causes mild uncoupling of mitochondria via uncoupling proteins (UCPs) and the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT), and mild uncoupling per se is cardioprotective. Although electrophilic lipids are known to activate mitochondrial uncoupling, the role of such species in IPC-induced uncoupling and cardioprotection is unclear. We hypothesized that endogenous formation of NO*-derived electrophilic lipids (nitroalkenes such as nitro-linoleate, LNO2) during IPC may stimulate mitochondrial uncoupling via post-translational modification of UCPs and ANT, thus affording cardioprotection.

METHODS

Hearts from male Sprague-Dawley rats were Langendorff-perfused and subjected to IPC. Nitroalkene formation was measured by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The effects of exogenous LNO2 and biotin-tagged LNO2 on isolated heart mitochondria and cardiomyocytes were also investigated.

RESULTS

Nitroalkenes including LNO2 were endogenously generated in mitochondria of IPC hearts. Synthetic LNO2 (<1 microM) activated mild uncoupling, an effect blocked by UCP and ANT inhibitors. LNO2 (<1 microM) also protected cardiomyocytes against simulated ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Biotinylated LNO2 covalently modified ANT thiols and possibly UCP-2. No effects of LNO2 were attributable to NO* release, cGMP signalling, mitochondrial KATP channels, or protective kinase signalling.

CONCLUSIONS

Components of a novel signalling pathway are inferred, wherein nitroalkenes formed by IPC-stimulated nitration reactions may induce mild mitochondrial uncoupling via post-translational modification of ANT and UCP-2, subsequently conferring resistance to ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Antibodies to double-stranded (dsDNA) are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and directly involved in human lupus nephritis. Information about their glomerular target antigens is inconsistent, and whether availability of target antigens, antibody specificity or avidity are nephritogenic parameters, is not determined. In this study, we analyzed renal tissue from anti-dsDNA antibody-positive lupus patients with nephritis by morphological and immunological assays, including immune electron microscopy (IEM) and colocalization IEM, an EM-based confocal microscopy assay. IEM demonstrated that antibody deposits were confined to electron dense structures (EDS) in glomerular membranes. These autoantibodies colocalized with nucleosome-binding anti-dsDNA/-histone/-transcription factor antibodies. To confirm the colocalization IEM-data, we developed a colocalization terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase (TdT) biotin-dUTP nicked end-labeled (TUNEL) IEM assay where extracellular DNA was traced by TdT-mediated introduction of biotinylated nucleotides and autoantibodies by IEM. Results consistently demonstrated that DNA colocalized with autoantibodies in glomerular membrane-associated EDS. The colocalization IEM and colocalization TUNEL IEM assays thus demonstrate that intra-glomerular membrane-associated nucleosomes are targeted by anti-dsDNA autoantibodies in human lupus nephritis. The data provide a new approach to understand basic molecular and immunological processes accounting for antibody-mediated nephritis in human SLE.

Helicases are enzymes that use energy derived from nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis to unwind double-stranded (ds) DNA, a process vital to virtually every phase of DNA metabolism. The helicases used in this study, gp41 and Dda, are from the bacteriophage T4, an excellent system for studying enzymes that process DNA. gp41 is the replicative helicase and has been shown to form a hexamer in the presence of ATP. In this study, protein cross-linking was performed in the presence of either linear or circular single-stranded (ss) DNA substrates to determine the topology of gp41 binding to ssDNA. Results indicate that the hexamer binds ssDNA by encircling it, in a manner similar to that of other hexameric helicases. A new assay was developed for studying enzymatic activity of gp41 and Dda on single-stranded DNA. The rate of dissociation of streptavidin from various biotinylated oligonucleotides was determined in the presence of helicase by an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. gp41 and Dda were found to significantly enhance the dissociation rate of streptavidin from biotin-labeled oligonucleotides in an ATP-dependent reaction. Helicase-catalyzed dissociation of streptavidin from the 3'-end of a biotin-labeled 62-mer oligonucleotide occurred with a first-order rate of 0.17 min-1, which is over 500-fold faster than the spontaneous dissociation rate of biotin from streptavidin. Dda activity leads to even faster displacement of streptavidin from the 3' end of the 62-mer, with a first-order rate of 7.9 s-1. This is more than a million-fold greater than the spontaneous dissociation rate. There was no enhancement of streptavidin dissociation from the 5'-biotin-labeled oligonucleotide by either helicase. The fact that each helicase was capable of dislodging streptavidin from the 3'-biotin label suggests that these enzymes are capable of imparting a force on a molecule blocking their path. The difference in displacement between the 5' and 3' ends of the oligonucleotide is also consistent with the possibility of a 5'-to-3' directional bias in translocation on ssDNA for each helicase.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that is cytotoxic towards a variety of eukaryotic cells. To investigate the effect of this bacterium on macrophages, we infected J774A.1 cells and primary bone-marrow-derived murine macrophages with the P. aeruginosa strain PA103 in vitro. PA103 caused type-III-secretion-dependent killing of macrophages within 2 h of infection. Only a portion of the killing required the putative cytotoxin ExoU. By three criteria, terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling assays, cytoplasmic nucleosome assays, and Hoechst staining, the ExoU-independent but type-III-secretion-dependent killing exhibited features of apoptosis. Extracellular bacteria were capable of inducing apoptosis, and some laboratory and clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa induced significantly higher levels of this form of cell death than others. Interestingly, HeLa cells but not Madin-Darby canine kidney cells were susceptible to type-III-secretion-mediated apoptosis under the conditions of these assays. These findings are consistent with a model in which the P. aeruginosa type III secretion system transports at least two factors that kill macrophages: ExoU, which causes necrosis, and a second, as yet unidentified, effector protein, which induces apoptosis. Such killing may contribute to the ability of this organism to persist and disseminate within infected patients.

OBJECTIVE

Macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine-inducing infiltration of macrophages, which can play several roles in tumor growth and metastasis. We have attempted to clarify the relationship between MCP-1 expression and macrophage infiltration in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

METHODS

Paraffin-embedded sections of tissue samples taken from 56 patients with esophageal SCC after curative surgery were immunohistochemically stained for MCP-1, CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR-2), and thymidine phosphorylase (TP). Macrophage recruitment in SCC was evaluated by monocytic count based on CD68 immunostaining. Microvessels immunostained for Factor VIII-related antigen were counted in SCC, and microvessel density (MVD) was determined. Ki-67 labeling index was calculated based on Ki-67 immunostaining, and an apoptotic index was calculated based on the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate biotin nick end labeling.

RESULTS

MCP-1 was expressed in cancer cells of 31 SCC (55.4%) and in stromal cells mainly identified as macrophages of 16 SCC (28.6%). CCR-2 was expressed in stromal cells of all SCC and in vascular endothelial cells of 15 SCC (26.8%). There was a significant correlation between the expression of MCP-1 in cancer cells and of CCR-2 in stromal cells. TP was expressed in stromal cells in 76.7% of the SCC. Monocytic count, MVD, and Ki-67 LI in SCC with MCP-1 expression in cancer cells were higher than that without, and apoptotic index in SCC with MCP-1 expression in cancer cells were lower than that without. Furthermore, the monocytic count was positively correlated with MVD, while it was inversely correlated with apoptotic index. Clinicopathologically, MCP-1 expression in cancer cells was correlated with venous invasion, distant metastasis, and lymph node metastasis. Monocytic count in SCC with venous invasion, distant metastasis, or lymph node metastasis was higher than that without them. Five-year survival rate in the patients with high monocytic count or MCP-1 expression was worse than that with a low monocytic count or without MCP-1 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that MCP-1 expression and macrophage infiltration is associated with angiogenic promotion in esophageal SCC. MCP-1 expression may be interactively associated with macrophage infiltration in esophageal SCC; MCP-1 may play an important role in tumor angiogenesis through production of angiogenic factors, such as TP, by recruited macrophages in esophageal SCC. Furthermore, CCR-2 expression in vascular endothelial cells may participate partially in angiogenesis. Clinicopathologically, esophageal SCC patients with MCP-1 expression have no favorable prognosis.