Glucose-stimulated biphasic insulin secretion involves at least two signaling pathways, the KATP channel-dependent and KATP channel-independent pathways, respectively. In the former, enhanced glucose metabolism increases the cellular adenosine triphosphate/adenosine diphosphate (ATP/ADP) ratio, closes KATP channels and depolarizes the cell. Activation of voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels increases Ca(2+) entry and [Ca(2+)]i and stimulates insulin release. The KATP channel-independent pathways augment the response to increased [Ca(2+)]i by mechanisms that are currently unknown. However, they affect different pools of insulin-containing granules in a highly coordinated manner. The beta-cell granule pools can be minimally described as reserve, morphologically docked, readily and immediately releasable. Activation of the KATP channel-dependent pathway results in exocytosis of an immediately releasable pool that is responsible for the first phase of glucose-stimulated insulin release. Following glucose metabolism, the rate-limiting step for the first phase lies in the rate of signal transduction between sensing the rise in [Ca(2+)]i and exocytosis of the immediately releasable granules. The immediately releasable pool of granules can be enlarged by previous exposure to glucose (by time-dependent potentiation, TDP), and by second messengers such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and diacylglycerol (DAG). The second phase of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion is due mainly to the KATP channel-independent pathways acting in synergy with the KATP channel-dependent pathway. The rate-limiting step here is the conversion of readily releasable granules to the state of immediate releasability, following which, in an activated cell they will undergo exocytosis. In the rat and human beta-cell the KATP channel-independent pathways induce a time-dependent increase in the rate of this step that results in the typical rising second-phase response. In the mouse beta-cell the rate appears not to be changed much by glucose. Potential intermediates involved in controlling the rate-limiting step include increases in cytosolic long-chain acyl-CoA levels, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and guanosine triphosphate (GTP), DAG binding proteins, including some isoforms of protein kinase (PKC), and protein acyl transferases. Agonists that can change the rate-limiting steps for both phases of insulin release include those like glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that raise cyclic AMP levels and those like acetylcholine that act via DAG.

The mammalian brain is one of the organs with the highest energy demands, and mitochondria are key determinants of its functions. Here we show that the type-1 cannabinoid receptor (CB(1)) is present at the membranes of mouse neuronal mitochondria (mtCB(1)), where it directly controls cellular respiration and energy production. Through activation of mtCB(1) receptors, exogenous cannabinoids and in situ endocannabinoids decreased cyclic AMP concentration, protein kinase A activity, complex I enzymatic activity and respiration in neuronal mitochondria. In addition, intracellular CB(1) receptors and mitochondrial mechanisms contributed to endocannabinoid-dependent depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition in the hippocampus. Thus, mtCB(1) receptors directly modulate neuronal energy metabolism, revealing a new mechanism of action of G protein-coupled receptor signaling in the brain.

Excessive misfolded proteins and/or dysfunctional mitochondria, which may cause energy deficiency, have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Enhanced clearance of misfolded proteins or injured mitochondria via autophagy has been reported to have neuroprotective roles in PD models. The fact that resveratrol is a known compound with multiple beneficial effects similar to those associated with energy metabolism led us to explore whether neuroprotective effects of resveratrol are related to its role in autophagy regulation. We tested whether modulation of mammalian silent information regulator 2 (SIRT1) and/or metabolic energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) are involved in autophagy induction by resveratrol, leading to neuronal survival. Our results showed that resveratrol protected against rotenone-induced apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells and enhanced degradation of α-synucleins in α-synuclein-expressing PC12 cell lines via autophagy induction. We found that suppression of AMPK and/or SIRT1 caused decrease of protein level of LC3-II, indicating that AMPK and/or SIRT1 are required in resveratrol-mediated autophagy induction. Moreover, suppression of AMPK caused inhibition of SIRT1 activity and attenuated protective effects of resveratrol on rotenone-induced apoptosis, further suggesting that AMPK-SIRT1-autophagy pathway plays an important role in the neuroprotection by resveratrol on PD cellular models.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) functions to monitor and maintain energy homeostasis at the cellular and organism level. AMPK was perceived historically primarily as a component of the LKB1/STK11 tumor suppressor (LKB1 mutations cause the Peutz-Jegher cancer predisposition syndrome) cascade upstream of the TSC1/2/mTOR pathway and thus likely to be a tumor suppressor. However, AMPK has recently been shown to promote cancer cell survival in the face of extrinsic and intrinsic stressors including bioenergetic, growth factor, and oncogene stress compatible with studies showing that AMPK is required for oncogenic transformation. Thus, whether AMPK acts as a bona fide tumor suppressor or a contextual oncogene and, of particular importance, whether AMPK should be targeted for activation or inhibition during cancer therapy, is controversial and requires clarification. We aim to initiate discussions of these critical questions by reviewing the role of AMPK with an emphasis on cancer cell adaptation to microenvironment stress and therapeutic intervention.

The identification of a complex containing the tumor suppressor LKB1 as the critical upstream kinase required for the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by metabolic stress was reported in an article in Journal of Biology in 2003. This finding represented the first clear link between AMPK and cancer. Here we briefly discuss how this discovery came about, and describe some of the insights, especially into the role of AMPK in cancer, that have followed from it.

Improvements in sensor accuracy, greater convenience and ease of use, and expanding reimbursement have led to growing adoption of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). However, successful utilization of CGM technology in routine clinical practice remains relatively low. This may be due in part to the lack of clear and agreed-upon glycemic targets that both diabetes teams and people with diabetes can work toward. Although unified recommendations for use of key CGM metrics have been established in three separate peer-reviewed articles, formal adoption by diabetes professional organizations and guidance in the practical application of these metrics in clinical practice have been lacking. In February 2019, the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Congress convened an international panel of physicians, researchers, and individuals with diabetes who are expert in CGM technologies to address this issue. This article summarizes the ATTD consensus recommendations for relevant aspects of CGM data utilization and reporting among the various diabetes populations.

Background: Tumour mutational burden (TMB) has been retrospectively correlated with response to immune checkpoint blockade. We prospectively explored the association of high tissue TMB (tTMB-high) with outcomes in ten tumour-type-specific cohorts from the phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study, which assessed the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody pembrolizumab in patients with selected, previously treated, advanced solid tumours.

Methods: In the multi-cohort, open-label, non-randomised, phase 2 KEYNOTE-158 study, patients were enrolled from 81 academic facilities and community-based institutions across 21 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older, had a histologically or cytologically confirmed advanced (ie, unresectable or metastatic, or both) incurable solid tumour (eligible tumour types were anal, biliary, cervical, endometrial, mesothelioma, neuroendocrine, salivary, small-cell lung, thyroid, and vulvar), progression on or intolerance to one or more lines of standard therapy, had measurable disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST; version 1.1) assessed by independent central radiological review, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1, life expectancy of at least 3 months, adequate organ function, and a tumour sample for biomarker analysis. Participants were given pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks for up to 35 cycles. Tissue TMB (tTMB) was assessed in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour samples using the FoundationOne CDx assay (Foundation Medicine, Cambridge, MA, USA). The prespecified definition of tTMB-high status was at least 10 mutations per megabase. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with an objective response (complete or partial response) as per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (version 1.1) by independent central review. This prespecified analysis assessed the association between antitumour activity and tTMB in treated patients with evaluable tTMB data. Efficacy was assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of pembrolizumab, had evaluable tTMB data, and were enrolled at least 26 weeks before data cutoff (June 27, 2019), and safety was assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of pembrolizumab and had tTMB-high status. KEYNOTE-158 is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02628067, and is ongoing.

Findings: Between Jan 15, 2016, and June 25, 2019, 1073 patients were enrolled. 1066 participants were treated as of data cutoff (June 27, 2019), of whom 805 (76%) were evaluable for TMB, and 105 (13%) of 805 had tTMB-high status and were assessed for safety. 1050 (98%) of 1066 patients enrolled by at least 26 weeks before data cutoff, of whom 790 (75%) were evaluable for TMB and included in efficacy analyses. 102 (13%) of these 790 patients had tTMB-high status (≥10 mutations per megabase), and 688 (87%) patients had non-tTMB-high status (<10 mutations per megabase). Median study follow-up was 37·1 months (IQR 35·0-38·3). Objective responses were observed in 30 (29%; 95% CI 21-39) of 102 patients in the tTMB-high group and 43 (6%; 5-8) of 688 in the non-tTMB-high group. 11 (10%) of 105 patients had treatment-related serious adverse events. 16 (15%) participants had a grade 3-5 treatment-related adverse event, of which colitis was the only such adverse event that occurred in more than one patient (n=2). One patient had fatal pneumonia that was assessed by the investigator to be treatment related.

Interpretation: tTMB-high status identifies a subgroup of patients who could have a robust tumour response to pembrolizumab monotherapy. tTMB could be a novel and useful predictive biomarker for response to pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with previously treated recurrent or metastatic advanced solid tumours.

Funding: Merck Sharp &amp; Dohme Corp, a subsidiary of Merck &amp; Co, Inc.

We have analysed phosphorylation of the synthetic peptide AMARAASAAALARRR, and 23 variants by mammalian, higher plant and yeast members of the SNF1 protein kinase subfamily (AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), HMG-CoA reductase kinase (HRK-A), and SNF1 itself), and by mammalian calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I (CaMKI). These four kinases recognize motifs which are very similar, although distinguishable. Our studies define the following recognition motifs: AMPK: phi (X beta)XXS/TXXX phi; HRK-A: phi (X,beta)XXSXXX phi; Snf1: phi XRXXSXXX phi; CaMKI: phi XRXXS/TXXX phi; where phi is a hydrophobic residue (M, V, L, I or F) and beta is a basic residue (R, K or H).

The role of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) cascade in the glucose-sensitive pancreatic beta cell lines HIT-T15 and INS-1 was addressed. In both cell types, removal of glucose leads to a >5-fold activation of AMPK activity. Activation of AMPK was due to phosphorylation, since the effect was reversed by protein phosphatase treatment of the extracts, and was restored by re-addition of MgATP and the purified upstream kinase. When the effects of different concentrations of medium glucose were examined, insulin secretion and AMPK activity were inversely related, and varied over the same concentration range. The activation in response to glucose removal appeared to be due to changes in the concentration of the known regulators of the cascade, i.e. AMP and ATP, since AMPK activation was associated with a large increase in the cellular AMP/ATP ratio, and the two parameters varied over the same range of glucose concentrations. In late-passage HIT-T15 cells that had lost the glucose-dependent insulin secretion response, both AMPK activity and the AMP/ATP ratio also became insensitive to the extracellular glucose concentration. Treatment of INS-1 cells, but not HIT-T15 cells, with AICA riboside (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside) results in accumulation of the ribotide, ZMP (AICA riboside monophosphate), and activation of AMPK. AICA riboside treatment of INS-1 cells, and of isolated rat islets, had both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on insulin secretion. These results show that in beta cell lines the AMP-activated protein kinase, like its yeast homologue the SNF1 complex, can respond to the level of glucose in the medium, and may be involved in regulating insulin release.

A cDNA encoding the human platelet serotonin (5-HT) uptake site was isolated and sequenced using the PCR. The cDNA represents a approximately 3.1-kb mRNA transcript and contains an open reading frame encoding a hydrophobic polypeptide of 630 amino acids with 12 membrane-spanning segments, a calculated molecular mass of 70,320 Da, and an estimated isoelectrical point of 5.84. The human platelet 5-HT uptake site is identical with the human brain 5-HT transporter and approximately 92% homologous to the rat protein. Hydropathicity analysis indicates 12 membrane-spanning segments with two putative glycosylation sites within the second extracellular loop. The human platelet 5-HT uptake site contains two intraplasmatic consensus phosphorylation sites for cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase recognition located in the cytoplasmatic N-terminal region and three potential protein kinase C phosphorylation sites. The identity of the human platelet 5-HT uptake site and the brain 5-HT transporter indicates that both proteins are encoded by the same single-copy gene, which has been assigned to the human chromosome 17. Our findings are likely to facilitate molecular pharmacologic and genetic investigations of the 5-HT transporter in psychiatric disorders.

Microglial cells are believed to play an active role in brain inflammatory, immune and degenerative processes. Depending on the magnitude of microglial reaction, on the type of stimulus and on the concurrence of other local factors, microglia can contribute to host defence and repair, or to the establishment and maintenance of brain damage. Many of the effects of microglial cells can be ascribed to the numerous substances that these cells can synthesize and release in response to a variety of stimuli (cytokines, pro-inflammatory substances, neurotransmitters, toxins, etc.). The present article deals with two classes of compounds that activated microglial cells can produce in large amounts: prostanoids (that derive from arachidonic acid through the cyclooxygenase pathway), and nitric oxide (that is synthesized from arginine by nitric oxide synthase). Prostanoids and nitric oxide have a number of common targets, on which they may exert similar or opposite actions, and have a crucial role in the regulation of inflammation, immune responses and cell viability. Their synthesis can massively increase when the inducible isoforms of cyclooxygenase and nitric oxide synthase are expressed. The metabolic pathways of prostanoids and nitric oxide are finely tuned by the respective end-products, by cyclic AMP and by a number of exogenous factors, such as cytokines, glucocorticoids, lipocortin-1 and others. Some of these factors (e.g. transforming growth factor-beta 1, interleukin-10, lipocortin-1) may be secreted by microglial cells themselves, and act in an autocrine-paracrine way. In view of the neuroprotective role attributed to some prostaglandins and to the cytotoxicity of excessive levels of nitric oxide or its derivatives, the balance between prostanoid and nitric oxide levels may be crucial for orienting microglial reactions towards neuroprotection or neurotoxicity.

Mutants in the cyclic AMP (cAMP) control system in Salmonella typhimurium (cya = adenyl cyclase, crp = cAMP receptor protein) were partially resistant to growth inhibition by 22 antibiotics (including fosfomycin, nalidixic acid, and streptomycin) and 29 inhibitory analogs of normal bacterial fuel/carbon sources. This resistance was used as the basis for an efficient positive selection of cya and crp mutants. We propose that these antibiotics and analogs enter the bacteria through transport systems normally used for transporting fuel/carbon sources and that this is accomplished because of a structural similarity between the antibiotic and the natural substrate of the particular transport system involved. We propose that these transport systems are all under positive control by cAMP and that cAMP acts as a signal molecule (alarmone) for fuel/carbon deprivation. Evidence is provided for a hierarchy within operons controlled by cAMP. The methodology is shown to be useful for analyzing both antibiotic transport systems and the cAMP super-control system.

Cyclic-di-GMP and cyclic-di-AMP are second messengers produced by bacteria and influence bacterial cell survival, differentiation, colonization, biofilm formation, virulence, and bacteria-host interactions. In this study, we show that in both RAW264.7 macrophage cells and primary bone marrow-derived macrophages, the production of IFN-β and IL-6, but not TNF, in response to cyclic-di-AMP and cyclic-di-GMP requires MPYS (also known as STING, MITA, and TMEM173). Furthermore, expression of MPYS was required for IFN response factor 3 but not NF-κB activation in response to these bacterial metabolites. We also confirm that MPYS is required for type I IFN production by cultured macrophages infected with the intracellular pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Francisella tularensis. However, during systemic infection with either pathogen, MPYS deficiency did not impact bacterial burdens in infected spleens. Serum IFN-β and IL-6 concentrations in the infected control and MPYS(-/-) mice were also similar at 24 h postinfection, suggesting that these pathogens stimulate MPYS-independent cytokine production during in vivo infection. Our findings indicate that bifurcating MPYS-dependent and -independent pathways mediate sensing of cytosolic bacterial infections.

The AMP-activated protein kinase cascade is activated by elevation of AMP and depression of ATP when cellular energy charge is compromised, leading to inhibition of anabolic pathways and activation of catabolic pathways. Here we show that the system responds in intact cells in an ultrasensitive manner over a critical range of nucleotide concentrations, in that only a 6-fold increase in activating nucleotide is required in order for the maximal activity of the kinase to progress from 10% to 90%, equivalent to a co-operative system with a Hill coefficient (h) of 2.5. Modelling suggests that this sensitivity arises from two features of the system: (i) AMP acts at multiple steps in the cascade (multistep sensitivity); and (ii) the upstream kinase is initially saturated with the downstream kinase (zero-order ultrasensitivity).

Forty years of research into the function of L-glutamic acid as a neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) have uncovered a tremendous complexity in the actions of this excitatory neurotransmitter and an equally great complexity in the molecular structures of the receptors activated by L-glutamate. L-Glutamate is the most widespread excitatory transmitter system in the vertebrate CNS and in addition to its actions as a synaptic transmitter it produces long-lasting changes in neuronal excitability, synaptic structure and function, neuronal migration during development, and neuronal viability. These effects are produced through the activation of two general classes of receptors, those that form ion channels or "ionotropic" and those that are linked to G-proteins or "metabotropic". The pharmacological and physiological characterization of these various forms over the past two decades has led to the definition of three forms of ionotropic receptors, the kainate (KA), AMPA, and NMDA receptors, and three groups of metabotropic receptors. Twenty-seven genes are now identified for specific subunits of these receptors and another five proteins are likely to function as receptor subunits or receptor associated proteins. The regulation of expression of these protein subunits, their localization in neuronal and glial membranes, and their role in determining the physiological properties of glutamate receptors is a fertile field of current investigations into the cell and molecular biology of these receptors. Both ionotropic and metabotropic receptors are linked to multiple intracellular messengers, such as Ca2+, cyclic AMP, reactive oxygen species, and initiate multiple signaling cascades that determine neuronal growth, differentiation and survival. These cascades of complex molecular events are presented in this review.

Sp1 is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor that is particularly important for the regulation of TATA-less genes that encode housekeeping proteins. Most growth factors and receptors are also encoded by such genes. Sp1 is multiply O glycosylated by covalent linkage of the monosaccharide N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to serine and threonine residues. Based on an earlier observation that growth factor gene transcription can be regulated by glucose and glucosamine in vascular smooth muscle cells, we determined whether Sp1 glycosylation could be regulated and if this modification altered Sp1 function. We found that Sp1 becomes hyperglycosylated when cells are exposed to 5 mM glucosamine, whereas under glucose starvation, stimulation with cyclic AMP (cAMP) results in nearly complete deglycosylation of this protein. Correlating with this hypoglycosylated state, Sp1 is rapidly proteolytically degraded by an enzyme(s) that can be inhibited by specific proteasome inhibitors, lactacystin and LLnL. Treatment of cells with glucose or glucosamine protects Sp1 from cAMP-mediated degradation, whereas blockade of glucosamine synthesis abrogates glucose but not glucosamine protection. This effect on Sp1 is specific, in that the Stat-3 and E2F transcription factors did not undergo degradation under these conditions. The O-GlcNAc modification of Sp1 may play a role as a nutritional checkpoint. In the absence of adequate nutrition, Sp1 becomes hypoglycosylated and thereby subject to proteasome degradation. This process could potentially result in reduced general transcription, thereby conserving nutrients.

OBJECTIVE

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that block programmed death (PD)-1 or cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA-4) receptors have been associated with durable clinical responses against a variety of cancer types and hold great potential as novel cancer therapeutics. Recent evidence suggest that targeted blockade of multiple immunosuppressive pathways can induce synergistic antitumor responses.

METHODS

In this study, we investigated whether targeted blockade of CD73, an ectonucleotidase that catabolizes the hydrolysis of extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine, can enhance the antitumor activity of anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 mAbs against transplanted and chemically induced mouse tumors.

RESULTS

Anti-CD73 mAb significantly enhanced the activity of both anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 mAbs against MC38-OVA (colon) and RM-1 (prostate) subcutaneous tumors, and established metastatic 4T1.2 breast cancer. Anti-CD73 mAb also significantly enhanced the activity of anti-PD-1 mAb against 3-methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced fibrosarcomas. Gene-targeted mice revealed that single-agent therapies and combinatorial treatments were dependent on host IFN-γ and CD8(+) T cells, but independent of perforin. Interestingly, anti-CD73 mAb preferentially synergized with anti-PD-1 mAb. We investigated the effect of extracellular adenosine on tumor-infiltrating T cells and showed that activation of A2A adenosine receptor enhances PD-1 expression, but not CTLA-4 expression, on tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and CD4+ Foxp3+ T regulatory cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our study revealed that targeted blockade of CD73 can enhance the therapeutic activity of anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 mAbs and may thus potentiate therapeutic strategies targeting immune checkpoint inhibitors in general.

BACKGROUND

Adenylate kinases undergo large conformational changes during their catalytic cycle. Because these changes have been studied by comparison of structures from different species, which share approximately one-third of their residues, only rough descriptions have been possible to date.

RESULTS

We have solved the structure of unligated adenylate kinase from Escherichia coli at 2.2 degree resolution and compared it with the high-resolution structure of the same enzyme ligated with an inhibitor mimicking both substrates, ATP and AMP. This comparison shows that, upon substrate binding, the enzyme increases its chain mobility in a region remote from the active center. As this region 'solidifies' again on substrate release, we propose that it serves as a 'counterweight' balancing the substrate binding energy.

CONCLUSIONS

The comparison of two very different conformations of the same polypeptide chain revealed kinematic details of the catalytic cycle. Moreover, it indicated that there exists an energetic counterweight compensating the substrate binding energy required for specificity. This counterweight prevents the enzyme from dropping into a rate-reducing energy well along the reaction coordinate.

A protein kinase which phosphorylated histone and protamine was partially purified from bovine cerebellum. Casein and phosvitin were inert as substrates. The enzyme did not require any cyclic nucleotide. A sulfhydryl compound such as 2-mercaptoethanol, glutathione, or cysteine was necessary for the reaction. The optimum pH was 8.5 to 9.0 Km values for ATP and whole histone were 3.3 X 10(-6) M and 150 microgram/ml, respectively. The optimum concentration of Mg2+ varied with histone fractions employed; with H2B histone as substrate the enzyme was most active at 50 to 100 nM Mg2", whereas with H1 and H2A histones the maximum activity was observed at 5 to 10 mM Mg2+ and with H3 and H4 histones the enzyme was active over a range of 5 to 75 mM Mg2+. The enzyme phosphorylated Ser-32 and Ser-36 in H2B histone and Ser-38 in H1 histone, although the reaction with Ser-36 in H2B histone was very slow. The molecular weight was 6.4 X 10(4). The sedimentation coefficient and Stokes radium were about 4.5 and 29 A, respectively. The enzyme showed heterogeneity upon isoelectrofocusing electrophoresis with isoelectric points of 5.6, 6.0, and 6.6. The enzyme was not inhibited by protein inhibitor nor by the regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Preliminary analysis suggested that the enzyme was produced from its precursor protein by a limited proteolytic reaction.

Cathelicidins (caths) are peptides that are expressed at high levels in neutrophils and some epithelia and can act as natural antibiotics by directly killing a wide range of microorganisms. We hypothesized that caths are expressed in mast cells (MCs), because these cells have been previously associated with inherent antimicrobial activity. Cultured murine MCs contained abundant amounts of cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (AMP), the murine cath, and this expression was inducible by LPS or lipoteichoic acid. Human skin MCs also expressed cath as detected by immunohistochemical analysis for the human cath LL-37. The functional significance of this expression was shown by comparing MCs cultured from normal mice to MCs from littermates deficient in the cathelin-related AMP gene (Cnlp(-)). MCs derived from Cnlp(-/-) animals had a 50% reduction in their ability to kill group A STREPTOCOCCUS: These MCs expressed equivalent amounts of mRNA for murine beta-defensin-4, a beta-defensin AMP. Thus, different antimicrobials can be identified in MCs, and the presence of cath is necessary for efficient bacterial killing. These observations suggest that the presence of cath is vital to the ability of mammalian MCs to participate in antimicrobial defense.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the armament that insects have developed to fight off pathogens. Insect AMPs are typically cationic and often made of less than 100 amino acid residues. Although their structures are diverse, most of the AMPs can be assigned to a limited number of families. The most common structures are represented by peptides assuming a alpha-helical conformation in organic solutions or disulfide-stabilized beta-sheets with or without alpha-helical domains present. The diverse activity spectrum of these peptides may indicate different modes of action. Genetic analysis in the Drosophila model evidenced that multiple signal transduction pathways are activating the genes coding AMPs.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the first exon of the gene Huntingtin (Htt). A dramatic pathological change in HD is the massive loss of striatal neurons as the disease progresses. A useful advance in HD would be the generation of a human-derived HD model to use for drug screening and understanding mechanisms of HD. We utilized the recently established human iPS cell line derived from HD patient fibroblasts to derive neuronal precursors and human striatal neurons. To achieve this goal, the differentiation of the HD-iPS cells into striatal fate required several steps. First, we generated nestin+/PAX6+/SOX1+/OCT4- neural stem cells (NSCs) from HD-iPS cells using the method of embryoid body formation. HD-NSCs were then subjected to a differentiation condition combining morphogens and neurotrophins to induce striatal lineage commitment. Striatal neuronal precursors/immature neurons stained with β-III tubulin, calbindin and GABA but not DARPP-32 (dopamine- and cyclic AMP-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr = 32,000) were produced in this step. Finally, maturation and terminal differentiation of the striatal neuronal precursors/immature neurons resulted in striatal neurons expressing markers like DARPP-32. The HD-iPS cells derived striatal neurons and neuronal precursors contain the same CAG expansion as the mutation in the HD patient from whom the iPS cell line was established. Moreover, the HD-NSCs showed enhanced caspase activity upon growth factor deprivation compared to normal NSCs (from iPS or H9 NSCs). Therefore, these differentiated cells may produce a human HD cell model useful in the study of HD mechanisms and drug screening.

People with pale skin, red hair, freckles and an inability to tan--the 'red hair/fair skin' phenotype--are at highest risk of developing melanoma, compared to all other pigmentation types. Genetically, this phenotype is frequently the product of inactivating polymorphisms in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene. MC1R encodes a cyclic AMP-stimulating G-protein-coupled receptor that controls pigment production. Minimal receptor activity, as in red hair/fair skin polymorphisms, produces the red/yellow pheomelanin pigment, whereas increasing MC1R activity stimulates the production of black/brown eumelanin. Pheomelanin has weak shielding capacity against ultraviolet radiation relative to eumelanin, and has been shown to amplify ultraviolet-A-induced reactive oxygen species. Several observations, however, complicate the assumption that melanoma risk is completely ultraviolet-radiation-dependent. For example, unlike non-melanoma skin cancers, melanoma is not restricted to sun-exposed skin and ultraviolet radiation signature mutations are infrequently oncogenic drivers. Although linkage of melanoma risk to ultraviolet radiation exposure is beyond doubt, ultraviolet-radiation-independent events are likely to have a significant role. Here we introduce a conditional, melanocyte-targeted allele of the most common melanoma oncoprotein, BRAF(V600E), into mice carrying an inactivating mutation in the Mc1r gene (these mice have a phenotype analogous to red hair/fair skin humans). We observed a high incidence of invasive melanomas without providing additional gene aberrations or ultraviolet radiation exposure. To investigate the mechanism of ultraviolet-radiation-independent carcinogenesis, we introduced an albino allele, which ablates all pigment production on the Mc1r(e/e) background. Selective absence of pheomelanin synthesis was protective against melanoma development. In addition, normal Mc1r(e/e) mouse skin was found to have significantly greater oxidative DNA and lipid damage than albino-Mc1r(e/e) mouse skin. These data suggest that the pheomelanin pigment pathway produces ultraviolet-radiation-independent carcinogenic contributions to melanomagenesis by a mechanism of oxidative damage. Although protection from ultraviolet radiation remains important, additional strategies may be required for optimal melanoma prevention.