scholarly journals Characterization of Recombinant Dengue-2 Virus Derived from a Single Nucleotide Substitution in the 5′ Noncoding Region

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijittra Leardkamolkarn ◽  
Wipawan Sirigulpanit ◽  
Richard M. Kinney
Keyword(s):  
Single Point ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Mosquito Vector ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Newborn Mice ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Cell Culture Assay

Variants of wild-type dengue serotype 2 (DEN-2) virus containing nucleotide substitutions at positions 14, 15, or 57 in the5′NCR were constructed by PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis. All three viruses containing a single point substitution demonstrated attenuation phenotype as evidenced by decreases replication and plaque size in cell culture assay. All three variants were less neurovirulent in newborn mice compared to the wild type. The mutants were immunogenic in adult mice immunogenicity and maintained stable replication characteristics following passage in mice. The variant viruses were competent for replication inAedes aegypimosquito vector, albeit at lower levels of infection and dissemination in the mosquito than the wild-type Den-2 16681 virus. Although all of the viruses, including the wild type, were found transmissible in mosquito life cycles, they were found subsequentially decreased in efficiency of infection, transmission, and dissemination rates along the mosquito generations and all of them remained genetically stable.

scholarly journals Characterization of the SOS Regulon of Caulobacter crescentus

2007 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 1209-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Paes da Rocha ◽  
Apuã César de Miranda Paquola ◽  
Marilis do Valle Marques ◽  
Carlos Frederico Martins Menck ◽  
Rodrigo S. Galhardo
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Caulobacter Crescentus ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Direct Repeat ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Potential Promoter

ABSTRACT The SOS regulon is a paradigm of bacterial responses to DNA damage. A wide variety of bacterial species possess homologs of lexA and recA, the central players in the regulation of the SOS circuit. Nevertheless, the genes actually regulated by the SOS have been determined only experimentally in a few bacterial species. In this work, we describe 37 genes regulated in a LexA-dependent manner in the alphaproteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus. In agreement with previous results, we have found that the direct repeat GTTCN7GTTC is the SOS operator of C. crescentus, which was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis studies of the imuA promoter. Several potential promoter regions containing the SOS operator were identified in the genome, and the expression of the corresponding genes was analyzed for both the wild type and the lexA strain, demonstrating that the vast majority of these genes are indeed SOS regulated. Interestingly, many of these genes encode proteins with unknown functions, revealing the potential of this approach for the discovery of novel genes involved in cellular responses to DNA damage in prokaryotes, and illustrating the diversity of SOS-regulated genes among different bacterial species.

scholarly journals Sequence Characterization of theMC1RGene in Yak (Poephagus grunniens) Breeds with Different Coat Colors

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Yi Chen ◽  
Yi Huang ◽  
Qing Zhu ◽  
Luca Fontanesi ◽  
Yong-Gang Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coat Color ◽  
Extracellular Loop ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Functional Effect ◽  
Nucleotide Substitutions ◽  
Melanocortin 1 Receptor ◽  
Sequence Characterization ◽  
Potential Association

Melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene plays a key role in determining coat color in several species, including the cattle. However, up to now there is no report regarding theMC1Rgene and the potential association of its mutations with coat colors in yak (Poephagus grunniens). In this study, we sequenced the encoding region of theMC1Rgene in three yak breeds with completely white (Tianzhu breed) or black coat color (Jiulong and Maiwa breeds). The predicted coding region of the yakMC1Rgene resulted of 954 bp, the same to that of the wild-type cattle sequence, with >99% identity. None of the mutation events reported in cattle was found. Comparing the yak obtained sequences, five nucleotide substitutions were detected, which defined three haplotypes (EY1,EY2, andEY3). Of the five mutations, two, characterizing theEY1haplotype, were nonsynonymous substitutions (c.340C>A and c.871G>A) causing amino acid changes located in the first extracellular loop (p.Q114K) and in the seventh transmembrane region (p.A291T).In silicoprediction might indicate a functional effect of the latter substitution. However, all three haplotypes were present in the three yak breeds with relatively consistent frequency distribution, despite of their distinguished coat colors, which suggested that there was no across-breed association between haplotypes or genotypes and black/white phenotypes, at least in the investigated breeds. Other genes may be involved in affecting coat color in the analyzed yaks.

scholarly journals Functional characterization of FlgM in the regulation of flagellar synthesis and motility in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Microbiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 155 (6) ◽  
pp. 1890-1900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Ding ◽  
Yao Wang ◽  
Yangbo Hu ◽  
Steve Atkinson ◽  
Paul Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
In Trans ◽  
Differential Gene ◽  
Flagellar Biogenesis

We describe here the functional characterization of the flgM gene in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Direct interaction of FlgM with the alternative sigma factor σ 28 (FliA) was first confirmed. A conserved region in the C-terminus of FlgM was found which included the σ 28 binding domain. By site-directed mutagenesis, bacterial two-hybrid analysis and Western blotting, the primary FlgM binding sites with σ 28 were shown to be Ile85, Ala86 and Leu89. A role for FlgM in swimming motility was demonstrated by inactivation of flgM and subsequent complementation in trans. Transcriptional fusion analyses showed differential gene expression of flhDC, fliA, flgM and fliC in the fliA and flgM mutants compared with the wild-type. flhDC expression was not influenced by σ 28 or FlgM while fliA expression was abolished in the fliA mutant and considerably reduced in the flgM mutant when compared to the wild-type, indicating that both FliA and FlgM can activate fliA transcription. Conversely, flgM transcription was higher in the fliA mutant when compared to the wild-type, suggesting that flgM transcription was repressed by σ 28. Interestingly, fliC expression was markedly increased in the flgM mutant, suggesting a negative regulatory role for FlgM in fliC expression. The transcription of other σ-dependent genes (cheW, flgD, flaA, csrA and fliZ) was also examined in fliA and flgM mutant backgrounds and this revealed that other σ-factors apart from σ 28 may be involved in flagellar biogenesis in Y. pseudotuberculosis. Taking together the motility phenotypes and effects of flgM mutation on the regulation of these key motility genes, we propose that the mechanisms regulating flagellar biogenesis in Y. pseudotuberculosis may differ from those described for other bacteria.

scholarly journals Genetic and Functional Characterization of ANGPTL7 as a Therapeutic Target for Glaucoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kavita Praveen ◽  
Gaurang Patel ◽  
Lauren Gurski ◽  
Ariane Ayer ◽  
Trikaladarshi Persaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Knockout Mice ◽  
Human Genetics ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Pathological Changes ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Sirna Knockdown ◽  
Coding Variants

Abstract Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness. Current glaucoma medications work by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP), a risk factor for glaucoma, but most treatments do not directly target the pathological changes leading to increased IOP, which can manifest as medication resistance as disease progresses. To identify physiological modulators of IOP, we performed genome- and exome-wide association analysis in >129,000 individuals with IOP measurements and extended these findings to an analysis of glaucoma risk. We report the identification and functional characterization of rare coding variants (including loss-of-function variants) in ANGPTL7 associated with reduction in IOP and glaucoma protection. We validated the human genetics findings in mice by establishing that Angptl7 knockout mice have lower (~2 mmHg) basal IOP compared to wild-type, with a trend towards lower IOP also in heterozygotes. Conversely, increasing mAngptl7 levels via injection into mouse eyes increases the IOP. We also show that acute gene silencing via siRNA knockdown of Angptl7 in adult mice lowers the IOP (~2-4 mmHg), reproducing the observations in knockout mice. Collectively, our data suggest that ANGPTL7 is important for IOP homeostasis and is amenable to therapeutic modulation to help maintain a healthy IOP that can prevent onset or slow the progression of glaucoma.

Modulation of keratin intermediate filament assembly by single amino acid exchanges in the consensus sequence at the C-terminal end of the rod domain

1991 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hatzfeld ◽  
K. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Filament ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Single Point Mutation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Elongation Process

All known intermediate filament (IF) proteins display -8 -4 -1 a consensus sequence TYRKLLEGE at the carboxyl end of the rod domain. To analyse the contribution of this sequence to the formation of IF we have changed two of the invariant positions of this motif by site-directed mutagenesis. We produced three mutant keratins, each containing a single point mutation. Tyrosine at position -8 was changed to alanine in keratin K8 (K8Y----A-8) and keratin K18 (K18Y----A-8) and leucine at position -4 was changed to glycine in keratin K18 (K18L----G-4). Mutant keratins were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and analysed for their filament-forming capacity in vitro using either the complementary wild-type keratin or the corresponding mixture of mutant keratins. In standard filament buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH7.5), assembly involving any of the mutants leads to large electron-dense aggregates instead of normal IF. In order to explain this effect, we studied the process of filament formation in more detail. Whereas the formation of tetramers in buffers containing 4M urea is unaffected, the elongation process seems slowed down. In buffer of lower ionic strength (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH7.5) mutant keratins K8Y----A-8 plus K18Y----A-8 become able to form long filaments, although short filaments and protofilamentous material are still detected. The filaments formed differ from normal keratin IF by their remarkable tendency to aggregate into thick cables. Assemblies involving K18L----G-4 can only form short IF lengths. The dense aggregates formed in standard filament buffer are able to dissociate into IF and their fragments upon dialysis into 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH7.5. The results show that the consensus sequence is needed for IF formation under normal conditions and that already one mutation per heterodimer affects the assembly.

scholarly journals Structural elements within the methylation loop (residues 112–117) and EF hands III and IV of calmodulin are required for Lys115 trimethylation

1999 ◽  
Vol 340 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. COBB ◽  
Chang-Hoon HAN ◽  
David M. WILLS ◽  
Daniel M. ROBERTS
Keyword(s):  
Single Point ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Nad Kinase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Loop Sequence ◽  
Ef Hand ◽  
Single Point Mutations ◽  
Ef Hands

Calmodulin is trimethylated by a specific methyltransferase on Lys115, a residue located in a six amino acid loop (LGEKLT) between EF hands III and IV. To investigate the structural requirements for methylation, domain exchange mutants as well as single point mutations of conserved methylation loop residues (E114A, Glu114 → Ala; L116T, Leu116 → Thr) were generated. E114A and L116T activated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) and NAD+ kinase (NADK) similar to wild-type calmodulin, but lost their ability to be methylated. Domain exchange mutants in which EF hand III or IV was replaced by EF hand I or II respectively (CaM1214 and CaM1232 respectively) showed a modest effect on PDE and NADK activation (50 to 100% of wild-type), but calmodulin methylation was abolished. A third domain exchange mutant, CaMEKL, has the methylation loop sequence placed at a symmetrical position between EF hands I and II in the N-terminal lobe [residues QNP(41-43) replaced by EKL]. CaMEKL activated PDE normally, but did not activate NADK. However, CaMEKL retained the ability to bind to NADK and inhibited activation by wild-type calmodulin. Site-directed mutagenesis of single residues showed that Gln41 and Pro43 substitutions had the strongest effect on NADK activation. Additionally, CaMEKL was not methylated, suggesting that the introduction of the methylation loop between EF hands I and II is not adequate for methyltransferase recognition. Overall the data indicate that residues in the methylation loop are essential but not sufficient for methyltransferase recognition, and that additional residues unique to EF hands III and IV are required. Secondly, the QNP sequence in the loop between EF hands I and II is necessary for NADK activation.

scholarly journals Mutants of feline immunodeficiency virus resistant to 2',3'-dideoxy-2',3'-didehydrothymidine.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1983-1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Q Zhu ◽  
K M Remington ◽  
T W North
Keyword(s):  
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Single Point Mutation ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphonoformic Acid ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus

We selected mutants of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) that are resistant to 2',3'-dideoxy-2',3'-didehydrothymidine (d4T). Two mutants were selected in cultured cells with a stepwise increase in d4T concentration, resulting in mutants able to replicate in 100 microM d4T. These mutants were three- to sixfold more resistant to d4T than wild-type FIV. They were also cross-resistant to 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT), 3'-fluoro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine, 2',3'-dideoxycytidine, 2',3'-dideoxyinosine, and 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine, and they were highly resistant to phosphonoformic acid (PFA). Plaque-purified mutants were isolated from each of the mutant populations. The mutant phenotype was stable, because both of the plaque-purified mutants remained d4T resistant even after three passages in the absence of d4T. One of the plaque-purified mutants, designated D4R-3c, was further characterized. Compared with wild-type reverse transcriptase (RT), RT purified from D4R-3c was 3-fold resistant to inhibition by the 5'-triphosphate of d4T, 10-fold resistant to inhibition by the 5'-triphosphate of AZT, and 6-fold resistant to PFA. D4R-3c had a single point mutation in the RT-encoding region of the pol gene at position 2474, resulting in a Val to Ile mutation at codon 47 of the FIV RT. The role of this mutation in d4T resistance was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis.

Development of gates to measure the immature platelet fraction in C57BL/6J mice using the Sysmex XN-V series multispecies hematology analyzer

2021 ◽  
pp. 104063872110278
Author(s):  
Patricia Davenport ◽  
Viola Lorenz ◽  
Zhi-Jian Liu ◽  
Henry A. Feldman ◽  
Jorge Canas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Inflammation ◽  
Murine Models ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Newborn Mice ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Platelet Production ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Thrombopoietin Receptor ◽  
Immature Platelet Fraction ◽  
Hematology Analyzer

The immature platelet fraction (IPF) is a measure of newly released platelets, which has been used as a marker of platelet production in multiple human studies but is not widely available in multispecies analyzers. We developed gates to measure the IPF in diluted and undiluted murine blood samples on the Sysmex XN-1000V multispecies hematology analyzer. IPF gates were created using undiluted and diluted (1/10) blood samples obtained from adult and newborn (postnatal day 10, P10) C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice, and from 3 murine models of thrombocytopenia: c-MPL−/− mice, which lack the thrombopoietin receptor (hyporegenerative); antibody-mediated thrombocytopenia; and acute inflammation-induced thrombocytopenia. P10 mice were chosen because, at their size, we could consistently obtain (by terminal phlebotomy) the blood volume needed to run an undiluted sample. The undiluted blood IPF gate successfully differentiated between mechanisms of thrombocytopenia in both adult and P10 mice. For diluted samples, 2 IPF gates were generated: a thrombocytopenic (T) gate, which performed well in samples with platelet counts (PCs) <800 × 109/L in adult mice and <500 × 109/L in newborn mice, and a non-thrombocytopenic (NT) gate, which performed well in samples with PCs above these thresholds. PCs and IPFs measured in diluted blood using these gates agreed well with those measured in undiluted blood and had good reproducibility. These diluted gates allow for the accurate measurement of PCs and IPFs in small (10 µL) blood volumes, which can be obtained easily from adult and newborn mice as small as P1 to assess platelet production serially.

Expression and Characterization of Clustered Charge-to-Alanine Mutants of Low Mr Single-Chain Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (01) ◽  
pp. 134-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ueshima ◽  
P Holvoet ◽  
H R Lijnen ◽  
L Nelles ◽  
V Seghers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Solvent Accessibility ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Clot Lysis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Charged Amino Acids ◽  
Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Urokinase Type Plasminogen Activator ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Properties

SummaryIn an effort to modify the fibrinolytic and/or pharmacokinetic properties of recombinant low M r single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (rscu-PA-32k), mutants were prepared by site-directed mutagenesis of clusters of charged amino acids with the highest solvent accessibility. The following mutants of rscu-PA-32k were prepared: LUK-2 (Lys 212, Glu 213 and Asp 214 to Ala), LUK-3 (Lys 243 and Asp 244 to Ala), LUK-4 (Arg 262, Lys 264, Glu 265 and Arg 267 to Ala), LUK-5 (Lys 300, Glu 301 and Asp 305 to Ala) and LUK-6 (Arg 400, Lys 404, Glu 405 and Glu 406 to Ala).The rscu-PA 32k moictic3 were expressed in High Five Ttichoplasiani cells, and purified to humugciicily from the conditioned cell culture medium, with recoveries of 0.8 to 3.7 mg/1. The specific fibrinolytic activities (220,000 to 300,000 IU/mg), the rates of plasminogen activation by the single-chain moieties and the rates of conversion In lwo chain moieties by plasmin were comparable for mutant and wild-type rscu PA 32k moieties, with the exception of LUK-5 which was virtually inactive. Equi-effective lysis (50% in 2 h) of 60 pi 125I-fibrin labeled plasma clots submerged in 0.5 ml normal human plasma was obtained with 0.7 to 0.8 μg/ml of wild-type or mutant rscu-PA-3?.k, except with LUK-5 (no significant lysis with 16 pg/ml). Following bolus injection in hamsters, all rscu-PA-32k moieties had a comparably rapid plasma clearance (1.3 to 2.7 ml/min), as a result of a short initial half-life (1.4 to 2.5 min). In hamsters with pulmonary embolism, continuous intravenous infusion over 60 min at a dose of 1 mg/kg, resulted in 53 to 72% clot lysis with the mutants, but only 23% with LUK-5, as compared to 36% for wild-type rscu-PA-32k.These data indicate that clustered charge-to-alanine mutants of rscu-PA-32k, designed to eliminate charged regions with the highest solvent accessibility, do not have significantly improved functional, fibrinolytic or pharmacokinetic properties.

Functional characterization of the H+/K+ ATPase in wild type and gastrin knock-out mice

2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Schnur ◽  
P Hegyi ◽  
V Venglovecz ◽  
Z Rakonczay ◽  
I Ignáth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Knock Out Mice
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