scholarly journals pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry Acts as a Reporter for the Intracellular Distribution of Active BACE1 In Vitro and In Vivo

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Zhao ◽  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Fu-Lei Tang ◽  
Lei Xiong ◽  
Ce Su ◽  
...  

β-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) initiates amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleavage and β-amyloid (Aβ) production, a critical step in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is thus of considerable interest to investigate how BACE1 activity is regulated. BACE1 has its maximal activity at acidic pH and GFP variant—pHluorin—displays pH dependence. In light of these observations, we generated three tandem fluorescence-tagged BACE1 fusion proteins, named pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry, BACE1-mCherry-pHluorin and BACE1-mCherry-EGFP. Comparing the fluorescence characteristics of these proteins in response to intracellular pH changes induced by chloroquine or bafilomycin A1, we found that pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry is a better pH sensor for BACE1 because its fluorescence intensity responds to pH changes more dramatically and more quickly. Additionally, we found that (pro)renin receptor (PRR), a subunit of the v-ATPase complex, which is critical for maintaining vesicular pH, regulates pHluorin’s fluorescence and BACE1 activity in pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry expressing cells. Finally, we found that the expression of Swedish mutant APP (APPswe) suppresses pHluorin fluorescence in pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry expressing cells in culture and in vivo, implicating APPswe not only as a substrate but also as an activator of BACE1. Taken together, these results suggest that the pHluorin-BACE1-mCherry fusion protein may serve as a useful tool for visualizing active/inactive BACE1 in culture and in vivo.

1999 ◽  
Vol 342 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. MULQUINEY ◽  
William A. BUBB ◽  
Philip W. KUCHEL

This is the first in a series of three papers [see also Mulquiney and Kuchel (1999) Biochem. J. 342, 579-594; Mulquiney and Kuchel (1999) Biochem. J. 342, 595-602] that present a detailed mathematical model of erythrocyte metabolism which explains the regulation and control of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (2,3-BPG) metabolism. 2,3-BPG is a modulator of haemoglobin oxygen affinity and hence plays an important role in blood oxygen transport and delivery. This paper presents an in vivo kinetic characterization of 2,3-BPG synthase/phosphatase (BPGS/P), the enzyme that catalyses both the synthesis and degradation of 2,3-BPG. Much previous work had indicated that the behaviour of this enzyme in vitro is markedly different from that in vivo. 13C and 31P NMR were used to monitor the time courses of selected metabolites when erythrocytes were incubated with or without [U-13C]glucose. Simulations of the experimental time courses were then made. By iteratively changing the parameters of the BPGS/P part of the model until a good match between the NMR-derived data and simulations were achieved, it was possible to characterize BPGS/P kineticallyin vivo. This work revealed that: (1) the pH-dependence of the synthase activity results largely from a strong co-operative inhibition of the synthase activity by protons; (2) 3-phosphoglycerate and 2-phosphoglycerate are much weaker inhibitors of 2,3-BPG phosphatase in vivo than in vitro; (3) the Km of BPGS/P for 2,3-BPG is significantly higher than that measured in vitro; (4) the maximal activity of the phosphatase in vivo is approximately twice that in vitro, when Pi is the sole activator (second substrate); and (5) 2-phosphoglycollate appears to play no role in the activation of the phosphatase in vivo. Using the newly determined kinetic parameters, the percentage of glycolytic carbon flux that passes through the 2,3-BPG shunt in the normal in vivo steady state was estimated to be 19%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Chen ◽  
Xiangyu Wei ◽  
Xueyi Wang ◽  
Xuan Zheng ◽  
Bowen Chang ◽  
...  

AbstractNADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] 1 alpha subcomplex, 4-like 2 (NDUFA4L2) is a subunit of Complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which is important in metabolic reprogramming and oxidative stress in multiple cancers. However, the biological role and molecular regulation of NDUFA4L2 in glioblastoma (GBM) are poorly understood. Here, we found that NDUFA4L2 was significantly upregulated in GBM; the elevated levels were correlated with reduced patient survival. Gene knockdown of NDUFA4L2 inhibited tumor cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis, while tumor cells initiated protective mitophagy in vitro and in vivo. We used lentivirus to reduce expression levels of NDUFA4L2 protein in GBM cells exposed to mitophagy blockers, which led to a significant enhancement of tumor cell apoptosis in vitro and inhibited the development of xenografted tumors in vivo. In contrast to other tumor types, NDUFA4L2 expression in GBM may not be directly regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, because HIF-1α inhibitors failed to inhibit NDUFA4L2 in GBM. Apatinib was able to effectively target NDUFA4L2 in GBM, presenting an alternative to the use of lentiviruses, which currently cannot be used in humans. Taken together, our data suggest the use of NDUFA4L2 as a potential therapeutic target in GBM and demonstrate a practical treatment approach.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5710-5724
Author(s):  
E DesJardins ◽  
N Hay

Transcription of the human proto-oncogene c-myc is governed by two tandem principal promoters, termed P1 and P2. In general, the downstream promoter, P2, is predominant, which is in contrast to the promoter occlusion phenomenon usually observed in genes containing tandem promoters. A shift in human c-myc promoter usage has been observed in some tumor cells and in certain physiological conditions. However, the mechanisms that regulate promoter usage are not well understood. The present studies identify regulators which are required to promote transcription from both human c-myc promoters, P1 and P2, and have a role in determining their relative activities in vivo. A novel regulatory region located 101 bp upstream of P1 was characterized and contains five tandem repeats of the consensus sequence CCCTCCCC (CT element). The integrity of the region containing all five elements is required to promote transcription from P1 and for maximal activity from P2 in vivo. A single copy of this same element, designated CT-I2, also appears in an inverted orientation 53 bp upstream of the P2 transcription start site. This element has an inhibitory effect on P1 transcription and is required for P2 transcription. The transcription factor Sp1 was identified as the factor that binds specifically to the tandem CT elements upstream of P1 and to the CT-I2 element upstream of P2. In addition, the recently cloned zinc finger protein ZF87, or MAZ, was also able to bind these same elements in vitro. The five tandem CT elements can be functionally replaced by a heterologous enhancer that only in the absence of CT-I2 reverses the promoter usage, similar to what is observed in the translocated c-myc allele of Burkitt's lymphoma cells.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Jia ◽  
Yunhao Li ◽  
Xiongwei Deng ◽  
Xuan Wang ◽  
Xinyue Cui ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Cancer synergistic therapy strategy in combination with therapeutic gene and small molecule drug offers the possibility to amplify anticancer efficiency. Colon cancer-associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) is a well identified oncogenic long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) exerting tumorigenic effects in a variety of cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC). Results: In the present work, small interfering RNA targeting lncRNA CCAT1(siCCAT1) and curcumin (Cur) were co-incorporated into polymeric hybrid nanoparticles (CSNP), which was constructed based on self-assembling method with two amphiphilic copolymers, polyethyleneimine-poly (D, L- lactide) (PEI-PDLLA) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy (polyethylene glycol) (DSPE-mPEG). Owing to the multicolor fluorescence characteristics of PEI-PDLLA, the constructed CSNP could be served as a theranostic nanomedicine for synchronous therapy and imaging both in vitro and in vivo. Resultantly, proliferation and migration of HT-29 cells were efficiently inhibited, and the highest apoptosis ratio was induced by CSNP with coordination patterns. Effective knockdown of lncRNA CCAT1 and concurrent regulation of relevant downstream genes could be observed. Furthermore, CSNP triggered conspicuous anti-tumor efficacy in the HT-29 subcutaneous xenografts model with a good biosafety and biocompatibility. Conclusion: On the whole, our studies demonstrated that the collaborative lncRNA CCAT1 silencing and Cur delivery based on CSNP might emerge as a preferable and promising strategy for synergetic anti-CRC therapy.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 791-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie Q. Huang ◽  
Paul M. Carter ◽  
Robert K. Shepherd

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 3543-3550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Huang ◽  
Lu Sun ◽  
Leonidas Pierrakeas ◽  
Linchang Dai ◽  
Lu Pan ◽  
...  

The SWR complex edits the histone composition of nucleosomes at promoters to facilitate transcription by replacing the two nucleosomal H2A-H2B (A-B) dimers with H2A.Z-H2B (Z-B) dimers. Swc5, a subunit of SWR, binds to A-B dimers, but its role in the histone replacement reaction was unclear. In this study, we showed that Swc5 uses a tandem DEF/Y motif within an intrinsically disordered region to engage the A-B dimer. A 2.37-Å X-ray crystal structure of the histone binding domain of Swc5 in complex with an A-B dimer showed that consecutive acidic residues and flanking hydrophobic residues of Swc5 form a cap over the histones, excluding histone–DNA interaction. Mutations in Swc5 DEF/Y inhibited the nucleosome editing function of SWR in vitro. Swc5 DEF/Y interacts with histones in vivo, and the extent of this interaction is dependent on the remodeling ATPase of SWR, supporting a model in which Swc5 acts as a wedge to promote A-B dimer eviction. Given that DEF/Y motifs are found in other evolutionary unrelated chromatin regulators, this work provides the molecular basis for a general strategy used repeatedly during eukaryotic evolution to mobilize histones in various genomic functions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn McLean ◽  
Duankun Lee ◽  
Elizabeth A. Holmes ◽  
Kelsi Penewit ◽  
Adam Waalkes ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTInhaled aztreonam is increasingly used for chronicPseudomonas aeruginosasuppression in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), but the potential for that organism to evolve aztreonam resistance remains incompletely explored. Here, we performed genomic analysis of clonally related pre- and posttreatment CF clinical isolate pairs to identify genes that are under positive selection during aztreonam therapyin vivo. We identified 16 frequently mutated genes associated with aztreonam resistance, the most prevalent beingftsIandampC, and 13 of which increased aztreonam resistance when introduced as single gene transposon mutants. Several previously implicated aztreonam resistance genes were found to be under positive selection in clinical isolates even in the absence of inhaled aztreonam exposure, indicating that other selective pressures in the cystic fibrosis airway can promote aztreonam resistance. Given its potential to confer plasmid-mediated resistance, we further characterized mutantampCalleles and performed artificial evolution ofampCfor maximal activity against aztreonam. We found that naturally occurringampCmutants conferred variably increased resistance to aztreonam (2- to 64-fold) and other β-lactam agents but that its maximal evolutionary capacity for hydrolyzing aztreonam was considerably higher (512- to 1,024-fold increases) and was achieved while maintaining or increasing resistance to other drugs. These studies implicate novel chromosomal aztreonam resistance determinants while highlighting that different mutations are favored during selectionin vivoandin vitro, show thatampChas a high maximal potential to hydrolyze aztreonam, and provide an approach to disambiguate mutations promoting specific resistance phenotypes from those more generally increasing bacterial fitnessin vivo.


2020 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 006-006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramón Margalef ◽  
Francisco Minaya-Muñoz ◽  
Fermín Valera-Garrido ◽  
Marc Bosque ◽  
Manel M. Santafé

Abstract Aim To determine whether sodium chloride electrolysis causes a change in the pH of tissues. Methods The effects of a 3 mA galvanic current has been evaluated, applied for 3 seconds and 3 repetitions (3:3:3). In vitro pH changes were evaluated in three experiments: 1) Eppendorf® tubes filled with Ringer's solution; 2) a very small volume of Ringer's solution (100µl); 3) Eppendorf® tubes filled with saline solution (NaCl 0.9%). The pH changes in the gastrocnemius of mice were evaluated, using the left limb as a control and the right limb for the intervention. The gastrocnemius muscles were ground up and the pH of each group was determined. Results In the in vitro experiments 1 and 2, no variation was observed in the pH of either the cathode in the Ringer's solution or the anode in the Ringer's solution (the variation did not exceed 16% in either of the cases, p> 0.05). In the third in vitro study, the pH after galvanic current application increased by 70% in the saline solution of the cathode and the anode pH decreased by 34% (p < 0.05 in both cases). In the in vivo experiments, no change in pH was obtained (% variation: 0.00 ± 0.00). Conclusions The galvanic current used in percutaneous needle electrolysis applying the 3:3:3 parameters generates very small changes in the pH, in the area near the needle, which the body is able to rapidly compensate for.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Chunrui Ma ◽  
Xiao Li ◽  
Kun Yang ◽  
Shangyong Li

Chitooligosaccharide (COS) has been recognized to exhibit efficient anti-oxidant activity. Enzymatic hydrolysis using chitosanases can retain all the amino and hydroxyl groups of chitosan, which are necessary for its activity. In this study, a new chitosanase encoding gene, csnQ, was cloned from the marine Bacillus sp. Q1098 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant chitosanase, CsnQ, showed maximal activity at pH 5.31 and 60 °C. Determination of CsnQ pH-stability showed that CsnQ could retain more than 50% of its activity over a wide pH, from 3.60 to 9.80. CsnQ is an endo-type chitosanase, yielding chitodisaccharide as the main product. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo analyses indicated that chitodisaccharide possesses much more effective anti-oxidant activity than glucosamine and low molecular weight chitosan (LMW-CS) (~5 kDa). Notably, to our knowledge, this is the first evidence that chitodisaccharide is the minimal COS fragment required for free radical scavenging.


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