Abstract:The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) controls cell growth and metabolism in response to various environmental inputs, especially amino acids. In fact, the activity of mTORC1 is highly sensitive to changes in amino acid levels. Over past decades, a variety of proteins have been identified as participating in the mTORC1 pathway regulated by amino acids. Classically, the Rag guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases), which reside on the lysosome, transmit amino acid availability to the mTORC1 pathway and recruit mTORC1 to the lysosome upon amino acid sufficiency. Recently, several sensors of leucine, arginine, and S-adenosylmethionine for the amino acid-stimulated mTORC1 pathway have been coming to light. Characterization of these sensors is requisite for understanding how cells adjust amino acid sensing pathways to their different needs. In this review, we summarize recent advances in amino acid sensing mechanisms that regulate mTORC1 activity and highlight these identified sensors that accurately transmit specific amino acid signals to the mTORC1 pathway.
Keywords:Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1);Amino acid;Sensor;Lysosome;Rag GTPases
Abstract:Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a conserved immune response primarily mediated by NADPH oxidases (NOXs), also known in plants as respiratory burst oxidase homologs (RBOHs). Most microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) trigger a very fast and transient ROS burst in plants. However, recently, we found that lipopolysaccharides (LPS), a typical bacterial MAMP, triggered a biphasic ROS burst. In this study, we isolated mutants defective in LPS-triggered biphasic ROS burst (delt) in Arabidopsis, and cloned the DELT1 gene that was shown to encode RBOHD. In the delt1-2 allele, the antepenultimate residue, glutamic acid (E919), at the C-terminus of RBOHD was mutated to lysine (K). E919 is a highly conserved residue in NADPH oxidases, and a mutation of the corresponding residue E568 in human NOX2 has been reported to be one of the causes of chronic granulomatous disease. Consistently, we found that residue E919 was indispensable for RBOHD function in the MAMP-induced ROS burst and stomatal closure. It has been suggested that the mutation of this residue in other NADPH oxidases impairs the protein’s stability and complex assembly. However, we found that the E919K mutation did not affect RBOHD protein abundance or the ability of protein association, suggesting that the residue E919 in RBOHD might have a regulatory mechanism different from that of other NOXs. Taken together, our results confirm that the antepenultimate residue E is critical for NADPH oxidases and provide a new insight into the regulatory mechanisms of RBOHD.
Keywords:Reactive oxygen species (ROS);NADPH oxidase (NOX);Microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMP);Lipopolysaccharides (LPS);Respiratory burst oxidase homolog D (RBOHD)
Abstract:As one of the most important aquatic fish, Micropterus salmoides suffers lethal and epidemic disease caused by rhabdovirus at the juvenile stage. In this study, a new strain of M. salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV) was isolated from Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, China, and named MSRV-YH01. The virus infected the grass carp ovary (GCO) cell line and displayed virion particles with atypical bullet shape, 300–500 nm in length and 100–200 nm in diameter under transmission electron microscopy. The complete genome sequence of this isolate was determined to include 11 526 nucleotides and to encode five classical structural proteins. The construction of the phylogenetic tree indicated that this new isolate is clustered into the Vesiculovirus genus and most closely related to the Siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus. To explore the potential for a vaccine against MSRV, a glycoprotein (1–458 amino acid residues) of MSRV-YH01 was successfully amplified and cloned into the plasmid pFastBac1. The high-purity recombinant bacmid-glycoprotein was obtained from DH10Bac through screening and identification. Based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blot, and immunofluorescence assay, recombinant virus, including the MSRV-YH01 glycoprotein gene, was produced by transfection of SF9 cells using the pFastBac1-gE2, and then repeatedly amplified to express the glycoprotein protein. We anticipate that this recombinant bacmid system could be used to challenge the silkworm and develop a corresponding oral vaccine for fish.
Keywords:Micropterus salmoides;Rhabdovirus;Glycoprotein;Baculovirus system
Abstract:Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) strain SD1511 was isolated from chickens with severe inclusion body hepatitis and hydropericardium syndrome in Shandong Province, China. The isolate was cultured in primary chicken embryo kidney cells. A study of pathogenicity indicated that SD1511 readily infected 7–35-d-old chickens by intramuscular injection and intranasal and oral routes, causing 50%–100% mortality. The 35-d-old chickens suffered more severe infection than 7-and 21-d-old chickens with mortality highest in the intramuscular injection group. The serum from surviving chickens showed potent viral neutralizing capability. The complete genome of SD1511 was sequenced and analyzed. The strain was found to belong to the FAdV-4 cluster with more than 99% identity with the virulent FAdV-4 strains isolated in China in recent years except for some distinct variations, including deletions of open reading frame 27 (ORF27), ORF48, and part of ORF19. Our findings suggest that SD1511 might be used as a prototype strain for the study of pathogenesis and vaccine development.
Abstract:Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) are caused by mutations in the DMD gene. The aim of this study is to identify pathogenic DMD variants in probands and reduce the risk of recurrence of the disease in affected families. Variations in 100 unrelated DMD/BMD patients were detected by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Pathogenic variants in DMD were successfully identified in all cases, and 11 of them were novel. The most common mutations were intragenic deletions (69%), with two hotspots located in the 5' end (exons 2–19) and the central of the DMD gene (exons 45–55), while point mutations were observed in 22% patients. Further, c.1149+1G>A and c.1150−2A>G were confirmed by hybrid minigene splicing assay (HMSA). This two splice site mutations would lead to two aberrant DMD isoforms which give rise to severely truncated protein. Therefore, the clinical use of MLPA, NGS, and HMSA is an effective strategy to identify variants. Importantly, eight embryos were terminated pregnancies according to prenatal diagnosis and a healthy boy was successfully delivered by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Early and accurate genetic diagnosis is essential for prenatal diagnosis/PGD to reduce the risk of recurrence of DMD in affected families.
Keywords:Dystrophin gene;Variation;Genetic diagnosis;Splice site mutation;Hybrid minigene splicing assay
Abstract:Objective:Mutations in LIM domain binding 3 (LDB3) gene cause idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), a structural heart disease with a complicated genetic background. However, the association of polymorphisms in the LDB3 gene with susceptibility to IDCM in Chinese populations remains unexplored as dose the impact on clinical presentation.Methods:We sequenced all exons and the adjacent part of introns of the LDB3 gene in 159 Chinese Han IDCM patients and 247 healthy controls. Then we detected the distribution of polymorphisms in the LDB3 gene in all participants and assessed their associations with risk of IDCM. Additionally, we conducted a stratified genotype–phenotype correlation analysis.Results:The A allele of rs4468255 was significantly associated with IDCM (P<0.01). The rs4468255, rs11812601, rs56165849, and rs3740346 were also associated with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (P<0.05). Notably, a higher frequency of rs4468255 polymorphism was observed in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients under a recessive model (P<0.01), whereas the significant association disappeared after adjusting for potential confounders. However, in the dominant model, notable correlations could only be observed after adjusting for multi parameters.Conclusions:The rs4468255 was significantly correlated with IDCM of Chinese Han population. A allele of rs4468255 is higher in IDCM patients with ICD implantation, suggesting the influence of genetic background in the generation of this response. In addition, rs11812601, rs56165849, and rs3740346 in LDB3 show association with brain natriuretic peptide, DBP, and LVEF levels in patients with IDCM but did not show any association with IDCM susceptibility.
Abstract:Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is the most common type of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) worldwide. protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) dysfunction has been widely reported in a broad range of malignancies due to its distinctive role in miscellaneous cellular processes. However, it is poorly understood whether aberrant alterations of PP2A are involved in the network of oncogenic events in LSCC. Here, we detected a panel of PP2A-associated proteins using western blot in both laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and paired adjacent normal tissues from patients (Data S1). We found that phospho-PP2A/C (Y307), α4, cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A), Akt, ezrin, phospho-ezrin (T567), 14-3-3, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) showed increased expression levels in carcinoma tissues relative to normal tissues, while phospho-Akt (T308) showed decreased levels. Our study, thus, provides a rationale for targeting PP2A to develop novel therapies and proposes a combination of interrelated biomarkers for the diagnostic evaluation and prognosis prediction in LSCC.