DNA transducer-triggered signal switch for visual colorimetric bioanalysis.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chen W
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4462091 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Phytochromes are plant photoreceptors that regulate plant growth and development with respect to the light environment. Following the initial light-perception event, the phytochromes initiate a signal-transduction process that eventually results in alterations in cellular behavior, including gene expression. Here we describe the molecular cloning and functional characterization of Arabidopsis FHY1. FHY1 encodes a product (FHY1) that specifically transduces signals downstream of the far-red (FR) light-responsive phytochrome A (PHYA) photoreceptor. We show that FHY1 is a novel light-regulated protein that accumulates in dark (D)-grown but not in FR-grown hypocotyl cells. In addition, FHY1 transcript levels are regulated by light, and by the product of FHY3, another gene implicated in FR signaling. These observations indicate that FHY1 function is both FR-signal transducing and FR-signal regulated, suggesting a negative feedback regulation of FHY1 function. Seedlings homozygous for loss-of-function fhy1 alleles are partially blind to FR, whereas seedlings overexpressing FHY1 exhibit increased responses to FR, but not to white (WL) or red (R) light. The increased FR-responses conferred by overexpression of FHY1 are abolished in a PHYA-deficient mutant background, showing that FHY1 requires a signal from PHYA for function, and cannot modulate growth independently of PHYA.
| S-EPMC312831 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mitophagy can selectively remove damaged toxic mitochondria, protecting a cell from apoptosis. The molecular spatial-temporal mechanisms governing autophagosomal selection of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-damaged mitochondria, particularly in a platelet (no genomic DNA for transcriptional regulation), remain unclear. We now report that the mitochondrial matrix protein MsrB2 plays an important role in switching on mitophagy by reducing Parkin methionine oxidation (MetO), and transducing mitophagy through ubiquitination by Parkin and interacting with LC3. This biochemical signaling only occurs at damaged mitochondria where MsrB2 is released from the mitochondrial matrix. MsrB2 platelet-specific knockout and in vivo peptide inhibition of the MsrB2/LC3 interaction lead to reduced mitophagy and increased platelet apoptosis. Pathophysiological importance is highlighted in human subjects, where increased MsrB2 expression in diabetes mellitus leads to increased platelet mitophagy, and in platelets from Parkinson's disease patients, where reduced MsrB2 expression is associated with reduced mitophagy. Moreover, Parkin mutations at Met192 are associated with Parkinson's disease, highlighting the structural sensitivity at the Met192 position. Release of the enzyme MsrB2 from damaged mitochondria, initiating autophagosome formation, represents a novel regulatory mechanism for oxidative stress-induced mitophagy.
| S-EPMC6685081 | biostudies-other
Project description:Mitophagy can selectively remove damaged toxic mitochondria, protecting a cell from apoptosis. The molecular spatial-temporal mechanisms governing autophagosomal selection of an ROS damaged mitochondria, particularly in a platelet (no genomic DNA for transcriptional regulation) remains unclear. We now report that the mitochondria matrix protein MsrB2 plays an important role in switching on mitophagy by reducing Parkin Methionine Oxidation (MetO), and transducing mitophagy through ubiquitination by Parkin and interacting with LC3. This biochemical signaling only occurs at damaged mitochondria where MsrB2 is released from the mitochondria matrix. MsrB2 platelet specific knockout, and in vivo peptide inhibition of the MsrB2/LC3 interaction leads to reduced mitophagy and increased platelet apoptosis. Pathophysiological importance is highlighted in human subjects, where increased MsrB2 expression in diabetes mellitus leads to increased platelet mitophagy, and in platelets from Parkinson's disease patients, where reduced MsrB2 expression is associated with reduced mitophagy. Moreover, Parkin mutations at Met192 are associated with Parkinson's disease, highlighting the structural sensitivity at the Met192 position. Release of the enzyme MsrB2 from damaged mitochondria, initiating autophagosome formation, represents a novel regulatory mechanism for oxidative stress-induced mitophagy.
| S-SCDT-EMM-2019-10409 | biostudies-other
Project description:Mitophagy can selectively remove damaged toxic mitochondria, protecting a cell from apoptosis. The molecular spatial-temporal mechanisms governing autophagosomal selection of an ROS damaged mitochondria, particularly in a platelet (no genomic DNA for transcriptional regulation) remains unclear. We now report that the mitochondria matrix protein MsrB2 plays an important role in switching on mitophagy by reducing Parkin Methionine Oxidation (MetO), and transducing mitophagy through ubiquitination by Parkin and interacting with LC3. This biochemical signaling only occurs at damaged mitochondria where MsrB2 is released from the mitochondria matrix. MsrB2 platelet specific knockout, and in vivo peptide inhibition of the MsrB2/LC3 interaction leads to reduced mitophagy and increased platelet apoptosis. Pathophysiological importance is highlighted in human subjects, where increased MsrB2 expression in diabetes mellitus leads to increased platelet mitophagy, and in platelets from Parkinson's disease patients, where reduced MsrB2 expression is associated with reduced mitophagy. Moreover, Parkin mutations at Met192 are associated with Parkinson's disease, highlighting the structural sensitivity at the Met192 position. Release of the enzyme MsrB2 from damaged mitochondria, initiating autophagosome formation, represents a novel regulatory mechanism for oxidative stress-induced mitophagy.
| S-SCDT-EMM-2019-10409-V3-94260_2_1565029514_jatsxml_XML | biostudies-other
Project description:The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to persist in its human host relies on numerous immune evasion strategies, such as the deregulation of the lipid metabolism leading to the formation of foamy macrophages (FM). Yet, the specific host factors leading to the foamy phenotype of Mtb-infected macrophages remain unknown. Herein, we aimed to address whether host cytokines contribute to FM formation in the context of Mtb infection. Our approach is based on the use of an acellular fraction of tuberculous pleural effusions (TB-PE) as a physiological source of local factors released during Mtb infection. We found that TB-PE induced FM differentiation as observed by the increase in lipid bodies, intracellular cholesterol, and expression of the scavenger receptor CD36, as well as the enzyme acyl CoA:cholesterol acyl transferase (ACAT). Importantly, interleukin-10 (IL-10) depletion from TB-PE prevented the augmentation of all these parameters. Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between the levels of IL-10 and the number of lipid-laden CD14+ cells among the pleural cells in TB patients, demonstrating that FM differentiation occurs within the pleural environment. Downstream of IL-10 signaling, we noticed that the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 was activated by TB-PE, and its chemical inhibition prevented the accumulation of lipid bodies and ACAT expression in macrophages. In terms of the host immune response, TB-PE-treated macrophages displayed immunosuppressive properties and bore higher bacillary loads. Finally, we confirmed our results using bone marrow-derived macrophage from IL-10-/- mice demonstrating that IL-10 deficiency partially prevented foamy phenotype induction after Mtb lipids exposure. In conclusion, our results evidence a role of IL-10 in promoting the differentiation of FM in the context of Mtb infection, contributing to our understanding of how alterations of the host metabolic factors may favor pathogen persistence.
| S-EPMC5854656 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The newly discovered aer locus of Escherichia coli encodes a 506-residue protein with an N terminus that resembles the NifL aerosensor and a C terminus that resembles the flagellar signaling domain of methyl-accepting chemoreceptors. Deletion mutants lacking a functional Aer protein failed to congregate around air bubbles or follow oxygen gradients in soft agar plates. Membranes with overexpressed Aer protein also contained high levels of noncovalently associated flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). We propose that Aer is a flavoprotein that mediates positive aerotactic responses in E. coli. Aer may use its FAD prosthetic group as a cellular redox sensor to monitor environmental oxygen levels.
| S-EPMC179224 | biostudies-other
Project description:Activation of a type I cytokine response is important for early resistance to infection with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, the extracellular protozoan parasite that causes African sleeping sickness. The work presented here demonstrates that trypanosome DNA activates macrophages to produce factors that may contribute to this response. Initial results demonstrated that T. brucei rhodesiense DNA was present in the plasma of C57BL/6 and C57BL/6-scid mice following infection. Subsequently, the effect of trypanosome DNA on macrophages was investigated; parasite DNA was found to be less stimulatory than Escherichia coli DNA but more stimulatory than murine DNA, as predicted by the CG dinucleotide content. Trypanosome DNA stimulated the induction of a signal transduction cascade associated with Toll-like receptor signaling in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. The signaling cascade led to expression of mRNAs, including interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40, IL-6, IL-10, cyclooxygenase-2, and beta interferon. The treatment of RAW 264.7 cells and bone marrow-derived macrophages with trypanosome DNA induced the production of NO, prostaglandin E2, and the cytokines IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. In all cases, DNase I treatment of T. brucei rhodesisense DNA abolished the activation. These results suggest that T. brucei rhodesiense DNA serves as a ligand for innate immune cells and may play an important contributory role in early stimulation of the host immune response during trypanosomiasis.
| S-EPMC1539588 | biostudies-literature
Project description:beta-Catenin stabilizes the cadherin cell adhesion complex but, as a component of the Wnt/Wg signaling pathway, also controls gene expression by forming a heterodimer with a transcription factor of the LEF-TCF family. We demonstrate that the substrate adhesion molecule fibronectin is a direct target of Wnt/Wg signaling. Nuclear depletion of beta-catenin following cadherin transfection in Xenopus fibroblasts resulted in downregulation of fibronectin expression which was restored by activating the Wnt/Wg signaling cascade via LiCl treatment or transfection of either Xwnt-8 or beta-catenin. We isolated the Xenopus fibronectin gene (FN) promoter and found four putative LEF-TCF binding sites. By comparing the activities of different fibronectin gene reporter constructs in fibroblasts and cadherin transfectants, the LEF-TCF site at position -368 was identified as a Wnt/Wg response element. LEF-1-related proteins were found in nuclei of the fibroblasts but were absent in a kidney epithelial cell line. Consistent with the lack of these transcription factors, the FN promoter was silent in the epithelial cells but was activated upon transfection of LEF-1. Wild-type Xenopus Tcf-3 (XTcf-3) was unable to activate FN promoter reporter constructs, while a mutant lacking the groucho binding region behaved like LEF-1. In contrast to XTcf-3, LEF-1 does not interact with groucho proteins, which turn TCFs into activators or repressors (J. Roose, M. Molenaar, J. Hurenkamp, J. Peterson, H. Brantjes, P. Moerer, M. van de Wetering, O. Destreé, and H. Clevers, Nature 395:608-612, 1998). Together these data provide evidence that expressing LEF-1 enables fibroblasts, in contrast to epithelial cells, to respond to the Wnt/Wg signal via beta-catenin in stimulating fibronectin gene transcription. Our findings further promote the idea that due to its dual function, beta-catenin regulates the balance between cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion.
| S-EPMC84410 | biostudies-literature
Project description:STAT4 is a member of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) family of molecules that localizes to the cytoplasm. STAT4 regulates various genes expression as a transcription factor after it is phosphorylated, dimerizes and translocates to the nucleus. STAT4 activation is detected virtually in the liver of several mouse models of liver injury, as well as the human liver of chronic liver diseases. STAT4 gene polymorphism has been shown to be associated with the antiviral response in chronic hepatitis C and drug-induced liver injury (DILI), primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), HCV-associated liver fibrosis and in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the roles of STAT4 in the pathogeneses of liver diseases are still not understood entirely. This review summarizes the recent advances on the functional roles of STAT4 and its related cytokines in liver diseases, especially in regulating hepatic anti-viral responses, inflammation, proliferation, apoptosis and tumorigenesis. Targeting STAT4 signaling pathway might be a promising strategy in developing therapeutic approaches for treating hepatitis in order to prevent further injury like cirrhosis and liver cancer.
| S-EPMC4366643 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDNA methylation is frequently observed in the development and progression of many human tumors as well as renal cell cancer (RCC). Tumor Associated Calcium Signal Transducer 2 (TACSTD2) participates in cell cycle progression through MAPK signalling pathway activation. Moreover, tumor-specific hypermethylation and association with aggressive cancer characteristics has been found for lung adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Whether TACSTD2 is tumor specifically hypermethylated in RCC or shows association of methylation with adverse clinicopathological parameters and survival of patients has not been investigated at yet.MethodsQuantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) analysis of a locus in the intron 1 region of TACSTD2 gene was carried out in a cross-sectional study of 127 paired RCC and normal samples. In silico analysis of TACSTD2 methylation in the TCGA Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma (KIRC) dataset of 280 patients served as validation cohort. Statistical analyses were carried out using the two-sided paired t-test for matched tumor and normal sample comparisons, logistic regression for subgroup comparisons, Cox regression for analysis of recurrence free survival (RFS) and Pearson correlation analysis for correlation of TACSTD2 methylation and TACSTD2 mRNA in KIRC data.ResultsHigher methylation levels in RCC were significantly associated with advanced disease (p < 0.001), high tumor stage (p = 0.003), tumor differentiation (p = 0.033) and presence of lymph node (p = 0.021) or distant metastases (p = 0.008). TACSTD2 hypermethylation was associated with a shorter RFS of patients and demonstrate statistical independency from clinical parameters as state of metastasis, tumor stage, grade and state of advanced disease. In silico validation using TCGA KIRC data also demonstrated association of TACSTD2 loci with adverse clinicopathology and shortened RFS of patients. In addition, in silico analyses of TCGA KIRC data showed an inverse correlation between DNA methylation levels of TACSTD2 and mRNA expression.ConclusionsOur results suggest an association between TACSTD2 methylation and disease progression and clinical course of RCC.
| S-EPMC8061065 | biostudies-literature