Action of acute cardiac ischemia on activity of the protein-synthesizing system of the inner mitochondrial membranes of the myocardium

Acute cardiac ischemia caused by ligation of the descending branch of the left coronary artery leads to a sharp increase in the activity of the protein-synthesizing system of the inner mitochondrial membranes of the myocardium throughout the period of organization of the experimental infarct, as reflected in an incease in the synthesis of protein and RNA in the mitochondria. During development of the infarct considerable changes are observed in the ultrastructure of the inner mitochondrial membranes of the myocardium, the degree of which is directly dependent on the stage of development of the pathological process.Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR A. N. Chernukh.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 295–297, September, 1978.     

凋亡抑制蛋白XIAP和促凋亡因子Smac在胰腺癌化疗抵抗中的作用

目的探讨x-相关凋亡抑制蛋白（XIAP）和促凋亡因子Smac在胰腺癌细胞化疗抵抗中的作用，以及转染胞浆表达型Smac基因靶向下凋XIAP对化疗药物诱导的胰腺癌细胞凋亡的影响。方法应用流式细胞术检测顺铂、5-FU介导的Panc-1、BXPC-3的凋亡率及胞浆染色分析细胞XIAP表达变化，Western blot分析XIAP、Smac、Caspase-3表达水平；构建pEGFP-NI／Smac真核表达载体并转染胰腺癌Panc-1细胞，流式细胞术检测转染Smac基因前后Panc-1细胞的凋亡敏感性。结果与BXPC-3细胞相比，Panc-1对顺铂或5-FU介导的凋亡具有较强抵抗性，Western blot分析显示Panc-1细胞高表达XIAP，在化疗药物作用下化疗敏感细胞BXPC-3胞浆内XIAP水平下降明显多于Panc-1细胞，而且凋亡的BXPC-3细胞释放入胞浆内的成熟Smac蛋白水平明显高于Panc-1细胞。转染胞浆表达型Smac基因至化疗抵抗Panc-1细胞，可明显下调其XIAP表达水平，促进效应Caspase-3分子活化，显著提高顺铂、5-FU诱导的细胞凋亡率。结论胰腺癌细胞XIAP的表达水平下调与其化疗敏感性有关，XIAP是克服化疗抵抗的重要靶分子，而上调Smac活性蛋白的胞浆表达作为一种有效调节信号，通过拮抗XIAP的凋亡抑制作用协同化疗药物促进胰腺癌细胞凋亡。     

Inhibition of TRPC5 channels by Ca2+-binding protein 1 in Xenopus oocytes

The transient receptor potential canonical type 5 (TRPC5) channel is a member of the channels that has been implicated in neurite extension and growth cone morphology of hippocampal neurons. Although homomeric TRPC5 channels are activated following stimulation of G_q/11-coupled receptors, the exact mechanism for this activation remains unresolved. Using two-electrode voltage clamp recordings, we show that the activity of TRPC5 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes is dependent on the presence of Ca²⁺ at the extracellular as well as the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane. TRPC5 was activated by the stimulation of coexpressed M5 muscarinic receptors or by ionomycin. The TRPC5 activity was detectable with the presence of submillimolar levels of extracellular Ca²⁺, but it was eliminated by the injection of 5 mM 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid into the oocytes. Lanthanum could substitute for extracellular Ca²⁺ to support TRPC5 activity. Coexpression of Ca²⁺-binding protein 1 (CaBP1), but not calmodulin (CaM), inhibited the TRPC5 activity, without affecting the cell surface expression of TRPC5 proteins. Using in vitro binding assays, we demonstrated direction interactions between CaBP1 and TRPC5. The CaBP1-binding sites at the C terminus of TRPC5 are closely localized, but not identical, to CaM-binding sites. We conclude that TRPC5 is a Ca²⁺-regulated channel, and its activity is negatively controlled by CaBP1.     

Binding of Cellular Proteins to the Leader RNA of Equine Arteritis Virus

The genome of equine arteritis virus (EAV) produces a 3 coterminal-nested set of six subgenomic (sg) viral RNAs during virus replication cycle, and each set possesses a common leader sequence of 206 nucleotides (nt) in length derived from the 5 end of the viral genome. Given the presence of the leader region within both genomic and sg mRNAs, it is likely to contain cis-acting signals that may interact with cellular or viral proteins for RNA synthesis. Gel mobility shift assays indicated that proteins in Vero cell cytoplasmic extracts formed complexes with the positive (+) and negative (-) strands of the EAV leader RNA. Several cell proteins with molecular masses ranging from 74 to 31 kDa and 58 to 32 kDa were detected in UV-induced cross-linking assays with the EAV leader RNA (+) and (-) strands, respectively. In both cases, intense bands were observed at the 58–52 kDa molecular weight markers. Results from competition gel mobility shift assays using overlapping cold RNA probes spanning the leader RNA (+) strand indicated that nt 140–206 are not necessary for binding to cell proteins.     

Ethnic differences in allele frequency of autoimmune-disease-associated SNPs

Several multiple, large-scale, genetic studies on autoimmune-disease-associated SNPs have been reported recently: peptidylarginine deiminase type 4 (PADI4) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); solute carrier family 22 members 4 and 5 (SLC22A4 and 5) in RA and Crohns disease (CD); programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), and RA; and protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) in T1D, RA, and SLE. Because these reports on association were not always evaluated in multiple ethnic groups and because ethnic difference in allele frequency of the variants has been also reported, we investigated allele frequencies of nine SNPs in four autoimmune-disease-associated loci in Caucasian, African-descent, and Japanese populations. Although SNPs in PADI4 had similar allele frequency among three groups [maximal difference 11%; (P >0.05)], the other three loci revealed statistically significant allele frequency differences (maximal difference 39% (P <0.00001), 13% (P <0.00001), and 8% (P <0.00001) in SLC22A4, PDCD1, and PTPN22, respectively). Of note, three SNPs in the three loci that had allele frequency more than 8% in the Caucasian population were either not polymorphic at all or extremely rare in the Japanese population. Our data suggest that ethnic variations of polymorphisms should be evaluated in detail, and differences should be incorporated into investigations of susceptibility variants for common diseases.     

Determinants of CD4 Counts Among HIV-Negative Ethiopians: Role of Body Mass Index,Gender, Cigarette Smoking,Khat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Catha Edulis</Emphasis>) Chewing,and Possibly Altitude?

To study the determinants of CD4% and CD4 counts among HIV-negative Ethiopians, and to identify factors susceptible to explain the low CD4 counts observed among Ethiopian subjects. Cohort studies among factory workers in Akaki and Wonji, Ethiopia. Clinical and laboratory examinations, including determination of HIV serological status and T-cell subsets, were performed during follow-up visits every six months. In addition, micronutrients (retinol, carotenoids, tocopherol, transferrin receptor, and selenium) plasma concentrations were determined in a subset of 38 HIV-positive and 121 HIV-negative participants. HIV-negative participants with at least one CD4 count measurement were 157 females in Akaki, 203 males in Akaki, and 712 males in Wonji. CD4 counts were independently and positively associated with body mass index (through an increase in lymphocyte counts), female gender (through an increase in CD4%), cigarette smoking (through an increase in CD4%), khat chewing (through an increase in both lymphocyte counts and CD4%), and Akaki study site (through a large increase in lymphocyte counts compensating a decrease in CD4%). Intestinal parasitic infections were not associated with CD4% or CD4 counts. Retinol, carotenoids, and -tocopherol plasma concentrations decreased with HIV infection and advancing immunosuppression, but were not associated with CD4 counts among HIV-negative subjects. Low body mass index among Ethiopians may have contributed to their overall low CD4 counts. Other factors remain to be elucidated.     

Ligand and cytokine dependence of the immunosuppressive pathway of tryptophan catabolism in plasmacytoid dendritic cells

Murine plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have been credited with a unique ability to express indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) function and mediate immunosuppression in specific settings; yet, the conditions of spontaneous versus induced activity have remained unclear. We have used maneuvers known to up-regulate IDO in different cell types and have examined the relative efficacy and mechanisms of the induced activity in splenic pDCs, namely, after specific receptor engagement by CTLA-4-Ig, CD200-Ig or CD28-Ig, the latter in combination with silenced expression of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) gene. We found that pDCs (CD11c+ mPDCA-1+ 120G8+) do not express IDO and are not tolerogenic under basal conditions. B7-1 engagement by CTLA-4-Ig, CD200R1 engagement by CD200-Ig and B7-1/B7-2 engagement by CD28-Ig in SOCS3-deficient pDCs were each capable of initiating IDO-dependent tolerance via different mechanisms. IFN-gamma was the major cytokine responsible for CTLA-4-Ig effects, and type I IFNs for those of CD200-Ig. Immunosuppression by CD28-Ig in the absence of SOCS3 required IFN-gamma induction and IFN-like actions of IL-6. Therefore, although pDCs do not mediate IDO-dependent tolerance constitutively, multiple ligands and cytokines will contribute to the expression of a tolerogenic phenotype by pDCs in the mouse.