Reg2 protects mouse insulinoma cells from streptozotocin-induced mitochondrial disruption and apoptosis

We reported previously that pancreas-specific ablation of IGF-I in mice induced an increased expression of regenerating family proteins Reg2 and Reg3β in the pancreas and protected them from streptozotocin (Stz)-induced β-cell damage. We, therefore, assessed the effect of ectopically introduced Reg2 on Stz-induced apoptosis in MIN6 mouse insulinoma cells and report here that Reg2 protects MIN6 cells from Stz-induced apoptosis by attenuating its ability to disrupt mitochondrial membrane integrity, activate caspase-3 and promote poly-ADP ribose polymerase cleavage, and induce apoptosis. These changes correlated with suppression of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation by Stz. Reg2 inhibited Stz-induced proapoptotic events as well as the inactivation of JNK. Inclusion of chemical inhibitor of JNK to Reg2 expressing cells rendered them sensitive to Stz. These data demonstrate that Reg2 protects insulin-producing cells against Stz-induced apoptosis by interfering with its cytotoxic signaling upstream of the intrinsic proapoptotic events by preventing its ability to inactivate JNK.     

FoxO1转录因子及其与心血管疾病的研究进展

FoxO1转录因子是FoxO家族中起主要作用的成员，由FKHR基因编码，参与调节代谢、氧化应激反应、免疫稳态、细胞周期、细胞凋亡等过程，与心血管疾病的病理生理过程密切相关。翻译后修饰如磷酸化、乙酰化、泛素化等可以调节FoxO1的活性。本文将简要对FoxO1的基本结构和功能、活性的调节及其在心血管疾病中的研究进展进行综述。     

Echographic detection of diethylnitrosamine-induced liver tumors in rats and the effect of the intratumoral injection of an inhibitor of c-Jun N-terminal kinase

Background and Aim:  There have so far been few reports describing echographic studies of chemically-induced carcinogenesis in rodent livers. Using echography, we observed diethylnitrosamine-induced liver tumors in rats and examined the effect of an intratumoral injection of an inhibitor of c-Jun N-terminal kinase.
Methods:  Male Wistar rats were given 100 ppm of diethylnitrosamine for 6 weeks and their liver nodules were examined by echography weekly. The size of the nodules was measured and they were examined histologically. The effect of SP600125, an inhibitor of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, on the growth of rat hepatoma cell line McA-RH7777 was tested in vitro . Thereafter, SP600125 was injected into the liver nodules under echographic guidance in vivo and the changes in the proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and size of the nodules were examined.
Results:  The four distinct lobes of rat livers were clearly observed by transabdominal echography. The nodules in the livers were first detected 6 weeks after the treatment began, when they were as small as 1.6 mm in diameter. The nodules thereafter became more malignant histologically as they grew larger than 4 mm. SP600125 decreased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and the growth of McA-RH7777 cells. After SP600125 was injected in vivo , the proliferating cell nuclear antigen level and the growth rate of the rat liver nodules all significantly decreased.
Conclusions:  Our results indicate that echography is quite useful for follow-up studies of liver carcinogenesis in rats, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase might be another therapeutic target in liver neoplasms.     

Control of APC/C-dependent ubiquitin chain elongation by reversible phosphorylation

Most metazoan E3 ligases contain a signature RING domain that promotes the transfer of ubiquitin from the active site of E2 conjugating enzymes to lysine residues in substrates. Although these RING-E3s depend on E2 enzymes for catalysis, how they turn on their E2s at the right time and place remains poorly understood. Here we report a phosphorylation-dependent mechanism that ensures timely activation of the E2 Ube2S by its RING-E3, the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C); while phosphorylation of a specific serine residue in the APC/C coactivator Cdc20 prevents delivery of Ube2S to the APC/C, removal of this mark by PP2A^B56 allows Ube2S to bind the APC/C and catalyze ubiquitin chain elongation. PP2A^B56 also stabilizes kinetochore–microtubule attachments to shut off the spindle checkpoint, suggesting that cells regulate the E2–E3 interplay to coordinate ubiquitination with critical events during cell division.By promoting the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of anaphase inhibitors, the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) triggers sister chromatid separation and mitotic exit (1–5). The APC/C also targets kinases and microtubule-binding proteins that ensure accurate assembly of the mitotic spindle. Misregulation of the APC/C has dramatic consequences for cell cycle control; whereas APC/C inhibition causes mitotic arrest and cell death, its untimely activation results in aneuploidy, a common feature of human cancer cells (6).As a RING-dependent E3 ligase, the APC/C stimulates the transfer of ubiquitin from the catalytic cysteine of E2 conjugating enzymes to lysine residues in substrates. In most cases, the APC/C initiates chain formation by using a specific E2, Ube2C (7–10). Once the first ubiquitin molecules have been attached to substrates, another conserved E2, Ube2S, extends K11-linked chains that are recognized by the proteasome for degradation (11–16). Ube2S frequently acts on short chains rather than on single ubiquitin subunits, thereby producing branched conjugates that impart high affinity for proteasomal receptors (13). Consistent with an important role in cell division, activation of Ube2S during mitosis results in a dramatic increase in the abundance of K11 linkages (17, 18), a chain topology required for APC/C-dependent substrate degradation (19).As with many key cell cycle regulators, the APC/C and Ube2S need to be under tight control, and overexpression of Ube2S can promote tumor growth and metastasis in mice (20). The correct timing of APC/C activation is ensured by the spindle checkpoint, a signaling cascade turned on by kinetochores that have not achieved bipolar attachment to the spindle (4, 21, 22). Spindle checkpoint signaling leads to formation of the mitotic checkpoint complex (MCC), composed of Mad2, BubR1, Bub3, and Cdc20. When bound to the APC/C, the MCC competes for recognition of substrate KEN boxes and puts the APC/C coactivator Cdc20 in a position where it is unable to engage another degron, the D box (23–25). In contrast, the MCC does not occupy the binding sites for APC/C E2s or impede the ability of the APC/C to stimulate ubiquitin transfer by Ube2S (12). Thus, although overexpression of Ube2S has been associated with tumorigenesis, the mechanisms that restrict its activity during mitosis have remained elusive.RING-E3s, such as the APC/C, engage their E2 enzymes in a dynamic manner (26). On binding a charged E2, the RING domain stabilizes a closed conformation between the E2 and its donor ubiquitin (14, 27–30). Once this ubiquitin is transferred to a target lysine, the E2 dissociates from the RING domain to allow for its recharging by the E1 (31). For most RING-E3s, the cycles of E2 engagement and dissociation are thought to occur constitutively (32), and only a few examples of controlled E2 activation are known. Access of Cdc34 to its specific RING-E3, the Skp1-Cul1-F box (SCF) complex, can be regulated by phosphorylation or competition with the inhibitory protein glomulin (33, 34). Reminiscent of this situation, Ube2S interacts with the APC/C in a cell cycle-dependent manner, and depletion of Cdc20 prevents Ube2S from stably binding to the APC/C in cells (12, 15). However, as part of the MCC, Cdc20 already associates with the APC/C during prometaphase, when APC/C activity must be low to allow sufficient time for chromosome alignment. How the ability of Ube2S to build ubiquitin chains is restricted during early stages of mitosis to safeguard cells against premature APC/C activation remains unknown.In this study, we identified a mechanism that establishes how the RING-E3 APC/C activates Ube2S at the right time and place. In early mitosis, phosphorylation of a specific serine residue in the APC/C coactivator Cdc20 prevents the stable association of Ube2S with Cdc20 and the APC/C. Conversely, removal of the inhibitory mark on Cdc20 by the phosphatase PP2A^B56 allows Ube2S to engage the APC/C and catalyze ubiquitin chain elongation. PP2A^B56 also stabilizes the kinetochore–microtubule interface to silence the spindle checkpoint (35, 36), suggesting that cells regulate the interplay between RING-E3s and their E2s to coordinate ubiquitination with important events in cell division.     

Effect of experimental thyrotoxicosis on oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver, kidney and brain mitochondria

Coupled phosphorylation was examined in liver, kidney and brain mitochondria from rats made thyrotoxic by injecting repeated doses of triiodothyronine. Liver and kidney mitochondria were maximally affected under these conditions, whereas effects on brain mitochondria were marginal. State-3 respiration rates with succinate decreased considerably in all the tissues, whereas glutamate oxidation increased in liver, but decreased in kidney and brain mitochondria. Oxidation rates of beta-hydroxybutyrate decreased in kidney and brain mitochondria but were not significantly affected in liver mitochondria. Oxidation of ascorbate + TMPD was not affected. State-4 respiration rates increased in general with all the substrates resulting in lowering of the RCI. The ADP/O ratios decreased in a site-specific manner in the mitochondria from the three tissues. The content of cytochrome b decreased in all three tissues, whereas the content of cytochrome c + c1 increased in liver and kidney but decreased in brain. The content of cytochrome a, however, was not significantly affected. Basal and Mg2+-stimulated ATPase activities increased in mitochondria of liver and kidney but not in those of brain; total ATPase activities, however, were not altered. The results imply that excessive levels of thyroid hormones over normal in the serum can lead to impairment of mitochondrial energy metabolism in a tissue-specific manner.