Structural and functional conservation of key domains in InsP3 and ryanodine receptors

Inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP(3)Rs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) are tetrameric intracellular Ca(2+) channels. In each of these receptor families, the pore, which is formed by carboxy-terminal transmembrane domains, is regulated by signals that are detected by large cytosolic structures. InsP(3)R gating is initiated by InsP(3) binding to the InsP(3)-binding core (IBC, residues 224-604 of InsP(3)R1) and it requires the suppressor domain (SD, residues 1-223 of InsP(3)R1). Here we present structures of the amino-terminal region (NT, residues 1-604) of rat InsP(3)R1 with (3.6??) and without (3.0??) InsP(3) bound. The arrangement of the three NT domains, SD, IBC-β and IBC-α, identifies two discrete interfaces (α and β) between the IBC and SD. Similar interfaces occur between equivalent domains (A, B and C) in RyR1 (ref. 9). The orientations of the three domains when docked into a tetrameric structure of InsP(3)R and of the ABC domains docked into RyR are remarkably similar. The importance of the α-interface for activation of InsP(3)R and RyR is confirmed by mutagenesis and, for RyR, by disease-causing mutations. Binding of InsP(3) causes partial closure of the clam-like IBC, disrupting the β-interface and pulling the SD towards the IBC. This reorients an exposed SD loop ('hotspot' (HS) loop) that is essential for InsP(3)R activation. The loop is conserved in RyR and includes mutations that are associated with malignant hyperthermia and central core disease. The HS loop interacts with an adjacent NT, suggesting that activation re-arranges inter-subunit interactions. The A domain of RyR functionally replaced the SD in full-length InsP(3)R, and an InsP(3)R in which its C-terminal transmembrane region was replaced by that from RyR1 was gated by InsP(3) and blocked by ryanodine. Activation mechanisms are conserved between InsP(3)R and RyR. Allosteric modulation of two similar domain interfaces within an N-terminal subunit reorients the first domain (SD or A domain), allowing it, through interactions of the second domain of an adjacent subunit (IBC-β or B domain), to gate the pore.     

High-resolution structure of a retroviral capsid hexameric amino-terminal domain

Retroviruses are the aetiological agents of a range of human diseases including AIDS and T-cell leukaemias. They follow complex life cycles, which are still only partly understood at the molecular level. Maturation of newly formed retroviral particles is an essential step in production of infectious virions, and requires proteolytic cleavage of Gag polyproteins in the immature particle to form the matrix, capsid and nucleocapsid proteins present in the mature virion. Capsid proteins associate to form a dense viral core that may be spherical, cylindrical or conical depending on the genus of the virus. Nonetheless, these assemblies all appear to be composed of a lattice formed from hexagonal rings, each containing six capsid monomers. Here, we describe the X-ray structure of an individual hexagonal assembly from N-tropic murine leukaemia virus (N-MLV). The interface between capsid monomers is generally polar, consistent with weak interactions within the hexamer. Similar architectures are probably crucial for the regulation of capsid assembly and disassembly in all retroviruses. Together, these observations provide new insights into retroviral uncoating and how cellular restriction factors may interfere with viral replication.     

氧化胁迫对骨骼肌型钙释放通道与相关蛋白作用的影响

利用[3H]-ryanodine结合实验,SDS-PAGE和Western Blotting,光子相干光谱法(PCS)和DPH荧光偏振法,考察氧化胁迫条件下氧化型通道调控剂1,4NQ和Na2SeO3对RyR1通道活性,SR膜蛋白分布,RyR1的平均粒径和SR膜流动性的影响.结果显示,高浓度的1,4NQ和Na2SeO3处理使RyR1通道活性和SR膜的流动性降低,并且导致SR上的膜蛋白交联形成大分子交联复合物,而RyR1参与了它的形成,DTT可以逆转交联复合物的的形成.结果提示,高浓度氧化剂对RyR1通道的抑制作用,可能是由于氧化了负责关闭通道的职能巯基导致蛋白间错误交联,从而影响了钙释放通道和钙释放单元的结构和功能.     

Probing the electromagnetic field of a 15-nanometre hotspot by single molecule imaging

When light illuminates a rough metallic surface, hotspots can appear, where the light is concentrated on the nanometre scale, producing an intense electromagnetic field. This phenomenon, called the surface enhancement effect, has a broad range of potential applications, such as the detection of weak chemical signals. Hotspots are believed to be associated with localized electromagnetic modes, caused by the randomness of the surface texture. Probing the electromagnetic field of the hotspots would offer much insight towards uncovering the mechanism generating the enhancement; however, it requires a spatial resolution of 1-2?nm, which has been a long-standing challenge in optics. The resolution of an optical microscope is limited to about half the wavelength of the incident light, approximately 200-300?nm. Although current state-of-the-art techniques, including near-field scanning optical microscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy, cathode luminescence imaging and two-photon photoemission imaging have subwavelength resolution, they either introduce a non-negligible amount of perturbation, complicating interpretation of the data, or operate only in a vacuum. As a result, after more than 30 years since the discovery of the surface enhancement effect, how the local field is distributed remains unknown. Here we present a technique that uses Brownian motion of single molecules to probe the local field. It enables two-dimensional imaging of the fluorescence enhancement profile of single hotspots on the surfaces of aluminium thin films and silver nanoparticle clusters, with accuracy down to 1.2?nm. Strong fluorescence enhancements, up to 54 and 136 times respectively, are observed in those two systems. This strong enhancement indicates that the local field, which decays exponentially from the peak of a hotspot, dominates the fluorescence enhancement profile.     

TACI and BCMA are receptors for a TNF homologue implicated in B-cell autoimmune disease

B cells are important in the development of autoimmune disorders by mechanisms involving dysregulated polyclonal B-cell activation, production of pathogenic antibodies, and co-stimulation of autoreactive T cells. zTNF4 (BLyS, BAFF, TALL-1, THANK) is a member of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF) ligand family that is a potent co-activator of B cells in vitro and in vivo. Here we identify two receptors for zTNF4 and demonstrate a relationship between zTNF4 and autoimmune disease. Transgenic animals overexpressing zTNF4 in lymphoid cells develop symptoms characteristic of systemic lupus erythaematosus (SLE) and expand a rare population of splenic B-Ia lymphocytes. In addition, circulating zTNF4 is more abundant in NZBWF1 and MRL-lpr/lpr mice during the onset and progression of SLE. We have identified two TNF receptor family members, TACI and BCMA, that bind zTNF4. Treatment of NZBWF1 mice with soluble TACI-Ig fusion protein inhibits the development of proteinuria and prolongs survival of the animals. These findings demonstrate the involvement of zTNF4 and its receptors in the development of SLE and identify TACI-Ig as a promising treatment of autoimmune disease in humans.     

意识的三重形式及其相互关系

意识的形式是由三重结构组成的系统。意识的第一重形式是物质运动形式，其表现是人脑的生物电运动；第二重形式是信息处理形式，其表现是人的感性认识和理性认识；第三重形式是符号表达形式，其表现是人类的各种语言。物质运动形式是意识产生和存在的生理基础，信息处理形式是人类意识的本质表现，符号表达形式则是意识的外化。三共同构成了意识的形式系统。     

地貌基本形态的位差分类法

针对现有地貌基本形态分类法的欠缺，本文提出了“地貌基本形态的位差分类法”，本分类法是一种以相对高度为主绝对高度为副的地貌分类法．它首先根据相对高度将地貌基本形态分平原、丘陵、低山、中山、高山等，然后再按绝对高度把这些形态再分别划分为低位、中位、高位三种类型．该地貌分类法的优点在于：①该分类法符台人们对于山地的高、中、低的观念，避免了现有地貌分类法中出现的那种与人们固有观念相冲突的高山不高、低山不低的现象；②统一了地貌基本形态的划分标准，避免了平原、丘陵按相对高度划分、山地按绝对高度划分的不一致性；③有利于地貌知识的科学普及和地貌的生产利用。     

BR0-代数定义的简化形式

作者对基础R0-代数进行了研究,从定义的形式上对BR0-代数进行了简化,使之更加符合逻辑代数的基本特征,进一步体现了BR0-代数与其它逻辑代数之间的关系.     

外微分形式在多元系热力学中的应用

用外微分形式来表述物理定律和推导物理公式形式简洁、优美,而且外微分运算是自然和自动的,不受空间维数的限制。本文在扼要介绍外微分形式的定义以及相关定理的基础上,介绍它在推导多元系热力学的Maxwell关系中的应用。     

Four-helical-bundle structure of the cytoplasmic domain of a serine chemotaxis receptor.

The bacterial chemotaxis receptors are transmembrane receptors with a simple signalling pathway which has elements relevant to the general understanding of signal recognition and transduction across membranes, how signals are relayed between molecules in a pathway, and how adaptation to a persistent signal is achieved. In contrast to many mammalian receptors which signal by oligomerizing upon ligand binding, the chemotaxis receptors are dimeric even in the absence of their ligands, and their signalling does not depend on a monomer-dimer equilibrium. Bacterial chemotaxis receptors are composed of a ligand-binding domain, a transmembrane domain consisting of two helices TM1 and TM2, and a cytoplasmic domain. All known bacterial chemotaxis receptors have a highly conserved cytoplasmic domain, which unites signals from different ligand domains into a single signalling pathway to flagella motors. Here we report the crystal structure of the cytoplasmic domain of a serine chemotaxis receptor of Escherichia coli, which reveals a 200 A-long coiled-coil of two antiparallel helices connected by a 'U-turn'. Two of these domains form a long, supercoiled, four-helical bundle in the cytoplasmic portion of the receptor.     

The Caenorhabditis elegans heterochronic gene lin-14 encodes a nuclear protein that forms a temporal developmental switch

During wild-type development, a protein product of the Caenorhabditis elegans heterochronic gene lin-14 is localized to nuclei of specific somatic cells in embryos and early larvae, but is absent in late larvae and adult soma. Gain-of-function lin-14 mutations cause the level of lin-14 protein to remain high throughout development, resulting in developmental reiterations of early cell lineages. The normal down-regulation of the lin-14 nuclear protein level encodes a temporal switch between early and late cell fates.     

辛普森公式的推广形式及应用

鉴于当前常用数值积分方法的不足,以及直角坐标系下辛普森公式的局限性,研究并提出了辛普森公式在三维柱坐标系和球坐标系下的推广形式,并将其应用于地球物理测井中自然伽马射线强度函数数值积分运算。     

薛定谔方程和海森伯方程的共轭形式

引入复共轭变数和共轭算符,可将薛定谔方程和海森伯方程变换为相同的共轭形式,且两个方程的物理含义保持不变。     

Identification of a 32K plasma membrane protein that binds to the myristylated amino-terminal sequence of p60v-src

The transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, p60v-src, is a myristylated membrane-bound phosphoprotein. Interaction of p60v-src with the plasma membrane is essential for transforming activity, and is mediated by association with a membrane-bound Src receptor protein. Evidence for the existence of an Src receptor is based on the ability of a myristylated peptide containing the N-terminal Src sequence to inhibit binding of p60v-src to plasma membranes in vitro: binding of p60v-src to a plasma membrane receptor is therefore mediated by N-terminal Src sequences. Here we report that a myristyl-Src peptide, but not the corresponding non-myristylated peptide, can be specifically crosslinked to a plasma membrane protein of relative molecular mass 32,000 (Mr32K). The 32K protein represents an Src-binding protein in the plasma membrane that is likely to be a component of the myristyl-Src receptor, and which could be involved in cellular transformation.     

Identification of talin as a major cytoplasmic protein implicated in platelet activation

During platelet activation there is a major reorganization in the platelet cytoskeleton that accompanies a rapid change in platelet shape. Many of the events associated with activation are attributed to a rise in calcium concentration within the platelet cytoplasm. One direct consequence of the elevated calcium is the activation of a calcium-dependent protease that cleaves a major platelet protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) approximately 235,000 (235K) to 200K. This protein, P235, has been purified and reported to interact with actin, but the significance of the proteolytic cleavage is unknown. Talin, a cytoskeletal protein in smooth muscle and fibroblasts, binds vinculin and, together with vinculin, is localized in fibroblasts at sites of actin-membrane attachment. Talin and P235 have similar purification procedures, sedimentation coefficients and Stokes' radii (ref. 6 and Molony et al., unpublished observations). Of particular significance, talin is readily cleaved by proteases from approximately 215K to a fragment of approximately 190K. Given these similarities we have investigated the possible relationship between these proteins. Here we demonstrate that platelet P235 is recognized by anti-talin antibody and that it binds vinculin. Both proteins are cleaved in vitro by the calcium-activated protease to yield similar fragments. We conclude that P235 corresponds to the platelet form of talin.     

一类特殊随机二次型的极限定理

文章采用鞅极限定理和一些矩阵不等式考查了一类特殊的随机二次形stAs的强、弱收敛性。当A为非负定矩阵且其最大特征根有限,随机变量存在有限的四阶矩情形下,获得了二次型的强收敛。并且该强收敛结果是一个传统极限定理的推广。当A为正定矩阵且其最大特征有限,在二阶矩有限的情况下,获得了二次型的弱收敛。