Recent advances in Cys-loop receptor structure and function

Throughout the nervous system, moment-to-moment communication relies on postsynaptic receptors to detect neurotransmitters and change the membrane potential. For the Cys-loop superfamily of receptors, recent structural data have catalysed a leap in our understanding of the three steps of chemical-to-electrical transduction: neurotransmitter binding, communication between the binding site and the barrier to ions, and opening and closing of the barrier. The emerging insights might be expected to explain how mutations of receptors cause neurological disease, but the opposite is generally true. Namely, analyses of disease-causing mutations have clarified receptor structure-function relationships as well as mechanisms governing the postsynaptic response.     

Specificities of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in developmental processes

Heparan sulphate proteoglycans are abundant cell-surface molecules that consist of a protein core to which heparan sulphate glycosaminoglycan chains are attached. The functions of these molecules have remained mostly underappreciated by developmental biologists; however, the actions of important signalling molecules, for example Wnt and Hedgehog, depend on them. To understand both the mechanisms by which ligands involved in development interact with their receptors and how morphogens pattern tissues, biologists need to consider the functions of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in signalling and developmental patterning.     

Allometric degree distributions facilitate food-web stability

In natural ecosystems, species are linked by feeding interactions that determine energy fluxes and create complex food webs. The stability of these food webs enables many species to coexist and to form diverse ecosystems. Recent theory finds predator-prey body-mass ratios to be critically important for food-web stability. However, the mechanisms responsible for this stability are unclear. Here we use a bioenergetic consumer-resource model to explore how and why only particular predator-prey body-mass ratios promote stability in tri-trophic (three-species) food chains. We find that this 'persistence domain' of ratios is constrained by bottom-up energy availability when predators are much smaller than their prey and by enrichment-driven dynamics when predators are much larger. We also find that 97% of the tri-trophic food chains across five natural food webs exhibit body-mass ratios within the predicted persistence domain. Further analyses of randomly rewired food webs show that body mass and allometric degree distributions in natural food webs mediate this consistency. The allometric degree distributions hold that the diversity of species' predators and prey decreases and increases, respectively, with increasing species' body masses. Our results demonstrate how simple relationships between species' body masses and feeding interactions may promote the stability of complex food webs.     

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.     

Removal of phosphorylation sites from the beta 2-adrenergic receptor delays onset of agonist-promoted desensitization

Eukaryotic cells have evolved a variety of mechanisms for dampening their responsiveness to hormonal stimulation in the face of sustained activation. The mechanisms for such processes, collectively referred to as desensitization, often involve alterations in the properties and number of cell-surface hormone receptors. It has been speculated that phosphorylation-dephosphorylation reactions, which are known to regulate the catalytic activities of enzymes, also regulate the function of receptors. Highly specific receptor kinases, such as rhodopsin kinase and beta-adrenergic receptor kinase, which show stimulus-dependent phosphorylation of receptors have been described. Direct evidence for a causal relationship between receptor phosphorylation and desensitization has been lacking however. Here we report that prevention of agonist-stimulated beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) phosphorylation by truncation of its serine and threonine-rich phosphate acceptor segment delays the onset of desensitization. We also show that selective replacement of these serine and threonine residues by alanine and glycine delays desensitization even further. These data provide the first direct evidence that one molecular mechanism of desensitization of G-protein-coupled receptors involves their agonist-induced phosphorylation.     

Molecular mechanisms of receptor desensitization using the beta-adrenergic receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase system as a model

Desensitization, the tendency of biological responses to wane over time despite the continuous presence of a stimulus of constant intensity, is observed in organisms as diverse as bacteria and mammals. Recently, new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena have emerged from the study of the receptors coupled to the ubiquitous second messenger-generating system adenylate cyclase. These mechanisms involve sequestration or down-regulation of the receptors from the cell surface as well as functionally significant covalent modifications of the receptors and/or guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins.     

A neuronal mechanism for sensory gating during locomotion in a vertebrate

The response of the foot to touch during walking depends on whether it is in the air or on the ground. In most animals, reflex responses to external stimuli are similarly adapted to their timing in the locomotor cycle, but there is only fragmentary information about the neural mechanisms involved. In arthropods, reflex modulation can occur in the sensory receptors themselves and in neurons that discharge during locomotion. By recording with dye-filled microelectrodes from neurons in the spinal cord of frog embryos, we describe reflex modulation at the level of sensory interneurons. Sensory inputs from skin receptors excite a specific class of spinal sensory interneuron whose activity leads to reflex bending of the body away from the stimulus. During swimming, these inputs are gated by rhythmic postsynaptic inhibition, so that sensory drive reaches motor neurons only at phases in the locomotor cycle when the resulting contraction would likewise turn the embryo away from the stimulated side. Such gating of sensory pathways could be a general feature of all locomotor systems where responses to sensory stimuli need to be adapted to the phase of locomotion.     

Seven-transmembrane-spanning receptors and heart function.

Understanding precisely how the heart can recognize and respond to many different extracellular signalling molecules, such as neurotransmitters, hormones and growth factors, will aid the identification of new therapeutic targets through which cardiovascular diseases can be combated. In recent years, we have learned more about the complex interactions that occur between the receptors and the signalling pathways of the heart and its environment. Most of these discoveries have focused on the most common type of cardiac receptor - the seven-transmembrane-spanning receptor or G-protein-coupled receptor.     

Intracellular pattern recognition receptors in the host response

The innate immune system relies on its capacity to rapidly detect invading pathogenic microbes as foreign and eliminate them. Indeed, Toll-like receptors are a class of membrane receptors that sense extracellular microbes and trigger anti-pathogen signalling cascades. Recently, intracellular microbial sensors have also been identified, including NOD-like receptors and the helicase-domain-containing antiviral proteins RIG-I and MDA5. Some of these cytoplasmic molecules sense microbial, as well as non-microbial, danger signals, but the mechanisms of recognition used by these sensors remain poorly understood. Nonetheless, it is apparent that these proteins are likely to have critical roles in health and disease.     

平衡微分方程和塑性条件联立求解凸缘变形区的应力

本文从理论上探讨如何求解凸缘变形区的应力.这里提出变形体与模具的接触表面或变形区分界面上的应力分布的规律.如果忽略垂直压应力不计,可用平衡微分方程和塑性方程联立求解两个未知应力.     

活性氧双向生物学效应和机制

指出了活性氧（ROS）是普遍存在于有氧代谢中的产物,其化学性质极为活跃,有关ROS对人体的危害已逐渐得到公认.然而,越来越多的研究提示,一直被认为是人类疾病元凶的ROS对机体和细胞也有有益的一面.综述了ROS的研究进展,揭示了ROS通过调节离子通道、受体、酶以及转录因子的活性和改变细胞氧化还原状态,进而参与细胞的正常生理过程（细胞的增殖、分化和凋亡）,从而讨论了ROS的双向生物学效应和机制.     

Transferrin receptor on endothelium of brain capillaries

The blood/brain barrier prevents the passive diffusion of proteins and metabolites from cerebral blood vessels into tissue spaces around neuronal and glial cells. To provide nutrients for these cells, transport mechanisms must exist and indeed have been demonstrated for metabolites. We now show that monoclonal antibodies against rat and human transferrin receptors label blood capillaries in the brain but not in other tissues. In the rat this labelling occurs after injection of antibody into the blood, thus the receptors seem to be accessible at the endothelial surface. It is possible that transferrin receptors are expressed on these cells to allow transport of transferrin (and thus iron) into brain tissues.     

Eph receptors and ephrins restrict cell intermingling and communication.

Eph proteins are receptors with tyrosine-kinase activity which, with their ephrin ligands, mediate contact-dependent cell interactions that are implicated in the repulsion mechanisms that guide migrating cells and neuronal growth cones to specific destinations. Ephrin-B proteins have conserved cytoplasmic tyrosine residues that are phosphorylated upon interaction with an EphB receptor, and may transduce signals that regulate a cellular response. Because Eph receptors and ephrins have complementary expression in many tissues during embryogenesis, bidirectional activation of Eph receptors and ephrin-B proteins could occur at interfaces of their expression domains, for example at segment boundaries in the vertebrate hindbrain. Previous work has implicated Eph receptors and ephrin-B proteins in the restriction of cell intermingling between hindbrain segments. We therefore analysed whether complementary expression of Eph receptors and ephrins restricts cell intermingling, and whether this requires bidirectional or unidirectional signalling. Here we report that bidirectional but not unidirectional signalling restricts the intermingling of adjacent cell populations, whereas unidirectional activation is sufficient to restrict cell communication through gap junctions. These results reveal that Eph receptors and ephrins regulate two aspects of cell behaviour that can stabilize a distinct identity of adjacent cell populations.     

Calmodulin modulation of ion channels and receptors

Ion channels and receptors are the structural basis for neural signaling and transmission. Recently, the function of ion channels and receptors has been demonstrated to be modulated by many intracellular and extracellular chemicals and signaling molecules. Increasing evidence indicates that the complexity and plasticity of the function of central nervous system is determined by the modulation of ion channels and receptors. Among various mechanisms, Ca 2+ signaling pathways play important roles in neuronal activity and some pathological changes. Ca 2+ influx through ion channels and receptors can modulate its further influx in a feedback way or modulate other ion channels and receptors. The common feature of the modulation is that Ca 2+ /calmodulin (CaM) is the universal mediator. CaM maintains the coordination among ion channels/receptors and intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis by feedback modulation of ion channels/receptors activity. This review focuses on the modulating processes of ion channels and receptors mediated by CaM, and further elucidates the mechanisms of Ca 2+ signaling.     

Calmodulin modulation of ion channels and receptors?

：Ion channels and receptors are the structural basis for neural signaling and transmission. Recently, the function of ion channels and receptors has been demonstrated to be modulated by many intracellular and extracellular chemicals and signaling molecules. Increasing evidence indicates that the complexity and plasticity of the function of central nervous system is determined by the modulation of ion channels and receptors. Among various mechanisms, Ca 2+ signaling pathways play important roles in neuronal activity and some pathological changes. Ca 2+ influx through ion channels and receptors can modulate its further influx in a feedback way or modulate other ion channels and receptors. The common feature of the modulation is that Ca 2+ /calmodulin (CaM) is the universal mediator. CaM maintains the coordination among ion channels/receptors and intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis by feedback modulation of ion channels/receptors activity. This review focuses on the modulating processes of ion channels and receptors mediated by CaM, and further elucidates the mechanisms of Ca 2+ signaling.     

Ca2+ signalling between single L-type Ca2+ channels and ryanodine receptors in heart cells

Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release is a general mechanism that most cells use to amplify Ca2+ signals. In heart cells, this mechanism is operated between voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channels (LCCs) in the plasma membrane and Ca2+ release channels, commonly known as ryanodine receptors, in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The Ca2+ influx through LCCs traverses a cleft of roughly 12 nm formed by the cell surface and the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, and activates adjacent ryanodine receptors to release Ca2+ in the form of Ca2+ sparks. Here we determine the kinetics, fidelity and stoichiometry of coupling between LCCs and ryanodine receptors. We show that the local Ca2+ signal produced by a single opening of an LCC, named a 'Ca2+ sparklet', can trigger about 4-6 ryanodine receptors to generate a Ca2+ spark. The coupling between LCCs and ryanodine receptors is stochastic, as judged by the exponential distribution of the coupling latency. The fraction of sparklets that successfully triggers a spark is less than unity and declines in a use-dependent manner. This optical analysis of single-channel communication affords a powerful means for elucidating Ca2+-signalling mechanisms at the molecular level.     

Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent phagocytosis in human neutrophils

The phagocytic function of neutrophils is a crucial element in host defence against invading microorganisms. Two main specific receptor-mediated mechanisms operate in the phagocyte plasma membrane, one recognizing the C3b/bi fragment of complement and the other the Fc domain of immunoglobulin G (ref. 1). There is evidence that phagocytosis mediated by these receptors differs in the number and nature of the intracellular signals generated. However, the mechanisms by which receptor binding is transduced into a signal that generates the formation of the phagocyte pseudopod is not known, although extensive biochemical evidence has allowed the postulate that calcium ion gradients in the peripheral cytoplasm, by interacting with calcium-sensitive contractile proteins, initiate the process of engulfment. Using the high-affinity fluorescent calcium indicator quin2 both to measure and to buffer intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i), we show here that in human neutrophils two mechanisms of phagocytosis coexist: a [Ca2+]i-dependent and modulated phagocytosis, triggered by activation of the Fc receptor, and a [Ca2+]i-independent mechanism triggered by the activation of the C3b/bl receptors.     

Role of G-protein-coupled adenosine receptors in downregulation of inflammation and protection from tissue damage.

Inappropriate or prolonged inflammation is the main cause of many diseases; for this reason it is important to understand the physiological mechanisms that terminate inflammation in vivo. Agonists for several Gs-protein-coupled receptors, including cell-surface adenosine purinergic receptors, can increase levels of immunosuppressive cyclic AMP in immune cells; however, it was unknown whether any of these receptors regulates inflammation in vivo. Here we show that A2a adenosine receptors have a non-redundant role in the attenuation of inflammation and tissue damage in vivo. Sub-threshold doses of an inflammatory stimulus that caused minimal tissue damage in wild-type mice were sufficient to induce extensive tissue damage, more prolonged and higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and death of male animals deficient in the A2a adenosine receptor. Similar observations were made in studies of three different models of inflammation and liver damage as well as during bacterial endotoxin-induced septic shock. We suggest that A2a adenosine receptors are a critical part of the physiological negative feedback mechanism for limitation and termination of both tissue-specific and systemic inflammatory responses.     

Inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis in fasting and diabetes

In the fasted state, increases in circulating glucagon promote hepatic glucose production through induction of the gluconeogenic program. Triggering of the cyclic AMP pathway increases gluconeogenic gene expression via the de-phosphorylation of the CREB co-activator CRTC2 (ref. 1). Glucagon promotes CRTC2 dephosphorylation in part through the protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated inhibition of the CRTC2 kinase SIK2. A number of Ser/Thr phosphatases seem to be capable of dephosphorylating CRTC2 (refs 2, 3), but the mechanisms by which hormonal cues regulate these enzymes remain unclear. Here we show in mice that glucagon stimulates CRTC2 dephosphorylation in hepatocytes by mobilizing intracellular calcium stores and activating the calcium/calmodulin-dependent Ser/Thr-phosphatase calcineurin (also known as PP3CA). Glucagon increased cytosolic calcium concentration through the PKA-mediated phosphorylation of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP(3)Rs), which associate with CRTC2. After their activation, InsP(3)Rs enhanced gluconeogenic gene expression by promoting the calcineurin-mediated dephosphorylation of CRTC2. During feeding, increases in insulin signalling reduced CRTC2 activity via the AKT-mediated inactivation of InsP(3)Rs. InsP(3)R activity was increased in diabetes, leading to upregulation of the gluconeogenic program. As hepatic downregulation of InsP(3)Rs and calcineurin improved circulating glucose levels in insulin resistance, these results demonstrate how interactions between cAMP and calcium pathways at the level of the InsP(3)R modulate hepatic glucose production under fasting conditions and in diabetes.