Transformation by murine and feline sarcoma viruses specifically blocks binding of epidermal growth factor to cells.

Normal cells in culture have membrane receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGF); EGF stimulates cells to divide by binding to these receptors. Cells transformed by murine and feline sarcoma viruses rapidly lose the ability to bind EGF, whereas cells transformed by the DNA tumour viruses, polyoma and SV40, or infected with non-transforming RNA tumour viruses have normal levels of functional EGF receptors. The results suggest that a product of the sarcoma virus genome specifically changes cell EGF receptors; the sarcoma gene product may, then, be functionally related to EGF.     

Distinct contribution of stem and progenitor cells to epidermal maintenance

The skin interfollicular epidermis (IFE) is the first barrier against the external environment and its maintenance is critical for survival. Two seemingly opposite theories have been proposed to explain IFE homeostasis. One posits that IFE is maintained by long-lived slow-cycling stem cells that give rise to transit-amplifying cell progeny, whereas the other suggests that homeostasis is achieved by a single committed progenitor population that balances stochastic fate. Here we probe the cellular heterogeneity within the IFE using two different inducible Cre recombinase–oestrogen receptor constructs targeting IFE progenitors in mice. Quantitative analysis of clonal fate data and proliferation dynamics demonstrate the existence of two distinct proliferative cell compartments arranged in a hierarchy involving slow-cycling stem cells and committed progenitor cells. After wounding, only stem cells contribute substantially to the repair and long-term regeneration of the tissue, whereas committed progenitor cells make a limited contribution.     

一种预测判断蛋白质与DNA相互作用位点的新方法

蛋白质-DNA相互作用位点在各类生理生化反应中扮演重要角色.本论文旨在构建一种可以准确预测“相互作用位点”的方法：PdDNA，其内容主要包括支持向量机和序列匹配器.支持向量机通过提取相互作用位点中心残基的特征进行训练并分类，序列匹配器则通过蛋白质特征矩阵（PSSM）对氨基酸序列进行相关性评估，对二者结果进行归一化整合，得到最终的预测结果.利用公开数据集PDNA_62，我们的PdDNA预测准确率为86.87%.为进一步验证PdDNA可靠性，我们还自建了PDNA_224数据集，其预测准确率为83.07%，处于较高水平.因此PdDNA是一种有效的“蛋白质-DNA相互作用位点”预测方法.     

Two-headed binding of a processive myosin to F-actin

Myosins are motor proteins in cells. They move along actin by changing shape after making stereospecific interactions with the actin subunits. As these are arranged helically, a succession of steps will follow a helical path. However, if the myosin heads are long enough to span the actin helical repeat (approximately 36 nm), linear motion is possible. Muscle myosin (myosin II) heads are about 16 nm long, which is insufficient to span the repeat. Myosin V, however, has heads of about 31 nm that could span 36 nm and thus allow single two-headed molecules to transport cargo by walking straight. Here we use electron microscopy to show that while working, myosin V spans the helical repeat. The heads are mostly 13 actin subunits apart, with values of 11 or 15 also found. Typically the structure is polar and one head is curved, the other straighter. Single particle processing reveals the polarity of the underlying actin filament, showing that the curved head is the leading one. The shape of the leading head may correspond to the beginning of the working stroke of the motor. We also observe molecules attached by one head in this conformation.