Structural basis for synthesis of inflammatory mediators by human leukotriene C4 synthase

Cysteinyl leukotrienes are key mediators in inflammation and have an important role in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, in particular bronchial asthma. In the biosynthesis of cysteinyl leukotrienes, conversion of arachidonic acid forms the unstable epoxide leukotriene A4 (LTA4). This intermediate is conjugated with glutathione (GSH) to produce leukotriene C4 (LTC4) in a reaction catalysed by LTC4 synthase: this reaction is the key step in cysteinyl leukotriene formation. Here we present the crystal structure of the human LTC4 synthase in its apo and GSH-complexed forms to 2.00 and 2.15 A resolution, respectively. The structure reveals a homotrimer, where each monomer is composed of four transmembrane segments. The structure of the enzyme in complex with substrate reveals that the active site enforces a horseshoe-shaped conformation on GSH, and effectively positions the thiol group for activation by a nearby arginine at the membrane-enzyme interface. In addition, the structure provides a model for how the omega-end of the lipophilic co-substrate is pinned at one end of a hydrophobic cleft, providing a molecular 'ruler' to align the reactive epoxide at the thiol of glutathione. This provides new structural insights into the mechanism of LTC4 formation, and also suggests that the observed binding and activation of GSH might be common for a family of homologous proteins important for inflammatory and detoxification responses.     

Characterization of the human cysteinyl leukotriene CysLT1 receptor.

The cysteinyl leukotrienes-leukotriene C4(LTC4), leukotriene D4(LTD4) and leukotriene E4(LTE4)-are important mediators of human bronchial asthma. Pharmacological studies have determined that cysteinyl leukotrienes activate at least two receptors, designated CysLT1 and CysLT2. The CysLT1-selective antagonists, such as montelukast (Singulair), zafirlukast (Accolate) and pranlukast (Onon), are important in the treatment of asthma. Previous biochemical characterization of CysLT1 antagonists and the CysLT1 receptor has been in membrane preparations from tissues enriched for this receptor. Here we report the molecular and pharmacological characterization of the cloned human CysLT1 receptor. We describe the functional activation (calcium mobilization) of this receptor by LTD4 and LTC4, and competition for radiolabelled LTD4 binding to this receptor by the cysteinyl leukotrienes and three structurally distinct classes of CysLT1-receptor antagonists. We detected CysLT1-receptor messenger RNA in spleen, peripheral blood leukocytes and lung. In normal human lung, expression of the CysLT1-receptor mRNA was confined to smooth muscle cells and tissue macrophages. Finally, we mapped the human CysLT1-receptor gene to the X chromosome.     

Leukotrienes are potent constrictors of human bronchi

Slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) is released by various stimuli, including immunological challenge, and has long been considered an important mediator of immediate hypersensitivity reactions, such as bronchoconstriction in allergic asthma. Recently, slow reacting substances from several tissues have been identified and characterized as members of a newly discovered group of substances, the leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are generated from arachidonic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids in a pathway initially involving a lipoxygenase-catalysed oxygenation at C-5 (Fig. 1). This differs from the synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes, where the initial transformation of arachidonic acid is catalysed by a cyclo oxygenase (Fig. 1). Recently, leukotriene C4(LTC4:5(S)-hydroxy,6(R)-S-glutathionyl-7,9-trans, 11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid) and D4(LTD4:5(S)-hydroxy,6(R)-S-cysteinyl-glycyl-7,9-trans,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid) were found to have biological effects in several bioassay systems, which are strikingly similar to those previously reported for impure extracts of SRS-A. Here we report the remarkable contractile activity of both LTC4 and LTD4 on isolated human bronchi, which further emphasizes the possibility that leukotrienes are potent mediators of bronchoconstriction in man.     

Enzymatic assembly of slow reacting substance

When basophils or mast cells are stimulated by a specific antigen they release chemical mediators, including a potent bronchoconstrictor, slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A). The structure of SRS from a mouse mastocytoma and rat basophilic leukaemia (RBL-1) cells has been identified as a thioether or arachidonic acid and glutathione [not a thioether of cystene as was originally thought]. SRS has been named leukotriene (LT) C and may be formed by a novel lipoxygenase pathway which also synthesizes 5,6-oxido-7,9,11,14-icosatetraenoic acid (LTA) and 5,12-dihydroxy-6,8,10,14-icosatetraenoic acid (LTB). Homogenates of RBL-1 cells, when incubated with C-arachidonic acid, form 5-hydroxy-icosatetraenoic acid (5-HETE) and 5,12-dihydroxy- and 5,6-dihydroxy-icosatetraenoic acid. The latter is the spontaneous breakdown product of the labile intermediate LTA. Formation of both compounds is stimulated by calcium. We have now produced biologically active SRS in a cell-free system generated from RBL-1 cells. Glutathione was essential for SRS synthesis and calcium stimulated its formation.     

Slow-reacting substances (leukotrienes) contract human airway and pulmonary vascular smooth muscle in vitro

During a type I allergic reaction histamine, slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) and other mediator substances are elaborated from specific tissue sites. In allergic asthma these sites are in the lung and the mediator substances cause airway obstruction by contracting smooth muscle and altering mucociliary function. Unlike histamine, slow-reacting substances (SRSs) have been assessed very little for their roles in obstructive airways disease. This has been partly due to the fact that their chemical nature was unknown until recently and thus pure samples were not available for pharmacological studies. However, SRSs isolated from both immunological and non-immunological reactions have been identified as a combination of two related lipid substances--leukotriene C4 (LTC) and leukotriene D4 (LTD); thus it is now possible to use pure SRSs (leukotrienes) in pharmacological studies of airway smooth muscle. LTC and LTD have been shown to contract guinea pig tracheal and lung parenchymal strips but there is no evidence that these substances produce similar effects on human lung tissue. To clarify this, in vivo pharmacological studies were done to determine the actions of LTC and LTD on smooth muscle strips of human bronchus, pulmonary vein and artery, and lung parenchymal tissue containing smooth muscle components and pleura. As indicated in a preliminary report, all four types of tissues contracted in a dose-dependent fashion to the leukotrienes, although these substances only function as partial agonists.     

DMC/AM/AA三元水溶液共聚合(Ⅱ)

以（NH4）2S2O8－NH2CONH2为引发剂，研究了丙烯酸胺（AM）、甲基丙烯酸氧乙基三甲基氯化铵（DMC）和丙烯酸（AA）三元水溶液共聚合反应，考察了聚合温度、原料配比、单体浓度、引发剂用量以及pH值等因素对聚合速率、单体转化率和产物特性粘度的影响。结果表明：当起始单体总浓度为30～40％，PH≤5．0，DMC和AA在原料配比中的含量分别为20～70mol％、0～30mol％时，聚合反应的条件较为适宜。     

基于GST的变速机械故障信号稀疏特征提取方法

为提取强噪声背景下的变速旋转机械设备的冲击故障特征,提出了一种基于广义S变换的稀疏特征提取方法.首先,通过多分辨率广义S变换（multiresolution generalized S-transform,MGST）搜索每次迭代过程中的最佳原子,多分辨率广义S变换可以得到信号不同尺度下的归一化时频谱,并从中找出能量最大值及其所对应的时频因子,根据故障冗余字典的构建模型可得到冲击成分的最佳匹配原子.其次,结合正交匹配追踪算法（orthogonal matching pursuit,OMP）,计算出信号在原子集合下的投影,由于采用了基于多分辨率广义S变换的原子搜索策略,大幅度提高了OMP的分解效率.最后,根据稀疏表示中第一个冲击信号的出现时刻,可依次计算出冲击信号在变速情况下的出现时刻理论值,通过与实测值的比较,实现变速机械的故障诊断.仿真和实例分析结果表明,该方法比传统OMP方法和广义S变换具有更高的计算效率和定位精度.      

Formation of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Blends by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes M1-2 from Various Carbon Sources

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＰｏｌｙｈｙｄｒｏｘｙａｌｋａｎｏａｔｅｓ (ＰＨＡｓ)ａｒｅａｆａｍｉｌｙｏｆｉｎｔｒａｃｅｌｌｕｌａｒｂｉｏｐｏｌｙｍｅｒｓｓｙｎｔｈｅｓｉｚｅｄｂｙｍａｎｙｂａｃｔｅｒｉａａｓｉｎｔｒａｃｅｌｌｕｌａｒｃａｒｂｏｎａｎｄｅｎｅｒｇｙｓｔｏｒａｇｅｃｏｍｐｏｕｎｄｓ[1] .ＰＨＡｓｈａｖｅａｗｉｄｅｒａｎｇｅｏｆｐｈｙｓｉｃａｌｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｉｅｓｒａｎｇｉｎｇｆｒｏｍｂｒｉｔｔｌｅｔｏｆｌｅｘｉｂｌｅｔｏｅｌａｓｔｉｃ ,ｄｅｐｅｎｄｉｎｇｏｎｔｈｅｉｒｍｏｎｏｍｅｒｓｔｒ…     

Structural basis of ultraviolet-B perception by UVR8

The Arabidopsis thaliana protein UVR8 is a photoreceptor for ultraviolet-B. Upon ultraviolet-B irradiation, UVR8 undergoes an immediate switch from homodimer to monomer, which triggers a signalling pathway for ultraviolet protection. The mechanism by which UVR8 senses ultraviolet-B remains largely unknown. Here we report the crystal structure of UVR8 at 1.8?? resolution, revealing a symmetric homodimer of seven-bladed β-propeller that is devoid of any external cofactor as the chromophore. Arginine residues that stabilize the homodimeric interface, principally Arg?286 and Arg?338, make elaborate intramolecular cation-π interactions with surrounding tryptophan amino acids. Two of these tryptophans, Trp?285 and Trp?233, collectively serve as the ultraviolet-B chromophore. Our structural and biochemical analyses identify the molecular mechanism for UVR8-mediated ultraviolet-B perception, in which ultraviolet-B radiation results in destabilization of the intramolecular cation-π interactions, causing disruption of the critical intermolecular hydrogen bonds mediated by Arg?286 and Arg?338 and subsequent dissociation of the UVR8 homodimer.     

表达长喙田菁SrPCS4烟草的获得及Cd抗性研究

植物螯合肽(phytochelatins,PCs)在植物解除重金属的毒性方面具有重要作用,是以谷胱甘肽为底物,在植物螯肽合成酶(phytochelatin synthase,PCS)催化下合成的.作者已经克隆得到的长喙田菁(Sesba-nia rostrata)植物螯合肽合成酶SrPCS4 cDNA长为1035 bp,其ORF编码177个氨基酸,以pHANNIBAL及pART27为基础,构建了CaMV35S启动子驱动的SrPCS4基因植物表达载体pAM25,采用电击转化方法将pAM25导入根癌农杆菌EHA105,并通过改良叶盘转化方法用该菌株对烟草进行了转化,对转基因烟草进行了PCR与northern-blot检测,研究结果表明得到了表达该基因的烟草,但表达该基因的烟草不能够提高对Cd的抗性.     

Structural basis for the activation of 20S proteasomes by 11S regulators

Most of the non-lysosomal proteolysis that occurs in eukaryotic cells is performed by a nonspecific and abundant barrel-shaped complex called the 20S proteasome. Substrates access the active sites, which are sequestered in an internal chamber, by traversing a narrow opening (alpha-annulus) that is blocked in the unliganded 20S proteasome by amino-terminal sequences of alpha-subunits. Peptide products probably exit the 20S proteasome through the same opening. 11S regulators (also called PA26 (ref. 4), PA28 (ref. 5) and REG) are heptamers that stimulate 20S proteasome peptidase activity in vitro and may facilitate product release in vivo. Here we report the co-crystal structure of yeast 20S proteasome with the 11S regulator from Trypanosoma brucei (PA26). PA26 carboxy-terminal tails provide binding affinity by inserting into pockets on the 20S proteasome, and PA26 activation loops induce conformational changes in alpha-subunits that open the gate separating the proteasome interior from the intracellular environment. The reduction in processivity expected for an open conformation of the exit gate may explain the role of 11S regulators in the production of ligands for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.     

五元杂环取代的茂金属配合物的合成及表征

将(C5Me4H) C4H3S,(C4H3S)C(CH3)(C2H5)(C5H5)和2- CH3C4H2O(C5Me4H)分别与Mo(CO)6,Ru3(CO)12和Fe(CO)5在二甲苯中加热回流,合成了3个新型的双核配合物[(η5-C5Me4C4H3S) Mo(CO)3]2,[(η5- C5H4)C(CH3) (C2H5) (C4H3S)Ru(CO)2]2和[(η5- C5 Me4(2 - CH3CH2O))Fe(CO)(μ-CO)]2.通过元素分析、红外光谱、核磁共振氧谱对其结构进行了表征.     

甜菜夜蛾田间种群抗药性及其解毒代谢酶活性变化

用点滴法和浸叶法分别测定了同一地区不同年份甜菜夜蛾田间种群及室内饲养1年后的抗性种群3龄幼虫的抗药性水平。结果表明甜菜夜蛾田间种群对杀虫剂抗性水平的变化与解毒代谢酶活性密切相关。     

哒螨酮在甲醇中的光解

以氙灯为光源，农药哒螨酮在甲醇溶剂中的光解动力学符合一级动力学规律，通空气对哒螨酮的光解速率影响不大，而通氮气时可明显促进其光解，产物分析表明，哒螨酮在甲醇中光解断裂碳硫键，生成对叔丁基苯乙烷－2特丁基－4－巯基－4－氯哒嗪－3－醇，前可进一步氧化成对叔丁基苯甲酸和对叔丁基苯甲酸甲酯。     

Style self-incompatibility gene products of Nicotiana alata are ribonucleases

Self-incompatibility in flowering plants is often controlled by a single nuclear gene (the S-gene) having several alleles. This gene prevents fertilization by self-pollen or by pollen bearing either of the two S-alleles expressed in the style. Sequence analysis shows that three alleles of the S gene of Nicotiana alata encode style glycoproteins with regions of defined homology. Two of the homologous regions also show precise homology with ribonucleases T2 (ref. 4) and Rh (ref. 5). We report here that glycoproteins corresponding to the S1, S2, S3, S6 and S7 alleles isolated from style extracts of N. alata are ribonucleases. These style S-gene-encoded glycoproteins account for most of the ribonuclease activity recovered from style extracts. The ribonuclease specific activity of style extracts of the self-incompatible species N. alata is 100-1,000-fold higher than that of the related self-compatible species N. tabacum. These observations implicate ribonuclease activity in the mechanism of gametophytic self-incompatibility.     

Identification and isolation of a membrane protein necessary for leukotriene production

Several inflammatory diseases, including asthma, arthritis and psoriasis are associated with the production of leukotrienes by neutrophils, mast cells and macrophages. The initial enzymatic step in the formation of leukotrienes is the oxidation of arachidonic acid by 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) to leukotriene A4. Osteosarcoma cells transfected with 5-LO express active enzyme in broken cell preparations, but no leukotriene metabolites are produced by these cells when stimulated with the calcium ionophore A23187, indicating that an additional component is necessary for cellular 5-LO activity. A new class of indole leukotriene inhibitor has been described that inhibits the formation of cellular leukotrienes but has no direct inhibitory effect on soluble 5-LO activity. We have now used these potent agents to identify and isolate a novel membrane protein of relative molecular mass 18,000 which is necessary for cellular leukotriene synthesis.     

几个二价稀土金属配合物的催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合反应活性研究

研究了二价稀土金属配合物(η5:η1-C9H6CH2CH2CH2NMe2)2YbII(1),[{η5:η5:η1-(C9H5CH2SiMe2NC4H8)2}EuI2I(μ-Cl)]2[μ-η3:η5:η1:η3:η5:η1-(C9H5CH2SiMe2NC4H8)2].C7H8.(C6H6)0.5(2),and[η5:η1-C9H6CH2SiMe2NC4H8]2YbII(3)催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯聚合活性.探索了催化剂与MMA单体摩尔比、溶剂的极性、温度对MMA聚合反应的影响.     

Leukotriene B, a potent chemokinetic and aggregating substance released from polymorphonuclear leukocytes

Arachidonic acid is metabolised either by cyclooxygenases to produce prostaglandins and thromboxanes or by lipoxygenases to produce mono-, di- and trihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs). Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) release HETEs, including mono- and dihydroxy fatty acids, when exposed to stimuli such as the calcium ionophore A23187 (refs 1, 2). The mono-HETEs are assumed to be of particular importance with respect to effects on leukocyte function because they have been shown to possess both chemotactic and chemokinetic activities towards PMNs and eosinophils. However, we have now shown that the chemokinetic and aggregating activities released from rat and human PMNs exposed to ionophore A23187 (ref. 5) are not due to the release of mono-HETEs but to that of 5, 12-di-HETE (leukotriene B). This compound is active over the concentration range 10 pg ml-1 to 5 ng ml-1.