In vitro synthesized bacterial outer membrane protein is integrated into bacterial inner membranes but translocated across microsomal membranes

The LamB protein is an integral membrane protein of the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. We have now found that, when synthesized in an E. coli cell-free translation system supplemented with inverted vesicles derived from the E. coli inner membrane, LamB protein is integrated into the vesicle membrane as assayed by its resistance to extraction at alkaline pH. These data suggest that the inner membrane is the primary site for integration of LamB protein prior to subsequent sorting to the outer membrane. When synthesized in a wheat germ cell-free translation system supplemented with canine microsomal membranes, LamB protein is glycosylated at one or two cryptic sites, and surprisingly, it is translocated across instead of being integrated into the vesicle membrane. We suggest that the translocation machinery of the microsomal membrane, although able to recognize the signal sequence(s) of LamB, is unable to recognize its stop-transfer sequence(s), thereby yielding translocation instead of integration.     

Effects of lanthanide ions on hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol in human erythrocyte membranes

The effects of lanthanides on the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol in human erythrocyte membranes were studied. ³H-inositol labeling chromatography and HPLC were used to determine inositol 1, 4, 5-triphosphate and diacylglycerol separately, the hydrolytic products of phosphatidylinositol due to the reaction of lanthanide ions with human erythrocyte membranes. The unhydrolyzed phosphatidylinositol in membranes was also determined. The results indicate that the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol can be promoted by lanthanides (La³⁺, Ce³⁺, Y³⁺, Tb³⁺) and the effects of La³⁺ and Ce³⁺ are stronger than those of Y³⁺ and Tb³⁺.     

人参皂甙引起的人红细胞膜蛋白沟象变化的圆二色谱研究

用圆二色技术研究了５种人参皂甙对人红细胞膜的作用。作为模型的人红细胞膜悬液含有相当于膜蛋白质量１／１３或更少的乙醇。加入５×１０－７～２．４×１０－４ｍｏｌ的人参皂甙Ｒｂ２、Ｒｃ、Ｒｄ、Ｒｅ、Ｒｇ１后，人红细胞膜圆二色［θ］２２２的幅值均有不同程度的增长，反映膜蛋白α－螺旋含量的增加。这意味着人参皂甙有使膜蛋白有序化的作用。人参的抗衰老作用可能与此有关。人参皂甙的水溶性是影响其膜有序化作用功效的一个重要因素，这种作用与温度没有依赖关系。     

Hereditary spherocytosis associated with deletion of human erythrocyte ankyrin gene on chromosome 8

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is one of the most common hereditary haemolytic anaemias. HS red cells from both autosound dominant and recessive variants are spectrin-deficient, which correlates with the severity of the disease. Some patients with recessive HS have a mutation in the spectrin alpha-2 domain (S.L.M. et al., unpublished observations), and a few dominant HS patients have an unstable beta-spectrin that is easily oxidized, which damages the protein 4.1 binding site and weakens spectrin-actin interactions. In most patients, however, the cause of spectrin deficiency is unknown. The alpha- and beta-spectrin loci are on chromosomes 1 and 14 respectively. The only other genetic locus for HS is SPH2, on the short arm of chromosome 8 (8p11). This does not correspond to any of the known loci of genes for red cell membrane proteins including protein 4.1 (1p36.2-p34), the anion exchange protein (AE1, band 3; 17q21-qter), glycophorin C (2q14-q21), and beta-actin (7pter-q22). Human erythrocyte ankyrin, which links beta-spectrin to the anion exchange protein, has recently been cloned. We now show that the ankyrin gene maps to chromosome 8p11.2, and that one copy is missing from DNA of two unrelated children with severe HS and heterozygous deletions of chromosome 8 (del(8)(p11-p21.1)). Affected red cells are also ankyrin-deficient. The data suggest that defects or deficiency or ankyrin are responsible for HS at the SPH2 locus.     

Effect on membrane transport in the erythrocytes by band 3 cross-linking

Band 3 and glucose transport protein (GluT1) are two kinds of important proteins in the human erythrocyte membranes. Bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)suberate (BS³), an impermeable cross-linker of band 3, inhibited NO₂ ⁻ transport, showing that anion exchange is affected by the association state of band 3 in the intact erythrocyte membranes. At the same time, the rates of glucose transport of both exit and entry declined. The amount of monomers of band 3 was decreased after treatment of the erythrocytes with BS³, but there was no change in GluT1 according to the SDS-PAGE patterns. This demonstrates that band 3 and GluT1 would be linkaged together in the erythrocyte membranes for the requirement of rapid and cooperative performance of physiological functions of the membrane proteins.     

Formation of domain structure of erythrocyte membrane in Wistar rat fed with CeCl3 per os

To explore the possibility of absorption of lanthanides via digestive duct and their effects on the membrane structure and permeability of erythrocytes,the fine structure of erythrocyte membrane from Wistar rats,fed for 70 days of daily administration per os with 20 mg CeCl3/kg weight,was imaged by means of atomic force microscopy and FT-IR deconvolution spectra.The results show that,although the erythrocytes maintain the intact shape,the change of secondary structure,aggregation and crosslinking of the protein particles of membrane surface and the enlarged lipid regions lead to the domain structure formation.This structure might be responsible for the increasing permeability of erythrocyte membrane.     

Formation of domain structure of erythrocyte membrane in Wistar rat fed with CeCl3 per os

To explore the possibility of absorption of lanthanides via digestive duct and their effects on the membrane structure and permeability of erythrocytes, the fine structure of erythrocyte membrane from Wistar rats, fed for 70 days of daily administrationper os with 20 mg CeCl₃/kg weight, was imaged by means of atomic force microscopy and FT-IR deconvolution spectra. The results show that, although the erythrocytes maintain the intact shape, the change of secondary structure, aggregation and crosslinking of the protein particles of membrane surface and the enlarged lipid regions lead to the domain structure formation. This structure might be responsible for the increasing permeability of erythrocyte membrane.     

Phosphatidylglycerol is involved in protein translocation across Escherichia coli inner membranes

Newly synthesized proteins to be exported out of the cytoplasm of bacterial cells have to pass across the inner membrane. In Gram-negative bacteria ATP, a membrane potential, the products of the sec genes and leader peptidases (enzymes which cleave the N-terminal signal peptides of the precursor proteins) are required. The mechanism of translocation, however, remains elusive. Important additional roles for membrane lipids have been repeatedly suggested both on theoretical grounds and on the basis of experiments with model systems but no direct evidence had been obtained. We demonstrate here, using mutants of Escherichia coli defective in the synthesis of the major anionic membrane phospholipids, that phosphatidylglycerol is involved in the translocation of newly synthesized outer-membrane proteins across the inner membrane.     

A chromosomal rearrangement in a P. falciparum histidine-rich protein gene is associated with the knobless phenotype

The significant morbidity and mortality associated with Plasmodium falciparum malaria results, in part, from the sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in postcapillary venules, which may protect the parasite from splenic clearance and contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. This sequestration has been linked to the expression of parasite-induced knob structures on the surface of the infected erythrocyte which mediate the cytoadherence phenomenon. While knobs are necessary for cytoadherence, they are not sufficient, requiring both parasite- and host-encoded proteins. Spontaneous mutants of P. falciparum have been isolated from in vitro cultures which lack the ability to express knobs and fail to cytoadhere. A histidine-rich protein has been described which is associated with the knobby phenotype and may be a constituent of the knob. We now report the isolation of complementary DNA clones for a knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP) and demonstrate that in knobless mutants the gene for this protein has undergone a rearrangement, resulting in a deletion in the 3' coding sequence. Moreover, the chromosome to which the KAHRP gene maps is rearranged in these mutants, producing a telomeric location of the truncated gene. These observations explain the loss of expression of the messenger RNA and protein in such mutants and may explain the loss of the knob itself. The implications for the generation of spontaneous mutations in the parasite by this novel mechanism are discussed.     

RNA helicase activity associated with the human p68 protein

It has been proposed that p68, a nuclear protein of relative molecular mass 68,000, functions in the regulation of cell growth and division. A complementary DNA analysis of the protein has revealed extensive amino-acid sequence homology to the products of a set of genes recently identified in organisms as diverse as Escherichia coli and man, which include the eukaryotic translation initiation factor elF-4A. The protein products of the new gene family have several motifs in common which are thought to be involved in nucleic acid unwinding. As yet, however, only elF-4A, through its effect on RNA, has been shown to possess unwinding activity. Here we report that purified p68 also exhibits RNA-dependent ATPase activity and functions as an RNA helicase in vitro. The protein was first identified by its specific immunological cross reaction with the simian virus 40 large T antigen, the transforming protein of a small DNA tumour virus. Surprisingly, T antigen also has an RNA-unwinding activity: the homology between the two polypeptides, although confined to only a small region resembling the epitope of the cross-reacting antibody (PAb204), should therefore be of functional significance. Furthermore, the RNA-unwinding activity may be involved in the growth-regulating functions of both proteins.     

Acinus is a caspase-3-activated protein required for apoptotic chromatin condensation.

Apoptosis is defined by several unique morphological nuclear changes, such as chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation. These changes are triggered by the activation of a family of cysteine proteases called caspases, and caspase-activated DNase (CAD/DFF40) and lamin protease (caspase-6) have been implicated in some of these changes. CAD/DFF40 induces chromatin condensation in purified nuclei, but distinct caspase-activated factor(s) may be responsible for chromatin condensation. Here we use an in vitro system to identify a new nuclear factor, designated Acinus, which induces apoptotic chromatin condensation after cleavage by caspase-3 without inducing DNA fragmentation. Immunodepletion experiments showed that Acinus is essential for apoptotic chromatin condensation in vitro, and an antisense study revealed that Acinus is also important in the induction of apoptotic chromatin condensation in cells.     

Cell attachment protein VP8* of a human rotavirus specifically interacts with A-type histo-blood group antigen

As with many other viruses, the initial cell attachment of rotaviruses, which are the major causative agent of infantile gastroenteritis, is mediated by interactions with specific cellular glycans. The distally located VP8* domain of the rotavirus spike protein VP4 (ref. 5) mediates such interactions. The existing paradigm is that 'sialidase-sensitive' animal rotavirus strains bind to glycans with terminal sialic acid (Sia), whereas 'sialidase-insensitive' human rotavirus strains bind to glycans with internal Sia such as GM1 (ref. 3). Although the involvement of Sia in the animal strains is firmly supported by crystallographic studies, it is not yet known how VP8* of human rotaviruses interacts with Sia and whether their cell attachment necessarily involves sialoglycans. Here we show that VP8* of a human rotavirus strain specifically recognizes A-type histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) using a glycan array screen comprised of 511 glycans, and that virus infectivity in HT-29 cells is abrogated by anti-A-type antibodies as well as significantly enhanced in Chinese hamster ovary cells genetically modified to express the A-type HBGA, providing a novel paradigm for initial cell attachment of human rotavirus. HBGAs are genetically determined glycoconjugates present in mucosal secretions, epithelia and on red blood cells, and are recognized as susceptibility and cell attachment factors for gastric pathogens like Helicobacter pylori and noroviruses. Our crystallographic studies show that the A-type HBGA binds to the human rotavirus VP8* at the same location as the Sia in the VP8* of animal rotavirus, and suggest how subtle changes within the same structural framework allow for such receptor switching. These results raise the possibility that host susceptibility to specific human rotavirus strains and pathogenesis are influenced by genetically controlled expression of different HBGAs among the world's population.     

The wee1 protein kinase is required for radiation-induced mitotic delay.

Cellular feedback or 'checkpoint' mechanisms maintain the order of completion of essential, cell-cycle related functions. In the budding yeast, for example, the RAD9 gene product is required to delay progression into mitosis in response to DNA damage. Similarly, in fission yeast, the cdc25 and cdc2 gene products influence the ability of cells to delay mitosis in response to the inhibition of DNA synthesis. Because these two checkpoint controls regulate the same event, mitosis, we observed the effect of gamma-irradiation on cell cycle progression in fission yeast, to test whether the two controls require the same cell-cycle regulatory elements. We show that gamma-radiation-induced mitotic delay requires functional wee1 protein kinase but does not seem to involve the cdc25 pathway. Mitotic delay in response to DNA damage is thus distinct from the delay induced by inhibition of DNA synthesis, which involves cdc25 but is not dependent on wee1.