The Drosophila Netrin receptor Frazzled guides axons by controlling Netrin distribution

Netrin is a secreted protein that can act as a chemotropic axon guidance cue. Two classes of Netrin receptor, DCC and UNC-5 (refs 6-9), are required for axon guidance and are thought to mediate Netrin signals in growth cones through their cytoplasmic domains. However, in the guidance of Drosophila photoreceptor axons, the DCC orthologue Frazzled is required not in the photoreceptor neurons but instead in their targets, indicating that Frazzled also has a non-cell-autonomous function. Here we show that Frazzled can capture Netrin and 'present' it for recognition by other receptors. Moreover, Frazzled itself is actively localized within the axon through its cytoplasmic domain, and thereby rearranges Netrin protein into a spatial pattern completely different from the pattern of Netrin gene expression. Frazzled-dependent guidance of one pioneer neuron in the central nervous system can be accounted for solely on the basis of this ability of Frazzled to control Netrin distribution, and not by Frazzled signalling. We propose a model of patterning mechanism in which a receptor rearranges secreted ligand molecules, thereby creating positional information for other receptors.     

The PerR transcription factor senses H2O2 by metal-catalysed histidine oxidation

The sensing of reactive oxygen species is essential for cellular responses to oxidative stress. The sensing of peroxides is typically mediated by redox-active cysteines in sensors such as the bacterial OxyR, OhrR, and Hsp33 proteins. Bacillus subtilis PerR is the prototype for a widespread family of metal-dependent peroxide sensors that regulate inducible peroxide-defence genes. Here we show that PerR senses peroxides by metal-catalysed oxidation. PerR contains two metal-binding sites: a structural Zn2+ site and a regulatory divalent metal ion site that preferentially binds Fe2+ or Mn2+ (ref. 5). Protein oxidation, catalysed by a bound ferrous ion, leads to the rapid and direct incorporation of one oxygen atom into histidine 37 (H37) or H91, two of the residues that coordinate the bound Fe2+. This mechanism accounts for the ability of PerR to sense low levels of hydrogen peroxide in vivo. The reduction of hydrogen peroxide by metal ions to generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals underlies the genotoxic effects of peroxides, and has been shown to contribute to enzyme inactivation, but has not previously been shown to provide a regulatory mechanism for peroxide sensing.     

Position-dependent properties of retinal axons and their growth cones

The formation of the very orderly neuronal projection from the retina to the optic tectum is not yet understood, but several mechanisms are thought to be involved in a coordinated fashion. These mechanisms may include mechanical or chemical guidance in channels, guidance by spatial gradients of positional markers, gradients of temporal (maturation) markers or specific inter-axon interactions (see ref. 1 for review). The last-mentioned mechanism could explain the fibre order found in optic nerve and tract. It requires that some or all growing retinal axons can distinguish between retinal axons of various origins and grow preferentially along retinal axons originating from the same area as themselves. The in vitro experiments described here show that growth cones from the temporal half of the chick retina grow preferentially along temporal axons, whereas growth cones from nasal retina do not distinguish between nasal and temporal axons.     

RGM is a repulsive guidance molecule for retinal axons

Axons rely on guidance cues to reach remote targets during nervous system development. A well-studied model system for axon guidance is the retinotectal projection. The retina can be divided into halves; the nasal half, next to the nose, and the temporal half. A subset of retinal axons, those from the temporal half, is guided by repulsive cues expressed in a graded fashion in the optic tectum, part of the midbrain. Here we report the cloning and functional characterization of a membrane-associated glycoprotein, which we call RGM (repulsive guidance molecule). This molecule shares no sequence homology with known guidance cues, and its messenger RNA is distributed in a gradient with increasing concentration from the anterior to posterior pole of the embryonic tectum. Recombinant RGM at low nanomolar concentration induces collapse of temporal but not of nasal growth cones and guides temporal retinal axons in vitro, demonstrating its repulsive and axon-specific guiding activity.     

The Mesp2 transcription factor establishes segmental borders by suppressing Notch activity

The serially segmented (metameric) structures of vertebrates are based on somites that are periodically formed during embryogenesis. A 'clock and wavefront' model has been proposed to explain the underlying mechanism of somite formation, in which the periodicity is generated by oscillation of Notch components (the clock) in the posterior pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM). This temporal periodicity is then translated into the segmental units in the 'wavefront'. The wavefront is thought to exist in the anterior PSM and progress backwards at a constant rate; however, there has been no direct evidence as to whether the levels of Notch activity really oscillate and how such oscillation is translated into a segmental pattern in the anterior PSM. Here, we have visualized endogenous levels of Notch1 activity in mice, showing that it oscillates in the posterior PSM but is arrested in the anterior PSM. Somite boundaries formed at the interface between Notch1-activated and -repressed domains. Genetic and biochemical studies indicate that this interface is generated by suppression of Notch activity by mesoderm posterior 2 (Mesp2) through induction of the lunatic fringe gene (Lfng). We propose that the oscillation of Notch activity is arrested and translated in the wavefront by Mesp2.     

Local positional cues in the neuroepithelium guide retinal axons in embryonic Xenopus brain

Growing retinal axons home to their distant target, the tectum, even when they are displaced from their normal pathway. This argues for long-range guidance mechanisms in the embryonic brain. Growth cones may orientate to diffusible attractants released from the target, as proposed in other systems, or they may use a stable distribution of positional information in the neuroepithelium. To distinguish between these possibilities, small pieces of the presumptive optic tract, through which retinal axons will normally grow, were rotated by approximately 90 degrees either clockwise or counterclockwise. When the retinal axons later encountered the rotated neuroepithelium, they also turned clockwise or counterclockwise, in correspondence with the direction of rotation. This demonstrates that long-range navigation of retinal axons in the vertebrate brain is based partly on stable, local positional factors, rather than on remote diffusible factors.     

《紫颜色》中西丽成长的正反面引路人

为揭示成长小说中成长引路人在青少年成长中的重要作用,探讨<紫颜色>中的人物关系,对<紫颜色>中女主人公西丽成长的正反两方面引路人对其成长所产生的深远影响进行了分析.为当代人如何做好青少年成长的引路人起到一定的警示和启迪作用.     

导游员自我效能感问卷的编制

通过文献归纳、深度访谈、小样本施测和数据检验获得问卷的初步结构和项目.在446份有效问卷的数据处理中,通过探索性因素分析得出问卷由导游专业知识掌握与运用、人际关系建立及其处理、导游技巧掌握和运用、情商和应急处置、全局性统筹和控制等五个主要因素构成,五个因素累积解释总方差为64.66%,各因素内部一致性系数介于0.73~0.89之间;采用不重复数据进行验证性因素分析,得出五因素结构模型的各项拟合指标均达到良好标准.     

《紫颜色》中西丽成长的正反面引路人

为揭示成长小说中成长引路人在青少年成长中的重要作用,探讨《紫颜色》中的人物关系,对《紫颜色》中女主人公西丽成长的正反两方面引路人对其成长所产生的深远影响进行了分析。为当代人如何做好青少年成长的引路人起到一定的警示和启迪作用。     

转录因子GATA-1在造血系统中的作用(综述)

转录因子GATA-1为正常红细胞发育和分化成熟所必需。GATA-1的表达严格限制于造血细胞系,主要调控红系的增殖和分化,对巨核系、肥大细胞系及嗜酸性粒细胞系也起一定的作用。GATA-1参与自身启动子的正调节,而且GATA-1和PU.1可以通过交互作用抑制各自的功能;GATA-1与红系Kr櫣ppel样因子(EKLF)、FKLF-2、SCL、生长因子骨形态生成蛋白(BMP-4)及其他GATA转录因子之间存在相互调控作用。GATA-1可在急性非淋巴细胞性白血病等多种类型白血病中表达,它的表达还可影响急性髓性白血病的预后。GATA-1还与遗传性球形红细胞增多症、伴有严重贫血的多发性骨髓瘤的发病机制有关。