Biochemistry,evolution and physiological function of the Rnf complex,a novel ion-motive electron transport complex in prokaryotes

Microbes have a fascinating repertoire of bioenergetic enzymes and a huge variety of electron transport chains to cope with very different environmental conditions, such as different oxygen concentrations, different electron acceptors, pH and salinity. However, all these electron transport chains cover the redox span from NADH + H⁺ as the most negative donor to oxygen/H₂O as the most positive acceptor or increments thereof. The redox range more negative than −320 mV has been largely ignored. Here, we have summarized the recent data that unraveled a novel ion-motive electron transport chain, the Rnf complex, that energetically couples the cellular ferredoxin to the pyridine nucleotide pool. The energetics of the complex and its biochemistry, as well as its evolution and cellular function in different microbes, is discussed.     

MicroRNA-128 downregulates Bax and induces apoptosis in human embryonic kidney cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short ~21-nt non-coding RNA molecules that have been shown to regulate a number of biological processes. Previous reports have shown that overexpression of miR-128 in glioma cells inhibited cell proliferation. Literature also suggests that miR-128 negatively regulates prostate cancer cell invasion. Here, we show that overexpression of hsa-miR-128, a brain-enriched microRNA, induces apoptosis in HEK293T cells as elucidated by apoptosis assay, cell cycle changes, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and multicaspase assay. By in silico analysis, we identified a putative target site within the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of Bax, a proapoptotic member of the apoptosis pathway. We found that ectopic expression of hsa-miR-128 suppressed a luciferase reporter containing the Bax-3′ UTR and reduced the levels of Bax in HEK293T cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates that overexpression of hsa-miR-128 not only induces apoptosis in HEK293T cells but also is an endogenous regulator of Bax protein.     

Inflammasomes: current understanding and open questions

The innate immune system relies on its capability to detect invading microbes, tissue damage, or stress via evolutionarily conserved receptors. The nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat (NLR)-containing family of pattern recognition receptors includes several proteins that drive inflammation in response to a wide variety of molecular patterns. In particular, the NLRs that participate in the formation of a molecular scaffold termed the “inflammasome” have been intensively studied in past years. Inflammasome activation by multiple types of tissue damage or by pathogen-associated signatures results in the autocatalytic cleavage of caspase-1 and ultimately leads to the processing and thus secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, most importantly interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. Here, we review the current knowledge of mechanisms leading to the activation of inflammasomes. In particular, we focus on the controversial molecular mechanisms that regulate NLRP3 signaling and highlight recent advancements in DNA sensing by the inflammasome receptor AIM2.     

Adenine nucleotide transporters in organelles: novel genes and functions

In eukaryotes, cellular energy in the form of ATP is produced in the cytosol via glycolysis or in the mitochondria via oxidative phosphorylation and, in photosynthetic organisms, in the chloroplast via photophosphorylation. Transport of adenine nucleotides among cell compartments is essential and is performed mainly by members of the mitochondrial carrier family, among which the ADP/ATP carriers are the best known. This work reviews the carriers that transport adenine nucleotides into the organelles of eukaryotic cells together with their possible functions. We focus on novel mechanisms of adenine nucleotide transport, including mitochondrial carriers found in organelles such as peroxisomes, plastids, or endoplasmic reticulum and also mitochondrial carriers found in the mitochondrial remnants of many eukaryotic parasites of interest. The extensive repertoire of adenine nucleotide carriers highlights an amazing variety of new possible functions of adenine nucleotide transport across eukaryotic organelles.     

Cdk5 targets active Src for ubiquitin-dependent degradation by phosphorylating Src(S75)

The non-receptor tyrosine kinase Src is a critical regulator of cytoskeletal contraction, cell adhesion, and migration. In normal cells, Src activity is stringently controlled by Csk-dependent phosphorylation of Src(Y530), and by Cullin-5-dependent ubiquitinylation, which affects active Src(pY419) exclusively, leading to its degradation by the proteosome. Previous work has shown that Src activity is also limited by Cdk5, a proline-directed kinase, which has been shown to phosphorylate Src(S75). Here we show that this phosphorylation promotes the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Src, thus restricting the availability of active Src. We demonstrate that Src(S75) phosphorylation occurs in vivo in epithelial cells, and like ubiquitinylation, is associated only with active Src. Preventing Cdk5-dependent phosphorylation of Src(S75), by site-specific mutation of S75 or by Cdk5 inhibition or suppression, increases Src(Y419) phosphorylation and kinase activity, resulting in Src-dependent cytoskeletal changes. In transfected cells, ubiquitinylation of Src(S75A) is about 35% that of wild-type Src-V5, and its half-life is approximately 2.5-fold greater. Cdk5 suppression leads to a comparable decrease in the ubiquitinylation of endogenous Src and a similar increase in Src stability. Together, these findings demonstrate that Cdk5-dependent phosphorylation of Src(S75) is a physiologically significant mechanism of regulating intracellular Src activity.     

Transforming growth factor-β-inducible early response gene 1 is a novel substrate for atypical protein kinase Cs

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine/threonine kinases consists of ten different isoforms grouped into three subfamilies, denoted classical, novel and atypical PKCs (aPKCs). The aPKCs, PKCι/λ and PKCζ serve important roles during development and in processes subverted in cancer such as cell and tissue polarity, cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. In an effort to identify novel interaction partners for aPKCs, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen with the regulatory domain of PKCι/λ as bait and identified the Krüppel-like factors family protein TIEG1 as a putative interaction partner for PKCι/λ. We confirmed the interaction of both aPKCs with TIEG1 in vitro and in cells, and found that both aPKCs phosphorylate the DNA-binding domain of TIEG1 on two critical residues. Interestingly, the aPKC-mediated phosphorylation of TIEG1 affected its DNA-binding activity, subnuclear localization and transactivation potential.     

The apicomplexan plastid and its evolution

Protistan species belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa have a non-photosynthetic secondary plastid—the apicoplast. Although its tiny genome and even the entire nuclear genome has been sequenced for several organisms bearing the organelle, the reason for its existence remains largely obscure. Some of the functions of the apicoplast, including housekeeping ones, are significantly different from those of other plastids, possibly due to the organelle’s unique symbiotic origin.     

Translation initiation: variations in the mechanism can be anticipated

Translation initiation is a critical step in protein synthesis. Previously, two major mechanisms of initiation were considered as essential: prokaryotic, based on SD interaction; and eukaryotic, requiring cap structure and ribosomal scanning. Although discovered decades ago, cap-independent translation has recently been acknowledged as a widely spread mechanism in viruses, which may take place in some cellular mRNA translations. Moreover, it has become evident that translation can be initiated on the leaderless mRNA in all three domains of life. New findings demonstrate that other distinguishable types of initiation exist, including SD-independent in Bacteria and Archaea, and various modifications of 5′ end-dependent and internal initiation mechanisms in Eukarya. Since translation initiation has developed through the loss, acquisition, and modification of functional elements, all of which have been elevated by competition with viral translation in a large number of organisms of different complexity, more variation in initiation mechanisms can be anticipated.