Are elicitins cryptograms in plant-Oomycete communications?

Stimulation of plant natural defenses is an important challenge in phytoprotection prospects. In that context, elicitins, which are small proteins secreted by Phytophthora and Pythium species, have been shown to induce a hypersensitive-like reaction in tobacco plants. Moreover, these plants become resistant to their pathogens, and thus this interaction constitutes an excellent model to investigate the signaling pathways leading to plant resistance. However, most plants are not reactive to elicitins, although they possess the functional signaling pathways involved in tobacco responses to elicitin. The understanding of factors involved in this reactivity is needed to develop agronomic applications. In this review, it is proposed that elicitins could interact with regulating cell wall proteins before they reach the plasma membrane. Consequently, the plant reactivity or nonreactivity status could result from the equilibrium reached during this interaction. The possibility of overexpressing the elicitins directly from genomic DNA in Pichia pastoris allows site-directed mutagenesis experiments and structure/function studies. The recent discovery of the sterol carrier activity of elicitins brings a new insight on their molecular activity. This constitutes a crucial property, since the formation of a sterol-elicitin complex is required to trigger the biological responses of tobacco cells and plants. Only the elicitins loaded with a sterol are able to bind to their plasmalemma receptor, which is assumed to be an allosteric calcium channel. Moreover, Phytophthora and Pythium do not synthesize the sterols required for their growth and their fructification, and elicitins may act as shuttles trapping the sterols from the host plants. Sequence analysis of elicitin genes from several Phytophthora species sheds unexpected light on the phylogenetic relationships among the genus, and suggests that the expression of elicitins is under tight regulatory control. Finally, general involvement of these lipid transfer proteins in the biology of Pythiaceae, and in plant defense responses, is discussed. A possible scheme for the coevolution between Phytophthora and tobacco plants is approached.     

Dexamethasone enhances CTLA-4 expression during T cell activation

T cell activation is enhanced by the costimulatory interaction of B7 on antigen-presenting cells and CD28 on T cells, resulting in long-term T cell proliferation, differentiation and production of large amounts of cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-2. CTLA-4 is a co-stimulation receptor that shares 31% homology with CD28 and binds B7 family members with higher affinity. CTLA-4 is transiently expressed intracellularly and on the cell surface following activation of T cells. We have studied the kinetics of CTLA-4 expression and the effects of dexamethasone on CTLA-4 expression during T cell activation in cultures of mouse spleen cells stimulated by a mixture of immobilized anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies (anti-CD3/CD28 mAb) or concanavalin A (ConA). CTLA-4 expression peaked on day 2 and returned to background levels after 7 days. Dexamethasone was found to potentiate CTLA-4 expression in a dose-dependent manner with an EC₅₀ effective concentration 50%) of about 10⁻⁸ M. In contrast, other immunosuppressive agents, such as rapamycin or cyclosporin A had no or an inhibitory effect on CTLA-4 expression, respectively. Dexamethasone also stimulated CD28 expression, but inhibited IL-2R expression during anti-CD3/CD28 mAb-induced mouse splenic T cell activation. Western blot analyses of lysates of activated mouse T cells showed that dexamethasone increased CTLA-4 protein levels twofold during anti-CD3/CD28 mAb-induced activation. Dexamethasone also enhanced CTLA-4 messenger RNA twofold as quantified by ribonuclease protection assay. The effects of dexamethasone on CTLA-4 expression were glucocorticoid-specific and completely inhibited by the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist mifepristone (RU486), indicating that the effect of dexamethasone on CTLA-4 expression is mediated through the glucocorticoid receptor. In conclusion, the immunosuppressive agent dexamethasone actually stimulates CTLA-4 expression, which is involved in downregulation of T cell activation. Received 19 May 1999; received after revision 13 July 1999; accepted 13 July 1999     

Mutations in CUBN, encoding the intrinsic factor-vitamin B12 receptor, cubilin, cause hereditary megaloblastic anaemia 1

Megaloblastic anaemia 1 (MGA1, OMIM 261100) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by juvenile megaloblastic anaemia, as well as neurological symptoms that may be the only manifestations. At the cellular level, MGA1 is characterized by selective intestinal vitamin B12 (B12, cobalamin) malabsorption. MGA1 occurs worldwide, but its prevalence is higher in several Middle Eastern countries and Norway, and highest in Finland (0.8/100,000). We previously mapped the MGA1 locus by linkage analysis in Finnish and Norwegian families to a 6-cM region on chromosome 10p12.1 (ref. 8). A functional candidate gene encoding the intrinsic factor (IF)-B12 receptor, cubilin, was recently cloned; the human homologue, CUBN, was mapped to the same region. We have now refined the MGA1 region by linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping, fine-mapped CUBN and identified two independent disease-specific CUBN mutations in 17 Finnish MGA1 families. Our genetic and molecular data indicate that mutations in CUBN cause MGA1.     

High-resolution mapping of quantitative trait loci in outbred mice

Screening the whole genome of a cross between two inbred animal strains has proved to be a powerful method for detecting genetic loci underlying quantitative behavioural traits, but the level of resolution offered by quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping is still too coarse to permit molecular cloning of the genetic determinants. To achieve high-resolution mapping, we used an outbred stock of mice for which the entire genealogy is known. The heterogeneous stock (HS) was established 30 years ago from an eight-way cross of C57BL/6, BALB/c, RIII, AKR, DBA/2, I, A/J and C3H inbred mouse strains. At the time of the experiment reported here, the HS mice were at generation 58, theoretically offering at least a 30-fold increase in resolution for QTL mapping compared with a backcross or an F2 intercross. Using the HS mice we have mapped a QTL influencing a psychological trait in mice to a 0.8-cM interval on chromosome 1. This method allows simultaneous fine mapping of multiple QTLs, as shown by our report of a second QTL on chromosome 12. The high resolution possible with this approach makes QTLs accessible to positional cloning.     

Notch signalling pathway mediates hair cell development in mammalian cochlea

The mammalian cochlea contains an invariant mosaic of sensory hair cells and non-sensory supporting cells reminiscent of invertebrate structures such as the compound eye in Drosophila melanogaster. The sensory epithelium in the mammalian cochlea (the organ of Corti) contains four rows of mechanosensory hair cells: a single row of inner hair cells and three rows of outer hair cells. Each hair cell is separated from the next by an interceding supporting cell, forming an invariant and alternating mosaic that extends the length of the cochlear duct. Previous results suggest that determination of cell fates in the cochlear mosaic occurs via inhibitory interactions between adjacent progenitor cells (lateral inhibition). Cells populating the cochlear epithelium appear to constitute a developmental equivalence group in which developing hair cells suppress differentiation in their immediate neighbours through lateral inhibition. These interactions may be mediated through the Notch signalling pathway, a molecular mechanism that is involved in the determination of a variety of cell fates. Here we show that genes encoding the receptor protein Notch1 and its ligand, Jagged 2, are expressed in alternating cell types in the developing sensory epithelium. In addition, genetic deletion of Jag2 results in a significant increase in sensory hair cells, presumably as a result of a decrease in Notch activation. These results provide direct evidence for Notch-mediated lateral inhibition in a mammalian system and support a role for Notch in the development of the cochlear mosaic.     

Mutations in ATP2A2, encoding a Ca2+ pump, cause Darier disease

Darier disease (DD) is an autosomal-dominant skin disorder characterized by loss of adhesion between epidermal cells (acantholysis) and abnormal keratinization. Recently we constructed a 2.4-Mb, P1-derived artificial chromosome contig spanning the DD candidate region on chromosome 12q23-24.1. After screening several genes that mapped to this region, we identified mutations in the ATP2A2 gene, which encodes the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2(+)-ATPase type 2 isoform (SERCA2) and is highly expressed in keratinocytes. Thirteen mutations were identified, including frameshift deletions, in-frame deletions or insertions, splice-site mutations and non-conservative missense mutations in functional domains. Our results demonstrate that mutations in ATP2A2 cause DD and disclose a role for this pump in a Ca(2+)-signalling pathway regulating cell-to-cell adhesion and differentiation of the epidermis.     

Genomic instability in Gadd45a-deficient mice.

Gadd45a-null mice generated by gene targeting exhibited several of the phenotypes characteristic of p53-deficient mice, including genomic instability, increased radiation carcinogenesis and a low frequency of exencephaly. Genomic instability was exemplified by aneuploidy, chromosome aberrations, gene amplification and centrosome amplification, and was accompanied by abnormalities in mitosis, cytokinesis and growth control. Unequal segregation of chromosomes due to multiple spindle poles during mitosis occurred in several Gadd45a -/- cell lineages and may contribute to the aneuploidy. Our results indicate that Gadd45a is one component of the p53 pathway that contributes to the maintenance of genomic stability.