Biochemistry and Cell Biology
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The Ras-MAPK signal transduction pathway, cancer and chromatin remodeling Stimulation of the Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway results in a multitude of events including expression of the immediate-early genes, c-fos and c-myc. Downstream targets of this stimulated pathway are the mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinases (MSK) 1 and 2, which are histone H3 kinases. In chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, it has been shown that the mitogen-induced phosphorylated H3 is associated with the immediate-early genes and that MSK1/2 activity and H3 phosphorylation have roles in chromatin remodeling and transcription of these genes. In oncogene-transformed fibroblasts in which the Ras-MAPK pathway is constitutively active, histone H1 and H3 phosphorylation is increased and the chromatin of these cells has a more relaxed structure than the parental cells. In this review we explore the deregulation of the Ras-MAPK pathway in cancer, with an emphasis on breast cancer. We discuss the features of MSK1 and 2 and the impact of a constitutively activated Ras-MAPK pathway on chromatin remodeling and gene expression.Key words: Ras, mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway, histone H3 phosphorylation, MSK1, breast cancer.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 83 Số 1 - Trang 1-14 - 2005
Disruption of protein function by pathogenic mutations: common and uncommon mechanisms Mutations in protein-coding regions underlie almost all Mendelian disorders, drive tumorigenesis, and contribute to susceptibility to common diseases. Despite the great diversity of diseases that are caused by coding mutations, the cellular processes that affect, and are affected by, pathogenic variants at the molecular level are fundamentally conserved. Experimental and computational approaches have revealed that a substantial fraction of disease mutations are not simple loss-of-function alleles. Rather, these pathogenic variants disrupt protein function in more subtle ways by tuning protein folding pathways, altering subcellular trafficking, interrupting signaling cascades, and rewiring highly connected interaction networks. Focusing mainly on Mendelian disorders, this review discusses the common mechanisms by which deleterious mutations disrupt protein function and how these disruptions can be exploited in the development of novel therapies.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 97 Số 1 - Trang 46-57 - 2019
The importance of the microenvironment in breast cancer progression: recapitulation of mammary tumorigenesis using a unique human mammary epithelial cell model and a three-dimensional culture assay The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dominant regulator of tissue development and homeostasis. "Designer microenvironments" in culture and in vivo model systems have shown that the ECM regulates growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in murine and human mammary epithelial cells (MEC) through a hierarchy of transcriptional events involving the intricate interplay between soluble and physical signaling pathways. Furthermore, these studies have shown that these pathways direct and in turn are influenced by the tissue structure. Tissue structure is directed by the cooperative interactions of the cell–cell and cell–ECM pathways and can be modified by stromal factors. Not surprisingly then, loss of tissue structure and alterations in ECM components are associated with the appearance and dissemination of breast tumors, and malignancy is associated with perturbations in cell adhesion, changes in adhesion molecules, and a stromal reaction. Several lines of evidence now support the contention that the pathogenesis of breast cancer is determined (at least in part) by the dynamic interplay between the ductal epithelial cells, the microenvironment, and the tissue structure (acini). Thus, to understand the mechanisms involved in carcinogenesis, the role of the microenvironment (ECM as well as the stromal cells) with respect to tissue structure should be considered and studied. Towards this goal, we have established a unique human MEC model of tumorigenesis, which in concert with a three-dimensional assay, recapitulates many of the genetic and morphological changes observed in breast cancer in vivo. We are currently using this system to understand the role of the microenvironment and tissue structure in breast cancer progression.Key words: extracellular matrix, integrin, adhesion molecules, breast cancer, microenvironment.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 74 Số 6 - Trang 833-851 - 1996
Structural and functional aspects of G protein-coupled receptor oligomerization G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the single largest family of cell surface receptors involved in signal transduction. It is estimated that several hundred distinct members of this receptor family in humans direct responses to a wide variety of chemical transmitters, including biogenic amines, amino acids, peptides, lipids, nucleosides, and large polypeptides. These transmembrane receptors are key controllers of such diverse physiological processes as neurotransmission, cellular metabolism, secretion, cellular differentiation, and growth as well as inflammatory and immune responses. GPCRs therefore represent major targets for the development of new drug candidates with potential application in all clinical fields. Many currently used therapeutics act by either activating (agonists) or blocking (antagonists) GPCRs. Studies over the past two decades have provided a wealth of information on the biochemical events underlying cellular signalling by GPCRs. However, our understanding of the molecular interactions between ligands and the receptor protein and, particularly, of the structural correlates of receptor activation or inhibition by agonists and inverse agonists, respectively, is still rudimentary. Most of the work in this area has focused on mapping regions of the receptor responsible for drug binding affinity. Although binding of ligand molecules to specific receptors represents the first event in the action of drugs, the efficacy with which this binding is translated into a physiological response remains the only determinant of therapeutic utility. In the last few years, increasing evidence suggested that receptor oligomerization and in particular dimerization may play an important role in the molecular events leading to GPCR activation. In this paper, we review the biochemical and functional evidence supporting this notion.Key words: G proteins, receptors, dimerization, signal transduction, adrenergic.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 76 Số 1 - Trang 1-11 - 1998
Product diversity and regulation of type II fatty acid synthases Fatty acid biosynthesis is catalyzed in most bacteria by a group of highly conserved proteins known as the type II fatty acid synthase (FAS II) system. FAS II has been extensively studied in the Escherichia coli model system, and the recent explosion of bioinformatic information has accelerated the investigation of the pathway in other organisms, mostly important human pathogens. All FAS II systems possess a basic set of enzymes for the initiation and elongation of acyl chains. This review focuses on the variations on this basic theme that give rise to the diversity of products produced by the pathway. These include multiple mechanisms to generate unsaturated fatty acids and the accessory components required for branched-chain fatty acid synthesis in Gram-positive bacteria. Most of the known mechanisms that regulate product distribution of the pathway arise from the fundamental biochemical properties of the expressed enzymes. However, newly identified transcriptional factors in bacterial fatty acid biosynthetic pathways are a fertile field for new investigation into the genetic control of the FAS II system. Much more work is needed to define the role of these factors and the mechanisms that regulate their DNA binding capability, but there appear to be fundamental differences in how the expression of the pathway genes is controlled in Gram-negative and in Gram-positive bacteria.Key words: fatty acid synthase, bacteria.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 82 Số 1 - Trang 145-155 - 2004
Solid-state NMR studies of magnetically aligned phospholipid membranes: taming lanthanides for membrane protein studies The addition of lanthanides (Tm3+ , Yb3+ , Er3+ , or Eu3+ ) to a solution of long-chain phospholipids such as dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and short-chain phospholipids such as dihexanoylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC) is known to result in a bilayer phase in which the average bilayer normal aligns parallel to an applied magnetic field. Lanthanide-doped bilayers have enormous potential for the study of membrane proteins by solid-state NMR, low-angle diffraction, and a variety of optical spectroscopic techniques. However, the addition of lanthanides poses certain challenges to the NMR spectroscopist: coexistence of an isotropic phase and hysteresis effects, direct binding of the paramagnetic ion to the peptide or protein of interest, and severe paramagnetic shifts and line broadening. Lower water concentrations and larger DMPC/DHPC ratios than those typically used in bicelles consistently yield a single oriented bilayer phase that is stable over a wide range of temperature (~35-90°C). Among the above choice of lanthanides, Yb3+ is found to give minimal paramagnetic shifts and line broadening at acceptably low concentrations necessary for alignment (i.e., Yb3+ /DMPC mole ratios equal to or greater than 0.01). Finally, the addition of a phospholipid chelate, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine - diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, is observed to significantly reduce paramagnetic broadening and presumably prevent direct association of the peptide with the lanthanide ions.Key words: lanthanide, solid-state NMR, model membrane, membrane protein structure.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 76 Số 2-3 - Trang 443-451 - 1998
Interactions of lactoferrin with cells involved in immune functionThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 7th International Conference on Lactoferrin: Structure, Function, and Applications, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process. The antimicrobial activities of lactoferrin (Lf) depend on its capacity to bind iron and on its direct interaction with the surface of microorganisms. Its protective effect also extends to the regulation of the host response to infections. Depending on the immune status of an individual, Lf can have anti-inflammatory properties that downregulate the immune response and prevent septic shock and damage to tissues. It also acts as a promoter of the activation, differentiation, and (or) proliferation of immune cells. Although most of the anti-inflammatory activities are correlated with the neutralization of proinflammatory molecules by Lf, the promoting activity seems to be related to a direct effect of Lf on immune cells. Although the mechanisms that govern these activities are not clearly defined, and probably differ from cell to cell, several cellular targets and possible mechanisms of action are highlighted. The majority of the molecular targets at the surface of cells are multiligand receptors but, interestingly, most of them have been reported as signaling, endocytosis, and nuclear-targeting molecules. This review focuses on the known and putative mechanisms that allow the immunoregulating effect of Lf in its interactions with immune cells.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 84 Số 3 - Trang 282-290 - 2006
Effect of glutaraldehyde on hemoglobin: functional aspects and Mössbauer parameters Glutaraldehyde is widely used for the cross-linking of hemoglobin for blood substitute research or for technological purposes. The effects of this reagent on the biochemical properties of hemoglobin were correlated with Mössbauer data. Human hemoglobin was cross-linked by glutaraldehyde as soluble polymers and insoluble particles. Effects of cross-linking on oxygen affinity, oxidation–reduction potential, autoxidation kinetics, and thermal stability were studied. Stability of cross-linked hemoglobin was specifically studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy. Oxygen affinity is increased, redox potential is decreased, autoxidation rates are increased, and stability towards thermal denaturation is increased. The regeneration of partially denatured hemoglobin by glutaraldehyde cross-linking is shown. Effects of cross-linking on biochemical properties are explained by the hypothesis of the opening of the heme pocket on the distal-histidine side and the concomitant charge transfer from the iron to the oxygen.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 64 Số 1 - Trang 29-37 - 1986
Glutaraldehyde effect on hemoglobin: evidence for an ion environment modification based on electron paramagnetic resonance and Mossbauer spectroscopies Glutaraldehyde is a widely used reagent for hemoglobin cross-linking in blood substitutes research. However, hemoglobin polymerization by glutaraldehyde involves modifications of its functional properties, such as oxygen affinity, redox potentials, and autoxidation kinetics. The aim of this article is to investigate, by electron paramagnetic resonance and Mossbauer spectroscopies, the changes that occur in the iron environment after glutaraldehyde cross-linking. Spectrometric studies were performed with native hemoglobin and hemoglobin cross-linked as soluble and insoluble polymers. Spectrometry data comparison with glutaraldehyde-modified hemoglobin functional properties allows to interpret from a structural point of view that glutaraldehyde action occurs as a decrease of the O—N(F8His) distance, an increase of the Fe—N(F8His) bond length, and the decrease of the distal-side steric hindrance.Key words: hemoglobin, glutaraldehyde, Mossbauer spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, blood substitute.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 68 Số 4 - Trang 813-818 - 1990
Submitochondrial localization of kidney 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 1α-hydroxylase in vitamin D repleted weanling guinea pigs We have studied the submitochondrial localization of guinea-pig kidney 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 1α-hydroxylase. Treatment of the mitochondrial-enriched fraction with recrystallized digitonin produced mitoplasts bordered by a single membrane and with intact matrix. They contained nearly 90% of the 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 1α-hydroxylase activity and nearly 100% of the cytochrome-c: oxygen oxidoreductase. Amine: oxygen oxidoreductase activity remained mainly in the outer membrane fraction. These data show that 25-hydroxycholecalciferol 1α-hydroxylase has a distribution similar to that of steroid hydroxylases.
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Tập 65 Số 7 - Trang 673-676 - 1987
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