scholarly journals Aster migration determines the length scale of nuclear separation in the Drosophila syncytial embryo

2012 ◽  
Vol 197 (7) ◽  
pp. 887-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo A. Telley ◽  
Imre Gáspár ◽  
Anne Ephrussi ◽  
Thomas Surrey
Keyword(s):  
Early Embryo ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Free System ◽  
Nuclear Separation ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Distinct Distance ◽  
Spindle Elongation ◽  
Insect Embryos ◽  
Microtubule Aster

In the early embryo of many species, comparatively small spindles are positioned near the cell center for subsequent cytokinesis. In most insects, however, rapid nuclear divisions occur in the absence of cytokinesis, and nuclei distribute rapidly throughout the large syncytial embryo. Even distribution and anchoring of nuclei at the embryo cortex are crucial for cellularization of the blastoderm embryo. The principles underlying nuclear dispersal in a syncytium are unclear. We established a cell-free system from individual Drosophila melanogaster embryos that supports successive nuclear division cycles with native characteristics. This allowed us to investigate nuclear separation in predefined volumes. Encapsulating nuclei in microchambers revealed that the early cytoplasm is programmed to separate nuclei a distinct distance. Laser microsurgery revealed an important role of microtubule aster migration through cytoplasmic space, which depended on F-actin and cooperated with anaphase spindle elongation. These activities define a characteristic separation length scale that appears to be a conserved property of developing insect embryos.

Familial Overexpression of β Antithrombin Caused by an Asn135Thr Substitution

Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 4242-4247
Author(s):  
T.A. Bayston ◽  
A. Tripodi ◽  
P.M. Mannucci ◽  
E. Thompson ◽  
H. Ireland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Antithrombin Deficiency ◽  
Free System ◽  
Heparin Interaction ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Variant Protein ◽  
Very High

We have investigated the basis of antithrombin deficiency in an asymptomatic individual (and family) with borderline levels (≈70% antigen and activity) of antithrombin. Direct sequencing of amplified DNA showed a mutation in codon 135, AAC to ACC, predicting a heterozygous Asn135Thr substitution. This substitution alters the predicted consensus sequence for glycosylation, Asn-X-Ser, adjacent to the heparin interaction site of antithrombin. The antithrombin isolated from plasma of the proband by heparin-Sepharose chromatography contained amounts of β antithrombin (the very high affinity fraction) greatly increased (≈20% to 30% of total) above the trace levels found in normals. Expression of the residue 135 variant in both a cell-free system and COS-7 cells confirmed altered glycosylation arising as a consequence of the mutation. Wild-type and variant protein were translated and exported from COS-7 cells with apparently equal efficiency, in contrast to the reduced level of variant observed in plasma of the affected individual. This case represents a novel cause of antithrombin deficiency, removal of glycosylation concensus sequence, and highlights the potentially important role of β antithrombin in regulating coagulation.

Familial Overexpression of β Antithrombin Caused by an Asn135Thr Substitution

Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 4242-4247 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Bayston ◽  
A. Tripodi ◽  
P.M. Mannucci ◽  
E. Thompson ◽  
H. Ireland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Antithrombin Deficiency ◽  
Free System ◽  
Heparin Interaction ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Variant Protein ◽  
Very High

Abstract We have investigated the basis of antithrombin deficiency in an asymptomatic individual (and family) with borderline levels (≈70% antigen and activity) of antithrombin. Direct sequencing of amplified DNA showed a mutation in codon 135, AAC to ACC, predicting a heterozygous Asn135Thr substitution. This substitution alters the predicted consensus sequence for glycosylation, Asn-X-Ser, adjacent to the heparin interaction site of antithrombin. The antithrombin isolated from plasma of the proband by heparin-Sepharose chromatography contained amounts of β antithrombin (the very high affinity fraction) greatly increased (≈20% to 30% of total) above the trace levels found in normals. Expression of the residue 135 variant in both a cell-free system and COS-7 cells confirmed altered glycosylation arising as a consequence of the mutation. Wild-type and variant protein were translated and exported from COS-7 cells with apparently equal efficiency, in contrast to the reduced level of variant observed in plasma of the affected individual. This case represents a novel cause of antithrombin deficiency, removal of glycosylation concensus sequence, and highlights the potentially important role of β antithrombin in regulating coagulation.

scholarly journals Reconstitution and visualization of HIV-1 capsid-dependent replication and integration in vitro

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 370 (6513) ◽  
pp. eabc8420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin E. Christensen ◽  
Barbie K. Ganser-Pornillos ◽  
Jarrod S. Johnson ◽  
Owen Pornillos ◽  
Wesley I. Sundquist
Keyword(s):  
Cell Extract ◽  
Free System ◽  
Double Stranded Dna ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Dna Ends ◽  
Hiv 1 ◽  
Target Plasmid

During the first half of the viral life cycle, HIV-1 reverse transcribes its RNA genome and integrates the double-stranded DNA copy into a host cell chromosome. Despite progress in characterizing and inhibiting these processes, in situ mechanistic and structural studies remain challenging. This is because these operations are executed by individual viral preintegration complexes deep within cells. We therefore reconstituted and imaged the early stages of HIV-1 replication in a cell-free system. HIV-1 cores released from permeabilized virions supported efficient, capsid-dependent endogenous reverse transcription to produce double-stranded DNA genomes, which sometimes looped out from ruptured capsid walls. Concerted integration of both viral DNA ends into a target plasmid then proceeded in a cell extract–dependent reaction. This reconstituted system uncovers the role of the capsid in templating replication.

scholarly journals Degradation of glucagon in isolated liver endosomes. ATP-dependence and partial characterization of degradation products

1991 ◽  
Vol 280 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Authier ◽  
B Desbuquois
Keyword(s):  
Degradation Products ◽  
Glucagon Receptor ◽  
Free System ◽  
Chloroquine Treatment ◽  
Endosomal Acidification ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Poly Ethylene ◽  
Gradient Fractionation

Endosomes have recently been identified as one major site of glucagon degradation in intact rat liver. In this study, a cell-free system has been used to assess the role of ATP-dependent acidification in endosomal glucagon degradation and identify the glucagon products generated. Percoll gradient fractionation of Golgi-endosomal fractions prepared 10-30 min after injection of [125I]iodoglucagon showed a time-dependent shift of the radioactivity towards high densities. Regardless of time, the radioactivity was less precipitable by trichloroacetic acid (Cl3Ac) at high densities than at low densities. Chloroquine treatment slightly increased the density shift of the radioactivity and decreased its Cl3Ac-precipitability throughout the gradient. Incubation of endosomal fractions containing [125I]iodoglucagon in 0.15 M-KCl at 30 degrees C resulted in a time- and pH-dependent generation of Cl3Ac-soluble radioactivity, with a maximum at pH 4 (t1/2, 7 min). At pH 5, 1,10-phenanthroline, bacitracin and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid partially inhibited [125I]iodoglucagon degradation. At pH 6-7, ATP stimulated [125I]iodoglucagon degradation by 5-10-fold and caused endosomal acidification as judged from Acridine Orange uptake. The effects of ATP were inhibited by chloroquine, monensin, N-ethylmaleimide and dansylcadaverine. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) precipitation of the radioactivity associated with endosomes showed that lowering the pH below 5.5 caused dissociation of the glucagon-receptor complex, and that, regardless of incubation conditions, all degraded [125I]iodoglucagon diffused extraluminally. On h.p.l.c., at least three products less hydrophobic than [125I]iodoglucagon were identified in incubation mixtures along with monoiodotyrosine. Radiosequence analysis of the products revealed one major cleavage located C-terminally to Tyr-13 and two minor cleavages affecting Thr-5-Phe-6 and Phe-6-Thr-7 bonds. It is concluded that glucagon degradation in liver endosomes is functionally linked to ATP-dependent endosomal acidification and involves several cleavages in the glucagon sequence.

scholarly journals Resistance of Francisella tularensis Strains against Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Species with Special Reference to the Role of KatG

2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 1303-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Lindgren ◽  
Hua Shen ◽  
Carl Zingmark ◽  
Igor Golovliov ◽  
Wayne Conlan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Francisella Tularensis ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Free System ◽  
Virulent Strains ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Ifn Γ ◽  
Oxide Synthase ◽  
Schu S4

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis is a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen capable of proliferating within host macrophages. The mechanisms that explain the differences in virulence between various strains of the species are not well characterized. In the present study, we show that both attenuated (strain LVS) and virulent (strains FSC200 and SCHU S4) strains of the pathogen replicate at similar rates in resting murine peritoneal exudate cells (PEC). However, when PEC were activated by exposure to gamma interferon (IFN-γ), they killed LVS more rapidly than virulent strains of the pathogen. Addition of N G -monomethyl-l-arginine, an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase, to IFN-γ-treated PEC, completely inhibited killing of the virulent strains, whereas it only partially blocked the killing of LVS. Similarly, in a cell-free system, SCHU S4 and FSC200 were more resistant to killing by H2O2 and ONOO− than F. tularensis LVS. Catalase encoded by katG is a bacterial factor that can detoxify bactericidal compounds such as H2O2 and ONOO−. To investigate its contribution to the virulence of F. tularensis, katG deletion-containing mutants of SCHU S4 and LVS were generated. Both mutants demonstrated enhanced susceptibility to H2O2 in vitro but replicated as effectively as the parental strains in unstimulated PEC. In mice, LVS-ΔkatG was significantly attenuated compared to LVS whereas SCHU S4-ΔkatG, despite slower replication, killed mice as quickly as SCHU S4. This implies that clinical strains of the pathogen have katG-independent mechanisms to combat the antimicrobial effects exerted by H2O2 and ONOO−, the loss of which could have contributed to the attenuation of LVS.

scholarly journals The Role of Intraorganellar Ca2+In Late Endosome–Lysosome Heterotypic Fusion and in the Reformation of Lysosomes from Hybrid Organelles

2000 ◽  
Vol 149 (5) ◽  
pp. 1053-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Pryor ◽  
Barbara M. Mullock ◽  
Nicholas A. Bright ◽  
Sally R. Gray ◽  
J. Paul Luzio
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Late Endosome ◽  
Endocytic Pathway ◽  
Free System ◽  
Rab Protein ◽  
Late Endosomes ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Gdp Dissociation Inhibitor

We have investigated the requirement for Ca2+ in the fusion and content mixing of rat hepatocyte late endosomes and lysosomes in a cell-free system. Fusion to form hybrid organelles was inhibited by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), but not by EGTA, and this inhibition was reversed by adding additional Ca2+. Fusion was also inhibited by methyl ester of EGTA (EGTA-AM), a membrane permeable, hydrolyzable ester of EGTA, and pretreatment of organelles with EGTA-AM showed that the chelation of lumenal Ca2+ reduced the amount of fusion. The requirement for Ca2+ for fusion was a later event than the requirement for a rab protein since the system became resistant to inhibition by GDP dissociation inhibitor at earlier times than it became resistant to BAPTA. We have developed a cell-free assay to study the reformation of lysosomes from late endosome–lysosome hybrid organelles that were isolated from the rat liver. The recovery of electron dense lysosomes was shown to require ATP and was inhibited by bafilomycin and EGTA-AM. The data support a model in which endocytosed Ca2+ plays a role in the fusion of late endosomes and lysosomes, the reformation of lysosomes, and the dynamic equilibrium of organelles in the late endocytic pathway.

239. Expression of PAF-R and p53 in the endometrium during entry into and reactivation from diapause in the tammar wallaby

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
J. C. Fenelon ◽  
G. Shaw ◽  
M. B. Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Human Reproduction ◽  
Embryonic Diapause ◽  
P53 Expression ◽  
Cellular Location ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
A Cell

Embryonic diapause is widespread amongst mammals, but is especially common in the kangaroos and wallabies. In the tammar, Macropus eugenii, the sequence of endocrine events leading to embryonic diapause and reactivation are well defined and the blastocyst can remain in diapause for up to 11 months without cell division or apoptosis occurring (Renfree and Shaw 2000). The ovarian hormones exert their effects on the blastocyst by alterations in the endometrial secretions, but the molecular cross-talk between the endometrium and blastocyst is unknown. One possible regulator of diapause is the phospholipid PAF, an embryotrophin that acts as a trophic/survival factor for the early embryo (O'Neill 2005) partly by inactivating the expression of p53, a cell cycle inhibitor, via the PI3-K pathway. PAF is released from the tammar endometrium around the time of reactivation from diapause (Kojima et al. 1993). This study examined the expression of PAF-R and p53 in the tammar endometrium at entry into, and reactivation from, diapause. PAF-R and p53 were highly conserved with orthologueues in human and mouse. PAF-R and p53 expression was assessed by RT–PCR and both genes were expressed in the endometrium at all stages examined. Quantitative PCR (QPCR) studies performed for PAF-R in the endometrium show that levels of PAF-R vary depending on the stage examined and appear to be increasing at entry into diapause and decreasing at exit from diapause. Immunohistochemical (IHC) studies are in progress to determine the cellular location of PAF-R in the endometrium and confirm the QPCR results. QPCR and IHC studies are in progress to determine if there is any change in levels of expression or cellular location of p53 between the stages examined and how this relates to PAF-R availability. These results suggest that the control of diapause in the tammar involves interactions between multiple factors. (1) Renfree MB, Shaw G (2000) Diapause. Annu Rev Physiol 62, 353–375 (2) O'Neill C (2005) The role of Paf in embryo physiology. Human Reproduction Update 11, 215–228 (3) Kojima T et. al. (1993) Production and secretion of progesterone in vitro and presence of PAF in early pregnancy of the marsupial, Macropus eugenii. Reproduction Fertility Development 5, 15–25.

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