scholarly journals Sulfate transport systems in plants: functional diversity and molecular mechanisms underlying regulatory coordination

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (16) ◽  
pp. 4075-4087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Takahashi

Abstract Sulfate transporters are integral membrane proteins controlling the flux of sulfate (SO42–) entering the cells and subcellular compartments across the membrane lipid bilayers. Sulfate uptake is a dynamic biological process that occurs in multiple cell layers and organs in plants. In vascular plants, sulfate ions are taken up from the soil environment to the outermost cell layers of roots and horizontally transferred to the vascular tissues for further distribution to distant organs. The amount of sulfate ions being metabolized in the cytosol and chloroplast/plastid or temporarily stored in the vacuole depends on expression levels and functionalities of sulfate transporters bound specifically to the plasma membrane, chloroplast/plastid envelopes, and tonoplast membrane. The entire system for sulfate homeostasis, therefore, requires different types of sulfate transporters to be expressed and coordinately regulated in specific organs, cell types, and subcellular compartments. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms control the expression levels and functions of sulfate transporters to optimize sulfate uptake and internal distribution in response to sulfate availability and demands for synthesis of organic sulfur metabolites. This review article provides an overview of sulfate transport systems and discusses their regulatory aspects investigated in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana.

1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (2) ◽  
pp. F226-F234 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bastlein ◽  
G. Burckhardt

4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS) was tested as an inhibitor of the sulfate transport systems in rat renal brush border and basolateral membrane vesicles. Na+-driven sulfate uptake into brush border membrane vesicles was half-maximally inhibited at 350 microM DIDS. Proton gradient-driven sulfate uptake into basolateral membrane vesicles was competitively inhibited by DIDS with a Ki of 2.4 microM. The Km for delta pH-driven sulfate uptake was 5.4 microM. The different affinities of the sulfate transport systems for DIDS correlated with different substrate specificities. The luminal transport system accepted a smaller range of anions than the contraluminal system and did not operate as a Na+-independent anion exchanger. After treatment of basolateral membrane vesicles with 50 microM DIDS at pH 8.4 for 30 min, an irreversible inhibition of sulfate uptake was observed. With brush border membranes, only a small irreversible inhibition was obtained. Lack of inhibition after treatment of basolateral membranes with DIDS at pH 6.4 indicated that DIDS reacted with deprotonated amino groups of the transport protein. Sulfate was protected from the irreversible inhibition by DIDS. Sodium-driven uptake of L-glutamate and methylsuccinate into basolateral membrane vesicles was not irreversibly inhibited by DIDS, indicating a specific action of DIDS on the contraluminal sulfate transport system. Irreversible and substrate-protectable inhibition of sulfate transport render DIDS suitable for future affinity labeling studies on the sulfate transport system in basolateral membranes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Mei ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Xinqian Yu ◽  
Leiyu Hao ◽  
Tao Ma ◽  
...  

AbstractDishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis 1 (DAAM1) is a critical driver in facilitating metastasis in breast cancer (BrCa). However, molecular mechanisms for the regulation of DAAM1 activation are only partially elucidated. In this research, the expression levels of YWHAZ and DAAM1 were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining in BrCa tissues. The functional roles of tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (YWHAZ)–DAAM1 axis and their regulator microRNA-613 (miR-613) in BrCa cells and associated molecular mechanisms were demonstrated in vitro. As results, the expression levels of DAAM1 and YWHAZ were significantly upregulated in BrCa tissues compared with normal tissues and remarkably associated with poor prognosis. Besides, DAAM1 and YWHAZ were positively correlated with each other in BrCa tissues. YWHAZ interacted and colocalized with DAAM1 in BrCa cells, which was essential for DAAM1-mediated microfilament remodeling and RhoA activation. Moreover, miR-613 directly targeted both YWHAZ and DAAM1, contributing to inhibiting BrCa cells migration via blocking the complex of YWHAZ–DAAM1. To sum up, these data reveal that YWHAZ regulates DAAM1 activation, and the YWHAZ–DAAM1 complex is directly targeted by the shared post-transcriptional regulator miR-613.


Rice ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingfang Dong ◽  
Lian Zhou ◽  
Aiqing Feng ◽  
Shaohong Zhang ◽  
Hua Fu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although panicle blast is more destructive to yield loss than leaf blast in rice, the cloned genes that function in panicle blast resistance are still very limited and the molecular mechanisms underlying panicle blast resistance remain largely unknown. Results In the present study, we have confirmed that the three Oxalate oxidase (OXO) genes, OsOXO2, OsOXO3 and OsOXO4 from a blast-resistant cultivar BC10 function in panicle blast resistance in rice. The expression of OsOXO2, OsOXO3 and OsOXO4 were induced by panicle blast inoculation. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that the three OXO proteins are all localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Simultaneous silencing of OsOXO2, OsOXO3 and OsOXO4 decreased rice resistance to panicle blast, whereas the OsOXO2, OsOXO3 and OsOXO4 overexpression rice plants individually showed enhanced panicle blast resistance. More H2O2 and higher expression levels of PR genes were observed in the overexpressing plants than in the control plants, while the silencing plants exhibited less H2O2 and lower expression levels of PR genes compared to the control plants. Moreover, phytohormone treatment and the phytohormone signaling related gene expression analysis showed that panicle blast resistance mediated by the three OXO genes was associated with the activation of JA and ABA signaling pathways but suppression of SA signaling pathway. Conclusion OsOXO2, OsOXO3 and OsOXO4 positively regulate panicle blast resistance in rice. The OXO genes could modulate the accumulation of H2O2 and expression levels of PR gene in plants. Moreover, the OXO genes mediated panicle blast resistance could be regulated by ABA, SA and JA, and may be associated with the activation of JA and ABA signaling pathways but suppression of the SA signaling pathway.


2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 2086-2096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohong  Zhang ◽  
Can Xiao ◽  
Hong Liu

Background/Aims: Ganoderic acid A (GAA) isolated from Ganoderma lucidum, shows various benefit activities, such as anti-tumor activity, anti-HIV activity and hepatoprotective activity. However, the potential effects of GAA on hypoxia-induced injury of cardiomyocytes are still unclear. In this study, we aimed to reveal the effects of GAA on hypoxic-induced H9c2 cell injury, as well as potential underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: Rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes were cultured in hypoxia condition with different doses of GAA. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. qRT-PCR was performed to assess the expression levels of microRNA-182-5p (miR-182-5p) and phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN). Cell transfection was conducted to change the expression levels of miR-182-5p and PTEN in H9c2 cells. Finally, protein levels of key factors involved in cell proliferation, cell apoptosis and PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway were evaluated using western blotting. Results: Hypoxia treatment significantly induced H9c2 cell viability loss and apoptosis. GAA incubation remarkably protected H9c2 cells from hypoxia-induced viability loss, proliferation inhibition and apoptosis. In addition, GAA obviously enhanced the expression level of miR-182-5p in H9c2 cells. Suppression of miR-182-5p notably alleviated the protective effects of GAA on hypoxia-treated H9c2 cells. Furthermore, miR-182-5p negatively regulated the mRNA and protein levels of PTEN in H9c2 cells. GAA attenuated hypoxia-induced inactivation of PI3K/AKT pathway in H9c2 cells by up-regulating miR-182-5p and then down-regulating PTEN. Conclusion: GAA protected rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes from hypoxia-induced injury might via up-regulating miR-182-5p, down-regulating PTEN and then activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina Koehler ◽  
Andrea Springer ◽  
Nicole Issel ◽  
Stefanie Klinger ◽  
Christina Strube ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The roundworm Ascaris suum is one of the parasites with the greatest economic impact on pig farming. In this context, lower weight gain is hypothesized to be due to decreased nutrient absorption. This study aims at characterizing the effects of A. suum infection on intestinal nutrient transport processes and potential molecular mechanisms. Methods Three groups of six piglets each were infected orally (10,000 embryonated A. suum eggs) in a single dose (“single infection”). Another three groups were infected orally (1000 embryonated eggs) for 10 consecutive days (“trickle infection”). Animals were necropsied 21, 35 and 49 days post-infection (dpi). Three groups served as respective controls. The Ussing chamber technique was applied for the functional characterization of small intestinal tissues [short-circuit currents (Isc) as induced by glucose, alanine and peptides; 3H-glucose net flux rates; tissue conductance (Gt)]. Transcription and expression levels of relevant cytokines and nutrient transporters were evaluated (qPCR/western blot). Results Peptide- and alanine-induced changes in Isc were significantly decreased in the jejunum and ileum of the trickle-infected group at 49 dpi and in the ileum of the single-infected group at 49 dpi. No significant differences regarding glucose transport were observed between the Ascaris-infected groups and the control group in Ussing chamber experiments. Transcription levels of the glucose and peptide transporters as well as of selected transcription factors (transcription of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 [STAT6] and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha [Hif-1α]) were significantly increased in response to both infection types after some periods. The transcription of interleukins 4 and 13 varied between decrease and increase regarding the respective time points, as did the protein expression of glucose transporters. The expression of the peptide transporter PepT1 was significantly decreased in the ileal single-infected group at 35 dpi. Hif-1α was significantly increased in the ileal tissue from the single-infected group at 21 dpi and in the trickle-infected group at 35 dpi. The expression levels of Na+/K+-ATPase and ASCT1 remained unaffected. Conclusions In contrast to the current hypothesis, these results indicate that the nutrient deprivation induced by A. suum cannot be explained by transcriptional or expression changes alone and requires further studies. Graphical abstract


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianzhun Huang ◽  
Xiaoyang Su ◽  
Ning Fang ◽  
Jian Huang

Abstract Background: Dysregulated circadian dynamic balance is strongly associated with cancer development. However, biological functions of circadian rhythms in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have not been elucidated. This study aimed at valuating the modulatory effects of circadian rhythms in the LUAD tumor microenvironment.Methods: Multiple open-source bioinformatics research platforms are used to comprehensively elucidate the expression level, prognosis, potential biological function, drug sensitivity, and immune microenvironment of circadian clock genes in LUAD.Results: Most circadian clock genes in LUAD are dysregulated and are strongly correlated with patient prognosis, and missense mutations at splicing sites of these genes. Besides, these genes are closely associated with some well-known cancer-related marker pathways, which are mainly involved in the inhibition of the Apoptosis, Cell cycle, and DNA Damage Response Pathway. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis revealedthat circadian clock genes regulate transcription factor activities and circadian rhythms in LUAD tissues. As for drug sensitivity, high expression of CLOCK, CRY1, and NR1D2 as well as suppressedPER2 and CRY2 expression levels are associated with drug resistance. The expression levels of circadian clock genes in LUAD correlate with immune infiltration and are involved in the regulation of immunosuppression.Conclusions: Our multi-omics analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock genes in LUAD and provides new insights for a more precise screening of prognostic biomarkers and immunotherapy.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuxing Lu ◽  
Yun Zheng ◽  
Haoning Wang ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Yonghua Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticasa) is an economically, medicinally ornamentally important woody flowering woody plants in East Asia and is a common also ornamental shrub in Europe and North America. It is well known and prized for their beautiful flowers in many different forms. Samen petalody has been shown to be the most effective way to modify flower forms. However, there is limited information on the molecular mechanisms of stamen petalody and flower form formation in tree peony.Results: In this study, RNA sequencing was used to assemble and annotate the unigenes in the tree peony to identify the critical genes related to flower parts formation and verify the key genes in different flower forms of tree peony cultivar. A total of 76,007 high quality unigenes were assembled and 30,505 were successfully annotated. A total of 1,833 TFs were identified in our study, among them 16 MADS-box genes were found and characterized. Six key genes were selected to verity their functions in stamen petalody. AG and SEP showed high expression level in carpals and sepals separately both in stamen petalody group and non-stamen petalody groups. PI and AP3 showed high expression levels in inter-petals in stamen petalody groups than in staments in non-stamen petalody.Conclusion: Sixteen MADS-box genes were identified for the first time in tree peony through RNA-seq method. We identified six key genes based on their differential expression levels in different flower parts. These six key genes represented all categories in the ABCDE model to verify the functions in stamen petalody. PI and AP3 were verified to likely play important roles in regulating stamen petalody in tree peony. Our study has helped establish the flower development model in tree peony, identified key molecular mechanisms in the development of different flower forms, and provided valuable information in improving genetic diversity of tree peony and many other woody plants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingli Qian ◽  
Guoping Li ◽  
Xiaosheng Jin ◽  
Chunfang Ma ◽  
Wanru Cai ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Our aim was to investigate the effect of emodin on intestinal and lung injury induced by acute intestinal injury in rats and explore potential molecular mechanisms. Methods: Healthy male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=10, each group): normal group; saline group; acute intestinal injury model group; model + emodin group; model+NF-κB inhibitor pynolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) group. Histopathological changes in intestine/lung tissues were observed by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Serum IKBα, p-IKBα, surfactant protein-A (SP-A) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) levels were examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RT-qPCR was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels of IKBα, SP-A and TLR4 in intestine/lung tissues. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of IKBα, p-IKBα, SP-A and TLR4 were detected by Western blot. Results: The pathological injury of intestinal/lung tissues was remarkedly ameliorated in models treated with emodin and PDTC. Furthermore, the intestinal/lung injury scores were significantly decreased after emodin or PDTC treatment. TUNEL results showed that both emodin and PDTC treatment distinctly attenuated the apoptosis of intestine/lung tissues induced by acute intestinal injury. At the mRNA level, emodin significantly increased the expression levels of SP-A and decreased the expression levels of IKBα and TLR4 in intestine/lung tissues. According to ELISA and Western blot, emodin remarkedly inhibited the expression of p-IKBα protein and elevated the expression of SP-A and TLR4 in serum and intestine/lung tissues induced by acute intestinal injury. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that emodin could protect against intestinal and lung injury induced by acute intestinal injury by modulating SP-A and TLR4/NF-κB pathway.


2000 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Tjalsma ◽  
Albert Bolhuis ◽  
Jan D. H. Jongbloed ◽  
Sierd Bron ◽  
Jan Maarten van Dijl

SUMMARY One of the most salient features of Bacillus subtilis and related bacilli is their natural capacity to secrete a variety of proteins into their environment, frequently to high concentrations. This has led to the commercial exploitation of bacilli as major “cell factories” for secreted enzymes. The recent sequencing of the genome of B. subtilis has provided major new impulse for analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying protein secretion by this organism. Most importantly, the genome sequence has allowed predictions about the composition of the secretome, which includes both the pathways for protein transport and the secreted proteins. The present survey of the secretome describes four distinct pathways for protein export from the cytoplasm and approximately 300 proteins with the potential to be exported. By far the largest number of exported proteins are predicted to follow the major “Sec” pathway for protein secretion. In contrast, the twin-arginine translocation “Tat” pathway, a type IV prepilin-like export pathway for competence development, and ATP-binding cassette transporters can be regarded as “special-purpose” pathways, through which only a few proteins are transported. The properties of distinct classes of amino-terminal signal peptides, directing proteins into the various protein transport pathways, as well as the major components of each pathway are discussed. The predictions and comparisons in this review pinpoint important differences as well as similarities between protein transport systems in B. subtilis and other well-studied organisms, such as Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Thus, they may serve as a lead for future research and applications.


Reproduction ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenfen Xie ◽  
Junhui Zhang ◽  
Muxin Zhai ◽  
Yajing Liu ◽  
Hui Hu ◽  
...  

Emerging evidence has demonstrated that melatonin (MT) plays a crucial role in regulating mammalian reproductive functions. It has been reported that MT has a protective effect on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the protective mechanisms of MT remain poorly understood. This study aims to explore the effect of MT on ovarian function in PCOS and to elucidate the relevant molecular mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. Here, we first analysed MT expression levels in the follicular fluid of PCOS patients. A significant reduction in MT expression levels was noted in PCOS patients. Intriguingly, reduced MT levels correlated with serum testosterone and inflammatory cytokine levels in follicular fluid. Moreover, we confirmed the protective function of MT through regulating autophagy in a dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-induced PCOS rat model. Autophagy was activated in the ovarian tissue of the PCOS rat model, whereas additional MT inhibited autophagy by increasing PI3K-Akt pathway expression. In addition, serum-free testosterone, inflammatory and apoptosis indexes were reduced after MT supplementation. Furthermore, we also found that MT suppressed autophagy and apoptosis by activating the PI3K-Akt pathway in the DHEA-exposed human granulosa cell line KGN. Our study showed that MT ameliorated ovarian dysfunction by regulating autophagy in DHEA-induced PCOS via the PI3K-Akt pathway, revealing a potential therapeutic drug target for PCOS.


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