heterologous system
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Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Yang ◽  
Maria Gracia Gervasi ◽  
N. Adrian Leu ◽  
Gerardo Orta ◽  
Darya A. Tourzani ◽  
...  

The CatSper cation channel is essential for sperm capacitation and male fertility. The multi-subunit CatSper complexes form highly organized calcium signaling nanodomains on flagellar membranes. Here we report identification of an uncharacterized protein C2CD6 as a novel subunit of the CatSper complex. C2CD6 contains a calcium-dependent membrane targeting C2 domain. C2CD6 associates with the CatSper calcium-selective core forming subunits. Deficiency of C2CD6 depletes the CatSper nanodomains from the flagellum and results in male sterility. C2CD6-deficient sperm are defective in hyperactivation and fail to fertilize oocytes both in vitro and in vivo. CatSper currents are present but at a significantly lower level in C2CD6-deficient sperm. Transient treatments with either Ca2+ ionophore, starvation, or a combination of both restore the fertilization capacity of C2CD6-deficient sperm. C2CD6 interacts with EFCAB9, a pH-dependent calcium sensor in the CatSper complex. We postulate that C2CD6 facilitates incorporation of the CatSper complex into the flagellar plasma membrane and may function as a calcium sensor. The identification of C2CD6 may enable the long-sought reconstitution of the CatSper ion channel complex in a heterologous system for male contraceptive development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Lillo ◽  
Jaume Lillo ◽  
Iu Raïch ◽  
Cristina Miralpeix ◽  
Francesc Dosrius ◽  
...  

There is evidence of ghrelinergic-cannabinoidergic interactions in the central nervous system (CNS) that may impact on the plasticity of reward circuits. The aim of this article was to look for molecular and/or functional interactions between cannabinoid CB1 and ghrelin GHS-R1a receptors. In a heterologous system and using the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique we show that human versions of cannabinoid CB1 and ghrelin GHS-R1a receptors may form macromolecular complexes. Such receptor heteromers have particular properties in terms of CB1/Gi-mediated signaling and in terms of GHS-R1a-Gq-mediated signaling. On the one hand, just co-expression of CB1R and GHS-R1a led to impairment of cannabinoid signaling. On the other hand, cannabinoids led to an increase in ghrelin-derived calcium mobilization that was stronger at low concentrations of the CB1 receptor agonist, arachidonyl-2’-chloroethylamide (ACEA). The expression of CB1-GHS-R1a receptor complexes in striatal neurons was confirmed by in situ proximity ligation imaging assays. Upregulation of CB1-GHS-R1a- receptor complexes was found in striatal neurons from siblings of pregnant female mice on a high-fat diet. Surprisingly, the expression was upregulated after treatment of neurons with ghrelin (200 nM) or with ACEA (100 nM). These results help to better understand the complexities underlying the functional interactions of neuromodulators in the reward areas of the brain.


2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
Magdalena Sozoniuk

Asteraceae family is a rich source of many sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). These secondary metabolites exhibit multidirectional activity including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory or antimicrobial, just to name a few. Promising approach of metabolic engineering offers a way of increasing the production of STLs by reconstruction  of  their  biosynthetic  pathway  in  a  heterologous system. Moreover, their production in host plants might be increased through overexpression of biosynthetic genes and/or transcription factors (TFs) positively regulating the pathway. Either of the strategies requires extensive knowledge on the genetic background of STLs biosynthesis pathway. This review summarizes molecular investigations concerning biosynthesis of these medicinally essential metabolites.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Kumar Haridhasapavalan ◽  
Pradeep Kumar Sundaravadivelu ◽  
Anshuman Mohapatra ◽  
Neha Joshi ◽  
Nayan Jyoti Das ◽  
...  

AbstractTranscription factor HAND2 has a significant role in vascularization, angiogenesis, and cardiac neural crest development. Also, it is one of the key cardiac factors crucial for the enhanced derivation of functional and mature myocytes from non-myocyte cells. Here, we report the generation of the recombinant human HAND2 fusion protein from the heterologous system. First, we cloned the full-length human HAND2 gene (only protein-coding sequence) after codon optimization along with the fusion tags (for cell penetration, nuclear translocation, and affinity purification) into the expression vector. We then transformed and expressed it in Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain, BL21(DE3). Next, the effect (in terms of expression) of tagging of fusion tags with this recombinant protein at two different terminals was also investigated. Notably, using affinity chromatography, we established the one-step homogeneous purification of human recombinant HAND2 protein; and through circular dichroism spectroscopy, we established that this purified protein had retained its secondary structure. Furthermore, we show that this purified human protein could transduce the human cells and translocate to its nucleus. Prospectively, the purified recombinant HAND2 protein can potentially be a safe and effective molecular tool in the direct cardiac reprogramming process and other biological applications.


Meta Gene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 100899
Author(s):  
Anshul Watts ◽  
Subramanian Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Archana Watts ◽  
Ritesh Kumar Raipuria

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8928
Author(s):  
Jaume Lillo ◽  
Alejandro Lillo ◽  
David A. Zafra ◽  
Cristina Miralpeix ◽  
Rafael Rivas-Santisteban ◽  
...  

Cannabinoids have been reported as orexigenic, i.e., as promoting food intake that, among others, is controlled by the so-called “hunger” hormone, ghrelin. The aim of this paper was to look for functional and/or molecular interactions between ghrelin GHSR1a and cannabinoid CB2 receptors at the central nervous system (CNS) level. In a heterologous system we identified CB2-GHSR1a receptor complexes with a particular heteromer print consisting of impairment of CB2 receptor/Gi-mediated signaling. The blockade was due to allosteric interactions within the heteromeric complex as it was reverted by antagonists of the GHSR1a receptor. Cannabinoids acting on the CB2 receptor did not affect cytosolic increases of calcium ions induced by ghrelin acting on the GHSR1a receptor. In situ proximity ligation imaging assays confirmed the expression of CB2-GHSR1a receptor complexes in both heterologous cells and primary striatal neurons. We tested heteromer expression in neurons from offspring of high-fat-diet mouse mothers as they have more risk to be obese. Interestingly, there was a marked upregulation of those complexes in striatal neurons from siblings of pregnant female mice under a high-fat diet.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Jakob Steinfeldt ◽  
Robert Becker ◽  
Silvia Vergarajauregui ◽  
Felix B. Engel

Induction of cardiomyocyte proliferation is a promising option to regenerate the heart. Thus, it is important to elucidate mechanisms that contribute to the cell cycle arrest of mammalian cardiomyocytes. Here, we assessed the contribution of the pericentrin (Pcnt) S isoform to cell cycle arrest in postnatal cardiomyocytes. Immunofluorescence staining of Pcnt isoforms combined with SiRNA-mediated depletion indicates that Pcnt S preferentially localizes to the nuclear envelope, while the Pcnt B isoform is enriched at centrosomes. This is further supported by the localization of ectopically expressed FLAG-tagged Pcnt S and Pcnt B in postnatal cardiomyocytes. Analysis of centriole configuration upon Pcnt depletion revealed that Pcnt B but not Pcnt S is required for centriole cohesion. Importantly, ectopic expression of Pcnt S induced centriole splitting in a heterologous system, ARPE-19 cells, and was sufficient to impair DNA synthesis in C2C12 myoblasts. Moreover, Pcnt S depletion enhanced serum-induced cell cycle re-entry in postnatal cardiomyocytes. Analysis of mitosis, binucleation rate, and cell number suggests that Pcnt S depletion enhances serum-induced progression of postnatal cardiomyocytes through the cell cycle resulting in cell division. Collectively, our data indicate that alternative splicing of Pcnt contributes to the establishment of cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest shortly after birth.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254447
Author(s):  
Marcos Francia ◽  
Martin Stortz ◽  
Camila Vazquez Echegaray ◽  
Camila Oses ◽  
Paula Verneri ◽  
...  

Akt/PKB is a kinase involved in the regulation of a wide variety of cell processes. Its activity is modulated by diverse post-translational modifications (PTMs). Particularly, conjugation of the small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) to this kinase impacts on multiple cellular functions, such as proliferation and splicing. In embryonic stem (ES) cells, this kinase is key for pluripotency maintenance. Among other functions, Akt is known to promote the expression of Nanog, a central pluripotency transcription factor (TF). However, the relevance of this specific PTM of Akt has not been previously analyzed in this context. In this work, we study the effect of Akt1 variants with differential SUMOylation susceptibility on the expression of Nanog. Our results demonstrate that both, the Akt1 capability of being modified by SUMO conjugation and a functional SUMO conjugase activity are required to induce Nanog gene expression. Likewise, we found that the common oncogenic E17K Akt1 mutant affected Nanog expression in ES cells also in a SUMOylatability dependent manner. Interestingly, this outcome takes places in ES cells but not in a non-pluripotent heterologous system, suggesting the presence of a crucial factor for this induction in ES cells. Remarkably, the two major candidate factors to mediate this induction, GSK3-β and Tbx3, are non-essential players of this effect, suggesting a complex mechanism probably involving non-canonical pathways. Furthermore, we found that Akt1 subcellular distribution does not depend on its SUMOylatability, indicating that Akt localization has no influence on the effect on Nanog, and that besides the membrane localization of E17K Akt mutant, SUMOylation is also required for its hyperactivity. Our results highlight the impact of SUMO conjugation in the function of a kinase relevant for a plethora of cellular processes, including the control of a key pluripotency TF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Yang ◽  
Maria Gracia Gervasi ◽  
N. Adrian Leu ◽  
Darya A Tourzani ◽  
Gordon Ruthel ◽  
...  

The CatSper cation channel is essential for sperm capacitation and male fertility. The multi-subunit CatSper complexes form highly organized calcium signaling nanodomains on flagellar membranes. Here we report identification of an uncharacterized protein C2CD6 as a novel subunit of the CatSper ion channel complex. C2CD6 contains a calcium-dependent membrane targeting C2 domain. C2CD6 interacts with the CatSper calcium-selective core forming subunits. Deficiency of C2CD6 depletes the CatSper nanodomains from the flagellum and results in male sterility. C2CD6-deficient sperm are defective in hyperactivation and fail to fertilize oocytes both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, transient treatments with either Ca2+ ionophore, starvation, or a combination of both restore the fertilization capacity of C2CD6-deficient sperm in vitro. C2CD6 interacts with EFCAB9, a pH-dependent calcium sensor in the CatSper complex. We postulate that C2CD6 may regulate CatSper assembly, target the CatSper complex to flagellar plasma membrane, and function as a calcium sensor. The identification of C2CD6 as an essential subunit may facilitate the long-sought reconstitution of the CatSper ion channel complex in a heterologous system for male contraceptive development.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 3374
Author(s):  
Sweta Bhambhani ◽  
Kirtikumar R. Kondhare ◽  
Ashok P. Giri

Phytochemicals belonging to the group of alkaloids are signature specialized metabolites endowed with countless biological activities. Plants are armored with these naturally produced nitrogenous compounds to combat numerous challenging environmental stress conditions. Traditional and modern healthcare systems have harnessed the potential of these organic compounds for the treatment of many ailments. Various chemical entities (functional groups) attached to the central moiety are responsible for their diverse range of biological properties. The development of the characterization of these plant metabolites and the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis is of an utmost priority to deliver enhanced advantages in terms of biological properties and productivity. Further, the incorporation of whole/partial metabolic pathways in the heterologous system and/or the overexpression of biosynthetic steps in homologous systems have both become alternative and lucrative methods over chemical synthesis in recent times. Moreover, in-depth research on alkaloid biosynthetic pathways has revealed numerous chemical modifications that occur during alkaloidal conversions. These chemical reactions involve glycosylation, acylation, reduction, oxidation, and methylation steps, and they are usually responsible for conferring the biological activities possessed by alkaloids. In this review, we aim to discuss the alkaloidal group of plant specialized metabolites and their brief classification covering major categories. We also emphasize the diversity in the basic structures of plant alkaloids arising through enzymatically catalyzed structural modifications in certain plant species, as well as their emerging diverse biological activities. The role of alkaloids in plant defense and their mechanisms of action are also briefly discussed. Moreover, the commercial utilization of plant alkaloids in the marketplace displaying various applications has been enumerated.


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