Developmental patterning function of GNOM ARF-GEF mediated from the plasma membrane

The GNOM (GN) Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor for ARF small GTPases (ARF-GEF) is among the best studied trafficking regulators in plants, playing crucial and unique developmental roles in patterning and polarity. The current models place GN at the Golgi apparatus (GA), where it mediates secretion/recycling, and at the plasma membrane (PM) presumably contributing to clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). The mechanistic basis of the developmental function of GN, distinct from the other ARF-GEFs including its homologue GNOM-LIKE1 (GNL1), remains elusive. Insights from this study redefine the current notions of GN function. We show that GN, but not GNL1, localizes to the PM at long-lived structures distinct from clathrin-coated pits, while CME and secretion proceed normally in gn knockouts. The functional GN mutant variant GNfewerroots, absent from the GA, suggests that PM is the major place of GN action responsible for its developmental function. Following inhibition by Brefeldin A, GN, but not GNL1, relocates to the PM likely on exocytic vesicles, suggesting selective molecular associations. A study of GN-GNL1 chimeric ARF-GEFs indicate that all GN domains contribute to the specific GN function in a partially redundant manner. Together, this study offers significant steps towards the elucidation of the mechanism underlying unique cellular and development functions of GN.

Full Spectrum Flow Cytometry for High-Dimensional Immunophenotyping of Murine Innate Lymphoid Cells

This 25-parameter, 22-colour full spectrum flow cytometry panel was designed and optimised for the comprehensive enumeration and functional characterisation of innate lymphoid cell (ILC) subsets in murine tissues (Table 1). The panel presented here allows the discrimination of ILC progenitors (ILCP), ILC1, ILC2, NCR+ ILC3, NCR- ILC3, CCR6+ ILC3 and mature natural killer (NK) cell populations. Further characterisation of ILC and NK cell functional profiles in response to stimulation is provided by the inclusion of subset-specific cytokine markers, and proliferation markers. Development and optimisation of this panel was performed on freshly isolated cells from adult BALB/c lungs and small intestine lamina propria, and ex vivo stimulation with phorbol 12-myrisate 13-acetate, ionomycin, brefeldin A and pro-ILC activating cytokines.

Interrogation of Carboxy-Terminus Localized GJA1 Variants Associated with Erythrokeratodermia Variabilis et Progressiva

Although inherited GJA1 (encoding Cx43) gene mutations most often lead to oculodentodigital dysplasia and related disorders, four variants have been linked to erythrokeratodermia variabilis et progressiva (EKVP), a skin disorder characterized by erythematous and hyperkeratotic lesions. While two autosomal-dominant EKVP-linked GJA1 mutations have been shown to lead to augmented hemichannels, the consequence(s) of keratinocytes harboring a de novo P283L variant alone or in combination with a de novo T290N variant remain unknown. Interestingly, these variants reside within or adjacent to a carboxy terminus polypeptide motif that has been shown to be important in regulating the internalization and degradation of Cx43. Cx43-rich rat epidermal keratinocytes (REKs) or Cx43-ablated REKs engineered to express fluorescent protein-tagged P283L and/or T290N variants formed prototypical gap junctions at cell–cell interfaces similar to wildtype Cx43. Dye coupling and dye uptake studies further revealed that each variant or a combination of both variants formed functional gap junction channels, with no evidence of augmented hemichannel function or induction of cell death. Tracking the fate of EKVP-associated variants in the presence of the protein secretion blocker brefeldin A, or an inhibitor of protein synthesis cycloheximide, revealed that P283L or the combination of P283L and T290N variants either significantly extended Cx43 residency on the cell surface of keratinocytes or delayed its degradation. However, caution is needed in concluding that this modest change in the Cx43 life cycle is sufficient to cause EKVP, or whether an additional underlying mechanism or another unidentified gene mutation is contributing to the pathogenesis found in patients. This question will be resolved if further patients are identified where whole exome sequencing reveals a Cx43 P283L variant alone or, in combination with a T290N variant, co-segregates with EKVP across several family generations.

Semi-Synthesis, Cytotoxic Evaluation, and Structure—Activity Relationships of Brefeldin A Derivatives with Antileukemia Activity

Brefeldin A (1), a potent cytotoxic natural macrolactone, was produced by the marine fungus Penicillium sp. (HS-N-29) from the medicinal mangrove Acanthus ilicifolius. Series of its ester derivatives 2−16 were designed and semi-synthesized, and their structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Their cytotoxic activities were evaluated against human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cell line in vitro, and the preliminary structure–activity relationships revealed that the hydroxy group played an important role. Moreover, the monoester derivatives exhibited stronger cytotoxic activity than the diester derivatives. Among them, brefeldin A 7-O-2-chloro-4,5-difluorobenzoate (7) exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on the proliferation of K562 cells with an IC50 value of 0.84 µM. Further evaluations indicated that 7 induced cell cycle arrest, stimulated cell apoptosis, inhibited phosphorylation of BCR-ABL, and thereby inactivated its downstream AKT signaling pathway. The expression of downstream signaling molecules in the AKT pathway, including mTOR and p70S6K, was also attenuated after 7-treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, molecular modeling of 7 docked into 1 binding site of an ARF1–GDP-GEF complex represented well-tolerance. Taken together, 7 had the potential to be served as an effective antileukemia agent or lead compound for further exploration.

Structural Modification of the Macrolide Brefeldin A to Analogues with Enhanced Cytotoxicity against KB Cells

The macrolide brefeldin A (BFA, 1) exhibited high cytotoxicity against KB cells. However, it was also toxic against non-cancerous cells. In order to lower toxicity against normal cells while maintaining the cytotoxic potency to the cancer cells, structural modification of this compound was undertaken. Starting from compound 1, the analogues 2-13 were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against KB cells. The analogue 2 exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity against KB cells, with an IC50 value of 0.034 nM, 67-fold more active than its parent compound 1. It was 41764 and 8235 fold more active than the standard drugs ellipticine and doxorubicin, respectively. The higher cytotoxicity against KB cells and lower toxicity against Vero cells of analogue 2 than those of the parent compound 1 contributed to its exceptionally high selectivity index of 9117. The results suggested that this analogue might be utilized to develop a new candidate for an anticancer drug. HIGHLIGHTS Oral cancer is a major worldwide public health issue and may affect any oral cavity region, including the lips, tongue, mouth and throat The ester analogues (2-13) were the first report of the cytotoxic against human epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells 7-O-acetyl BFA (2) exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity against KB cells, with an IC50 value of 034 nM, 67-fold more active than its parent compound 1 The essentially structural features for the macrolide of BFA-type to exhibit high cytotoxicity against KB cells are the presence of a free hydroxyl group at the 4-position, a free hydroxyl group or the corresponding ester at the 7-position, and unsaturated functions at the 2- and 10-positions GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

PBMC-06- Intracellular Cytokine Staining (ICS) of IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-17 on Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) v1

This present protocol is developed to analyze the frequency of IFN-γ-, IL-4- and IL-17-producing CD4+T cells, identified from ex vivo human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The frequencies of cytokine producing cells derived from activation of PBMC was induced trough the stimulus phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin. According onpreviously published protocols concentrations of stimulating substances were in the range from 10, to 50 ng/ml for PMA and 1 µg/ml for ionomycin (Gupta and Maecker, 2015; Foster et al., 2007; Freer and Rindi, 2013; https://www.bdbiosciences.com/content/bdb/paths/generate-tds-document.in.560751.pdf). The PMA concentrations of 10, 20 and 50 ng/ml were tested and finally the PMA concentration of 10 ng/ml was chosen since it was sufficient to obtain a frequency of cytokines comparable to that obtained with higher stimulus concentrations. PMA/ionomycin and brefeldin A are incubate together for a time of 5 h (Gupta and Maecker, 2015, Foster et al., 2007, Freer and Rindi, 2013, https://www.bdbiosciences.com/content/bdb/paths/generate-tds-document.in.560751.pdf). The protein secretion inhibitor brefeldin A, was used at the concentration of 10 µg/ml (Gupta and Maecker, 2015; Foster et al., 2007; Freer and Rindi, 2013). Cell concentrations may vary in a range from 2.5 x106 to 10 x106 cells/ml (Maecker, 2004; Freer and Rindi, 2013a; https://www.bdbiosciences.com/content/bdb/paths/generate-tds-document.in.560751.pdf). Concentration of 1x106 cells/ml, 4x106 cells/ml and 8x106cells/ml were tested. Cell tritation have shown a higher functional response proportional to the cell concentration when exposed to a fixed concentration of stimulants. Cell concentration of 8 milions/ml was selected in order to obtain the higher percentage of IFN-γ-, IL-4- and IL-17-producing CD4+T cells. In conclusion the present protocol provides that, for a optimal optimal percentage of IFN-γ-, IL-4- and IL-17-producing CD4+T cells as assessed by flow cytometry (Table 1), PBMC in a concentration 8 milions/ml were stimulated with PMA 10 ng/ml and ionomycin 1 µg/ml, and cultured for 5 h in presence of brefeldin A 10 µg/ml according to the procedure described in detail below. References Baran, J., Kowalczyk, D., Ozog, M., Zembala, M., 2001. Three-color flow cytometry detection of intracellular cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: Comparative analysis of phorbol myristate acetate-ionomycin and phytohemagglutinin stimulation. Clin. Diagn. Lab. Immunol. 8, 303–313. https://doi.org/10.1128/CDLI.8.2.303-313.2001 Foster, B., Prussin, C., Liu, F., Whitmire, J.K., Whitton, J.L., 2007. Detection of intracellular cytokines by flow cytometry. Curr. Protoc. Immunol. Chapter 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471142735.im0624s78 Freer, G., Rindi, L., 2013. Intracellular cytokine detection by fluorescence-activated flow cytometry: Basic principles and recent advances. Methods 61, 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymeth.2013.03.035 Gupta, S., Maecker, H., 2015. Intracellular Cytokine Staining (ICS) on Human Lymphocytes or Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs). BIO-PROTOCOL 5. https://doi.org/10.21769/bioprotoc.1442 Maecker, H.T., 2004. Cytokine flow cytometry. Methods Mol. Biol. 263, 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-773-4:095 https://www.bdbiosciences.com/content/bdb/paths/generate-tds-document.us.560751.pdf BEFORE STARTING with this procedure Moreover, work under laminar flow hood when you are processing samples from the beginning to the end of the culture. Make sure you are using, sterile culture medium and sterile plastic disposable as well.

Death Receptors DR4 and DR5 Undergo Spontaneous and Ligand-Mediated Endocytosis and Recycling Regardless of the Sensitivity of Cancer Cells to TRAIL

Tumor necrosis factor-associated ligand inducing apoptosis (TRAIL) induces apoptosis through the death receptors (DRs) 4 and 5 expressed on the cell surface. Upon ligand stimulation, death receptors are rapidly internalized through clathrin-dependent and -independent mechanisms. However, there have been conflicting data on the role of death receptor endocytosis in apoptotic TRAIL signaling and possible cell type-specific differences in TRAIL signaling have been proposed. Here we have compared the kinetics of TRAIL-mediated internalization and subsequent recycling of DR4 and DR5 in resistant (HT-29 and A549) and sensitive (HCT116 and Jurkat) tumor cell lines of various origin. TRAIL stimulated the internalization of both receptors in a concentration-dependent manner with similar kinetics in sensitive and resistant cell lines without affecting the steady-state expression of DR4 and DR5 in cell lysates. Using the receptor-selective TRAIL variant DR5-B, we have shown that DR5 is internalized independently of DR4 receptor. After internalization and elimination of TRAIL from culture medium, the receptors slowly return to the plasma membrane. Within 4 h in resistant or 6 h in sensitive cells, the surface expression of receptors was completely restored. Recovery of receptors occurred both from newly synthesized molecules or from trans-Golgi network, as cycloheximide and brefeldin A inhibited this process. These agents also suppressed the expression of cell surface receptors in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, indicating that DRs undergo constitutive endocytosis. Inhibition of receptor endocytosis by sucrose led to sensitization of resistant cells to TRAIL and to an increase in its cytotoxic activity against sensitive cells. Our results confirm the universal nature of TRAIL-induced death receptor endocytosis, thus cell sensitivity to TRAIL can be associated with post-endocytic events.

Regulation of Survival Motor Neuron Gene Expression by Calcium Signaling

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by homozygous survival of motor neurons 1 (SMN1) gene deletion, leaving a duplicate gene, SMN2, as the sole source of SMN protein. However, a defect in SMN2 splicing, involving exon 7 skipping, results in a low level of functional SMN protein. Therefore, the upregulation of SMN protein expression from the SMN2 gene is generally considered to be one of the best therapeutic strategies to treat SMA. Most of the SMA drug discovery is based on synthetic compounds, and very few natural compounds have been explored thus far. Here, we performed an unbiased mechanism-independent and image-based screen of a library of microbial metabolites in SMA fibroblasts using an SMN-specific immunoassay. In doing so, we identified brefeldin A (BFA), a well-known inhibitor of ER-Golgi protein trafficking, as a strong inducer of SMN protein. The profound increase in SMN protein was attributed to, in part, the rescue of the SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing defect. Intriguingly, BFA increased the intracellular calcium concentration, and the BFA-induced exon 7 inclusion of SMN2 splicing, was abrogated by the depletion of intracellular calcium and by the pharmacological inhibition of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases (CaMKs). Moreover, BFA considerably reduced the expression of Tra2-β and SRSF9 proteins in SMA fibroblasts and enhanced the binding of PSF and hnRNP M to an exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) of exon 7. Together, our results demonstrate a significant role for calcium and its signaling on the regulation of SMN splicing, probably through modulating the expression/activity of splicing factors.