分类: 生物学 >> 生物物理学 >> 细胞生物学 提交时间: 2016-05-12
摘要: The large dense-core vesicle (LDCV), a type of lysosome-related organelle, is involved in the secretion of hormones and neuropeptides in specialized secretory cells. The granin family is a driving force in LDCV biogenesis, but the machinery for granin sorting to this biogenesis pathway is largely unknown. The mu mutant mouse, which carries a spontaneous null mutation on the Muted gene (also known as Bloc1s5), which encodes a subunit of the biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex-1 (BLOC-1), is a mouse model of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Here, we found that LDCVs were enlarged in mu adrenal chromaffin cells. Chromogranin A (CgA, also known as CHGA) was increased in mu adrenals and muted-knockdown cells. The increased CgA in mu mice was likely due a failure to export this molecule out of immature LDCVs, which impairs LDCV maturation and docking. In mu chromaffin cells, the size of readily releasable pool and the vesicle release frequency were reduced. Our studies suggest that the muted protein is involved in the selective export of CgA during the biogenesis of LDCVs.
分类: 生物学 >> 生物物理学 >> 细胞生物学 提交时间: 2016-05-12
摘要: Neutrophils play an essential role in the innate immune response to infection. Neutrophils migrate from the vasculature into the tissue in response to infection. Recently, a neutrophil cell surface receptor, CD177, was shown to help mediate neutrophil migration across the endothelium through interactions with PECAM1. We examined a publicly available gene array dataset of CD177 expression from human neutrophils following pulmonary endotoxin instillation. Among all 22,214 genes examined, CD177 mRNA was the most upregulated following endotoxin exposure. The high level of CD177 expression is also maintained in airspace neutrophils, suggesting a potential involvement of CD177 in neutrophil infiltration under infectious diseases. To determine the role of CD177 in neutrophils in vivo, we constructed a CD177-genetic knockout mouse model. The mice with homozygous deletion of CD177 have no discernible phenotype and no significant change in immune cells, other than decreased neutrophil counts in peripheral blood. We examined the role of CD177 in neutrophil accumulation using a skin infection model with Staphylococcus aureus. CD177 deletion reduced neutrophil counts in inflammatory skin caused by S. aureus. Mechanistically we found that CD177 deletion in mouse neutrophils has no significant impact in CXCL1/KC- or fMLP-induced migration, but led to significant cell death. Herein we established a novel genetic mouse model to study the role of CD177 and found that CD177 plays an important role in neutrophils.
分类: 生物学 >> 生物物理学 >> 影像医学与生物医学工程 提交时间: 2016-05-12
摘要: Monitoring protein protein interactions (PPIs) in live subjects is critical for understanding these fundamental biological processes. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) provides a good technique for imaging PPIs; however, a BiFC system with a long wavelength remains to be pursued for in vivo imaging. Here, we conducted systematic screening of split reporters from a bacterial phytochrome-based, near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP). Several new near-infrared phytochrome BiFC systems were built based on selected split sites including the amino acids residues 97/98, 99/100,122/123, and 123/124. These new near-infrared BiFC systems from a bacterial phytochrome were verified as powerful tools for imaging PPIs under physiological conditions in live cells and in live mice. The interaction between HIV-1 integrase (IN) and cellular cofactor protein Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) was visualized in live cells using the newly constructed iRFP BiFC system because of its important roles in HIV-1 integration and replication. Because the HIV IN-LEDGF/p75 interaction is an attractive anti-HIV target, drug evaluation assays to inhibit the HIV IN-LEDGF/p75 interaction were also performed using the newly constructed BiFC system. The results showed that compound 6 and carbidopa inhibit the HIV IN-LEDGF/p75 interaction in a dose-dependent manner under physiological conditions in the BiFC assays. This study provides novel near-infrared BiFC systems for imaging protein interactions under physiological conditions and provides guidance for splitting other bacterial phytochrome-like proteins to construct BiFC systems. The study also provides a new method for drug evaluation in live cells based on iRFP BiFC systems and supplies some new information regarding candidate drugs for anti-HIV therapies. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.