Epithelial cells provide cell-cell adhesion that is essential to maintain the integrity of multicellular organisms. Epithelial cell-characterizing proteins, such as epithelial junctional proteins and ...transcription factors are well defined. However, the role of lipids in epithelial characterization remains poorly understood. Here we show that the phospholipid phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate PI(4,5)P
is enriched in the plasma membrane (PM) of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells lose their characteristics upon depletion of PM PI(4,5)P
, and synthesis of PI(4,5)P
in the PM results in the development of epithelial-like morphology in osteosarcoma cells. PM localization of PARD3 is impaired by depletion of PM PI(4,5)P
in epithelial cells, whereas expression of the PM-targeting exocyst-docking region of PARD3 induces osteosarcoma cells to show epithelial-like morphological changes, suggesting that PI(4,5)P
regulates epithelial characteristics by recruiting PARD3 to the PM. These results indicate that a high level of PM PI(4,5)P
plays a crucial role in the maintenance of epithelial characteristics.
RNA aptamers are RNA molecules that bind to a target molecule with high affinity and specificity using uniquely-folded tertiary structures. RNA aptamers are selected from an RNA pool typically ...comprising up to 10
different sequences generated by iterative steps of selection and amplification known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). Over several rounds of SELEX, the diversity of the RNA pool decreases and the aptamers are enriched. Hence, monitoring of the enrichment of these RNA pools is critical for the successful selection of aptamers, and several methods for monitoring them have been developed. In this study, we measured one-dimensional imino proton NMR spectra of RNA pools during SELEX. The spectrum of the initial RNA pool indicates that the RNAs adopt tertiary structures. The structural diversity of the RNA pools was shown to depend highly on the design of the primer-binding sequence. Furthermore, we demonstrate that enrichment of RNA aptamers can be monitored using NMR. The RNA pools can be recovered from the NMR tube after measurement of NMR spectra. We also can monitor target binding in the NMR tubes. Thus, we propose using NMR to monitor the enrichment of structured aptamers during the SELEX process.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Currently approved therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are inhibitors against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of ...neovascular AMD (nAMD). Intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF drugs have shown dramatic visual benefits for AMD patients. However, a significant portion of AMD patients exhibit an incomplete response to therapy and, over the extended management course, can lose vision, with the formation of submacular fibrosis as one risk factor. We investigated a novel target for AMD treatments, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), which has been implicated in the pathophysiology of both angiogenesis and fibrosis in a variety of tissue and organ systems. The anti-FGF2 aptamer, RBM-007, was examined for treatment of nAMD in animal models. In in vivo studies conducted in mice and rats, RBM-007 was able to inhibit FGF2-induced angiogenesis, laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and CNV with fibrosis. Pharmacokinetic studies of RBM-007 in the rabbit vitreous revealed high and relatively long-lasting profiles that are superior to other approved anti-VEGF drugs. The anti-angiogenic and anti-scarring dual action of RBM-007 holds promise as an additive or alternative therapy to anti-VEGF treatments for nAMD.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The mechanism of translation termination has long been a puzzle. The release factor (RF) class of translation factors plays a key role in terminating protein synthesis. Bacteria have two RFs, RF1 and ...RF2, with high specificity to decipher three stop codons. Decades ago, an idea was formulated that RFs may be protein analogs of tRNA. This idea gained substantial support 10 years ago by the identification of two classes of crucial RF peptide motifs, P(A/V)T/SPF and GGQ, in bacteria. These motifs were functionally equivalent to the anticodon and aminoacyl‐CCA terminus of tRNA, although the processes these molecules function in are different. These findings reinforced the ‘molecular mimicry’ or ‘tRNA mimicry’ hypothesis. Since then, the RF‐tRNA mimicry hypothesis has played a crucial role to elucidate the mechanism of translation termination. In the past decade, the crystal structure of the translation termination complex between the ribosome and RFs has been determined at atomic resolution. Overall, the structural data strongly support the RF‐tRNA mimicry hypothesis, with shared as well as distinct ribosomal conformations induced by RF or tRNA binding. In this review, we re‐evaluate the structural data from the genetic and biochemical viewpoint as our initial functional evidence were not fully interpreted in the previous reports. Recent structural and functional studies of the translation machinery have uncovered that the concept of tRNA mimicry can be expanded for factors beyond translation termination and into translation initiation, elongation, as well as mRNA surveillance pathways for protein synthesis. WIREs RNA 2011 2 647–668 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.81
This article is categorized under:
RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA–Protein Complexes
Translation > Ribosome Structure/Function
Translation > Translation Regulation
RNA Processing > tRNA Processing
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Objective. We conducted a cross-sectional nationwide survey to determine eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Churg-Strauss) (EGPA) prevalence and clinical features in Japan.
...Methods. Data for EGPA patients in 2008 were collected from 1,564 hospitals. In total, 965 patients were reported from 365 departments. In a second survey, clinical data for 473 patients were obtained.
Results. We estimated that 1,866 (95% CI: 1,640-2,092) patients have EGPA in Japan (prevalence, 17.8/1,000,000). Of the 473 patients in the second survey, 315 fulfilled American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria or Lanham's criteria for EGPA. The mean age (± SD) of the 315 at onset was 55 ± 14 years, male to female ratio 1:2. 93% of patients had neurological manifestations, which were the organ system most frequently involved. Among 277 patients tested for myeloperoxidase (MPO)-/p anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), 139 (50%) were positive, while only 6 of 238 were positive for proteinase3 (PR3)-/cANCA. MPO-ANCA-positive patients had renal involvement, mucous membrane or ophthalmological symptoms, and ENT symptoms more frequently, whereas cutaneous lesions and cardiovascular involvement were less common.
Conclusion. The prevalence of EGPA and the frequency of MPO-/p-ANCA-positivity in Japanese EGPA patients were mostly similar to those of Western countries. However, female predominance and a high frequency of neurological manifestations characterized Japanese patients.
Potential applications for functional RNAs are rapidly expanding, not only to address functions based on primary nucleotide sequences, but also by RNA aptamer, which can suppress the activity of any ...target molecule. Aptamers are short DNA or RNA folded molecules that can be selected in vitro on the basis of their high affinity for a target molecule. Here, we demonstrate the ability of RNA aptamers to recognize--and bind to--human IgG with high specificity and affinity. An optimized 23-nucleotide aptamer, Apt8-2, was prepared, and was shown to bind to the Fc domain of human IgG, but not to other IgG's, with high affinity. Apt8-2 was observed to compete with protein A, but not with the Fcgamma receptor, for IgG binding. NMR chemical-shift analyses localized the aptamer-binding sites on the Fc subdomain, which partially overlaps the protein A binding site but not the Fcgamma receptor binding site. The tertiary structures of the predicted recognition sites on the Fc domain differ significantly between human IgG and other species of IgGs; this, in part, accounts for the high specificity of the selected aptamer. Apt8-2 can therefore be used as a protein A alternative for affinity purification of human IgG and therapeutic antibodies. Using Apt8-2 would have several potential advantages, raising the possibility of developing new applications based on aptamer design.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression through translational repression by base-pairing with partially complementary mRNAs. The expression of a ...set of miRNAs is known to be regulated developmentally and spatially, and is involved in differentiation or cell proliferation in several organisms. However, the expression profiles of human miRNAs during cell differentiation remain largely unknown. In an effort to expand our knowledge of human miRNAs, we investigated miRNAs during 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced differentiation of human leukemia cells (HL-60) into monocyte/macrophage-like cells. Several hundred RNAs ranging from 18 to 26 nucleotides were isolated from HL-60 cells with or without TPA-induction, and subsequently characterized by sequencing, database searching, and expression profiling. By removing non-miRNA sequences, we found three novel and 38 known miRNAs expressed in HL-60 cells. These miRNAs could be further classified into subsets of miRNAs that responded differently following TPA induction, either being up-regulated or down-regulated, suggesting the importance of regulated gene expression via miRNAs in the differentiation of HL-60 cells.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Kawasaki disease (KD; OMIM 611775) is an acute vasculitis syndrome which predominantly affects small- and medium-sized arteries of infants and children. Epidemiological data suggest that host ...genetics underlie the disease pathogenesis. Here we report that multiple variants in the caspase-3 gene (CASP3) that are in linkage disequilibrium confer susceptibility to KD in both Japanese and US subjects of European ancestry. We found that a G to A substitution of one commonly associated SNP located in the 5′ untranslated region of CASP3 (rs72689236; P = 4.2 × 10−8 in the Japanese and P = 3.7 × 10−3 in the European Americans) abolished binding of nuclear factor of activated T cells to the DNA sequence surrounding the SNP. Our findings suggest that altered CASP3 expression in immune effecter cells influences susceptibility to KD.
Midkine is a heparin-binding growth factor highly expressed in various cancers, including neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial pediatric solid tumor. Prognosis of patients with neuroblastoma ...in which MYCN is amplified remains particularly poor. In this study, we used a MYCN transgenic model for neuroblastoma in which midkine is highly expressed in precancerous lesions of sympathetic ganglia. Genetic ablation of midkine in this model delayed tumor formation and reduced tumor incidence. Furthermore, an RNA aptamer that specifically bound midkine suppressed the growth of neuroblastoma cells in vitro and in vivo in tumor xenografts. In precancerous lesions, midkine-deficient MYCN transgenic mice exhibited defects in activation of Notch2, a candidate midkine receptor, and expression of the Notch target gene HES1. Similarly, RNA aptamer-treated tumor xenografts also showed attenuation of Notch2-HES1 signaling. Our findings establish a critical role for the midkine-Notch2 signaling axis in neuroblastoma tumorigenesis, which implicates new strategies to treat neuroblastoma.
The polymorphic heterozygosity of PRNP at codon 129 or 219 prevents the onset of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). We investigated the association between polymorphic genotypes at codon 129 ...or 219 and comprehensive prion disease onset using non-CJD as a reference. EK heterozygotes at codon 219, versus EE homozygotes, showed a preventive effect on the extensive prion diseases―sCJD, genetic CJD (gCJD) with V180I or M232R mutation, and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease with P102L mutation. No preventive effect was observed for E200K-gCJD and dura-grafted CJD (dCJD) in 129 MV and 219 EK heterozygotes. It was suggested that unlike other prion diseases, E200K-gCJD may not benefit from the preventive effect of 219 EK heterozygosity because complementary electrostatic interactions between PrP molecules at K200 and E219 might make homodimer formation easier. Comparison of sCJD and dCJD indicates that 219 EK heterozygosity strongly inhibits de novo synthesis of PrPSc (initial PrPSc formation), but does not inhibit accelerated propagation of existing PrPSc.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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