Том 51, № 3 (2017)

Certain forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are associated with an altered compartmentalization of FUS and its aggregation in the cytoplasm of motoneurons. FUS is a DNA/RNA-binding protein that is involved in DNA repair and the regulation of transcription, splicing, RNA transport, and local translation. Two theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism of the pathophysiological process in ALS. The theories attribute degeneration of motor neurons to either loss or gain of FUS function. The review describes the main physiological functions of FUS and considers evidence for each of the theories of ALS pathogenesis.

Deposits of amyloid peptide Aβ and intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein in the brain of patients are major neuropathological features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For a long time, the possibility of horizontal transmission of Aβ aggregates from cell to cell and from person to person remained hypothetical, since there was no experimental evidence. However, in 1993, the formation of senile plaques was confirmed in the brains of animals after intracerebral injections of AD patient brain homogenates. or homogenates of the brain of transgenic mice enriched with Aβ aggregates Other experiments indicate that amyloid peptide Aβ and intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein may be transferred from cell to cell like prions. In 2015 and 2016, it was reported that AD could be transmitted to humans during medical procedures, i.e., that this disease might be iatrogenic. This review discusses the mechanisms by which pathogenic Aβ protein can be transmitted between cells and analyzes the current evidence concerning the possibility of horizontal Aβ transmission from person to person.

The psbA gene, which encodes a major photosystem II protein (protein II or D1), is a marker for the presence of phototrophic organisms in water communities. We have pioneered the use of this marker for studying the diversity of phototrophic microflora of freshwater invertebrates. The object of the study is the microbial associations accompanying the endemic Baikal sponge Baikalospongia intermedia and the surrounding aquatic microbial community. Analysis of the psbA gene sequences in the examined microbiomes demonstrates the presence of various phototrophic groups, such as Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Heterokonta, Haptophyta, and Ochrophyta algae, as well as cyanophages. A total of 35 unique psbA gene sequences have been distinguished in the microbial communities of the endemic sponge B. intermedia and 32 unique sequences in the water community surrounding the sponge. These data demonstrate the involvement of sponge symbiotic communities in the accumulation of primary production and carbon cycle in the Lake Baikal ecosystem.

The concentration of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) protein was studied in renal medulla of adult rats from hypertensive ISIAH strain and normotensive WAG strain. The sEH is a key enzyme in metabolism of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids capable of activating endothelial NO-synthase and nitrogen oxide formation, and therefore being vasodilators. An increase in the sEH protein concentration (that we found) allows one to assume that the oxidative stress is increased in the renal medulla of hypertensive rats, and the bloodflow is decreased.

The glycoprotein of rabies virus is the central antigen elicited the immune response to infection; therefore, the majority of developing anti-rabies vaccines are based on this protein. In order to increase the efficacy of DNA immunogen encoding rabies virus glycoprotein, the construction of chimeric protein with the CD63 domain has been proposed. The CD63 is a transmembrane protein localized on the cell surface and in lysosomes. The lysosome targeting motif GYEVM is located at its C-terminus. We used the domain that bears this motif (c-CD63) to generate chimeric glycoprotein in order to relocalize it into lysosomes. Here, it was shown that, in cells transfected with plasmid that encodes glycoprotein with c-CD63 motif at the C-terminus, the chimeric protein was predominantly observed in lysosomes and at the cell membrane where the unmodified glycoprotein is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and at the cell surface. We suppose that current modification of the glycoprotein may improve the immunogenicity of anti-rabies DNA vaccines due to more efficient antibody production.

Sestrins are highly conserved stress-inducible proteins capable of suppressing the production of ROS and signalling through mTORC1. Here we report a study of human sestrin1 (sesn1) and sestrin2 (sesn2) proteins produced in a pET28⁺ vector based prokaryotic system. Mass spectrometry analysis, western blot and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of affinity purified sesn1 and sesn2 proteins confirmed their identity; biophysical characteristics were observed using circular dichroism (CD) showing that sesn1 and sesn2 have a predominant α-helical structure. Here we describe a simple, one step purification process to purify a large amount of sestrin proteins with significant yield. Further study of recombinant human sestrins may further facilitate the understanding of their roles in eukaryotic cells.

Chimeric transcription factor E2A-PBX1 induces the development of acute lymphoblastic B-cell leukemia in children. Using a transgenic mouse model, we previously demonstrated that homeobox (HOX) gene HOXA9 genetically interact with E2A-PBX1 gene in the development of B-cell leukemia in mice. HOXA9 itself is a potent oncogene resulting in myeloid leukemia when overexpressed, which is strongly accelerated by its collaborator Meis1. HOX, PBX1 and MEIS1 proteins have been shown to form hetero dimeric or trimeric complexes in different combinations. Cooperative interaction between PBX1 and HOX proteins enhances their DNA binding specificity, essential for HOX dependent developmental programs. PBX1 is retained in E2A-PBX1, and thus the strong transcriptional activator properties of E2A-PBX1 may lead to aberrant activation of normally repressed targets of HOX-PBX complexes. However, although there is evidence that E2A-PBX1 could bind to HOX and MEIS1 proteins it is still unclear whether such complexes are actually required for leukemic transformation or whether E2A-PBX1 and HOXA9 are each part of larger protein complexes acting in independent complementing oncogenic pathways. In this study we aim to search for other HOXA9 and E2A-PBX1 interacting proteins. To identify novel proteins interacting with human E2A-PBX1 or HOXA9 we used tandem affinity purification (TAP) of protein complexes from 697 pre-B leukemic and HeLa cell lines transduced to express E2A-PBX1 or HOXA9, respectively, with covalently attached FLAG/HA peptides. The protein composition of each complex was determined using tandem mass-spectrometry. In the E2A-PBX1 containing complex we identified lymphoid transcription factor IKAROS, chromatin remodeling factors of SWI/SNF family while multiple subunits of translation initiation factor eIF3, E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR5 emerged from the HOXA9 complex as potential critical protein partners. This is the first time the protein partners of either E2A-PBX1 or HOXA9 oncoproteins were identified using an unbiased biochemical approach. The identification of translation initiation factors associated with HOXA9 might indicate a novel function for HOX proteins independent of their transcriptional activity.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) induces the expression of the genes of proinflammatory cytokines, the excessive production of which may cause cell death, and contribute to development of liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma. The relationship between cytokine production and metabolic disorders in HCV-infected cells remains obscure. The levels of biogenic polyamines, spermine, spermidine, and their precursor putrescine, may be a potential regulator of these processes. The purpose of the present work was to study the effects of the compounds which modulate biogenic polyamines metabolism on cytokine production and HCV proteins expression. Human hepatocarcinoma Huh7.5 cells have been transfected with the plasmids that encode HCV proteins and further incubated with the following low-molecular compounds that affect different stages of polyamine metabolism: (1) difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), the inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, the enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of polyamines; (2) N,N'-bis(2,3-butane dienyl)-1,4-diaminobutane (MDL72.527), the inhibitor of proteins involved in polyamine degradation; and (3) synthetic polyamine analog N¹,N¹¹-diethylnorspermine (DENSpm), an inducer of polyamine degradation enzyme. The intracellular accumulation and secretion of cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and TGF-β) was assessed by immunocytochemistry and in the immunoenzyme assay, while the cytokine gene expression was studied using reverse transcription and PCR. The effects of the compounds under analysis on the expression of HCV proteins were analyzed using the indirect immunofluorescence with anti-HCV monoclonal antibodies. It has been demonstrated that, in cells transfected with HCV genes, DFMO reduces the production of three out of four tested cytokines, namely, TNF-α and TGF-β in cells that express HCV core, Е1Е2, NS3, NS5A, and NS5B proteins, and IL-1β in the cells that express HCV core, Е1Е2, and NS3 proteins. MDL72527 and DENSpm decreased cytokine production to a lesser extent. Incubation with DFMO led to a 28–32% decrease in the number of cells expressing NS5B or NS5A, both of which are key components of the HCV replication complex. The results obtained in the work indicate that a further detailed study of the antiviral activity of DFMO is required in order to assess its potential as an anti-hepatitis C therapeutic agent.

The coupling between peptides and MHC-II proteins in the human immune system is not well understood. This work presents an evidence-based hypothesis of a guiding intermolecular force present in every human MHC-II protein (HLA-II). Previously, we examined the spatial positions of the fully conserved residues in all HLA-II protein types. In each one, constant planar patterns were revealed. These molecular planes comprise of amino acid groups of the same chemical species (for example, Gly) distributed across the protein structure. Each amino acid plane has a unique direction and this directional element offers spatial selectivity. Constant within all planes, too, is the presence of an aromatic residue possessing electrons in movement, leading the authors to consider that the planes generate electromagnetic fields that could serve as an attractive force in a single direction. Selection and attraction between HLA-II molecules and antigen peptides would, therefore, be non-random, resulting in a coupling mechanism as effective and rapid as is clearly required in the immune response. On the basis of planar projections onto the HLA-II groove, modifications were made by substituting the key residues in the class II-associated invariant chain peptide—a peptide with a universal binding affinity—resulting in eight different modified peptides with affinities greater than that of the unmodified peptide. Accurate and reliable prediction of MHC class II-binding peptides may facilitate the design of universal vaccine-peptides with greatly enhanced binding affinities. The proposed mechanisms of selection, attraction and coupling between HLA-II and antigen peptides are explained further in the paper.