| 1. |
- Bienert, Gern, 2008, et al.
(författare)
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A subgroup of plant aquaporins facilitate the bi-directional diffusion of As(OH)3 and Sb(OH)3 across membranes
- 2008
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Ingår i: BMC Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7007. ; 6:26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Arsenic is a toxic and highly abundant metalloid that endangers human health through drinking water and the food chain. The most common forms of arsenic in the environment are arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)). As(V) is a non-functional phosphate analog that enters the food chain via plant phosphate transporters. Inside cells, As(V) becomes reduced to As(III) for subsequent extrusion or compartmentation. Although much is known about As(III) transport and handling in microbes and mammals, the transport systems for As(III) have not yet been characterized in plants. Results Here we show that the Nodulin26-like Intrinsic Proteins (NIPs) AtNIP5;1 and AtNIP6;1 from Arabidopsis thaliana, OsNIP2;1 and OsNIP3;2 from Oryza sativa, and LjNIP5;1 and LjNIP6;1 from Lotus japonicus are bi-directional As(III) channels. Expression of these NIPs sensitized yeast cells to As(III) and antimonite (Sb(III)), and direct transport assays confirmed their ability to facilitate As(III) transport across cell membranes. On medium containing As(V), expression of the same NIPs improved yeast growth, probably due to increased As(III) efflux. Our data furthermore provide evidence that NIPs can discriminate between highly similar substrates and that they may have differential preferences in the direction of transport. A subgroup of As(III) permeable channels that group together in a phylogenetic tree required N-terminal truncation for functional expression in yeast. Conclusion This is the first molecular identification of plant As(III) transport systems and we propose that metalloid transport through NIPs is a conserved and ancient feature. Our observations are potentially of great importance for improved remediation and tolerance of plants, and may provide a key to the development of low arsenic crops for food production.
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| 2. |
- Hedengren-Olcott, Marika, et al.
(författare)
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Differential activation of the NF-kappaB-like factors Relish and Dif in Drosophila melanogaster by fungi and gram-positive bacteria
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - : American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 279:20, s. 21121-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current model of immune activation in Drosophila melanogaster suggests that fungi and Gram-positive (G+) bacteria activate the Toll/Dif pathway and that Gram-negative (G-) bacteria activate the Imd/Relish pathway. To test this model, we examined the response of Relish and Dif (Dorsal-related immunity factor) mutants to challenge by various fungi and G+ and G- bacteria. In Relish mutants, the Cecropin A gene was induced by the G+ bacteria Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus, but not by other G+ or G- bacteria. This Relish-independent Cecropin A induction was blocked in Dif/Relish double mutant flies. Induction of the Cecropin A1 gene by M. luteus required Relish, whereas induction of the Cecropin A2 gene required Dif. Intact peptidoglycan (PG) was necessary for this differential induction of Cecropin A. PG extracted from M. luteus induced Cecropin A in Relish mutants, whereas PGs from the G+ bacteria Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus subtilis did not, suggesting that the Drosophila immune system can distinguish PGs from various G+ bacteria. Various fungi stimulated antimicrobial peptides through at least two different pathways requiring Relish and/or Dif. Induction of Attacin A by Geotrichum candidum required Relish, whereas activation by Beauvaria bassiana required Dif, suggesting that the Drosophila immune system can distinguish between at least these two fungi. We conclude that the Drosophila immune system is more complex than the current model. We propose a new model to account for this immune system complexity, incorporating distinct pattern recognition receptors of the Drosophila immune system, which can distinguish between various fungi and G+ bacteria, thereby leading to selective induction of antimicrobial peptides via differential activation of Relish and Dif.
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| 3. |
- Sköld, Helen Nilsson, et al.
(författare)
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Hormonal regulation of female nuptial coloration in a fish.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Hormones and behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 1095-6867 .- 0018-506X. ; 54:4, s. 549-56
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Physiological color change in camouflage and mating is widespread among fishes, but little is known about the regulation of such temporal changes in nuptial coloration and particularly concerning female coloration. To better understand regulation of nuptial coloration we investigated physiological color change in female two-spotted gobies (Gobiusculus flavescens). Females of this species develop an orange belly that acts as an ornament. The orange color is caused by the color of the gonads combined with the chromathophore based pigmentation and transparency of the skin. Often during courtship and female-female competition, a rapid increase in orange coloration, in combination with lighter sides and back that increases skin and body transparency, gives the belly an intense 'glowing' appearance. To understand how this increased orange coloration can be regulated we analysed chromatic and transparency effects of neurohumoral agents on abdominal skin biopsies in vitro. We found prolactin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) to increase orange coloration of the skin. By contrast, melatonin and noradrenaline increased skin transparency, but had a negative effect on orange coloration. However, mixtures of melatonin and MSH, or melatonin and prolactin, increased both orange coloration and transparency. This effect mimics the chromatic 'glow' effect that commonly takes place during courtship and intra sexual aggression. Notably, not only epidermal chromatophores but also internal chromatophores lining the peritoneum responded to hormone treatments. There were no chromatic effects of the sex steroids 17beta-estradiol, testosterone or 11-ketotestosterone. We hypothesize that similar modulation of nuptial coloration by multiple hormones may be widespread in nature.
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| 4. |
- Bartish, Galyna, 1962-
(författare)
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Elongation factor 2: A key component of the translation machinery in eukaryotes : Properties of yeast elongation factor 2 studied in vivo
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Synthesis of proteins is performed by the ribosome, a large ribonucleoprotein complex. Apart from the ribosome, numerous protein factors participate in this process. Elongation factor 2 (eEF2) is one of these factors. eEF2 is an essential protein with a mol. mass of about 100 kDa. The amino acid sequence of eEF2 is highly conserved in different organisms. eEF2 from S. cerevisiae contains 842 amino acids. The role of eEF2 in protein synthesis is to participate in the translocation of tRNAs from the A- and P-sites on the ribosome to the P- and E-sites. This movement of tRNAs is accompanied by a simultaneous movement of mRNA by one codon. eEF2 consists of six domains referred to as domains G, G′ and II-V, belongs to the G-protein super-family and possesses all structural motifs characterizing proteins in this family. eEF2 binds to the ribosome in complex with GTP. After GTP hydrolysis and translocation, it leaves the ribosome bound to GDP. The rate of protein synthesis in the cell can be regulated by phosphorylation of eEF2. Phosphorylation occurs on two threonine residues, situated in the G domain of the factor. Phosphorylation of eEF2 is catalysed by Rck2-kinase in yeast which is activated in response to osmotic stress. Despite the high degree of conservation of the threonine residues, they are not essential for yeast cell under normal growth conditions. However, under mild osmotic stress the growth rate of the cells lacking threonine residues was decreased. Region where threonine residues are located, called Switch I. Cryo-EM reconstruction shows that this region adopts ordered conformation when the eEF2•GTP complex is bound to the ribosome but became structurally disordered upon GTP hydrolysis. Mutagenesis of individual amino acids in Switch I resulted in both functional and non-functional eEF2 depending on the site of mutation and the substituting amino acid. Both functional and non-functional Switch I mutants were able to bind to the ribosome, indicating that mutations did not abolish the capacity of the factor to bind GTP. Yeast eEF2 with Switch I region from E. coli was able to substitute the wild type protein in vivo, though the growth rate of these cells was severely impaired. The eEF2-dependent GTP hydrolysis can be activated by ribosome from heterologous sources as seen in vitro. However, eEF2 from A. thaliana, D. melanogaster and S. solfataricus could not substi-tute yeast eEF2 in vivo. This may indicate additional roles of eEF2 in the yeast cell, apart from translocation itself.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Dinic, Jelena, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma membrane order in T cell signalling
- 2009
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3495.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Plasma membrane nanodomains, referred to as lipid rafts, more ordered than the bulk membrane play an important role in T cell signalling by forming signalling platforms in activated T cells. However, the existence of lipid rafts in resting T cells is contentious. Using laurdan, a membrane probe whose peak emission wavelength depends on the lipid environment, evidence is presented for the existence of ordered nanodomains in resting T cells. T cell signalling can be initiated by stimulating the T cell receptor (TCR), crosslinking the lipid raft markers GM1 (sphingolipid) or glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins. The aggregation of lipid raft components induces the same response in Jurkat T cells as the ligation of an antigen to the TCR. Changes in membrane order linked with reorganization of the plasma membrane upon Jurkat T cell activation were followed at 37°C. Fluorescent images were analyzed for generalised polarisation values - a measure of the relative abundance of liquid ordered and liquid disordered domains. TCR patching does not increase the overall membrane order suggesting that membrane domains of high order are brought together in the patches. This supports the existence of small ordered membrane domains in resting T cells that aggregate upon activation. Patching of GM1, the GPI-anchored protein CD59 and the non lipid raft marker CD45 significantly increases the overall membrane order. So does general crosslinking of membrane components with Concanavalin A. Remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton is an integral part of TCR signaling and T cell activation. Disrupting actin polymerization using latrunculin B decreases membrane order and stabilizing actin filaments with jasplakinolide increases membrane order. An increase in membrane order appears to be a general effect of plasma membrane component patching and is likely due to a global induction of actin polymerization at the plasma membrane.
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| 7. |
- Grenklo, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
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A crucial role for profilin-actin in the intracellular motility of Listeria monocytogenes
- 2003
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Ingår i: EMBO reports. - London : Nature Publishing Group. - 1469-221X .- 1469-3178. ; 4:5, s. 523-529
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have examined the effect of covalently crosslinked profilin–actin (PxA), which closely matches the biochemical properties of ordinary profilin–actin and interferes with actin polymerization in vitro and in vivo, on Listeria monocytogenes motility. PxA caused a marked reduction in bacterial motility, which was accompanied by the detachment of bacterial tails. The effect of PxA was dependent on its binding to proline-rich sequences, as shown by the inability of PH133SxA, which cannot interact with such sequences, to impair Listeria motility. PxA did not alter the motility of a Listeria mutant that is unable to recruit Ena (Enabled)/VASP (vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein) proteins and profilin to its surface. Finally, PxA did not block the initiation of actin-tail formation, indicating that profilin–actin is only required for the elongation of actin filaments at the bacterial surface. Our findings provide further evidence that profilin–actin is important for actin-based processes, and show that it has a key function in Listeria motility.
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| 8. |
- Jenvert, Rose-Marie, 1973-
(författare)
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The ribosome, stringent factor and the bacterial stringent response
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The stringent response plays a significant role in the survival of bacteria during different environmental conditions. It is activated by the binding of stringent factor (SF) to stalled ribosomes that have an unacylated tRNA in the ribosomal A-site which leads to the synthesis of (p)ppGpp. ppGpp binds to the RNA polymerase, resulting in a rapid down-regulation of rRNA and tRNA transcription and up-regulation of mRNAs coding for enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis. The importance of the A-site and unacylated tRNA in the activation of SF was confirmed by chemical modification and subsequent primer extension experiments (footprinting experiments) which showed that binding of SF to ribosomes resulted in the protection of regions in 23S rRNA, the A-loop and helix 89 that are involved in the binding of the A-site tRNA. An in vitro assay showed that the ribosomal protein L11 and its flexible N-terminal part was important in the activation of SF. Interestingly the N-terminal part of L11 was shown to activate SF on its own and this activation was dependent on both ribosomes and an unacylated tRNA in the A-site. The N-terminal part of L11 was suggested to mediate an interaction between ribosome-bound SF and the unacylated tRNA in the A-site or interact with SF and the unacylated tRNA independently of each other. Footprinting experiments showed that SF bound to the ribosome protected bases in the L11 binding domain of the ribosome that were not involved in an interaction with ribosomal protein L11. The sarcin/ricin loop, in close contact with the L11 binding domain on the ribosome and essential for the binding and activation of translation elongation factors was also found to be protected by the binding of SF. Altogether the presented results suggest that SF binds to the factor-binding stalk of the ribosome and that activation of SF is dependent on the flexible N-terminal domain of L11 and an interaction of SF with the unacylated tRNA in the A-site of the 50S subunit.
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| 9. |
- Li, Yu, 1975-
(författare)
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Cell Behavior and the Role of Profilin
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Profilin is a key regulator of the microfilament system. It binds to actin monomers in a 1:1 complex, forming the profilin:actin complex, which is the major precursor of actin for filament formation in vivo. The distribution of profilin has been studied in a variety of cells. It is present not only in the cytoplasm but also in the nucleus. In the cytoplasm, it is evenly distributed in a dotted pattern, which is concentrated at the edge of advancing lamellipodia and in the perinuclear region. In the nucleus, it is localized to Speckles and Cajal bodies. However, the distribution of the profilin:actin has not been possible to establish due to the lack of specific reagents. In this thesis I present the localization of the profilin:actin complex and demonstrate the importance of profilin during cell migration.The distribution of the profilin:actin complex was studied using affinity purified antibodies generated against a covalently coupled variant of profilin:actin in colocalization experiments with VASP and the Arp2/3 complex. In both cases, close co-distribution with profilin:actin was found. In order to study the role of profilin in vivo in migratory cells, I used the siRNA-technique to deplete profilin from motile mouse melanoma B16 cells. The particular cell line employed expressed actin fused to green fluorescent protein, which enabled imaging of live cells. Upon profilin-deficiency severe effects on cell behavior were observed, e.g. the cells lacked the ability to form characteristic broad lamellipodia at advancing edges, instead small protruding structures were generated and extended with a significantly reduced rate compared to control cells. Observations were also made suggesting that profilin regulates the expression of actin in mammalian cells.A new experimental system for studies of myoblast fusion and subsequent myotube formation in vitro was also established during these studies. This will facilitate systematic studies of molecular processes connected to muscle development.
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| 10. |
- Xue, Yuan, et al.
(författare)
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Hypoxia-independent angiogenesis in adipose tissues during cold acclimation.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Cell Metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 1550-4131 .- 1932-7420. ; 9:1, s. 99-109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis in relation to adipose tissue metabolism remain poorly understood. Here, we show that exposure of mice to cold led to activation of angiogenesis in both white and brown adipose tissues. In the inguinal depot, cold exposure resulted in elevated expression levels of brown-fat-associated proteins, including uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) and PGC-1alpha. Proangiogenic factors such as VEGF were upregulated, and endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors, including thrombospondin, were downregulated. In wild-type mice, the adipose tissues became hypoxic during cold exposure; in UCP1(-/-) mice, hypoxia did not occur, but, remarkably, the augmented angiogenesis was unaltered and was thus hypoxia independent. Intriguingly, VEGFR2 blockage abolished the cold-induced angiogenesis and significantly impaired nonshivering thermogenesis capacity. Unexpectedly, VEGFR1 blockage resulted in the opposite effects: increased adipose vascularity and nonshivering thermogenesis capacity. Our findings have conceptual implications concerning application of angiogenesis modulators for treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders.
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