Sample records for proteins subcellular localization

  1. Protein localization as a principal feature of the etiology and comorbidity of genetic diseases

    PubMed Central

    Park, Solip; Yang, Jae-Seong; Shin, Young-Eun; Park, Juyong; Jang, Sung Key; Kim, Sanguk

    2011-01-01

    Proteins targeting the same subcellular localization tend to participate in mutual protein–protein interactions (PPIs) and are often functionally associated. Here, we investigated the relationship between disease-associated proteins and their subcellular localizations, based on the assumption that protein pairs associated with phenotypically similar diseases are more likely to be connected via subcellular localization. The spatial constraints from subcellular localization significantly strengthened the disease associations of the proteins connected by subcellular localizations. In particular, certain disease types were more prevalent in specific subcellular localizations. We analyzed the enrichment of disease phenotypes within subcellular localizations, and found that there exists a significant correlation between disease classes and subcellular localizations. Furthermore, we found that two diseases displayed high comorbidity when disease-associated proteins were connected via subcellular localization. We newly explained 7584 disease pairs by using the context of protein subcellular localization, which had not been identified using shared genes or PPIs only. Our result establishes a direct correlation between protein subcellular localization and disease association, and helps to understand the mechanism of human disease progression. PMID:21613983

  2. Predicting plant protein subcellular multi-localization by Chou's PseAAC formulation based multi-label homolog knowledge transfer learning.

    PubMed

    Mei, Suyu

    2012-10-07

    Recent years have witnessed much progress in computational modeling for protein subcellular localization. However, there are far few computational models for predicting plant protein subcellular multi-localization. In this paper, we propose a multi-label multi-kernel transfer learning model for predicting multiple subcellular locations of plant proteins (MLMK-TLM). The method proposes a multi-label confusion matrix and adapts one-against-all multi-class probabilistic outputs to multi-label learning scenario, based on which we further extend our published work MK-TLM (multi-kernel transfer learning based on Chou's PseAAC formulation for protein submitochondria localization) for plant protein subcellular multi-localization. By proper homolog knowledge transfer, MLMK-TLM is applicable to novel plant protein subcellular localization in multi-label learning scenario. The experiments on plant protein benchmark dataset show that MLMK-TLM outperforms the baseline model. Unlike the existing models, MLMK-TLM also reports its misleading tendency, which is important for comprehensive survey of model's multi-labeling performance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Accurate prediction of subcellular location of apoptosis proteins combining Chou's PseAAC and PsePSSM based on wavelet denoising.

    PubMed

    Yu, Bin; Li, Shan; Qiu, Wen-Ying; Chen, Cheng; Chen, Rui-Xin; Wang, Lei; Wang, Ming-Hui; Zhang, Yan

    2017-12-08

    Apoptosis proteins subcellular localization information are very important for understanding the mechanism of programmed cell death and the development of drugs. The prediction of subcellular localization of an apoptosis protein is still a challenging task because the prediction of apoptosis proteins subcellular localization can help to understand their function and the role of metabolic processes. In this paper, we propose a novel method for protein subcellular localization prediction. Firstly, the features of the protein sequence are extracted by combining Chou's pseudo amino acid composition (PseAAC) and pseudo-position specific scoring matrix (PsePSSM), then the feature information of the extracted is denoised by two-dimensional (2-D) wavelet denoising. Finally, the optimal feature vectors are input to the SVM classifier to predict subcellular location of apoptosis proteins. Quite promising predictions are obtained using the jackknife test on three widely used datasets and compared with other state-of-the-art methods. The results indicate that the method proposed in this paper can remarkably improve the prediction accuracy of apoptosis protein subcellular localization, which will be a supplementary tool for future proteomics research.

  4. Accurate prediction of subcellular location of apoptosis proteins combining Chou’s PseAAC and PsePSSM based on wavelet denoising

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Cheng; Chen, Rui-Xin; Wang, Lei; Wang, Ming-Hui; Zhang, Yan

    2017-01-01

    Apoptosis proteins subcellular localization information are very important for understanding the mechanism of programmed cell death and the development of drugs. The prediction of subcellular localization of an apoptosis protein is still a challenging task because the prediction of apoptosis proteins subcellular localization can help to understand their function and the role of metabolic processes. In this paper, we propose a novel method for protein subcellular localization prediction. Firstly, the features of the protein sequence are extracted by combining Chou's pseudo amino acid composition (PseAAC) and pseudo-position specific scoring matrix (PsePSSM), then the feature information of the extracted is denoised by two-dimensional (2-D) wavelet denoising. Finally, the optimal feature vectors are input to the SVM classifier to predict subcellular location of apoptosis proteins. Quite promising predictions are obtained using the jackknife test on three widely used datasets and compared with other state-of-the-art methods. The results indicate that the method proposed in this paper can remarkably improve the prediction accuracy of apoptosis protein subcellular localization, which will be a supplementary tool for future proteomics research. PMID:29296195

  5. Inter-kingdom prediction certainty evaluation of protein subcellular localization tools: microbial pathogenesis approach for deciphering host microbe interaction.

    PubMed

    Khan, Abdul Arif; Khan, Zakir; Kalam, Mohd Abul; Khan, Azmat Ali

    2018-01-01

    Microbial pathogenesis involves several aspects of host-pathogen interactions, including microbial proteins targeting host subcellular compartments and subsequent effects on host physiology. Such studies are supported by experimental data, but recent detection of bacterial proteins localization through computational eukaryotic subcellular protein targeting prediction tools has also come into practice. We evaluated inter-kingdom prediction certainty of these tools. The bacterial proteins experimentally known to target host subcellular compartments were predicted with eukaryotic subcellular targeting prediction tools, and prediction certainty was assessed. The results indicate that these tools alone are not sufficient for inter-kingdom protein targeting prediction. The correct prediction of pathogen's protein subcellular targeting depends on several factors, including presence of localization signal, transmembrane domain and molecular weight, etc., in addition to approach for subcellular targeting prediction. The detection of protein targeting in endomembrane system is comparatively difficult, as the proteins in this location are channelized to different compartments. In addition, the high specificity of training data set also creates low inter-kingdom prediction accuracy. Current data can help to suggest strategy for correct prediction of bacterial protein's subcellular localization in host cell. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Modeling of Protein Subcellular Localization in Bacteria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xiaohua; Kulkarni, Rahul

    2006-03-01

    Specific subcellular localization of proteins is a vital component of important bacterial processes: e.g. the Min proteins which regulate cell division in E. coli and Spo0J-Soj system which is critical for sporulation in B. subtilis. We examine how the processes of diffusion and membrane attachment contribute to protein subcellular localization for the above systems. We use previous experimental results to suggest minimal models for these processes. For the minimal models, we derive analytic expressions which provide insight into the processes that determine protein subcellular localization. Finally, we present the results of numerical simulations for the systems studied and make connections to the observed experiemental phenomenology.

  7. Quantitative protein localization signatures reveal an association between spatial and functional divergences of proteins.

    PubMed

    Loo, Lit-Hsin; Laksameethanasan, Danai; Tung, Yi-Ling

    2014-03-01

    Protein subcellular localization is a major determinant of protein function. However, this important protein feature is often described in terms of discrete and qualitative categories of subcellular compartments, and therefore it has limited applications in quantitative protein function analyses. Here, we present Protein Localization Analysis and Search Tools (PLAST), an automated analysis framework for constructing and comparing quantitative signatures of protein subcellular localization patterns based on microscopy images. PLAST produces human-interpretable protein localization maps that quantitatively describe the similarities in the localization patterns of proteins and major subcellular compartments, without requiring manual assignment or supervised learning of these compartments. Using the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system, we show that PLAST is more accurate than existing, qualitative protein localization annotations in identifying known co-localized proteins. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PLAST can reveal protein localization-function relationships that are not obvious from these annotations. First, we identified proteins that have similar localization patterns and participate in closely-related biological processes, but do not necessarily form stable complexes with each other or localize at the same organelles. Second, we found an association between spatial and functional divergences of proteins during evolution. Surprisingly, as proteins with common ancestors evolve, they tend to develop more diverged subcellular localization patterns, but still occupy similar numbers of compartments. This suggests that divergence of protein localization might be more frequently due to the development of more specific localization patterns over ancestral compartments than the occupation of new compartments. PLAST enables systematic and quantitative analyses of protein localization-function relationships, and will be useful to elucidate protein functions and how these functions were acquired in cells from different organisms or species. A public web interface of PLAST is available at http://plast.bii.a-star.edu.sg.

  8. Quantitative Protein Localization Signatures Reveal an Association between Spatial and Functional Divergences of Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Loo, Lit-Hsin; Laksameethanasan, Danai; Tung, Yi-Ling

    2014-01-01

    Protein subcellular localization is a major determinant of protein function. However, this important protein feature is often described in terms of discrete and qualitative categories of subcellular compartments, and therefore it has limited applications in quantitative protein function analyses. Here, we present Protein Localization Analysis and Search Tools (PLAST), an automated analysis framework for constructing and comparing quantitative signatures of protein subcellular localization patterns based on microscopy images. PLAST produces human-interpretable protein localization maps that quantitatively describe the similarities in the localization patterns of proteins and major subcellular compartments, without requiring manual assignment or supervised learning of these compartments. Using the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system, we show that PLAST is more accurate than existing, qualitative protein localization annotations in identifying known co-localized proteins. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PLAST can reveal protein localization-function relationships that are not obvious from these annotations. First, we identified proteins that have similar localization patterns and participate in closely-related biological processes, but do not necessarily form stable complexes with each other or localize at the same organelles. Second, we found an association between spatial and functional divergences of proteins during evolution. Surprisingly, as proteins with common ancestors evolve, they tend to develop more diverged subcellular localization patterns, but still occupy similar numbers of compartments. This suggests that divergence of protein localization might be more frequently due to the development of more specific localization patterns over ancestral compartments than the occupation of new compartments. PLAST enables systematic and quantitative analyses of protein localization-function relationships, and will be useful to elucidate protein functions and how these functions were acquired in cells from different organisms or species. A public web interface of PLAST is available at http://plast.bii.a-star.edu.sg. PMID:24603469

  9. Protein subcellular localization prediction using multiple kernel learning based support vector machine.

    PubMed

    Hasan, Md Al Mehedi; Ahmad, Shamim; Molla, Md Khademul Islam

    2017-03-28

    Predicting the subcellular locations of proteins can provide useful hints that reveal their functions, increase our understanding of the mechanisms of some diseases, and finally aid in the development of novel drugs. As the number of newly discovered proteins has been growing exponentially, which in turns, makes the subcellular localization prediction by purely laboratory tests prohibitively laborious and expensive. In this context, to tackle the challenges, computational methods are being developed as an alternative choice to aid biologists in selecting target proteins and designing related experiments. However, the success of protein subcellular localization prediction is still a complicated and challenging issue, particularly, when query proteins have multi-label characteristics, i.e., if they exist simultaneously in more than one subcellular location or if they move between two or more different subcellular locations. To date, to address this problem, several types of subcellular localization prediction methods with different levels of accuracy have been proposed. The support vector machine (SVM) has been employed to provide potential solutions to the protein subcellular localization prediction problem. However, the practicability of an SVM is affected by the challenges of selecting an appropriate kernel and selecting the parameters of the selected kernel. To address this difficulty, in this study, we aimed to develop an efficient multi-label protein subcellular localization prediction system, named as MKLoc, by introducing multiple kernel learning (MKL) based SVM. We evaluated MKLoc using a combined dataset containing 5447 single-localized proteins (originally published as part of the Höglund dataset) and 3056 multi-localized proteins (originally published as part of the DBMLoc set). Note that this dataset was used by Briesemeister et al. in their extensive comparison of multi-localization prediction systems. Finally, our experimental results indicate that MKLoc not only achieves higher accuracy than a single kernel based SVM system but also shows significantly better results than those obtained from other top systems (MDLoc, BNCs, YLoc+). Moreover, MKLoc requires less computation time to tune and train the system than that required for BNCs and single kernel based SVM.

  10. BUSCA: an integrative web server to predict subcellular localization of proteins.

    PubMed

    Savojardo, Castrense; Martelli, Pier Luigi; Fariselli, Piero; Profiti, Giuseppe; Casadio, Rita

    2018-04-30

    Here, we present BUSCA (http://busca.biocomp.unibo.it), a novel web server that integrates different computational tools for predicting protein subcellular localization. BUSCA combines methods for identifying signal and transit peptides (DeepSig and TPpred3), GPI-anchors (PredGPI) and transmembrane domains (ENSEMBLE3.0 and BetAware) with tools for discriminating subcellular localization of both globular and membrane proteins (BaCelLo, MemLoci and SChloro). Outcomes from the different tools are processed and integrated for annotating subcellular localization of both eukaryotic and bacterial protein sequences. We benchmark BUSCA against protein targets derived from recent CAFA experiments and other specific data sets, reporting performance at the state-of-the-art. BUSCA scores better than all other evaluated methods on 2732 targets from CAFA2, with a F1 value equal to 0.49 and among the best methods when predicting targets from CAFA3. We propose BUSCA as an integrated and accurate resource for the annotation of protein subcellular localization.

  11. LOCATE: a mouse protein subcellular localization database

    PubMed Central

    Fink, J. Lynn; Aturaliya, Rajith N.; Davis, Melissa J.; Zhang, Fasheng; Hanson, Kelly; Teasdale, Melvena S.; Kai, Chikatoshi; Kawai, Jun; Carninci, Piero; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Teasdale, Rohan D.

    2006-01-01

    We present here LOCATE, a curated, web-accessible database that houses data describing the membrane organization and subcellular localization of proteins from the FANTOM3 Isoform Protein Sequence set. Membrane organization is predicted by the high-throughput, computational pipeline MemO. The subcellular locations of selected proteins from this set were determined by a high-throughput, immunofluorescence-based assay and by manually reviewing >1700 peer-reviewed publications. LOCATE represents the first effort to catalogue the experimentally verified subcellular location and membrane organization of mammalian proteins using a high-throughput approach and provides localization data for ∼40% of the mouse proteome. It is available at . PMID:16381849

  12. Systematic Analysis of Arabidopsis Organelles and a Protein Localization Database for Facilitating Fluorescent Tagging of Full-Length Arabidopsis Proteins1[W

    PubMed Central

    Li, Shijun; Ehrhardt, David W.; Rhee, Seung Y.

    2006-01-01

    Cells are organized into a complex network of subcellular compartments that are specialized for various biological functions. Subcellular location is an important attribute of protein function. To facilitate systematic elucidation of protein subcellular location, we analyzed experimentally verified protein localization data of 1,300 Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) proteins. The 1,300 experimentally verified proteins are distributed among 40 different compartments, with most of the proteins localized to four compartments: mitochondria (36%), nucleus (28%), plastid (17%), and cytosol (13.3%). About 19% of the proteins are found in multiple compartments, in which a high proportion (36.4%) is localized to both cytosol and nucleus. Characterization of the overrepresented Gene Ontology molecular functions and biological processes suggests that the Golgi apparatus and peroxisome may play more diverse functions but are involved in more specialized processes than other compartments. To support systematic empirical determination of protein subcellular localization using a technology called fluorescent tagging of full-length proteins, we developed a database and Web application to provide preselected green fluorescent protein insertion position and primer sequences for all Arabidopsis proteins to study their subcellular localization and to store experimentally verified protein localization images, videos, and their annotations of proteins generated using the fluorescent tagging of full-length proteins technology. The database can be searched, browsed, and downloaded using a Web browser at http://aztec.stanford.edu/gfp/. The software can also be downloaded from the same Web site for local installation. PMID:16617091

  13. Subcellular localization for Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial proteins using linear interpolation smoothing model.

    PubMed

    Saini, Harsh; Raicar, Gaurav; Dehzangi, Abdollah; Lal, Sunil; Sharma, Alok

    2015-12-07

    Protein subcellular localization is an important topic in proteomics since it is related to a protein׳s overall function, helps in the understanding of metabolic pathways, and in drug design and discovery. In this paper, a basic approximation technique from natural language processing called the linear interpolation smoothing model is applied for predicting protein subcellular localizations. The proposed approach extracts features from syntactical information in protein sequences to build probabilistic profiles using dependency models, which are used in linear interpolation to determine how likely is a sequence to belong to a particular subcellular location. This technique builds a statistical model based on maximum likelihood. It is able to deal effectively with high dimensionality that hinders other traditional classifiers such as Support Vector Machines or k-Nearest Neighbours without sacrificing performance. This approach has been evaluated by predicting subcellular localizations of Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial proteins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. PLPD: reliable protein localization prediction from imbalanced and overlapped datasets

    PubMed Central

    Lee, KiYoung; Kim, Dae-Won; Na, DoKyun; Lee, Kwang H.; Lee, Doheon

    2006-01-01

    Subcellular localization is one of the key functional characteristics of proteins. An automatic and efficient prediction method for the protein subcellular localization is highly required owing to the need for large-scale genome analysis. From a machine learning point of view, a dataset of protein localization has several characteristics: the dataset has too many classes (there are more than 10 localizations in a cell), it is a multi-label dataset (a protein may occur in several different subcellular locations), and it is too imbalanced (the number of proteins in each localization is remarkably different). Even though many previous works have been done for the prediction of protein subcellular localization, none of them tackles effectively these characteristics at the same time. Thus, a new computational method for protein localization is eventually needed for more reliable outcomes. To address the issue, we present a protein localization predictor based on D-SVDD (PLPD) for the prediction of protein localization, which can find the likelihood of a specific localization of a protein more easily and more correctly. Moreover, we introduce three measurements for the more precise evaluation of a protein localization predictor. As the results of various datasets which are made from the experiments of Huh et al. (2003), the proposed PLPD method represents a different approach that might play a complimentary role to the existing methods, such as Nearest Neighbor method and discriminate covariant method. Finally, after finding a good boundary for each localization using the 5184 classified proteins as training data, we predicted 138 proteins whose subcellular localizations could not be clearly observed by the experiments of Huh et al. (2003). PMID:16966337

  15. Protein subcellular localization assays using split fluorescent proteins

    DOEpatents

    Waldo, Geoffrey S [Santa Fe, NM; Cabantous, Stephanie [Los Alamos, NM

    2009-09-08

    The invention provides protein subcellular localization assays using split fluorescent protein systems. The assays are conducted in living cells, do not require fixation and washing steps inherent in existing immunostaining and related techniques, and permit rapid, non-invasive, direct visualization of protein localization in living cells. The split fluorescent protein systems used in the practice of the invention generally comprise two or more self-complementing fragments of a fluorescent protein, such as GFP, wherein one or more of the fragments correspond to one or more beta-strand microdomains and are used to "tag" proteins of interest, and a complementary "assay" fragment of the fluorescent protein. Either or both of the fragments may be functionalized with a subcellular targeting sequence enabling it to be expressed in or directed to a particular subcellular compartment (i.e., the nucleus).

  16. Protein subcellular localization prediction using artificial intelligence technology.

    PubMed

    Nair, Rajesh; Rost, Burkhard

    2008-01-01

    Proteins perform many important tasks in living organisms, such as catalysis of biochemical reactions, transport of nutrients, and recognition and transmission of signals. The plethora of aspects of the role of any particular protein is referred to as its "function." One aspect of protein function that has been the target of intensive research by computational biologists is its subcellular localization. Proteins must be localized in the same subcellular compartment to cooperate toward a common physiological function. Aberrant subcellular localization of proteins can result in several diseases, including kidney stones, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. To date, sequence homology remains the most widely used method for inferring the function of a protein. However, the application of advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based techniques in recent years has resulted in significant improvements in our ability to predict the subcellular localization of a protein. The prediction accuracy has risen steadily over the years, in large part due to the application of AI-based methods such as hidden Markov models (HMMs), neural networks (NNs), and support vector machines (SVMs), although the availability of larger experimental datasets has also played a role. Automatic methods that mine textual information from the biological literature and molecular biology databases have considerably sped up the process of annotation for proteins for which some information regarding function is available in the literature. State-of-the-art methods based on NNs and HMMs can predict the presence of N-terminal sorting signals extremely accurately. Ab initio methods that predict subcellular localization for any protein sequence using only the native amino acid sequence and features predicted from the native sequence have shown the most remarkable improvements. The prediction accuracy of these methods has increased by over 30% in the past decade. The accuracy of these methods is now on par with high-throughput methods for predicting localization, and they are beginning to play an important role in directing experimental research. In this chapter, we review some of the most important methods for the prediction of subcellular localization.

  17. Determining the sub-cellular localization of proteins within Caenorhabditis elegans body wall muscle.

    PubMed

    Meissner, Barbara; Rogalski, Teresa; Viveiros, Ryan; Warner, Adam; Plastino, Lorena; Lorch, Adam; Granger, Laure; Segalat, Laurent; Moerman, Donald G

    2011-01-01

    Determining the sub-cellular localization of a protein within a cell is often an essential step towards understanding its function. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the relatively large size of the body wall muscle cells and the exquisite organization of their sarcomeres offer an opportunity to identify the precise position of proteins within cell substructures. Our goal in this study is to generate a comprehensive "localizome" for C. elegans body wall muscle by GFP-tagging proteins expressed in muscle and determining their location within the cell. For this project, we focused on proteins that we know are expressed in muscle and are orthologs or at least homologs of human proteins. To date we have analyzed the expression of about 227 GFP-tagged proteins that show localized expression in the body wall muscle of this nematode (e.g. dense bodies, M-lines, myofilaments, mitochondria, cell membrane, nucleus or nucleolus). For most proteins analyzed in this study no prior data on sub-cellular localization was available. In addition to discrete sub-cellular localization we observe overlapping patterns of localization including the presence of a protein in the dense body and the nucleus, or the dense body and the M-lines. In total we discern more than 14 sub-cellular localization patterns within nematode body wall muscle. The localization of this large set of proteins within a muscle cell will serve as an invaluable resource in our investigation of muscle sarcomere assembly and function.

  18. Many local pattern texture features: which is better for image-based multilabel human protein subcellular localization classification?

    PubMed

    Yang, Fan; Xu, Ying-Ying; Shen, Hong-Bin

    2014-01-01

    Human protein subcellular location prediction can provide critical knowledge for understanding a protein's function. Since significant progress has been made on digital microscopy, automated image-based protein subcellular location classification is urgently needed. In this paper, we aim to investigate more representative image features that can be effectively used for dealing with the multilabel subcellular image samples. We prepared a large multilabel immunohistochemistry (IHC) image benchmark from the Human Protein Atlas database and tested the performance of different local texture features, including completed local binary pattern, local tetra pattern, and the standard local binary pattern feature. According to our experimental results from binary relevance multilabel machine learning models, the completed local binary pattern, and local tetra pattern are more discriminative for describing IHC images when compared to the traditional local binary pattern descriptor. The combination of these two novel local pattern features and the conventional global texture features is also studied. The enhanced performance of final binary relevance classification model trained on the combined feature space demonstrates that different features are complementary to each other and thus capable of improving the accuracy of classification.

  19. Quantitative Analysis of Subcellular Distribution of the SUMO Conjugation System by Confocal Microscopy Imaging.

    PubMed

    Mas, Abraham; Amenós, Montse; Lois, L Maria

    2016-01-01

    Different studies point to an enrichment in SUMO conjugation in the cell nucleus, although non-nuclear SUMO targets also exist. In general, the study of subcellular localization of proteins is essential for understanding their function within a cell. Fluorescence microscopy is a powerful tool for studying subcellular protein partitioning in living cells, since fluorescent proteins can be fused to proteins of interest to determine their localization. Subcellular distribution of proteins can be influenced by binding to other biomolecules and by posttranslational modifications. Sometimes these changes affect only a portion of the protein pool or have a partial effect, and a quantitative evaluation of fluorescence images is required to identify protein redistribution among subcellular compartments. In order to obtain accurate data about the relative subcellular distribution of SUMO conjugation machinery members, and to identify the molecular determinants involved in their localization, we have applied quantitative confocal microscopy imaging. In this chapter, we will describe the fluorescent protein fusions used in these experiments, and how to measure, evaluate, and compare average fluorescence intensities in cellular compartments by image-based analysis. We show the distribution of some components of the Arabidopsis SUMOylation machinery in epidermal onion cells and how they change their distribution in the presence of interacting partners or even when its activity is affected.

  20. Subcellular Localization of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato Effector Proteins in Plants.

    PubMed

    Aung, Kyaw; Xin, Xiufang; Mecey, Christy; He, Sheng Yang

    2017-01-01

    Animal and plant pathogenic bacteria use type III secretion systems to translocate proteinaceous effectors to subvert innate immunity of their host organisms. Type III secretion/effector systems are a crucial pathogenicity factor in many bacterial pathogens of plants and animals. Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 injects a total of 36 protein effectors that target a variety of host proteins. Studies of a subset of Pst DC3000 effectors demonstrated that bacterial effectors, once inside the host cell, are localized to different subcellular compartments, including plasma membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, chloroplast, and Trans-Golgi network, to carry out their virulence functions. Identifying the subcellular localization of bacterial effector proteins in host cells could provide substantial clues to understanding the molecular and cellular basis of the virulence activities of effector proteins. In this chapter, we present methods for transient or stable expression of bacterial effector proteins in tobacco and/or Arabidopsis thaliana for live cell imaging as well as confirming the subcellular localization in plants using fluorescent organelle markers or chemical treatment.

  1. Quantification of non-coding RNA target localization diversity and its application in cancers.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Lixin; Leung, Kwong-Sak

    2018-04-01

    Subcellular localization is pivotal for RNAs and proteins to implement biological functions. The localization diversity of protein interactions has been studied as a crucial feature of proteins, considering that the protein-protein interactions take place in various subcellular locations. Nevertheless, the localization diversity of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) target proteins has not been systematically studied, especially its characteristics in cancers. In this study, we provide a new algorithm, non-coding RNA target localization coefficient (ncTALENT), to quantify the target localization diversity of ncRNAs based on the ncRNA-protein interaction and protein subcellular localization data. ncTALENT can be used to calculate the target localization coefficient of ncRNAs and measure how diversely their targets are distributed among the subcellular locations in various scenarios. We focus our study on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and our observations reveal that the target localization diversity is a primary characteristic of lncRNAs in different biotypes. Moreover, we found that lncRNAs in multiple cancers, differentially expressed cancer lncRNAs, and lncRNAs with multiple cancer target proteins are prone to have high target localization diversity. Furthermore, the analysis of gastric cancer helps us to obtain a better understanding that the target localization diversity of lncRNAs is an important feature closely related to clinical prognosis. Overall, we systematically studied the target localization diversity of the lncRNAs and uncovered its association with cancer.

  2. Semi-supervised protein subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Xu, Qian; Hu, Derek Hao; Xue, Hong; Yu, Weichuan; Yang, Qiang

    2009-01-30

    Protein subcellular localization is concerned with predicting the location of a protein within a cell using computational method. The location information can indicate key functionalities of proteins. Accurate predictions of subcellular localizations of protein can aid the prediction of protein function and genome annotation, as well as the identification of drug targets. Computational methods based on machine learning, such as support vector machine approaches, have already been widely used in the prediction of protein subcellular localization. However, a major drawback of these machine learning-based approaches is that a large amount of data should be labeled in order to let the prediction system learn a classifier of good generalization ability. However, in real world cases, it is laborious, expensive and time-consuming to experimentally determine the subcellular localization of a protein and prepare instances of labeled data. In this paper, we present an approach based on a new learning framework, semi-supervised learning, which can use much fewer labeled instances to construct a high quality prediction model. We construct an initial classifier using a small set of labeled examples first, and then use unlabeled instances to refine the classifier for future predictions. Experimental results show that our methods can effectively reduce the workload for labeling data using the unlabeled data. Our method is shown to enhance the state-of-the-art prediction results of SVM classifiers by more than 10%.

  3. Subcellular localization of full-length human myeloid leukemia factor 1 (MLF1) is independent of 14-3-3 proteins.

    PubMed

    Molzan, Manuela; Ottmann, Christian

    2013-03-01

    Myeloid leukemia factor 1 (MLF1) is associated with the development of leukemic diseases such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, information on the physiological function of MLF1 is limited and mostly derived from studies identifying MLF1 interaction partners like CSN3, MLF1IP, MADM, Manp and the 14-3-3 proteins. The 14-3-3-binding site surrounding S34 is one of the only known functional features of the MLF1 sequence, along with one nuclear export sequence (NES) and two nuclear localization sequences (NLS). It was recently shown that the subcellular localization of mouse MLF1 is dependent on 14-3-3 proteins. Based on these findings, we investigated whether the subcellular localization of human MLF1 was also directly 14-3-3-dependent. Live cell imaging with GFP-fused human MLF1 was used to study the effects of mutations and deletions on its subcellular localization. Surprisingly, we found that the subcellular localization of full-length human MLF1 is 14-3-3-independent, and is probably regulated by other as-yet-unknown proteins.

  4. Detrended cross-correlation coefficient: Application to predict apoptosis protein subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Liang, Yunyun; Liu, Sanyang; Zhang, Shengli

    2016-12-01

    Apoptosis, or programed cell death, plays a central role in the development and homeostasis of an organism. Obtaining information on subcellular location of apoptosis proteins is very helpful for understanding the apoptosis mechanism. The prediction of subcellular localization of an apoptosis protein is still a challenging task, and existing methods mainly based on protein primary sequences. In this paper, we introduce a new position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM)-based method by using detrended cross-correlation (DCCA) coefficient of non-overlapping windows. Then a 190-dimensional (190D) feature vector is constructed on two widely used datasets: CL317 and ZD98, and support vector machine is adopted as classifier. To evaluate the proposed method, objective and rigorous jackknife cross-validation tests are performed on the two datasets. The results show that our approach offers a novel and reliable PSSM-based tool for prediction of apoptosis protein subcellular localization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. LOCALIZER: subcellular localization prediction of both plant and effector proteins in the plant cell

    PubMed Central

    Sperschneider, Jana; Catanzariti, Ann-Maree; DeBoer, Kathleen; Petre, Benjamin; Gardiner, Donald M.; Singh, Karam B.; Dodds, Peter N.; Taylor, Jennifer M.

    2017-01-01

    Pathogens secrete effector proteins and many operate inside plant cells to enable infection. Some effectors have been found to enter subcellular compartments by mimicking host targeting sequences. Although many computational methods exist to predict plant protein subcellular localization, they perform poorly for effectors. We introduce LOCALIZER for predicting plant and effector protein localization to chloroplasts, mitochondria, and nuclei. LOCALIZER shows greater prediction accuracy for chloroplast and mitochondrial targeting compared to other methods for 652 plant proteins. For 107 eukaryotic effectors, LOCALIZER outperforms other methods and predicts a previously unrecognized chloroplast transit peptide for the ToxA effector, which we show translocates into tobacco chloroplasts. Secretome-wide predictions and confocal microscopy reveal that rust fungi might have evolved multiple effectors that target chloroplasts or nuclei. LOCALIZER is the first method for predicting effector localisation in plants and is a valuable tool for prioritizing effector candidates for functional investigations. LOCALIZER is available at http://localizer.csiro.au/. PMID:28300209

  6. SubCellProt: predicting protein subcellular localization using machine learning approaches.

    PubMed

    Garg, Prabha; Sharma, Virag; Chaudhari, Pradeep; Roy, Nilanjan

    2009-01-01

    High-throughput genome sequencing projects continue to churn out enormous amounts of raw sequence data. However, most of this raw sequence data is unannotated and, hence, not very useful. Among the various approaches to decipher the function of a protein, one is to determine its localization. Experimental approaches for proteome annotation including determination of a protein's subcellular localizations are very costly and labor intensive. Besides the available experimental methods, in silico methods present alternative approaches to accomplish this task. Here, we present two machine learning approaches for prediction of the subcellular localization of a protein from the primary sequence information. Two machine learning algorithms, k Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) and Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) were used to classify an unknown protein into one of the 11 subcellular localizations. The final prediction is made on the basis of a consensus of the predictions made by two algorithms and a probability is assigned to it. The results indicate that the primary sequence derived features like amino acid composition, sequence order and physicochemical properties can be used to assign subcellular localization with a fair degree of accuracy. Moreover, with the enhanced accuracy of our approach and the definition of a prediction domain, this method can be used for proteome annotation in a high throughput manner. SubCellProt is available at www.databases.niper.ac.in/SubCellProt.

  7. Multi-Label Learning via Random Label Selection for Protein Subcellular Multi-Locations Prediction.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiao; Li, Guo-Zheng

    2013-03-12

    Prediction of protein subcellular localization is an important but challenging problem, particularly when proteins may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular location sites. Most of the existing protein subcellular localization methods are only used to deal with the single-location proteins. In the past few years, only a few methods have been proposed to tackle proteins with multiple locations. However, they only adopt a simple strategy, that is, transforming the multi-location proteins to multiple proteins with single location, which doesn't take correlations among different subcellular locations into account. In this paper, a novel method named RALS (multi-label learning via RAndom Label Selection), is proposed to learn from multi-location proteins in an effective and efficient way. Through five-fold cross validation test on a benchmark dataset, we demonstrate our proposed method with consideration of label correlations obviously outperforms the baseline BR method without consideration of label correlations, indicating correlations among different subcellular locations really exist and contribute to improvement of prediction performance. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets also show that our proposed methods achieve significantly higher performance than some other state-of-the-art methods in predicting subcellular multi-locations of proteins. The prediction web server is available at http://levis.tongji.edu.cn:8080/bioinfo/MLPred-Euk/ for the public usage.

  8. Compressed learning and its applications to subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Zhong-Long; Guo, Li; Jia, Jiong; Xie, Chen-Mao; Zeng, Wen-Cai; Yang, Jie

    2011-09-01

    One of the main challenges faced by biological applications is to predict protein subcellular localization in automatic fashion accurately. To achieve this in these applications, a wide variety of machine learning methods have been proposed in recent years. Most of them focus on finding the optimal classification scheme and less of them take the simplifying the complexity of biological systems into account. Traditionally, such bio-data are analyzed by first performing a feature selection before classification. Motivated by CS (Compressed Sensing) theory, we propose the methodology which performs compressed learning with a sparseness criterion such that feature selection and dimension reduction are merged into one analysis. The proposed methodology decreases the complexity of biological system, while increases protein subcellular localization accuracy. Experimental results are quite encouraging, indicating that the aforementioned sparse methods are quite promising in dealing with complicated biological problems, such as predicting the subcellular localization of Gram-negative bacterial proteins.

  9. DeepLoc: prediction of protein subcellular localization using deep learning.

    PubMed

    Almagro Armenteros, José Juan; Sønderby, Casper Kaae; Sønderby, Søren Kaae; Nielsen, Henrik; Winther, Ole

    2017-11-01

    The prediction of eukaryotic protein subcellular localization is a well-studied topic in bioinformatics due to its relevance in proteomics research. Many machine learning methods have been successfully applied in this task, but in most of them, predictions rely on annotation of homologues from knowledge databases. For novel proteins where no annotated homologues exist, and for predicting the effects of sequence variants, it is desirable to have methods for predicting protein properties from sequence information only. Here, we present a prediction algorithm using deep neural networks to predict protein subcellular localization relying only on sequence information. At its core, the prediction model uses a recurrent neural network that processes the entire protein sequence and an attention mechanism identifying protein regions important for the subcellular localization. The model was trained and tested on a protein dataset extracted from one of the latest UniProt releases, in which experimentally annotated proteins follow more stringent criteria than previously. We demonstrate that our model achieves a good accuracy (78% for 10 categories; 92% for membrane-bound or soluble), outperforming current state-of-the-art algorithms, including those relying on homology information. The method is available as a web server at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/DeepLoc. Example code is available at https://github.com/JJAlmagro/subcellular_localization. The dataset is available at http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/DeepLoc/data.php. jjalma@dtu.dk. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  10. MultiP-Apo: A Multilabel Predictor for Identifying Subcellular Locations of Apoptosis Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Li, Hui; Wang, Rong; Gan, Yong

    2017-01-01

    Apoptosis proteins play an important role in the mechanism of programmed cell death. Predicting subcellular localization of apoptosis proteins is an essential step to understand their functions and identify drugs target. Many computational prediction methods have been developed for apoptosis protein subcellular localization. However, these existing works only focus on the proteins that have one location; proteins with multiple locations are either not considered or assumed as not existing when constructing prediction models, so that they cannot completely predict all the locations of the apoptosis proteins with multiple locations. To address this problem, this paper proposes a novel multilabel predictor named MultiP-Apo, which can predict not only apoptosis proteins with single subcellular location but also those with multiple subcellular locations. Specifically, given a query protein, GO-based feature extraction method is used to extract its feature vector. Subsequently, the GO feature vector is classified by a new multilabel classifier based on the label-specific features. It is the first multilabel predictor ever established for identifying subcellular locations of multilocation apoptosis proteins. As an initial study, MultiP-Apo achieves an overall accuracy of 58.49% by jackknife test, which indicates that our proposed predictor may become a very useful high-throughput tool in this area. PMID:28744305

  11. MultiP-Apo: A Multilabel Predictor for Identifying Subcellular Locations of Apoptosis Proteins.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiao; Li, Hui; Wang, Rong; Zhang, Qiuwen; Zhang, Weiwei; Gan, Yong

    2017-01-01

    Apoptosis proteins play an important role in the mechanism of programmed cell death. Predicting subcellular localization of apoptosis proteins is an essential step to understand their functions and identify drugs target. Many computational prediction methods have been developed for apoptosis protein subcellular localization. However, these existing works only focus on the proteins that have one location; proteins with multiple locations are either not considered or assumed as not existing when constructing prediction models, so that they cannot completely predict all the locations of the apoptosis proteins with multiple locations. To address this problem, this paper proposes a novel multilabel predictor named MultiP-Apo, which can predict not only apoptosis proteins with single subcellular location but also those with multiple subcellular locations. Specifically, given a query protein, GO-based feature extraction method is used to extract its feature vector. Subsequently, the GO feature vector is classified by a new multilabel classifier based on the label-specific features. It is the first multilabel predictor ever established for identifying subcellular locations of multilocation apoptosis proteins. As an initial study, MultiP-Apo achieves an overall accuracy of 58.49% by jackknife test, which indicates that our proposed predictor may become a very useful high-throughput tool in this area.

  12. pLoc_bal-mGpos: Predict subcellular localization of Gram-positive bacterial proteins by quasi-balancing training dataset and PseAAC.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Xuan; Cheng, Xiang; Chen, Genqiang; Mao, Qi; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2018-05-26

    Knowledge of protein subcellular localization is vitally important for both basic research and drug development. With the avalanche of protein sequences emerging in the post-genomic age, it is highly desired to develop computational tools for timely and effectively identifying their subcellular localization purely based on the sequence information alone. Recently, a predictor called "pLoc-mGpos" was developed for identifying the subcellular localization of Gram-positive bacterial proteins. Its performance is overwhelmingly better than that of the other predictors for the same purpose, particularly in dealing with multi-label systems in which some proteins, called "multiplex proteins", may simultaneously occur in two or more subcellular locations. Although it is indeed a very powerful predictor, more efforts are definitely needed to further improve it. This is because pLoc-mGpos was trained by an extremely skewed dataset in which some subset (subcellular location) was over 11 times the size of the other subsets. Accordingly, it cannot avoid the bias consequence caused by such an uneven training dataset. To alleviate such bias consequence, we have developed a new and bias-reducing predictor called pLoc_bal-mGpos by quasi-balancing the training dataset. Rigorous target jackknife tests on exactly the same experiment-confirmed dataset have indicated that the proposed new predictor is remarkably superior to pLoc-mGpos, the existing state-of-the-art predictor in identifying the subcellular localization of Gram-positive bacterial proteins. To maximize the convenience for most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the new predictor has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pLoc_bal-mGpos/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the detailed mathematics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. A novel representation for apoptosis protein subcellular localization prediction using support vector machine.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Li; Liao, Bo; Li, Dachao; Zhu, Wen

    2009-07-21

    Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, plays an important role in development of an organism. Obtaining information on subcellular location of apoptosis proteins is very helpful to understand the apoptosis mechanism. In this paper, based on the concept that the position distribution information of amino acids is closely related with the structure and function of proteins, we introduce the concept of distance frequency [Matsuda, S., Vert, J.P., Ueda, N., Toh, H., Akutsu, T., 2005. A novel representation of protein sequences for prediction of subcellular location using support vector machines. Protein Sci. 14, 2804-2813] and propose a novel way to calculate distance frequencies. In order to calculate the local features, each protein sequence is separated into p parts with the same length in our paper. Then we use the novel representation of protein sequences and adopt support vector machine to predict subcellular location. The overall prediction accuracy is significantly improved by jackknife test.

  14. A set of GFP-based organelle marker lines combined with DsRed-based gateway vectors for subcellular localization study in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

    PubMed

    Wu, Tsung-Meng; Lin, Ke-Chun; Liau, Wei-Shiang; Chao, Yun-Yang; Yang, Ling-Hung; Chen, Szu-Yun; Lu, Chung-An; Hong, Chwan-Yang

    2016-01-01

    In the post-genomic era, many useful tools have been developed to accelerate the investigation of gene functions. Fluorescent proteins have been widely used as protein tags for studying the subcellular localization of proteins in plants. Several fluorescent organelle marker lines have been generated in dicot plants; however, useful and reliable fluorescent organelle marker lines are lacking in the monocot model rice. Here, we developed eight different GFP-based organelle markers in transgenic rice and created a set of DsRed-based gateway vectors for combining with the marker lines. Two mitochondrial-localized rice ascorbate peroxidase genes fused to DsRed and successfully co-localized with mitochondrial-targeted marker lines verified the practical use of this system. The co-localization of GFP-fusion marker lines and DsRed-fusion proteins provide a convenient platform for in vivo or in vitro analysis of subcellular localization of rice proteins.

  15. Identifying essential proteins based on sub-network partition and prioritization by integrating subcellular localization information.

    PubMed

    Li, Min; Li, Wenkai; Wu, Fang-Xiang; Pan, Yi; Wang, Jianxin

    2018-06-14

    Essential proteins are important participants in various life activities and play a vital role in the survival and reproduction of living organisms. Identification of essential proteins from protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks has great significance to facilitate the study of human complex diseases, the design of drugs and the development of bioinformatics and computational science. Studies have shown that highly connected proteins in a PPI network tend to be essential. A series of computational methods have been proposed to identify essential proteins by analyzing topological structures of PPI networks. However, the high noise in the PPI data can degrade the accuracy of essential protein prediction. Moreover, proteins must be located in the appropriate subcellular localization to perform their functions, and only when the proteins are located in the same subcellular localization, it is possible that they can interact with each other. In this paper, we propose a new network-based essential protein discovery method based on sub-network partition and prioritization by integrating subcellular localization information, named SPP. The proposed method SPP was tested on two different yeast PPI networks obtained from DIP database and BioGRID database. The experimental results show that SPP can effectively reduce the effect of false positives in PPI networks and predict essential proteins more accurately compared with other existing computational methods DC, BC, CC, SC, EC, IC, NC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Ubiquitous Distribution of Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins across Cell Compartments in Arabidopsis Offers Tailored Protection against Abiotic Stress[C][W][OPEN

    PubMed Central

    Candat, Adrien; Paszkiewicz, Gaël; Neveu, Martine; Gautier, Romain; Logan, David C.; Avelange-Macherel, Marie-Hélène; Macherel, David

    2014-01-01

    Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are hydrophilic, mostly intrinsically disordered proteins, which play major roles in desiccation tolerance. In Arabidopsis thaliana, 51 genes encoding LEA proteins clustered into nine families have been inventoried. To increase our understanding of the yet enigmatic functions of these gene families, we report the subcellular location of each protein. Experimental data highlight the limits of in silico predictions for analysis of subcellular localization. Thirty-six LEA proteins localized to the cytosol, with most being able to diffuse into the nucleus. Three proteins were exclusively localized in plastids or mitochondria, while two others were found dually targeted to these organelles. Targeting cleavage sites could be determined for five of these proteins. Three proteins were found to be endoplasmic reticulum (ER) residents, two were vacuolar, and two were secreted. A single protein was identified in pexophagosomes. While most LEA protein families have a unique subcellular localization, members of the LEA_4 family are widely distributed (cytosol, mitochondria, plastid, ER, and pexophagosome) but share the presence of the class A α-helix motif. They are thus expected to establish interactions with various cellular membranes under stress conditions. The broad subcellular distribution of LEA proteins highlights the requirement for each cellular compartment to be provided with protective mechanisms to cope with desiccation or cold stress. PMID:25005920

  17. Enhancing membrane protein subcellular localization prediction by parallel fusion of multi-view features.

    PubMed

    Yu, Dongjun; Wu, Xiaowei; Shen, Hongbin; Yang, Jian; Tang, Zhenmin; Qi, Yong; Yang, Jingyu

    2012-12-01

    Membrane proteins are encoded by ~ 30% in the genome and function importantly in the living organisms. Previous studies have revealed that membrane proteins' structures and functions show obvious cell organelle-specific properties. Hence, it is highly desired to predict membrane protein's subcellular location from the primary sequence considering the extreme difficulties of membrane protein wet-lab studies. Although many models have been developed for predicting protein subcellular locations, only a few are specific to membrane proteins. Existing prediction approaches were constructed based on statistical machine learning algorithms with serial combination of multi-view features, i.e., different feature vectors are simply serially combined to form a super feature vector. However, such simple combination of features will simultaneously increase the information redundancy that could, in turn, deteriorate the final prediction accuracy. That's why it was often found that prediction success rates in the serial super space were even lower than those in a single-view space. The purpose of this paper is investigation of a proper method for fusing multiple multi-view protein sequential features for subcellular location predictions. Instead of serial strategy, we propose a novel parallel framework for fusing multiple membrane protein multi-view attributes that will represent protein samples in complex spaces. We also proposed generalized principle component analysis (GPCA) for feature reduction purpose in the complex geometry. All the experimental results through different machine learning algorithms on benchmark membrane protein subcellular localization datasets demonstrate that the newly proposed parallel strategy outperforms the traditional serial approach. We also demonstrate the efficacy of the parallel strategy on a soluble protein subcellular localization dataset indicating the parallel technique is flexible to suite for other computational biology problems. The software and datasets are available at: http://www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/mpsp.

  18. PhosphoregDB: The tissue and sub-cellular distribution of mammalian protein kinases and phosphatases

    PubMed Central

    Forrest, Alistair RR; Taylor, Darrin F; Fink, J Lynn; Gongora, M Milena; Flegg, Cameron; Teasdale, Rohan D; Suzuki, Harukazu; Kanamori, Mutsumi; Kai, Chikatoshi; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Grimmond, Sean M

    2006-01-01

    Background Protein kinases and protein phosphatases are the fundamental components of phosphorylation dependent protein regulatory systems. We have created a database for the protein kinase-like and phosphatase-like loci of mouse that integrates protein sequence, interaction, classification and pathway information with the results of a systematic screen of their sub-cellular localization and tissue specific expression data mined from the GNF tissue atlas of mouse. Results The database lets users query where a specific kinase or phosphatase is expressed at both the tissue and sub-cellular levels. Similarly the interface allows the user to query by tissue, pathway or sub-cellular localization, to reveal which components are co-expressed or co-localized. A review of their expression reveals 30% of these components are detected in all tissues tested while 70% show some level of tissue restriction. Hierarchical clustering of the expression data reveals that expression of these genes can be used to separate the samples into tissues of related lineage, including 3 larger clusters of nervous tissue, developing embryo and cells of the immune system. By overlaying the expression, sub-cellular localization and classification data we examine correlations between class, specificity and tissue restriction and show that tyrosine kinases are more generally expressed in fewer tissues than serine/threonine kinases. Conclusion Together these data demonstrate that cell type specific systems exist to regulate protein phosphorylation and that for accurate modelling and for determination of enzyme substrate relationships the co-location of components needs to be considered. PMID:16504016

  19. Vaccinia-related kinase 3 (VRK3) sets the circadian period and amplitude by affecting the subcellular localization of clock proteins in mammalian cells

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Park, Nayoung; Department of Brain Science, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164 Worldcup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do, 16499; Song, Jieun

    In the eukaryotic circadian clock machinery, negative feedback repression of CLOCK (CLK) and BMAL1 transcriptional activity by PERIOD (PER) and CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) underlies the basis for 24 h rhythmic gene expression. Thus, precise regulation of the time-dependent nuclear entry of circadian repressors is crucial to generating normal circadian rhythms. Here, we sought to identify novel kinase(s) that regulate nuclear entry of mammalian CRY1 (mCRY1) with an unbiased screening using red fluorescent protein (RFP)-tagged human kinome expression plasmids in mammalian cells. Transient expression of human vaccinia-related kinase 3 (hVRK3) reduced the nuclear presence of mCRY1. hVRK3 expression also induced alterations in themore » subcellular localization of other core clock proteins, including mCRY2, mPER2, and BMAL1. In contrast, the subcellular localization of mCLK was not changed. Given that singly expressed mCLK mostly resides in the cytoplasm and that nuclear localization sequence (NLS) mutation of hVRK3 attenuated the effect of hVRK3 co-expression on subcellular localization, ectopically expressed hVRK3 presumably reduces the retention of proteins in the nucleus. Finally, downregulation of hvrk3 using siRNA reduced the amplitude and lengthened the period of the cellular bioluminescence rhythm. Taken together, these data suggest that VRK3 plays a role in setting the amplitude and period length of circadian rhythms in mammalian cells. - Highlights: • Screening was performed to identify kinases that regulate CRY1 subcellular localization. • VRK3 alters the subcellular localization of CRY1, CRY2, PER2, and BMAL1. • VRK3 knock-down alters the circadian bioluminescence rhythm in mammalian cells.« less

  20. Geary autocorrelation and DCCA coefficient: Application to predict apoptosis protein subcellular localization via PSSM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Yunyun; Liu, Sanyang; Zhang, Shengli

    2017-02-01

    Apoptosis is a fundamental process controlling normal tissue homeostasis by regulating a balance between cell proliferation and death. Predicting subcellular location of apoptosis proteins is very helpful for understanding its mechanism of programmed cell death. Prediction of apoptosis protein subcellular location is still a challenging and complicated task, and existing methods mainly based on protein primary sequences. In this paper, we propose a new position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM)-based model by using Geary autocorrelation function and detrended cross-correlation coefficient (DCCA coefficient). Then a 270-dimensional (270D) feature vector is constructed on three widely used datasets: ZD98, ZW225 and CL317, and support vector machine is adopted as classifier. The overall prediction accuracies are significantly improved by rigorous jackknife test. The results show that our model offers a reliable and effective PSSM-based tool for prediction of apoptosis protein subcellular localization.

  1. Sparse regressions for predicting and interpreting subcellular localization of multi-label proteins.

    PubMed

    Wan, Shibiao; Mak, Man-Wai; Kung, Sun-Yuan

    2016-02-24

    Predicting protein subcellular localization is indispensable for inferring protein functions. Recent studies have been focusing on predicting not only single-location proteins, but also multi-location proteins. Almost all of the high performing predictors proposed recently use gene ontology (GO) terms to construct feature vectors for classification. Despite their high performance, their prediction decisions are difficult to interpret because of the large number of GO terms involved. This paper proposes using sparse regressions to exploit GO information for both predicting and interpreting subcellular localization of single- and multi-location proteins. Specifically, we compared two multi-label sparse regression algorithms, namely multi-label LASSO (mLASSO) and multi-label elastic net (mEN), for large-scale predictions of protein subcellular localization. Both algorithms can yield sparse and interpretable solutions. By using the one-vs-rest strategy, mLASSO and mEN identified 87 and 429 out of more than 8,000 GO terms, respectively, which play essential roles in determining subcellular localization. More interestingly, many of the GO terms selected by mEN are from the biological process and molecular function categories, suggesting that the GO terms of these categories also play vital roles in the prediction. With these essential GO terms, not only where a protein locates can be decided, but also why it resides there can be revealed. Experimental results show that the output of both mEN and mLASSO are interpretable and they perform significantly better than existing state-of-the-art predictors. Moreover, mEN selects more features and performs better than mLASSO on a stringent human benchmark dataset. For readers' convenience, an online server called SpaPredictor for both mLASSO and mEN is available at http://bioinfo.eie.polyu.edu.hk/SpaPredictorServer/.

  2. LocSigDB: a database of protein localization signals

    PubMed Central

    Negi, Simarjeet; Pandey, Sanjit; Srinivasan, Satish M.; Mohammed, Akram; Guda, Chittibabu

    2015-01-01

    LocSigDB (http://genome.unmc.edu/LocSigDB/) is a manually curated database of experimental protein localization signals for eight distinct subcellular locations; primarily in a eukaryotic cell with brief coverage of bacterial proteins. Proteins must be localized at their appropriate subcellular compartment to perform their desired function. Mislocalization of proteins to unintended locations is a causative factor for many human diseases; therefore, collection of known sorting signals will help support many important areas of biomedical research. By performing an extensive literature study, we compiled a collection of 533 experimentally determined localization signals, along with the proteins that harbor such signals. Each signal in the LocSigDB is annotated with its localization, source, PubMed references and is linked to the proteins in UniProt database along with the organism information that contain the same amino acid pattern as the given signal. From LocSigDB webserver, users can download the whole database or browse/search for data using an intuitive query interface. To date, LocSigDB is the most comprehensive compendium of protein localization signals for eight distinct subcellular locations. Database URL: http://genome.unmc.edu/LocSigDB/ PMID:25725059

  3. Biochemical localization of a protein involved in Gluconacetobacter hansenii cellulose synthesis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Iyer, Prashanti R; Catchmark, Jeffrey M; Brown, Nicole Robitaille

    2011-02-08

    Using subcellular fractionation and Western blot methods, we have shown that AcsD, one of the proteins encoded by the Acetobacter cellulose synthase (acs) operon, is localized in the periplasmic region of the cell. AcsD protein was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using histidine tag affinity methods. The purified protein was used to obtain rabbit polyclonal antibodies. The purity of the subcellular fractions was assessed by marker enzyme assays.

  4. RNA deep sequencing as a tool for selection of cell lines for systematic subcellular localization of all human proteins.

    PubMed

    Danielsson, Frida; Wiking, Mikaela; Mahdessian, Diana; Skogs, Marie; Ait Blal, Hammou; Hjelmare, Martin; Stadler, Charlotte; Uhlén, Mathias; Lundberg, Emma

    2013-01-04

    One of the major challenges of a chromosome-centric proteome project is to explore in a systematic manner the potential proteins identified from the chromosomal genome sequence, but not yet characterized on a protein level. Here, we describe the use of RNA deep sequencing to screen human cell lines for RNA profiles and to use this information to select cell lines suitable for characterization of the corresponding gene product. In this manner, the subcellular localization of proteins can be analyzed systematically using antibody-based confocal microscopy. We demonstrate the usefulness of selecting cell lines with high expression levels of RNA transcripts to increase the likelihood of high quality immunofluorescence staining and subsequent successful subcellular localization of the corresponding protein. The results show a path to combine transcriptomics with affinity proteomics to characterize the proteins in a gene- or chromosome-centric manner.

  5. Multilabel learning via random label selection for protein subcellular multilocations prediction.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiao; Li, Guo-Zheng

    2013-01-01

    Prediction of protein subcellular localization is an important but challenging problem, particularly when proteins may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular location sites. Most of the existing protein subcellular localization methods are only used to deal with the single-location proteins. In the past few years, only a few methods have been proposed to tackle proteins with multiple locations. However, they only adopt a simple strategy, that is, transforming the multilocation proteins to multiple proteins with single location, which does not take correlations among different subcellular locations into account. In this paper, a novel method named random label selection (RALS) (multilabel learning via RALS), which extends the simple binary relevance (BR) method, is proposed to learn from multilocation proteins in an effective and efficient way. RALS does not explicitly find the correlations among labels, but rather implicitly attempts to learn the label correlations from data by augmenting original feature space with randomly selected labels as its additional input features. Through the fivefold cross-validation test on a benchmark data set, we demonstrate our proposed method with consideration of label correlations obviously outperforms the baseline BR method without consideration of label correlations, indicating correlations among different subcellular locations really exist and contribute to improvement of prediction performance. Experimental results on two benchmark data sets also show that our proposed methods achieve significantly higher performance than some other state-of-the-art methods in predicting subcellular multilocations of proteins. The prediction web server is available at >http://levis.tongji.edu.cn:8080/bioinfo/MLPred-Euk/ for the public usage.

  6. Remote Control of Gene Function by Local Translation

    PubMed Central

    Jung, Hosung; Gkogkas, Christos G.; Sonenberg, Nahum; Holt, Christine E.

    2014-01-01

    The subcellular position of a protein is a key determinant of its function. Mounting evidence indicates that RNA localization, where specific mRNAs are transported subcellularly and subsequently translated in response to localized signals, is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to control protein localization. On-site synthesis confers novel signaling properties to a protein and helps to maintain local proteome homeostasis. Local translation plays particularly important roles in distal neuronal compartments, and dysregulated RNA localization and translation cause defects in neuronal wiring and survival. Here, we discuss key findings in this area and possible implications of this adaptable and swift mechanism for spatial control of gene function. PMID:24679524

  7. Unsupervised Clustering of Subcellular Protein Expression Patterns in High-Throughput Microscopy Images Reveals Protein Complexes and Functional Relationships between Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Handfield, Louis-François; Chong, Yolanda T.; Simmons, Jibril; Andrews, Brenda J.; Moses, Alan M.

    2013-01-01

    Protein subcellular localization has been systematically characterized in budding yeast using fluorescently tagged proteins. Based on the fluorescence microscopy images, subcellular localization of many proteins can be classified automatically using supervised machine learning approaches that have been trained to recognize predefined image classes based on statistical features. Here, we present an unsupervised analysis of protein expression patterns in a set of high-resolution, high-throughput microscope images. Our analysis is based on 7 biologically interpretable features which are evaluated on automatically identified cells, and whose cell-stage dependency is captured by a continuous model for cell growth. We show that it is possible to identify most previously identified localization patterns in a cluster analysis based on these features and that similarities between the inferred expression patterns contain more information about protein function than can be explained by a previous manual categorization of subcellular localization. Furthermore, the inferred cell-stage associated to each fluorescence measurement allows us to visualize large groups of proteins entering the bud at specific stages of bud growth. These correspond to proteins localized to organelles, revealing that the organelles must be entering the bud in a stereotypical order. We also identify and organize a smaller group of proteins that show subtle differences in the way they move around the bud during growth. Our results suggest that biologically interpretable features based on explicit models of cell morphology will yield unprecedented power for pattern discovery in high-resolution, high-throughput microscopy images. PMID:23785265

  8. Distinct domains within the NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION protein mediate its subcellular localization and function in the nitrate-dependent phosphate homeostasis pathway

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION (NLA) protein is a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays an essential role in the regulation of nitrogen and phosphate homeostasis. NLA is localized to two distinct subcellular sites, the plasma membrane and nucleus, and contains four distinct domains: i) a RING...

  9. pLoc-mGneg: Predict subcellular localization of Gram-negative bacterial proteins by deep gene ontology learning via general PseAAC.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Xiang; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2017-10-06

    Information of the proteins' subcellular localization is crucially important for revealing their biological functions in a cell, the basic unit of life. With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is highly desired to develop computational tools for timely identifying their subcellular locations based on the sequence information alone. The current study is focused on the Gram-negative bacterial proteins. Although considerable efforts have been made in protein subcellular prediction, the problem is far from being solved yet. This is because mounting evidences have indicated that many Gram-negative bacterial proteins exist in two or more location sites. Unfortunately, most existing methods can be used to deal with single-location proteins only. Actually, proteins with multi-locations may have some special biological functions important for both basic research and drug design. In this study, by using the multi-label theory, we developed a new predictor called "pLoc-mGneg" for predicting the subcellular localization of Gram-negative bacterial proteins with both single and multiple locations. Rigorous cross-validation on a high quality benchmark dataset indicated that the proposed predictor is remarkably superior to "iLoc-Gneg", the state-of-the-art predictor for the same purpose. For the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the novel predictor has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pLoc-mGneg/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematics involved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. CellMap visualizes protein-protein interactions and subcellular localization

    PubMed Central

    Dallago, Christian; Goldberg, Tatyana; Andrade-Navarro, Miguel Angel; Alanis-Lobato, Gregorio; Rost, Burkhard

    2018-01-01

    Many tools visualize protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. The tool introduced here, CellMap, adds one crucial novelty by visualizing PPI networks in the context of subcellular localization, i.e. the location in the cell or cellular component in which a PPI happens. Users can upload images of cells and define areas of interest against which PPIs for selected proteins are displayed (by default on a cartoon of a cell). Annotations of localization are provided by the user or through our in-house database. The visualizer and server are written in JavaScript, making CellMap easy to customize and to extend by researchers and developers. PMID:29497493

  11. The SubCons webserver: A user friendly web interface for state-of-the-art subcellular localization prediction.

    PubMed

    Salvatore, M; Shu, N; Elofsson, A

    2018-01-01

    SubCons is a recently developed method that predicts the subcellular localization of a protein. It combines predictions from four predictors using a Random Forest classifier. Here, we present the user-friendly web-interface implementation of SubCons. Starting from a protein sequence, the server rapidly predicts the subcellular localizations of an individual protein. In addition, the server accepts the submission of sets of proteins either by uploading the files or programmatically by using command line WSDL API scripts. This makes SubCons ideal for proteome wide analyses allowing the user to scan a whole proteome in few days. From the web page, it is also possible to download precalculated predictions for several eukaryotic organisms. To evaluate the performance of SubCons we present a benchmark of LocTree3 and SubCons using two recent mass-spectrometry based datasets of mouse and drosophila proteins. The server is available at http://subcons.bioinfo.se/. © 2017 The Protein Society.

  12. Analysis of the subcellular localization of the human histone methyltransferase SETDB1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tachibana, Keisuke, E-mail: nya@phs.osaka-u.ac.jp; Gotoh, Eiko; Kawamata, Natsuko

    2015-10-02

    SET domain, bifurcated 1 (SETDB1) is a histone methyltransferase that methylates lysine 9 on histone H3. Although it is important to know the localization of proteins to elucidate their physiological function, little is known of the subcellular localization of human SETDB1. In the present study, to investigate the subcellular localization of hSETDB1, we established a human cell line constitutively expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein fused to hSETDB1. We then generated a monoclonal antibody against the hSETDB1 protein. Expression of both exogenous and endogenous hSETDB1 was observed mainly in the cytoplasm of various human cell lines. Combined treatment with the nuclearmore » export inhibitor leptomycin B and the proteasome inhibitor MG132 led to the accumulation of hSETDB1 in the nucleus. These findings suggest that hSETDB1, localized in the nucleus, might undergo degradation by the proteasome and be exported to the cytosol, resulting in its detection mainly in the cytosol. - Highlights: • Endogenous human SETDB1 was localized mainly in the cytoplasm. • Combined treatment with LMB and MG132 led to accumulation of human SETDB1 in the nucleus. • HeLa cells expressing EFGP-hSETDB1 are useful for subcellular localization analyses.« less

  13. Identification of two internal signal peptide sequences: critical for classical swine fever virus non-structural protein 2 to trans-localize to the endoplasmic reticulum.

    PubMed

    Guo, Kang-kang; Tang, Qing-hai; Zhang, Yan-ming; Kang, Kai; He, Lei

    2011-05-18

    The membrane topology and molecular mechanisms for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localization of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) non-structural 2 (NS2) protien is unclear. We attempted to elucidate the subcellular localization, and the molecular mechanisms responsible for the localization of this protein in our study. The NS2 gene was amplified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, with the transmembrane region and hydrophilicity of the NS2 protein was predicted by bioinformatics analysis. Twelve cDNAs of the NS2 gene were amplified by the PCR deletion method and cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector, which was transfected into a swine umbilical vein endothelial cell line (SUVEC). Subcellular localization of the NS2 protein was characterized by confocal microscopy, and western blots were carried out to analyze protein expression. Our results showed that the -NH2 terminal of the CSFV NS2 protein was highly hydrophobic and the protein localized in the ER. At least four transmembrane regions and two internal signal peptide sequences (amino acids103-138 and 220-262) were identified and thought to be critical for its trans-localization to the ER. This is the first study to identify the internal signal peptide sequences of the CSFV NS2 protein and its subcellular localization, providing the foundation for further exploration of this protein's function of this protein and its role in CSFV pathogenesis.

  14. Cdc2/cyclin B1 regulates centrosomal Nlp proteolysis and subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Xuelian; Jin, Shunqian; Song, Yongmei; Zhan, Qimin

    2010-11-01

    The formation of proper mitotic spindles is required for appropriate chromosome segregation during cell division. Aberrant spindle formation often causes aneuploidy and results in tumorigenesis. However, the underlying mechanism of regulating spindle formation and chromosome separation remains to be further defined. Centrosomal Nlp (ninein-like protein) is a recently characterized BRCA1-regulated centrosomal protein and plays an important role in centrosome maturation and spindle formation. In this study, we show that Nlp can be phosphorylated by cell cycle protein kinase Cdc2/cyclin B1. The phosphorylation sites of Nlp are mapped at Ser185 and Ser589. Interestingly, the Cdc2/cyclin B1 phosphorylation site Ser185 of Nlp is required for its recognition by PLK1, which enable Nlp depart from centrosomes to allow the establishment of a mitotic scaffold at the onset of mitosis . PLK1 fails to dissociate the Nlp mutant lacking Ser185 from centrosome, suggesting that Cdc2/cyclin B1 might serve as a primary kinase of PLK1 in regulating Nlp subcellular localization. However, the phosphorylation at the site Ser589 by Cdc2/cyclin B1 plays an important role in Nlp protein stability probably due to its effect on protein degradation. Furthermore, we show that deregulated expression or subcellular localization of Nlp lead to multinuclei in cells, indicating that scheduled levels of Nlp and proper subcellular localization of Nlp are critical for successful completion of normal cell mitosis, These findings demonstrate that Cdc2/cyclin B1 is a key regulator in maintaining appropriate degradation and subcellular localization of Nlp, providing novel insights into understanding on the role of Cdc2/cyclin B1 in mitotic progression.

  15. mLASSO-Hum: A LASSO-based interpretable human-protein subcellular localization predictor.

    PubMed

    Wan, Shibiao; Mak, Man-Wai; Kung, Sun-Yuan

    2015-10-07

    Knowing the subcellular compartments of human proteins is essential to shed light on the mechanisms of a broad range of human diseases. In computational methods for protein subcellular localization, knowledge-based methods (especially gene ontology (GO) based methods) are known to perform better than sequence-based methods. However, existing GO-based predictors often lack interpretability and suffer from overfitting due to the high dimensionality of feature vectors. To address these problems, this paper proposes an interpretable multi-label predictor, namely mLASSO-Hum, which can yield sparse and interpretable solutions for large-scale prediction of human protein subcellular localization. By using the one-vs-rest LASSO-based classifiers, 87 out of more than 8000 GO terms are found to play more significant roles in determining the subcellular localization. Based on these 87 essential GO terms, we can decide not only where a protein resides within a cell, but also why it is located there. To further exploit information from the remaining GO terms, a method based on the GO hierarchical information derived from the depth distance of GO terms is proposed. Experimental results show that mLASSO-Hum performs significantly better than state-of-the-art predictors. We also found that in addition to the GO terms from the cellular component category, GO terms from the other two categories also play important roles in the final classification decisions. For readers' convenience, the mLASSO-Hum server is available online at http://bioinfo.eie.polyu.edu.hk/mLASSOHumServer/. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. A Comprehensive Subcellular Proteomic Survey of Salmonella Grown under Phagosome-Mimicking versus Standard Laboratory Conditions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brown, Roslyn N.; Sanford, James A.; Park, Jea H.

    Towards developing a systems-level pathobiological understanding of Salmonella enterica, we performed a subcellular proteomic analysis of this pathogen grown under standard laboratory and infection-mimicking conditions in vitro. Analysis of proteins from cytoplasmic, inner membrane, periplasmic, and outer membrane fractions yielded coverage of over 30% of the theoretical proteome. Confident subcellular location could be assigned to over 1000 proteins, with good agreement between experimentally observed location and predicted/known protein properties. Comparison of protein location under the different environmental conditions provided insight into dynamic protein localization and possible moonlighting (multiple function) activities. Notable examples of dynamic localization were the response regulators ofmore » two-component regulatory systems (e.g., ArcB, PhoQ). The DNA-binding protein Dps that is generally regarded as cytoplasmic was significantly enriched in the outer membrane for all growth conditions examined, suggestive of moonlighting activities. These observations imply the existence of unknown transport mechanisms and novel functions for a subset of Salmonella proteins. Overall, this work provides a catalog of experimentally verified subcellular protein location for Salmonella and a framework for further investigations using computational modeling.« less

  17. Prediction of rat protein subcellular localization with pseudo amino acid composition based on multiple sequential features.

    PubMed

    Shi, Ruijia; Xu, Cunshuan

    2011-06-01

    The study of rat proteins is an indispensable task in experimental medicine and drug development. The function of a rat protein is closely related to its subcellular location. Based on the above concept, we construct the benchmark rat proteins dataset and develop a combined approach for predicting the subcellular localization of rat proteins. From protein primary sequence, the multiple sequential features are obtained by using of discrete Fourier analysis, position conservation scoring function and increment of diversity, and these sequential features are selected as input parameters of the support vector machine. By the jackknife test, the overall success rate of prediction is 95.6% on the rat proteins dataset. Our method are performed on the apoptosis proteins dataset and the Gram-negative bacterial proteins dataset with the jackknife test, the overall success rates are 89.9% and 96.4%, respectively. The above results indicate that our proposed method is quite promising and may play a complementary role to the existing predictors in this area.

  18. Trafficking of plant plasma membrane aquaporins: multiple regulation levels and complex sorting signals.

    PubMed

    Chevalier, Adrien S; Chaumont, François

    2015-05-01

    Aquaporins are small channel proteins which facilitate the diffusion of water and small neutral molecules across biological membranes. Compared with animals, plant genomes encode numerous aquaporins, which display a large variety of subcellular localization patterns. More specifically, plant aquaporins of the plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) subfamily were first described as plasma membrane (PM)-resident proteins, but recent research has demonstrated that the trafficking and subcellular localization of these proteins are complex and highly regulated. In the past few years, PIPs emerged as new model proteins to study subcellular sorting and membrane dynamics in plant cells. At least two distinct sorting motifs (one cytosolic, the other buried in the membrane) are required to direct PIPs to the PM. Hetero-oligomerization and interaction with SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor protein attachment protein receptors) also influence the subcellular trafficking of PIPs. In addition to these constitutive processes, both the progression of PIPs through the secretory pathway and their dynamics at the PM are responsive to changing environmental conditions. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Multiple marker abundance profiling: combining selected reaction monitoring and data-dependent acquisition for rapid estimation of organelle abundance in subcellular samples

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hooper, Cornelia M.; Stevens, Tim J.; Saukkonen, Anna

    Measuring changes in protein or organelle abundance in the cell is an essential, but challenging aspect of cell biology. Frequently-used methods for determining organelle abundance typically rely on detection of a very few marker proteins, so are unsatisfactory. In silico estimates of protein abundances from publicly available protein spectra can provide useful standard abundance values but contain only data from tissue proteomes, and are not coupled to organelle localization data. A new protein abundance score, the normalized protein abundance scale (NPAS), expands on the number of scored proteins and the scoring accuracy of lower-abundance proteins in Arabidopsis. NPAS was combinedmore » with subcellular protein localization data, facilitating quantitative estimations of organelle abundance during routine experimental procedures. A suite of targeted proteomics markers for subcellular compartment markers was developed, enabling independent verification of in silico estimates for relative organelle abundance. Estimation of relative organelle abundance was found to be reproducible and consistent over a range of tissues and growth conditions. In silico abundance estimations and localization data have been combined into an online tool, multiple marker abundance profiling, available in the SUBA4 toolbox (http://suba.live).« less

  20. Multiple marker abundance profiling: combining selected reaction monitoring and data-dependent acquisition for rapid estimation of organelle abundance in subcellular samples

    DOE PAGES

    Hooper, Cornelia M.; Stevens, Tim J.; Saukkonen, Anna; ...

    2017-10-12

    Measuring changes in protein or organelle abundance in the cell is an essential, but challenging aspect of cell biology. Frequently-used methods for determining organelle abundance typically rely on detection of a very few marker proteins, so are unsatisfactory. In silico estimates of protein abundances from publicly available protein spectra can provide useful standard abundance values but contain only data from tissue proteomes, and are not coupled to organelle localization data. A new protein abundance score, the normalized protein abundance scale (NPAS), expands on the number of scored proteins and the scoring accuracy of lower-abundance proteins in Arabidopsis. NPAS was combinedmore » with subcellular protein localization data, facilitating quantitative estimations of organelle abundance during routine experimental procedures. A suite of targeted proteomics markers for subcellular compartment markers was developed, enabling independent verification of in silico estimates for relative organelle abundance. Estimation of relative organelle abundance was found to be reproducible and consistent over a range of tissues and growth conditions. In silico abundance estimations and localization data have been combined into an online tool, multiple marker abundance profiling, available in the SUBA4 toolbox (http://suba.live).« less

  1. A draft map of the mouse pluripotent stem cell spatial proteome

    PubMed Central

    Christoforou, Andy; Mulvey, Claire M.; Breckels, Lisa M.; Geladaki, Aikaterini; Hurrell, Tracey; Hayward, Penelope C.; Naake, Thomas; Gatto, Laurent; Viner, Rosa; Arias, Alfonso Martinez; Lilley, Kathryn S.

    2016-01-01

    Knowledge of the subcellular distribution of proteins is vital for understanding cellular mechanisms. Capturing the subcellular proteome in a single experiment has proven challenging, with studies focusing on specific compartments or assigning proteins to subcellular niches with low resolution and/or accuracy. Here we introduce hyperLOPIT, a method that couples extensive fractionation, quantitative high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry with multivariate data analysis. We apply hyperLOPIT to a pluripotent stem cell population whose subcellular proteome has not been extensively studied. We provide localization data on over 5,000 proteins with unprecedented spatial resolution to reveal the organization of organelles, sub-organellar compartments, protein complexes, functional networks and steady-state dynamics of proteins and unexpected subcellular locations. The method paves the way for characterizing the impact of post-transcriptional and post-translational modification on protein location and studies involving proteome-level locational changes on cellular perturbation. An interactive open-source resource is presented that enables exploration of these data. PMID:26754106

  2. Protein location prediction using atomic composition and global features of the amino acid sequence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cherian, Betsy Sheena, E-mail: betsy.skb@gmail.com; Nair, Achuthsankar S.

    2010-01-22

    Subcellular location of protein is constructive information in determining its function, screening for drug candidates, vaccine design, annotation of gene products and in selecting relevant proteins for further studies. Computational prediction of subcellular localization deals with predicting the location of a protein from its amino acid sequence. For a computational localization prediction method to be more accurate, it should exploit all possible relevant biological features that contribute to the subcellular localization. In this work, we extracted the biological features from the full length protein sequence to incorporate more biological information. A new biological feature, distribution of atomic composition is effectivelymore » used with, multiple physiochemical properties, amino acid composition, three part amino acid composition, and sequence similarity for predicting the subcellular location of the protein. Support Vector Machines are designed for four modules and prediction is made by a weighted voting system. Our system makes prediction with an accuracy of 100, 82.47, 88.81 for self-consistency test, jackknife test and independent data test respectively. Our results provide evidence that the prediction based on the biological features derived from the full length amino acid sequence gives better accuracy than those derived from N-terminal alone. Considering the features as a distribution within the entire sequence will bring out underlying property distribution to a greater detail to enhance the prediction accuracy.« less

  3. pLoc-mHum: predict subcellular localization of multi-location human proteins via general PseAAC to winnow out the crucial GO information.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Xiang; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2018-05-01

    For in-depth understanding the functions of proteins in a cell, the knowledge of their subcellular localization is indispensable. The current study is focused on human protein subcellular location prediction based on the sequence information alone. Although considerable efforts have been made in this regard, the problem is far from being solved yet. Most existing methods can be used to deal with single-location proteins only. Actually, proteins with multi-locations may have some special biological functions that are particularly important for both basic research and drug design. Using the multi-label theory, we present a new predictor called 'pLoc-mHum' by extracting the crucial GO (Gene Ontology) information into the general PseAAC (Pseudo Amino Acid Composition). Rigorous cross-validations on a same stringent benchmark dataset have indicated that the proposed pLoc-mHum predictor is remarkably superior to iLoc-Hum, the state-of-the-art method in predicting the human protein subcellular localization. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the new predictor has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pLoc-mHum/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematics involved. xcheng@gordonlifescience.org. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  4. HybridGO-Loc: mining hybrid features on gene ontology for predicting subcellular localization of multi-location proteins.

    PubMed

    Wan, Shibiao; Mak, Man-Wai; Kung, Sun-Yuan

    2014-01-01

    Protein subcellular localization prediction, as an essential step to elucidate the functions in vivo of proteins and identify drugs targets, has been extensively studied in previous decades. Instead of only determining subcellular localization of single-label proteins, recent studies have focused on predicting both single- and multi-location proteins. Computational methods based on Gene Ontology (GO) have been demonstrated to be superior to methods based on other features. However, existing GO-based methods focus on the occurrences of GO terms and disregard their relationships. This paper proposes a multi-label subcellular-localization predictor, namely HybridGO-Loc, that leverages not only the GO term occurrences but also the inter-term relationships. This is achieved by hybridizing the GO frequencies of occurrences and the semantic similarity between GO terms. Given a protein, a set of GO terms are retrieved by searching against the gene ontology database, using the accession numbers of homologous proteins obtained via BLAST search as the keys. The frequency of GO occurrences and semantic similarity (SS) between GO terms are used to formulate frequency vectors and semantic similarity vectors, respectively, which are subsequently hybridized to construct fusion vectors. An adaptive-decision based multi-label support vector machine (SVM) classifier is proposed to classify the fusion vectors. Experimental results based on recent benchmark datasets and a new dataset containing novel proteins show that the proposed hybrid-feature predictor significantly outperforms predictors based on individual GO features as well as other state-of-the-art predictors. For readers' convenience, the HybridGO-Loc server, which is for predicting virus or plant proteins, is available online at http://bioinfo.eie.polyu.edu.hk/HybridGoServer/.

  5. Global, quantitative and dynamic mapping of protein subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Itzhak, Daniel N; Tyanova, Stefka; Cox, Jürgen; Borner, Georg Hh

    2016-06-09

    Subcellular localization critically influences protein function, and cells control protein localization to regulate biological processes. We have developed and applied Dynamic Organellar Maps, a proteomic method that allows global mapping of protein translocation events. We initially used maps statically to generate a database with localization and absolute copy number information for over 8700 proteins from HeLa cells, approaching comprehensive coverage. All major organelles were resolved, with exceptional prediction accuracy (estimated at >92%). Combining spatial and abundance information yielded an unprecedented quantitative view of HeLa cell anatomy and organellar composition, at the protein level. We subsequently demonstrated the dynamic capabilities of the approach by capturing translocation events following EGF stimulation, which we integrated into a quantitative model. Dynamic Organellar Maps enable the proteome-wide analysis of physiological protein movements, without requiring any reagents specific to the investigated process, and will thus be widely applicable in cell biology.

  6. L-Ilf3 and L-NF90 Traffic to the Nucleolus Granular Component: Alternatively-Spliced Exon 3 Encodes a Nucleolar Localization Motif

    PubMed Central

    Viranaicken, Wildriss; Gasmi, Laila; Chaumet, Alexandre; Durieux, Christiane; Georget, Virginie; Denoulet, Philippe; Larcher, Jean-Christophe

    2011-01-01

    Ilf3 and NF90, two proteins containing double-stranded RNA-binding domains, are generated by alternative splicing and involved in several functions. Their heterogeneity results from posttranscriptional and posttranslational modifications. Alternative splicing of exon 3, coding for a 13 aa N-terminal motif, generates for each protein a long and short isoforms. Subcellular fractionation and localization of recombinant proteins showed that this motif acts as a nucleolar localization signal. Deletion and substitution mutants identified four arginines, essential for nucleolar targeting, and three histidines to stabilize the proteins within the nucleolus. The short isoforms are never found in the nucleoli, whereas the long isoforms are present in the nucleoplasm and the nucleoli. For Ilf3, only the posttranslationally-unmodified long isoform is nucleolar, suggesting that this nucleolar targeting is abrogated by posttranslational modifications. Confocal microscopy and FRAP experiments have shown that the long Ilf3 isoform localizes to the granular component of the nucleolus, and that L-Ilf3 and L-NF90 exchange rapidly between nucleoli. The presence of this 13 aminoacid motif, combined with posttranslational modifications, is responsible for the differences in Ilf3 and NF90 isoforms subcellular localizations. The protein polymorphism of Ilf3/NF90 and the various subcellular localizations of their isoforms may partially explain the various functions previously reported for these proteins. PMID:21811582

  7. Finding the Subcellular Location of Barley, Wheat, Rice and Maize Proteins: The Compendium of Crop Proteins with Annotated Locations (cropPAL).

    PubMed

    Hooper, Cornelia M; Castleden, Ian R; Aryamanesh, Nader; Jacoby, Richard P; Millar, A Harvey

    2016-01-01

    Barley, wheat, rice and maize provide the bulk of human nutrition and have extensive industrial use as agricultural products. The genomes of these crops each contains >40,000 genes encoding proteins; however, the major genome databases for these species lack annotation information of protein subcellular location for >80% of these gene products. We address this gap, by constructing the compendium of crop protein subcellular locations called crop Proteins with Annotated Locations (cropPAL). Subcellular location is most commonly determined by fluorescent protein tagging of live cells or mass spectrometry detection in subcellular purifications, but can also be predicted from amino acid sequence or protein expression patterns. The cropPAL database collates 556 published studies, from >300 research institutes in >30 countries that have been previously published, as well as compiling eight pre-computed subcellular predictions for all Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum, Oryza sativa and Zea mays protein sequences. The data collection including metadata for proteins and published studies can be accessed through a search portal http://crop-PAL.org. The subcellular localization information housed in cropPAL helps to depict plant cells as compartmentalized protein networks that can be investigated for improving crop yield and quality, and developing new biotechnological solutions to agricultural challenges. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Prediction of protein subcellular localization by weighted gene ontology terms.

    PubMed

    Chi, Sang-Mun

    2010-08-27

    We develop a new weighting approach of gene ontology (GO) terms for predicting protein subcellular localization. The weights of individual GO terms, corresponding to their contribution to the prediction algorithm, are determined by the term-weighting methods used in text categorization. We evaluate several term-weighting methods, which are based on inverse document frequency, information gain, gain ratio, odds ratio, and chi-square and its variants. Additionally, we propose a new term-weighting method based on the logarithmic transformation of chi-square. The proposed term-weighting method performs better than other term-weighting methods, and also outperforms state-of-the-art subcellular prediction methods. Our proposed method achieves 98.1%, 99.3%, 98.1%, 98.1%, and 95.9% overall accuracies for the animal BaCelLo independent dataset (IDS), fungal BaCelLo IDS, animal Höglund IDS, fungal Höglund IDS, and PLOC dataset, respectively. Furthermore, the close correlation between high-weighted GO terms and subcellular localizations suggests that our proposed method appropriately weights GO terms according to their relevance to the localizations. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Targeted Degradation of Proteins Localized in Subcellular Compartments by Hybrid Small Molecules.

    PubMed

    Okuhira, Keiichiro; Shoda, Takuji; Omura, Risa; Ohoka, Nobumichi; Hattori, Takayuki; Shibata, Norihito; Demizu, Yosuke; Sugihara, Ryo; Ichino, Asato; Kawahara, Haruka; Itoh, Yukihiro; Ishikawa, Minoru; Hashimoto, Yuichi; Kurihara, Masaaki; Itoh, Susumu; Saito, Hiroyuki; Naito, Mikihiko

    2017-03-01

    Development of novel small molecules that selectively degrade pathogenic proteins would provide an important advance in targeted therapy. Recently, we have devised a series of hybrid small molecules named SNIPER (specific and nongenetic IAP-dependent protein ERaser) that induces the degradation of target proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. To understand the localization of proteins that can be targeted by this protein knockdown technology, we examined whether SNIPER molecules are able to induce degradation of cellular retinoic acid binding protein II (CRABP-II) proteins localized in subcellular compartments of cells. CRABP-II is genetically fused with subcellular localization signals, and they are expressed in the cells. SNIPER(CRABP) with different IAP-ligands, SNIPER(CRABP)-4 with bestatin and SNIPER(CRABP)-11 with MV1 compound, induce the proteasomal degradation of wild-type (WT), cytosolic, nuclear, and membrane-localized CRABP-II proteins, whereas only SNIPER(CRABP)-11 displayed degradation activity toward the mitochondrial CRABP-II protein. The small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of cIAP1 expression attenuated the knockdown activity of SNIPER(CRABP) against WT and cytosolic CRABP-II proteins, indicating that cIAP1 is the E3 ligase responsible for degradation of these proteins. Against membrane-localized CRABP-II protein, cIAP1 is also a primary E3 ligase in the cells, but another E3 ligase distinct from cIAP2 and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) could also be involved in the SNIPER(CRABP)-11-induced degradation. However, for the degradation of nuclear and mitochondrial CRABP-II proteins, E3 ligases other than cIAP1, cIAP2, and XIAP play a role in the SNIPER-mediated protein knockdown. These results indicate that SNIPER can target cytosolic, nuclear, membrane-localized, and mitochondrial proteins for degradation, but the responsible E3 ligase is different, depending on the localization of the target protein. Copyright © 2017 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

  10. Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Spatial Protein Networks by Colocalization Analysis (COLA).

    PubMed

    Mardakheh, Faraz K

    2017-01-01

    A major challenge in systems biology is comprehensive mapping of protein interaction networks. Crucially, such interactions are often dynamic in nature, necessitating methods that can rapidly mine the interactome across varied conditions and treatments to reveal change in the interaction networks. Recently, we described a fast mass spectrometry-based method to reveal functional interactions in mammalian cells on a global scale, by revealing spatial colocalizations between proteins (COLA) (Mardakheh et al., Mol Biosyst 13:92-105, 2017). As protein localization and function are inherently linked, significant colocalization between two proteins is a strong indication for their functional interaction. COLA uses rapid complete subcellular fractionation, coupled with quantitative proteomics to generate a subcellular localization profile for each protein quantified by the mass spectrometer. Robust clustering is then applied to reveal significant similarities in protein localization profiles, indicative of colocalization.

  11. Quantitative Proteomic Profiling of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation Effects in a Human Skin Model

    PubMed Central

    Hengel, Shawna M.; Aldrich, Joshua T.; Waters, Katrina M.; Pasa-Tolic, Ljiljana; Stenoien, David L.

    2014-01-01

    To assess responses to low-dose ionizing radiation (LD-IR) exposures potentially encountered during medical diagnostic procedures, nuclear accidents or terrorist acts, a quantitative proteomic approach was used to identify changes in protein abundance in a reconstituted human skin tissue model treated with 0.1 Gy of ionizing radiation. To improve the dynamic range of the assay, subcellular fractionation was employed to remove highly abundant structural proteins and to provide insight into radiation-induced alterations in protein localization. Relative peptide quantification across cellular fractions, control and irradiated samples was performing using 8-plex iTRAQ labeling followed by online two-dimensional nano-scale liquid chromatography and high resolution MS/MS analysis. A total of 107 proteins were detected with statistically significant radiation-induced change in abundance (>1.5 fold) and/or subcellular localization compared to controls. The top biological pathways identified using bioinformatics include organ development, anatomical structure formation and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton. From the proteomic data, a change in proteolytic processing and subcellular localization of the skin barrier protein, filaggrin, was identified, and the results were confirmed by western blotting. This data indicate post-transcriptional regulation of protein abundance, localization and proteolytic processing playing an important role in regulating radiation response in human tissues. PMID:28250387

  12. Mutations in the C-terminal region affect subcellular localization of crucian carp herpesvirus (CaHV) GPCR.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jun; Gui, Lang; Chen, Zong-Yan; Zhang, Qi-Ya

    2016-08-01

    G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known as seven transmembrane domain receptors and consequently can mediate diverse biological functions via regulation of their subcellular localization. Crucian carp herpesvirus (CaHV) was recently isolated from infected fish with acute gill hemorrhage. CaHV GPCR of 349 amino acids (aa) was identified based on amino acid identity. A series of variants with truncation/deletion/substitution mutation in the C-terminal (aa 315-349) were constructed and expressed in fathead minnow (FHM) cells. The roles of three key C-terminal regions in subcellular localization of CaHV GPCR were determined. Lysine-315 (K-315) directed the aggregation of the protein preferentially at the nuclear side. Predicted N-myristoylation site (GGGWTR, aa 335-340) was responsible for punctate distribution in periplasm or throughout the cytoplasm. Predicted phosphorylation site (SSR, aa 327-329) and GGGWTR together determined the punctate distribution in cytoplasm. Detection of organelles localization by specific markers showed that the protein retaining K-315 colocalized with the Golgi apparatus. These experiments provided first evidence that different mutations of CaHV GPCR C-terminals have different affects on the subcellular localization of fish herpesvirus-encoded GPCRs. The study provided valuable information and new insights into the precise interactions between herpesvirus and fish cells, and could also provide useful targets for antiviral agents in aquaculture.

  13. Subcellular localization of rice acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) indicates that OsACBP6::GFP is targeted to the peroxisomes.

    PubMed

    Meng, Wei; Hsiao, An-Shan; Gao, Caiji; Jiang, Liwen; Chye, Mee-Len

    2014-07-01

    Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) show conservation at the acyl-CoA-binding (ACB) domain which facilitates binding to acyl-CoA esters. In Arabidopsis thaliana, six ACBPs participate in development and stress responses. Rice (Oryza sativa) also contains six genes encoding ACBPs. We investigated differences in subcellular localization between monocot rice and eudicot A. thaliana ACBPs. The subcellular localization of the six OsACBPs was achieved via transient expression of green fluorescence protein (GFP) fusions in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) epidermal cells, and stable transformation of A. thaliana. As plant ACBPs had not been reported in the peroxisomes, OsACBP6::GFP localization was confirmed by transient expression in rice sheath cells. The function of OsACBP6 was investigated by overexpressing 35S::OsACBP6 in the peroxisomal abc transporter1 (pxa1) mutant defective in peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation. As predicted, OsACBP1::GFP and OsACBP2::GFP were localized to the cytosol, and OsACBP4::GFP and OsACBP5::GFP to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, OsACBP3::GFP displayed subcellular multi-localization while OsACBP6::GFP was localized to the peroxisomes. 35S::OsACBP6-OE/pxa1 lines showed recovery in indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) peroxisomal β-oxidation, wound-induced VEGETATIVE STORAGE PROTEIN1 (VSP1) expression and jasmonic acid (JA) accumulation. These findings indicate a role for OsACBP6 in peroxisomal β-oxidation, and suggest that rice ACBPs are involved in lipid degradation in addition to lipid biosynthesis. © 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

  14. Plant subcellular proteomics: Application for exploring optimal cell function in soybean.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xin; Komatsu, Setsuko

    2016-06-30

    Plants have evolved complicated responses to developmental changes and stressful environmental conditions. Subcellular proteomics has the potential to elucidate localized cellular responses and investigate communications among subcellular compartments during plant development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Soybean, which is a valuable legume crop rich in protein and vegetable oil, can grow in several climatic zones; however, the growth and yield of soybean are markedly decreased under stresses. To date, numerous proteomic studies have been performed in soybean to examine the specific protein profiles of cell wall, plasma membrane, nucleus, mitochondrion, chloroplast, and endoplasmic reticulum. In this review, methods for the purification and purity assessment of subcellular organelles from soybean are summarized. In addition, the findings from subcellular proteomic analyses of soybean during development and under stresses, particularly flooding stress, are presented and the proteins regulated among subcellular compartments are discussed. Continued advances in subcellular proteomics are expected to greatly contribute to the understanding of the responses and interactions that occur within and among subcellular compartments during development and under stressful environmental conditions. Subcellular proteomics has the potential to investigate the cellular events and interactions among subcellular compartments in response to development and stresses in plants. Soybean could grow in several climatic zones; however, the growth and yield of soybean are markedly decreased under stresses. Numerous proteomics of cell wall, plasma membrane, nucleus, mitochondrion, chloroplast, and endoplasmic reticulum was carried out to investigate the respecting proteins and their functions in soybean during development or under stresses. In this review, methods of subcellular-organelle enrichment and purity assessment are summarized. In addition, previous findings of subcellular proteomics are presented, and functional proteins regulated among different subcellular are discussed. Subcellular proteomics contributes greatly to uncovering responses and interactions among subcellular compartments during development and under stressful environmental conditions in soybean. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Role of NH{sub 2}-terminal hydrophobic motif in the subcellular localization of ATP-binding cassette protein subfamily D: Common features in eukaryotic organisms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Asaka; Asahina, Kota; Okamoto, Takumi

    Highlights: • ABCD proteins classifies based on with or without NH{sub 2}-terminal hydrophobic segment. • The ABCD proteins with the segment are targeted peroxisomes. • The ABCD proteins without the segment are targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum. • The role of the segment in organelle targeting is conserved in eukaryotic organisms. - Abstract: In mammals, four ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins belonging to subfamily D have been identified. ABCD1–3 possesses the NH{sub 2}-terminal hydrophobic region and are targeted to peroxisomes, while ABCD4 lacking the region is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Based on hydropathy plot analysis, we found that severalmore » eukaryotes have ABCD protein homologs lacking the NH{sub 2}-terminal hydrophobic segment (H0 motif). To investigate whether the role of the NH{sub 2}-terminal H0 motif in subcellular localization is conserved across species, we expressed ABCD proteins from several species (metazoan, plant and fungi) in fusion with GFP in CHO cells and examined their subcellular localization. ABCD proteins possessing the NH{sub 2}-terminal H0 motif were localized to peroxisomes, while ABCD proteins lacking this region lost this capacity. In addition, the deletion of the NH{sub 2}-terminal H0 motif of ABCD protein resulted in their localization to the ER. These results suggest that the role of the NH{sub 2}-terminal H0 motif in organelle targeting is widely conserved in living organisms.« less

  16. Virus-PLoc: a fusion classifier for predicting the subcellular localization of viral proteins within host and virus-infected cells.

    PubMed

    Shen, Hong-Bin; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2007-02-15

    Viruses can reproduce their progenies only within a host cell, and their actions depend both on its destructive tendencies toward a specific host cell and on environmental conditions. Therefore, knowledge of the subcellular localization of viral proteins in a host cell or virus-infected cell is very useful for in-depth studying of their functions and mechanisms as well as designing antiviral drugs. An analysis on the Swiss-Prot database (version 50.0, released on May 30, 2006) indicates that only 23.5% of viral protein entries are annotated for their subcellular locations in this regard. As for the gene ontology database, the corresponding percentage is 23.8%. Such a gap calls for the development of high throughput tools for timely annotating the localization of viral proteins within host and virus-infected cells. In this article, a predictor called "Virus-PLoc" has been developed that is featured by fusing many basic classifiers with each engineered according to the K-nearest neighbor rule. The overall jackknife success rate obtained by Virus-PLoc in identifying the subcellular compartments of viral proteins was 80% for a benchmark dataset in which none of proteins has more than 25% sequence identity to any other in a same location site. Virus-PLoc will be freely available as a web-server at http://202.120.37.186/bioinf/virus for the public usage. Furthermore, Virus-PLoc has been used to provide large-scale predictions of all viral protein entries in Swiss-Prot database that do not have subcellular location annotations or are annotated as being uncertain. The results thus obtained have been deposited in a downloadable file prepared with Microsoft Excel and named "Tab_Virus-PLoc.xls." This file is available at the same website and will be updated twice a year to include the new entries of viral proteins and reflect the continuous development of Virus-PLoc. 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Imbalanced multi-modal multi-label learning for subcellular localization prediction of human proteins with both single and multiple sites.

    PubMed

    He, Jianjun; Gu, Hong; Liu, Wenqi

    2012-01-01

    It is well known that an important step toward understanding the functions of a protein is to determine its subcellular location. Although numerous prediction algorithms have been developed, most of them typically focused on the proteins with only one location. In recent years, researchers have begun to pay attention to the subcellular localization prediction of the proteins with multiple sites. However, almost all the existing approaches have failed to take into account the correlations among the locations caused by the proteins with multiple sites, which may be the important information for improving the prediction accuracy of the proteins with multiple sites. In this paper, a new algorithm which can effectively exploit the correlations among the locations is proposed by using gaussian process model. Besides, the algorithm also can realize optimal linear combination of various feature extraction technologies and could be robust to the imbalanced data set. Experimental results on a human protein data set show that the proposed algorithm is valid and can achieve better performance than the existing approaches.

  18. Demonstration of subcellular migration of CK2α localization from nucleus to sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum in mammalian cardiomyocytes under hyperglycemia.

    PubMed

    Bitirim, Ceylan Verda; Tuncay, Erkan; Turan, Belma

    2018-06-01

    The cellular control of glucose uptake and glycogen metabolism in mammalian tissues is in part mediated through the regulation of protein-serine/threonine kinases including CK2. Although it participates to several cellular signaling processes, however, its subcellular localization is not well-defined while some documents mentioned its localization change under pathological conditions. The activation/phosphorylation of some proteins including Zn 2+ -transporter ZIP7 in cardiomyocytes is controlled with CK2α, thereby, inducing changes in the level of intracellular free Zn 2+ ([Zn 2+ ] i ). In this regard, we aimed to examine cellular localization of CK2α in cardiomyocytes and its possible subcellular migration under hyperglycemia. Our confocal imaging together with biochemical analysis in isolated sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum [S(E)R] and nuclear fractions from hearts have shown that CK2α localized highly to S(E)R and Golgi and weakly to nuclear fractions in physiological condition. However, it can migrate from nuclear fractions to S(E)R under hyperglycemia. This migration can further underlie phosphorylation of a target protein ZIP7 as well as some endogenous kinases and phosphatases including PKA, CaMKII, and PP2A. We also have shown that CK2α activation is responsible for hyperglycemia-associated [Zn 2+ ] i increase in diabetic heart. Therefore, our present data demonstrated, for the first time, the physiological relevance of CK2α in cellular control of Zn 2+ -distribution via inducing ZIP7 phosphorylation and activation of these above endogenous actors in hyperglycemia/diabetes-associated cardiac dysfunction. Moreover, our present data also emphasized the multi-subcellular compartmental localizations of CK2α and a tightly regulation of these localizations in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, taken into consideration of all data, one can emphasize the important role of the subcellular localization of CK2α as a novel target-pathway for understanding of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

  19. Global, quantitative and dynamic mapping of protein subcellular localization

    PubMed Central

    Itzhak, Daniel N; Tyanova, Stefka; Cox, Jürgen; Borner, Georg HH

    2016-01-01

    Subcellular localization critically influences protein function, and cells control protein localization to regulate biological processes. We have developed and applied Dynamic Organellar Maps, a proteomic method that allows global mapping of protein translocation events. We initially used maps statically to generate a database with localization and absolute copy number information for over 8700 proteins from HeLa cells, approaching comprehensive coverage. All major organelles were resolved, with exceptional prediction accuracy (estimated at >92%). Combining spatial and abundance information yielded an unprecedented quantitative view of HeLa cell anatomy and organellar composition, at the protein level. We subsequently demonstrated the dynamic capabilities of the approach by capturing translocation events following EGF stimulation, which we integrated into a quantitative model. Dynamic Organellar Maps enable the proteome-wide analysis of physiological protein movements, without requiring any reagents specific to the investigated process, and will thus be widely applicable in cell biology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16950.001 PMID:27278775

  20. Altered Subcellular Localization of a Tobacco Membrane Raft-Associated Remorin Protein by Tobamovirus Infection and Transient Expression of Viral Replication and Movement Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Sasaki, Nobumitsu; Takashima, Eita; Nyunoya, Hiroshi

    2018-01-01

    Remorins are plant specific proteins found in plasma membrane microdomains (termed lipid or membrane rafts) and plasmodesmata. A potato remorin is reported to be involved in negatively regulating potexvirus movement and plasmodesmal permeability. In this study, we isolated cDNAs of tobacco remorins (NtREMs) and examined roles of an NtREM in infection by tomato mosaic virus (ToMV). Subcellular localization analysis using fluorescently tagged NtREM, ToMV, and viral replication and movement proteins (MPs) indicated that virus infection and transient expression of the viral proteins promoted the formation of NtREM aggregates by altering the subcellular distribution of NtREM, which was localized uniformly on the plasma membrane under normal conditions. NtREM aggregates were often observed associated closely with endoplasmic reticulum networks and bodies of the 126K replication and MPs. The bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay indicated that NtREM might interact directly with the MP on the plasma membrane and around plasmodesmata. In addition, transient overexpression of NtREM facilitated ToMV cell-to-cell movement. Based on these results, we discuss possible roles of the tobacco remorin in tobamovirus movement. PMID:29868075

  1. Determining the distribution of probes between different subcellular locations through automated unmixing of subcellular patterns.

    PubMed

    Peng, Tao; Bonamy, Ghislain M C; Glory-Afshar, Estelle; Rines, Daniel R; Chanda, Sumit K; Murphy, Robert F

    2010-02-16

    Many proteins or other biological macromolecules are localized to more than one subcellular structure. The fraction of a protein in different cellular compartments is often measured by colocalization with organelle-specific fluorescent markers, requiring availability of fluorescent probes for each compartment and acquisition of images for each in conjunction with the macromolecule of interest. Alternatively, tailored algorithms allow finding particular regions in images and quantifying the amount of fluorescence they contain. Unfortunately, this approach requires extensive hand-tuning of algorithms and is often cell type-dependent. Here we describe a machine-learning approach for estimating the amount of fluorescent signal in different subcellular compartments without hand tuning, requiring only the acquisition of separate training images of markers for each compartment. In testing on images of cells stained with mixtures of probes for different organelles, we achieved a 93% correlation between estimated and expected amounts of probes in each compartment. We also demonstrated that the method can be used to quantify drug-dependent protein translocations. The method enables automated and unbiased determination of the distributions of protein across cellular compartments, and will significantly improve imaging-based high-throughput assays and facilitate proteome-scale localization efforts.

  2. Quantitative imaging with fluorescent biosensors.

    PubMed

    Okumoto, Sakiko; Jones, Alexander; Frommer, Wolf B

    2012-01-01

    Molecular activities are highly dynamic and can occur locally in subcellular domains or compartments. Neighboring cells in the same tissue can exist in different states. Therefore, quantitative information on the cellular and subcellular dynamics of ions, signaling molecules, and metabolites is critical for functional understanding of organisms. Mass spectrometry is generally used for monitoring ions and metabolites; however, its temporal and spatial resolution are limited. Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized many areas of biology-e.g., fluorescent proteins can report on gene expression or protein localization in real time-yet promoter-based reporters are often slow to report physiologically relevant changes such as calcium oscillations. Therefore, novel tools are required that can be deployed in specific cells and targeted to subcellular compartments in order to quantify target molecule dynamics directly. We require tools that can measure enzyme activities, protein dynamics, and biophysical processes (e.g., membrane potential or molecular tension) with subcellular resolution. Today, we have an extensive suite of tools at our disposal to address these challenges, including translocation sensors, fluorescence-intensity sensors, and Förster resonance energy transfer sensors. This review summarizes sensor design principles, provides a database of sensors for more than 70 different analytes/processes, and gives examples of applications in quantitative live cell imaging.

  3. LOCSVMPSI: a web server for subcellular localization of eukaryotic proteins using SVM and profile of PSI-BLAST

    PubMed Central

    Xie, Dan; Li, Ao; Wang, Minghui; Fan, Zhewen; Feng, Huanqing

    2005-01-01

    Subcellular location of a protein is one of the key functional characters as proteins must be localized correctly at the subcellular level to have normal biological function. In this paper, a novel method named LOCSVMPSI has been introduced, which is based on the support vector machine (SVM) and the position-specific scoring matrix generated from profiles of PSI-BLAST. With a jackknife test on the RH2427 data set, LOCSVMPSI achieved a high overall prediction accuracy of 90.2%, which is higher than the prediction results by SubLoc and ESLpred on this data set. In addition, prediction performance of LOCSVMPSI was evaluated with 5-fold cross validation test on the PK7579 data set and the prediction results were consistently better than the previous method based on several SVMs using composition of both amino acids and amino acid pairs. Further test on the SWISSPROT new-unique data set showed that LOCSVMPSI also performed better than some widely used prediction methods, such as PSORTII, TargetP and LOCnet. All these results indicate that LOCSVMPSI is a powerful tool for the prediction of eukaryotic protein subcellular localization. An online web server (current version is 1.3) based on this method has been developed and is freely available to both academic and commercial users, which can be accessed by at . PMID:15980436

  4. Multi-location gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial protein subcellular localization using gene ontology and multi-label classifier ensemble.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiao; Zhang, Jun; Li, Guo-Zheng

    2015-01-01

    It has become a very important and full of challenge task to predict bacterial protein subcellular locations using computational methods. Although there exist a lot of prediction methods for bacterial proteins, the majority of these methods can only deal with single-location proteins. But unfortunately many multi-location proteins are located in the bacterial cells. Moreover, multi-location proteins have special biological functions capable of helping the development of new drugs. So it is necessary to develop new computational methods for accurately predicting subcellular locations of multi-location bacterial proteins. In this article, two efficient multi-label predictors, Gpos-ECC-mPLoc and Gneg-ECC-mPLoc, are developed to predict the subcellular locations of multi-label gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial proteins respectively. The two multi-label predictors construct the GO vectors by using the GO terms of homologous proteins of query proteins and then adopt a powerful multi-label ensemble classifier to make the final multi-label prediction. The two multi-label predictors have the following advantages: (1) they improve the prediction performance of multi-label proteins by taking the correlations among different labels into account; (2) they ensemble multiple CC classifiers and further generate better prediction results by ensemble learning; and (3) they construct the GO vectors by using the frequency of occurrences of GO terms in the typical homologous set instead of using 0/1 values. Experimental results show that Gpos-ECC-mPLoc and Gneg-ECC-mPLoc can efficiently predict the subcellular locations of multi-label gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial proteins respectively. Gpos-ECC-mPLoc and Gneg-ECC-mPLoc can efficiently improve prediction accuracy of subcellular localization of multi-location gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial proteins respectively. The online web servers for Gpos-ECC-mPLoc and Gneg-ECC-mPLoc predictors are freely accessible at http://biomed.zzuli.edu.cn/bioinfo/gpos-ecc-mploc/ and http://biomed.zzuli.edu.cn/bioinfo/gneg-ecc-mploc/ respectively.

  5. Specific primary sequence requirements for Aurora B kinase-mediated phosphorylation and subcellular localization of TMAP during mitosis.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyun-Jun; Kwon, Hye-Rim; Bae, Chang-Dae; Park, Joobae; Hong, Kyung U

    2010-05-15

    During mitosis, regulation of protein structures and functions by phosphorylation plays critical roles in orchestrating a series of complex events essential for the cell division process. Tumor-associated microtubule-associated protein (TMAP), also known as cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 (CKAP2), is a novel player in spindle assembly and chromosome segregation. We have previously reported that TMAP is phosphorylated at multiple residues specifically during mitosis. However, the mechanisms and functional importance of phosphorylation at most of the sites identified are currently unknown. Here, we report that TMAP is a novel substrate of the Aurora B kinase. Ser627 of TMAP was specifically phosphorylated by Aurora B both in vitro and in vivo. Ser627 and neighboring conserved residues were strictly required for efficient phosphorylation of TMAP by Aurora B, as even minor amino acid substitutions of the phosphorylation motif significantly diminished the efficiency of the substrate phosphorylation. Nearly all mutations at the phosphorylation motif had dramatic effects on the subcellular localization of TMAP. Instead of being localized to the chromosome region during late mitosis, the mutants remained associated with microtubules and centrosomes throughout mitosis. However, the changes in the subcellular localization of these mutants could not be completely explained by the phosphorylation status on Ser627. Our findings suggest that the motif surrounding Ser627 ((625) RRSRRL (630)) is a critical part of a functionally important sequence motif which not only governs the kinase-substrate recognition, but also regulates the subcellular localization of TMAP during mitosis.

  6. Transient Expression and Cellular Localization of Recombinant Proteins in Cultured Insect Cells.

    PubMed

    Fabrick, Jeffrey A; Hull, J Joe

    2017-04-20

    Heterologous protein expression systems are used for the production of recombinant proteins, the interpretation of cellular trafficking/localization, and the determination of the biochemical function of proteins at the sub-organismal level. Although baculovirus expression systems are increasingly used for protein production in numerous biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications, nonlytic systems that do not involve viral infection have clear benefits but are often overlooked and underutilized. Here, we describe a method for generating nonlytic expression vectors and transient recombinant protein expression. This protocol allows for the efficient cellular localization of recombinant proteins and can be used to rapidly discern protein trafficking within the cell. We show the expression of four recombinant proteins in a commercially available insect cell line, including two aquaporin proteins from the insect Bemisia tabaci, as well as subcellular marker proteins specific for the cell plasma membrane and for intracellular lysosomes. All recombinant proteins were produced as chimeras with fluorescent protein markers at their carboxyl termini, which allows for the direct detection of the recombinant proteins. The double transfection of cells with plasmids harboring constructs for the genes of interest and a known subcellular marker allows for live cell imaging and improved validation of cellular protein localization.

  7. A Quantitative Spatial Proteomics Analysis of Proteome Turnover in Human Cells*

    PubMed Central

    Boisvert, François-Michel; Ahmad, Yasmeen; Gierliński, Marek; Charrière, Fabien; Lamont, Douglas; Scott, Michelle; Barton, Geoff; Lamond, Angus I.

    2012-01-01

    Measuring the properties of endogenous cell proteins, such as expression level, subcellular localization, and turnover rates, on a whole proteome level remains a major challenge in the postgenome era. Quantitative methods for measuring mRNA expression do not reliably predict corresponding protein levels and provide little or no information on other protein properties. Here we describe a combined pulse-labeling, spatial proteomics and data analysis strategy to characterize the expression, localization, synthesis, degradation, and turnover rates of endogenously expressed, untagged human proteins in different subcellular compartments. Using quantitative mass spectrometry and stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture, a total of 80,098 peptides from 8,041 HeLa proteins were quantified, and their spatial distribution between the cytoplasm, nucleus and nucleolus determined and visualized using specialized software tools developed in PepTracker. Using information from ion intensities and rates of change in isotope ratios, protein abundance levels and protein synthesis, degradation and turnover rates were calculated for the whole cell and for the respective cytoplasmic, nuclear, and nucleolar compartments. Expression levels of endogenous HeLa proteins varied by up to seven orders of magnitude. The average turnover rate for HeLa proteins was ∼20 h. Turnover rate did not correlate with either molecular weight or net charge, but did correlate with abundance, with highly abundant proteins showing longer than average half-lives. Fast turnover proteins had overall a higher frequency of PEST motifs than slow turnover proteins but no general correlation was observed between amino or carboxyl terminal amino acid identities and turnover rates. A subset of proteins was identified that exist in pools with different turnover rates depending on their subcellular localization. This strongly correlated with subunits of large, multiprotein complexes, suggesting a general mechanism whereby their assembly is controlled in a different subcellular location to their main site of function. PMID:21937730

  8. Subcellular distribution of human RDM1 protein isoforms and their nucleolar accumulation in response to heat shock and proteotoxic stress.

    PubMed

    Messaoudi, Lydia; Yang, Yun-Gui; Kinomura, Aiko; Stavreva, Diana A; Yan, Gonghong; Bortolin-Cavaillé, Marie-Line; Arakawa, Hiroshi; Buerstedde, Jean-Marie; Hainaut, Pierre; Cavaillé, Jérome; Takata, Minoru; Van Dyck, Eric

    2007-01-01

    The RDM1 gene encodes a RNA recognition motif (RRM)-containing protein involved in the cellular response to the anti-cancer drug cisplatin in vertebrates. We previously reported a cDNA encoding the full-length human RDM1 protein. Here, we describe the identification of 11 human cDNAs encoding RDM1 protein isoforms. This repertoire is generated by alternative pre-mRNA splicing and differential usage of two translational start sites, resulting in proteins with long or short N-terminus and a great diversity in the exonic composition of their C-terminus. By using tagged proteins and fluorescent microscopy, we examined the subcellular distribution of full-length RDM1 (renamed RDM1alpha), and other RDM1 isoforms. We show that RDM1alpha undergoes subcellular redistribution and nucleolar accumulation in response to proteotoxic stress and mild heat shock. In unstressed cells, the long N-terminal isoforms displayed distinct subcellular distribution patterns, ranging from a predominantly cytoplasmic to almost exclusive nuclear localization, suggesting functional differences among the RDM1 proteins. However, all isoforms underwent stress-induced nucleolar accumulation. We identified nuclear and nucleolar localization determinants as well as domains conferring cytoplasmic retention to the RDM1 proteins. Finally, RDM1 null chicken DT40 cells displayed an increased sensitivity to heat shock, compared to wild-type (wt) cells, suggesting a function for RDM1 in the heat-shock response.

  9. pLoc-mPlant: predict subcellular localization of multi-location plant proteins by incorporating the optimal GO information into general PseAAC.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Xiang; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2017-08-22

    One of the fundamental goals in cellular biochemistry is to identify the functions of proteins in the context of compartments that organize them in the cellular environment. To realize this, it is indispensable to develop an automated method for fast and accurate identification of the subcellular locations of uncharacterized proteins. The current study is focused on plant protein subcellular location prediction based on the sequence information alone. Although considerable efforts have been made in this regard, the problem is far from being solved yet. Most of the existing methods can be used to deal with single-location proteins only. Actually, proteins with multi-locations may have some special biological functions. This kind of multiplex protein is particularly important for both basic research and drug design. Using the multi-label theory, we present a new predictor called "pLoc-mPlant" by extracting the optimal GO (Gene Ontology) information into the Chou's general PseAAC (Pseudo Amino Acid Composition). Rigorous cross-validation on the same stringent benchmark dataset indicated that the proposed pLoc-mPlant predictor is remarkably superior to iLoc-Plant, the state-of-the-art method for predicting plant protein subcellular localization. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the new predictor has been established at , by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematics involved.

  10. pLoc-mVirus: Predict subcellular localization of multi-location virus proteins via incorporating the optimal GO information into general PseAAC.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Xiang; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2017-09-10

    Knowledge of subcellular locations of proteins is crucially important for in-depth understanding their functions in a cell. With the explosive growth of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is highly demanded to develop computational tools for timely annotating their subcellular locations based on the sequence information alone. The current study is focused on virus proteins. Although considerable efforts have been made in this regard, the problem is far from being solved yet. Most existing methods can be used to deal with single-location proteins only. Actually, proteins with multi-locations may have some special biological functions. This kind of multiplex proteins is particularly important for both basic research and drug design. Using the multi-label theory, we present a new predictor called "pLoc-mVirus" by extracting the optimal GO (Gene Ontology) information into the general PseAAC (Pseudo Amino Acid Composition). Rigorous cross-validation on a same stringent benchmark dataset indicated that the proposed pLoc-mVirus predictor is remarkably superior to iLoc-Virus, the state-of-the-art method in predicting virus protein subcellular localization. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the new predictor has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pLoc-mVirus/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematics involved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Protein Subcellular Localization with Gaussian Kernel Discriminant Analysis and Its Kernel Parameter Selection.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shunfang; Nie, Bing; Yue, Kun; Fei, Yu; Li, Wenjia; Xu, Dongshu

    2017-12-15

    Kernel discriminant analysis (KDA) is a dimension reduction and classification algorithm based on nonlinear kernel trick, which can be novelly used to treat high-dimensional and complex biological data before undergoing classification processes such as protein subcellular localization. Kernel parameters make a great impact on the performance of the KDA model. Specifically, for KDA with the popular Gaussian kernel, to select the scale parameter is still a challenging problem. Thus, this paper introduces the KDA method and proposes a new method for Gaussian kernel parameter selection depending on the fact that the differences between reconstruction errors of edge normal samples and those of interior normal samples should be maximized for certain suitable kernel parameters. Experiments with various standard data sets of protein subcellular localization show that the overall accuracy of protein classification prediction with KDA is much higher than that without KDA. Meanwhile, the kernel parameter of KDA has a great impact on the efficiency, and the proposed method can produce an optimum parameter, which makes the new algorithm not only perform as effectively as the traditional ones, but also reduce the computational time and thus improve efficiency.

  12. Proteome-wide Subcellular Topologies of E. coli Polypeptides Database (STEPdb)*

    PubMed Central

    Orfanoudaki, Georgia; Economou, Anastassios

    2014-01-01

    Cell compartmentalization serves both the isolation and the specialization of cell functions. After synthesis in the cytoplasm, over a third of all proteins are targeted to other subcellular compartments. Knowing how proteins are distributed within the cell and how they interact is a prerequisite for understanding it as a whole. Surface and secreted proteins are important pathogenicity determinants. Here we present the STEP database (STEPdb) that contains a comprehensive characterization of subcellular localization and topology of the complete proteome of Escherichia coli. Two widely used E. coli proteomes (K-12 and BL21) are presented organized into thirteen subcellular classes. STEPdb exploits the wealth of genetic, proteomic, biochemical, and functional information on protein localization, secretion, and targeting in E. coli, one of the best understood model organisms. Subcellular annotations were derived from a combination of bioinformatics prediction, proteomic, biochemical, functional, topological data and extensive literature re-examination that were refined through manual curation. Strong experimental support for the location of 1553 out of 4303 proteins was based on 426 articles and some experimental indications for another 526. Annotations were provided for another 320 proteins based on firm bioinformatic predictions. STEPdb is the first database that contains an extensive set of peripheral IM proteins (PIM proteins) and includes their graphical visualization into complexes, cellular functions, and interactions. It also summarizes all currently known protein export machineries of E. coli K-12 and pairs them, where available, with the secretory proteins that use them. It catalogs the Sec- and TAT-utilizing secretomes and summarizes their topological features such as signal peptides and transmembrane regions, transmembrane topologies and orientations. It also catalogs physicochemical and structural features that influence topology such as abundance, solubility, disorder, heat resistance, and structural domain families. Finally, STEPdb incorporates prediction tools for topology (TMHMM, SignalP, and Phobius) and disorder (IUPred) and implements the BLAST2STEP that performs protein homology searches against the STEPdb. PMID:25210196

  13. Subcellular localization of transiently expressed fluorescent fusion proteins.

    PubMed

    Collings, David A

    2013-01-01

    The recent and massive expansion in plant genomics data has generated a large number of gene sequences for which two seemingly simple questions need to be answered: where do the proteins encoded by these genes localize in cells, and what do they do? One widespread approach to answering the localization question has been to use particle bombardment to transiently express unknown proteins tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) or its numerous derivatives. Confocal fluorescence microscopy is then used to monitor the localization of the fluorescent protein as it hitches a ride through the cell. The subcellular localization of the fusion protein, if not immediately apparent, can then be determined by comparison to localizations generated by fluorescent protein fusions to known signalling sequences and proteins, or by direct comparison with fluorescent dyes. This review aims to be a tour guide for researchers wanting to travel this hitch-hiker's path, and for reviewers and readers who wish to understand their travel reports. It will describe some of the technology available for visualizing protein localizations, and some of the experimental approaches for optimizing and confirming localizations generated by particle bombardment in onion epidermal cells, the most commonly used experimental system. As the non-conservation of signal sequences in heterologous expression systems such as onion, and consequent mis-targeting of fusion proteins, is always a potential problem, the epidermal cells of the Argenteum mutant of pea are proposed as a model system.

  14. Subcellular Localized Chemical Imaging of Benthic Algal Nutritional Content via HgCdTe Array FT-IR

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wetzel, D.; Murdock, J; Dodds, W

    2008-01-01

    Algae respond rapidly and uniquely to changes in nutrient availability by adjusting pigment, storage product, and organelle content and quality. Cellular and subcellular variability of the relative abundance of macromolecular pools (e.g. protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and phosphodiesters) within the benthic (bottom dwelling) alga Cladophora glomerata (a common nuisance species in fresh and saline waters) was revealed by FT-IR microspectroscopic imaging. Nutrient heterogeneity was compared at the filament, cellular, and subcellular level, and localized nutrient uptake kinetics were studied by detecting the gradual incorporation of isotopically labeled nitrogen (N) (as K15NO3) from surrounding water into cellular proteins. Nutritional content differed substantiallymore » among filament cells, with differences driven by protein and lipid abundance. Whole cell imaging showed high subcellular macromolecular variability in all cells, including adjacent cells on a filament that developed clonally. N uptake was also very heterogeneous, both within and among cells, and did not appear to coincide with subcellular protein distribution. Despite high intercellular variability, some patterns emerged. Cells acquired more 15N the further they were away from the filament attachment point, and 15N incorporation was more closely correlated with phosphodiester content than protein, lipid, or carbohydrate content. Benthic algae are subject to substantial environmental heterogeneity induced by microscale hydrodynamic factors and spatial variability in nutrient availability. Species specific responses to nutrient heterogeneity are central to understanding this key component of aquatic ecosystems. FT-IR microspectroscopy, modified for benthic algae, allows determination of algal physiological responses at scales not available using current techniques.« less

  15. Accounting for Protein Subcellular Localization: A Compartmental Map of the Rat Liver Proteome*

    PubMed Central

    Jadot, Michel; Boonen, Marielle; Thirion, Jaqueline; Wang, Nan; Xing, Jinchuan; Zhao, Caifeng; Tannous, Abla; Qian, Meiqian; Zheng, Haiyan; Everett, John K.; Moore, Dirk F.; Sleat, David E.; Lobel, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Accurate knowledge of the intracellular location of proteins is important for numerous areas of biomedical research including assessing fidelity of putative protein-protein interactions, modeling cellular processes at a system-wide level and investigating metabolic and disease pathways. Many proteins have not been localized, or have been incompletely localized, partly because most studies do not account for entire subcellular distribution. Thus, proteins are frequently assigned to one organelle whereas a significant fraction may reside elsewhere. As a step toward a comprehensive cellular map, we used subcellular fractionation with classic balance sheet analysis and isobaric labeling/quantitative mass spectrometry to assign locations to >6000 rat liver proteins. We provide quantitative data and error estimates describing the distribution of each protein among the eight major cellular compartments: nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes, peroxisomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, plasma membrane and cytosol. Accounting for total intracellular distribution improves quality of organelle assignments and assigns proteins with multiple locations. Protein assignments and supporting data are available online through the Prolocate website (http://prolocate.cabm.rutgers.edu). As an example of the utility of this data set, we have used organelle assignments to help analyze whole exome sequencing data from an infant dying at 6 months of age from a suspected neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder of unknown etiology. Sequencing data was prioritized using lists of lysosomal proteins comprising well-established residents of this organelle as well as novel candidates identified in this study. The latter included copper transporter 1, encoded by SLC31A1, which we localized to both the plasma membrane and lysosome. The patient harbors two predicted loss of function mutations in SLC31A1, suggesting that this may represent a heretofore undescribed recessive lysosomal storage disease gene. PMID:27923875

  16. Accounting for Protein Subcellular Localization: A Compartmental Map of the Rat Liver Proteome.

    PubMed

    Jadot, Michel; Boonen, Marielle; Thirion, Jaqueline; Wang, Nan; Xing, Jinchuan; Zhao, Caifeng; Tannous, Abla; Qian, Meiqian; Zheng, Haiyan; Everett, John K; Moore, Dirk F; Sleat, David E; Lobel, Peter

    2017-02-01

    Accurate knowledge of the intracellular location of proteins is important for numerous areas of biomedical research including assessing fidelity of putative protein-protein interactions, modeling cellular processes at a system-wide level and investigating metabolic and disease pathways. Many proteins have not been localized, or have been incompletely localized, partly because most studies do not account for entire subcellular distribution. Thus, proteins are frequently assigned to one organelle whereas a significant fraction may reside elsewhere. As a step toward a comprehensive cellular map, we used subcellular fractionation with classic balance sheet analysis and isobaric labeling/quantitative mass spectrometry to assign locations to >6000 rat liver proteins. We provide quantitative data and error estimates describing the distribution of each protein among the eight major cellular compartments: nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes, peroxisomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, plasma membrane and cytosol. Accounting for total intracellular distribution improves quality of organelle assignments and assigns proteins with multiple locations. Protein assignments and supporting data are available online through the Prolocate website (http://prolocate.cabm.rutgers.edu). As an example of the utility of this data set, we have used organelle assignments to help analyze whole exome sequencing data from an infant dying at 6 months of age from a suspected neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder of unknown etiology. Sequencing data was prioritized using lists of lysosomal proteins comprising well-established residents of this organelle as well as novel candidates identified in this study. The latter included copper transporter 1, encoded by SLC31A1, which we localized to both the plasma membrane and lysosome. The patient harbors two predicted loss of function mutations in SLC31A1, suggesting that this may represent a heretofore undescribed recessive lysosomal storage disease gene. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  17. Modular Detection of GFP-Labeled Proteins for Rapid Screening by Electron Microscopy in Cells and Organisms.

    PubMed

    Ariotti, Nicholas; Hall, Thomas E; Rae, James; Ferguson, Charles; McMahon, Kerrie-Ann; Martel, Nick; Webb, Robyn E; Webb, Richard I; Teasdale, Rohan D; Parton, Robert G

    2015-11-23

    Reliable and quantifiable high-resolution protein localization is critical for understanding protein function. However, the time required to clone and characterize any protein of interest is a significant bottleneck, especially for electron microscopy (EM). We present a modular system for enzyme-based protein tagging that allows for improved speed and sampling for analysis of subcellular protein distributions using existing clone libraries to EM-resolution. We demonstrate that we can target a modified soybean ascorbate peroxidase (APEX) to any GFP-tagged protein of interest by engineering a GFP-binding peptide (GBP) directly to the APEX-tag. We demonstrate that APEX-GBP (1) significantly reduces the time required to characterize subcellular protein distributions of whole libraries to less than 3 days, (2) provides remarkable high-resolution localization of proteins to organelle subdomains, and (3) allows EM localization of GFP-tagged proteins, including proteins expressed at endogenous levels, in vivo by crossing existing GFP-tagged transgenic zebrafish lines with APEX-GBP transgenic lines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. mPLR-Loc: an adaptive decision multi-label classifier based on penalized logistic regression for protein subcellular localization prediction.

    PubMed

    Wan, Shibiao; Mak, Man-Wai; Kung, Sun-Yuan

    2015-03-15

    Proteins located in appropriate cellular compartments are of paramount importance to exert their biological functions. Prediction of protein subcellular localization by computational methods is required in the post-genomic era. Recent studies have been focusing on predicting not only single-location proteins but also multi-location proteins. However, most of the existing predictors are far from effective for tackling the challenges of multi-label proteins. This article proposes an efficient multi-label predictor, namely mPLR-Loc, based on penalized logistic regression and adaptive decisions for predicting both single- and multi-location proteins. Specifically, for each query protein, mPLR-Loc exploits the information from the Gene Ontology (GO) database by using its accession number (AC) or the ACs of its homologs obtained via BLAST. The frequencies of GO occurrences are used to construct feature vectors, which are then classified by an adaptive decision-based multi-label penalized logistic regression classifier. Experimental results based on two recent stringent benchmark datasets (virus and plant) show that mPLR-Loc remarkably outperforms existing state-of-the-art multi-label predictors. In addition to being able to rapidly and accurately predict subcellular localization of single- and multi-label proteins, mPLR-Loc can also provide probabilistic confidence scores for the prediction decisions. For readers' convenience, the mPLR-Loc server is available online (http://bioinfo.eie.polyu.edu.hk/mPLRLocServer). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Nuclear localization signal regulates porcine circovirus type 2 capsid protein nuclear export through phosphorylation.

    PubMed

    Hou, Qiang; Hou, Shaohua; Chen, Qing; Jia, Hong; Xin, Ting; Jiang, Yitong; Guo, Xiaoyu; Zhu, Hongfei

    2018-02-15

    The open reading frame 2 (ORF2) of Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) encodes the major Capsid (Cap) protein, which self-assembles into virus-like particle (VLP) of similar morphology to the PCV2 virion and accumulates in the nucleus through the N-terminal arginine-rich nuclear localization signal (NLS). In this study, PCV2 Cap protein and its derivates were expressed via the baculovirus expression system, and the cellular localization of the recombinant proteins were investigated using anti-Cap mAb by imaging flow cytometry. Analysis of subcellular localization of Cap protein and its variants demonstrated that NLS mediated Cap protein nuclear export as well as nuclear import, and a phosphorylation site (S17) was identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the NLS domain to regulate Cap protein nuclear export. Phosphorylation of NLS regulating the PCV2 Cap protein nuclear export was also demonstrated in PK15 cells by fluorescence microscopy. Moreover, the influence of Rep and Rep' protein on Cap protein subcellular localization was investigated in PK15 cells. Phosphorylation of NLS regulating Cap protein nuclear export provides more detailed knowledge of the PCV2 viral life cycle. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Proteome-wide identification of predominant subcellular protein localizations in a bacterial model organism.

    PubMed

    Stekhoven, Daniel J; Omasits, Ulrich; Quebatte, Maxime; Dehio, Christoph; Ahrens, Christian H

    2014-03-17

    Proteomics data provide unique insights into biological systems, including the predominant subcellular localization (SCL) of proteins, which can reveal important clues about their functions. Here we analyzed data of a complete prokaryotic proteome expressed under two conditions mimicking interaction of the emerging pathogen Bartonella henselae with its mammalian host. Normalized spectral count data from cytoplasmic, total membrane, inner and outer membrane fractions allowed us to identify the predominant SCL for 82% of the identified proteins. The spectral count proportion of total membrane versus cytoplasmic fractions indicated the propensity of cytoplasmic proteins to co-fractionate with the inner membrane, and enabled us to distinguish cytoplasmic, peripheral inner membrane and bona fide inner membrane proteins. Principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbor classification training on selected marker proteins or predominantly localized proteins, allowed us to determine an extensive catalog of at least 74 expressed outer membrane proteins, and to extend the SCL assignment to 94% of the identified proteins, including 18% where in silico methods gave no prediction. Suitable experimental proteomics data combined with straightforward computational approaches can thus identify the predominant SCL on a proteome-wide scale. Finally, we present a conceptual approach to identify proteins potentially changing their SCL in a condition-dependent fashion. The work presented here describes the first prokaryotic proteome-wide subcellular localization (SCL) dataset for the emerging pathogen B. henselae (Bhen). The study indicates that suitable subcellular fractionation experiments combined with straight-forward computational analysis approaches assessing the proportion of spectral counts observed in different subcellular fractions are powerful for determining the predominant SCL of a large percentage of the experimentally observed proteins. This includes numerous cases where in silico prediction methods do not provide any prediction. Avoiding a treatment with harsh conditions, cytoplasmic proteins tend to co-fractionate with proteins of the inner membrane fraction, indicative of close functional interactions. The spectral count proportion (SCP) of total membrane versus cytoplasmic fractions allowed us to obtain a good indication about the relative proximity of individual protein complex members to the inner membrane. Using principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbor approaches, we were able to extend the percentage of proteins with a predominant experimental localization to over 90% of all expressed proteins and identified a set of at least 74 outer membrane (OM) proteins. In general, OM proteins represent a rich source of candidates for the development of urgently needed new therapeutics in combat of resurgence of infectious disease and multi-drug resistant bacteria. Finally, by comparing the data from two infection biology relevant conditions, we conceptually explore methods to identify and visualize potential candidates that may partially change their SCL in these different conditions. The data are made available to researchers as a SCL compendium for Bhen and as an assistance in further improving in silico SCL prediction algorithms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Determining the Localization of Carbohydrate Active Enzymes Within Gram-Negative Bacteria.

    PubMed

    McLean, Richard; Inglis, G Douglas; Mosimann, Steven C; Uwiera, Richard R E; Abbott, D Wade

    2017-01-01

    Investigating the subcellular location of secreted proteins is valuable for illuminating their biological function. Although several bioinformatics programs currently exist to predict the destination of a trafficked protein using its signal peptide sequence, these programs have limited accuracy and often require experimental validation. Here, we present a systematic method to fractionate gram-negative cells and characterize the subcellular localization of secreted carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes). This method involves four parallel approaches that reveal the relative abundance of protein within the cytoplasm, periplasm, outer membrane, and extracellular environment. Cytoplasmic and periplasmic proteins are fractionated by lysis and osmotic shock, respectively. Outer membrane bound proteins are determined by comparing cells before and after exoproteolytic digestion. Extracellularly secreted proteins are collected from the media and concentrated. These four different fractionations can then be probed for the presence and quantity of target proteins using immunochemical methods such as Western blots and ELISAs, or enzyme activity assays.

  2. The intricacies of p21 phosphorylation: protein/protein interactions, subcellular localization and stability.

    PubMed

    Child, Emma S; Mann, David J

    2006-06-01

    p21 was originally described as functioning as a cell cycle regulator via inhibition of both cyclin-dependent kinases and processive DNA replication. Nowadays it is recognized to play other fundamental roles including transcriptional regulation and the modulation of apoptosis. Each of these functions of p21 is achieved through direct p21/protein interactions and the subcellular localization of p21 plays an important part in dictating the binding partners to which p21 is exposed. Over recent years, a number of phosphorylation sites in p21 have been identified, these being targeted by several important intracellular signalling protein kinases. Here we review the state of our knowledge of p21 phosphorylation with respect to the kinases involved and the molecular biological effects of each phosphorylation event.

  3. Euk-mPLoc: a fusion classifier for large-scale eukaryotic protein subcellular location prediction by incorporating multiple sites.

    PubMed

    Chou, Kuo-Chen; Shen, Hong-Bin

    2007-05-01

    One of the critical challenges in predicting protein subcellular localization is how to deal with the case of multiple location sites. Unfortunately, so far, no efforts have been made in this regard except for the one focused on the proteins in budding yeast only. For most existing predictors, the multiple-site proteins are either excluded from consideration or assumed even not existing. Actually, proteins may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular locations. For instance, according to the Swiss-Prot database (version 50.7, released 19-Sept-2006), among the 33,925 eukaryotic protein entries that have experimentally observed subcellular location annotations, 2715 have multiple location sites, meaning about 8% bearing the multiplex feature. Proteins with multiple locations or dynamic feature of this kind are particularly interesting because they may have some very special biological functions intriguing to investigators in both basic research and drug discovery. Meanwhile, according to the same Swiss-Prot database, the number of total eukaryotic protein entries (except those annotated with "fragment" or those with less than 50 amino acids) is 90,909, meaning a gap of (90,909-33,925) = 56,984 entries for which no knowledge is available about their subcellular locations. Although one can use the computational approach to predict the desired information for the blank, so far, all the existing methods for predicting eukaryotic protein subcellular localization are limited in the case of single location site only. To overcome such a barrier, a new ensemble classifier, named Euk-mPLoc, was developed that can be used to deal with the case of multiple location sites as well. Euk-mPLoc is freely accessible to the public as a Web server at http://202.120.37.186/bioinf/euk-multi. Meanwhile, to support the people working in the relevant areas, Euk-mPLoc has been used to identify all eukaryotic protein entries in the Swiss-Prot database that do not have subcellular location annotations or are annotated as being uncertain. The large-scale results thus obtained have been deposited at the same Web site via a downloadable file prepared with Microsoft Excel and named "Tab_Euk-mPLoc.xls". Furthermore, to include new entries of eukaryotic proteins and reflect the continuous development of Euk-mPLoc in both the coverage scope and prediction accuracy, we will timely update the downloadable file as well as the predictor, and keep users informed by publishing a short note in the Journal and making an announcement in the Web Page.

  4. A Variable Polyglutamine Repeat Affects Subcellular Localization and Regulatory Activity of a Populus ANGUSTIFOLIA Protein.

    PubMed

    Bryan, Anthony C; Zhang, Jin; Guo, Jianjun; Ranjan, Priya; Singan, Vasanth; Barry, Kerrie; Schmutz, Jeremy; Weighill, Deborah; Jacobson, Daniel; Jawdy, Sara; Tuskan, Gerald A; Chen, Jin-Gui; Muchero, Wellington

    2018-06-08

    Polyglutamine (polyQ) stretches have been reported to occur in proteins across many organisms including animals, fungi and plants. Expansion of these repeats has attracted much attention due their associations with numerous human diseases including Huntington's and other neurological maladies. This suggests that the relative length of polyQ stretches is an important modulator of their function. Here, we report the identification of a Populus C-terminus binding protein (CtBP) ANGUSTIFOLIA ( PtAN1 ) which contains a polyQ stretch whose functional relevance had not been established. Analysis of 917 resequenced Populus trichocarpa genotypes revealed three allelic variants at this locus encoding 11-, 13- and 15-glutamine residues. Transient expression assays using Populus leaf mesophyll protoplasts revealed that the 11Q variant exhibited strong nuclear localization whereas the 15Q variant was only found in the cytosol, with the 13Q variant exhibiting localization in both subcellular compartments. We assessed functional implications by evaluating expression changes of putative PtAN1 targets in response to overexpression of the three allelic variants and observed allele-specific differences in expression levels of putative targets. Our results provide evidence that variation in polyQ length modulates PtAN1 function by altering subcellular localization. Copyright © 2018, G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics.

  5. The src-family protein-tyrosine kinase p59hck is located on the secretory granules in human neutrophils and translocates towards the phagosome during cell activation.

    PubMed

    Möhn, H; Le Cabec, V; Fischer, S; Maridonneau-Parini, I

    1995-07-15

    The src-family protein-tyrosine kinase p59hck is mainly expressed in neutrophils; however, its functional role in these cells is unknown. Several other src-family members are localized on secretory vesicles and have been proposed to regulate intracellular traffic. We have established here the subcellular localization of p59hck in human neutrophils. Immunoblotting of subcellular fractions showed that approx. 60% of the p59hck per cell is localized on the secretory granules; the other 40% is distributed equally between non-granular membranes and the cytosol. Immunofluorescence of neutrophils and HL60 cells suggests that the p59hck-positive granules are azurophil granules. Granular p59hck is highly susceptible to degradation by an azurophil-granule proteinase. Different forms of p59hck occur in the three subcellular compartments: a 61 kDa form is mainly found in the granules, a 59 kDa form is predominant in the non-granular membranes, whereas cytosolic p59hck migrates as a doublet at 63 kDa. During the process of phagocytosis-linked degranulation, induced by serum-opsonized zymosan in neutrophils or HL60 cells, granular p59hck translocates towards the phagosome. The subcellular localization of p59hck suggests that the enzyme could be involved in the regulation of the degranulation process.

  6. Correlation of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 subcellular localization and lymph node metastases of colorectal neoplasms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Song, Yan; Lv, Liyang; Du, Juan

    2013-09-20

    Highlights: •We clarified NDRG1 subcellular location in colorectal cancer. •We found the changes of NDRG1 distribution during colorectal cancer progression. •We clarified the correlation between NDRG1 distribution and lymph node metastasis. •It is possible that NDRG1 subcellular localization may determine its function. •Maybe NDRG1 is valuable early diagnostic markers for metastasis. -- Abstract: In colorectal neoplasms, N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) is a primarily cytoplasmic protein, but it is also expressed on the cell membrane and in the nucleus. NDRG1 is involved in various stages of tumor development in colorectal cancer, and it is possible that the different subcellular localizationsmore » may determine the function of NDRG1 protein. Here, we attempt to clarify the characteristics of NDRG1 protein subcellular localization during the progression of colorectal cancer. We examined NDRG1 expression in 49 colorectal cancer patients in cancerous, non-cancerous, and corresponding lymph node tissues. Cytoplasmic and membrane NDRG1 expression was higher in the lymph nodes with metastases than in those without metastases (P < 0.01). Nuclear NDRG1 expression in colorectal neoplasms was significantly higher than in the normal colorectal mucosa, and yet the normal colorectal mucosa showed no nuclear expression. Furthermore, our results showed higher cytoplasmic NDRG1 expression was better for differentiation, and higher membrane NDRG1 expression resulted in a greater possibility of lymph node metastasis. These data indicate that a certain relationship between the cytoplasmic and membrane expression of NDRG1 in lymph nodes exists with lymph node metastasis. NDRG1 expression may translocate from the membrane of the colorectal cancer cells to the nucleus, where it is involved in lymph node metastasis. Combination analysis of NDRG1 subcellular expression and clinical variables will help predict the incidence of lymph node metastasis.« less

  7. Nucleolar localization of cirhin, the protein mutated in North American Indian childhood cirrhosis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yu, Bin; Mitchell, Grant A.; Richter, Andrea

    2005-12-10

    Cirhin (NP{sub 1}16219), the product of the CIRH1A gene is mutated in North American Indian childhood cirrhosis (NAIC/CIRH1A, OMIM 604901), a severe autosomal recessive intrahepatic cholestasis. It is a 686-amino-acid WD40-repeat containing protein of unknown function that is predicted to contain multiple targeting signals, including an N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal, a C-terminal monopartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a bipartite nuclear localization signal (BNLS). We performed the direct determination of subcellular localization of cirhin as a crucial first step in unraveling its biological function. Using EGFP and His-tagged cirhin fusion proteins expressed in HeLa and HepG2, cells we show thatmore » cirhin is a nucleolar protein and that the R565W mutation, for which all NAIC patients are homozygous, has no effect on subcellular localization. Cirhin has an active C-terminal monopartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a unique nucleolar localization signal (NrLS) between residues 315 and 432. The nucleolus is not known to be important specifically for intrahepatic cholestasis. These observations provide a new dimension in the study of hereditary cholestasis.« less

  8. Subcellular Distribution of O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase in Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) Inflorescence.

    PubMed

    Rolland, N; Droux, M; Douce, R

    1992-03-01

    The subcellular localization of O-acetyiserine(thiol)lyase (EC 4.2.99.8) in nongreen tissue from higher plants has been studied using purified proplastids, mitochondria, and protoplasts from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) buds as a source of subcellular fractions. O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase has been detected in both organelles (proplastids and mitochondria) and a cytosolic extract obtained by protoplast fractionation. We confirmed these observations, demonstrating that a form of the enzyme different in global charge and separated from others by anion-exchange chromatography corresponded to each subcellular location. Our observations are consistent with the need for cysteine biosynthesis in each subcellular compartment where the synthesis of proteins occurs.

  9. Subcellular Distribution of O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase in Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) Inflorescence

    PubMed Central

    Rolland, Norbert; Droux, Michel; Douce, Roland

    1992-01-01

    The subcellular localization of O-acetyiserine(thiol)lyase (EC 4.2.99.8) in nongreen tissue from higher plants has been studied using purified proplastids, mitochondria, and protoplasts from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) buds as a source of subcellular fractions. O-Acetylserine(thiol)lyase has been detected in both organelles (proplastids and mitochondria) and a cytosolic extract obtained by protoplast fractionation. We confirmed these observations, demonstrating that a form of the enzyme different in global charge and separated from others by anion-exchange chromatography corresponded to each subcellular location. Our observations are consistent with the need for cysteine biosynthesis in each subcellular compartment where the synthesis of proteins occurs. ImagesFigure 1 PMID:16668766

  10. Hum-mPLoc 3.0: prediction enhancement of human protein subcellular localization through modeling the hidden correlations of gene ontology and functional domain features.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Hang; Yang, Yang; Shen, Hong-Bin

    2017-03-15

    Protein subcellular localization prediction has been an important research topic in computational biology over the last decade. Various automatic methods have been proposed to predict locations for large scale protein datasets, where statistical machine learning algorithms are widely used for model construction. A key step in these predictors is encoding the amino acid sequences into feature vectors. Many studies have shown that features extracted from biological domains, such as gene ontology and functional domains, can be very useful for improving the prediction accuracy. However, domain knowledge usually results in redundant features and high-dimensional feature spaces, which may degenerate the performance of machine learning models. In this paper, we propose a new amino acid sequence-based human protein subcellular location prediction approach Hum-mPLoc 3.0, which covers 12 human subcellular localizations. The sequences are represented by multi-view complementary features, i.e. context vocabulary annotation-based gene ontology (GO) terms, peptide-based functional domains, and residue-based statistical features. To systematically reflect the structural hierarchy of the domain knowledge bases, we propose a novel feature representation protocol denoted as HCM (Hidden Correlation Modeling), which will create more compact and discriminative feature vectors by modeling the hidden correlations between annotation terms. Experimental results on four benchmark datasets show that HCM improves prediction accuracy by 5-11% and F 1 by 8-19% compared with conventional GO-based methods. A large-scale application of Hum-mPLoc 3.0 on the whole human proteome reveals proteins co-localization preferences in the cell. www.csbio.sjtu.edu.cn/bioinf/Hum-mPLoc3/. hbshen@sjtu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  11. Identification of novel nuclear localization signals of Drosophila myeloid leukemia factor.

    PubMed

    Sugano, Wakana; Yamaguchi, Masamitsu

    2007-01-01

    Myeloid leukemia factor 1 (MLF1) was first identified as part of a leukemic fusion protein produced by a chromosomal translocation, and MLF family proteins are present in many animals. In mammalian cells, MLF1 has been described as mainly cytoplasmic, but in Drosophila, one of the dMLF isoforms (dMLFA) localized mainly in the nucleus while the other isoform (dMLFB), that appears to be produced by the alternative splicing, displays both nuclear and cytoplasmic localization. To investigate the difference in subcellular localization between MLF family members, we examined the subcellular localization of deletion mutants of dMLFA isoform. The analyses showed that the C-terminal 40 amino acid region of dMLFA is necessary and sufficient for nuclear localization. Based on amino acid sequences, we hypothesized that two nuclear localization signals (NLSs) are present within the region. Site-directed mutagenesis of critical residues within the two putative NLSs leads to loss of nuclear localization, suggesting that both NLS motifs are necessary for nuclear localization.

  12. Identification of human cysteine-rich secretory protein 3 (CRISP-3) as a matrix protein in a subset of peroxidase-negative granules of neutrophils and in the granules of eosinophils.

    PubMed

    Udby, Lene; Calafat, Jero; Sørensen, Ole E; Borregaard, Niels; Kjeldsen, Lars

    2002-09-01

    Cysteine-rich secretory protein 3 (CRISP-3; also known as SGP28) was originally discovered in human neutrophilic granulocytes. We have recently developed a sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for CRISP-3 and demonstrated the presence of CRISP-3 in exocrine secretions. To investigate the subcellular localization and mobilization of CRISP-3 in human neutrophils, we performed subcellular fractionation of resting and activated neutrophils on three-layer Percoll density gradients, release-studies of granule proteins in response to different secretagogues, and double-labeling immunogold electron microscopy. CRISP-3 was found to be localized in a subset of granules with overlapping characteristics of specific and gelatinase granules and mobilized accordingly, thus confirming the hypothesis that peroxidase-negative granules exist as a continuum from specific to gelatinase granules regarding protein content and mobilization. CRISP-3 was found to be a matrix protein, which is stored in granules as glycosylated and as unglycosylated protein. The subcellular distribution of the two forms of CRISP-3 was identical. In addition, CRISP-3 was found as a granule protein in eosinophilic granulocytes. The presence of CRISP-3 in peroxidase-negative granules of neutrophils, in granules of eosinophils, and in exocrine secretions indicates a role in the innate host defense.

  13. Rice DB: an Oryza Information Portal linking annotation, subcellular location, function, expression, regulation, and evolutionary information for rice and Arabidopsis

    PubMed Central

    Narsai, Reena; Devenish, James; Castleden, Ian; Narsai, Kabir; Xu, Lin; Shou, Huixia; Whelan, James

    2013-01-01

    Omics research in Oryza sativa (rice) relies on the use of multiple databases to obtain different types of information to define gene function. We present Rice DB, an Oryza information portal that is a functional genomics database, linking gene loci to comprehensive annotations, expression data and the subcellular location of encoded proteins. Rice DB has been designed to integrate the direct comparison of rice with Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), based on orthology or ‘expressology’, thus using and combining available information from two pre-eminent plant models. To establish Rice DB, gene identifiers (more than 40 types) and annotations from a variety of sources were compiled, functional information based on large-scale and individual studies was manually collated, hundreds of microarrays were analysed to generate expression annotations, and the occurrences of potential functional regulatory motifs in promoter regions were calculated. A range of computational subcellular localization predictions were also run for all putative proteins encoded in the rice genome, and experimentally confirmed protein localizations have been collated, curated and linked to functional studies in rice. A single search box allows anything from gene identifiers (for rice and/or Arabidopsis), motif sequences, subcellular location, to keyword searches to be entered, with the capability of Boolean searches (such as AND/OR). To demonstrate the utility of Rice DB, several examples are presented including a rice mitochondrial proteome, which draws on a variety of sources for subcellular location data within Rice DB. Comparisons of subcellular location, functional annotations, as well as transcript expression in parallel with Arabidopsis reveals examples of conservation between rice and Arabidopsis, using Rice DB (http://ricedb.plantenergy.uwa.edu.au). PMID:24147765

  14. Rice DB: an Oryza Information Portal linking annotation, subcellular location, function, expression, regulation, and evolutionary information for rice and Arabidopsis.

    PubMed

    Narsai, Reena; Devenish, James; Castleden, Ian; Narsai, Kabir; Xu, Lin; Shou, Huixia; Whelan, James

    2013-12-01

    Omics research in Oryza sativa (rice) relies on the use of multiple databases to obtain different types of information to define gene function. We present Rice DB, an Oryza information portal that is a functional genomics database, linking gene loci to comprehensive annotations, expression data and the subcellular location of encoded proteins. Rice DB has been designed to integrate the direct comparison of rice with Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), based on orthology or 'expressology', thus using and combining available information from two pre-eminent plant models. To establish Rice DB, gene identifiers (more than 40 types) and annotations from a variety of sources were compiled, functional information based on large-scale and individual studies was manually collated, hundreds of microarrays were analysed to generate expression annotations, and the occurrences of potential functional regulatory motifs in promoter regions were calculated. A range of computational subcellular localization predictions were also run for all putative proteins encoded in the rice genome, and experimentally confirmed protein localizations have been collated, curated and linked to functional studies in rice. A single search box allows anything from gene identifiers (for rice and/or Arabidopsis), motif sequences, subcellular location, to keyword searches to be entered, with the capability of Boolean searches (such as AND/OR). To demonstrate the utility of Rice DB, several examples are presented including a rice mitochondrial proteome, which draws on a variety of sources for subcellular location data within Rice DB. Comparisons of subcellular location, functional annotations, as well as transcript expression in parallel with Arabidopsis reveals examples of conservation between rice and Arabidopsis, using Rice DB (http://ricedb.plantenergy.uwa.edu.au). © 2013 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Xuhuai goat H-FABP gene clone, subcellular localization of expression products and the preparation of transgenic mice.

    PubMed

    Yin, Yan-hui; Li, Bi-chun; Wei, Guang-hui; Zhu, Cai-ye; Li, Wei; Zhang, Ya-ni; Du, Li-xin; Cao, Wen-guang

    2012-05-01

    The aim of this study was to clone the heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) gene of Xuhuai goat, to explore it bioinformatically, and analyze the subcellular localization using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The results showed that the coding sequence (CDS) length of Xuhuai goat H-FABP gene was 402 bp, encoding 133 amino acids (GenBank accession number AY466498.1). The H-FABP cDNA coding sequence was compared with the corresponding region of human, chicken, brown rat, cow, wild boar, donkey, and zebrafish. The similarity were 89%, 76%, 85%, 84%, 93%, 91%, 70%, respectively. For the corresponding amino acid sequences, the similarity were 90%, 79%, 88%, 97%, 95%, 94%, 72%, respectively. This study did not find the signal peptide region in the H-FABP protein; it revealed that H-FABP protein might be a nonsecreted protein. H-FABP expression was detected in vitro by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the EGFP-H-FABP fusion protein was localized to the cytoplasm. The gene could also be transiently and permanently expressed in mice.

  16. Subcellular localization of the five members of the human steroid 5α-reductase family.

    PubMed

    Scaglione, Antonella; Montemiglio, Linda Celeste; Parisi, Giacomo; Asteriti, Italia Anna; Bruni, Renato; Cerutti, Gabriele; Testi, Claudia; Savino, Carmelinda; Mancia, Filippo; Lavia, Patrizia; Vallone, Beatrice

    2017-06-01

    In humans the steroid 5alpha-reductase (SRD5A) family comprises five integral membrane enzymes that carry out reduction of a double bond in lipidic substrates: Δ 4 -3-keto steroids, polyprenol and trans-enoyl CoA. The best-characterized reaction is the conversion of testosterone into the more potent dihydrotestosterone carried out by SRD5A1-2. Some controversy exists on their possible nuclear or endoplasmic reticulum localization. We report the cloning and transient expression in HeLa cells of the five members of the human steroid 5α-reductase family as both N- and C-terminus green fluorescent protein tagged protein constructs. Following the intrinsic fluorescence of the tag, we have determined that the subcellular localization of these enzymes is in the endoplasmic reticulum, upon expression in HeLa cells. The presence of the tag at either end of the polypeptide chain can affect protein expression and, in the case of trans enoyl-CoA reductase, it induces the formation of protein aggregates.

  17. Expression of Tocopherol-Associated Protein in Mast Cells

    PubMed Central

    Ikeda, Teruo; Murakami, Masaru; Funaba, Masayuki

    2004-01-01

    Tocopherol-associated protein (TAP) was expressed in mouse mast cells. TAP was predominantly localized in the cytoplasm, and the subcellular localization was not changed by α-tocopherol. The results suggest that the physiological role of TAP in mast cells is not regulation of tocopherol function but an as-yet-unidentified activity. PMID:15539527

  18. Genome-wide identification of the subcellular localization of the Escherichia coli B proteome using experimental and computational methods.

    PubMed

    Han, Mee-Jung; Yun, Hongseok; Lee, Jeong Wook; Lee, Yu Hyun; Lee, Sang Yup; Yoo, Jong-Shin; Kim, Jin Young; Kim, Jihyun F; Hur, Cheol-Goo

    2011-04-01

    Escherichia coli K-12 and B strains have most widely been employed for scientific studies as well as industrial applications. Recently, the complete genome sequences of two representative descendants of E. coli B strains, REL606 and BL21(DE3), have been determined. Here, we report the subproteome reference maps of E. coli B REL606 by analyzing cytoplasmic, periplasmic, inner and outer membrane, and extracellular proteomes based on the genome information using experimental and computational approaches. Among the total of 3487 spots, 651 proteins including 410 non-redundant proteins were identified and characterized by 2-DE and LC-MS/MS; they include 440 cytoplasmic, 45 periplasmic, 50 inner membrane, 61 outer membrane, and 55 extracellular proteins. In addition, subcellular localizations of all 4205 ORFs of E. coli B were predicted by combined computational prediction methods. The subcellular localizations of 1812 (43.09%) proteins of currently unknown function were newly assigned. The results of computational prediction were also compared with the experimental results, showing that overall precision and recall were 92.16 and 92.16%, respectively. This work represents the most comprehensive analyses of the subproteomes of E. coli B, and will be useful as a reference for proteome profiling studies under various conditions. The complete proteome data are available online (http://ecolib.kaist.ac.kr). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Plasmodium berghei MAPK1 Displays Differential and Dynamic Subcellular Localizations during Liver Stage Development

    PubMed Central

    Wierk, Jannika Katharina; Langbehn, Annette; Kamper, Maria; Richter, Stefanie; Burda, Paul-Christian; Heussler, Volker Theo; Deschermeier, Christina

    2013-01-01

    Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate key signaling events in eukaryotic cells. In the genomes of protozoan Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria, two genes encoding kinases with significant homology to other eukaryotic MAPKs have been identified (mapk1, mapk2). In this work, we show that both genes are transcribed during Plasmodium berghei liver stage development, and analyze expression and subcellular localization of the PbMAPK1 protein in liver stage parasites. Live cell imaging of transgenic parasites expressing GFP-tagged PbMAPK1 revealed a nuclear localization of PbMAPK1 in the early schizont stage mediated by nuclear localization signals in the C-terminal domain. In contrast, a distinct localization of PbMAPK1 in comma/ring-shaped structures in proximity to the parasite’s nuclei and the invaginating parasite membrane was observed during the cytomere stage of parasite development as well as in immature blood stage schizonts. The PbMAPK1 localization was found to be independent of integrity of a motif putatively involved in ATP binding, integrity of the putative activation motif and the presence of a predicted coiled-coil domain in the C-terminal domain. Although PbMAPK1 knock out parasites showed normal liver stage development, the kinase may still fulfill a dual function in both schizogony and merogony of liver stage parasites regulated by its dynamic and stage-dependent subcellular localization. PMID:23544094

  20. The src-family protein-tyrosine kinase p59hck is located on the secretory granules in human neutrophils and translocates towards the phagosome during cell activation.

    PubMed Central

    Möhn, H; Le Cabec, V; Fischer, S; Maridonneau-Parini, I

    1995-01-01

    The src-family protein-tyrosine kinase p59hck is mainly expressed in neutrophils; however, its functional role in these cells is unknown. Several other src-family members are localized on secretory vesicles and have been proposed to regulate intracellular traffic. We have established here the subcellular localization of p59hck in human neutrophils. Immunoblotting of subcellular fractions showed that approx. 60% of the p59hck per cell is localized on the secretory granules; the other 40% is distributed equally between non-granular membranes and the cytosol. Immunofluorescence of neutrophils and HL60 cells suggests that the p59hck-positive granules are azurophil granules. Granular p59hck is highly susceptible to degradation by an azurophil-granule proteinase. Different forms of p59hck occur in the three subcellular compartments: a 61 kDa form is mainly found in the granules, a 59 kDa form is predominant in the non-granular membranes, whereas cytosolic p59hck migrates as a doublet at 63 kDa. During the process of phagocytosis-linked degranulation, induced by serum-opsonized zymosan in neutrophils or HL60 cells, granular p59hck translocates towards the phagosome. The subcellular localization of p59hck suggests that the enzyme could be involved in the regulation of the degranulation process. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 PMID:7626033

  1. Geometric approach to segmentation and protein localization in cell culture assays.

    PubMed

    Raman, S; Maxwell, C A; Barcellos-Hoff, M H; Parvin, B

    2007-01-01

    Cell-based fluorescence imaging assays are heterogeneous and require the collection of a large number of images for detailed quantitative analysis. Complexities arise as a result of variation in spatial nonuniformity, shape, overlapping compartments and scale (size). A new technique and methodology has been developed and tested for delineating subcellular morphology and partitioning overlapping compartments at multiple scales. This system is packaged as an integrated software platform for quantifying images that are obtained through fluorescence microscopy. Proposed methods are model based, leveraging geometric shape properties of subcellular compartments and corresponding protein localization. From the morphological perspective, convexity constraint is imposed to delineate and partition nuclear compartments. From the protein localization perspective, radial symmetry is imposed to localize punctate protein events at submicron resolution. Convexity constraint is imposed against boundary information, which are extracted through a combination of zero-crossing and gradient operator. If the convexity constraint fails for the boundary then positive curvature maxima are localized along the contour and the entire blob is partitioned into disjointed convex objects representing individual nuclear compartment, by enforcing geometric constraints. Nuclear compartments provide the context for protein localization, which may be diffuse or punctate. Punctate signal are localized through iterative voting and radial symmetries for improved reliability and robustness. The technique has been tested against 196 images that were generated to study centrosome abnormalities. Corresponding computed representations are compared against manual counts for validation.

  2. Proteome-wide identification of predominant subcellular protein localizations in a bacterial model organism

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stekhoven, Daniel J.; Omasits, Ulrich; Quebatte, Maxime

    2014-03-01

    Proteomics data provide unique insights into biological systems, including the predominant subcellular localization (SCL) of proteins, which can reveal important clues about their functions. Here we analyzed data of a complete prokaryotic proteome expressed under two conditions mimicking interaction of the emerging pathogen Bartonella henselae with its mammalian host. Normalized spectral count data from cytoplasmic, total membrane, inner and outer membrane fractions allowed us to identify the predominant SCL for 82% of the identified proteins. The spectral count proportion of total membrane versus cytoplasmic fractions indicated the propensity of cytoplasmic proteins to co-fractionate with the inner membrane, and enabled usmore » to distinguish cytoplasmic, peripheral innermembrane and bona fide inner membrane proteins. Principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbor classification training on selected marker proteins or predominantly localized proteins, allowed us to determine an extensive catalog of at least 74 expressed outer membrane proteins, and to extend the SCL assignment to 94% of the identified proteins, including 18% where in silico methods gave no prediction. Suitable experimental proteomics data combined with straightforward computational approaches can thus identify the predominant SCL on a proteome-wide scale. Finally, we present a conceptual approach to identify proteins potentially changing their SCL in a condition-dependent fashion.« less

  3. Region of Nipah virus C protein responsible for shuttling between the cytoplasm and nucleus

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Horie, Ryo; Yoneda, Misako, E-mail: yone@ims.u-tok

    Nipah virus (NiV) causes severe encephalitis in humans, with high mortality. NiV nonstructural C protein (NiV-C) is essential for its pathogenicity, but its functions are unclear. In this study, we focused on NiV-C trafficking in cells and found that it localizes predominantly in the cytoplasm but partly in the nucleus. An analysis of NiV-C mutants showed that amino acids 2, 21–24 and 110–139 of NiV-C are important for its localization in the cytoplasm. Inhibitor treatment indicates that the nuclear export determinant is not a classical CRM1-dependent nuclear export signal. We also determined that amino acids 60–75 and 72–75 were importantmore » for nuclear localization of NiV-C. Furthermore, NiV-C mutants that had lost their capacity for nuclear localization inhibited the interferon (IFN) response more strongly than complete NiV-C. These results indicate that the IFN-antagonist activity of NiV-C occurs in the cytoplasm. -- Highlights: •Nipah virus (NiV) infection resulted in high mortality, but effective treatment has not been established. •Several reports revealed that NiV nonstructural C protein (NiV-C) was essential for NiV pathogenicity, however, whole of NiV-C function is still unknown. •Although nonstructural C proteins of other Paramyxoviruses are expressed in similar mechanism and exert similar activity, subcellular localization and cellular targets are different. In this study, we evaluated the subcellular localization of NiV-C. •To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that NiV-C shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm. We also clarified that NiV-C has nuclear export signal and nuclear localization signal using NiV-C deleted, alanine substitution mutants and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused proteins. •And we also showed that interferon (IFN) antagonist activity of NiV-C related to its subcellular localization. Our results indicate that NiV-C exert IFN antagonist activity in the cytoplasm.« less

  4. Multiple-Localization and Hub Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Ota, Motonori; Gonja, Hideki; Koike, Ryotaro; Fukuchi, Satoshi

    2016-01-01

    Protein-protein interactions are fundamental for all biological phenomena, and protein-protein interaction networks provide a global view of the interactions. The hub proteins, with many interaction partners, play vital roles in the networks. We investigated the subcellular localizations of proteins in the human network, and found that the ones localized in multiple subcellular compartments, especially the nucleus/cytoplasm proteins (NCP), the cytoplasm/cell membrane proteins (CMP), and the nucleus/cytoplasm/cell membrane proteins (NCMP), tend to be hubs. Examinations of keywords suggested that among NCP, those related to post-translational modifications and transcription functions are the major contributors to the large number of interactions. These types of proteins are characterized by a multi-domain architecture and intrinsic disorder. A survey of the typical hub proteins with prominent numbers of interaction partners in the type revealed that most are either transcription factors or co-regulators involved in signaling pathways. They translocate from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, triggered by the phosphorylation and/or ubiquitination of intrinsically disordered regions. Among CMP and NCMP, the contributors to the numerous interactions are related to either kinase or ubiquitin ligase activity. Many of them reside on the cytoplasmic side of the cell membrane, and act as the upstream regulators of signaling pathways. Overall, these hub proteins function to transfer external signals to the nucleus, through the cell membrane and the cytoplasm. Our analysis suggests that multiple-localization is a crucial concept to characterize groups of hub proteins and their biological functions in cellular information processing. PMID:27285823

  5. Distinct Cellular and Subcellular Distributions of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase and Arrestin Isoforms in the Striatum

    PubMed Central

    Bychkov, Evgeny; Zurkovsky, Lilia; Garret, Mika B.; Ahmed, Mohamed R.; Gurevich, Eugenia V.

    2012-01-01

    G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) and arrestins mediate desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Arrestins also mediate G protein-independent signaling via GPCRs. Since GRK and arrestins demonstrate no strict receptor specificity, their functions in the brain may depend on their cellular complement, expression level, and subcellular targeting. However, cellular expression and subcellular distribution of GRKs and arrestins in the brain is largely unknown. We show that GRK isoforms GRK2 and GRK5 are similarly expressed in direct and indirect pathway neurons in the rat striatum. Arrestin-2 and arrestin-3 are also expressed in neurons of both pathways. Cholinergic interneurons are enriched in GRK2, arrestin-3, and GRK5. Parvalbumin-positive interneurons express more of GRK2 and less of arrestin-2 than medium spiny neurons. The GRK5 subcellular distribution in the human striatal neurons is altered by its phosphorylation: unphosphorylated enzyme preferentially localizes to synaptic membranes, whereas phosphorylated GRK5 is found in plasma membrane and cytosolic fractions. Both GRK isoforms are abundant in the nucleus of human striatal neurons, whereas the proportion of both arrestins in the nucleus was equally low. However, overall higher expression of arrestin-2 yields high enough concentration in the nucleus to mediate nuclear functions. These data suggest cell type- and subcellular compartment-dependent differences in GRK/arrestin-mediated desensitization and signaling. PMID:23139825

  6. Distinct cellular and subcellular distributions of G protein-coupled receptor kinase and arrestin isoforms in the striatum.

    PubMed

    Bychkov, Evgeny; Zurkovsky, Lilia; Garret, Mika B; Ahmed, Mohamed R; Gurevich, Eugenia V

    2012-01-01

    G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) and arrestins mediate desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Arrestins also mediate G protein-independent signaling via GPCRs. Since GRK and arrestins demonstrate no strict receptor specificity, their functions in the brain may depend on their cellular complement, expression level, and subcellular targeting. However, cellular expression and subcellular distribution of GRKs and arrestins in the brain is largely unknown. We show that GRK isoforms GRK2 and GRK5 are similarly expressed in direct and indirect pathway neurons in the rat striatum. Arrestin-2 and arrestin-3 are also expressed in neurons of both pathways. Cholinergic interneurons are enriched in GRK2, arrestin-3, and GRK5. Parvalbumin-positive interneurons express more of GRK2 and less of arrestin-2 than medium spiny neurons. The GRK5 subcellular distribution in the human striatal neurons is altered by its phosphorylation: unphosphorylated enzyme preferentially localizes to synaptic membranes, whereas phosphorylated GRK5 is found in plasma membrane and cytosolic fractions. Both GRK isoforms are abundant in the nucleus of human striatal neurons, whereas the proportion of both arrestins in the nucleus was equally low. However, overall higher expression of arrestin-2 yields high enough concentration in the nucleus to mediate nuclear functions. These data suggest cell type- and subcellular compartment-dependent differences in GRK/arrestin-mediated desensitization and signaling.

  7. The Native Form and Maturation Process of Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein

    PubMed Central

    Yasui, Kohichiroh; Wakita, Takaji; Tsukiyama-Kohara, Kyoko; Funahashi, Shin-Ichi; Ichikawa, Masumi; Kajita, Tadahiro; Moradpour, Darius; Wands, Jack R.; Kohara, Michinori

    1998-01-01

    The maturation and subcellular localization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein were investigated with both a vaccinia virus expression system and CHO cell lines stably transformed with HCV cDNA. Two HCV core proteins, with molecular sizes of 21 kDa (p21) and 23 kDa (p23), were identified. The C-terminal end of p23 is amino acid 191 of the HCV polyprotein, and p21 is produced as a result of processing between amino acids 174 and 191. The subcellular localization of the HCV core protein was examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Although HCV core protein resided predominantly in the cytoplasm, it was also found in the nucleus and had the same molecular size as p21 in both locations, as determined by subcellular fractionation. The HCV core proteins had different immunoreactivities to a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Antibody 5E3 stained core protein in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus, C7-50 stained core protein only in the cytoplasm, and 499S stained core protein only in the nucleus. These results clearly indicate that the p23 form of HCV core protein is processed to p21 in the cytoplasm and that the core protein in the nucleus has a higher-order structure different from that of p21 in the cytoplasm. HCV core protein in sera of patients with HCV infection was analyzed in order to determine the molecular size of genuinely processed HCV core protein. HCV core protein in sera was found to have exactly the same molecular weight as the p21 protein. These results suggest that p21 core protein is a component of native viral particles. PMID:9621068

  8. Hum-mPLoc: an ensemble classifier for large-scale human protein subcellular location prediction by incorporating samples with multiple sites.

    PubMed

    Shen, Hong-Bin; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2007-04-20

    Proteins may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular locations. Proteins with multiple locations or dynamic feature of this kind are particularly interesting because they may have some very special biological functions intriguing to investigators in both basic research and drug discovery. For instance, among the 6408 human protein entries that have experimentally observed subcellular location annotations in the Swiss-Prot database (version 50.7, released 19-Sept-2006), 973 ( approximately 15%) have multiple location sites. The number of total human protein entries (except those annotated with "fragment" or those with less than 50 amino acids) in the same database is 14,370, meaning a gap of (14,370-6408)=7962 entries for which no knowledge is available about their subcellular locations. Although one can use the computational approach to predict the desired information for the gap, so far all the existing methods for predicting human protein subcellular localization are limited in the case of single location site only. To overcome such a barrier, a new ensemble classifier, named Hum-mPLoc, was developed that can be used to deal with the case of multiple location sites as well. Hum-mPLoc is freely accessible to the public as a web server at http://202.120.37.186/bioinf/hum-multi. Meanwhile, for the convenience of people working in the relevant areas, Hum-mPLoc has been used to identify all human protein entries in the Swiss-Prot database that do not have subcellular location annotations or are annotated as being uncertain. The large-scale results thus obtained have been deposited in a downloadable file prepared with Microsoft Excel and named "Tab_Hum-mPLoc.xls". This file is available at the same website and will be updated twice a year to include new entries of human proteins and reflect the continuous development of Hum-mPLoc.

  9. Pannexin2 oligomers localize in the membranes of endosomal vesicles in mammalian cells while Pannexin1 channels traffic to the plasma membrane.

    PubMed

    Boassa, Daniela; Nguyen, Phuong; Hu, Junru; Ellisman, Mark H; Sosinsky, Gina E

    2014-01-01

    Pannexin2 (Panx2) is the largest of three members of the pannexin proteins. Pannexins are topologically related to connexins and innexins, but serve different functional roles than forming gap junctions. We previously showed that pannexins form oligomeric channels but unlike connexins and innexins, they form only single membrane channels. High levels of Panx2 mRNA and protein in the Central Nervous System (CNS) have been documented. Whereas Pannexin1 (Panx1) is fairly ubiquitous and Pannexin3 (Panx3) is found in skin and connective tissue, both are fully glycosylated, traffic to the plasma membrane and have functions correlated with extracellular ATP release. Here, we describe trafficking and subcellular localizations of exogenous Panx2 and Panx1 protein expression in MDCK, HeLa, and HEK 293T cells as well as endogenous Panx1 and Panx2 patterns in the CNS. Panx2 was found in intracellular localizations, was partially N-glycosylated, and localizations were non-overlapping with Panx1. Confocal images of hippocampal sections immunolabeled for the astrocytic protein GFAP, Panx1 and Panx2 demonstrated that the two isoforms, Panx1 and Panx2, localized at different subcellular compartments in both astrocytes and neurons. Using recombinant fusions of Panx2 with appended genetic tags developed for correlated light and electron microscopy and then expressed in different cell lines, we determined that Panx2 is localized in the membrane of intracellular vesicles and not in the endoplasmic reticulum as initially indicated by calnexin colocalization experiments. Dual immunofluorescence imaging with protein markers for specific vesicle compartments showed that Panx2 vesicles are early endosomal in origin. In electron tomographic volumes, cross-sections of these vesicles displayed fine structural details and close proximity to actin filaments. Thus, pannexins expressed at different subcellular compartments likely exert distinct functional roles, particularly in the nervous system.

  10. Identification and functional characterization of effectors in expressed sequence tags from various life cycle stages of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida.

    PubMed

    Jones, John T; Kumar, Amar; Pylypenko, Liliya A; Thirugnanasambandam, Amarnath; Castelli, Lydia; Chapman, Sean; Cock, Peter J A; Grenier, Eric; Lilley, Catherine J; Phillips, Mark S; Blok, Vivian C

    2009-11-01

    In this article, we describe the analysis of over 9000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from cDNA libraries obtained from various life cycle stages of Globodera pallida. We have identified over 50 G. pallida effectors from this dataset using bioinformatics analysis, by screening clones in order to identify secreted proteins up-regulated after the onset of parasitism and using in situ hybridization to confirm the expression in pharyngeal gland cells. A substantial gene family encoding G. pallida SPRYSEC proteins has been identified. The expression of these genes is restricted to the dorsal pharyngeal gland cell. Different members of the SPRYSEC family of proteins from G. pallida show different subcellular localization patterns in plants, with some localized to the cytoplasm and others to the nucleus and nucleolus. Differences in subcellular localization may reflect diverse functional roles for each individual protein or, more likely, variety in the compartmentalization of plant proteins targeted by the nematode. Our data are therefore consistent with the suggestion that the SPRYSEC proteins suppress host defences, as suggested previously, and that they achieve this through interaction with a range of host targets.

  11. Subcellular localization of Mitf in monocytic cells.

    PubMed

    Lu, Ssu-Yi; Wan, Hsiao-Ching; Li, Mengtao; Lin, Yi-Ling

    2010-06-01

    Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf) is a transcription factor that plays an important role in regulating the development of several cell lineages. The subcellular localization of Mitf is dynamic and is associated with its transcription activity. In this study, we examined factors that affect its subcellular localization in cells derived from the monocytic lineage since Mitf is present abundantly in these cells. We identified a domain encoded by Mitf exon 1B1b to be important for Mitf to commute between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Deletion of this domain disrupts the shuttling of Mitf to the cytoplasm and results in its retention in the nucleus. M-CSF and RANKL both induce nuclear translocation of Mitf. We showed that Mitf nuclear transport is greatly influenced by ratio of M-CSF/Mitf protein expression. In addition, cell attachment to a solid surface also is needed for the nuclear transport of Mitf.

  12. Cellular and subcellular localization of uncoupling protein 2 in the human kidney.

    PubMed

    Nigro, Michelangelo; De Sanctis, Claudia; Formisano, Pietro; Stanzione, Rosita; Forte, Maurizio; Capasso, Giovambattista; Gigliotti, Giuseppe; Rubattu, Speranza; Viggiano, Davide

    2018-06-23

    The uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) is an anion transporter that plays a key role in the control of intracellular oxidative stress. In animal models UCP2 downregulation has several pathological sequelae, particularly affecting the vasculature and the kidney. Specifically, in these models kidney damage is highly favored in the absence of UCP2 in the context of experimental hypertension. Confirmations of these data in humans awaits further information, as no data are yet available concerning the cell-type and subcellular expression in the human kidney. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the UCP2 protein distribution in human kidney biopsies. In humans UCP2 is mainly localized in proximal convoluted tubule cells, with an intracytoplasmic punctate staining. UCP2 positive puncta are often localized at the interface between the endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria. Glomerular structures do not express UCP2 at detectable levels. The expression of UCP2 in proximal tubular cells may explain their relative propensity to damage in pathological conditions including the hypertensive disease.

  13. Molecular assembly and subcellular distribution of ATP-sensitive potassium channel proteins in rat hearts.

    PubMed

    Kuniyasu, Akihiko; Kaneko, Kazuyoshi; Kawahara, Kohichi; Nakayama, Hitoshi

    2003-09-25

    Cardiac ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels are proposed to contribute to cardio-protection and ischemic preconditioning. Although mRNAs for all subunits of K(ATP) channels (Kir6.0 and sulfonylurea receptors SURs) were detected in hearts, subcellular localization of their proteins and the subunit combination are not well elucidated. We address these questions in rat hearts, using anti-peptide antibodies raised against each subunit. By immunoblot analysis, all of the subunits were detected in microsomal fractions including sarcolemmal membranes, while they were not detected in mitochondrial fractions at all. Immunoprecipitation and sucrose gradient sedimentation of the digitonin-solubilized microsomes indicated that Kir6.2 exclusively assembled with SUR2A. The molecular mass of the Kir6.2-SUR2A complex estimated by sucrose sedimentation was 1150 kDa, significantly larger than the calculated value for (Kir6.2)(4)-(SUR2A)(4), suggesting a potential formation of micellar complex with digitonin but no indication of hybrid channel formation under the conditions. These findings provide additional information on the structural and functional relationships of cardiac K(ATP) channel proteins involving subcellular localization and roles for cardioprotection and ischemic preconditioning.

  14. In silico cloning, expression of Rieske-like apoprotein gene and protein subcellular localization in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.

    PubMed

    He, Xiaocui; Zhang, Yang; Yu, Ziniu

    2010-10-01

    Rieske protein gene in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was obtained by in silico cloning for the first time, and its expression profiles and subcellular localization were determined, respectively. The full-length cDNA of Cgisp is 985 bp in length and contains a 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions of 35 and 161 bp, respectively, with an open reading frame of 786 bp encoding a protein of 262 amino acids. The predicted molecular weight of 30 kDa of Cgisp protein was verified by prokaryotic expression. Conserved Rieske [2Fe-2S] cluster binding sites and highly matched-pair tertiary structure with 3CWB_E (Gallus gallus) were revealed by homologous analysis and molecular modeling. Eleven putative SNP sites and two conserved hexapeptide sequences, box I (THLGC) and II (PCHGS), were detected by multiple alignments. Real-time PCR analysis showed that Cgisp is expressed in a wide range of tissues, with adductor muscle exhibiting the top expression level, suggesting its biological function of energy transduction. The GFP tagging Cgisp indicated a mitochondrial localization, further confirming its physiological function.

  15. Tau regulates the subcellular localization of calmodulin

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barreda, Elena Gomez de; Avila, Jesus, E-mail: javila@cbm.uam.es; CIBER de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, 28031 Madrid

    Highlights: {yields} In this work we have tried to explain how a cytoplasmic protein could regulate a cell nuclear function. We have tested the role of a cytoplasmic protein (tau) in regulating the expression of calbindin gene. We found that calmodulin, a tau-binding protein with nuclear and cytoplasmic localization, increases its nuclear localization in the absence of tau. Since nuclear calmodulin regulates calbindin expression, a decrease in nuclear calmodulin, due to the presence of tau that retains it at the cytoplasm, results in a change in calbindin expression. -- Abstract: Lack of tau expression in neuronal cells results in amore » change in the expression of few genes. However, little is known about how tau regulates gene expression. Here we show that the presence of tau could alter the subcellular localization of calmodulin, a protein that could be located at the cytoplasm or in the nucleus. Nuclear calmodulin binds to co-transcription factors, regulating the expression of genes like calbindin. In this work, we have found that in neurons containing tau, a higher proportion of calmodulin is present in the cytoplasm compared with neurons lacking tau and that an increase in cytoplasmic calmodulin correlates with a higher expression of calbindin.« less

  16. Learning cellular sorting pathways using protein interactions and sequence motifs.

    PubMed

    Lin, Tien-Ho; Bar-Joseph, Ziv; Murphy, Robert F

    2011-11-01

    Proper subcellular localization is critical for proteins to perform their roles in cellular functions. Proteins are transported by different cellular sorting pathways, some of which take a protein through several intermediate locations until reaching its final destination. The pathway a protein is transported through is determined by carrier proteins that bind to specific sequence motifs. In this article, we present a new method that integrates protein interaction and sequence motif data to model how proteins are sorted through these sorting pathways. We use a hidden Markov model (HMM) to represent protein sorting pathways. The model is able to determine intermediate sorting states and to assign carrier proteins and motifs to the sorting pathways. In simulation studies, we show that the method can accurately recover an underlying sorting model. Using data for yeast, we show that our model leads to accurate prediction of subcellular localization. We also show that the pathways learned by our model recover many known sorting pathways and correctly assign proteins to the path they utilize. The learned model identified new pathways and their putative carriers and motifs and these may represent novel protein sorting mechanisms. Supplementary results and software implementation are available from http://murphylab.web.cmu.edu/software/2010_RECOMB_pathways/.

  17. Subcellular targeting of p33ING1b by phosphorylation-dependent 14-3-3 binding regulates p21WAF1 expression.

    PubMed

    Gong, Wei; Russell, Michael; Suzuki, Keiko; Riabowol, Karl

    2006-04-01

    ING1 is a type II tumor suppressor that affects cell growth, stress signaling, apoptosis, and DNA repair by altering chromatin structure and regulating transcription. Decreased ING1 expression is seen in several human cancers, and mislocalization has been noted in diverse types of cancer cells. Aberrant targeting may, therefore, functionally inactivate ING1. Bioinformatics analysis identified a sequence between the nuclear localization sequence and plant homeodomain domains of ING1 that closely matched the binding motif of 14-3-3 proteins that target cargo proteins to specific subcellular locales. We find that the widely expressed p33(ING1b) splicing isoform of ING1 interacts with members of the 14-3-3 family of proteins and that this interaction is regulated by the phosphorylation status of ING1. 14-3-3 binding resulted in significant amounts of p33(ING1b) protein being tethered in the cytoplasm. As shown previously, ectopic expression of p33(ING1b) increased levels of the p21(Waf1) cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor upon UV-induced DNA damage. Overexpression of 14-3-3 inhibited the up-regulation of p21(Waf1) by p33(ING1b), consistent with the idea that mislocalization blocks at least one of ING1's biological activities. These data support the idea that the 14-3-3 proteins play a crucial role in regulating the activity of p33(ING1b) by directing its subcellular localization.

  18. PHB granules are attached to the nucleoid via PhaM in Ralstonia eutropha.

    PubMed

    Wahl, Andreas; Schuth, Nora; Pfeiffer, Daniel; Nussberger, Stephan; Jendrossek, Dieter

    2012-11-16

    Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) granules are important storage compounds of carbon and energy in many prokaryotes which allow survival of the cells in the absence of suitable carbon sources. Formation and subcellular localization of PHB granules was previously assumed to occur randomly in the cytoplasm of PHB accumulating bacteria. However, contradictionary results on subcellular localization of PHB granules in Ralstonia eutropha were published, recently. Here, we provide evidence by transmission electron microscopy that PHB granules are localized in close contact to the nucleoid region in R. eutropha during growth on nutrient broth. Binding of PHB granules to the nucleoid is mediated by PhaM, a PHB granule associated protein with phasin-like properties that is also able to bind to DNA and to phasin PhaP5. Over-expression of PhaM resulted in formation of many small PHB granules that were always attached to the nucleoid region. In contrast, PHB granules of ∆phaM strains became very large and distribution of granules to daughter cells was impaired. Association of PHB granules to the nucleoid region was prevented by over-expression of PhaP5 and clusters of several PHB granules were mainly localized near the cell poles. Subcellular localization of PHB granules is controlled in R. eutropha and depends on the presence and concentrations of at least two PHB granule associated proteins, PhaM and PhaP5.

  19. Subcellular localization of the Hpa RxLR effector repertoire identifies a tonoplast-associated protein HaRxL17 that confers enhanced plant susceptibility.

    PubMed

    Caillaud, Marie-Cécile; Piquerez, Sophie J M; Fabro, Georgina; Steinbrenner, Jens; Ishaque, Naveed; Beynon, Jim; Jones, Jonathan D G

    2012-01-01

    Filamentous phytopathogens form sophisticated intracellular feeding structures called haustoria in plant cells. Pathogen effectors are likely to play a role in the establishment and maintenance of haustoria in addition to their better-characterized role in suppressing plant defence. However, the specific mechanisms by which these effectors promote virulence remain unclear. To address this question, we examined changes in subcellular architecture using live-cell imaging during the compatible interaction between the oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) and its host Arabidopsis. We monitored host-cell restructuring of subcellular compartments within plant mesophyll cells during haustoria ontogenesis. Live-cell imaging highlighted rearrangements in plant cell membranes upon infection, in particular to the tonoplast, which was located close to the extra-haustorial membrane surrounding the haustorium. We also investigated the subcellular localization patterns of Hpa RxLR effector candidates (HaRxLs) in planta. We identified two major classes of HaRxL effector based on localization: nuclear-localized effectors and membrane-localized effectors. Further, we identified a single effector, HaRxL17, that associated with the tonoplast in uninfected cells and with membranes around haustoria, probably the extra-haustorial membrane, in infected cells. Functional analysis of selected effector candidates in planta revealed that HaRxL17 enhances plant susceptibility. The roles of subcellular changes and effector localization, with specific reference to the potential role of HaRxL17 in plant cell membrane trafficking, are discussed with respect to Hpa virulence. © 2011 The Authors. The Plant Journal © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  20. Development of redox-sensitive red fluorescent proteins for imaging redox dynamics in cellular compartments.

    PubMed

    Fan, Yichong; Ai, Hui-wang

    2016-04-01

    We recently reported a redox-sensitive red fluorescent protein, rxRFP1, which is one of the first genetically encoded red-fluorescent probes for general redox states in living cells. As individual cellular compartments have different basal redox potentials, we hereby describe a group of rxRFP1 mutants, showing different midpoint redox potentials for detection of redox dynamics in various subcellular domains, such as mitochondria, the cell nucleus, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). When these redox probes were expressed and subcellularly localized in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 T cells, they responded to membrane-permeable oxidants and reductants. In addition, a mitochondrially localized rxRFP1 mutant, Mito-rxRFP1.1, was used to detect mitochondrial oxidative stress induced by doxorubicin-a widely used cancer chemotherapy drug. Our work has expanded the fluorescent protein toolkit with new research tools for studying compartmentalized redox dynamics and oxidative stress under various pathophysiological conditions.

  1. Phosphorylation-dependent trafficking of plasma membrane proteins in animal and plant cells.

    PubMed

    Offringa, Remko; Huang, Fang

    2013-09-01

    In both unicellular and multicellular organisms, transmembrane (TM) proteins are sorted to and retained at specific membrane domains by endomembrane trafficking mechanisms that recognize sorting signals in the these proteins. The trafficking and distribution of plasma membrane (PM)-localized TM proteins (PM proteins), especially of those PM proteins that show an asymmetric distribution over the PM, has received much attention, as their proper PM localization is crucial for elementary signaling and transport processes, and defects in their localization often lead to severe disease symptoms or developmental defects. The subcellular localization of PM proteins is dynamically regulated by post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination. These modificaitons mostly occur on sorting signals that are located in the larger cytosolic domains of the cargo proteins. Here we review the effects of phosphorylation of PM proteins on their trafficking, and present the key examples from the animal field that have been subject to studies for already several decades, such as that of aquaporin 2 and the epidermal growth factor receptor. Our knowledge on cargo trafficking in plants is largely based on studies of the family of PIN FORMED (PIN) carriers that mediate the efflux of the plant hormone auxin. We will review what is known on the subcellular distribution and trafficking of PIN proteins, with a focus on how this is modulated by phosphorylation, and identify and discuss analogies and differences in trafficking with the well-studied animal examples. © 2013 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  2. Identification and Molecular Characterization of the Chloroplast Targeting Domain of Turnip yellow mosaic virus Replication Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Moriceau, Lucille; Jomat, Lucile; Bressanelli, Stéphane; Alcaide-Loridan, Catherine; Jupin, Isabelle

    2017-01-01

    Turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV) is a positive-strand RNA virus infecting plants. The TYMV 140K replication protein is a key organizer of viral replication complex (VRC) assembly, being responsible for recruitment of the viral polymerase and for targeting the VRCs to the chloroplast envelope where viral replication takes place. However, the structural requirements determining the subcellular localization and membrane association of this essential viral protein have not yet been defined. In this study, we investigated determinants for the in vivo chloroplast targeting of the TYMV 140K replication protein. Subcellular localization studies of deletion mutants identified a 41-residue internal sequence as the chloroplast targeting domain (CTD) of TYMV 140K; this sequence is sufficient to target GFP to the chloroplast envelope. The CTD appears to be located in the C-terminal extension of the methyltransferase domain—a region shared by 140K and its mature cleavage product 98K, which behaves as an integral membrane protein during infection. We predicted the CTD to fold into two amphipathic α-helices—a folding that was confirmed in vitro by circular dichroism spectroscopy analyses of a synthetic peptide. The importance for subcellular localization of the integrity of these amphipathic helices, and the function of 140K/98K, was demonstrated by performing amino acid substitutions that affected chloroplast targeting, membrane association and viral replication. These results establish a short internal α-helical peptide as an unusual signal for targeting proteins to the chloroplast envelope membrane, and provide new insights into membrane targeting of viral replication proteins—a universal feature of positive-strand RNA viruses. PMID:29312393

  3. Nuclear localization of the dehydrin OpsDHN1 is determined by histidine-rich motif.

    PubMed

    Hernández-Sánchez, Itzell E; Maruri-López, Israel; Ferrando, Alejandro; Carbonell, Juan; Graether, Steffen P; Jiménez-Bremont, Juan F

    2015-01-01

    The cactus OpsDHN1 dehydrin belongs to a large family of disordered and highly hydrophilic proteins known as Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins, which accumulate during the late stages of embryogenesis and in response to abiotic stresses. Herein, we present the in vivo OpsDHN1 subcellular localization by N-terminal GFP translational fusion; our results revealed a cytoplasmic and nuclear localization of the GFP::OpsDHN1 protein in Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells. In addition, dimer assembly of OpsDHN1 in planta using a Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) approach was demonstrated. In order to understand the in vivo role of the histidine-rich motif, the OpsDHN1-ΔHis version was produced and assayed for its subcellular localization and dimer capability by GFP fusion and BiFC assays, respectively. We found that deletion of the OpsDHN1 histidine-rich motif restricted its localization to cytoplasm, but did not affect dimer formation. In addition, the deletion of the S-segment in the OpsDHN1 protein affected its nuclear localization. Our data suggest that the deletion of histidine-rich motif and S-segment show similar effects, preventing OpsDHN1 from getting into the nucleus. Based on these results, the histidine-rich motif is proposed as a targeting element for OpsDHN1 nuclear localization.

  4. Nuclear localization of the dehydrin OpsDHN1 is determined by histidine-rich motif

    PubMed Central

    Hernández-Sánchez, Itzell E.; Maruri-López, Israel; Ferrando, Alejandro; Carbonell, Juan; Graether, Steffen P.; Jiménez-Bremont, Juan F.

    2015-01-01

    The cactus OpsDHN1 dehydrin belongs to a large family of disordered and highly hydrophilic proteins known as Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins, which accumulate during the late stages of embryogenesis and in response to abiotic stresses. Herein, we present the in vivo OpsDHN1 subcellular localization by N-terminal GFP translational fusion; our results revealed a cytoplasmic and nuclear localization of the GFP::OpsDHN1 protein in Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells. In addition, dimer assembly of OpsDHN1 in planta using a Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) approach was demonstrated. In order to understand the in vivo role of the histidine-rich motif, the OpsDHN1-ΔHis version was produced and assayed for its subcellular localization and dimer capability by GFP fusion and BiFC assays, respectively. We found that deletion of the OpsDHN1 histidine-rich motif restricted its localization to cytoplasm, but did not affect dimer formation. In addition, the deletion of the S-segment in the OpsDHN1 protein affected its nuclear localization. Our data suggest that the deletion of histidine-rich motif and S-segment show similar effects, preventing OpsDHN1 from getting into the nucleus. Based on these results, the histidine-rich motif is proposed as a targeting element for OpsDHN1 nuclear localization. PMID:26442018

  5. Role of regulatory subunits and protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) in determining nuclear localization and activity of the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A.

    PubMed

    Wiley, J C; Wailes, L A; Idzerda, R L; McKnight, G S

    1999-03-05

    Regulation of protein kinase A by subcellular localization may be critical to target catalytic subunits to specific substrates. We employed epitope-tagged catalytic subunit to correlate subcellular localization and gene-inducing activity in the presence of regulatory subunit or protein kinase inhibitor (PKI). Transiently expressed catalytic subunit distributed throughout the cell and induced gene expression. Co-expression of regulatory subunit or PKI blocked gene induction and prevented nuclear accumulation. A mutant PKI lacking the nuclear export signal blocked gene induction but not nuclear accumulation, demonstrating that nuclear export is not essential to inhibit gene induction. When the catalytic subunit was targeted to the nucleus with a nuclear localization signal, it was not sequestered in the cytoplasm by regulatory subunit, although its activity was completely inhibited. PKI redistributed the nuclear catalytic subunit to the cytoplasm and blocked gene induction, demonstrating that the nuclear export signal of PKI can override a strong nuclear localization signal. With increasing PKI, the export process appeared to saturate, resulting in the return of catalytic subunit to the nucleus. These results demonstrate that both the regulatory subunit and PKI are able to completely inhibit the gene-inducing activity of the catalytic subunit even when the catalytic subunit is forced to concentrate in the nuclear compartment.

  6. Prediction of protein subcellular locations by GO-FunD-PseAA predictor.

    PubMed

    Chou, Kuo-Chen; Cai, Yu-Dong

    2004-08-06

    The localization of a protein in a cell is closely correlated with its biological function. With the explosion of protein sequences entering into DataBanks, it is highly desired to develop an automated method that can fast identify their subcellular location. This will expedite the annotation process, providing timely useful information for both basic research and industrial application. In view of this, a powerful predictor has been developed by hybridizing the gene ontology approach [Nat. Genet. 25 (2000) 25], functional domain composition approach [J. Biol. Chem. 277 (2002) 45765], and the pseudo-amino acid composition approach [Proteins Struct. Funct. Genet. 43 (2001) 246; Erratum: ibid. 44 (2001) 60]. As a showcase, the recently constructed dataset [Bioinformatics 19 (2003) 1656] was used for demonstration. The dataset contains 7589 proteins classified into 12 subcellular locations: chloroplast, cytoplasmic, cytoskeleton, endoplasmic reticulum, extracellular, Golgi apparatus, lysosomal, mitochondrial, nuclear, peroxisomal, plasma membrane, and vacuolar. The overall success rate of prediction obtained by the jackknife cross-validation was 92%. This is so far the highest success rate performed on this dataset by following an objective and rigorous cross-validation procedure.

  7. HPSLPred: An Ensemble Multi-Label Classifier for Human Protein Subcellular Location Prediction with Imbalanced Source.

    PubMed

    Wan, Shixiang; Duan, Yucong; Zou, Quan

    2017-09-01

    Predicting the subcellular localization of proteins is an important and challenging problem. Traditional experimental approaches are often expensive and time-consuming. Consequently, a growing number of research efforts employ a series of machine learning approaches to predict the subcellular location of proteins. There are two main challenges among the state-of-the-art prediction methods. First, most of the existing techniques are designed to deal with multi-class rather than multi-label classification, which ignores connections between multiple labels. In reality, multiple locations of particular proteins imply that there are vital and unique biological significances that deserve special focus and cannot be ignored. Second, techniques for handling imbalanced data in multi-label classification problems are necessary, but never employed. For solving these two issues, we have developed an ensemble multi-label classifier called HPSLPred, which can be applied for multi-label classification with an imbalanced protein source. For convenience, a user-friendly webserver has been established at http://server.malab.cn/HPSLPred. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Periplasmic localization of a GroES homologue in Escherichia coli transformed with groESx cloned from Legionella-like endosymbionts in Amoeba proteus.

    PubMed

    Lee, J E; Ahn, T I

    2000-10-01

    Escherichia coli MC4100 transformed with a groE homologous operon cloned from X-bacteria accumulated large amounts of the gene product when cultured at 30 or 37 degrees C. Heat shock for 10-30 min at 42 degrees C or ethanol (5%) shock for 2 h increased GroESx levels to about twice that in E. coli grown at 30 degrees C. The subcellular localization of GroESx in transformed E. coli was determined by several subcellular fractionation methods, by the analysis of extracted proteins in SDS polyacrylamide gels and by assays of marker enzymes. The GroESx protein was detected in both the periplasmic and cytoplasmic extracts and a large amount of the protein was accumulated in the periplasm. The GroEL protein and recombinant beta-galactosidase were exclusively localized in the cytoplasmic fraction, eliminating the possibility that periplasmic GroESx might be due to simple overproduction. N-terminal amino acid sequencing confirmed that the protein resolved on a 2-D gel was GroESx. This work represents the first report of the periplasmic location of GroES homologues in E. coli.

  9. PSORTb 3.0: improved protein subcellular localization prediction with refined localization subcategories and predictive capabilities for all prokaryotes.

    PubMed

    Yu, Nancy Y; Wagner, James R; Laird, Matthew R; Melli, Gabor; Rey, Sébastien; Lo, Raymond; Dao, Phuong; Sahinalp, S Cenk; Ester, Martin; Foster, Leonard J; Brinkman, Fiona S L

    2010-07-01

    PSORTb has remained the most precise bacterial protein subcellular localization (SCL) predictor since it was first made available in 2003. However, the recall needs to be improved and no accurate SCL predictors yet make predictions for archaea, nor differentiate important localization subcategories, such as proteins targeted to a host cell or bacterial hyperstructures/organelles. Such improvements should preferably be encompassed in a freely available web-based predictor that can also be used as a standalone program. We developed PSORTb version 3.0 with improved recall, higher proteome-scale prediction coverage, and new refined localization subcategories. It is the first SCL predictor specifically geared for all prokaryotes, including archaea and bacteria with atypical membrane/cell wall topologies. It features an improved standalone program, with a new batch results delivery system complementing its web interface. We evaluated the most accurate SCL predictors using 5-fold cross validation plus we performed an independent proteomics analysis, showing that PSORTb 3.0 is the most accurate but can benefit from being complemented by Proteome Analyst predictions. http://www.psort.org/psortb (download open source software or use the web interface). psort-mail@sfu.ca Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  10. Subcellular localization and expression pattern of the neurofibromatosis type 2 protein merlin/schwannomin.

    PubMed

    Schmucker, B; Ballhausen, W G; Kressel, M

    1997-01-01

    To elucidate the physiological function of the neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) tumor suppressor protein merlin/schwannomin, we studied the expression pattern and subcellular localization in human fibroblasts by Western blot analyses and immunofluorescence using a polyclonal antibody raised against the C-terminus of merlin. Three of the six merlin isoforms identified in this study (75 kDa, 58 kDa, 45 kDa) have been reported earlier and can be explained by alternative splicing. In addition, we detected higher molecular weight bands of about 110 kDa, 100 kDa and 84 kDa. Although the merlin bands of 100 kDa and 110 kDa may represent homo- or heterodimers, oligomerization due to formation of disulfide bonds was excluded. Furthermore, the isoforms of 84 kDa and 58 kDa were quantitatively extractable in Lubrol WX, indicating a localization in or close to the plasma membrane. The 45 kDa band, however, was not soluble in Lubrol WX compatible with a localization of this NF2 isoform in the endoplasmic reticulum. Applying confocal laser scanning microscopy, merlin was shown to be located in four subcellular compartments: (i) perinuclear in a compartment resembling endoplasmic reticulum, (ii) in ruffling membranes and at the leading edges, (iii) in filopodia, and (iv) at cell/substrate adhesion points. Codistribution of merlin and F-actin filaments was found in filopodia, ruffling membranes and at the insertion points of stress fibers at cell/substrate adhesion junctions as shown by phalloidin-rhodamine staining. Double immunofluorescence analyses of merlin and moesin revealed a colocalization in filopodia and ruffling membranes. The localization of merlin in the actin-rich cortical cytoskeleton corresponds to the ezrin-radixin-moesin family of proteins suggesting the NF2 protein to contribute to the regulation of cell growth by interaction with cytoskeleton-associated proteins.

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bamunusinghe, Devinka, E-mail: dbamu001@ucr.ed; Hemenway, Cynthia L., E-mail: cindy_hemenway@ncsu.ed; Nelson, Richard S., E-mail: rsnelson@noble.or

    Potato virus X (PVX) infection leads to certain cytopathological modifications of the host endomembrane system. The subcellular location of the PVX replicase was previously unknown while the PVX TGBp3 protein was previously reported to reside in the ER. Using PVX infectious clones expressing the green fluorescent protein reporter, and antisera detecting the PVX replicase and host membrane markers, we examined the subcellular distribution of the PVX replicase in relation to the TGBp3. Confocal and electron microscopic observations revealed that the replicase localizes in membrane bound structures that derive from the ER. A subset of TGBp3 resides in the ER atmore » the same location as the replicase. Sucrose gradient fractionation showed that the PVX replicase and TGBp3 proteins co-fractionate with ER marker proteins. This localization represents a region where both proteins may be synthesized and/or function. There is no evidence to indicate that either PVX protein moves into the Golgi apparatus. Cerulenin, a drug that inhibits de novo membrane synthesis, also inhibited PVX replication. These combined data indicate that PVX replication relies on ER-derived membrane recruitment and membrane proliferation.« less

  12. Subcellular localization of acyl-CoA binding protein in Aspergillus oryzae is regulated by autophagy machinery.

    PubMed

    Kawaguchi, Kouhei; Kikuma, Takashi; Higuchi, Yujiro; Takegawa, Kaoru; Kitamoto, Katsuhiko

    2016-11-04

    In eukaryotic cells, acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) is important for cellular activities, such as in lipid metabolism. In the industrially important fungus Aspergillus oryzae, the ACBP, known as AoACBP, has been biochemically characterized, but its physiological function is not known. In the present study, although we could not find any phenotype of AoACBP disruptants in the normal growth conditions, we examined the subcellular localization of AoACBP to understand its physiological function. Using an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-tagged AoACBP construct we showed that AoACBP localized to punctate structures in the cytoplasm, some of which moved inside the cells in a microtubule-dependent manner. Further microscopic analyses showed that AoACBP-EGFP co-localized with the autophagy marker protein AoAtg8 tagged with red fluorescent protein (mDsRed). Expression of AoACBP-EGFP in disruptants of autophagy-related genes revealed aggregation of AoACBP-EGFP fluorescence in the cytoplasm of Aoatg1, Aoatg4 and Aoatg8 disruptant cells. However, in cells harboring disruption of Aoatg15, which encodes a lipase for autophagic body, puncta of AoACBP-EGFP fluorescence accumulated in vacuoles, indicating that AoACBP is transported to vacuoles via the autophagy machinery. Collectively, these results suggest the existence of a regulatory mechanism between AoACBP localization and autophagy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Interaction of HSP20 with a viral RdRp changes its sub-cellular localization and distribution pattern in plants.

    PubMed

    Li, Jing; Xiang, Cong-Ying; Yang, Jian; Chen, Jian-Ping; Zhang, Heng-Mu

    2015-09-11

    Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) perform a fundamental role in protecting cells against a wide array of stresses but their biological function during viral infection remains unknown. Rice stripe virus (RSV) causes a severe disease of rice in Eastern Asia. OsHSP20 and its homologue (NbHSP20) were used as baits in yeast two-hybrid (YTH) assays to screen an RSV cDNA library and were found to interact with the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of RSV. Interactions were confirmed by pull-down and BiFC assays. Further analysis showed that the N-terminus (residues 1-296) of the RdRp was crucial for the interaction between the HSP20s and viral RdRp and responsible for the alteration of the sub-cellular localization and distribution pattern of HSP20s in protoplasts of rice and epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana. This is the first report that a plant virus or a viral protein alters the expression pattern or sub-cellular distribution of sHSPs.

  14. Subcellular Localization Screening of Colletotrichum higginsianum Effector Candidates Identifies Fungal Proteins Targeted to Plant Peroxisomes, Golgi Bodies, and Microtubules.

    PubMed

    Robin, Guillaume P; Kleemann, Jochen; Neumann, Ulla; Cabre, Lisa; Dallery, Jean-Félix; Lapalu, Nicolas; O'Connell, Richard J

    2018-01-01

    The genome of the hemibiotrophic anthracnose fungus, Colletotrichum higginsianum , encodes a large inventory of putative secreted effector proteins that are sequentially expressed at different stages of plant infection, namely appressorium-mediated penetration, biotrophy and necrotrophy. However, the destinations to which these proteins are addressed inside plant cells are unknown. In the present study, we selected 61 putative effector genes that are highly induced in appressoria and/or biotrophic hyphae. We then used Agrobacterium -mediated transformation to transiently express them as N -terminal fusions with fluorescent proteins in cells of Nicotiana benthamiana for imaging by confocal microscopy. Plant compartments labeled by the fusion proteins in N. benthamiana were validated by co-localization with specific organelle markers, by transient expression of the proteins in the true host plant, Arabidopsis thaliana , and by transmission electron microscopy-immunogold labeling. Among those proteins for which specific subcellular localizations could be verified, nine were imported into plant nuclei, three were imported into the matrix of peroxisomes, three decorated cortical microtubule arrays and one labeled Golgi stacks. Two peroxisome-targeted proteins harbored canonical C -terminal tripeptide signals for peroxisome import via the PTS1 (peroxisomal targeting signal 1) pathway, and we showed that these signals are essential for their peroxisome localization. Our findings provide valuable information about which host processes are potentially manipulated by this pathogen, and also reveal plant peroxisomes, microtubules, and Golgi as novel targets for fungal effectors.

  15. Small glutamine-rich tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein alpha is present in human ovaries but may not be differentially expressed in relation to polycystic ovary syndrome.

    PubMed

    Butler, Miriam S; Yang, Xing; Ricciardelli, Carmela; Liang, Xiaoyan; Norman, Robert J; Tilley, Wayne D; Hickey, Theresa E

    2013-06-01

    To evaluate the expression and function of small glutamine-rich tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein alpha (SGTA), an androgen receptor (AR) molecular chaperone, in human ovarian tissues. Examine the effect of SGTA on AR subcellular localization in granulosa tumor cells (KGN) and SGTA expression in ovarian tissues. University-based research laboratory. Archived tissues from premenopausal women and granulosa cells from infertile women receiving assisted reproduction. None. AR subcellular localization and SGTA protein or mRNA levels. SGTA and AR proteins were expressed in the cytoplasm of KGN cells and exposure to androgen stimulated AR nuclear localization. SGTA protein knockdown increased AR nuclear localization at low (0-0.1 nmol/L) but not high (1-10 nmol/L) concentrations of androgen hormone. In ovarian tissues, SGTA was localized to the cytoplasm of granulosa cells at all stages of folliculogenesis and in thecal cells of antral follicles. SGTA protein levels were similar when comparing primordial and primary follicles within core biopsies (n = 40) from women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Likewise, SGTA mRNA levels were not significantly different in granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles after hyperstimulation of women with and without PCOS. SGTA is present in human ovaries and has the potential to modulate AR signalling, but it may not be differentially expressed in PCOS. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. All rights reserved.

  16. Single molecule super-resolution imaging of proteins in living Salmonella enterica using self-labelling enzymes

    PubMed Central

    Barlag, Britta; Beutel, Oliver; Janning, Dennis; Czarniak, Frederik; Richter, Christian P.; Kommnick, Carina; Göser, Vera; Kurre, Rainer; Fabiani, Florian; Erhardt, Marc; Piehler, Jacob; Hensel, Michael

    2016-01-01

    The investigation of the subcellular localization, dynamics and interaction of proteins and protein complexes in prokaryotes is complicated by the small size of the cells. Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) comprise various new techniques that allow light microscopy with a resolution that can be up to ten-fold higher than conventional light microscopy. Application of SRM techniques to living prokaryotes demands the introduction of suitable fluorescent probes, usually by fusion of proteins of interest to fluorescent proteins with properties compatible to SRM. Here we describe an approach that is based on the genetically encoded self-labelling enzymes HaloTag and SNAP-tag. Proteins of interest are fused to HaloTag or SNAP-tag and cell permeable substrates can be labelled with various SRM-compatible fluorochromes. Fusions of the enzyme tags to subunits of a type I secretion system (T1SS), a T3SS, the flagellar rotor and a transcription factor were generated and analysed in living Salmonella enterica. The new approach is versatile in tagging proteins of interest in bacterial cells and allows to determine the number, relative subcellular localization and dynamics of protein complexes in living cells. PMID:27534893

  17. Drosophila Pelle phosphorylates Dichaete protein and influences its subcellular distribution in developing oocytes.

    PubMed

    Mutsuddi, Mousumi; Mukherjee, Ashim; Shen, Baohe; Manley, James L; Nambu, John R

    2010-01-01

    The Drosophila Dichaete gene encodes a member of the Sox family of high mobility group (HMG) domain proteins that have crucial gene regulatory functions in diverse developmental processes. The subcellular localization and transcriptional regulatory activities of Sox proteins can be regulated by several post-translational modifications. To identify genes that functionally interact with Dichaete, we undertook a genetic modifier screen based on a Dichaete gain-of-function phenotype in the adult eye. Mutations in several genes, including decapentaplegic, engrailed and pelle, behaved as dominant modifiers of this eye phenotype. Further analysis of pelle mutants revealed that loss of pelle function results in alterations in the distinctive cytoplasmic distribution of Dichaete protein within the developing oocyte, as well as defects in the elaboration of individual egg chambers. The death domain-containing region of the Pelle protein kinase was found to associate with both Dichaete and mouse Sox2 proteins, and Pelle can phosphorylate Dichaete protein in vitro. Overall, these findings reveal that maternal functions of pelle are essential for proper localization of Dichaete protein in the oocyte and normal egg chamber formation. Dichaete appears to be a novel phosphorylation substrate for Pelle and may function in a Pelle-dependent signaling pathway during oogenesis.

  18. Specific serine-proline phosphorylation and glycogen synthase kinase 3β-directed subcellular targeting of stathmin 3/Sclip in neurons.

    PubMed

    Devaux, Sara; Poulain, Fabienne E; Devignot, Véronique; Lachkar, Sylvie; Irinopoulou, Theano; Sobel, André

    2012-06-22

    During nervous system development, neuronal growth, migration, and functional morphogenesis rely on the appropriate control of the subcellular cytoskeleton including microtubule dynamics. Stathmin family proteins play major roles during the various stages of neuronal differentiation, including axonal growth and branching, or dendritic development. We have shown previously that stathmins 2 (SCG10) and 3 (SCLIP) fulfill distinct, independent and complementary regulatory roles in axonal morphogenesis. Although the two proteins have been proposed to display the four conserved phosphorylation sites originally identified in stathmin 1, we show here that they possess distinct phosphorylation sites within their specific proline-rich domains (PRDs) that are differentially regulated by phosphorylation by proline-directed kinases involved in the control of neuronal differentiation. ERK2 or CDK5 phosphorylate the two proteins but with different site specificities. We also show for the first time that, unlike stathmin 2, stathmin 3 is a substrate for glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, stathmin 3 phosphorylated at its GSK-3β target site displays a specific subcellular localization at neuritic tips and within the actin-rich peripheral zone of the growth cone of differentiating hippocampal neurons in culture. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3β induces a redistribution of stathmin 3, but not stathmin 2, from the periphery toward the Golgi region of neurons. Stathmin proteins can thus be either regulated locally or locally targeted by specific phosphorylation, each phosphoprotein of the stathmin family fulfilling distinct and specific roles in the control of neuronal differentiation.

  19. Subcellular mechanism of Escherichia coli inactivation during electrochemical disinfection with boron-doped diamond anode: A comparative study of three electrolytes.

    PubMed

    Long, Yujiao; Ni, Jinren; Wang, Zuhui

    2015-11-01

    Although the identification of effective oxidant species has been extensively studied, yet the subcellular mechanism of bacterial inactivation has never been clearly elucidated in electrochemical disinfection processes. In this study, subcellular mechanism of Escherichia coli inactivation during electrochemical disinfection was revealed in terms of comprehensive factors such as cell morphology, total organic components, K(+) leakage, membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation, membrane potential, membrane proteins, intracellular enzyme, cellular ATP level and DNA. The electrolysis was conducted with boron-doped diamond anode in three electrolytes including chloride, sulfate and phosphate. Results demonstrated that cell inactivation was mainly attributed to damage to the intracellular enzymatic systems in chloride solution. In sulfate solution, certain essential membrane proteins like the K(+) ion transport systems were eliminated. Thus, the pronounced K(+) leakage from cytosol resulted in gradual collapse of the membrane potential, which would hinder the subcellular localization of cell division-related proteins as well as ATP synthesis and thereby lead to the bacterial inactivation. Remarkable lipid peroxidation was observed, while the intracellular damage was negligible. In phosphate solution, the cells sequentially underwent overall destruction as a whole cell with no captured intermediate state, during which the organic components of the cells were mostly subjected to mineralization. This study provided a thorough insight into the bacterial inactivation mechanism on the subcellular level. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Dynamic Fluctuations in Subcellular Localization of the Hippo Pathway Effector Yorkie In Vivo.

    PubMed

    Manning, Samuel A; Dent, Lucas G; Kondo, Shu; Zhao, Ziqing W; Plachta, Nicolas; Harvey, Kieran F

    2018-05-21

    The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling network that integrates diverse cues to control organ size and cell fate. The central downstream pathway protein in Drosophila is the transcriptional co-activator Yorkie (YAP and TAZ in humans), which regulates gene expression with the Scalloped/TEA domain family member (TEAD) transcription factors [1-8]. A central regulatory step in the Hippo pathway is phosphorylation of Yorkie by the NDR family kinase Warts, which promotes Yorkie cytoplasmic localization by stimulating association with 14-3-3 proteins [9-12]. Numerous reports have purported a static model of Hippo signaling whereby, upon Hippo activation, Yorkie/YAP/TAZ become cytoplasmic and therefore inactive, and upon Hippo repression, Yorkie/YAP/TAZ transit to the nucleus and are active. However, we have little appreciation for the dynamics of Yorkie/YAP/TAZ subcellular localization because most studies have been performed in fixed cells and tissues. To address this, we used live multiphoton microscopy to investigate the dynamics of an endogenously tagged Yorkie-Venus protein in growing epithelial organs. We found that the majority of Yorkie rapidly traffics between the cytoplasm and nucleus, rather than being statically localized in either compartment. In addition, discrete cell populations within the same organ display different rates of Yorkie nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. By assessing Yorkie dynamics in warts mutant tissue, we found that the Hippo pathway regulates Yorkie subcellular distribution by regulating its rate of nuclear import. Furthermore, Yorkie's localization fluctuates dramatically throughout the cell cycle, being predominantly cytoplasmic during interphase and, unexpectedly, chromatin enriched during mitosis. Yorkie's association with mitotic chromatin is Scalloped dependent, suggesting a potential role in mitotic bookmarking. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Localization of arginine decarboxylase in tobacco plants.

    PubMed

    Bortolotti, Cristina; Cordeiro, Alexandra; Alcázar, Rubén; Borrell, Antoni; Culiañez-Macià, Francisco A.; Tiburcio, Antonio F.; Altabella, Teresa

    2004-01-01

    The lack of knowledge about the tissue and subcellular distribution of polyamines (PAs) and the enzymes involved in their metabolism remains one of the main obstacles in our understanding of the biological role of PAs in plants. Arginine decarboxylase (ADC; EC 4.1.1.9) is a key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis in plants. We have characterized a cDNA coding for ADC from Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Petit Havana SR1. The deduced ADC polypeptide had 721 amino acids and a molecular mass of 77 kDa. The ADC cDNA was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the ADC fusion protein obtained was used to produce polyclonal antibodies. Using immunological methods, we demonstrate the presence of the ADC protein in all plant organs analysed: flowers, seeds, stems, leaves and roots. Moreover, depending on the tissue, the protein is localized in two different subcellular compartments, the nucleus and the chloroplast. In photosynthetic tissues, ADC is located mainly in chloroplasts, whereas in non-photosynthetic tissues the protein appears to be located in nuclei. The different compartmentation of ADC may be related to distinct functions of the protein in different cell types.

  2. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase in nuclei and rimmed vacuoles of muscle fibers in DMRV (distal myopathy with rimmed vacuoles).

    PubMed

    Ishihara, Shoichiro; Tomimitsu, Hiroyuki; Fujigasaki, Hiroto; Saito, Fumiaki; Mizusawa, Hidehiro

    2008-03-01

    UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE) is a key molecule in the pathogenesis of distal myopathy with rimmed vacuoles (DMRV) and hereditary inclusion body myopathy (HIBM) and almost all such patients have some mutations in GNE. However, subcellular localization of GNE and the mechanism of muscular damage have not been clarified. A rabbit polyclonal antibody for GNE was prepared. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-GNE and anti-nuclear protein antibodies. Western blotting with subcellular fractionated proteins was performed to determine subcellular localization of GNE. The sizes of myonuclei were quantified in muscle biopsies from patients with DMRV and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In DMRV muscles, immunohistochemistry identified GNE in sarcoplasm and specifically in myonuclei and rimmed vacuoles (RV). Nuclear proteins were also found in RVs. Immunohistochemistry showed colocalization of GNE and emerin in C2C12 cells. Western blotting revealed the presence of GNE in nuclear fractions of human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293T cells. The mean size of myonuclei of DMRV was significantly larger than that of ALS. GNE is present in myonuclei near nuclear membrane. Our results suggest that myonuclei are involved in RV formation in DMRV, and that mutant GNE in myonuclei seems to play some role in this process.

  3. A comparative proteomic strategy for subcellular proteome research: ICAT approach coupled with bioinformatics prediction to ascertain rat liver mitochondrial proteins and indication of mitochondrial localization for catalase.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Xiao-Sheng; Dai, Jie; Sheng, Quan-Hu; Zhang, Lei; Xia, Qi-Chang; Wu, Jia-Rui; Zeng, Rong

    2005-01-01

    Subcellular proteomics, as an important step to functional proteomics, has been a focus in proteomic research. However, the co-purification of "contaminating" proteins has been the major problem in all the subcellular proteomic research including all kinds of mitochondrial proteome research. It is often difficult to conclude whether these "contaminants" represent true endogenous partners or artificial associations induced by cell disruption or incomplete purification. To solve such a problem, we applied a high-throughput comparative proteome experimental strategy, ICAT approach performed with two-dimensional LC-MS/MS analysis, coupled with combinational usage of different bioinformatics tools, to study the proteome of rat liver mitochondria prepared with traditional centrifugation (CM) or further purified with a Nycodenz gradient (PM). A total of 169 proteins were identified and quantified convincingly in the ICAT analysis, in which 90 proteins have an ICAT ratio of PM:CM>1.0, while another 79 proteins have an ICAT ratio of PM:CM<1.0. Almost all the proteins annotated as mitochondrial according to Swiss-Prot annotation, bioinformatics prediction, and literature reports have a ratio of PM:CM>1.0, while proteins annotated as extracellular or secreted, cytoplasmic, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomal, and so on have a ratio of PM:CM<1.0. Catalase and AP endonuclease 1, which have been known as peroxisomal and nuclear, respectively, have shown a ratio of PM:CM>1.0, confirming the reports about their mitochondrial location. Moreover, the 125 proteins with subcellular location annotation have been used as a testing dataset to evaluate the efficiency for ascertaining mitochondrial proteins by ICAT analysis and the bioinformatics tools such as PSORT, TargetP, SubLoc, MitoProt, and Predotar. The results indicated that ICAT analysis coupled with combinational usage of different bioinformatics tools could effectively ascertain mitochondrial proteins and distinguish contaminant proteins and even multilocation proteins. Using such a strategy, many novel proteins, known proteins without subcellular location annotation, and even known proteins that have been annotated as other locations have been strongly indicated for their mitochondrial location.

  4. Learning Cellular Sorting Pathways Using Protein Interactions and Sequence Motifs

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Tien-Ho; Bar-Joseph, Ziv

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Proper subcellular localization is critical for proteins to perform their roles in cellular functions. Proteins are transported by different cellular sorting pathways, some of which take a protein through several intermediate locations until reaching its final destination. The pathway a protein is transported through is determined by carrier proteins that bind to specific sequence motifs. In this article, we present a new method that integrates protein interaction and sequence motif data to model how proteins are sorted through these sorting pathways. We use a hidden Markov model (HMM) to represent protein sorting pathways. The model is able to determine intermediate sorting states and to assign carrier proteins and motifs to the sorting pathways. In simulation studies, we show that the method can accurately recover an underlying sorting model. Using data for yeast, we show that our model leads to accurate prediction of subcellular localization. We also show that the pathways learned by our model recover many known sorting pathways and correctly assign proteins to the path they utilize. The learned model identified new pathways and their putative carriers and motifs and these may represent novel protein sorting mechanisms. Supplementary results and software implementation are available from http://murphylab.web.cmu.edu/software/2010_RECOMB_pathways/. PMID:21999284

  5. Oncogenic role of p21 in hepatocarcinogenesis suggests a new treatment strategy.

    PubMed

    Ohkoshi, Shogo; Yano, Masahiko; Matsuda, Yasunobu

    2015-11-14

    A well-known tumor suppressor, p21, acts paradoxically by promoting tumor growth in some cellular conditions. These conflicting functions have been demonstrated in association with the HBx gene and in hepatocarcinogenesis. The molecular behavior of p21 depends on its subcellular localization. Nuclear p21 may inhibit cell proliferation and be proapoptotic, while cytoplasmic p21 may have oncogenic and anti-apoptotic functions. Because most typical tumor suppressive proteins also have different effects according to subcellular localization, elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying nucleo-cytoplasmic transport of these proteins would be significant and may lead to a new strategy for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. Chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1) is a major nuclear export receptor involved in transport of tumor suppressors from nucleus to cytoplasm. Expression of CRM1 is enhanced in a variety of malignancies and in vitro studies have shown the efficacy of specific inhibition of CRM1 against cancer cell lines. Interestingly, interferon may keep p21 in the nucleus; this is one of the mechanisms of its anti-hepatocarcinogenic function. Here we review the oncogenic property of p21, which depends on its subcellular localization, and discuss the rationale underlying a new strategy for HCC treatment and prevention.

  6. Oncogenic role of p21 in hepatocarcinogenesis suggests a new treatment strategy

    PubMed Central

    Ohkoshi, Shogo; Yano, Masahiko; Matsuda, Yasunobu

    2015-01-01

    A well-known tumor suppressor, p21, acts paradoxically by promoting tumor growth in some cellular conditions. These conflicting functions have been demonstrated in association with the HBx gene and in hepatocarcinogenesis. The molecular behavior of p21 depends on its subcellular localization. Nuclear p21 may inhibit cell proliferation and be proapoptotic, while cytoplasmic p21 may have oncogenic and anti-apoptotic functions. Because most typical tumor suppressive proteins also have different effects according to subcellular localization, elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying nucleo-cytoplasmic transport of these proteins would be significant and may lead to a new strategy for anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. Chromosome region maintenance 1 (CRM1) is a major nuclear export receptor involved in transport of tumor suppressors from nucleus to cytoplasm. Expression of CRM1 is enhanced in a variety of malignancies and in vitro studies have shown the efficacy of specific inhibition of CRM1 against cancer cell lines. Interestingly, interferon may keep p21 in the nucleus; this is one of the mechanisms of its anti-hepatocarcinogenic function. Here we review the oncogenic property of p21, which depends on its subcellular localization, and discuss the rationale underlying a new strategy for HCC treatment and prevention. PMID:26576099

  7. Guidelines for the Use of Protein Domains in Acidic Phospholipid Imaging.

    PubMed

    Platre, Matthieu Pierre; Jaillais, Yvon

    2016-01-01

    Acidic phospholipids are minor membrane lipids but critically important for signaling events. The main acidic phospholipids are phosphatidylinositol phosphates (PIPs also known as phosphoinositides), phosphatidylserine (PS), and phosphatidic acid (PA). Acidic phospholipids are precursors of second messengers of key signaling cascades or are second messengers themselves. They regulate the localization and activation of many proteins, and are involved in virtually all membrane trafficking events. As such, it is crucial to understand the subcellular localization and dynamics of each of these lipids within the cell. Over the years, several techniques have emerged in either fixed or live cells to analyze the subcellular localization and dynamics of acidic phospholipids. In this chapter, we review one of them: the use of genetically encoded biosensors that are based on the expression of specific lipid binding domains (LBDs) fused to fluorescent proteins. We discuss how to design such sensors, including the criteria for selecting the lipid binding domains of interest and to validate them. We also emphasize the care that must be taken during data analysis as well as the main limitations and advantages of this approach.

  8. PHB granules are attached to the nucleoid via PhaM in Ralstonia eutropha

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) granules are important storage compounds of carbon and energy in many prokaryotes which allow survival of the cells in the absence of suitable carbon sources. Formation and subcellular localization of PHB granules was previously assumed to occur randomly in the cytoplasm of PHB accumulating bacteria. However, contradictionary results on subcellular localization of PHB granules in Ralstonia eutropha were published, recently. Results Here, we provide evidence by transmission electron microscopy that PHB granules are localized in close contact to the nucleoid region in R. eutropha during growth on nutrient broth. Binding of PHB granules to the nucleoid is mediated by PhaM, a PHB granule associated protein with phasin-like properties that is also able to bind to DNA and to phasin PhaP5. Over-expression of PhaM resulted in formation of many small PHB granules that were always attached to the nucleoid region. In contrast, PHB granules of ∆phaM strains became very large and distribution of granules to daughter cells was impaired. Association of PHB granules to the nucleoid region was prevented by over-expression of PhaP5 and clusters of several PHB granules were mainly localized near the cell poles. Conclusion Subcellular localization of PHB granules is controlled in R. eutropha and depends on the presence and concentrations of at least two PHB granule associated proteins, PhaM and PhaP5. PMID:23157596

  9. Emory University: "LC-MS analysis of PRAS40 protein-protein interactions" | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Cancer.gov

    This study focuses on subcellular localization and interactome of nuclear PRAS40 in HeLa cells.  Read the abstract.  Experimental Approaches Read the detailed Experimental Approaches. If you cannot access the manuscript, or if you have additional questions, please email Andrei Ivanov.

  10. WegoLoc: accurate prediction of protein subcellular localization using weighted Gene Ontology terms.

    PubMed

    Chi, Sang-Mun; Nam, Dougu

    2012-04-01

    We present an accurate and fast web server, WegoLoc for predicting subcellular localization of proteins based on sequence similarity and weighted Gene Ontology (GO) information. A term weighting method in the text categorization process is applied to GO terms for a support vector machine classifier. As a result, WegoLoc surpasses the state-of-the-art methods for previously used test datasets. WegoLoc supports three eukaryotic kingdoms (animals, fungi and plants) and provides human-specific analysis, and covers several sets of cellular locations. In addition, WegoLoc provides (i) multiple possible localizations of input protein(s) as well as their corresponding probability scores, (ii) weights of GO terms representing the contribution of each GO term in the prediction, and (iii) a BLAST E-value for the best hit with GO terms. If the similarity score does not meet a given threshold, an amino acid composition-based prediction is applied as a backup method. WegoLoc and User's guide are freely available at the website http://www.btool.org/WegoLoc smchiks@ks.ac.kr; dougnam@unist.ac.kr Supplementary data is available at http://www.btool.org/WegoLoc.

  11. Modulation of integrin-linked kinase nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling by ILKAP and CRM1.

    PubMed

    Nakrieko, Kerry-Ann; Vespa, Alisa; Mason, David; Irvine, Timothy S; D'Souza, Sudhir J A; Dagnino, Lina

    2008-07-15

    Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) plays key roles in a variety of cell functions, including cell proliferation, adhesion and migration. Within the cell, ILK localizes to multiple sites, including the cytoplasm, focal adhesion complexes that mediate cell adhesion to extracellular substrates, as well as cell-cell junctions in epidermal keratinocytes. Central to understanding ILK function is the elucidation of the mechanisms that regulate its subcellular localization. We now demonstrate that ILK is imported into the nucleus through sequences in its N-terminus, via active transport mechanisms that involve nuclear pore complexes. In addition, nuclear ILK can be rapidly exported into the cytoplasm through a CRM1-dependent pathway, and its export is enhanced by the type 2C protein phosphatase ILKAP. Nuclear localization of ILK in epidermal keratinocytes is associated with increased DNA synthesis, which is sensitive to inhibition by ILKAP. Our studies demonstrate the importance for keratinocyte proliferation of ILK regulation through changes in its subcellular localization, and establish ILKAP and CRM1 as pivotal modulators of ILK subcellular distribution and activity in these cells.

  12. Yes-Associated Protein (YAP) Promotes the Nuclear Import of p73

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Heng; Wu, Shengnan

    2011-01-01

    p73 has been identified as a structural and functional homolog of the tumor suppressor p53. However, mechanisms that regulate the localization of p73 have not been fully clarified. The Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional coactivator. As a transcriptional coactivator, YAP needs to bind transcription factors to stimulate gene expression. p73 is a reported YAP target transcription factors and YAP has been shown to positively regulate p73 in promoting apoptosis. Previous studies show that p73 interacts with YAP through its PPPY motif, and increases p73 transactivation of apoptotic genes. In this study, we focused on YAP's regulation of the localization of p73. After transient transfection into Rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells and Human embryonic kidney 293T cells with GFP-YAP and/or YFP-p73, and incubated for 24 hours expression. p73 was fused to YFP to allow the examination of its subcellular localization. When expressed alone, YFP-p73 was distributed throughout the cell. When coexpressed with YAP, nuclear accumulation of YFP-p73 became evident. We quantitated the effect of YAP on the redistribution of YFP-p73 by counting cells with nuclear-only YFP signal. We found that YAP can influence the subcellular distribution of p73. Altogether, coexpression with YAP affected the subcellular distribution of the p73 protein. Our studies attribute a central role to YAP in regulating p73 accumulation and YAP, at least in part, might promote the nuclear import of p73.

  13. PF-4/CXCL4 and CXCL4L1 exhibit distinct subcellular localization and a differentially regulated mechanism of secretion.

    PubMed

    Lasagni, Laura; Grepin, Renaud; Mazzinghi, Benedetta; Lazzeri, Elena; Meini, Claudia; Sagrinati, Costanza; Liotta, Francesco; Frosali, Francesca; Ronconi, Elisa; Alain-Courtois, Nathalie; Ballerini, Lara; Netti, Giuseppe Stefano; Maggi, Enrico; Annunziato, Francesco; Serio, Mario; Romagnani, Sergio; Bikfalvi, Andreas; Romagnani, Paola

    2007-05-15

    PF-4/CXCL4 is a member of the CXC chemokine family, which is mainly produced by platelets and known for its pleiotropic biological functions. Recently, the proteic product of a nonallelic variant gene of CXCL4 was isolated from human platelets and named as CXCL4L1. CXCL4L1 shows only 4.3% amino acid divergence in the mature protein, but exhibits a 38% amino acid divergence in the signal peptide region. We hypothesized that this may imply a difference in the cell type in which CXCL4L1 is expressed or a difference in its mode of secretion. In different types of transfected cells, CXCL4 and CXCL4L1 exhibited a distinct subcellular localization and a differential regulation of secretion, CXCL4 being stored in secretory granules and released in response to protein kinase C activation, whereas CXCL4L1 was continuously synthesized and secreted through a constitutive pathway. A protein kinase C-regulated CXCL4 secretion was observed also in lymphocytes, a cell type expressing mainly CXCL4 mRNA, whereas smooth muscle cells, which preferentially expressed CXCL4L1, exhibited a constitutive pathway of secretion. These results demonstrate that CXCL4 and CXCL4L1 exhibit a distinct subcellular localization and are secreted in a differentially regulated manner, suggesting distinct roles in inflammatory or homeostatic processes.

  14. A maize database resource that captures tissue-specific and subcellular-localized gene expression, via fluorescent tags and confocal imaging (Maize Cell Genomics Database).

    PubMed

    Krishnakumar, Vivek; Choi, Yongwook; Beck, Erin; Wu, Qingyu; Luo, Anding; Sylvester, Anne; Jackson, David; Chan, Agnes P

    2015-01-01

    Maize is a global crop and a powerful system among grain crops for genetic and genomic studies. However, the development of novel biological tools and resources to aid in the functional identification of gene sequences is greatly needed. Towards this goal, we have developed a collection of maize marker lines for studying native gene expression in specific cell types and subcellular compartments using fluorescent proteins (FPs). To catalog FP expression, we have developed a public repository, the Maize Cell Genomics (MCG) Database, (http://maize.jcvi.org/cellgenomics), to organize a large data set of confocal images generated from the maize marker lines. To date, the collection represents major subcellular structures and also developmentally important progenitor cell populations. The resource is available to the research community, for example to study protein localization or interactions under various experimental conditions or mutant backgrounds. A subset of the marker lines can also be used to induce misexpression of target genes through a transactivation system. For future directions, the image repository can be expanded to accept new image submissions from the research community, and to perform customized large-scale computational image analysis. This community resource will provide a suite of new tools for gaining biological insights by following the dynamics of protein expression at the subcellular, cellular and tissue levels. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. The DUF1669 domain of FAM83 family proteins anchor casein kinase 1 isoforms.

    PubMed

    Fulcher, Luke J; Bozatzi, Polyxeni; Tachie-Menson, Theresa; Wu, Kevin Z L; Cummins, Timothy D; Bufton, Joshua C; Pinkas, Daniel M; Dunbar, Karen; Shrestha, Sabin; Wood, Nicola T; Weidlich, Simone; Macartney, Thomas J; Varghese, Joby; Gourlay, Robert; Campbell, David G; Dingwell, Kevin S; Smith, James C; Bullock, Alex N; Sapkota, Gopal P

    2018-05-22

    Members of the casein kinase 1 (CK1) family of serine-threonine protein kinases are implicated in the regulation of many cellular processes, including the cell cycle, circadian rhythms, and Wnt and Hedgehog signaling. Because these kinases exhibit constitutive activity in biochemical assays, it is likely that their activity in cells is controlled by subcellular localization, interactions with inhibitory proteins, targeted degradation, or combinations of these mechanisms. We identified members of the FAM83 family of proteins as partners of CK1 in cells. All eight members of the FAM83 family (FAM83A to FAM83H) interacted with the α and α-like isoforms of CK1; FAM83A, FAM83B, FAM83E, and FAM83H also interacted with the δ and ε isoforms of CK1. We detected no interaction between any FAM83 member and the related CK1γ1, CK1γ2, and CK1γ3 isoforms. Each FAM83 protein exhibited a distinct pattern of subcellular distribution and colocalized with the CK1 isoform(s) to which it bound. The interaction of FAM83 proteins with CK1 isoforms was mediated by the conserved domain of unknown function 1669 (DUF1669) that characterizes the FAM83 family. Mutations in FAM83 proteins that prevented them from binding to CK1 interfered with the proper subcellular localization and cellular functions of both the FAM83 proteins and their CK1 binding partners. On the basis of its function, we propose that DUF1669 be renamed the polypeptide anchor of CK1 domain. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  16. Extra Large G-Protein Interactome Reveals Multiple Stress Response Function and Partner-Dependent XLG Subcellular Localization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liang, Ying; Gao, Yajun; Jones, Alan M.

    The three-member family of Arabidopsis extra-large G proteins (XLG1-3) defines the prototype of an atypical Ga subunit in the heterotrimeric G protein complex. Some recent evidence indicate that XLG subunits operate along with its Gbg dimer in root morphology, stress responsiveness, and cytokinin induced development, however downstream targets of activated XLG proteins in the stress pathways are rarely known. In order to assemble a set of candidate XLG-targeted proteins, a yeast two-hybrid complementation-based screen was performed using XLG protein baits to query interactions between XLG and partner protein found in glucose-treated seedlings, roots, and Arabidopsis cells in culture. Seventy twomore » interactors were identified and >60% of a test set displayed in vivo interaction with XLG proteins. Gene co-expression analysis shows that >70% of the interactors are positively correlated with the corresponding XLG partners. Gene Ontology enrichment for all the candidates indicates stress responses and posits a molecular mechanism involving a specific set of transcription factor partners to XLG. Genes encoding two of these transcription factors, SZF1 and 2, require XLG proteins for full NaCl-induced expression. Furthermore, the subcellular localization of the XLG proteins in the nucleus, endosome, and plasma membrane is dependent on the specific interacting partner.« less

  17. Extra Large G-Protein Interactome Reveals Multiple Stress Response Function and Partner-Dependent XLG Subcellular Localization

    DOE PAGES

    Liang, Ying; Gao, Yajun; Jones, Alan M.

    2017-06-13

    The three-member family of Arabidopsis extra-large G proteins (XLG1-3) defines the prototype of an atypical Ga subunit in the heterotrimeric G protein complex. Some recent evidence indicate that XLG subunits operate along with its Gbg dimer in root morphology, stress responsiveness, and cytokinin induced development, however downstream targets of activated XLG proteins in the stress pathways are rarely known. In order to assemble a set of candidate XLG-targeted proteins, a yeast two-hybrid complementation-based screen was performed using XLG protein baits to query interactions between XLG and partner protein found in glucose-treated seedlings, roots, and Arabidopsis cells in culture. Seventy twomore » interactors were identified and >60% of a test set displayed in vivo interaction with XLG proteins. Gene co-expression analysis shows that >70% of the interactors are positively correlated with the corresponding XLG partners. Gene Ontology enrichment for all the candidates indicates stress responses and posits a molecular mechanism involving a specific set of transcription factor partners to XLG. Genes encoding two of these transcription factors, SZF1 and 2, require XLG proteins for full NaCl-induced expression. Furthermore, the subcellular localization of the XLG proteins in the nucleus, endosome, and plasma membrane is dependent on the specific interacting partner.« less

  18. Subcellular Fractionation and Localization Studies Reveal a Direct Interaction of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) with Nucleolin

    PubMed Central

    Taha, Mohamed S.; Nouri, Kazem; Milroy, Lech G.; Moll, Jens M.; Herrmann, Christian; Brunsveld, Luc; Piekorz, Roland P.; Ahmadian, Mohammad R.

    2014-01-01

    Fragile X mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) is a well-known regulator of local translation of its mRNA targets in neurons. However, despite its ubiquitous expression, the role of FMRP remains ill-defined in other cell types. In this study we investigated the subcellular distribution of FMRP and its protein complexes in HeLa cells using confocal imaging as well as detergent-free fractionation and size exclusion protocols. We found FMRP localized exclusively to solid compartments, including cytosolic heavy and light membranes, mitochondria, nuclear membrane and nucleoli. Interestingly, FMRP was associated with nucleolin in both a high molecular weight ribosomal and translation-associated complex (≥6 MDa) in the cytosol, and a low molecular weight complex (∼200 kDa) in the nucleoli. Consistently, we identified two functional nucleolar localization signals (NoLSs) in FMRP that are responsible for a strong nucleolar colocalization of the C-terminus of FMRP with nucleolin, and a direct interaction of the N-terminus of FMRP with the arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) domain of nucleolin. Taken together, we propose a novel mechanism by which a transient nucleolar localization of FMRP underlies a strong nucleocytoplasmic translocation, most likely in a complex with nucleolin and possibly ribosomes, in order to regulate translation of its target mRNAs. PMID:24658146

  19. The protein domains of the Dictyostelium microprocessor that are required for correct subcellular localization and for microRNA maturation.

    PubMed

    Kruse, Janis; Meier, Doreen; Zenk, Fides; Rehders, Maren; Nellen, Wolfgang; Hammann, Christian

    2016-10-02

    The maturation pathways of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been delineated for plants and several animals, belonging to the evolutionary supergroups of Archaeplastida and Opisthokonta, respectively. Recently, we reported the discovery of the microprocessor complex in Dictyostelium discoideum of the Amoebozoa supergroup. The complex is composed of the Dicer DrnB and the dsRBD (double-stranded RNA binding domain) containing protein RbdB. Both proteins localize at nucleoli, where they physically interact, and both are required for miRNA maturation. Here we show that the miRNA phenotype of a ΔdrnB gene deletion strain can be rescued by ectopic expression of a series of DrnB GFP fusion proteins, which consistently showed punctate perinucleolar localization in fluorescence microscopy. These punctate foci appear surprisingly stable, as they persist both disintegration of nucleoli and degradation of cellular nucleic acids. We observed that DrnB expression levels influence the number of microprocessor foci and alter RbdB accumulation. An investigation of DrnB variants revealed that its newly identified nuclear localization signal is necessary, but not sufficient for the perinucleolar localization. Biogenesis of miRNAs, which are RNA Pol II transcripts, is correlated with that localization. Besides its bidentate RNase III domains, DrnB contains only a dsRBD, which surprisingly is dispensable for miRNA maturation. This dsRBD can, however, functionally replace the homologous domain in RbdB. Based on the unique setup of the Dictyostelium microprocessor with a subcellular localization similar to plants, but a protein domain composition similar to animals, we propose a model for the evolutionary origin of RNase III proteins acting in miRNA maturation.

  20. Modeling curvature-dependent subcellular localization of a small sporulation protein in Bacillus subtilis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wasnik, Vaibhav; Wingreen, Ned; Mukhopadhyay, Ranjan

    2012-02-01

    Recent experiments suggest that in the bacterium, B. subtilis, the cue for the localization of small sporulation protein, SpoVM, that plays a central role in spore coat formation, is curvature of the bacterial plasma membrane. This curvature-dependent localization is puzzling given the orders of magnitude difference in lengthscale of an individual protein and radius of curvature of the membrane. Here we develop a minimal model to study the relationship between curvature-dependent membrane absorption of SpoVM and clustering of membrane-associated SpoVM and compare our results with experiments.

  1. Functional analysis of the Arabidopsis PHT4 family of intracellular phosphate transporters.

    PubMed

    Guo, B; Jin, Y; Wussler, C; Blancaflor, E B; Motes, C M; Versaw, W K

    2008-01-01

    The transport of phosphate (Pi) between subcellular compartments is central to metabolic regulation. Although some of the transporters involved in controlling the intracellular distribution of Pi have been identified in plants, others are predicted from genetic, biochemical and bioinformatics studies. Heterologous expression in yeast, and gene expression and localization in plants were used to characterize all six members of an Arabidopsis thaliana membrane transporter family designated here as PHT4. PHT4 proteins share similarity with SLC17/type I Pi transporters, a diverse group of animal proteins involved in the transport of Pi, organic anions and chloride. All of the PHT4 proteins mediate Pi transport in yeast with high specificity. Bioinformatic analysis and localization of PHT4-GFP fusion proteins indicate that five of the proteins are targeted to the plastid envelope, and the sixth resides in the Golgi apparatus. PHT4 genes are expressed in both roots and leaves, although two of the genes are expressed predominantly in leaves and one mostly in roots. These expression patterns, together with Pi transport activities and subcellular locations, suggest roles for PHT4 proteins in the transport of Pi between the cytosol and chloroplasts, heterotrophic plastids and the Golgi apparatus.

  2. Nonreceptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases in Neutrophil Activation

    PubMed

    Welch; Mauran; Maridonneau-Parini

    1996-06-01

    Nonreceptor protein-tyrosine kinases are involved in the regulation of almost all neutrophil responses such as adhesion, chemotaxis, priming, oxidative burst, and degranulation. Here, we show that phagocytosis is also regulated by protein-tyrosine kinase activity. Using various protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitors, we further demonstrate that opsonized zymosan-induced degranulation of specific and azurophil granules is regulated by protein-tyrosine kinase activity, whereas phorbol ester-induced degranulation is not. Several of the nonreceptor protein-tyrosine kinases involving in neutrophil signal transduction are known, including Fgr, Hck, Lyn, Yes, and Syk. Among these, Hck and Fgr are localized on the azurophil and specific granules, suggesting the involvement of these two protein-tyrosine kinases in the regulation of degranulation. In this report, we characterize some of the molecular properties of Hck and Fgr. We discuss the methods generally used for the measurement of protein-tyrosine kinase activities in neutrophils highlighting precautions against proteolysis. In addition, we show that in subcellular fractions of retinoic acid-differentiated neutrophil-like NB4 cells, the 59- and 61-kDa forms of Hck are attached to the membranes of their respective compartments by different mechanisms. Finally, we discuss the functional roles of protein-tyrosine kinases in the regulation of neutrophil activation and speculate on the importance of their subcellular localization.

  3. Choroid plexus epithelial cells express the adhesion protein P-cadherin at cell-cell contacts and syntaxin-4 in the luminal membrane domain.

    PubMed

    Christensen, Inga Baasch; Mogensen, Esben Nees; Damkier, Helle Hasager; Praetorius, Jeppe

    2018-05-01

    The choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs) belong to a small group of polarized cells, where the Na + -K + -ATPase is expressed in the luminal membrane. The basic polarity of the cells is, therefore, still debated. We investigated the subcellular distribution of an array of proteins known to play fundamental roles either in establishing and maintaining basic cell polarity or in the polarized delivery and recycling of plasma membrane proteins. Immunofluorescence histochemical analysis was applied to determine the subcellular localization of apical and basolateral membrane determinants. Mass spectrometry analysis of CPECs isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting was applied to determine the expression of specific forms of the proteins. CPECs mainly express the cell-adhesive P-cadherin, which is localized to the lateral membranes. Proteins belonging to the Crumbs and partitioning defective (Par) protein complexes were all localized to the luminal membrane domain. Par-1 and the Scribble complex were localized to the basolateral membrane domain. Lethal(2) giant larvae homolog 2 (Lgl2) labeling was preferentially observed in the luminal membrane domain. Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP 3 ) was immunolocalized to the basolateral membrane domain, while phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) staining was most prominent in the luminal membrane domain along with the PIP 3 phosphatase, Pten. The apical target-SNARE syntaxin-3 and the basolateral target-SNARE syntaxin-4 were both localized to the apical membrane domain in CPECs, which lack cellular expression of the clathrin adaptor protein AP-1B for basolateral protein recycling. In conclusion, the CPECs are conventionally polarized, but express P-cadherin at cell-cell contacts, and Lgl2 and syntaxin-4 in the luminal plasma membrane domain.

  4. Emory University: "LC-MS analysis of PRAS40 protein-protein interactions" | Office of Cancer Genomics

    Cancer.gov

    This study focuses on subcellular localization and interactome of nuclear PRAS40 in HeLa cells.  Read the abstract.  Experimental Approaches Read the detailed Experimental Approaches. If you cannot access the manuscript, or if you have additional questions, please email Andrei Ivanov. Data

  5. The Induction of Recombinant Protein Bodies in Different Subcellular Compartments Reveals a Cryptic Plastid-Targeting Signal in the 27-kDa γ-Zein Sequence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hofbauer, Anna; Peters, Jenny; Arcalis, Elsa

    2014-12-11

    Naturally occurring storage proteins such as zeins are used as fusion partners for recombinant proteins because they induce the formation of ectopic storage organelles known as protein bodies (PBs) where the proteins are stabilized by intermolecular interactions and the formation of disulfide bonds. Endogenous PBs are derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we have used different targeting sequences to determine whether ectopic PBs composed of the N-terminal portion of mature 27 kDa γ-zein added to a fluorescent protein could be induced to form elsewhere in the cell. The addition of a transit peptide for targeting to plastids causes PBmore » formation in the stroma, whereas in the absence of any added targeting sequence PBs were typically associated with the plastid envelope, revealing the presence of a cryptic plastid-targeting signal within the γ-zein cysteine-rich domain. The subcellular localization of the PBs influences their morphology and the solubility of the stored recombinant fusion protein. Our results indicate that the biogenesis and budding of PBs does not require ER-specific factors and therefore, confirm that γ-zein is a versatile fusion partner for recombinant proteins offering unique opportunities for the accumulation and bioencapsulation of recombinant proteins in different subcellular compartments.« less

  6. A catechol oxidase AcPPO from cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) is localized to the Golgi apparatus.

    PubMed

    Olmedo, Patricio; Moreno, Adrián A; Sanhueza, Dayan; Balic, Iván; Silva-Sanzana, Christian; Zepeda, Baltasar; Verdonk, Julian C; Arriagada, César; Meneses, Claudio; Campos-Vargas, Reinaldo

    2018-01-01

    Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) is an exotic fruit with attractive organoleptic characteristics. However, it is highly perishable and susceptible to postharvest browning. In fresh fruit, browning is primarily caused by the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme catalyzing the oxidation of o-diphenols to quinones, which polymerize to form brown melanin pigment. There is no consensus in the literature regarding a specific role of PPO, and its subcellular localization in different plant species is mainly described within plastids. The present work determined the subcellular localization of a PPO protein from cherimoya (AcPPO). The obtained results revealed that the AcPPO- green fluorescent protein co-localized with a Golgi apparatus marker, and AcPPO activity was present in Golgi apparatus-enriched fractions. Likewise, transient expression assays revealed that AcPPO remained active in Golgi apparatus-enriched fractions obtained from tobacco leaves. These results suggest a putative function of AcPPO in the Golgi apparatus of cherimoya, providing new perspectives on PPO functionality in the secretory pathway, its effects on cherimoya physiology, and the evolution of this enzyme. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Dynamic changes to survivin subcellular localization are initiated by DNA damage

    PubMed Central

    Asumen, Maritess Gay; Ifeacho, Tochukwu V; Cockerham, Luke; Pfandl, Christina; Wall, Nathan R

    2010-01-01

    Subcellular distribution of the apoptosis inhibitor survivin and its ability to relocalize as a result of cell cycle phase or therapeutic insult has led to the hypothesis that these subcellular pools may coincide with different survivin functions. The PIK kinases (ATM, ATR and DNA-PK) phosphorylate a variety of effector substrates that propagate DNA damage signals, resulting in various biological outputs. Here we demonstrate that subcellular repartitioning of survivin in MCF-7 cells as a result of UV light-mediated DNA damage is dependent upon DNA damage-sensing proteins as treatment with the pan PIK kinase inhibitor wortmannin repartitioned survivin in the mitochondria and diminished it from the cytosol and nucleus. Mitochondrial redistribution of survivin, such as was recorded after wortmannin treatment, occurred in cells lacking any one of the three DNA damage sensing protein kinases: DNA-PK, ATM or ATR. However, failed survivin redistribution from the mitochondria in response to low-dose UV occurred only in the cells lacking ATM, implying that ATM may be the primary kinase involved in this process. Taken together, this data implicates survivian’s subcellular distribution is a dynamic physiological process that appears responsive to UV light-initiated DNA damage and that its distribution may be responsible for its multifunctionality. PMID:20856848

  8. A new computational strategy for identifying essential proteins based on network topological properties and biological information.

    PubMed

    Qin, Chao; Sun, Yongqi; Dong, Yadong

    2017-01-01

    Essential proteins are the proteins that are indispensable to the survival and development of an organism. Deleting a single essential protein will cause lethality or infertility. Identifying and analysing essential proteins are key to understanding the molecular mechanisms of living cells. There are two types of methods for predicting essential proteins: experimental methods, which require considerable time and resources, and computational methods, which overcome the shortcomings of experimental methods. However, the prediction accuracy of computational methods for essential proteins requires further improvement. In this paper, we propose a new computational strategy named CoTB for identifying essential proteins based on a combination of topological properties, subcellular localization information and orthologous protein information. First, we introduce several topological properties of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Second, we propose new methods for measuring orthologous information and subcellular localization and a new computational strategy that uses a random forest prediction model to obtain a probability score for the proteins being essential. Finally, we conduct experiments on four different Saccharomyces cerevisiae datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that our strategy for identifying essential proteins outperforms traditional computational methods and the most recently developed method, SON. In particular, our strategy improves the prediction accuracy to 89, 78, 79, and 85 percent on the YDIP, YMIPS, YMBD and YHQ datasets at the top 100 level, respectively.

  9. A potyvirus vector efficiently targets recombinant proteins to chloroplasts, mitochondria and nuclei in plant cells when expressed at the amino terminus of the polyprotein.

    PubMed

    Majer, Eszter; Navarro, José-Antonio; Daròs, José-Antonio

    2015-09-01

    Plant virus-based expression systems allow quick and efficient production of recombinant proteins in plant biofactories. Among them, a system derived from tobacco etch virus (TEV; genus potyvirus) permits coexpression of equimolar amounts of several recombinant proteins. This work analyzed how to target recombinant proteins to different subcellular localizations in the plant cell using this system. We constructed TEV clones in which green fluorescent protein (GFP), with a chloroplast transit peptide (cTP), a nuclear localization signal (NLS) or a mitochondrial targeting peptide (mTP) was expressed either as the most amino-terminal product or embedded in the viral polyprotein. Results showed that cTP and mTP mediated efficient translocation of GFP to the corresponding organelle only when present at the amino terminus of the viral polyprotein. In contrast, the NLS worked efficiently at both positions. Viruses expressing GFP in the amino terminus of the viral polyprotein produced milder symptoms. Untagged GFPs and cTP and NLS tagged amino-terminal GFPs accumulated to higher amounts in infected tissues. Finally, viral progeny from clones with internal GFPs maintained the extra gene better. These observations will help in the design of potyvirus-based vectors able to coexpress several proteins while targeting different subcellular localizations, as required in plant metabolic engineering. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Negative transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) by nuclear TFAM

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Eun Jin; Kang, Young Cheol; Park, Wook-Ha

    2014-07-18

    Highlights: • TFAM localizes in nuclei and mitochondria of neuronal cells. • Nuclear TFAM does not bind the Tfam promoter. • Nuclear TFAM reduced the Tfam promoter activity via suppressing NRF-1 activity. • A novel self-negative feedback regulation of Tfam gene expression is explored. • FAM may play different roles depending on its subcellular localizations. - Abstract: The nuclear DNA-encoded mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) is synthesized in cytoplasm and transported into mitochondria. TFAM enhances both transcription and replication of mitochondrial DNA. It is unclear, however, whether TFAM plays a role in regulating nuclear gene expression. Here, we demonstrated thatmore » TFAM was localized to the nucleus and mitochondria by immunostaining, subcellular fractionation, and TFAM-green fluorescent protein hybrid protein studies. In HT22 hippocampal neuronal cells, human TFAM (hTFAM) overexpression suppressed human Tfam promoter-mediated luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner. The mitochondria targeting sequence-deficient hTFAM also repressed Tfam promoter activity to the same degree as hTFAM. It indicated that nuclear hTFAM suppressed Tfam expression without modulating mitochondrial activity. The repression required for nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), but hTFAM did not bind to the NRF-1 binding site of its promoter. TFAM was co-immunoprecipitated with NRF-1. Taken together, we suggest that nuclear TFAM down-regulate its own gene expression as a NRF-1 repressor, showing that TFAM may play different roles depending on its subcellular localizations.« less

  11. Divisome-dependent subcellular localization of cell-cell joining protein SepJ in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena.

    PubMed

    Ramos-León, Félix; Mariscal, Vicente; Frías, José E; Flores, Enrique; Herrero, Antonia

    2015-05-01

    Heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria are multicellular organisms that grow as filaments that can be hundreds of cells long. Septal junction complexes, of which SepJ is a possible component, appear to join the cells in the filament. SepJ is a cytoplasmic membrane protein that contains a long predicted periplasmic section and localizes not only to the cell poles in the intercellular septa but also to a position similar to a Z ring when cell division starts suggesting a relation with the divisome. Here, we created a mutant of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 in which the essential divisome gene ftsZ is expressed from a synthetic NtcA-dependent promoter, whose activity depends on the nitrogen source. In the presence of ammonium, low levels of FtsZ were produced, and the subcellular localization of SepJ, which was investigated by immunofluorescence, was impaired. Possible interactions of SepJ with itself and with divisome proteins FtsZ, FtsQ and FtsW were investigated using the bacterial two-hybrid system. We found SepJ self-interaction and a specific interaction with FtsQ, confirmed by co-purification and involving parts of the SepJ and FtsQ periplasmic sections. Therefore, SepJ can form multimers, and in Anabaena, the divisome has a role beyond cell division, localizing a septal protein essential for multicellularity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Dynamic Virus-Dependent Subnuclear Localization of the Capsid Protein from a Geminivirus

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Liping; Tan, Huang; Wu, Mengshi; Jimenez-Gongora, Tamara; Tan, Li; Lozano-Duran, Rosa

    2017-01-01

    Viruses are intracellular parasites with a nucleic acid genome and a proteinaceous capsid. Viral capsids are formed of at least one virus-encoded capsid protein (CP), which is often multifunctional, playing additional non-structural roles during the infection cycle. In animal viruses, there are examples of differential localization of CPs associated to the progression of the infection and/or enabled by other viral proteins; these changes in the distribution of CPs may ultimately regulate the involvement of these proteins in different viral functions. In this work, we analyze the subcellular localization of a GFP- or RFP-fused CP from the plant virus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV; Fam. Geminiviridae) in the presence or absence of the virus upon transient expression in the host plants Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato. Our findings show that, in agreement with previous reports, when the CP is expressed alone it localizes mainly in the nucleolus and weakly in the nucleoplasm. Interestingly, the presence of the virus causes the sequential re-localization of the CP outside of the nucleolus and into discrete nuclear foci and, eventually, into an uneven distribution in the nucleoplasm. Expression of the viral replication-associated protein, Rep, is sufficient to exclude the CP from the nucleolus, but the localization of the CP in the characteristic patterns induced by the virus cannot be recapitulated by co-expression with any individual viral protein. Our results demonstrate that the subcellular distribution of the CP is a dynamic process, temporally regulated throughout the progression of the infection. The regulation of the localization of the CP is determined by the presence of other viral components or changes in the cellular environment induced by the virus, and is likely to contribute to the multifunctionality of this protein. Bearing in mind these observations, we suggest that viral proteins should be studied in the context of the infection and considering the temporal dimension in order to comprehensively understand their roles and effects in the interaction between virus and host. PMID:29312406

  13. A rapid, highly efficient and economical method of Agrobacterium-mediated in planta transient transformation in living onion epidermis.

    PubMed

    Xu, Kedong; Huang, Xiaohui; Wu, Manman; Wang, Yan; Chang, Yunxia; Liu, Kun; Zhang, Ju; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Fuli; Yi, Liming; Li, Tingting; Wang, Ruiyue; Tan, Guangxuan; Li, Chengwei

    2014-01-01

    Transient transformation is simpler, more efficient and economical in analyzing protein subcellular localization than stable transformation. Fluorescent fusion proteins were often used in transient transformation to follow the in vivo behavior of proteins. Onion epidermis, which has large, living and transparent cells in a monolayer, is suitable to visualize fluorescent fusion proteins. The often used transient transformation methods included particle bombardment, protoplast transfection and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Particle bombardment in onion epidermis was successfully established, however, it was expensive, biolistic equipment dependent and with low transformation efficiency. We developed a highly efficient in planta transient transformation method in onion epidermis by using a special agroinfiltration method, which could be fulfilled within 5 days from the pretreatment of onion bulb to the best time-point for analyzing gene expression. The transformation conditions were optimized to achieve 43.87% transformation efficiency in living onion epidermis. The developed method has advantages in cost, time-consuming, equipment dependency and transformation efficiency in contrast with those methods of particle bombardment in onion epidermal cells, protoplast transfection and Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation in leaf epidermal cells of other plants. It will facilitate the analysis of protein subcellular localization on a large scale.

  14. [Study of gene mutation and pathogenetic mechanism for a family with Waardenburg syndrome].

    PubMed

    Chen, Hongsheng; Liao, Xinbin; Liu, Yalan; He, Chufeng; Zhang, Hua; Jiang, Lu; Feng, Yong; Mei, Lingyun

    2017-08-10

    To explore the pathogenetic mechanism of a family affected with Waardenburg syndrome. Clinical data of the family was collected. Potential mutation of the MITF, SOX10 and SNAI2 genes were screened. Plasmids for wild type (WT) and mutant MITF proteins were constructed to determine their exogenous expression and subcellular distribution by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay, respectively. A heterozygous c.763C>T (p.R255X) mutation was detected in exon 8 of the MITF gene in the proband and all other patients from the family. No pathological mutation of the SOX10 and SNAI2 genes was detected. The DNA sequences of plasmids of MITF wild and mutant MITF R255X were confirmed. Both proteins were detected with the expected size. WT MITF protein only localized in the nucleus, whereas R255X protein showed aberrant localization in the nucleus as well as the cytoplasm. The c.763C>T mutation of the MITF gene probably underlies the disease in this family. The mutation can affect the subcellular distribution of MITF proteins in vitro, which may shed light on the molecular mechanism of Waardenburg syndrome caused by mutations of the MITF gene.

  15. The N-terminal Set-β Protein Isoform Induces Neuronal Death*

    PubMed Central

    Trakhtenberg, Ephraim F.; Morkin, Melina I.; Patel, Karan H.; Fernandez, Stephanie G.; Sang, Alan; Shaw, Peter; Liu, Xiongfei; Wang, Yan; Mlacker, Gregory M.; Gao, Han; Velmeshev, Dmitry; Dombrowski, Susan M.; Vitek, Michael P.; Goldberg, Jeffrey L.

    2015-01-01

    Set-β protein plays different roles in neurons, but the diversity of Set-β neuronal isoforms and their functions have not been characterized. The expression and subcellular localization of Set-β are altered in Alzheimer disease, cleavage of Set-β leads to neuronal death after stroke, and the full-length Set-β regulates retinal ganglion cell (RGC) and hippocampal neuron axon growth and regeneration in a subcellular localization-dependent manner. Here we used various biochemical approaches to investigate Set-β isoforms and their role in the CNS, using the same type of neurons, RGCs, across studies. We found multiple alternatively spliced isoforms expressed from the Set locus in purified RGCs. Set transcripts containing the Set-β-specific exon were the most highly expressed isoforms. We also identified a novel, alternatively spliced Set-β transcript lacking the nuclear localization signal and demonstrated that the full-length (∼39-kDa) Set-β is localized predominantly in the nucleus, whereas a shorter (∼25-kDa) Set-β isoform is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. Finally, we show that an N-terminal Set-β cleavage product can induce neuronal death. PMID:25833944

  16. Nano-fEM: protein localization using photo-activated localization microscopy and electron microscopy.

    PubMed

    Watanabe, Shigeki; Richards, Jackson; Hollopeter, Gunther; Hobson, Robert J; Davis, Wayne M; Jorgensen, Erik M

    2012-12-03

    Mapping the distribution of proteins is essential for understanding the function of proteins in a cell. Fluorescence microscopy is extensively used for protein localization, but subcellular context is often absent in fluorescence images. Immuno-electron microscopy, on the other hand, can localize proteins, but the technique is limited by a lack of compatible antibodies, poor preservation of morphology and because most antigens are not exposed to the specimen surface. Correlative approaches can acquire the fluorescence image from a whole cell first, either from immuno-fluorescence or genetically tagged proteins. The sample is then fixed and embedded for electron microscopy, and the images are correlated (1-3). However, the low-resolution fluorescence image and the lack of fiducial markers preclude the precise localization of proteins. Alternatively, fluorescence imaging can be done after preserving the specimen in plastic. In this approach, the block is sectioned, and fluorescence images and electron micrographs of the same section are correlated (4-7). However, the diffraction limit of light in the correlated image obscures the locations of individual molecules, and the fluorescence often extends beyond the boundary of the cell. Nano-resolution fluorescence electron microscopy (nano-fEM) is designed to localize proteins at nano-scale by imaging the same sections using photo-activated localization microscopy (PALM) and electron microscopy. PALM overcomes the diffraction limit by imaging individual fluorescent proteins and subsequently mapping the centroid of each fluorescent spot (8-10). We outline the nano-fEM technique in five steps. First, the sample is fixed and embedded using conditions that preserve the fluorescence of tagged proteins. Second, the resin blocks are sectioned into ultrathin segments (70-80 nm) that are mounted on a cover glass. Third, fluorescence is imaged in these sections using the Zeiss PALM microscope. Fourth, electron dense structures are imaged in these same sections using a scanning electron microscope. Fifth, the fluorescence and electron micrographs are aligned using gold particles as fiducial markers. In summary, the subcellular localization of fluorescently tagged proteins can be determined at nanometer resolution in approximately one week.

  17. Antibody-based analysis reveals “filamentous vs. non-filamentous” and “cytoplasmic vs. nuclear” crosstalk of cytoskeletal proteins

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kumeta, Masahiro, E-mail: kumeta@lif.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Hirai, Yuya; Yoshimura, Shige H.

    2013-12-10

    To uncover the molecular composition and dynamics of the functional scaffold for the nucleus, three fractions of biochemically-stable nuclear protein complexes were extracted and used as immunogens to produce a variety of monoclonal antibodies. Many helix-based cytoskeletal proteins were identified as antigens, suggesting their dynamic contribution to nuclear architecture and function. Interestingly, sets of antibodies distinguished distinct subcellular localization of a single isoform of certain cytoskeletal proteins; distinct molecular forms of keratin and actinin were found in the nucleus. Their nuclear shuttling properties were verified by the apparent nuclear accumulations under inhibition of CRM1-dependent nuclear export. Nuclear keratins do notmore » take an obvious filamentous structure, as was revealed by non-filamentous cytoplasmic keratin-specific monoclonal antibody. These results suggest the distinct roles of the helix-based cytoskeletal proteins in the nucleus. - Highlights: • A set of monoclonal antibodies were raised against nuclear scaffold proteins. • Helix-based cytoskeletal proteins were involved in nuclear scaffold. • Many cytoskeletal components shuttle into the nucleus in a CRM1-dependent manner. • Sets of antibodies distinguished distinct subcellular localization of a single isoform. • Nuclear keratin is soluble and does not form an obvious filamentous structure.« less

  18. In vivo subcellular localization of Mal de Rio Cuarto virus (MRCV) non-structural proteins in insect cells reveals their putative functions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Maroniche, Guillermo A.; Mongelli, Vanesa C.; Llauger, Gabriela

    2012-09-01

    The in vivo subcellular localization of Mal de Rio Cuarto virus (MRCV, Fijivirus, Reoviridae) non-structural proteins fused to GFP was analyzed by confocal microscopy. P5-1 showed a cytoplasmic vesicular-like distribution that was lost upon deleting its PDZ binding TKF motif, suggesting that P5-1 interacts with cellular PDZ proteins. P5-2 located at the nucleus and its nuclear import was affected by the deletion of its basic C-termini. P7-1 and P7-2 also entered the nucleus and therefore, along with P5-2, could function as regulators of host gene expression. P6 located in the cytoplasm and in perinuclear cloud-like inclusions, was driven to P9-1more » viroplasm-like structures and co-localized with P7-2, P10 and {alpha}-tubulin, suggesting its involvement in viroplasm formation and viral intracellular movement. Finally, P9-2 was N-glycosylated and located at the plasma membrane in association with filopodia-like protrusions containing actin, suggesting a possible role in virus cell-to-cell movement and spread.« less

  19. Approaches for Studying the Subcellular Localization, Interactions, and Regulation of Histone Deacetylase 5 (HDAC5)

    PubMed Central

    Guise, Amanda J.; Cristea, Ileana M.

    2017-01-01

    As a member of the class IIa family of histone deacetylases, the histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) is known to undergo nuclear–cytoplasmic shuttling and to be a critical transcriptional regulator. Its misregulation has been linked to prominent human diseases, including cardiac diseases and tumorigenesis. In this chapter, we describe several experimental methods that have proven effective for studying the functions and regulatory features of HDAC5. We present methods for assessing the subcellular localization, protein interactions, posttranslational modifications (PTMs), and activity of HDAC5 from the standpoint of investigating either the endogenous protein or tagged protein forms in human cells. Specifically, given that at the heart of HDAC5 regulation lie its dynamic localization, interactions, and PTMs, we present methods for assessing HDAC5 localization in fixed and live cells, for isolating HDAC5-containing protein complexes to identify its interactions and modifications, and for determining how these PTMs map to predicted HDAC5 structural motifs. Lastly, we provide examples of approaches for studying HDAC5 functions with a focus on its regulation during cell-cycle progression. These methods can readily be adapted for the study of other HDACs or non-HDAC-proteins of interest. Individually, these techniques capture temporal and spatial snapshots of HDAC5 functions; yet together, these approaches provide powerful tools for investigating both the regulation and regulatory roles of HDAC5 in different cell contexts relevant to health and disease. PMID:27246208

  20. Prognostic Subcellular Notch2, Notch3 and Jagged1 Localization Patterns in Early Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

    PubMed

    Strati, Titika-Marina; Kotoula, Vassiliki; Kostopoulos, Ioannis; Manousou, Kyriaki; Papadimitriou, Christos; Lazaridis, Georgios; Lakis, Sotiris; Pentheroudakis, George; Pectasides, Dimitrios; Pazarli, Elissavet; Christodoulou, Christos; Razis, Evangelia; Pavlakis, Kitty; Magkou, Christina; Chrisafi, Sofia; Aravantinos, Gerasimos; Bafaloukos, Dimitrios; Papakostas, Pavlos; Gogas, Helen; Kalogeras, Konstantine T; Fountzilas, George

    2017-05-01

    The Notch pathway has been implicated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Herein, we studied the subcellular localization of the less investigated Notch2 and Notch3 and that of the Jagged1 (Jag1) ligand in patients with operable TNBC. We applied immunohistochemistry for Notch2, Notch3 and Jag1 in 333 tumors from TNBC patients treated with adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy. We evaluated cytoplasmic (c), membranous (m) and nuclear (n) protein localization. c-Notch2 (35% positive tumors), c-Notch3 (63%), c-Jag1 (43%), m-Notch3 (23%) and n-Jag1 (17%) were analyzed individually and by using hierarchical clustering for prognostic evaluation. Upon multivariate analysis, compared to high m-Notch3 in the absence of n-Jag1 (cluster 4), all other marker combinations (clusters 1, 2, 3) conferred significantly higher risk for relapse (p<0.05). Specific Notch3 and Jag1 subcellular localization patterns may provide clues for the behavior of the tumors and potentially for Jag1 targeting in TNBC patients. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

  1. Demonstration of lysosomal localization for the mammalian ependymin-related protein using classical approaches combined with a novel density shift method.

    PubMed

    Della Valle, Maria Cecilia; Sleat, David E; Sohar, Istvan; Wen, Ting; Pintar, John E; Jadot, Michel; Lobel, Peter

    2006-11-17

    Most newly synthesized soluble lysosomal proteins are delivered to the lysosome via the mannose 6-phosphate (Man-6-P)-targeting pathway. The presence of the Man-6-P post-translational modification allows these proteins to be affinity-purified on immobilized Man-6-P receptors. This approach has formed the basis for a number of proteomic studies that identified multiple as yet uncharacterized Man-6-P glycoproteins that may represent new lysosomal proteins. Although the presence of Man-6-P is suggestive of lysosomal function, the subcellular localization of such candidates requires experimental verification. Here, we have investigated one such candidate, ependymin-related protein (EPDR). EPDR is a protein of unknown function with some sequence similarity to ependymin, a fish protein thought to play a role in memory consolidation and learning. Using classical subcellular fractionation on rat brain, EPDR co-distributes with lysosomal proteins, but there is significant overlap between lysosomal and mitochondrial markers. For more definitive localization, we have developed a novel approach based upon a selective buoyant density shift of the brain lysosomes in a mutant mouse lacking NPC2, a lysosomal protein involved in lipid transport. EPDR, in parallel with lysosomal markers, shows this density shift in gradient centrifugation experiments comparing mutant and wild type mice. This approach, combined with morphological analyses, demonstrates that EPDR resides in the lysosome. In addition, the lipidosis-induced density shift approach represents a valuable tool for identification and validation of both luminal and membrane lysosomal proteins that should be applicable to high throughput proteomic studies.

  2. Essential Function of Protein 4.1G in Targeting of Membrane Protein Palmitoylated 6 into Schmidt-Lanterman Incisures in Myelinated Nerves

    PubMed Central

    Saitoh, Yurika; Ohno, Nobuhiko; Komada, Masayuki; Saitoh, Sei; Peles, Elior; Ohno, Shinichi

    2012-01-01

    Protein 4.1G is a membrane skeletal protein found in specific subcellular structures in myelinated Schwann cells and seminiferous tubules. Here, we show that in the mouse sciatic nerve, protein 4.1G colocalized at Schmidt-Lanterman incisures (SLI) and the paranodes with a member of the membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family, membrane protein palmitoylated 6 (MPP6). Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that MPP6 was interacting with protein 4.1G. In contrast to wild-type nerves, in 4.1G knockout mice, MPP6 was found largely in the cytoplasm near Schwann cell nuclei, indicating an abnormal protein transport. Although the SLI remained in the 4.1G knockout sciatic nerves, as confirmed by E-cadherin immunostaining, their shape was altered in aged 4.1G knockout nerves compared to their shape in wild-type nerves. In the seminiferous tubules, MPP6 was localized similarly to protein 4.1G along cell membranes of the spermatogonium and early spermatocytes. However, in contrast to myelinated peripheral nerves, the specific localization of MPP6 in the seminiferous tubules was unaltered in the absence of protein 4.1G. These results indicate that 4.1G has a specific role in the targeting of MPP6 to the SLI and the assembly of these subcellular structures. PMID:22025680

  3. Primary structure and subcellular localization of two fimbrial subunit-like proteins involved in the biosynthesis of K99 fibrillae.

    PubMed

    Roosendaal, E; Jacobs, A A; Rathman, P; Sondermeyer, C; Stegehuis, F; Oudega, B; de Graaf, F K

    1987-09-01

    Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the distal part of the fan gene cluster encoding the proteins involved in the biosynthesis of the fibrillar adhesin, K99, revealed the presence of two structural genes, fanG and fanH. The amino acid sequence of the gene products (FanG and FanH) showed significant homology to the amino acid sequence of the fibrillar subunit protein (FanC). Introduction of a site-specific frameshift mutation in fanG or fanH resulted in a simultaneous decrease in fibrillae production and adhesive capacity. Analysis of subcellular fractions showed that, in contrast to the K99 fibrillar subunit (FanC), both the FanH and the FanG protein were loosely associated with the outer membrane, possibly on the periplasmic side, but were not components of the fimbriae themselves.

  4. HPASubC: A suite of tools for user subclassification of human protein atlas tissue images.

    PubMed

    Cornish, Toby C; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Kapoor, Ashish; Halushka, Marc K

    2015-01-01

    The human protein atlas (HPA) is a powerful proteomic tool for visualizing the distribution of protein expression across most human tissues and many common malignancies. The HPA includes immunohistochemically-stained images from tissue microarrays (TMAs) that cover 48 tissue types and 20 common malignancies. The TMA data are used to provide expression information at the tissue, cellular, and occasionally, subcellular level. The HPA also provides subcellular data from confocal immunofluorescence data on three cell lines. Despite the availability of localization data, many unique patterns of cellular and subcellular expression are not documented. To get at this more granular data, we have developed a suite of Python scripts, HPASubC, to aid in subcellular, and cell-type specific classification of HPA images. This method allows the user to download and optimize specific HPA TMA images for review. Then, using a playstation-style video game controller, a trained observer can rapidly step through 10's of 1000's of images to identify patterns of interest. We have successfully used this method to identify 703 endothelial cell (EC) and/or smooth muscle cell (SMCs) specific proteins discovered within 49,200 heart TMA images. This list will assist us in subdividing cardiac gene or protein array data into expression by one of the predominant cell types of the myocardium: Myocytes, SMCs or ECs. The opportunity to further characterize unique staining patterns across a range of human tissues and malignancies will accelerate our understanding of disease processes and point to novel markers for tissue evaluation in surgical pathology.

  5. HPASubC: A suite of tools for user subclassification of human protein atlas tissue images

    PubMed Central

    Cornish, Toby C.; Chakravarti, Aravinda; Kapoor, Ashish; Halushka, Marc K.

    2015-01-01

    Background: The human protein atlas (HPA) is a powerful proteomic tool for visualizing the distribution of protein expression across most human tissues and many common malignancies. The HPA includes immunohistochemically-stained images from tissue microarrays (TMAs) that cover 48 tissue types and 20 common malignancies. The TMA data are used to provide expression information at the tissue, cellular, and occasionally, subcellular level. The HPA also provides subcellular data from confocal immunofluorescence data on three cell lines. Despite the availability of localization data, many unique patterns of cellular and subcellular expression are not documented. Materials and Methods: To get at this more granular data, we have developed a suite of Python scripts, HPASubC, to aid in subcellular, and cell-type specific classification of HPA images. This method allows the user to download and optimize specific HPA TMA images for review. Then, using a playstation-style video game controller, a trained observer can rapidly step through 10's of 1000's of images to identify patterns of interest. Results: We have successfully used this method to identify 703 endothelial cell (EC) and/or smooth muscle cell (SMCs) specific proteins discovered within 49,200 heart TMA images. This list will assist us in subdividing cardiac gene or protein array data into expression by one of the predominant cell types of the myocardium: Myocytes, SMCs or ECs. Conclusions: The opportunity to further characterize unique staining patterns across a range of human tissues and malignancies will accelerate our understanding of disease processes and point to novel markers for tissue evaluation in surgical pathology. PMID:26167380

  6. Quantitative Proteomic Profiling of Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Effects in a Human Skin Model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hengel, Shawna; Aldrich, Joshua T.; Waters, Katrina M.

    2014-07-29

    To assess molecular responses to low doses of radiation that may be encountered during medical diagnostic procedures, nuclear accidents, or terrorist acts, a quantitative global proteomic approach was used to identify protein alterations in a reconstituted human skin tissue treated with 10 cGy of ionizing radiation. Subcellular fractionation was employed to remove highly abundant structural proteins and provide insight on radiation induced alterations in protein abundance and localization. In addition, peptides were post-fractionated using high resolution 2-dimensional liquid chromatography to increase the dynamic range of detection of protein abundance and translocation changes. Quantitative data was obtained by labeling peptides withmore » 8-plex isobaric iTRAQ tags. A total of 207 proteins were detected with statistically significant alterations in abundance and/or subcellular localization compared to sham irradiated tissues. Bioinformatics analysis of the data indicated that the top canonical pathways affected by low dose radiation are related to cellular metabolism. Among the proteins showing alterations in abundance, localization and proteolytic processing was the skin barrier protein filaggrin which is consistent with our previous observation that ionizing radiation alters profilaggrin processing with potential effects on skin barrier functions. In addition, a large number of proteases and protease regulators were affected by low dose radiation exposure indicating that altered proteolytic activity may be a hallmark of low dose radiation exposure. While several studies have demonstrated altered transcriptional regulation occurs following low dose radiation exposures, the data presented here indicates post-transcriptional regulation of protein abundance, localization, and proteolytic processing play an important role in regulating radiation responses in complex human tissues.« less

  7. Prediction of subcellular localization of eukaryotic proteins using position-specific profiles and neural network with weighted inputs.

    PubMed

    Zou, Lingyun; Wang, Zhengzhi; Huang, Jiaomin

    2007-12-01

    Subcellular location is one of the key biological characteristics of proteins. Position-specific profiles (PSP) have been introduced as important characteristics of proteins in this article. In this study, to obtain position-specific profiles, the Position Specific Iterative-Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (PSI-BLAST) has been used to search for protein sequences in a database. Position-specific scoring matrices are extracted from the profiles as one class of characteristics. Four-part amino acid compositions and 1st-7th order dipeptide compositions have also been calculated as the other two classes of characteristics. Therefore, twelve characteristic vectors are extracted from each of the protein sequences. Next, the characteristic vectors are weighed by a simple weighing function and inputted into a BP neural network predictor named PSP-Weighted Neural Network (PSP-WNN). The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is employed to adjust the weight matrices and thresholds during the network training instead of the error back propagation algorithm. With a jackknife test on the RH2427 dataset, PSP-WNN has achieved a higher overall prediction accuracy of 88.4% rather than the prediction results by the general BP neural network, Markov model, and fuzzy k-nearest neighbors algorithm on this dataset. In addition, the prediction performance of PSP-WNN has been evaluated with a five-fold cross validation test on the PK7579 dataset and the prediction results have been consistently better than those of the previous method on the basis of several support vector machines, using compositions of both amino acids and amino acid pairs. These results indicate that PSP-WNN is a powerful tool for subcellular localization prediction. At the end of the article, influences on prediction accuracy using different weighting proportions among three characteristic vector categories have been discussed. An appropriate proportion is considered by increasing the prediction accuracy.

  8. Age distribution patterns of human gene families: divergent for Gene Ontology categories and concordant between different subcellular localizations.

    PubMed

    Liu, Gangbiao; Zou, Yangyun; Cheng, Qiqun; Zeng, Yanwu; Gu, Xun; Su, Zhixi

    2014-04-01

    The age distribution of gene duplication events within the human genome exhibits two waves of duplications along with an ancient component. However, because of functional constraint differences, genes in different functional categories might show dissimilar retention patterns after duplication. It is known that genes in some functional categories are highly duplicated in the early stage of vertebrate evolution. However, the correlations of the age distribution pattern of gene duplication between the different functional categories are still unknown. To investigate this issue, we developed a robust pipeline to date the gene duplication events in the human genome. We successfully estimated about three-quarters of the duplication events within the human genome, along with the age distribution pattern in each Gene Ontology (GO) slim category. We found that some GO slim categories show different distribution patterns when compared to the whole genome. Further hierarchical clustering of the GO slim functional categories enabled grouping into two main clusters. We found that human genes located in the duplicated copy number variant regions, whose duplicate genes have not been fixed in the human population, were mainly enriched in the groups with a high proportion of recently duplicated genes. Moreover, we used a phylogenetic tree-based method to date the age of duplications in three signaling-related gene superfamilies: transcription factors, protein kinases and G-protein coupled receptors. These superfamilies were expressed in different subcellular localizations. They showed a similar age distribution as the signaling-related GO slim categories. We also compared the differences between the age distributions of gene duplications in multiple subcellular localizations. We found that the distribution patterns of the major subcellular localizations were similar to that of the whole genome. This study revealed the whole picture of the evolution patterns of gene functional categories in the human genome.

  9. Bioimaging techniques for subcellular localization of plant hemoglobins and measurement of hemoglobin-dependent nitric oxide scavenging in planta.

    PubMed

    Hebelstrup, Kim H; Østergaard-Jensen, Erik; Hill, Robert D

    2008-01-01

    Plant hemoglobins are ubiquitous in all plant families. They are expressed at low levels in specific tissues. Several studies have established that plant hemoglobins are scavengers of nitric oxide (NO) and that varying the endogenous level of hemoglobin in plant cells negatively modulates bioactivity of NO generated under hypoxic conditions or during cellular signaling. Earlier methods for determination of hemoglobin-dependent scavenging in planta were based on measuring activity in whole plants or organs. Plant hemoglobins do not contain specific organelle localization signals; however, earlier reports on plant hemoglobin have demonstrated either cytosolic or nuclear localization, depending on the method or cell type investigated. We have developed two bioimaging techniques: one for visualization of hemoglobin-catalyzed scavenging of NO in specific cells and another for visualization of subcellular localization of green fluorescent protein-tagged plant hemoglobins in transformed Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

  10. Characterization of Aquaporin 4 Protein Expression and Localization in Tissues of the Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

    PubMed Central

    Cutler, Christopher P.; Harmon, Sheena; Walsh, Jonathon; Burch, Kia

    2012-01-01

    The role of aquaporin water channels such as aquaporin 4 (Aqp4) in elasmobranchs such as the dogfish Squalus acanthias is completely unknown. This investigation set out to determine the expression and cellular and sub-cellular localization of Aqp4 protein in dogfish tissues. Two polyclonal antibodies were generated (AQP4/1 and AQP4/2) and these showed somewhat different characteristics in Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Western blots using the AQP4/1 antibody showed two bands (35.5 and 49.5 kDa) in most tissues in a similar fashion to mammals. Liver had an additional band of 57 kDa and rectal gland two further faint bands of 37.5 and 38.5 kDa. However, unlike in mammals, Aqp4 protein was ubiquitously expressed in all tissues including gill and liver. The AQP4/2 antibody appeared much less specific in Western blots. Both antibodies were used in immunohistochemistry and showed similar cellular localizations, although the AQP4/2 antibody had a more restricted sub-cellular distribution compared to AQP4/1 and therefore appeared to be more specific for Aqp4. In kidney a sub-set of tubules were stained which may represent intermediate tubule segments (In-III–In-VI). AQP4/1 and AQP4/2 antibodies localized to the same tubules segments in serial sections although the intensity and sub-cellular distribution were different. AQP4/2 showed a basal or basolateral membrane distribution whereas AQP4/1 was often distributed throughout the whole cell including the nuclear region. In rectal gland and cardiac stomach Aqp4 was localized to secretory tubules but again AQP/1 and AQP/2 exhibited different sub-cellular distributions. In gill, both antibodies stained large cells in the primary filament and secondary lamellae. Again AQP4/1 antibody stained most or all the cell including the nucleus, whereas AQP4/2 had a plasma membrane or plasma membrane and cytoplasmic distribution. Two types of large mitochondrial rich transport cells are known to exist in elasmobranchs, that express either Na, K-ATPase, or V-type ATPase ion transporters. Using Na, K-ATPase, and V-type ATPase antibodies, Aqp4 was colocalized with these proteins using the AQP4/1 antibody. Results show Aqp4 is expressed in both (and all) branchial Na, K-ATPase, and V-type ATPase expressing cells. PMID:22363294

  11. Characterization of Aquaporin 4 Protein Expression and Localization in Tissues of the Dogfish (Squalus acanthias).

    PubMed

    Cutler, Christopher P; Harmon, Sheena; Walsh, Jonathon; Burch, Kia

    2012-01-01

    The role of aquaporin water channels such as aquaporin 4 (Aqp4) in elasmobranchs such as the dogfish Squalus acanthias is completely unknown. This investigation set out to determine the expression and cellular and sub-cellular localization of Aqp4 protein in dogfish tissues. Two polyclonal antibodies were generated (AQP4/1 and AQP4/2) and these showed somewhat different characteristics in Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Western blots using the AQP4/1 antibody showed two bands (35.5 and 49.5 kDa) in most tissues in a similar fashion to mammals. Liver had an additional band of 57 kDa and rectal gland two further faint bands of 37.5 and 38.5 kDa. However, unlike in mammals, Aqp4 protein was ubiquitously expressed in all tissues including gill and liver. The AQP4/2 antibody appeared much less specific in Western blots. Both antibodies were used in immunohistochemistry and showed similar cellular localizations, although the AQP4/2 antibody had a more restricted sub-cellular distribution compared to AQP4/1 and therefore appeared to be more specific for Aqp4. In kidney a sub-set of tubules were stained which may represent intermediate tubule segments (In-III-In-VI). AQP4/1 and AQP4/2 antibodies localized to the same tubules segments in serial sections although the intensity and sub-cellular distribution were different. AQP4/2 showed a basal or basolateral membrane distribution whereas AQP4/1 was often distributed throughout the whole cell including the nuclear region. In rectal gland and cardiac stomach Aqp4 was localized to secretory tubules but again AQP/1 and AQP/2 exhibited different sub-cellular distributions. In gill, both antibodies stained large cells in the primary filament and secondary lamellae. Again AQP4/1 antibody stained most or all the cell including the nucleus, whereas AQP4/2 had a plasma membrane or plasma membrane and cytoplasmic distribution. Two types of large mitochondrial rich transport cells are known to exist in elasmobranchs, that express either Na, K-ATPase, or V-type ATPase ion transporters. Using Na, K-ATPase, and V-type ATPase antibodies, Aqp4 was colocalized with these proteins using the AQP4/1 antibody. Results show Aqp4 is expressed in both (and all) branchial Na, K-ATPase, and V-type ATPase expressing cells.

  12. SMYD3 interacts with HTLV-1 Tax and regulates subcellular localization of Tax.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Keiyu; Ishida, Takaomi; Nakano, Kazumi; Yamagishi, Makoto; Yamochi, Tadanori; Tanaka, Yuetsu; Furukawa, Yoichi; Nakamura, Yusuke; Watanabe, Toshiki

    2011-01-01

    HTLV-1 Tax deregulates signal transduction pathways, transcription of genes, and cell cycle regulation of host cells, which is mainly mediated by its protein-protein interactions with host cellular factors. We previously reported an interaction of Tax with a histone methyltransferase (HMTase), SUV39H1. As the interaction was mediated by the SUV39H1 SET domain that is shared among HMTases, we examined the possibility of Tax interaction with another HMTase, SMYD3, which methylates histone H3 lysine 4 and activates transcription of genes, and studied the functional effects. Expression of endogenous SMYD3 in T cell lines and primary T cells was confirmed by immunoblotting analysis. Co-immuno-precipitaion assays and in vitro pull-down assay indicated interaction between Tax and SMYD3. The interaction was largely dependent on the C-terminal 180 amino acids of SMYD3, whereas the interacting domain of Tax was not clearly defined, although the N-terminal 108 amino acids were dispensable for the interaction. In the cotransfected cells, colocalization of Tax and SMYD3 was indicated in the cytoplasm or nuclei. Studies using mutants of Tax and SMYD3 suggested that SMYD3 dominates the subcellular localization of Tax. Reporter gene assays showed that nuclear factor-κB activation promoted by cytoplasmic Tax was enhanced by the presence of SMYD3, and attenuated by shRNA-mediated knockdown of SMYD3, suggesting an increased level of Tax localization in the cytoplasm by SMYD3. Our study revealed for the first time Tax-SMYD3 direct interaction, as well as apparent tethering of Tax by SMYD3, influencing the subcellular localization of Tax. Results suggested that SMYD3-mediated nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of Tax provides one base for the pleiotropic effects of Tax, which are mediated by the interaction of cellular proteins localized in the cytoplasm or nucleus. © 2010 Japanese Cancer Association.

  13. Consistent prediction of GO protein localization.

    PubMed

    Spetale, Flavio E; Arce, Debora; Krsticevic, Flavia; Bulacio, Pilar; Tapia, Elizabeth

    2018-05-17

    The GO-Cellular Component (GO-CC) ontology provides a controlled vocabulary for the consistent description of the subcellular compartments or macromolecular complexes where proteins may act. Current machine learning-based methods used for the automated GO-CC annotation of proteins suffer from the inconsistency of individual GO-CC term predictions. Here, we present FGGA-CC + , a class of hierarchical graph-based classifiers for the consistent GO-CC annotation of protein coding genes at the subcellular compartment or macromolecular complex levels. Aiming to boost the accuracy of GO-CC predictions, we make use of the protein localization knowledge in the GO-Biological Process (GO-BP) annotations to boost the accuracy of GO-CC prediction. As a result, FGGA-CC + classifiers are built from annotation data in both the GO-CC and GO-BP ontologies. Due to their graph-based design, FGGA-CC + classifiers are fully interpretable and their predictions amenable to expert analysis. Promising results on protein annotation data from five model organisms were obtained. Additionally, successful validation results in the annotation of a challenging subset of tandem duplicated genes in the tomato non-model organism were accomplished. Overall, these results suggest that FGGA-CC + classifiers can indeed be useful for satisfying the huge demand of GO-CC annotation arising from ubiquitous high throughout sequencing and proteomic projects.

  14. Using distant supervised learning to identify protein subcellular localizations from full-text scientific articles.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Wu; Blake, Catherine

    2015-10-01

    Databases of curated biomedical knowledge, such as the protein-locations reflected in the UniProtKB database, provide an accurate and useful resource to researchers and decision makers. Our goal is to augment the manual efforts currently used to curate knowledge bases with automated approaches that leverage the increased availability of full-text scientific articles. This paper describes experiments that use distant supervised learning to identify protein subcellular localizations, which are important to understand protein function and to identify candidate drug targets. Experiments consider Swiss-Prot, the manually annotated subset of the UniProtKB protein knowledge base, and 43,000 full-text articles from the Journal of Biological Chemistry that contain just under 11.5 million sentences. The system achieves 0.81 precision and 0.49 recall at sentence level and an accuracy of 57% on held-out instances in a test set. Moreover, the approach identifies 8210 instances that are not in the UniProtKB knowledge base. Manual inspection of the 50 most likely relations showed that 41 (82%) were valid. These results have immediate benefit to researchers interested in protein function, and suggest that distant supervision should be explored to complement other manual data curation efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Biochemical properties and subcellular localization of tyrosine aminotransferases in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Wang, Minmin; Toda, Kyoko; Maeda, Hiroshi A

    2016-12-01

    Plants produce various L-tyrosine (Tyr)-derived compounds that are of pharmaceutical or nutritional importance to humans. Tyr aminotransferase (TAT) catalyzes the reversible transamination between Tyr and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate (HPP), the initial step in the biosynthesis of many Tyr-derived plant natural products. Herein reported is the biochemical characterization and subcellular localization of TAT enzymes from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Arabidopsis has at least two homologous TAT genes, At5g53970 (AtTAT1) and At5g36160 (AtTAT2). Their recombinant enzymes showed distinct biochemical properties: AtTAT1 had the highest activity towards Tyr, while AtTAT2 exhibited a broad substrate specificity for both amino and keto acid substrates. Also, AtTAT1 favored the direction of Tyr deamination to HPP, whereas AtTAT2 preferred transamination of HPP to Tyr. Subcellular localization analysis using GFP-fusion proteins and confocal microscopy showed that AtTAT1, AtTAT2, and HPP dioxygenase (HPPD), which catalyzes the subsequent step of TAT, are localized in the cytosol, unlike plastid-localized Tyr and tocopherol biosynthetic enzymes. Furthermore, subcellular fractionation indicated that, while HPPD activity is restricted to the cytosol, TAT activity is detected in both cytosolic and plastidic fractions of Arabidopsis leaf tissue, suggesting that an unknown aminotransferase(s) having TAT activity is also present in the plastids. Biochemical and cellular analyses of Arabidopsis TATs provide a fundamental basis for future in vivo studies and metabolic engineering for enhanced production of Tyr-derived phytochemicals in plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Subcellular distribution of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) is regulated through phosphorylation by dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Oi, Ami; Katayama, Syouichi; Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, 525-8577

    Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) is a Ser/Thr protein kinase primarily expressed in the central nervous system and is known to cause X-linked neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome. However, the mechanisms regulating CDKL5 have not yet been fully clarified. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the protein kinase that directly phosphorylates CDKL5, identifying it as dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A), an enzyme binding to and phosphorylating CDKL5. We showed that subcellular distribution of CDKL5 was regulated by its phosphorylation by DYRK1A. In mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells, CDKL5 was localized in both the cytosol and nucleus, whereas DYRK1A showed amore » typical nuclear localization. When CDKL5 and DYRK1A were co-expressed, the cytosolic localization of CDKL5 was significantly increased. Results of site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the phosphorylation site was Ser-308, in the vicinity of the nuclear localization signal. A mutation mimicking the phosphorylated serine residue by aspartate substitution (S308D) changed CDKL5 localization to the cytosol, whereas the corresponding alanine-substituted analog, CDKL5(S308A), was primarily localized to the nucleus. Taken together, these results strongly suggested that DYRK1A bound to CDKL5 and phosphorylated it on Ser-308, thus interfering with its nuclear localization. - Highlights: • We investigated the mechanism regulating subcellular localization of CDKL5. • DYRK1A was identified as an enzyme that bound to and phosphorylated CDKL5. • The phosphorylation site of CDKL5 was Ser-308, in the vicinity of the NLS. • When DYRK1A was co-expressed, the cytosolic CDKL5 was significantly increased. • In conclusion, DYRK1A regulates CDKL5 localization via phosphorylation on Ser-308.« less

  17. Subcellular localization of the Snf1 kinase is regulated by specific β subunits and a novel glucose signaling mechanism

    PubMed Central

    Vincent, Olivier; Townley, Robert; Kuchin, Sergei; Carlson, Marian

    2001-01-01

    The Snf1/AMP-activated protein kinase family has broad roles in transcriptional, metabolic, and developmental regulation in response to stress. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Snf1 is required for the response to glucose limitation. Snf1 kinase complexes contain the α (catalytic) subunit Snf1, one of the three related β subunits Gal83, Sip1, or Sip2, and the γ subunit Snf4. We present evidence that the β subunits regulate the subcellular localization of the Snf1 kinase. Green fluorescent protein fusions to Gal83, Sip1, and Sip2 show different patterns of localization to the nucleus, vacuole, and/or cytoplasm. We show that Gal83 directs Snf1 to the nucleus in a glucose-regulated manner. We further identify a novel signaling pathway that controls this nuclear localization in response to glucose phosphorylation. This pathway is distinct from the glucose signaling pathway that inhibits Snf1 kinase activity and responds not only to glucose but also to galactose and sucrose. Such independent regulation of the localization and the activity of the Snf1 kinase, combined with the distinct localization of kinases containing different β subunits, affords versatility in regulating physiological responses. PMID:11331606

  18. A visual screen for diet-regulated proteins in the Drosophila ovary using GFP protein trap lines

    PubMed Central

    Hsu, Hwei-Jan; Drummond-Barbosa, Daniela

    2017-01-01

    The effect of diet on reproduction is well documented in a large number of organisms; however, much remains to be learned about the molecular mechanisms underlying this connection. The Drosophila ovary has a well described, fast and largely reversible response to diet. Ovarian stem cells and their progeny proliferate and grow faster on a yeast-rich diet than on a yeast-free (poor) diet, and death of early germline cysts, degeneration of early vitellogenic follicles and partial block in ovulation further contribute to the ~60-fold decrease in egg laying observed on a poor diet. Multiple diet-dependent factors, including insulin-like peptides, the steroid ecdysone, the nutrient sensor Target of Rapamycin, AMP-dependent kinase, and adipocyte factors mediate this complex response. Here, we describe the results of a visual screen using a library of green fluorescent protein (GFP) protein trap lines to identify additional factors potentially involved in this response. In each GFP protein trap line, an artificial GFP exon is fused in frame to an endogenous protein, such that the GFP fusion pattern parallels the levels and subcellular localization of the corresponding native protein. We identified 53 GFP-tagged proteins that exhibit changes in levels and/or subcellular localization in the ovary at 12-16 hours after switching females from rich to poor diets, suggesting them as potential candidates for future functional studies. PMID:28093350

  19. A Role for Timely Nuclear Translocation of Clock Repressor Proteins in Setting Circadian Clock Speed

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Euna

    2014-01-01

    By means of a circadian clock system, all the living organisms on earth including human beings can anticipate the environmental rhythmic changes such as light/dark and warm/cold periods in a daily as well as in a yearly manner. Anticipating such environmental changes provide organisms with survival benefits via manifesting behavior and physiology at an advantageous time of the day and year. Cell-autonomous circadian oscillators, governed by transcriptional feedback loop composed of positive and negative elements, are organized into a hierarchical system throughout the organisms and generate an oscillatory expression of a clock gene by itself as well as clock controlled genes (ccgs) with a 24 hr periodicity. In the feedback loop, hetero-dimeric transcription factor complex induces the expression of negative regulatory proteins, which in turn represses the activity of transcription factors to inhibit their own transcription. Thus, for robust oscillatory rhythms of the expression of clock genes as well as ccgs, the precise control of subcellular localization and/or timely translocation of core clock protein are crucial. Here, we discuss how sub-cellular localization and nuclear translocation are controlled in a time-specific manner focusing on the negative regulatory clock proteins. PMID:25258565

  20. iLoc-Animal: a multi-label learning classifier for predicting subcellular localization of animal proteins.

    PubMed

    Lin, Wei-Zhong; Fang, Jian-An; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2013-04-05

    Predicting protein subcellular localization is a challenging problem, particularly when query proteins have multi-label features meaning that they may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular location sites. Most of the existing methods can only be used to deal with the single-label proteins. Actually, multi-label proteins should not be ignored because they usually bear some special function worthy of in-depth studies. By introducing the "multi-label learning" approach, a new predictor, called iLoc-Animal, has been developed that can be used to deal with the systems containing both single- and multi-label animal (metazoan except human) proteins. Meanwhile, to measure the prediction quality of a multi-label system in a rigorous way, five indices were introduced; they are "Absolute-True", "Absolute-False" (or Hamming-Loss"), "Accuracy", "Precision", and "Recall". As a demonstration, the jackknife cross-validation was performed with iLoc-Animal on a benchmark dataset of animal proteins classified into the following 20 location sites: (1) acrosome, (2) cell membrane, (3) centriole, (4) centrosome, (5) cell cortex, (6) cytoplasm, (7) cytoskeleton, (8) endoplasmic reticulum, (9) endosome, (10) extracellular, (11) Golgi apparatus, (12) lysosome, (13) mitochondrion, (14) melanosome, (15) microsome, (16) nucleus, (17) peroxisome, (18) plasma membrane, (19) spindle, and (20) synapse, where many proteins belong to two or more locations. For such a complicated system, the outcomes achieved by iLoc-Animal for all the aforementioned five indices were quite encouraging, indicating that the predictor may become a useful tool in this area. It has not escaped our notice that the multi-label approach and the rigorous measurement metrics can also be used to investigate many other multi-label problems in molecular biology. As a user-friendly web-server, iLoc-Animal is freely accessible to the public at the web-site .

  1. Expression, purification, characterization and subcellular localization of the goose parvovirus rep1 protein.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zongyan; Li, Chuanfeng; Peng, Gaojing; Liu, Guangqing

    2013-07-01

    The goose parvovirus (GPV) Rep1 protein is both essential for viral replication and a potential target for GPV diagnosis, but its protein characterization and intracellular localization is not clear. We constructed a recombinant plasmid, pET28a/GPV-Rep1, and expressed the Rep1 gene in BL21 (DE3) Escherichia coli. A protein approximately 75 kDa in size was obtained from lysates of E. coli cells expressing the recombinant plasmid. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that after induction with 0.6 mM isopropyl β-D-thiogalactosidase (IPTG) at 30°C for 5 h, the Rep1 protein was highly overexpressed. Two methods used to purify proteins, a salinity-gradient elution and Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, were performed. The amount of Rep1 protein obtained by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography was 41.23 mg, while 119.9 mg of Rep1 protein was obtained by a salinity-gradient elution from a 1 L E. coli BL21 (DE3) culture. An immunogenicity analysis showed that the protein could significantly elicit a specific antibody response in immunized goslings compared to control groups. Antibody titers peaked to 1:5120 (optical density (OD) 450 = 3.9) on day 28 after immunization but had mean titers of 1:10,240 (OD450 = 4.2) in gosling groups immunized with a commercially available GPV-attenuated vaccine strain. Experiments examining subcellular localization showed that the Rep1 protein appeared to associate predominantly with the nuclear membrane, especially during later times of infection. This work provides a basis for biochemical and structural studies on the GPV Rep1 protein.

  2. Identification, characterization and subcellular localization of TcPDE1, a novel cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase from Trypanosoma cruzi.

    PubMed Central

    D'Angelo, Maximiliano A; Sanguineti, Santiago; Reece, Jeffrey M; Birnbaumer, Lutz; Torres, Héctor N; Flawiá, Mirtha M

    2004-01-01

    Compartmentalization of cAMP phosphodiesterases plays a key role in the regulation of cAMP signalling in mammals. In the present paper, we report the characterization and subcellular localization of TcPDE1, the first cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase to be identified from Trypanosoma cruzi. TcPDE1 is part of a small gene family and encodes a 929-amino-acid protein that can complement a heat-shock-sensitive yeast mutant deficient in phospho-diesterase genes. Recombinant TcPDE1 strongly associates with membranes and cannot be released with NaCl or sodium cholate, suggesting that it is an integral membrane protein. This enzyme is specific for cAMP and its activity is not affected by cGMP, Ca2+, calmodulin or fenotiazinic inhibitors. TcPDE1 is sensitive to the phosphodiesterase inhibitor dipyridamole but is resistant to 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, theophylline, rolipram and zaprinast. Papaverine, erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)-adenine hydrochloride, and vinpocetine are poor inhibitors of this enzyme. Confocal laser scanning of T. cruzi epimastigotes showed that TcPDE1 is associated with the plasma membrane and concentrated in the flagellum of the parasite. The association of TcPDE1 with this organelle was confirmed by subcellular fractionation and cell-disruption treatments. The localization of this enzyme is a unique feature that distinguishes it from all the trypanosomatid phosphodiesterases described so far and indicates that compartmentalization of cAMP phosphodiesterases could also be important in these parasites. PMID:14556647

  3. Cellular and Subcellular Immunohistochemical Localization and Quantification of Cadmium Ions in Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

    PubMed

    Gao, Wei; Nan, Tiegui; Tan, Guiyu; Zhao, Hongwei; Tan, Weiming; Meng, Fanyun; Li, Zhaohu; Li, Qing X; Wang, Baomin

    2015-01-01

    The distribution of metallic ions in plant tissues is associated with their toxicity and is important for understanding mechanisms of toxicity tolerance. A quantitative histochemical method can help advance knowledge of cellular and subcellular localization and distribution of heavy metals in plant tissues. An immunohistochemical (IHC) imaging method for cadmium ions (Cd2+) was developed for the first time for the wheat Triticum aestivum grown in Cd2+-fortified soils. Also, 1-(4-Isothiocyanobenzyl)-ethylenediamine-N,N,N,N-tetraacetic acid (ITCB-EDTA) was used to chelate the mobile Cd2+. The ITCB-EDTA/Cd2+ complex was fixed with proteins in situ via the isothiocyano group. A new Cd2+-EDTA specific monoclonal antibody, 4F3B6D9A1, was used to locate the Cd2+-EDTA protein complex. After staining, the fluorescence intensities of sections of Cd2+-positive roots were compared with those of Cd2+-negative roots under a laser confocal scanning microscope, and the location of colloidal gold particles was determined with a transmission electron microscope. The results enable quantification of the Cd2+ content in plant tissues and illustrate Cd2+ translocation and cellular and subcellular responses of T. aestivum to Cd2+ stress. Compared to the conventional metal-S coprecipitation histochemical method, this new IHC method is quantitative, more specific and has less background interference. The subcellular location of Cd2+ was also confirmed with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. The IHC method is suitable for locating and quantifying Cd2+ in plant tissues and can be extended to other heavy metallic ions.

  4. A Rapid, Highly Efficient and Economical Method of Agrobacterium-Mediated In planta Transient Transformation in Living Onion Epidermis

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Kedong; Huang, Xiaohui; Wu, Manman; Wang, Yan; Chang, Yunxia; Liu, Kun; Zhang, Ju; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Fuli; Yi, Liming; Li, Tingting; Wang, Ruiyue; Tan, Guangxuan; Li, Chengwei

    2014-01-01

    Transient transformation is simpler, more efficient and economical in analyzing protein subcellular localization than stable transformation. Fluorescent fusion proteins were often used in transient transformation to follow the in vivo behavior of proteins. Onion epidermis, which has large, living and transparent cells in a monolayer, is suitable to visualize fluorescent fusion proteins. The often used transient transformation methods included particle bombardment, protoplast transfection and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Particle bombardment in onion epidermis was successfully established, however, it was expensive, biolistic equipment dependent and with low transformation efficiency. We developed a highly efficient in planta transient transformation method in onion epidermis by using a special agroinfiltration method, which could be fulfilled within 5 days from the pretreatment of onion bulb to the best time-point for analyzing gene expression. The transformation conditions were optimized to achieve 43.87% transformation efficiency in living onion epidermis. The developed method has advantages in cost, time-consuming, equipment dependency and transformation efficiency in contrast with those methods of particle bombardment in onion epidermal cells, protoplast transfection and Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation in leaf epidermal cells of other plants. It will facilitate the analysis of protein subcellular localization on a large scale. PMID:24416168

  5. Predicting Human Protein Subcellular Locations by the Ensemble of Multiple Predictors via Protein-Protein Interaction Network with Edge Clustering Coefficients

    PubMed Central

    Du, Pufeng; Wang, Lusheng

    2014-01-01

    One of the fundamental tasks in biology is to identify the functions of all proteins to reveal the primary machinery of a cell. Knowledge of the subcellular locations of proteins will provide key hints to reveal their functions and to understand the intricate pathways that regulate biological processes at the cellular level. Protein subcellular location prediction has been extensively studied in the past two decades. A lot of methods have been developed based on protein primary sequences as well as protein-protein interaction network. In this paper, we propose to use the protein-protein interaction network as an infrastructure to integrate existing sequence based predictors. When predicting the subcellular locations of a given protein, not only the protein itself, but also all its interacting partners were considered. Unlike existing methods, our method requires neither the comprehensive knowledge of the protein-protein interaction network nor the experimentally annotated subcellular locations of most proteins in the protein-protein interaction network. Besides, our method can be used as a framework to integrate multiple predictors. Our method achieved 56% on human proteome in absolute-true rate, which is higher than the state-of-the-art methods. PMID:24466278

  6. Proteomic analysis of synaptoneurosomes highlights the relevant role of local translation in the hippocampus.

    PubMed

    Benito, Itziar; Casañas, Juan José; Montesinos, María Luz

    2018-06-19

    Several proteomic analyses have been performed on synaptic fractions isolated from cortex or even total brain, resulting in preparations with a high synaptic heterogeneity and complexity. Synaptoneurosomes (SNs) are subcellular membranous elements that contain sealed pre- and post-synaptic components. They are obtained by subcellular fractionation of brain homogenates and serve as a suitable model to study many aspects of the synapse physiology. Here we report the proteomic content of SNs isolated from hippocampus of adult mice, a brain region involved in memory that presents lower synaptic heterogeneity than cortex. Interestingly, in addition to pre- and post-synaptic proteins, we found that proteins involved in RNA binding and translation were overrepresented in our preparation. These results validate the protocol we previously reported for SNs isolation, and, as reported by other authors, highlight the relevance of local synaptic translation for hippocampal physiology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  7. Autophagy capacity and sub-mitochondrial heterogeneity shape Bnip3-induced mitophagy regulation of apoptosis.

    PubMed

    Choe, Sehyo Charley; Hamacher-Brady, Anne; Brady, Nathan Ryan

    2015-08-08

    Mitochondria are key regulators of apoptosis. In response to stress, BH3-only proteins activate pro-apoptotic Bcl2 family proteins Bax and Bak, which induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP). While the large-scale mitochondrial release of pro-apoptotic proteins activates caspase-dependent cell death, a limited release results in sub-lethal caspase activation which promotes tumorigenesis. Mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) targets dysfunctional mitochondria for degradation by lysosomes, and undergoes extensive crosstalk with apoptosis signaling, but its influence on apoptosis remains undetermined. The BH3-only protein Bnip3 integrates apoptosis and mitophagy signaling at different signaling domains. Bnip3 inhibits pro-survival Bcl2 members via its BH3 domain and activates mitophagy through its LC3 Interacting Region (LIR), which is responsible for binding to autophagosomes. Previously, we have shown that Bnip3-activated mitophagy prior to apoptosis induction can reduce mitochondrial activation of caspases, suggesting that a reduction to mitochondrial levels may be pro-survival. An outstanding question is whether organelle dynamics and/or recently discovered subcellular variations of protein levels responsible for both MOMP sensitivity and crosstalk between apoptosis and mitophagy can influence the cellular apoptosis decision event. To that end, here we undertook a systems biology analysis of mitophagy-apoptosis crosstalk at the level of cellular mitochondrial populations. Based on experimental findings, we developed a multi-scale, hybrid model with an individually adaptive mitochondrial population, whose actions are determined by protein levels, embedded in an agent-based model (ABM) for simulating subcellular dynamics and local feedback via reactive oxygen species signaling. Our model, supported by experimental evidence, identified an emergent regulatory structure within canonical apoptosis signaling. We show that the extent of mitophagy is determined by levels and spatial localization of autophagy capacity, and subcellular mitochondrial protein heterogeneities. Our model identifies mechanisms and conditions that alter the mitophagy decision within mitochondrial subpopulations to an extent sufficient to shape cellular outcome to apoptotic stimuli. Overall, our modeling approach provides means to suggest new experiments and implement findings at multiple scales in order to understand how network topologies and subcellular heterogeneities can influence signaling events at individual organelle level, and hence, determine the emergence of heterogeneity in cellular decisions due the actions of the collective intra-cellular population.

  8. Optimization of immunostaining on flat-mounted human corneas.

    PubMed

    Forest, Fabien; Thuret, Gilles; Gain, Philippe; Dumollard, Jean-Marc; Peoc'h, Michel; Perrache, Chantal; He, Zhiguo

    2015-01-01

    In the literature, immunohistochemistry on cross sections is the main technique used to study protein expression in corneal endothelial cells (ECs), even though this method allows visualization of few ECs, without clear subcellular localization, and is subject to the staining artifacts frequently encountered at tissue borders. We previously proposed several protocols, using fixation in 0.5% paraformaldehyde (PFA) or in methanol, allowing immunostaining on flatmounted corneas for proteins of different cell compartments. In the present study, we further refined the technique by systematically assessing the effect of fixative temperature. Last, we used optimized protocols to further demonstrate the considerable advantages of immunostaining on flatmounted intact corneas: detection of rare cells in large fields of thousands of ECs and epithelial cells, and accurate subcellular localization of given proteins. The staining of four ubiquitous proteins, ZO-1, hnRNP L, actin, and histone H3, with clearly different subcellular localizations, was analyzed in ECs of organ-cultured corneas. Whole intact human corneas were fixed for 30 min in 0.5% paraformaldehyde or pure methanol at four temperatures (4 °C for PFA, -20 °C for methanol, and 23, 37, and 50 °C for both). Experiments were performed in duplicate and repeated on three corneas. Standardized pictures were analyzed independently by two experts. Second, optimized immunostaining protocols were applied to fresh corneas for three applications: identification of rare cells that express KI67 in the endothelium of specimens with Fuch's endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), the precise localization of neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) in normal ECs and of the cytokeratin pair K3/12 and CD44 in normal epithelial cells, and the identification of cells that express S100b in the normal epithelium. Temperature strongly influenced immunostaining quality. There was no ubiquitous protocol, but nevertheless, room temperature may be recommended as first-line temperature during fixation, instead of the conventional -20 °C for methanol and 4 °C for PFA. Further optimization may be required for certain target proteins. Optimized protocols allowed description of two previously unknown findings: the presence of a few proliferating ECs in FECD specimens, suggesting ineffective compensatory mechanisms against premature EC death, and the localization of NCAMs exclusively in the lateral membranes of ECs, showing hexagonal organization at the apical pole and an irregular shape with increasing complexity toward the basal pole. Optimized protocols were also effective for the epithelium, allowing clear localization of cytokeratin 3/12 and CD44 in superficial and basal epithelial cells, respectively. Finally, S100b allowed identification of clusters of epithelial Langerhans cells near the limbus and more centrally. Fixative temperature is a crucial parameter in optimizing immunostaining on flatmounted intact corneas. Whole-tissue overview and precise subcellular staining are significant advantages over conventional immunohistochemistry (IHC) on cross sections. This technique, initially developed for the corneal endothelium, proved equally suitable for the corneal epithelium and could be used for other superficial mono- and multilayered epithelia.

  9. RABA Members Act in Distinct Steps of Subcellular Trafficking of the FLAGELLIN SENSING2 Receptor[W

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Seung-won; Tamaki, Takayuki; Ebine, Kazuo; Uemura, Tomohiro; Ueda, Takashi; Nakano, Akihiko

    2013-01-01

    Cell surface proteins play critical roles in the perception of environmental stimuli at the plasma membrane (PM) and ensuing signal transduction. Intracellular localization of such proteins must be strictly regulated, which requires elaborate integration of exocytic and endocytic trafficking pathways. Subcellular localization of Arabidopsis thaliana FLAGELLIN SENSING2 (FLS2), a receptor that recognizes bacterial flagellin, also depends on membrane trafficking. However, our understanding about the mechanisms involved is still limited. In this study, we visualized ligand-induced endocytosis of FLS2 using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged FLS2 expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Upon treatment with the flg22 peptide, internalized FLS2-GFP from the PM was transported to a compartment with properties intermediate between the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and the multivesicular endosome. This compartment gradually discarded the TGN characteristics as it continued along the trafficking pathway. We further found that FLS2 endocytosis involves distinct RABA/RAB11 subgroups at different steps. Moreover, we demonstrated that transport of de novo–synthesized FLS2 to the PM also involves a distinct RABA/RAB11 subgroup. Our results demonstrate the complex regulatory system for properly localizing FLS2 and functional differentiation in RABA members in endo- and exocytosis. PMID:23532067

  10. Nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of the rabies virus P protein requires a nuclear localization signal and a CRM1-dependent nuclear export signal

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pasdeloup, David; Poisson, Nicolas; Raux, Helene

    2005-04-10

    Rabies virus P protein is a co-factor of the viral RNA polymerase. It has been shown previously that P mRNA directs the synthesis of four N-terminally truncated P products P2, P3, P4, and P5 due to translational initiation by a leaky scanning mechanism at internal Met codons. Whereas P and P2 are located in the cytoplasm, P3, P4, and P5 are found in the nucleus. Here, we have analyzed the molecular basis of the subcellular localization of these proteins. Using deletion mutants fused to GFP protein, we show the presence of a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in the C-terminal partmore » of P (172-297). This domain contains a short lysine-rich stretch ({sup 211}KKYK{sup 214}) located in close proximity with arginine 260 as revealed by the crystal structure of P. We demonstrate the critical role of lysine 214 and arginine 260 in NLS activity. In the presence of Leptomycin B, P is retained in the nucleus indicating that it contains a CRM1-dependent nuclear export signal (NES). The subcellular distribution of P deletion mutants indicates that the domain responsible for export is the amino-terminal part of the protein. The use of fusion proteins that have amino terminal fragments of P fused to {beta}-galactosidase containing the NLS of SV40 T antigen allows us to identify a NES between residues 49 and 58. The localization of NLS and NES determines the cellular distribution of the P gene products.« less

  11. Poly(A)-binding proteins and mRNA localization: who rules the roost?

    PubMed

    Gray, Nicola K; Hrabálková, Lenka; Scanlon, Jessica P; Smith, Richard W P

    2015-12-01

    RNA-binding proteins are often multifunctional, interact with a variety of protein partners and display complex localizations within cells. Mammalian cytoplasmic poly(A)-binding proteins (PABPs) are multifunctional RNA-binding proteins that regulate multiple aspects of mRNA translation and stability. Although predominantly diffusely cytoplasmic at steady state, they shuttle through the nucleus and can be localized to a variety of cytoplasmic foci, including those associated with mRNA storage and localized translation. Intriguingly, PABP sub-cellular distribution can alter dramatically in response to cellular stress or viral infection, becoming predominantly nuclear and/or being enriched in induced cytoplasmic foci. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms that govern this distribution/relocalization and in many cases PABP functions within specific sites remain unclear. Here we discuss the emerging evidence with respect to these questions in mammals. © 2015 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

  12. LocTree2 predicts localization for all domains of life

    PubMed Central

    Goldberg, Tatyana; Hamp, Tobias; Rost, Burkhard

    2012-01-01

    Motivation: Subcellular localization is one aspect of protein function. Despite advances in high-throughput imaging, localization maps remain incomplete. Several methods accurately predict localization, but many challenges remain to be tackled. Results: In this study, we introduced a framework to predict localization in life's three domains, including globular and membrane proteins (3 classes for archaea; 6 for bacteria and 18 for eukaryota). The resulting method, LocTree2, works well even for protein fragments. It uses a hierarchical system of support vector machines that imitates the cascading mechanism of cellular sorting. The method reaches high levels of sustained performance (eukaryota: Q18=65%, bacteria: Q6=84%). LocTree2 also accurately distinguishes membrane and non-membrane proteins. In our hands, it compared favorably with top methods when tested on new data. Availability: Online through PredictProtein (predictprotein.org); as standalone version at http://www.rostlab.org/services/loctree2. Contact: localization@rostlab.org Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:22962467

  13. Ion pump sorting in polarized renal epithelial cells.

    PubMed

    Caplan, M J

    2001-08-01

    The plasma membranes of renal epithelial cells are divided into distinct apical and basolateral domains, which contain different inventories of ion transport proteins. Without this polarity vectorial ion and fluid transport would not be possible. Little is known of the signals and mechanisms that renal epithelial cells use to establish and maintain polarized distributions of their ion transport proteins. Analysis of ion pump sorting reveals that multiple complex signals participate in determining and regulating these proteins' subcellular localizations.

  14. Tuning the Catalytic Activity of Subcellular Nanoreactors.

    PubMed

    Jakobson, Christopher M; Chen, Yiqun; Slininger, Marilyn F; Valdivia, Elias; Kim, Edward Y; Tullman-Ercek, Danielle

    2016-07-31

    Bacterial microcompartments are naturally occurring subcellular organelles of bacteria and serve as a promising scaffold for the organization of heterologous biosynthetic pathways. A critical element in the design of custom biosynthetic organelles is quantitative control over the loading of heterologous enzymes to the interior of the organelles. We demonstrate that the loading of heterologous proteins to the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment of Salmonella enterica can be controlled using two strategies: by modulating the transcriptional activation of the microcompartment container and by coordinating the expression of the microcompartment container and the heterologous cargo. These strategies allow general control over the loading of heterologous proteins localized by two different N-terminal targeting peptides and represent an important step toward tuning the catalytic activity of bacterial microcompartments for increased biosynthetic productivity. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. The testis-specific VAD1.3/AEP1 interacts with β-actin and syntaxin 1 and directs peri-nuclear/Golgi expression with bipartite nucleus localization (BNL) sequence.

    PubMed

    Zuo, Yan; Gao, Jing; Yeung, William S B; Lee, Kai-Fai

    2010-10-15

    VAD1.3 (AEP1), a novel testis-specific gene, was first isolated from the testis of a retinol-treated vitamin-A-deficient (VAD) rat model. It is expressed at the acrosomal region of spermatids from postnatal day 25. VAD1.3 immunoreactivity is present in rat, human, monkey and porcine spermatids and spermatozoa, suggesting that VAD1.3 may play a role in acrosome formation. However, direct evidence on the detailed sub-cellular localization of the VAD1.3 protein in the acrosome and how VAD1.3 is involved in acrosome formation remains largely unknown. Here, we isolated and identified VAD1.3 interacting proteins by immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry, and determined the functional motifs of VAD1.3 that were important for its specific sub-cellular location in vitro. We found that VAD1.3 bound to syntaxin 1 and β-actin proteins in vitro. Immunogold electron microscopic study localized VAD1.3 immunoreactivity to the acrosome membranes and matrix, and colocalized it with the β-actin protein. The full-length GFP-VAD (1-3601) and GFP-VAD (1-730) fusion proteins that contain the bipartite nucleus localization (BNL) signal were located in the peri-nucleus/Golgi of the transfected cells. In addition, the GFP signal colocalized with the endoplasmic reticulum marker and the syntaxin 1 protein in the transfected HeLa and GC-2spd cells. The C-terminal GFP-VAD (1770-3601) was expressed in the nucleus. Taken together, VAD1.3 interacts with β-actin and syntaxin 1 in vitro. The BNL signal may mediate the peri-nuclei localization of the protein that may interact with syntaxin 1 and β-actin for acrosome formation in spermatogenesis. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Targeted nanodiamonds for identification of subcellular protein assemblies in mammalian cells

    PubMed Central

    Lake, Michael P.; Bouchard, Louis-S.

    2017-01-01

    Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to successfully determine the structures of proteins. However, such studies are typically done ex situ after extraction of the protein from the cellular environment. Here we describe an application for nanodiamonds as targeted intensity contrast labels in biological TEM, using the nuclear pore complex (NPC) as a model macroassembly. We demonstrate that delivery of antibody-conjugated nanodiamonds to live mammalian cells using maltotriose-conjugated polypropylenimine dendrimers results in efficient localization of nanodiamonds to the intended cellular target. We further identify signatures of nanodiamonds under TEM that allow for unambiguous identification of individual nanodiamonds from a resin-embedded, OsO4-stained environment. This is the first demonstration of nanodiamonds as labels for nanoscale TEM-based identification of subcellular protein assemblies. These results, combined with the unique fluorescence properties and biocompatibility of nanodiamonds, represent an important step toward the use of nanodiamonds as markers for correlated optical/electron bioimaging. PMID:28636640

  17. pLoc-mAnimal: predict subcellular localization of animal proteins with both single and multiple sites.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Xiang; Zhao, Shu-Guang; Lin, Wei-Zhong; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2017-11-15

    Cells are deemed the basic unit of life. However, many important functions of cells as well as their growth and reproduction are performed via the protein molecules located at their different organelles or locations. Facing explosive growth of protein sequences, we are challenged to develop fast and effective method to annotate their subcellular localization. However, this is by no means an easy task. Particularly, mounting evidences have indicated proteins have multi-label feature meaning that they may simultaneously exist at, or move between, two or more different subcellular location sites. Unfortunately, most of the existing computational methods can only be used to deal with the single-label proteins. Although the 'iLoc-Animal' predictor developed recently is quite powerful that can be used to deal with the animal proteins with multiple locations as well, its prediction quality needs to be improved, particularly in enhancing the absolute true rate and reducing the absolute false rate. Here we propose a new predictor called 'pLoc-mAnimal', which is superior to iLoc-Animal as shown by the compelling facts. When tested by the most rigorous cross-validation on the same high-quality benchmark dataset, the absolute true success rate achieved by the new predictor is 37% higher and the absolute false rate is four times lower in comparison with the state-of-the-art predictor. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for the new predictor has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pLoc-mAnimal/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematics involved. xxiao@gordonlifescience.org or kcchou@gordonlifescience.org. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  18. A visual screen for diet-regulated proteins in the Drosophila ovary using GFP protein trap lines.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Hwei-Jan; Drummond-Barbosa, Daniela

    2017-01-01

    The effect of diet on reproduction is well documented in a large number of organisms; however, much remains to be learned about the molecular mechanisms underlying this connection. The Drosophila ovary has a well described, fast and largely reversible response to diet. Ovarian stem cells and their progeny proliferate and grow faster on a yeast-rich diet than on a yeast-free (poor) diet, and death of early germline cysts, degeneration of early vitellogenic follicles and partial block in ovulation further contribute to the ∼60-fold decrease in egg laying observed on a poor diet. Multiple diet-dependent factors, including insulin-like peptides, the steroid ecdysone, the nutrient sensor Target of Rapamycin, AMP-dependent kinase, and adipocyte factors mediate this complex response. Here, we describe the results of a visual screen using a collection of green fluorescent protein (GFP) protein trap lines to identify additional factors potentially involved in this response. In each GFP protein trap line, an artificial GFP exon is fused in frame to an endogenous protein, such that the GFP fusion pattern parallels the levels and subcellular localization of the corresponding native protein. We identified 53 GFP-tagged proteins that exhibit changes in levels and/or subcellular localization in the ovary at 12-16 hours after switching females from rich to poor diets, suggesting them as potential candidates for future functional studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. A Concerted Action of Hepatitis C Virus P7 and Nonstructural Protein 2 Regulates Core Localization at the Endoplasmic Reticulum and Virus Assembly

    PubMed Central

    Boson, Bertrand; Granio, Ophélia; Bartenschlager, Ralf; Cosset, François-Loïc

    2011-01-01

    Hepatitis C virus (HCV) assembly remains a poorly understood process. Lipid droplets (LDs) are thought to act as platforms for the assembly of viral components. The JFH1 HCV strain replicates and assembles in association with LD-associated membranes, around which viral core protein is predominantly detected. In contrast, despite its intrinsic capacity to localize to LDs when expressed individually, we found that the core protein of the high-titer Jc1 recombinant virus was hardly detected on LDs of cell culture-grown HCV (HCVcc)-infected cells, but was mainly localized at endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes where it colocalized with the HCV envelope glycoproteins. Furthermore, high-titer cell culture-adapted JFH1 virus, obtained after long-term culture in Huh7.5 cells, exhibited an ER-localized core in contrast to non-adapted JFH1 virus, strengthening the hypothesis that ER localization of core is required for efficient HCV assembly. Our results further indicate that p7 and NS2 are HCV strain-specific factors that govern the recruitment of core protein from LDs to ER assembly sites. Indeed, using expression constructs and HCVcc recombinant genomes, we found that p7 is sufficient to induce core localization at the ER, independently of its ion-channel activity. Importantly, the combined expression of JFH1 or Jc1 p7 and NS2 induced the same differential core subcellular localization detected in JFH1- vs. Jc1-infected cells. Finally, results obtained by expressing p7-NS2 chimeras between either virus type indicated that compatibilities between the p7 and the first NS2 trans-membrane domains is required to induce core-ER localization and assembly of extra- and intra-cellular infectious viral particles. In conclusion, we identified p7 and NS2 as key determinants governing the subcellular localization of HCV core to LDs vs. ER and required for initiation of the early steps of virus assembly. PMID:21814513

  20. Predicting protein subcellular locations using hierarchical ensemble of Bayesian classifiers based on Markov chains.

    PubMed

    Bulashevska, Alla; Eils, Roland

    2006-06-14

    The subcellular location of a protein is closely related to its function. It would be worthwhile to develop a method to predict the subcellular location for a given protein when only the amino acid sequence of the protein is known. Although many efforts have been made to predict subcellular location from sequence information only, there is the need for further research to improve the accuracy of prediction. A novel method called HensBC is introduced to predict protein subcellular location. HensBC is a recursive algorithm which constructs a hierarchical ensemble of classifiers. The classifiers used are Bayesian classifiers based on Markov chain models. We tested our method on six various datasets; among them are Gram-negative bacteria dataset, data for discriminating outer membrane proteins and apoptosis proteins dataset. We observed that our method can predict the subcellular location with high accuracy. Another advantage of the proposed method is that it can improve the accuracy of the prediction of some classes with few sequences in training and is therefore useful for datasets with imbalanced distribution of classes. This study introduces an algorithm which uses only the primary sequence of a protein to predict its subcellular location. The proposed recursive scheme represents an interesting methodology for learning and combining classifiers. The method is computationally efficient and competitive with the previously reported approaches in terms of prediction accuracies as empirical results indicate. The code for the software is available upon request.

  1. UK114, a YjgF/Yer057p/UK114 family protein highly conserved from bacteria to mammals, is localized in rat liver peroxisomes.

    PubMed

    Antonenkov, Vasily D; Ohlmeier, Steffen; Sormunen, Raija T; Hiltunen, J Kalervo

    2007-05-25

    Mammalian UK114 belongs to a highly conserved family of proteins with unknown functions. Although it is believed that UK114 is a cytosolic or mitochondrial protein there is no detailed study of its intracellular localization. Using analytical subcellular fractionation, electron microscopic colloidal gold technique, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of peroxisomal matrix proteins combined with mass spectrometric analysis we show here that a large portion of UK114 is present in rat liver peroxisomes. The peroxisomal UK114 is a soluble matrix protein and it is not inducible by the peroxisomal proliferator clofibrate. The data predict involvement of UK114 in peroxisomal metabolism.

  2. Identification of mycobacterial surface proteins released into subcellular compartments of infected macrophages.

    PubMed

    Beatty, W L; Russell, D G

    2000-12-01

    Considerable effort has focused on the identification of proteins secreted from Mycobacterium spp. that contribute to the development of protective immunity. Little is known, however, about the release of mycobacterial proteins from the bacterial phagosome and the potential role of these molecules in chronically infected macrophages. In the present study, the release of mycobacterial surface proteins from the bacterial phagosome into subcellular compartments of infected macrophages was analyzed. Mycobacterium bovis BCG was surface labeled with fluorescein-tagged succinimidyl ester, an amine-reactive probe. The fluorescein tag was then used as a marker for the release of bacterial proteins in infected macrophages. Fractionation studies revealed bacterial proteins within subcellular compartments distinct from mycobacteria and mycobacterial phagosomes. To identify these proteins, subcellular fractions free of bacteria were probed with mycobacterium-specific antibodies. The fibronectin attachment protein and proteins of the antigen 85-kDa complex were identified among the mycobacterial proteins released from the bacterial phagosome.

  3. Bioinformatic and Comparative Localization of Rab Proteins Reveals Functional Insights into the Uncharacterized GTPases Ypt10p and Ypt11p†

    PubMed Central

    Buvelot Frei, Stéphanie; Rahl, Peter B.; Nussbaum, Maria; Briggs, Benjamin J.; Calero, Monica; Janeczko, Stephanie; Regan, Andrew D.; Chen, Catherine Z.; Barral, Yves; Whittaker, Gary R.; Collins, Ruth N.

    2006-01-01

    A striking characteristic of a Rab protein is its steady-state localization to the cytosolic surface of a particular subcellular membrane. In this study, we have undertaken a combined bioinformatic and experimental approach to examine the evolutionary conservation of Rab protein localization. A comprehensive primary sequence classification shows that 10 out of the 11 Rab proteins identified in the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) genome can be grouped within a major subclass, each comprising multiple Rab orthologs from diverse species. We compared the locations of individual yeast Rab proteins with their localizations following ectopic expression in mammalian cells. Our results suggest that green fluorescent protein-tagged Rab proteins maintain localizations across large evolutionary distances and that the major known player in the Rab localization pathway, mammalian Rab-GDI, is able to function in yeast. These findings enable us to provide insight into novel gene functions and classify the uncharacterized Rab proteins Ypt10p (YBR264C) as being involved in endocytic function and Ypt11p (YNL304W) as being localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, where we demonstrate it is required for organelle inheritance. PMID:16980630

  4. Neutrophils Express Distinct RNA Receptors in a Non-canonical Way*

    PubMed Central

    Berger, Michael; Hsieh, Chin-Yuan; Bakele, Martina; Marcos, Veronica; Rieber, Nikolaus; Kormann, Michael; Mays, Lauren; Hofer, Laura; Neth, Olaf; Vitkov, Ljubomir; Krautgartner, Wolf Dietrich; von Schweinitz, Dietrich; Kappler, Roland; Hector, Andreas; Weber, Alexander; Hartl, Dominik

    2012-01-01

    RNAs are capable of modulating immune responses by binding to specific receptors. Neutrophils represent the major fraction of circulating immune cells, but receptors and mechanisms by which neutrophils sense RNA are poorly defined. Here, we analyzed the mRNA and protein expression patterns and the subcellular localization of the RNA receptors RIG-I, MDA-5, TLR3, TLR7, and TLR8 in primary neutrophils and immortalized neutrophil-like differentiated HL-60 cells. Our results demonstrate that both neutrophils and differentiated HL-60 cells express RIG-I, MDA-5, and TLR8 at the mRNA and protein levels, whereas TLR3 and TLR7 are not expressed at the protein level. Subcellular fractionation, flow cytometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and immuno-transmission electron microscopy provided evidence that, besides the cytoplasm, RIG-I and MDA-5 are stored in secretory vesicles of neutrophils and showed that RIG-I and its ligand, 3p-RNA, co-localize at the cell surface without triggering neutrophil activation. In summary, this study demonstrates that neutrophils express a distinct pattern of RNA recognition receptors in a non-canonical way, which could have essential implications for future RNA-based therapeutics. PMID:22532562

  5. A Novel System for Visualizing Alphavirus Assembly

    PubMed Central

    Steel, J. Jordan; Geiss, Brian J.

    2015-01-01

    Alphaviruses are small, enveloped RNA viruses that form infectious particles by budding through the cellular plasma membrane. To help visualize and understand the intracellular assembly of alphavirus virions we have developed a bimolecular fluorescence complementation-based system (BiFC) that allows visualization of capsid and E2 subcellular localization and association in live cells. In this system, N- or C-terminal Venus fluorescent protein fragments (VN- and VC-) are fused to the N-terminus of the capsid protein on the Sindbis virus structural polyprotein, which results in the formation of fluorescent capsid-like structures in the absence of viral genomes that associate with the plasma membrane of cells. Mutation of the capsid autoprotease active site blocks structural polyprotein processing and alters the subcellular distribution of capsid fluorescence. Incorporating mCherry into the extracellular domain of the E2 glycoprotein allows the visualization of E2 glycoprotein localization and showed a close association of the E2 and capsid proteins at the plasma membrane as expected. These results suggest that this system is a useful new tool to study alphavirus assembly in live cells and may be useful in identifying molecules that inhibit alphavirus virion formation. PMID:26122073

  6. ClubSub-P: Cluster-Based Subcellular Localization Prediction for Gram-Negative Bacteria and Archaea

    PubMed Central

    Paramasivam, Nagarajan; Linke, Dirk

    2011-01-01

    The subcellular localization (SCL) of proteins provides important clues to their function in a cell. In our efforts to predict useful vaccine targets against Gram-negative bacteria, we noticed that misannotated start codons frequently lead to wrongly assigned SCLs. This and other problems in SCL prediction, such as the relatively high false-positive and false-negative rates of some tools, can be avoided by applying multiple prediction tools to groups of homologous proteins. Here we present ClubSub-P, an online database that combines existing SCL prediction tools into a consensus pipeline from more than 600 proteomes of fully sequenced microorganisms. On top of the consensus prediction at the level of single sequences, the tool uses clusters of homologous proteins from Gram-negative bacteria and from Archaea to eliminate false-positive and false-negative predictions. ClubSub-P can assign the SCL of proteins from Gram-negative bacteria and Archaea with high precision. The database is searchable, and can easily be expanded using either new bacterial genomes or new prediction tools as they become available. This will further improve the performance of the SCL prediction, as well as the detection of misannotated start codons and other annotation errors. ClubSub-P is available online at http://toolkit.tuebingen.mpg.de/clubsubp/ PMID:22073040

  7. Commitment of Scaffold Proteins in the Onco-Biology of Human Colorectal Cancer and Liver Metastases after Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy.

    PubMed

    Rotoli, Deborah; Morales, Manuel; Ávila, Julio; Maeso, María Del Carmen; García, María Del Pino; Mobasheri, Ali; Martín-Vasallo, Pablo

    2017-04-22

    Scaffold proteins play pivotal roles in the regulation of signaling pathways, integrating external and internal stimuli to various cellular outputs. We report the pattern of cellular and subcellular expression of scaffoldins angiomotin-like 2 (AmotL2), FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP51) and IQ motif containing GTPase-activating protein 1 (IQGAP1) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and metastases in liver resected after oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (CT). Positive immunostaining for the three scaffoldins was found in most cells in healthy colon, tumor, healthy liver and metastasized liver. The patterns of expression of AmotL2, FKBP51 and IQGAP1 show the greatest variability in immune system cells and neurons and glia cells and the least in blood vessel cells. The simultaneous subcellular localization in tumor cells and other cell types within the tumor suggest an involvement of these three scaffoldins in cancer biology, including a role in Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition. The display in differential localization and quantitative expression of AmotL2, FKBP51, and IQGAP1 could be used as biomarkers for more accurate tumor staging and as potential targets for anti-cancer therapeutics by blocking or slowing down their interconnecting functions. Tough further research needs to be done in order to improve these assessments.

  8. Prolactin-induced Subcellular Targeting of GLUT1 Glucose Transporter in Living Mammary Epithelial Cells

    PubMed Central

    Riskin, Arieh; Mond, Yehudit

    2015-01-01

    Background Studying the biological pathways involved in mammalian milk production during lactation could have many clinical implications. The mammary gland is unique in its requirement for transport of free glucose into the cell for the synthesis of lactose, the primary carbohydrate in milk. Objective To study GLUT1 trafficking and subcellular targeting in living mammary epithelial cells (MEC) in culture. Methods Immunocytochemistry was used to study GLUT1 hormonally regulated subcellular targeting in human MEC (HMEC). To study GLUT1 targeting and recycling in living mouse MEC (MMEC) in culture, we constructed fusion proteins of GLUT1 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) and expressed them in CIT3 MMEC. Cells were maintained in growth medium (GM), or exposed to secretion medium (SM), containing prolactin. Results GLUT1 in HMEC localized primarily to the plasma membrane in GM. After exposure to prolactin for 4 days, GLUT1 was targeted intracellularly and demonstrated a perinuclear distribution, co-localizing with lactose synthetase. The dynamic trafficking of GFP-GLUT1 fusion proteins in CIT3 MMEC suggested a basal constitutive GLUT1 recycling pathway between an intracellular pool and the cell surface that targets most GLUT1 to the plasma membrane in GM. Upon exposure to prolactin in SM, GLUT1 was specifically targeted intracellularly within 90–110 minutes. Conclusions Our studies suggest intracellular targeting of GLUT1 to the central vesicular transport system upon exposure to prolactin. The existence of a dynamic prolactin-induced sorting machinery for GLUT1 could be important for transport of free glucose into the Golgi for lactose synthesis during lactation. PMID:26886772

  9. Alterations in the characteristic size distributions of subcellular scatterers at the onset of apoptosis: effect of Bcl-xL and Bax/Bak

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Jing-Yi; Boustany, Nada N.

    2010-07-01

    Optical scatter imaging is used to estimate organelle size distributions in immortalized baby mouse kidney cells treated with 0.4 μM staurosporine to induce apoptosis. The study comprises apoptosis competent iBMK cells (W2) expressing the proapoptotic proteins Bax/Bak, apoptosis resistant Bax/Bak null cells (D3), and W2 and D3 cells expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) or YFP fused to the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL (YFP-Bcl-xL). YFP expression is diffuse within the transfected cells, while YFP-Bcl-xL is localized to the mitochondria. Our results show a significant increase in the mean subcellular particle size from approximately 1.1 to 1.4 μm in both Bax/Bak expressing and Bax/Bak null cells after 60 min of STS treatment compared to DMSO-treated control cells. This dynamic is blocked by overexpression of YFP-Bcl-xL in Bax/Bak expressing cells, but is less significantly inhibited by YFP-Bcl-xL in Bax/Bak null cells. Our data suggest that the increase in subcellular particle size at the onset of apoptosis is modulated by Bcl-xL in the presence of Bax/Bak, but it occurs upstream of the final commitment to programmed cell death. Mitochondrial localization of YFP-Bcl-xL and the finding that micron-sized particles give rise to the scattering signal further suggest that alterations in mitochondrial morphology may underlie the observed changes in light scattering.

  10. Mapping the subcellular localization of Fe3O4@TiO2 nanoparticles by X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Y; Chen, S; Gleber, S C; Lai, B; Brister, K; Flachenecker, C; Wanzer, B; Paunesku, T; Vogt, S; Woloschak, G E

    The targeted delivery of Fe 3 O 4 @TiO2 nanoparticles to cancer cells is an important step in their development as nanomedicines. We have synthesized nanoparticles that can bind the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, a cell surface protein that is overexpressed in many epithelial type cancers. In order to study the subcellular distribution of these nanoparticles, we have utilized the sub-micron resolution of X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy to map the locationof Fe 3 O4@TiO 2 NPs and other trace metal elements within HeLa cervical cancer cells. Here we demonstrate how the higher resolution of the newly installed Bionanoprobe at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory can greatly improve our ability to distinguish intracellular nanoparticles and their spatial relationship with subcellular compartments.

  11. Nucleobindin Co-Localizes and Associates with Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in Human Neutrophils

    PubMed Central

    Leclerc, Patrick; Biarc, Jordane; St-Onge, Mireille; Gilbert, Caroline; Dussault, Andrée-Anne; Laflamme, Cynthia; Pouliot, Marc

    2008-01-01

    The inducible cyclooxygenase isoform (COX-2) is associated with inflammation, tumorigenesis, as well as with physiological events. Despite efforts deployed in order to understand the biology of this multi-faceted enzyme, much remains to be understood. Nucleobindin (Nuc), a ubiquitous Ca2+-binding protein, possesses a putative COX-binding domain. In this study, we investigated its expression and subcellular localization in human neutrophils, its affinity for COX-2 as well as its possible impact on PGE2 biosynthesis. Complementary subcellular localization approaches including nitrogen cavitation coupled to Percoll fractionation, immunofluorescence, confocal and electron microscopy collectively placed Nuc, COX-2, and all of the main enzymes involved in prostanoid synthesis, in the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum of human neutrophils. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated a high affinity between Nuc and COX-2. Addition of human recombinant (hr) Nuc to purified hrCOX-2 dose-dependently caused an increase in PGE2 biosynthesis in response to arachidonic acid. Co-incubation of Nuc with COX-2-expressing neutrophil lysates also increased their capacity to produce PGE2. Moreover, neutrophil transfection with hrNuc specifically enhanced PGE2 biosynthesis. Together, these results identify a COX-2-associated protein which may have an impact in prostanoid biosynthesis. PMID:18493301

  12. Arginine Decarboxylase Is Localized in Chloroplasts.

    PubMed Central

    Borrell, A.; Culianez-Macia, F. A.; Altabella, T.; Besford, R. T.; Flores, D.; Tiburcio, A. F.

    1995-01-01

    Plants, unlike animals, can use either ornithine decarboxylase or arginine decarboxylase (ADC) to produce the polyamine precursor putrescine. Lack of knowledge of the exact cellular and subcellular location of these enzymes has been one of the main obstacles to our understanding of the biological role of polyamines in plants. We have generated polyclonal antibodies to oat (Avena sativa L.) ADC to study the spatial distribution and subcellular localization of ADC protein in different oat tissues. By immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry, we show that ADC is organ specific. By cell fractionation and immunoblotting, we show that ADC is localized in chloroplasts associated with the thylakoid membrane. The results also show that increased levels of ADC protein are correlated with high levels of ADC activity and putrescine in osmotically stressed oat leaves. A model of compartmentalization for the arginine pathway and putrescine biosynthesis in active photosynthetic tissues has been proposed. In the context of endosymbiote-driven metabolic evolution in plants, the location of ADC in the chloroplast compartment may have major evolutionary significance, since it explains (a) why plants can use two alternative pathways for putrescine biosynthesis and (b) why animals do not possess ADC. PMID:12228631

  13. Prequels to Synthetic Biology: From Candidate Gene Identification and Validation to Enzyme Subcellular Localization in Plant and Yeast Cells.

    PubMed

    Foureau, E; Carqueijeiro, I; Dugé de Bernonville, T; Melin, C; Lafontaine, F; Besseau, S; Lanoue, A; Papon, N; Oudin, A; Glévarec, G; Clastre, M; St-Pierre, B; Giglioli-Guivarc'h, N; Courdavault, V

    2016-01-01

    Natural compounds extracted from microorganisms or plants constitute an inexhaustible source of valuable molecules whose supply can be potentially challenged by limitations in biological sourcing. The recent progress in synthetic biology combined to the increasing access to extensive transcriptomics and genomics data now provide new alternatives to produce these molecules by transferring their whole biosynthetic pathway in heterologous production platforms such as yeasts or bacteria. While the generation of high titer producing strains remains per se an arduous field of investigation, elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways as well as characterization of their complex subcellular organization are essential prequels to the efficient development of such bioengineering approaches. Using examples from plants and yeasts as a framework, we describe potent methods to rationalize the study of partially characterized pathways, including the basics of computational applications to identify candidate genes in transcriptomics data and the validation of their function by an improved procedure of virus-induced gene silencing mediated by direct DNA transfer to get around possible resistance to Agrobacterium-delivery of viral vectors. To identify potential alterations of biosynthetic fluxes resulting from enzyme mislocalizations in reconstituted pathways, we also detail protocols aiming at characterizing subcellular localizations of protein in plant cells by expression of fluorescent protein fusions through biolistic-mediated transient transformation, and localization of transferred enzymes in yeast using similar fluorescence procedures. Albeit initially developed for the Madagascar periwinkle, these methods may be applied to other plant species or organisms in order to establish synthetic biology platform. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Fundamental studies of adrenal retinoid-X-receptor: Protein isoform, tissue expression, subcellular distribution, and ligand availability.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Behling; Al-Shammari, Fatema H; Ghader, Isra'a A; Sequeira, Fatima; Thakkar, Jitendra; Mathew, Thazhumpal C

    2017-07-01

    Adrenal gland reportedly expresses many nuclear receptors that are known to heterodimerize with retinoid-X-receptor (RXR) for functions, but the information regarding the glandular RXR is not adequate. Studies of rat adrenal homogenate by Western blotting revealed three RXR proteins: RXRα (55kDa), RXRβ (47kDa) and RXR (56kDa). RXRγ was not detectable. After fractionation, RXRα was almost exclusively localized in the nuclear fraction. In comparison, substantial portions of RXRβ and RXR were found in both nuclear and post-nuclear particle fractions, suggesting genomic and non-genomic functions. Cells immunostained for RXRα were primarily localized in zona fasciculata (ZF) and medulla, although some stained cells were found in zona glomerulosa (ZG) and zona reticularis (ZR). In contrast, cells immunostained for RXRβ were concentrated principally in ZG, although some stained cells were seen in ZR, ZF, and medulla (in descending order, qualitatively). Analysis of adrenal lipid extracts by LC/MS did not detect 9-cis-retinoic acid (a potent RXR-ligand) but identified all-trans retinoic acid. Since C20 and C22 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can also activate RXR, subcellular availabilities of unesterified fatty acids were investigated by GC/MS. As results, arachidonic acid (C20:4), adrenic acid (C22:4), docosapentaenoic acid (C22:5), and cervonic acid (C22:6) were detected in the lipids extracted from each subcellular fraction. Thus, the RXR-agonizing PUFAs are available in all the main subcellular compartments considerably. The present findings not only shed light on the adrenal network of RXRs but also provide baseline information for further investigations of RXR heterodimers in the regulation of adrenal steroidogenesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Vascular Nox (NADPH Oxidase) Compartmentalization, Protein Hyperoxidation, and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response in Hypertension.

    PubMed

    Camargo, Livia L; Harvey, Adam P; Rios, Francisco J; Tsiropoulou, Sofia; Da Silva, Renée de Nazaré Oliveira; Cao, Zhenbo; Graham, Delyth; McMaster, Claire; Burchmore, Richard J; Hartley, Richard C; Bulleid, Neil; Montezano, Augusto C; Touyz, Rhian M

    2018-07-01

    Vascular Nox (NADPH oxidase)-derived reactive oxygen species and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress have been implicated in hypertension. However, relationships between these processes are unclear. We hypothesized that Nox isoforms localize in a subcellular compartment-specific manner, contributing to oxidative and ER stress, which influence the oxidative proteome and vascular function in hypertension. Nox compartmentalization (cell fractionation), O 2 - (lucigenin), H 2 O 2 (amplex red), reversible protein oxidation (sulfenylation), irreversible protein oxidation (protein tyrosine phosphatase, peroxiredoxin oxidation), and ER stress (PERK [protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase], IRE1α [inositol-requiring enzyme 1], and phosphorylation/oxidation) were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). VSMC proliferation was measured by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and vascular reactivity assessed in stroke-prone SHR arteries by myography. Noxs were downregulated by short interfering RNA and pharmacologically. In SHR, Noxs were localized in specific subcellular regions: Nox1 in plasma membrane and Nox4 in ER. In SHR, oxidative stress was associated with increased protein sulfenylation and hyperoxidation of protein tyrosine phosphatases and peroxiredoxins. Inhibition of Nox1 (NoxA1ds), Nox1/4 (GKT137831), and ER stress (4-phenylbutyric acid/tauroursodeoxycholic acid) normalized SHR vascular reactive oxygen species generation. GKT137831 reduced IRE1α sulfenylation and XBP1 (X-box binding protein 1) splicing in SHR. Increased VSMC proliferation in SHR was normalized by GKT137831, 4-phenylbutyric acid, and STF083010 (IRE1-XBP1 disruptor). Hypercontractility in the stroke-prone SHR was attenuated by 4-phenylbutyric acid. We demonstrate that protein hyperoxidation in hypertension is associated with oxidative and ER stress through upregulation of plasmalemmal-Nox1 and ER-Nox4. The IRE1-XBP1 pathway of the ER stress response is regulated by Nox4/reactive oxygen species and plays a role in the hyperproliferative VSMC phenotype in SHR. Our study highlights the importance of Nox subcellular compartmentalization and interplay between cytoplasmic reactive oxygen species and ER stress response, which contribute to the VSMC oxidative proteome and vascular dysfunction in hypertension. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

  16. Insights into Jumonji C-domain containing protein 6 (JMJD6): a multifactorial role in foot-and-mouth disease virus replication in cells.

    PubMed

    Lawrence, Paul; Rieder, Elizabeth

    2017-06-01

    The Jumonji C-domain containing protein 6 (JMJD6) has had a convoluted history, and recent reports indicating a multifactorial role in foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection have further complicated the functionality of this protein. It was first identified as the phosphatidylserine receptor on the cell surface responsible for recognizing phosphatidylserine on the surface of apoptotic cells resulting in their engulfment by phagocytic cells. Subsequent study revealed a nuclear subcellular localization, where JMJD6 participated in lysine hydroxylation and arginine demethylation of histone proteins and other non-histone proteins. Interestingly, to date, JMDJ6 remains the only known arginine demethylase with a growing list of known substrate molecules. These conflicting associations rendered the subcellular localization of JMJD6 to be quite nebulous. Further muddying this area, two different groups illustrated that JMJD6 could be induced to redistribute from the cell surface to the nucleus of a cell. More recently, JMJD6 was demonstrated to be a host factor contributing to the FMDV life cycle, where it was not only exploited for its arginine demethylase activity, but also served as an alternative virus receptor. This review attempts to coalesce these divergent roles for a single protein into one cohesive account. Given the diverse functionalities already characterized for JMJD6, it is likely to continue to be a confounding protein resulting in much contention going into the near future.

  17. Subcellular Localization of HIV-1 gag-pol mRNAs Regulates Sites of Virion Assembly

    PubMed Central

    Becker, Jordan T.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Full-length unspliced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNAs serve dual roles in the cytoplasm as mRNAs encoding the Gag and Gag-Pol capsid proteins as well as genomic RNAs (gRNAs) packaged by Gag into virions undergoing assembly at the plasma membrane (PM). Because Gag is sufficient to drive the assembly of virus-like particles even in the absence of gRNA binding, whether viral RNA trafficking plays an active role in the native assembly pathway is unknown. In this study, we tested the effects of modulating the cytoplasmic abundance or distribution of full-length viral RNAs on Gag trafficking and assembly in the context of single cells. Increasing full-length viral RNA abundance or distribution had little-to-no net effect on Gag assembly competency when provided in trans. In contrast, artificially tethering full-length viral RNAs or surrogate gag-pol mRNAs competent for Gag synthesis to non-PM membranes or the actin cytoskeleton severely reduced net virus particle production. These effects were explained, in large part, by RNA-directed changes to Gag's distribution in the cytoplasm, yielding aberrant subcellular sites of virion assembly. Interestingly, RNA-dependent disruption of Gag trafficking required either of two cis-acting RNA regulatory elements: the 5′ packaging signal (Psi) bound by Gag during genome encapsidation or, unexpectedly, the Rev response element (RRE), which regulates the nuclear export of gRNAs and other intron-retaining viral RNAs. Taken together, these data support a model for native infection wherein structural features of the gag-pol mRNA actively compartmentalize Gag to preferred sites within the cytoplasm and/or PM. IMPORTANCE The spatial distribution of viral mRNAs within the cytoplasm can be a crucial determinant of efficient translation and successful virion production. Here we provide direct evidence that mRNA subcellular trafficking plays an important role in regulating the assembly of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) virus particles at the plasma membrane (PM). Artificially tethering viral mRNAs encoding Gag capsid proteins (gag-pol mRNAs) to distinct non-PM subcellular locales, such as cytoplasmic vesicles or the actin cytoskeleton, markedly alters Gag subcellular distribution, relocates sites of assembly, and reduces net virus particle production. These observations support a model for native HIV-1 assembly wherein HIV-1 gag-pol mRNA localization helps to confine interactions between Gag, viral RNAs, and host determinants in order to ensure virion production at the right place and right time. Direct perturbation of HIV-1 mRNA subcellular localization may represent a novel antiviral strategy. PMID:28053097

  18. Subcellular Localization of HIV-1 gag-pol mRNAs Regulates Sites of Virion Assembly.

    PubMed

    Becker, Jordan T; Sherer, Nathan M

    2017-03-15

    Full-length unspliced human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNAs serve dual roles in the cytoplasm as mRNAs encoding the Gag and Gag-Pol capsid proteins as well as genomic RNAs (gRNAs) packaged by Gag into virions undergoing assembly at the plasma membrane (PM). Because Gag is sufficient to drive the assembly of virus-like particles even in the absence of gRNA binding, whether viral RNA trafficking plays an active role in the native assembly pathway is unknown. In this study, we tested the effects of modulating the cytoplasmic abundance or distribution of full-length viral RNAs on Gag trafficking and assembly in the context of single cells. Increasing full-length viral RNA abundance or distribution had little-to-no net effect on Gag assembly competency when provided in trans In contrast, artificially tethering full-length viral RNAs or surrogate gag-pol mRNAs competent for Gag synthesis to non-PM membranes or the actin cytoskeleton severely reduced net virus particle production. These effects were explained, in large part, by RNA-directed changes to Gag's distribution in the cytoplasm, yielding aberrant subcellular sites of virion assembly. Interestingly, RNA-dependent disruption of Gag trafficking required either of two cis -acting RNA regulatory elements: the 5' packaging signal (Psi) bound by Gag during genome encapsidation or, unexpectedly, the Rev response element (RRE), which regulates the nuclear export of gRNAs and other intron-retaining viral RNAs. Taken together, these data support a model for native infection wherein structural features of the gag-pol mRNA actively compartmentalize Gag to preferred sites within the cytoplasm and/or PM. IMPORTANCE The spatial distribution of viral mRNAs within the cytoplasm can be a crucial determinant of efficient translation and successful virion production. Here we provide direct evidence that mRNA subcellular trafficking plays an important role in regulating the assembly of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) virus particles at the plasma membrane (PM). Artificially tethering viral mRNAs encoding Gag capsid proteins ( gag-pol mRNAs) to distinct non-PM subcellular locales, such as cytoplasmic vesicles or the actin cytoskeleton, markedly alters Gag subcellular distribution, relocates sites of assembly, and reduces net virus particle production. These observations support a model for native HIV-1 assembly wherein HIV-1 gag-pol mRNA localization helps to confine interactions between Gag, viral RNAs, and host determinants in order to ensure virion production at the right place and right time. Direct perturbation of HIV-1 mRNA subcellular localization may represent a novel antiviral strategy. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  19. Using the 2A Protein Coexpression System: Multicistronic 2A Vectors Expressing Gene(s) of Interest and Reporter Proteins.

    PubMed

    Luke, Garry A; Ryan, Martin D

    2018-01-01

    To date, a huge range of different proteins-many with cotranslational and posttranslational subcellular localization signals-have been coexpressed together with various reporter proteins in vitro and in vivo using 2A peptides. The pros and cons of 2A co-expression technology are considered below, followed by a simple example of a "how to" protocol to concatenate multiple genes of interest, together with a reporter gene, into a single gene linked via 2As for easy identification or selection of transduced cells.

  20. Solubilization of human cells by the styrene-maleic acid copolymer: Insights from fluorescence microscopy.

    PubMed

    Dörr, Jonas M; van Coevorden-Hameete, Marleen H; Hoogenraad, Casper C; Killian, J Antoinette

    2017-11-01

    Extracting membrane proteins from biological membranes by styrene-maleic acid copolymers (SMAs) in the form of nanodiscs has developed into a powerful tool in membrane research. However, the mode of action of membrane (protein) solubilization in a cellular context is still poorly understood and potential specificity for cellular compartments has not been investigated. Here, we use fluorescence microscopy to visualize the process of SMA solubilization of human cells, exemplified by the immortalized human HeLa cell line. Using fluorescent protein fusion constructs that mark distinct subcellular compartments, we found that SMA solubilizes membranes in a concentration-dependent multi-stage process. While all major intracellular compartments were affected without a strong preference, plasma membrane solubilization was found to be generally slower than the solubilization of organelle membranes. Interestingly, some plasma membrane-localized proteins were more resistant against solubilization than others, which might be explained by their presence in specific membrane domains with differing properties. Our results support the general applicability of SMA for the isolation of membrane proteins from different types of (sub)cellular membranes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Subcellular distribution of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) is regulated through phosphorylation by dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A).

    PubMed

    Oi, Ami; Katayama, Syouichi; Hatano, Naoya; Sugiyama, Yasunori; Kameshita, Isamu; Sueyoshi, Noriyuki

    2017-01-08

    Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) is a Ser/Thr protein kinase primarily expressed in the central nervous system and is known to cause X-linked neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome. However, the mechanisms regulating CDKL5 have not yet been fully clarified. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the protein kinase that directly phosphorylates CDKL5, identifying it as dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A), an enzyme binding to and phosphorylating CDKL5. We showed that subcellular distribution of CDKL5 was regulated by its phosphorylation by DYRK1A. In mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells, CDKL5 was localized in both the cytosol and nucleus, whereas DYRK1A showed a typical nuclear localization. When CDKL5 and DYRK1A were co-expressed, the cytosolic localization of CDKL5 was significantly increased. Results of site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the phosphorylation site was Ser-308, in the vicinity of the nuclear localization signal. A mutation mimicking the phosphorylated serine residue by aspartate substitution (S308D) changed CDKL5 localization to the cytosol, whereas the corresponding alanine-substituted analog, CDKL5(S308A), was primarily localized to the nucleus. Taken together, these results strongly suggested that DYRK1A bound to CDKL5 and phosphorylated it on Ser-308, thus interfering with its nuclear localization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Identification of a multifunctional protein, PhaM, that determines number, surface to volume ratio, subcellular localization and distribution to daughter cells of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, granules in Ralstonia eutropha H16.

    PubMed

    Pfeiffer, Daniel; Wahl, Andreas; Jendrossek, Dieter

    2011-11-01

    A two-hybrid approach was applied to screen for proteins with the ability to interact with PHB synthase (PhaC1) of Ralstonia eutropha. The H16_A0141 gene (phaM) was identified in the majority of positive clones. PhaM (26.6 kDa) strongly interacted with PhaC1 and with phasin PhaP5 but not with PhaP1 or other PHB granule-associated proteins. A ΔphaM mutant accumulated only one or two large PHB granules instead of three to six medium-sized PHB granules of the wild type, and distribution of granules to daughter cells was disordered. All three phenotypes (number, size and distribution of PHB granules) were reversed by reintroduction of phaM. Purified PhaM revealed DNA-binding properties in gel mobility shift experiments. Expression of a fusion of the yellow fluorescent protein (eYfp) with PhaM resulted in formation of many small fluorescent granules that were bound to the nucleoid region. Remarkably, an eYfp-PhaP5 fusion localized at the cell poles in a PHB-negative background and overexpression of eYfp-PhaP5 in the wild type conferred binding of PHB granules to the cell poles. In conclusion, subcellular localization of PHB granules in R. eutropha depends on a concerted expression of at least three PHB granule-associated proteins, namely PhaM, PhaP5 and PHB synthase PhaC1. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  3. Localization and Functionality of the Inflammasome in Neutrophils*

    PubMed Central

    Bakele, Martina; Joos, Melanie; Burdi, Sofia; Allgaier, Nicolas; Pöschel, Simone; Fehrenbacher, Birgit; Schaller, Martin; Marcos, Veronica; Kümmerle-Deschner, Jasmin; Rieber, Nikolaus; Borregaard, Niels; Yazdi, Amir; Hector, Andreas; Hartl, Dominik

    2014-01-01

    Neutrophils represent the major fraction of circulating immune cells and are rapidly recruited to sites of infection and inflammation. The inflammasome is a multiprotein complex that regulates the generation of IL-1 family proteins. The precise subcellular localization and functionality of the inflammasome in human neutrophils are poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that highly purified human neutrophils express key components of the NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasomes, particularly apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), AIM2, and caspase-1. Subcellular fractionation and microscopic analyses further showed that inflammasome components were localized in the cytoplasm and also noncanonically in secretory vesicle and tertiary granule compartments. Whereas IL-1β and IL-18 were expressed at the mRNA level and released as protein, highly purified neutrophils neither expressed nor released IL-1α at baseline or upon stimulation. Upon inflammasome activation, highly purified neutrophils released substantially lower levels of IL-1β protein compared with partially purified neutrophils. Serine proteases and caspases were differentially involved in IL-1β release, depending on the stimulus. Spontaneous activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in neutrophils in vivo affected IL-1β, but not IL-18 release. In summary, these studies show that human neutrophils express key components of the inflammasome machinery in distinct intracellular compartments and release IL-1β and IL-18, but not IL-1α or IL-33 protein. Targeting the neutrophil inflammasome may represent a future therapeutic strategy to modulate neutrophilic inflammatory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or sepsis. PMID:24398679

  4. Rab11-FIP3 Regulation of Lck Endosomal Traffic Controls TCR Signal Transduction.

    PubMed

    Bouchet, Jérôme; Del Río-Iñiguez, Iratxe; Vázquez-Chávez, Elena; Lasserre, Rémi; Agüera-González, Sonia; Cuche, Céline; McCaffrey, Mary W; Di Bartolo, Vincenzo; Alcover, Andrés

    2017-04-01

    The role of endosomes in receptor signal transduction is a long-standing question, which remains largely unanswered. The T cell Ag receptor and various components of its proximal signaling machinery are associated with distinct endosomal compartments, but how endosomal traffic affects T cell signaling remains ill-defined. In this article, we demonstrate in human T cells that the subcellular localization and function of the protein tyrosine kinase Lck depends on the Rab11 effector FIP3 (Rab11 family interacting protein-3). FIP3 overexpression or silencing and its ability to interact with Rab11 modify Lck subcellular localization and its delivery to the immunological synapse. Importantly, FIP3-dependent Lck localization controls early TCR signaling events, such as tyrosine phosphorylation of TCRζ, ZAP70, and LAT and intracellular calcium concentration, as well as IL-2 gene expression. Interestingly, FIP3 controls both steady-state and poststimulation phosphotyrosine and calcium levels. Finally, our findings indicate that FIP3 modulates TCR-CD3 cell surface expression via the regulation of steady-state Lck-mediated TCRζ phosphorylation, which in turn controls TCRζ protein levels. This may influence long-term T cell activation in response to TCR-CD3 stimulation. Therefore, our data underscore the importance of finely regulated endosomal traffic in TCR signal transduction and T cell activation leading to IL-2 production. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

  5. Phosphorylation of Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa by protein kinase C epsilon is important for its subcellular localisation.

    PubMed

    Sapountzi, Vasileia; Logan, Ian R; Nelson, Glyn; Cook, Susan; Robson, Craig N

    2008-01-01

    Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa is a nuclear acetyltransferase that both coactivates and corepresses transcription factors and has a definitive function in the DNA damage response. Here, we provide evidence that Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa is phosphorylated by protein kinase C epsilon. In vitro, protein kinase C epsilon phosphorylates Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa on at least two sites within the acetyltransferase domain. In whole cells, activation of protein kinase C increases the levels of phosphorylated Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa and the interaction of Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa with protein kinase C epsilon. A phosphomimetic mutant Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa has distinct subcellular localisation compared to the wild-type protein in whole cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that the protein kinase C epsilon phosphorylation sites on Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa are important for its subcellular localisation. Regulation of the subcellular localisation of Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa via phosphorylation provides a novel means of controlling Tat-interactive protein 60 kDa function.

  6. Activation-dependent mitochondrial translocation of Foxp3 in human hepatocytes.

    PubMed

    Rojas, Joselyn; Teran-Angel, Guillermo; Barbosa, Luisa; Peterson, Darrell L; Berrueta, Lisbeth; Salmen, Siham

    2016-05-01

    Foxp3 is considered to be the master regulator for the development and function of regulatory T cells (Treg). Recently Foxp3, has been detected in extra lymphoid tissue, and in hepatocytes and has been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although its role has not been defined. Since it is expected that there is a relationship between protein localization, activity and cellular function, the aim of this study was to explore the subcellular localization of Foxp3 in resting and stimulated human hepatocytes. Foxp3 expression was measured by flow cytometry, subcellular fractioning, and immunofluorescence, and this data was used to track the shuttling of Foxp3 in different subcellular compartments in hepatocytes (HepG2 cell line), stimulated by using the PKC activators (PMA), core and preS1/2 antigen from hepatitis B virus (HBV). Our data shows that besides the nuclear location, mitochondrial translocation was detected after stimulation with PMA and at to a lesser extent, with preS1/2. In addition, Foxp3 is localizes at outer mitochondrial membrane. These results suggest a non-canonical role of Foxp3 in the mitochondrial compartment in human hepatocytes, and opens a new field about their role in liver damages during HBV infection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Genome wide assessment of mRNA in astrocyte protrusions by direct RNA sequencing reveals mRNA localization for the intermediate filament protein nestin.

    PubMed

    Thomsen, Rune; Pallesen, Jonatan; Daugaard, Tina F; Børglum, Anders D; Nielsen, Anders L

    2013-11-01

    Subcellular RNA localization plays an important role in development, cell differentiation, and cell migration. For a comprehensive description of the population of protrusion localized mRNAs in astrocytes we separated protrusions from cell bodies in a Boyden chamber and performed high-throughput direct RNA sequencing. The mRNAs with localization in astrocyte protrusions encode proteins belonging to a variety of functional groups indicating involvement of RNA localization for a palette of cellular functions. The mRNA encoding the intermediate filament protein Nestin was among the identified mRNAs. By RT-qPCR and RNA FISH analysis we confirmed Nestin mRNA localization in cell protrusions and also protrusion localization of Nestin protein. Nestin mRNA localization was dependent of Fragile X mental retardation syndrome proteins Fmrp and Fxr1, and the Nestin 3'-UTR was sufficient to mediate protrusion mRNA localization. The mRNAs for two other intermediate filament proteins in astrocytes, Gfap and Vimentin, have moderate and no protrusion localization, respectively, showing that individual intermediate filament components have different localization mechanisms. The correlated localization of Nestin mRNA with Nestin protein in cell protrusions indicates the presence of a regulatory mechanism at the mRNA localization level for the Nestin intermediate filament protein with potential importance for astrocyte functions during brain development and maintenance. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Regulating Set-β's Subcellular Localization Toggles Its Function between Inhibiting and Promoting Axon Growth and Regeneration

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yan; Morkin, Melina I.; Fernandez, Stephanie G.; Mlacker, Gregory M.; Shechter, Jesse M.; Liu, Xiongfei; Patel, Karan H.; Lapins, Allison; Yang, Steven; Dombrowski, Susan M.

    2014-01-01

    The failure of the CNS neurons to regenerate axons after injury or stroke is a major clinical problem. Transcriptional regulators like Set-β are well positioned to regulate intrinsic axon regeneration capacity, which declines developmentally in maturing CNS neurons. Set-β also functions at cellular membranes and its subcellular localization is disrupted in Alzheimer's disease, but many of its biological mechanisms have not been explored in neurons. We found that Set-β was upregulated postnatally in CNS neurons, and was primarily localized to the nucleus but was also detected in the cytoplasm and adjacent to the plasma membrane. Remarkably, nuclear Set-β suppressed, whereas Set-β localized to cytoplasmic membranes promoted neurite growth in rodent retinal ganglion cells and hippocampal neurons. Mimicking serine 9 phosphorylation, as found in Alzheimer's disease brains, delayed nuclear import and furthermore blocked the ability of nuclear Set-β to suppress neurite growth. We also present data on gene regulation and protein binding partner recruitment by Set-β in primary neurons, raising the hypothesis that nuclear Set-β may preferentially regulate gene expression whereas Set-β at cytoplasmic membranes may regulate unique cofactors, including PP2A, which we show also regulates axon growth in vitro. Finally, increasing recruitment of Set-β to cellular membranes promoted adult rat optic nerve axon regeneration after injury in vivo. Thus, Set-β differentially regulates axon growth and regeneration depending on subcellular localization and phosphorylation. PMID:24849368

  9. A photocleavable rapamycin conjugate for spatiotemporal control of small GTPase activity.

    PubMed

    Umeda, Nobuhiro; Ueno, Tasuku; Pohlmeyer, Christopher; Nagano, Tetsuo; Inoue, Takanari

    2011-01-12

    We developed a novel method to spatiotemporally control the activity of signaling molecules. A newly synthesized photocaged rapamycin derivative induced rapid dimerization of FKBP (FK-506 binding protein) and FRB (FKBP-rapamycin binding protein) upon UV irradiation. With this system and the spatially confined UV irradiation, we achieved subcellularly localized activation of Rac, a member of small GTPases. Our technique offers a powerful approach to studies of dynamic intracellular signaling events.

  10. UBIAD1 Mutation Alters a Mitochondrial Prenyltransferase to Cause Schnyder Corneal Dystrophy

    PubMed Central

    Nickerson, Michael L.; Kostiha, Brittany N.; Brandt, Wolfgang; Fredericks, William; Xu, Ke-Ping; Yu, Fu-Shin; Gold, Bert; Chodosh, James; Goldberg, Marc; Lu, Da Wen; Yamada, Masakazu; Tervo, Timo M.; Grutzmacher, Richard; Croasdale, Chris; Hoeltzenbein, Maria; Sutphin, John; Malkowicz, S. Bruce; Wessjohann, Ludger; Kruth, Howard S.; Dean, Michael; Weiss, Jayne S.

    2010-01-01

    Background Mutations in a novel gene, UBIAD1, were recently found to cause the autosomal dominant eye disease Schnyder corneal dystrophy (SCD). SCD is characterized by an abnormal deposition of cholesterol and phospholipids in the cornea resulting in progressive corneal opacification and visual loss. We characterized lesions in the UBIAD1 gene in new SCD families and examined protein homology, localization, and structure. Methodology/Principal Findings We characterized five novel mutations in the UBIAD1 gene in ten SCD families, including a first SCD family of Native American ethnicity. Examination of protein homology revealed that SCD altered amino acids which were highly conserved across species. Cell lines were established from patients including keratocytes obtained after corneal transplant surgery and lymphoblastoid cell lines from Epstein-Barr virus immortalized peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These were used to determine the subcellular localization of mutant and wild type protein, and to examine cholesterol metabolite ratios. Immunohistochemistry using antibodies specific for UBIAD1 protein in keratocytes revealed that both wild type and N102S protein were localized sub-cellularly to mitochondria. Analysis of cholesterol metabolites in patient cell line extracts showed no significant alteration in the presence of mutant protein indicating a potentially novel function of the UBIAD1 protein in cholesterol biochemistry. Molecular modeling was used to develop a model of human UBIAD1 protein in a membrane and revealed potentially critical roles for amino acids mutated in SCD. Potential primary and secondary substrate binding sites were identified and docking simulations indicated likely substrates including prenyl and phenolic molecules. Conclusions/Significance Accumulating evidence from the SCD familial mutation spectrum, protein homology across species, and molecular modeling suggest that protein function is likely down-regulated by SCD mutations. Mitochondrial UBIAD1 protein appears to have a highly conserved function that, at least in humans, is involved in cholesterol metabolism in a novel manner. PMID:20505825

  11. Identification of Mycobacterial Surface Proteins Released into Subcellular Compartments of Infected Macrophages

    PubMed Central

    Beatty, Wandy L.; Russell, David G.

    2000-01-01

    Considerable effort has focused on the identification of proteins secreted from Mycobacterium spp. that contribute to the development of protective immunity. Little is known, however, about the release of mycobacterial proteins from the bacterial phagosome and the potential role of these molecules in chronically infected macrophages. In the present study, the release of mycobacterial surface proteins from the bacterial phagosome into subcellular compartments of infected macrophages was analyzed. Mycobacterium bovis BCG was surface labeled with fluorescein-tagged succinimidyl ester, an amine-reactive probe. The fluorescein tag was then used as a marker for the release of bacterial proteins in infected macrophages. Fractionation studies revealed bacterial proteins within subcellular compartments distinct from mycobacteria and mycobacterial phagosomes. To identify these proteins, subcellular fractions free of bacteria were probed with mycobacterium-specific antibodies. The fibronectin attachment protein and proteins of the antigen 85-kDa complex were identified among the mycobacterial proteins released from the bacterial phagosome. PMID:11083824

  12. Acyl-protein thioesterase 2 catalyzes the deacylation of peripheral membrane-associated GAP-43.

    PubMed

    Tomatis, Vanesa M; Trenchi, Alejandra; Gomez, Guillermo A; Daniotti, Jose L

    2010-11-30

    An acylation/deacylation cycle is necessary to maintain the steady-state subcellular distribution and biological activity of S-acylated peripheral proteins. Despite the progress that has been made in identifying and characterizing palmitoyltransferases (PATs), much less is known about the thioesterases involved in protein deacylation. In this work, we investigated the deacylation of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43), a dually acylated protein at cysteine residues 3 and 4. Using fluorescent fusion constructs, we measured in vivo the rate of deacylation of GAP-43 and its single acylated mutants in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 and human HeLa cells. Biochemical and live cell imaging experiments demonstrated that single acylated mutants were completely deacylated with similar kinetic in both cell types. By RT-PCR we observed that acyl-protein thioesterase 1 (APT-1), the only bona fide thioesterase shown to mediate deacylation in vivo, is expressed in HeLa cells, but not in CHO-K1 cells. However, APT-1 overexpression neither increased the deacylation rate of single acylated GAP-43 nor affected the steady-state subcellular distribution of dually acylated GAP-43 both in CHO-K1 and HeLa cells, indicating that GAP-43 deacylation is not mediated by APT-1. Accordingly, we performed a bioinformatic search to identify putative candidates with acyl-protein thioesterase activity. Among several candidates, we found that APT-2 is expressed both in CHO-K1 and HeLa cells and its overexpression increased the deacylation rate of single acylated GAP-43 and affected the steady-state localization of diacylated GAP-43 and H-Ras. Thus, the results demonstrate that APT-2 is the protein thioesterase involved in the acylation/deacylation cycle operating in GAP-43 subcellular distribution.

  13. Common and distinctive localization patterns of Crumbs polarity complex proteins in the mammalian eye.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jin Young; Song, Ji Yun; Karnam, Santi; Park, Jun Young; Lee, Jamie J H; Kim, Seonhee; Cho, Seo-Hee

    2015-01-01

    Crumbs polarity complex proteins are essential for cellular and tissue polarity, and for adhesion of epithelial cells. In epithelial tissues deletion of any of three core proteins disrupts localization of the other proteins, indicating structural and functional interdependence among core components. Despite previous studies of function and co-localization that illustrated the properties that these proteins share, it is not known whether an individual component of the complex plays a distinct role in a unique cellular and developmental context. In order to investigate this question, we primarily used confocal imaging to determine the expression and subcellular localization of the core Crumbs polarity complex proteins during ocular development. Here we show that in developing ocular tissues core Crumbs polarity complex proteins, Crb, Pals1 and Patj, generally appear in an overlapping pattern with some exceptions. All three core complex proteins localize to the apical junction of the retinal and lens epithelia. Pals1 is also localized in the Golgi of the retinal cells and Patj localizes to the nuclei of the apically located subset of progenitor cells. These findings suggest that core Crumbs polarity complex proteins exert common and independent functions depending on cellular context. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. The Fanconi anemia protein FANCF forms a nuclear complex with FANCA, FANCC and FANCG.

    PubMed

    de Winter, J P; van der Weel, L; de Groot, J; Stone, S; Waisfisz, Q; Arwert, F; Scheper, R J; Kruyt, F A; Hoatlin, M E; Joenje, H

    2000-11-01

    Fanconi anemia (FA) is a chromosomal instability syndrome associated with a strong predisposition to cancer, particularly acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma. At the cellular level, FA is characterized by spontaneous chromosomal breakage and a unique hypersensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents. Complementation analysis has indicated that at least seven distinct genes are involved in the pathogenesis of FA. Despite the identification of four of these genes (FANCA, FANCC, FANCF and FANCG), the nature of the 'FA pathway' has remained enigmatic, as the FA proteins lack sequence homologies or motifs that could point to a molecular function. To further define this pathway, we studied the subcellular localizations and mutual interactions of the FA proteins, including the recently identified FANCF protein, in human lymphoblasts. FANCF was found predominantly in the nucleus, where it complexes with FANCA, FANCC and FANCG. These interactions were detected in wild-type and FA-D lymphoblasts, but not in lymphoblasts of other FA complementation groups. This implies that each of the FA proteins, except FANCD, is required for these complexes to form. Similarly, we show that the interaction between FANCA and FANCC is restricted to wild-type and FA-D cells. Furthermore, we document the subcellular localization of FANCA and the FANCA/FANCG complex in all FA complementation groups. Our results, along with published data, culminate in a model in which a multi-protein FA complex serves a nuclear function to maintain genomic integrity.

  15. A Plethora of Virulence Strategies Hidden Behind Nuclear Targeting of Microbial Effectors

    PubMed Central

    Rivas, Susana; Genin, Stéphane

    2011-01-01

    Plant immune responses depend on the ability to couple rapid recognition of the invading microbe to an efficient response. During evolution, plant pathogens have acquired the ability to deliver effector molecules inside host cells in order to manipulate cellular and molecular processes and establish pathogenicity. Following translocation into plant cells, microbial effectors may be addressed to different subcellular compartments. Intriguingly, a significant number of effector proteins from different pathogenic microorganisms, including viruses, oomycetes, fungi, nematodes, and bacteria, is targeted to the nucleus of host cells. In agreement with this observation, increasing evidence highlights the crucial role played by nuclear dynamics, and nucleocytoplasmic protein trafficking during a great variety of analyzed plant–pathogen interactions. Once in the nucleus, effector proteins are able to manipulate host transcription or directly subvert essential host components to promote virulence. Along these lines, it has been suggested that some effectors may affect histone packing and, thereby, chromatin configuration. In addition, microbial effectors may either directly activate transcription or target host transcription factors to alter their regular molecular functions. Alternatively, nuclear translocation of effectors may affect subcellular localization of their cognate resistance proteins in a process that is essential for resistance protein-mediated plant immunity. Here, we review recent progress in our field on the identification of microbial effectors that are targeted to the nucleus of host plant cells. In addition, we discuss different virulence strategies deployed by microbes, which have been uncovered through examination of the mechanisms that guide nuclear localization of effector proteins. PMID:22639625

  16. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rojas, Joselyn; Teran-Angel, Guillermo; Barbosa, Luisa

    Foxp3 is considered to be the master regulator for the development and function of regulatory T cells (Treg). Recently Foxp3, has been detected in extra lymphoid tissue, and in hepatocytes and has been associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although its role has not been defined. Since it is expected that there is a relationship between protein localization, activity and cellular function, the aim of this study was to explore the subcellular localization of Foxp3 in resting and stimulated human hepatocytes. Foxp3 expression was measured by flow cytometry, subcellular fractioning, and immunofluorescence, and this data was used to track the shuttlingmore » of Foxp3 in different subcellular compartments in hepatocytes (HepG2 cell line), stimulated by using the PKC activators (PMA), core and preS1/2 antigen from hepatitis B virus (HBV). Our data shows that besides the nuclear location, mitochondrial translocation was detected after stimulation with PMA and at to a lesser extent, with preS1/2. In addition, Foxp3 is localizes at outer mitochondrial membrane. These results suggest a non-canonical role of Foxp3 in the mitochondrial compartment in human hepatocytes, and opens a new field about their role in liver damages during HBV infection. - Highlights: • The expression and subcellular distribution of Foxp3, is modulated by PMA and preS1/2. • PMA and preS1/2 increase Foxp3 expression on HepG2. • PMA and preS1/2 induce foxp3 enrichment at mitochondrial, microsomal and nuclear compartments. • Results suggest a non-canonical function of Foxp3 or a mitochondrial transcriptional activity.« less

  17. Isoform-specific antibodies reveal distinct subcellular localizations of C9orf72 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Shangxi; MacNair, Laura; McGoldrick, Philip; McKeever, Paul M; McLean, Jesse R; Zhang, Ming; Keith, Julia; Zinman, Lorne; Rogaeva, Ekaterina; Robertson, Janice

    2015-10-01

    A noncoding hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 is the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). It has been reported that the repeat expansion causes a downregulation of C9orf72 transcripts, suggesting that haploinsufficiency may contribute to disease pathogenesis. Two protein isoforms are generated from three alternatively spliced transcripts of C9orf72; a long form (C9-L) and a short form (C9-S), and their function(s) are largely unknown owing to lack of specific antibodies. To investigate C9orf72 protein properties, we developed novel antibodies that recognize either C9-L or C9-S. Multiple techniques, including Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and coimmunoprecipitation, were used to determine the expression levels and subcellular localizations of C9-L and C9-S. Investigation of expression of C9-L and C9-S demonstrated distinct biochemical profiles, region-specific changes, and distinct subcellular localizations in ALS tissues. In particular, C9-L antibody exhibited a diffuse cytoplasmic staining in neurons and labeled large speckles in cerebellar Purkinje cells. In contrast, C9-S antibody gave very specific labeling of the nuclear membrane in healthy neurons, with apparent relocalization to the plasma membrane of diseased motor neurons in ALS. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed an interaction of the C9-isoforms with both Importin β1 and Ran-GTPase, components of the nuclear pore complex. Using these antibodies, we have shown that C9orf72 may be involved in nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and this may have relevance to pathophysiology of ALS/FTLD. Our antibodies have provided improved detection of C9orf72 protein isoforms, which will help elucidate its physiological function and role in ALS/FTLD. © 2015 The Authors Annals of Neurology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Neurological Association.

  18. Improving prediction of heterodimeric protein complexes using combination with pairwise kernel.

    PubMed

    Ruan, Peiying; Hayashida, Morihiro; Akutsu, Tatsuya; Vert, Jean-Philippe

    2018-02-19

    Since many proteins become functional only after they interact with their partner proteins and form protein complexes, it is essential to identify the sets of proteins that form complexes. Therefore, several computational methods have been proposed to predict complexes from the topology and structure of experimental protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. These methods work well to predict complexes involving at least three proteins, but generally fail at identifying complexes involving only two different proteins, called heterodimeric complexes or heterodimers. There is however an urgent need for efficient methods to predict heterodimers, since the majority of known protein complexes are precisely heterodimers. In this paper, we use three promising kernel functions, Min kernel and two pairwise kernels, which are Metric Learning Pairwise Kernel (MLPK) and Tensor Product Pairwise Kernel (TPPK). We also consider the normalization forms of Min kernel. Then, we combine Min kernel or its normalization form and one of the pairwise kernels by plugging. We applied kernels based on PPI, domain, phylogenetic profile, and subcellular localization properties to predicting heterodimers. Then, we evaluate our method by employing C-Support Vector Classification (C-SVC), carrying out 10-fold cross-validation, and calculating the average F-measures. The results suggest that the combination of normalized-Min-kernel and MLPK leads to the best F-measure and improved the performance of our previous work, which had been the best existing method so far. We propose new methods to predict heterodimers, using a machine learning-based approach. We train a support vector machine (SVM) to discriminate interacting vs non-interacting protein pairs, based on informations extracted from PPI, domain, phylogenetic profiles and subcellular localization. We evaluate in detail new kernel functions to encode these data, and report prediction performance that outperforms the state-of-the-art.

  19. Using the concept of Chou's pseudo amino acid composition to predict apoptosis proteins subcellular location: an approach by approximate entropy.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Xiaoying; Wei, Rong; Zhang, Tongliang; Gu, Quan

    2008-01-01

    The function of protein is closely correlated with it subcellular location. Prediction of subcellular location of apoptosis proteins is an important research area in post-genetic era because the knowledge of apoptosis proteins is useful to understand the mechanism of programmed cell death. Compared with the conventional amino acid composition (AAC), the Pseudo Amino Acid composition (PseAA) as originally introduced by Chou can incorporate much more information of a protein sequence so as to remarkably enhance the power of using a discrete model to predict various attributes of a protein. In this study, a novel approach is presented to predict apoptosis protein solely from sequence based on the concept of Chou's PseAA composition. The concept of approximate entropy (ApEn), which is a parameter denoting complexity of time series, is used to construct PseAA composition as additional features. Fuzzy K-nearest neighbor (FKNN) classifier is selected as prediction engine. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is adopted for optimizing the weight factors which are important in PseAA composition. Two datasets are used to validate the performance of the proposed approach, which incorporate six subcellular location and four subcellular locations, respectively. The results obtained by jackknife test are quite encouraging. It indicates that the ApEn of protein sequence could represent effectively the information of apoptosis proteins subcellular locations. It can at least play a complimentary role to many of the existing methods, and might become potentially useful tool for protein function prediction. The software in Matlab is available freely by contacting the corresponding author.

  20. The status of intercellular junctions in established lens epithelial cell lines

    PubMed Central

    Dave, Alpana; Craig, Jamie E.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose Cataract is the major cause of vision-related disability worldwide. Mutations in the crystallin genes are the most common known cause of inherited congenital cataract. Mutations in the genes associated with intercellular contacts, such as Nance-Horan Syndrome (NHS) and Ephrin type A receptor-2 (EPHA2), are other recognized causes of congenital cataract. The EPHA2 gene has been also associated with age-related cataract, suggesting that intercellular junctions are important in not only lens development, but also in maintaining lens transparency. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression and localization of the key cell junction and cytoskeletal proteins, and of NHS and EPHA2, in established lens epithelial cell lines to determine their suitability as model epithelial systems for the functional investigation of genes involved in intercellular contacts and implicated in cataract. Methods The expression and subcellular localization of occludin and zona occludens protein-1 (ZO-1), which are associated with tight junctions; E-cadherin, which is associated with adherence junctions; and the cytoskeletal actin were analyzed in monolayers of a human lens epithelial cell line (SRA 01/04) and a mouse lens epithelial cell line (αTN4). In addition, the expression and subcellular localization of the NHS and EPHA2 proteins were analyzed in these cell lines. Protein or mRNA expression was respectively determined by western blotting or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR), and localization was determined by immunofluorescence labeling. Results Human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells expressed either the proteins of interest or their encoding mRNA. Occludin, ZO-1, and NHS proteins localized to the cellular periphery, whereas E-cadherin, actin, and EPHA2 localized in the cytoplasm in these cell lines. Conclusions The human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells express the key junctional proteins. The localization patterns of these proteins suggest that these cell lines form tight junctions but do not form E-cadherin-based adherence junctions. These data further indicate that the regulatory role of NHS in actin remodeling, suggested in another study, is cell type dependent. In conclusion, the SRA 01/04 and αTN4 lens epithelial cell lines model some characteristics of an epithelium. PMID:23288986

  1. The status of intercellular junctions in established lens epithelial cell lines.

    PubMed

    Dave, Alpana; Craig, Jamie E; Sharma, Shiwani

    2012-01-01

    Cataract is the major cause of vision-related disability worldwide. Mutations in the crystallin genes are the most common known cause of inherited congenital cataract. Mutations in the genes associated with intercellular contacts, such as Nance-Horan Syndrome (NHS) and Ephrin type A receptor-2 (EPHA2), are other recognized causes of congenital cataract. The EPHA2 gene has been also associated with age-related cataract, suggesting that intercellular junctions are important in not only lens development, but also in maintaining lens transparency. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression and localization of the key cell junction and cytoskeletal proteins, and of NHS and EPHA2, in established lens epithelial cell lines to determine their suitability as model epithelial systems for the functional investigation of genes involved in intercellular contacts and implicated in cataract. The expression and subcellular localization of occludin and zona occludens protein-1 (ZO-1), which are associated with tight junctions; E-cadherin, which is associated with adherence junctions; and the cytoskeletal actin were analyzed in monolayers of a human lens epithelial cell line (SRA 01/04) and a mouse lens epithelial cell line (αTN4). In addition, the expression and subcellular localization of the NHS and EPHA2 proteins were analyzed in these cell lines. Protein or mRNA expression was respectively determined by western blotting or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and localization was determined by immunofluorescence labeling. Human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells expressed either the proteins of interest or their encoding mRNA. Occludin, ZO-1, and NHS proteins localized to the cellular periphery, whereas E-cadherin, actin, and EPHA2 localized in the cytoplasm in these cell lines. The human SRA 01/04 and mouse αTN4 lens epithelial cells express the key junctional proteins. The localization patterns of these proteins suggest that these cell lines form tight junctions but do not form E-cadherin-based adherence junctions. These data further indicate that the regulatory role of NHS in actin remodeling, suggested in another study, is cell type dependent. In conclusion, the SRA 01/04 and αTN4 lens epithelial cell lines model some characteristics of an epithelium.

  2. SChloro: directing Viridiplantae proteins to six chloroplastic sub-compartments.

    PubMed

    Savojardo, Castrense; Martelli, Pier Luigi; Fariselli, Piero; Casadio, Rita

    2017-02-01

    Chloroplasts are organelles found in plants and involved in several important cell processes. Similarly to other compartments in the cell, chloroplasts have an internal structure comprising several sub-compartments, where different proteins are targeted to perform their functions. Given the relation between protein function and localization, the availability of effective computational tools to predict protein sub-organelle localizations is crucial for large-scale functional studies. In this paper we present SChloro, a novel machine-learning approach to predict protein sub-chloroplastic localization, based on targeting signal detection and membrane protein information. The proposed approach performs multi-label predictions discriminating six chloroplastic sub-compartments that include inner membrane, outer membrane, stroma, thylakoid lumen, plastoglobule and thylakoid membrane. In comparative benchmarks, the proposed method outperforms current state-of-the-art methods in both single- and multi-compartment predictions, with an overall multi-label accuracy of 74%. The results demonstrate the relevance of the approach that is eligible as a good candidate for integration into more general large-scale annotation pipelines of protein subcellular localization. The method is available as web server at http://schloro.biocomp.unibo.it gigi@biocomp.unibo.it.

  3. Detection of PIWI and piRNAs in the mitochondria of mammalian cancer cells

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kwon, ChangHyuk, E-mail: netbuyer@hanmail.net; Tak, Hyosun, E-mail: chuberry@naver.com; Rho, Mina, E-mail: minarho@hanyang.ac.kr

    2014-03-28

    Highlights: • piRNA sequences were mapped to human mitochondrial (mt) genome. • We inspected small RNA-Seq datasets from somatic cell mt subcellular fractions. • Piwi and piRNA transcripts are present in mammalian somatic cancer cell mt fractions. - Abstract: Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are 26–31 nt small noncoding RNAs that are processed from their longer precursor transcripts by Piwi proteins. Localization of Piwi and piRNA has been reported mostly in nucleus and cytoplasm of higher eukaryotes germ-line cells, where it is believed that known piRNA sequences are located in repeat regions of nuclear genome in germ-line cells. However, localization of PIWImore » and piRNA in mammalian somatic cell mitochondria yet remains largely unknown. We identified 29 piRNA sequence alignments from various regions of the human mitochondrial genome. Twelve out 29 piRNA sequences matched stem-loop fragment sequences of seven distinct tRNAs. We observed their actual expression in mitochondria subcellular fractions by inspecting mitochondrial-specific small RNA-Seq datasets. Of interest, the majority of the 29 piRNAs overlapped with multiple longer transcripts (expressed sequence tags) that are unique to the human mitochondrial genome. The presence of mature piRNAs in mitochondria was detected by qRT-PCR of mitochondrial subcellular RNAs. Further validation showed detection of Piwi by colocalization using anti-Piwil1 and mitochondria organelle-specific protein antibodies.« less

  4. Divergent N-Terminal Sequences Target an Inducible Testis Deubiquitinating Enzyme to Distinct Subcellular Structures

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Haijiang; Keriel, Anne; Morales, Carlos R.; Bedard, Nathalie; Zhao, Qing; Hingamp, Pascal; Lefrançois, Stephane; Combaret, Lydie; Wing, Simon S.

    2000-01-01

    Ubiquitin-specific processing proteases (UBPs) presently form the largest enzyme family in the ubiquitin system, characterized by a core region containing conserved motifs surrounded by divergent sequences, most commonly at the N-terminal end. The functions of these divergent sequences remain unclear. We identified two isoforms of a novel testis-specific UBP, UBP-t1 and UBP-t2, which contain identical core regions but distinct N termini, thereby permitting dissection of the functions of these two regions. Both isoforms were germ cell specific and developmentally regulated. Immunocytochemistry revealed that UBP-t1 was induced in step 16 to 19 spermatids while UBP-t2 was expressed in step 18 to 19 spermatids. Immunoelectron microscopy showed that UBP-t1 was found in the nucleus while UBP-t2 was extranuclear and was found in residual bodies. For the first time, we show that the differential subcellular localization was due to the distinct N-terminal sequences. When transfected into COS-7 cells, the core region was expressed throughout the cell but the UBP-t1 and UBP-t2 isoforms were concentrated in the nucleus and the perinuclear region, respectively. Fusions of each N-terminal end with green fluorescent protein yielded the same subcellular localization as the native proteins, indicating that the N-terminal ends were sufficient for determining differential localization. Interestingly, UBP-t2 colocalized with anti-γ-tubulin immunoreactivity, indicating that like several other components of the ubiquitin system, a deubiquitinating enzyme is associated with the centrosome. Regulated expression and alternative N termini can confer specificity of UBP function by restricting its temporal and spatial loci of action. PMID:10938131

  5. Live-cell visualization of intracellular interaction between a nuclear migration protein (hNUDC) and the thrombopoietin receptor (Mpl).

    PubMed

    Zheng, Yuan-Bin; Xiao, Ying-Ying; Tan, Peng; Zhang, Qing; Xu, Peilin

    2012-01-01

    We previously demonstrated that endogenous hNUDC and Mpl co-localized in the perinuclear and cytoplasmic regions of megakaryocyte cells by indirect immunofluorescence. We further reported that hNUDC accumulated in the Golgi when NIH 3T3 cells were transfected with an hNUDC expression vector alone. However, co-transfection with hNUDC and Mpl expression vectors caused both proteins to co-localize predominantly in the cytosol. These observations led us to hypothesize that a complex containing hNUDC and Mpl may alter hNUDC subcellular location and induce its secretion. In the present study, we test this hypothesis by employing bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) to detect and visualize the complex formation of hNUDC/Mpl in living cells. We further examined in detail the subcellular locations of the hNUDC/Mpl complex by co-transfection of BiFC chimeras with known subcellular markers. The distribution of hNUDC/Mpl in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi and cell surface was determined. Furthermore, the N-terminal 159 amino acids of hNUDC, but not C-terminal half, bound to Mpl in vivo and exhibited a similar localization pattern to that of full-length hNUDC in Cos-1 cells. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of hNUDC or its N-terminal 159 residues in a human megakaryocyte cell line (Dami) resulted in increased levels of hNUDC or hNUDC(1-159) secretion. In contrast, depletion of Mpl by transfecting Dami cells with adenovirus bearing Mpl-targeting siRNA significantly blocked hNUDC secretion. Thus, we provide the first evidence that the N-terminal region of hNUDC contains all of the necessary information to complex with Mpl and traffic through the secretory pathway.

  6. Live-Cell Visualization of Intracellular Interaction between a Nuclear Migration Protein (hNUDC) and the Thrombopoietin Receptor (Mpl)

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Yuan-Bin; Xiao, Ying-Ying; Tan, Peng; Zhang, Qing; Xu, Peilin

    2012-01-01

    We previously demonstrated that endogenous hNUDC and Mpl co-localized in the perinuclear and cytoplasmic regions of megakaryocyte cells by indirect immunofluorescence. We further reported that hNUDC accumulated in the Golgi when NIH 3T3 cells were transfected with an hNUDC expression vector alone. However, co-transfection with hNUDC and Mpl expression vectors caused both proteins to co-localize predominantly in the cytosol. These observations led us to hypothesize that a complex containing hNUDC and Mpl may alter hNUDC subcellular location and induce its secretion. In the present study, we test this hypothesis by employing bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) to detect and visualize the complex formation of hNUDC/Mpl in living cells. We further examined in detail the subcellular locations of the hNUDC/Mpl complex by co-transfection of BiFC chimeras with known subcellular markers. The distribution of hNUDC/Mpl in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi and cell surface was determined. Furthermore, the N-terminal 159 amino acids of hNUDC, but not C-terminal half, bound to Mpl in vivo and exhibited a similar localization pattern to that of full-length hNUDC in Cos-1 cells. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of hNUDC or its N-terminal 159 residues in a human megakaryocyte cell line (Dami) resulted in increased levels of hNUDC or hNUDC(1-159) secretion. In contrast, depletion of Mpl by transfecting Dami cells with adenovirus bearing Mpl-targeting siRNA significantly blocked hNUDC secretion. Thus, we provide the first evidence that the N-terminal region of hNUDC contains all of the necessary information to complex with Mpl and traffic through the secretory pathway. PMID:23284788

  7. Pannexin-1 channels show distinct morphology and no gap junction characteristics in mammalian cells.

    PubMed

    Beckmann, Anja; Grissmer, Alexander; Krause, Elmar; Tschernig, Thomas; Meier, Carola

    2016-03-01

    Pannexins (Panx) are proteins with a similar membrane topology to connexins, the integral membrane protein of gap junctions. Panx1 channels are generally of major importance in a large number of system and cellular processes and their function has been thoroughly characterized. In contrast, little is known about channel structure and subcellular distribution. We therefore determine the subcellular localization of Panx1 channels in cultured cells and aim at the identification of channel morphology in vitro. Using freeze-fracture replica immunolabeling on EYFP-Panx1-overexpressing HEK 293 cells, large particles were identified in plasma membranes, which were immunogold-labeled using either GFP or Panx1 antibodies. There was no labeling or particles in the nuclear membranes of these cells, pointing to plasma membrane localization of Panx1-EYFP channels. The assembly of particles was irregular, this being in contrast to the regular pattern of gap junctions. The fact that no counterparts were identified on apposing cells, which would have been indicative of intercellular signaling, supported the idea of Panx1 channels within one membrane. Control cells (transfected with EYFP only, non-transfected) were devoid of both particles and immunogold labeling. Altogether, this study provides the first demonstration of Panx1 channel morphology and assembly in intact cells. The identification of Panx1 channels as large particles within the plasma membrane provides the knowledge required to enable recognition of Panx1 channels in tissues in future studies. Thus, these results open up new avenues for the detailed analysis of the subcellular localization of Panx1 and of its nearest neighbors such as purinergic receptors in vivo.

  8. PHISTc protein family members localize to different subcellular organelles and bind Plasmodium falciparum major virulence factor PfEMP-1.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Vikash; Kaur, Jasweer; Singh, Amrit P; Singh, Vineeta; Bisht, Anjali; Panda, Jiban J; Mishra, Prakash C; Hora, Rachna

    2018-01-01

    Plasmodium falciparum encodes a novel repertoire of the Plasmodium helical interspersed subtelomeric (PHIST) family of exported proteins, which play diverse roles in infected red blood cells, contributing to malaria pathogenesis. PHIST proteins are central to parasite biology and modify human erythrocytes by interacting with parasite and host proteins. Here, we have attempted to understand the localization and function of two unexplored proteins of the PHISTc subfamily, PFD1140w and PF11_0503, and compared these with a well-characterized member, PFI1780w. We demonstrate that Phist domains assume different oligomeric states owing to a distinct array of subunit interface residues. Colocalization of a Maurer's cleft signature protein, P. falciparum skeleton-binding protein-1 (PfSBP-1), and P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 (PfEMP-1) revealed different subcellular destinations for these PHIST members. We further show the binding of recombinant PHIST proteins to the cytoplasmic tail of PfEMP-1 and a novel interaction with PfSBP-1. Interestingly, PFD1140w interacts with PfEMP-1 and PfSBP-1 simultaneously in vitro leading to formation of a complex. These two distant PHISTc members also bind PfEMP-1 on distinct sites, despite sharing the Phist domain. Our data re-emphasize a supportive role for PHIST proteins in cytoadhesion, and identify a new binding partner, PfSBP-1, for members of this family. This information therefore adds another chapter to the understanding of P. falciparum biology and highlights the significance of the unexplored PHIST family. © 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  9. Subcellular Localization of Arabidopsis 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A Reductase1

    PubMed Central

    Leivar, Pablo; González, Víctor M.; Castel, Susanna; Trelease, Richard N.; López-Iglesias, Carmen; Arró, Montserrat; Boronat, Albert; Campos, Narciso; Ferrer, Albert; Fernàndez-Busquets, Xavier

    2005-01-01

    Plants produce diverse isoprenoids, which are synthesized in plastids, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and the nonorganellar cytoplasm. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the synthesis of mevalonate, a rate-limiting step in the cytoplasmic pathway. Several branches of the pathway lead to the synthesis of structurally and functionally varied, yet essential, isoprenoids. Several HMGR isoforms have been identified in all plants examined. Studies based on gene expression and on fractionation of enzyme activity suggested that subcellular compartmentalization of HMGR is an important intracellular channeling mechanism for the production of the specific classes of isoprenoids. Plant HMGR has been shown previously to insert in vitro into the membrane of microsomal vesicles, but the final in vivo subcellular localization(s) remains controversial. To address the latter in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells, we conducted a multipronged microscopy and cell fractionation approach that included imaging of chimeric HMGR green fluorescent protein localizations in transiently transformed cell leaves, immunofluorescence confocal microscopy in wild-type and stably transformed seedlings, immunogold electron microscopy examinations of endogenous HMGR in seedling cotyledons, and sucrose density gradient analyses of HMGR-containing organelles. Taken together, the results reveal that endogenous Arabidopsis HMGR is localized at steady state within ER as expected, but surprisingly also predominantly within spherical, vesicular structures that range from 0.2- to 0.6-μm diameter, located in the cytoplasm and within the central vacuole in differentiated cotyledon cells. The N-terminal region, including the transmembrane domain of HMGR, was found to be necessary and sufficient for directing HMGR to ER and the spherical structures. It is believed, although not directly demonstrated, that these vesicle-like structures are derived from segments of HMGR-ER. Nevertheless, they represent a previously undescribed subcellular compartment likely capable of synthesizing mevalonate, which provides new evidence for multiorganelle compartmentalization of the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathways in plants. PMID:15618432

  10. Defective cellular trafficking of the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II by mutations underlying familial pulmonary arterial hypertension.

    PubMed

    John, Anne; Kizhakkedath, Praseetha; Al-Gazali, Lihadh; Ali, Bassam R

    2015-04-25

    Familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (FPAH) is a relatively rare but fatal disorder characterized by elevated arterial pressure caused by abnormal proliferation of endothelial cells of the arteries, which eventually leads to heart failure and death. FPAH is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait and is caused by heterozygous mutations in the BMPR2 gene encoding the bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor (BMPR2). BMPR2 belongs to the TGF β/BMP super-family of receptors involved in a signal transduction cascade via the SMAD signaling pathway. The BMPR2 polypeptide is composed of 1038 amino acids and consists of a ligand binding domain, a kinase domain and a cytoplasmic tail. To investigate the cellular and functional consequence of BMPR2 mutations, C-terminally FLAG-tagged constructs of eighteen pathogenic BMPR2 missense mutants were generated by site directed mutagenesis and expressed in HeLa and HEK-293T cell lines. The subcellular localizations of the mutant proteins were investigated using immunostaining and confocal microscopy. Post-translational modifications of the proteins were analyzed by Endoglycosidase H deglycosylation assay. Our results indicated that mutations in the ligand binding domain affecting highly conserved cysteine residues resulted in retention of the mutant proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), as evident from their co-localization with the ER resident protein calnexin. The kinase domain mutants showed both ER and plasma membrane (PM) distributions, while the cytoplasmic tail domain variants were localized exclusively to the PM. The subcellular localizations of the mutants were further confirmed by their characteristic glycosylation profiles. In conclusion, our results indicate that ER quality control (ERQC) is involved in the pathological mechanism of several BMPR2 receptor missense mutations causing FPAH, which can be explored as a potential therapeutic target in the future. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Targeted Analysis of KLF6/KLF6-SV1 Regulating Pathways in Prostrate Cancer Development and Metastasis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-09-01

    of KLF6 and KLF6-SV1 it will be important to define the functionality of the putative NLS, the 5BR, as well as the role of nucleo-cytoplasmic...presence of basic residues, Lys and Arg. In many cases 18 these signals are located near or within other important domains that regulate protein...transporter protein Crm1/Xpo1, first discovered in yeast (33-36). Subcellular localization and protein turnover are two related events that are tightly

  12. Analyses of expression and localization of two mammalian-type transglutaminases in Physarum polycephalum, an acellular slime mold.

    PubMed

    Wada, Fumitaka; Ogawa, Atsuko; Hanai, Yuko; Nakamura, Akio; Maki, Masatoshi; Hitomi, Kiyotaka

    2004-11-01

    Transglutaminase (TGase) is an enzyme that modifies proteins by crosslinking or polyamination. Physarum polycephalum, an acellular slime mold, is the evolutionally lowest organism that has a mammalian-type transglutaminase. We have cloned a cDNA for Physarum polycephalum TGase (PpTGB), homologous to a previously identified TGase (PpTGA), whose sequence is similar to that of mammalian TGases. PpTGB encodes a primary sequence identical to that of PpTGA except for 11 amino acid residues at the N-terminus. Reverse transcription-PCR and Western blotting analyses showed that both PpTGA and PpTGB are expressed in microplasmodia and macroplasmodia during their life cycle, except for in sporangia. For biochemical characterization, we carried out the ectopical expressions of PpTGA and PpTGB in Dictyostelium discoideum. Subcellular fractionation of these Dictyostelium cells showed that the expressed PpTGA, but not PpTGB, localizes to the membrane fraction. Furthermore, in Physarum, subcellular fractionation and immunostaining indicated specific localization at the plasma membrane in macroplasmodia, while the localization was entirely cytoplasmic in microplasmodia.

  13. Multiplexed multi-scale imaging: novel roles for the scaffold protein IQGAP1 in epithelial cell development (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schweikhard, Volker

    2016-02-01

    The precise sub-cellular spatial localization of multi-protein complexes is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism governing the organization of mammalian cells. Consequently, there is a need for novel microscopy techniques capable of investigating such sub-cellular architectures in comprehensive detail. Here, we applied a novel multiplexed STORM super-resolution microscopy technique, in combination with high-throughput immunofluorescence microscopy and live-cell imaging, to investigate the roles of the scaffold protein IQGAP1 in epithelial cells. IQGAP1 is known to orchestrate a wide range of biological processes, including intracellular signaling, cytoskeletal regulation, cell-cell adhesion, and protein trafficking, by forming distinct complexes with a number of known interaction partners, and recruiting these complexes to specific subcellular locations. Our results demonstrate that, in addition to supporting epithelial adherens junctions by associating with specialized cortical actin structures, IQGAP1 plays a second role in which it controls the confinement of a unique, previously undocumented class of membranous compartments to the basal actin cortex. These largely immotile yet highly dynamic structures appear transiently as cells merge into clusters and establish of apical-basolateral (epithelial) polarity, and are identified as an intermediate compartment in the endocytic recycling pathways for cell junction complexes and cell surface receptors. Although these two functions of IQGAP1 occur in parallel and largely independently of each other, they both support the maturation and maintenance of polarized epithelial cell architectures.

  14. AHNAK1 and AHNAK2 are costameric proteins: AHNAK1 affects transverse skeletal muscle fiber stiffness

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Marg, Andreas, E-mail: andreas.marg@mdc-berlin.de; Haase, Hannelore; Neumann, Tanja

    2010-10-08

    Research highlights: {yields} AHNAK1 and AHNAK2 are costameric proteins. {yields} Intact membrane repair in AHNAK1-deficient mice. {yields} AHNAK1{sup -/-} single fibers have a higher transverse stiffness. -- Abstract: The AHNAK scaffold PDZ-protein family is implicated in various cellular processes including membrane repair; however, AHNAK function and subcellular localization in skeletal muscle are unclear. We used specific AHNAK1 and AHNAK2 antibodies to analyzed the detailed localization of both proteins in mouse skeletal muscle. Co-localization of AHNAK1 and AHNAK2 with vinculin clearly demonstrates that both proteins are components of the costameric network. In contrast, no AHNAK expression was detected in the T-tubulemore » system. A laser wounding assay with AHNAK1-deficient fibers suggests that AHNAK1 is not involved in membrane repair. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we observed a significantly higher transverse stiffness of AHNAK1{sup -/-} fibers. These findings suggest novel functions of AHNAK proteins in skeletal muscle.« less

  15. Development of a novel set of Gateway-compatible vectors for live imaging in insect cells.

    PubMed

    Maroniche, G A; Mongelli, V C; Alfonso, V; Llauger, G; Taboga, O; del Vas, Mariana

    2011-10-01

    Insect genomics is a growing area of research. To exploit fully the genomic data that are being generated, high-throughput systems for the functional characterization of insect proteins and their interactomes are required. In this work, a Gateway-compatible vector set for expression of fluorescent fusion proteins in insect cells was developed. The vector set was designed to express a protein of interest fused to any of four different fluorescent proteins [green fluorescent protein (GFP), cyan fluorescent protein (CFP), yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and mCherry] by either the C-terminal or the N-terminal ends. Additionally, a collection of organelle-specific fluorescent markers was assembled for colocalization with fluorescent recombinant proteins of interest. Moreover, the vector set was proven to be suitable for simultaneously detecting up to three proteins by multiple labelling. The use of the vector set was exemplified by defining the subcellular distribution of Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV) outer coat protein P10 and by analysing the in vivo self-interaction of the MRCV viroplasm matrix protein P9-1 in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments. In conclusion, we have developed a valuable tool for high-throughput studies of protein subcellular localization that will aid in the elucidation of the function of newly described insect and virus proteins. © 2011 The Authors. Insect Molecular Biology © 2011 The Royal Entomological Society.

  16. G-rich, a Drosophila selenoprotein, is a Golgi-resident type III membrane protein

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chen, Chang Lan; Shim, Myoung Sup; Chung, Jiyeol

    2006-10-06

    G-rich is a Drosophila melanogaster selenoprotein, which is a homologue of human and mouse SelK. Subcellular localization analysis using GFP-tagged G-rich showed that G-rich was localized in the Golgi apparatus. The fusion protein was co-localized with the Golgi marker proteins but not with an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) marker protein in Drosophila SL2 cells. Bioinformatic analysis of G-rich suggests that this protein is either type II or type III transmembrane protein. To determine the type of transmembrane protein experimentally, GFP-G-rich in which GFP was tagged at the N-terminus of G-rich, or G-rich-GFP in which GFP was tagged at the C-terminus ofmore » G-rich, were expressed in SL2 cells. The tagged proteins were then digested with trypsin, and analyzed by Western blot analysis. The results showed that the C-terminus of the G-rich protein was exposed to the cytoplasm indicating it is a type III microsomal membrane protein. G-rich is First selenoprotein identified in the Golgi apparatus.« less

  17. Telomere- and Telomerase-Associated Proteins and Their Functions in the Plant Cell

    PubMed Central

    Procházková Schrumpfová, Petra; Schořová, Šárka; Fajkus, Jiří

    2016-01-01

    Telomeres, as physical ends of linear chromosomes, are targets of a number of specific proteins, including primarily telomerase reverse transcriptase. Access of proteins to the telomere may be affected by a number of diverse factors, e.g., protein interaction partners, local DNA or chromatin structures, subcellular localization/trafficking, or simply protein modification. Knowledge of composition of the functional nucleoprotein complex of plant telomeres is only fragmentary. Moreover, the plant telomeric repeat binding proteins that were characterized recently appear to also be involved in non-telomeric processes, e.g., ribosome biogenesis. This interesting finding was not totally unexpected since non-telomeric functions of yeast or animal telomeric proteins, as well as of telomerase subunits, have been reported for almost a decade. Here we summarize known facts about the architecture of plant telomeres and compare them with the well-described composition of telomeres in other organisms. PMID:27446102

  18. A moving view: subcellular trafficking processes in pattern recognition receptor-triggered plant immunity.

    PubMed

    Ben Khaled, Sara; Postma, Jelle; Robatzek, Silke

    2015-01-01

    A significant challenge for plants is to induce localized defense responses at sites of pathogen attack. Therefore, host subcellular trafficking processes enable accumulation and exchange of defense compounds, which contributes to the plant on-site defenses in response to pathogen perception. This review summarizes our current understanding of the transport processes that facilitate immunity, the significance of which is highlighted by pathogens reprogramming membrane trafficking through host cell translocated effectors. Prominent immune-related cargos of plant trafficking pathways are the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which must be present at the plasma membrane to sense microbes in the apoplast. We focus on the dynamic localization of the FLS2 receptor and discuss the pathways that regulate receptor transport within the cell and their link to FLS2-mediated immunity. One emerging theme is that ligand-induced late endocytic trafficking is conserved across different PRR protein families as well as across different plant species.

  19. Membrane Targeting of Grb2-associated Binder-1 (Gab1) Scaffolding Protein through Src Myristoylation Sequence Substitutes for Gab1 Pleckstrin Homology Domain and Switches an Epidermal Growth Factor Response to an Invasive Morphogenic Program

    PubMed Central

    Maroun, Christiane R.; Naujokas, Monica A.; Park, Morag

    2003-01-01

    The hepatocyte growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase Met promotes cell dissociation and the inherent morphogenic program of epithelial cells. In a search for substrates downstream from Met, we have previously identified the Grb2-associated binder-1 (Gab1) as critical for the morphogenic program. Gab1 is a scaffold protein that acts to diversify the signal downstream from the Met receptor through its ability to couple with multiple signal transduction pathways. Gab1 contains a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain with specificity for phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate. The phospholipid binding capacity of the Gab1 PH domain is required for the localization of Gab1 at sites of cell-cell contact in colonies of epithelial cells and for epithelial morphogenesis, suggesting that PH domain-dependent subcellular localization of Gab1 is a prerequisite for function. We have investigated the requirement for membrane localization of Gab1 for biological activity. We show that substitution of the Gab1 PH domain with the myristoylation signal from the c-Src protein is sufficient to replace the Gab1 PH domain for epithelial morphogenesis. The membrane targeting of Gab1 enhances Rac activity in the absence of stimulation and switches a nonmorphogenic noninvasive response to epidermal growth factor to a morphogenic invasive program. These results suggest that the subcellular localization of Gab1 is a critical determinant for epithelial morphogenesis and invasiveness. PMID:12686619

  20. Fukutin-related protein localizes to the Golgi apparatus and mutations lead to mislocalization in muscle in vivo.

    PubMed

    Keramaris-Vrantsis, Elizabeth; Lu, Pei J; Doran, Timothy; Zillmer, Allen; Ashar, Jignya; Esapa, Christopher T; Benson, Matthew A; Blake, Derek J; Rosenfeld, Jeffrey; Lu, Qi L

    2007-10-01

    Mutations in the fukutin-related protein gene (FKRP) are associated with a spectrum of diseases from mild limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I to severe congenital muscular dystrophy type 1C, muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB), and Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS). The effect of mutations on the transportation of the mutant proteins may constitute the underlying mechanisms for the pathogenesis of these diseases. Here we examined the subcellular localization of mouse and human normal and mutant FKRP proteins in cells and in muscle in vivo. Both normal human and mouse FKRPs localize in part of the Golgi apparatus in muscle fibers. Mutations in the FKRP gene invariably altered the localization of the protein, leading to endoplasmic reticulum retention within cells and diminished Golgi localization in muscle fibers. Our results therefore suggest that an individual missense point mutation can confer at least two independent effects on the protein, causing (1) reduction or loss of the presumed glycosyltransferase activity directly and (2) mislocalization that could further alter the function of the protein. The complexity of the effect of individual missense point mutations may partly explain the wide variation of the FKRP-related myopathies.

  1. Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Pseudomonas syringae Effectors via Type III Secretion Using Split Fluorescent Protein Fragments[OPEN

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Pathogenic gram-negative bacteria cause serious diseases in animals and plants. These bacterial pathogens use the type III secretion system (T3SS) to deliver effector proteins into host cells; these effectors then localize to different subcellular compartments to attenuate immune responses by altering biological processes of the host cells. The fluorescent protein (FP)-based approach to monitor effectors secreted from bacteria into the host cells is not possible because the folded FP prevents effector delivery through the T3SS. Therefore, we optimized an improved variant of self-assembling split super-folder green fluorescent protein (sfGFPOPT) system to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of effectors delivered through bacterial T3SS into plant cells. In this system, effectors are fused to 11th β-strand of super-folder GFP (sfGFP11), and when delivered into plant cells expressing sfGFP1-10 β-strand (sfGFP1-10OPT), the two proteins reconstitute GFP fluorescence. We generated a number of Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic lines expressing sfGFP1-10OPT targeted to various subcellular compartments to facilitate localization of sfGFP11-tagged effectors delivered from bacteria. We demonstrate the efficacy of this system using Pseudomonas syringae effectors AvrB and AvrRps4 in Nicotiana benthamiana and transgenic Arabidopsis plants. The versatile split sfGFPOPT system described here will facilitate a better understanding of bacterial invasion strategies used to evade plant immune responses. PMID:28619883

  2. Pseudoscaffolds and anchoring proteins: the difference is in the details

    PubMed Central

    Aggarwal-Howarth, Stacey; Scott, John D.

    2017-01-01

    Pseudokinases and pseudophosphatases possess the ability to bind substrates without catalyzing their modification, thereby providing a mechanism to recruit potential phosphotargets away from active enzymes. Since many of these pseudoenzymes possess other characteristics such as localization signals, separate catalytic sites, and protein–protein interaction domains, they have the capacity to influence signaling dynamics in local environments. In a similar manner, the targeting of signaling enzymes to subcellular locations by A-kinase-anchoring proteins (AKAPs) allows for precise and local control of second messenger signaling events. Here, we will discuss how pseudoenzymes form ‘pseudoscaffolds’ and compare and contrast this compartment-specific regulatory role with the signal organization properties of AKAPs. The mitochondria will be the focus of this review, as they are dynamic organelles that influence a broad range of cellular processes such as metabolism, ATP synthesis, and apoptosis. PMID:28408477

  3. Expanding the Interactome of TES by Exploiting TES Modules with Different Subcellular Localizations.

    PubMed

    Sala, Stefano; Van Troys, Marleen; Medves, Sandrine; Catillon, Marie; Timmerman, Evy; Staes, An; Schaffner-Reckinger, Elisabeth; Gevaert, Kris; Ampe, Christophe

    2017-05-05

    The multimodular nature of many eukaryotic proteins underlies their temporal or spatial engagement in a range of protein cocomplexes. Using the multimodule protein testin (TES), we here report a proteomics approach to increase insight in cocomplex diversity. The LIM-domain containing and tumor suppressor protein TES is present at different actin cytoskeleton adhesion structures in cells and influences cell migration, adhesion and spreading. TES module accessibility has been proposed to vary due to conformational switching and variants of TES lacking specific domains target to different subcellular locations. By applying iMixPro AP-MS ("intelligent Mixing of Proteomes"-affinity purification-mass spectrometry) to a set of tagged-TES modular variants, we identified proteins residing in module-specific cocomplexes. The obtained distinct module-specific interactomes combine to a global TES interactome that becomes more extensive and richer in information. Applying pathway analysis to the module interactomes revealed expected actin-related canonical pathways and also less expected pathways. We validated two new TES cocomplex partners: TGFB1I1 and a short form of the glucocorticoid receptor. TES and TGFB1I1 are shown to oppositely affect cell spreading providing biological validity for their copresence in complexes since they act in similar processes.

  4. Multiclassifier combinatorial proteomics of organelle shadows at the example of mitochondria in chromatin data.

    PubMed

    Kustatscher, Georg; Grabowski, Piotr; Rappsilber, Juri

    2016-02-01

    Subcellular localization is an important aspect of protein function, but the protein composition of many intracellular compartments is poorly characterized. For example, many nuclear bodies are challenging to isolate biochemically and thus remain inaccessible to proteomics. Here, we explore covariation in proteomics data as an alternative route to subcellular proteomes. Rather than targeting a structure of interest biochemically, we target it by machine learning. This becomes possible by taking data obtained for one organelle and searching it for traces of another organelle. As an extreme example and proof-of-concept we predict mitochondrial proteins based on their covariation in published interphase chromatin data. We detect about ⅓ of the known mitochondrial proteins in our chromatin data, presumably most as contaminants. However, these proteins are not present at random. We show covariation of mitochondrial proteins in chromatin proteomics data. We then exploit this covariation by multiclassifier combinatorial proteomics to define a list of mitochondrial proteins. This list agrees well with different databases on mitochondrial composition. This benchmark test raises the possibility that, in principle, covariation proteomics may also be applicable to structures for which no biochemical isolation procedures are available. © 2015 The Authors. Proteomics Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. iPHLoc-ES: Identification of bacteriophage protein locations using evolutionary and structural features.

    PubMed

    Shatabda, Swakkhar; Saha, Sanjay; Sharma, Alok; Dehzangi, Abdollah

    2017-12-21

    Bacteriophage proteins are viruses that can significantly impact on the functioning of bacteria and can be used in phage based therapy. The functioning of Bacteriophage in the host bacteria depends on its location in those host cells. It is very important to know the subcellular location of the phage proteins in a host cell in order to understand their working mechanism. In this paper, we propose iPHLoc-ES, a prediction method for subcellular localization of bacteriophage proteins. We aim to solve two problems: discriminating between host located and non-host located phage proteins and discriminating between the locations of host located protein in a host cell (membrane or cytoplasm). To do this, we extract sets of evolutionary and structural features of phage protein and employ Support Vector Machine (SVM) as our classifier. We also use recursive feature elimination (RFE) to reduce the number of features for effective prediction. On standard dataset using standard evaluation criteria, our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art predictor. iPHLoc-ES is readily available to use as a standalone tool from: https://github.com/swakkhar/iPHLoc-ES/ and as a web application from: http://brl.uiu.ac.bd/iPHLoc-ES/. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Cell- and virus-mediated regulation of the barrier-to-autointegration factor's phosphorylation state controls its DNA binding, dimerization, subcellular localization, and antipoxviral activity.

    PubMed

    Jamin, Augusta; Wicklund, April; Wiebe, Matthew S

    2014-05-01

    Barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF) is a DNA binding protein with multiple cellular functions, including the ability to act as a potent defense against vaccinia virus infection. This antiviral function involves BAF's ability to condense double-stranded DNA and subsequently prevent viral DNA replication. In recent years, it has become increasingly evident that dynamic phosphorylation involving the vaccinia virus B1 kinase and cellular enzymes is likely a key regulator of multiple BAF functions; however, the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we analyzed how phosphorylation impacts BAF's DNA binding, subcellular localization, dimerization, and antipoxviral activity through the characterization of BAF phosphomimetic and unphosphorylatable mutants. Our studies demonstrate that increased phosphorylation enhances BAF's mobilization from the nucleus to the cytosol, while dephosphorylation restricts BAF to the nucleus. Phosphorylation also impairs both BAF's dimerization and its DNA binding activity. Furthermore, our studies of BAF's antiviral activity revealed that hyperphosphorylated BAF is unable to suppress viral DNA replication or virus production. Interestingly, the unphosphorylatable BAF mutant, which is capable of binding DNA but localizes predominantly to the nucleus, was also incapable of suppressing viral replication. Thus, both DNA binding and localization are important determinants of BAF's antiviral function. Finally, our examination of how phosphatases are involved in regulating BAF revealed that PP2A dephosphorylates BAF during vaccinia infection, thus counterbalancing the activity of the B1 kinase. Altogether, these data demonstrate that phosphoregulation of BAF by viral and cellular enzymes modulates this protein at multiple molecular levels, thus determining its effectiveness as an antiviral factor and likely other functions as well. The barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF) contributes to cellular genomic integrity in multiple ways, the best characterized of which are as a host defense against cytoplasmic DNA and as a regulator of mitotic nuclear reassembly. Although dynamic phosphorylation involving both viral and cellular enzymes is likely a key regulator of multiple BAF functions, the precise mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that phosphorylation coordinately regulates BAF's DNA binding, subcellular localization, dimerization, and antipoxviral activity. Overall, our findings provide new insights into how phosphoregulation of BAF modulates this protein at multiple levels and governs its effectiveness as an antiviral factor against foreign DNA.

  7. Predicting subcellular location of apoptosis proteins based on wavelet transform and support vector machine.

    PubMed

    Qiu, Jian-Ding; Luo, San-Hua; Huang, Jian-Hua; Sun, Xing-Yu; Liang, Ru-Ping

    2010-04-01

    Apoptosis proteins have a central role in the development and homeostasis of an organism. These proteins are very important for understanding the mechanism of programmed cell death. As a result of genome and other sequencing projects, the gap between the number of known apoptosis protein sequences and the number of known apoptosis protein structures is widening rapidly. Because of this extremely unbalanced state, it would be worthwhile to develop a fast and reliable method to identify their subcellular locations so as to gain better insight into their biological functions. In view of this, a new method, in which the support vector machine combines with discrete wavelet transform, has been developed to predict the subcellular location of apoptosis proteins. The results obtained by the jackknife test were quite promising, and indicated that the proposed method can remarkably improve the prediction accuracy of subcellular locations, and might also become a useful high-throughput tool in characterizing other attributes of proteins, such as enzyme class, membrane protein type, and nuclear receptor subfamily according to their sequences.

  8. An ADP-Ribosylation Factor GTPase-activating Protein Git2-short/KIAA0148 Is Involved in Subcellular Localization of Paxillin and Actin Cytoskeletal Organization

    PubMed Central

    Mazaki, Yuichi; Hashimoto, Shigeru; Okawa, Katsuya; Tsubouchi, Asako; Nakamura, Kuniaki; Yagi, Ryohei; Yano, Hajime; Kondo, Akiko; Iwamatsu, Akihiro; Mizoguchi, Akira; Sabe, Hisataka

    2001-01-01

    Paxillin acts as an adaptor protein in integrin signaling. We have shown that paxillin exists in a relatively large cytoplasmic pool, including perinuclear areas, in addition to focal complexes formed at the cell periphery and focal adhesions formed underneath the cell. Several ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs; ARFGAPs) have been shown to associate with paxillin. We report here that Git2-short/KIAA0148 exhibits properties of a paxillin-associated ARFGAP and appears to be colocalized with paxillin, primarily at perinuclear areas. A fraction of Git2-short was also localized to actin-rich structures at the cell periphery. Unlike paxillin, however, Git2-short did not accumulate at focal adhesions underneath the cell. Git2-short is a short isoform of Git2, which is highly homologous to p95PKL, another paxillin-binding protein, and showed a weaker binding affinity toward paxillin than that of Git2. The ARFGAP activities of Git2 and Git2-short have been previously demonstrated in vitro, and we provided evidence that at least one ARF isoform, ARF1, is an intracellular substrate for the GAP activity of Git2-short. We also showed that Git2-short could antagonize several known ARF1-mediated phenotypes: overexpression of Git2-short, but not its GAP-inactive mutant, caused the redistribution of Golgi protein β-COP and reduced the amounts of paxillin-containing focal adhesions and actin stress fibers. Perinuclear localization of paxillin, which was sensitive to ARF inactivation, was also affected by Git2-short overexpression. On the other hand, paxillin localization to focal complexes at the cell periphery was unaffected or even augmented by Git2-short overexpression. Therefore, an ARFGAP protein weakly interacting with paxillin, Git2-short, exhibits pleiotropic functions involving the regulation of Golgi organization, actin cytoskeletal organization, and subcellular localization of paxillin, all of which need to be coordinately regulated during integrin-mediated cell adhesion and intracellular signaling. PMID:11251077

  9. The SPOR Domain, a Widely Conserved Peptidoglycan Binding Domain That Targets Proteins to the Site of Cell Division.

    PubMed

    Yahashiri, Atsushi; Jorgenson, Matthew A; Weiss, David S

    2017-07-15

    Sporulation-related repeat (SPOR) domains are small peptidoglycan (PG) binding domains found in thousands of bacterial proteins. The name "SPOR domain" stems from the fact that several early examples came from proteins involved in sporulation, but SPOR domain proteins are quite diverse and contribute to a variety of processes that involve remodeling of the PG sacculus, especially with respect to cell division. SPOR domains target proteins to the division site by binding to regions of PG devoid of stem peptides ("denuded" glycans), which in turn are enriched in septal PG by the intense, localized activity of cell wall amidases involved in daughter cell separation. This targeting mechanism sets SPOR domain proteins apart from most other septal ring proteins, which localize via protein-protein interactions. In addition to SPOR domains, bacteria contain several other PG-binding domains that can exploit features of the cell wall to target proteins to specific subcellular sites. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  10. Robust prediction of protein subcellular localization combining PCA and WSVMs.

    PubMed

    Tian, Jiang; Gu, Hong; Liu, Wenqi; Gao, Chiyang

    2011-08-01

    Automated prediction of protein subcellular localization is an important tool for genome annotation and drug discovery, and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) can effectively solve this problem in a supervised manner. However, the datasets obtained from real experiments are likely to contain outliers or noises, which can lead to poor generalization ability and classification accuracy. To explore this problem, we adopt strategies to lower the effect of outliers. First we design a method based on Weighted SVMs, different weights are assigned to different data points, so the training algorithm will learn the decision boundary according to the relative importance of the data points. Second we analyse the influence of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on WSVM classification, propose a hybrid classifier combining merits of both PCA and WSVM. After performing dimension reduction operations on the datasets, kernel-based possibilistic c-means algorithm can generate more suitable weights for the training, as PCA transforms the data into a new coordinate system with largest variances affected greatly by the outliers. Experiments on benchmark datasets show promising results, which confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The laforin-malin complex negatively regulates glycogen synthesis by modulating cellular glucose uptake via glucose transporters.

    PubMed

    Singh, Pankaj Kumar; Singh, Sweta; Ganesh, Subramaniam

    2012-02-01

    Lafora disease (LD), an inherited and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by increased cellular glycogen content and the formation of abnormally branched glycogen inclusions, called Lafora bodies, in the affected tissues, including neurons. Therefore, laforin phosphatase and malin ubiquitin E3 ligase, the two proteins that are defective in LD, are thought to regulate glycogen synthesis through an unknown mechanism, the defects in which are likely to underlie some of the symptoms of LD. We show here that laforin's subcellular localization is dependent on the cellular glycogen content and that the stability of laforin is determined by the cellular ATP level, the activity of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase, and the affinity of malin toward laforin. By using cell and animal models, we further show that the laforin-malin complex regulates cellular glucose uptake by modulating the subcellular localization of glucose transporters; loss of malin or laforin resulted in an increased abundance of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane and therefore excessive glucose uptake. Loss of laforin or malin, however, did not affect glycogen catabolism. Thus, the excessive cellular glucose level appears to be the primary trigger for the abnormally higher levels of cellular glycogen seen in LD.

  12. Detection of PIWI and piRNAs in the mitochondria of mammalian cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Kwon, ChangHyuk; Tak, Hyosun; Rho, Mina; Chang, Hae Ryung; Kim, Yon Hui; Kim, Kyung Tae; Balch, Curt; Lee, Eun Kyung; Nam, Seungyoon

    2014-03-28

    Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are 26-31 nt small noncoding RNAs that are processed from their longer precursor transcripts by Piwi proteins. Localization of Piwi and piRNA has been reported mostly in nucleus and cytoplasm of higher eukaryotes germ-line cells, where it is believed that known piRNA sequences are located in repeat regions of nuclear genome in germ-line cells. However, localization of PIWI and piRNA in mammalian somatic cell mitochondria yet remains largely unknown. We identified 29 piRNA sequence alignments from various regions of the human mitochondrial genome. Twelve out 29 piRNA sequences matched stem-loop fragment sequences of seven distinct tRNAs. We observed their actual expression in mitochondria subcellular fractions by inspecting mitochondrial-specific small RNA-Seq datasets. Of interest, the majority of the 29 piRNAs overlapped with multiple longer transcripts (expressed sequence tags) that are unique to the human mitochondrial genome. The presence of mature piRNAs in mitochondria was detected by qRT-PCR of mitochondrial subcellular RNAs. Further validation showed detection of Piwi by colocalization using anti-Piwil1 and mitochondria organelle-specific protein antibodies. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Genomic organization of the human mi-er1 gene and characterization of alternatively spliced isoforms: regulated use of a facultative intron determines subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Paterno, Gary D; Ding, Zhihu; Lew, Yuan-Y; Nash, Gord W; Mercer, F Corinne; Gillespie, Laura L

    2002-07-24

    mi-er1 (previously called er1) is a fibroblast growth factor-inducible early response gene activated during mesoderm induction in Xenopus embryos and encoding a nuclear protein that functions as a transcriptional activator. The human orthologue of mi-er1 was shown to be upregulated in breast carcinoma cell lines and breast tumours when compared to normal breast cells. In this report, we investigate the structure of the human mi-er1 (hmi-er1) gene and characterize the alternatively spliced transcripts and protein isoforms. hmi-er1 is a single copy gene located at 1p31.2 and spanning 63 kb. It contains 17 exons and includes one skipped exon, a facultative intron and three polyadenylation signals to produce 12 transcripts encoding six distinct proteins. hmi-er1 transcripts were expressed at very low levels in most human adult tissues and the mRNA isoform pattern varied with the tissue. The 12 transcripts encode proteins containing a common internal sequence with variable N- and C-termini. Three distinct N- and two distinct C-termini were identified, giving rise to six protein isoforms. The two C-termini differ significantly in size and sequence and arise from alternate use of a facultative intron to produce hMI-ER1alpha and hMI-ER1beta. In all tissues except testis, transcripts encoding the beta isoform were predominant. hMI-ER1alpha lacks the predicted nuclear localization signal and transfection assays revealed that, unlike hMI-ER1beta, it is not a nuclear protein, but remains in the cytoplasm. Our results demonstrate that alternate use of a facultative intron regulates the subcellular localization of hMI-ER1 proteins and this may have important implications for hMI-ER1 function.

  14. Determinants for membrane association and permeabilization of the coxsackievirus 2B protein and the identification of the Golgi complex as the target organelle.

    PubMed

    de Jong, Arjan S; Wessels, Els; Dijkman, Henri B P M; Galama, Jochem M D; Melchers, Willem J G; Willems, Peter H G M; van Kuppeveld, Frank J M

    2003-01-10

    The 2B protein of enterovirus is responsible for the alterations in the permeability of secretory membranes and the plasma membrane in infected cells. The structural requirements for the membrane association and the subcellular localization of this essential virus protein, however, have not been defined. Here, we provide evidence that the 2B protein is an integral membrane protein in vivo that is predominantly localized at the Golgi complex upon individual expression. Addition of organelle-specific targeting signals to the 2B protein revealed that the Golgi localization is an absolute prerequisite for the ability of the protein to modify plasma membrane permeability. Expression of deletion mutants and heterologous proteins containing specific domains of the 2B protein demonstrated that each of the two hydrophobic regions could mediate membrane binding individually. However, the presence of both hydrophobic regions was required for the correct membrane association, efficient Golgi targeting, and the membrane-permeabilizing activity of the 2B protein, suggesting that the two hydrophobic regions are cooperatively involved in the formation of a membrane-integral complex. The formation of membrane-integral pores by the 2B protein in the Golgi complex and the possible mechanism by which a Golgi-localized virus protein modifies plasma membrane permeability are discussed.

  15. Unique subcellular distribution of phosphorylated Plk1 (Ser137 and Thr210) in mouse oocytes during meiotic division and pPlk1(Ser137) involvement in spindle formation and REC8 cleavage.

    PubMed

    Du, Juan; Cao, Yan; Wang, Qian; Zhang, Nana; Liu, Xiaoyu; Chen, Dandan; Liu, Xiaoyun; Xu, Qunyuan; Ma, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is pivotal for proper mitotic progression, its targeting activity is regulated by precise subcellular positioning and phosphorylation. Here we assessed the protein expression, subcellular localization and possible functions of phosphorylated Plk1 (pPlk1(Ser137) and pPlk1(Thr210)) in mouse oocytes during meiotic division. Western blot analysis revealed a peptide of pPlk1(Ser137) with high and stable expression from germinal vesicle (GV) until metaphase II (MII), while pPlk1(Thr210) was detected as one large single band at GV stage and 2 small bands after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), which maintained stable up to MII. Immunofluorescence analysis showed pPlk1(Ser137) was colocalized with microtubule organizing center (MTOC) proteins, γ-tubulin and pericentrin, on spindle poles, concomitantly with persistent concentration at centromeres and dynamic aggregation between chromosome arms. Differently, pPlk1(Thr210) was persistently distributed across the whole body of chromosomes after meiotic resumption. The specific Plk1 inhibitor, BI2536, repressed pPlk1(Ser137) accumulation at MTOCs and between chromosome arms, consequently disturbed γ-tubulin and pericentrin recruiting to MTOCs, destroyed meiotic spindle formation, and delayed REC8 cleavage, therefore arresting oocytes at metaphase I (MI) with chromosome misalignment. BI2536 completely reversed the premature degradation of REC8 and precocious segregation of chromosomes induced with okadaic acid (OA), an inhibitor to protein phosphatase 2A. Additionally, the protein levels of pPlk1(Ser137) and pPlk1(Thr210), as well as the subcellular distribution of pPlk1(Thr210), were not affected by BI2536. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Plk1 activity is required for meiotic spindle assembly and REC8 cleavage, with pPlk1(Ser137) is the action executor, in mouse oocytes during meiotic division.

  16. Protein subcellular location pattern classification in cellular images using latent discriminative models.

    PubMed

    Li, Jieyue; Xiong, Liang; Schneider, Jeff; Murphy, Robert F

    2012-06-15

    Knowledge of the subcellular location of a protein is crucial for understanding its functions. The subcellular pattern of a protein is typically represented as the set of cellular components in which it is located, and an important task is to determine this set from microscope images. In this article, we address this classification problem using confocal immunofluorescence images from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) project. The HPA contains images of cells stained for many proteins; each is also stained for three reference components, but there are many other components that are invisible. Given one such cell, the task is to classify the pattern type of the stained protein. We first randomly select local image regions within the cells, and then extract various carefully designed features from these regions. This region-based approach enables us to explicitly study the relationship between proteins and different cell components, as well as the interactions between these components. To achieve these two goals, we propose two discriminative models that extend logistic regression with structured latent variables. The first model allows the same protein pattern class to be expressed differently according to the underlying components in different regions. The second model further captures the spatial dependencies between the components within the same cell so that we can better infer these components. To learn these models, we propose a fast approximate algorithm for inference, and then use gradient-based methods to maximize the data likelihood. In the experiments, we show that the proposed models help improve the classification accuracies on synthetic data and real cellular images. The best overall accuracy we report in this article for classifying 942 proteins into 13 classes of patterns is about 84.6%, which to our knowledge is the best so far. In addition, the dependencies learned are consistent with prior knowledge of cell organization. http://murphylab.web.cmu.edu/software/.

  17. Robust syntaxin-4 immunoreactivity in mammalian horizontal cell processes

    PubMed Central

    HIRANO, ARLENE A.; BRANDSTÄTTER, JOHANN HELMUT; VILA, ALEJANDRO; BRECHA, NICHOLAS C.

    2009-01-01

    Horizontal cells mediate inhibitory feed-forward and feedback communication in the outer retina; however, mechanisms that underlie transmitter release from mammalian horizontal cells are poorly understood. Toward determining whether the molecular machinery for exocytosis is present in horizontal cells, we investigated the localization of syntaxin-4, a SNARE protein involved in targeting vesicles to the plasma membrane, in mouse, rat, and rabbit retinae using immunocytochemistry. We report robust expression of syntaxin-4 in the outer plexiform layer of all three species. Syntaxin-4 occurred in processes and tips of horizontal cells, with regularly spaced, thicker sandwich-like structures along the processes. Double labeling with syntaxin-4 and calbindin antibodies, a horizontal cell marker, demonstrated syntaxin-4 localization to horizontal cell processes; whereas, double labeling with PKC antibodies, a rod bipolar cell (RBC) marker, showed a lack of co-localization, with syntaxin-4 immunolabeling occurring just distal to RBC dendritic tips. Syntaxin-4 immunolabeling occurred within VGLUT-1-immunoreactive photoreceptor terminals and underneath synaptic ribbons, labeled by CtBP2/RIBEYE antibodies, consistent with localization in invaginating horizontal cell tips at photoreceptor triad synapses. Vertical sections of retina immunostained for syntaxin-4 and peanut agglutinin (PNA) established that the prominent patches of syntaxin-4 immunoreactivity were adjacent to the base of cone pedicles. Horizontal sections through the OPL indicate a one-to-one co-localization of syntaxin-4 densities at likely all cone pedicles, with syntaxin-4 immunoreactivity interdigitating with PNA labeling. Pre-embedding immuno-electron microscopy confirmed the subcellular localization of syntaxin-4 labeling to lateral elements at both rod and cone triad synapses. Finally, co-localization with SNAP-25, a possible binding partner of syntaxin-4, indicated co-expression of these SNARE proteins in the same subcellular compartment of the horizontal cell. Taken together, the strong expression of these two SNARE proteins in the processes and endings of horizontal cells at rod and cone terminals suggests that horizontal cell axons and dendrites are likely sites of exocytotic activity. PMID:17640443

  18. Detection and Immunolabeling of Peroxisomal Proteins.

    PubMed

    Schrader, Tina A; Islinger, Markus; Schrader, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Peroxisomes are essential organelles in mammals which contribute to cellular lipid metabolism and redox homeostasis. The spectrum of their functions in human health and disease is far from being complete, and unexpected and novel roles of peroxisomes are being discovered. To date, those include novel biological roles in antiviral defence, as intracellular signaling platforms and as protective organelles in sensory cells. Furthermore, peroxisomes are part of a complex network of interacting subcellular compartments which involves metabolic cooperation, cross-talk and membrane contacts. As potentially novel peroxisomal proteins are continuously discovered, there is great interest in the verification of their peroxisomal localization. Here, we present protocols used successfully in our laboratory for the detection and immunolabeling of peroxisomal proteins in cultured mammalian cells. We present immunofluorescence and fluorescence-based techniques as well as reagents to determine peroxisome-specific targeting and localization of candidate proteins.

  19. One new kind of phytohormonal signaling integrator: Up-and-coming GASA family genes.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shengchun; Wang, Xiaojing

    2017-02-01

    GASA proteins are characterized by an N-terminal signal peptide and a C-terminal conserved GASA domain with 12 invariant cysteine residues. Despite being widely distributed among plant species, their functions are not completely elucidated and little is known about their mechanism of action. This review focuses on the current knowledge about the molecular structure, protein subcellular localization and phytohormones responses of this up-and-coming family of peptides. Furthermore, we discussed the roles of GASA proteins in plant growth and development, plant responses to biotic or abiotic stresses and their participation in phytohormonal signaling integration.

  20. [Roles of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor in the male reproductive system].

    PubMed

    Chen, Kai-hong; Zhang, Xian; Jiang, Xue-wu

    2016-02-01

    The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), also known as G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), was identified in the recent years as a functional membrane receptor different from the classical nuclear estrogen receptors. This receptor is widely expressed in the cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, heart, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, and the urogenital system. It is responsible for the mediation of nongenomic effects associated with estrogen and its derivatives, participating in the physiological activities of the body. The present study reviews the molecular structure, subcellular localization, signaling pathways, distribution, and function of GPER in the male reproductive system.

  1. Investigation of subcellular localization and dynamics of membrane proteins in living bacteria by combining optical micromanipulation and high-resolution microscopy (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barroso Peña, Álvaro; Nieves, Marcos; Teper, Konrad; Wedlich-Soldner, Roland; Denz, Cornelia

    2016-09-01

    The plasma membrane serves as protective interface between cells and their environment. It also constitutes a hub for selective nutrient uptake and signal transduction. Increasing evidence over the last years indicates that, similar to eukaryotic cells, lateral membrane organization plays an important role in the regulation of prokaryotic signaling pathways. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still poorly understood. Spatiotemporal characterization of bacterial signal transduction demands very sensitive high-resolution microscopy techniques due to the low expression levels of most signaling proteins and the small size of bacterial cells. In addition, direct study of subcellular confinement and dynamics of bacterial signaling proteins during the different stages of the signal transduction also requires immobilization in order to avoid cell displacement caused by Brownian motion, local fluid flows and bacterial self-propulsion. In this work we present a novel approach based on the combination of high resolution imaging and optical manipulation that enables the investigation of the distribution and dynamics of proteins at the bacterial plasma membrane. For this purpose, we combine the versatility of holographic optical tweezers (HOT) with the sensitivity and resolution of total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. Furthermore, we discuss the implementation of microfluidic devices in our integrated HOT+TIRF system for the control of growth conditions of bacterial cells. The capabilities of our workstation provides thus new valuable insights into the fundamental cellular and physical mechanisms underlying the regulation of bacterial signal transduction.

  2. New intracellular activities of matrix metalloproteinases shine in the moonlight.

    PubMed

    Jobin, Parker G; Butler, Georgina S; Overall, Christopher M

    2017-11-01

    Adaption of a single protein to perform multiple independent functions facilitates functional plasticity of the proteome allowing a limited number of protein-coding genes to perform a multitude of cellular processes. Multifunctionality is achievable by post-translational modifications and by modulating subcellular localization. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), classically viewed as degraders of the extracellular matrix (ECM) responsible for matrix protein turnover, are more recently recognized as regulators of a range of extracellular bioactive molecules including chemokines, cytokines, and their binders. However, growing evidence has convincingly identified select MMPs in intracellular compartments with unexpected physiological and pathological roles. Intracellular MMPs have both proteolytic and non-proteolytic functions, including signal transduction and transcription factor activity thereby challenging their traditional designation as extracellular proteases. This review highlights current knowledge of subcellular location and activity of these "moonlighting" MMPs. Intracellular roles herald a new era of MMP research, rejuvenating interest in targeting these proteases in therapeutic strategies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Matrix Metalloproteinases edited by Rafael Fridman. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Signaling efficiency of Gαq through its effectors p63RhoGEF and GEFT depends on their subcellular location.

    PubMed

    Goedhart, Joachim; van Unen, Jakobus; Adjobo-Hermans, Merel J W; Gadella, Theodorus W J

    2013-01-01

    The p63RhoGEF and GEFT proteins are encoded by the same gene and both members of the Dbl family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors. These proteins can be activated by the heterotrimeric G-protein subunit Gαq. We show that p63RhoGEF is located at the plasma membrane, whereas GEFT is confined to the cytoplasm. Live-cell imaging studies yielded quantitative information on diffusion coefficients, association rates and encounter times of GEFT and p63RhoGEF. Calcium signaling was examined as a measure of the signal transmission, revealing more efficient signaling through the membrane-associated p63RhoGEF. A rapamycin dependent recruitment system was used to dynamically alter the subcellular location and concentration of GEFT, showing efficient signaling through GEFT only upon membrane recruitment. Together, our results show efficient signal transmission through membrane located effectors, and highlight a role for increased concentration rather than increased encounter times due to membrane localization in the Gαq mediated pathways to p63RhoGEF and PLCβ.

  4. Basic amino acid residues located in the N-terminal region of BEND3 are essential for its nuclear localization.

    PubMed

    Shiheido, Hirokazu; Shimizu, Jun

    2015-02-20

    BEN domain-containing protein 3 (BEND3) has recently been reported to function as a heterochromatin-associated protein in transcriptional repression in the nucleus. BEND3 should have nuclear localization signals (NLSs) to localize to the nucleus in light of its molecular weight, which is higher than that allowed to pass through nuclear pore complexes. We here analyzed the subcellular localization of deletion/site-directed mutants of human BEND3 by an immunofluorescence assay in an attempt to identify the amino acids essential for its nuclear localization. We found that three basic amino acid residues located in the N-terminal region of BEND3 (BEND356-58, KRK) are essential, suggesting that these residues play a role as a functional NLS. These results provide valuable information for progressing research on BEND3. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Overexpressed HDAC8 in cervical cancer cells shows functional redundancy of tubulin deacetylation with HDAC6.

    PubMed

    Vanaja, G R; Ramulu, Hemalatha Golaconda; Kalle, Arunasree M

    2018-05-02

    Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are involved in epigenetic gene regulation via deacetylation of acetylated lysine residues of both histone and non-histone proteins. Among the 18 HDACs identified in humans, HDAC8, a class I HDAC, is best understood structurally and enzymatically. However, its precise subcellular location, function in normal cellular physiology, its protein partners and substrates still remain elusive. The subcellular localization of HDAC8 was studied using immunofluorescence and confocal imaging. The binding parterns were identified employing immunoprecipitation (IP) followed by MALDI-TOF analysis and confirmed using in-silico protein-protein interaction studies, HPLC-based in vitro deacetylation assay, intrinsic fluorescence spectrophotometric analysis, Circular dichroism (CD) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). Functional characterization of the binding was carried out using immunoblot and knockdown by siRNA. Using one way ANOVA statistical significance (n = 3) was determined. Here, we show that HDAC8 and its phosphorylated form (pHDAC8) localized predominantly in the cytoplasm in cancerous, HeLa, and non-cancerous (normal), HEK293T, cells, although nucleolar localization was observed in HeLa cells. The study identified Alpha tubulin as a novel interacting partner of HDAC8. Further, the results indicated binding and deacetylation of tubulin at ac-lys40 by HDAC8. Knockdown of HDAC8 by siRNA, inhibition of HDAC8 and/or HDAC6 by PCI-34051 and tubastatin respectively, cell-migration, cell morphology and cell cycle analysis clearly explained HDAC8 as tubulin deacetylase in HeLa cells and HDAC6 in HEK 293 T cells. HDAC8 shows functional redundancy with HDAC6 when overexpressed in cervical cancer cells, HeLa, and deacetylaes ac-lys40 of alpha tubulin leading to cervical cancer proliferation and progression.

  6. Functional relationship between CABIT, SAM and 14-3-3 binding domains of GAREM1 that play a role in its subcellular localization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nishino, Tasuku; Matsunaga, Ryota; Konishi, Hiroaki, E-mail: hkonishi@pu-hiroshima.ac.jp

    2015-08-21

    GAREM1 (Grb2-associated regulator of Erk/MAPK1) is an adaptor protein that is involved in the epidermal growth factor (EGF) pathway. The nuclear localization of GAREM1 depends on the nuclear localization sequence (NLS), which is located at the N-terminal CABIT (cysteine-containing, all in Themis) domain. Here, we identified 14-3-3ε as a GAREM-binding protein, and its binding site is closely located to the NLS. This 14-3-3 binding site was of the atypical type and independent of GAREM phosphorylation. Moreover, the binding of 14-3-3 had an effect on the nuclear localization of GAREM1. Unexpectedly, we observed that the CABIT domain had intramolecular association withmore » the C-terminal SAM (sterile alpha motif) domain. This association might be inhibited by binding of 14-3-3 at the CABIT domain. Our results demonstrate that the mechanism underlying the nuclear localization of GAREM1 depends on its NLS in the CABIT domain, which is controlled by the binding of 14-3-3 and the C-terminal SAM domain. We suggest that the interplay between 14-3-3, SAM domain and CABIT domain might be responsible for the distribution of GAREM1 in mammalian cells. - Highlights: • 14-3-3ε regulated the nuclear localization of GAREM1 as its binding partner. • The atypical 14-3-3 binding site of GAREM1 is located near the NLS in CABIT domain. • The CABIT domain had intramolecular association with the SAM domain in GAREM1. • Subcellular localization of GAREM1 is affected with its CABIT-SAM interaction.« less

  7. Identification of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in Primary Cilia and Their Possible Involvement in Body Weight Control.

    PubMed

    Omori, Yoshihiro; Chaya, Taro; Yoshida, Satoyo; Irie, Shoichi; Tsujii, Toshinori; Furukawa, Takahisa

    2015-01-01

    Primary cilia are sensory organelles that harbor various receptors such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). We analyzed subcellular localization of 138 non-odorant GPCRs. We transfected GPCR expression vectors into NIH3T3 cells, induced ciliogenesis by serum starvation, and observed subcellular localization of GPCRs by immunofluorescent staining. We found that several GPCRs whose ligands are involved in feeding behavior, including prolactin-releasing hormone receptor (PRLHR), neuropeptide FF receptor 1 (NPFFR1), and neuromedin U receptor 1 (NMUR1), localized to the primary cilia. In addition, we found that a short form of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2S) is efficiently transported to the primary cilia, while a long form of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2L) is rarely transported to the primary cilia. Using an anti-Prlhr antibody, we found that Prlhr localized to the cilia on the surface of the third ventricle in the vicinity of the hypothalamic periventricular nucleus. We generated the Npy2r-Cre transgenic mouse line in which Cre-recombinase is expressed under the control of the promoter of Npy2r encoding a ciliary GPCR. By mating Npy2r-Cre mice with Ift80 flox mice, we generated Ift80 conditional knockout (CKO) mice in which Npy2r-positive cilia were diminished in number. We found that Ift80 CKO mice exhibited a body weight increase. Our results suggest that Npy2r-positive cilia are important for body weight control.

  8. Subcellular localization based comparative study on radioresistant bacteria: A novel approach to mine proteins involve in radioresistance.

    PubMed

    Vishambra, Divya; Srivastava, Malay; Dev, Kamal; Jaiswal, Varun

    2017-08-01

    Radioresistant bacteria (RRB) are among the most radioresistant organisms and has a unique role in evolution. Along with the evolutionary role, radioresistant organisms play important role in paper industries, bioremediation, vaccine development and possibility in anti-aging and anti-cancer treatment. The study of radiation resistance in RRB was mainly focused on cytosolic mechanisms such as DNA repair mechanism, cell cleansing activity and high antioxidant activity. Although it was known that protein localized on outer areas of cell play role in resistance towards extreme condition but the mechanisms/proteins localized on the outer area of cells are not studied for radioresistance. Considering the fact that outer part of cell is more exposed to radiations and proteins present in outer area of the cell may have role in radioresistance. Localization based comparative study of proteome from RRB and non-radio resistant bacteria was carried out. In RRB 20 unique proteins have been identified. Further domain, structural, and pathway analysis of selected proteins were carried out. Out of 20 proteins, 8 proteins were direct involvement in radioresistance and literature study strengthens this, however, 1 proteins had assumed relation in radioresistance. Selected radioresistant proteins may be helpful for optimal use of RRB in industry and health care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Parvovirus interference with intracellular signalling: mechanism of PKCeta activation in MVM-infected A9 fibroblasts.

    PubMed

    Lachmann, Sylvie; Bär, Severine; Rommelaere, Jean; Nüesch, Jürg P F

    2008-03-01

    Autonomous parvoviruses are strongly dependent on the phosphorylation of the major non-structural protein NS1 by members of the protein kinase C (PKC) family. Besides being accompanied with changes in the overall phosphorylation pattern of NS1 and acquiring new modifications at consensus PKC sites, ongoing minute virus of mice (MVM) infections lead to the appearance of new phosphorylated cellular protein species. This prompted us to investigate whether MVM actively interferes with phosphoinositol-dependent kinase (PDK)/PKC signalling. The activity, subcellular localization and phosphorylation status of the protein kinases PDK1, PKCeta and PKClambda were measured in A9 cells in the presence or absence of MVM infection. Parvovirus infection was found to result in activation of both PDK1 and PKCeta, as evidenced by changes in their subcellular distribution and overall (auto)phosphorylation. We show evidence that activation of PKCeta by PDK1 is driven by atypical PKClambda. By modifying the hydrophobic motif of PKCeta, PKClambda appeared to control docking and consecutive phosphorylation of PKCeta's activation-loop by PDK1, a process that was inhibited in vivo in the presence of a dominant-negative PKClambda mutant.

  10. Identification and characterization of two ankyrin-B isoforms in mammalian heart

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Henry C.; Yamankurt, Gokay; Luo, JiaLie; Subramaniam, Janani; Hashmi, Syed Shahrukh; Hu, Hongzhen; Cunha, Shane R.

    2015-01-01

    Aims Excitation–contraction coupling in cardiomyocytes requires the proper targeting and retention of membrane proteins to unique domains by adaptor proteins like ankyrin-B. While ankyrin-B has been shown to interact with a variety of membrane and structural proteins located at different subcellular domains in cardiomyocytes, what regulates the specificity of ankyrin-B for particular interacting proteins remains elusive. Methods and results Here, we report the identification of two novel ankyrin-B isoforms AnkB-188 and AnkB-212 in human, rat, and mouse hearts. Novel cDNAs for both isoforms were isolated by long-range PCR of reverse-transcribed mRNA isolated from human ventricular tissue. The isoforms can be discriminated based on their function and subcellular distribution in cardiomyocytes. Heterologous overexpression of AnkB-188 increases sodium–calcium exchanger (NCX) membrane expression and current, while selective knockdown of AnkB-188 in cardiomyocytes reduces NCX expression and localization in addition to causing irregular contraction rhythms. Using an isoform-specific antibody, we demonstrate that the expression of AnkB-212 is restricted to striated muscles and is localized to the M-line of cardiomyocytes by interacting with obscurin. Selective knockdown of AnkB-212 significantly attenuates the expression of endogenous ankyrin-B at the M-line but does not disrupt NCX expression at transverse tubules in cardiomyocytes. Conclusion The identification and characterization of two functionally distinct ankyrin-B isoforms in heart provide compelling evidence that alternative splicing of the ANK2 gene regulates the fidelity of ankyrin-B interactions with proteins. PMID:26109584

  11. Degeneration of oxidative muscle fibers in HTLV-1 tax transgenic mice.

    PubMed

    Nerenberg, M I; Wiley, C A

    1989-12-01

    The HTLV-1 tax gene under control of the HTLV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) was introduced into transgenic mice. Previously tax protein expression in the muscle and peripheral nerves of three independent mouse lines was reported. Here the localization of this transgenic protein at a cellular and subcellular level is described. Tax protein was expressed in oxidative muscle fibers that developed severe progressive atrophy. It localized to the cytoplasma where it was associated with structures resembling degenerating Z bands. This pattern of muscle fiber involvement is similar to that observed in human retroviral associated myopathy. This transgenic mouse model suggests that preferential expression of the HTLV-1 viral promoter in oxidative muscle fibers may explain the productive infection of these fibers in HTLV-1 myopathy.

  12. [Cloning, subcellular localization, and heterologous expression of ApNAC1 gene from Andrographis paniculata].

    PubMed

    Wang, Jian; Qi, Meng-Die; Guo, Juan; Shen, Ye; Lin, Hui-Xin; Huang, Lu-Qi

    2017-03-01

    Andrographis paniculata is widely used as medicinal herb in China for a long time and andrographolide is its main medicinal constituent. To investigate the underlying andrographolide biosynthesis mechanisms, RNA-seq for A. paniculata leaves with MeJA treatment was performed. In A. paniculata transcriptomic data, the expression pattern of one member of NAC transcription factor family (ApNAC1) matched with andrographolide accumulation. The coding sequence of ApNAC1 was cloned by RT-PCR, and GenBank accession number was KY196416. The analysis of bioinformatics showed that the gene encodes a peptide of 323 amino acids, with a predicted relative molecular weight of 35.9 kDa and isoelectric point of 6.14. To confirm the subcellular localization, ApNAC1-GFP was transiently expressed in A. paniculata protoplast. The results indicated that ApNAC1 is a nucleus-localized protein. The analysis of real-time quantitative PCR revealed that ApNAC1 gene predominantly expresses in leaves. Compared with control sample, its expression abundance sharply increased with methyl jasmonate treatment. Based on its expression pattern, ApNAC1 gene might involve in andrographolide biosynthesis. ApNAC1 was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA agarose. Further study will help us to understand the function of ApNAC1 in andrographolide biosynthesis. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  13. A toolset of aequorin expression vectors for in planta studies of subcellular calcium concentrations in Arabidopsis thaliana

    PubMed Central

    Mehlmer, Norbert; Parvin, Nargis; Hurst, Charlotte H.; Knight, Marc R.; Teige, Markus; Vothknecht, Ute C.

    2014-01-01

    Calcium has long been acknowledged as one of the most important signalling components in plants. Many abiotic and biotic stimuli are transduced into a cellular response by temporal and spatial changes in cellular calcium concentration and the calcium-sensitive protein aequorin has been exploited as a genetically encoded calcium indicator for the measurement of calcium in planta. The objective of this work was to generate a compatible set of aequorin expression plasmids for the generation of transgenic plant lines to measure changes in calcium levels in different cellular subcompartments. Aequorin was fused to different targeting peptides or organellar proteins as a means to localize it to the cytosol, the nucleus, the plasma membrane, and the mitochondria. Furthermore, constructs were designed to localize aequorin in the stroma as well as the inner and outer surface of the chloroplast envelope membranes. The modular set-up of the plasmids also allows the easy replacement of targeting sequences to include other compartments. An additional YFP-fusion was included to verify the correct subcellular localization of all constructs by laser scanning confocal microscopy. For each construct, pBin19-based binary expression vectors driven by the 35S or UBI10 promoter were made for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Stable Arabidopsis lines were generated and initial tests of several lines confirmed their feasibility to measure calcium signals in vivo. PMID:22213817

  14. Subcellular targeting and interactions among the Potato virus X TGB proteins.

    PubMed

    Samuels, Timmy D; Ju, Ho-Jong; Ye, Chang-Ming; Motes, Christy M; Blancaflor, Elison B; Verchot-Lubicz, Jeanmarie

    2007-10-25

    Potato virus X (PVX) encodes three proteins named TGBp1, TGBp2, and TGBp3 which are required for virus cell-to-cell movement. To determine whether PVX TGB proteins interact during virus cell-cell movement, GFP was fused to each TGB coding sequence within the viral genome. Confocal microscopy was used to study subcellular accumulation of each protein in virus-infected plants and protoplasts. GFP:TGBp2 and TGBp3:GFP were both seen in the ER, ER-associated granular vesicles, and perinuclear X-bodies suggesting that these proteins interact in the same subdomains of the endomembrane network. When plasmids expressing CFP:TGBp2 and TGBp3:GFP were co-delivered to tobacco leaf epidermal cells, the fluorescent signals overlapped in ER-associated granular vesicles indicating that these proteins colocalize in this subcellular compartment. GFP:TGBp1 was seen in the nucleus, cytoplasm, rod-like inclusion bodies, and in punctate sites embedded in the cell wall. The puncta were reminiscent of previous reports showing viral proteins in plasmodesmata. Experiments using CFP:TGBp1 and YFP:TGBp2 or TGBp3:GFP showed CFP:TGBp1 remained in the cytoplasm surrounding the endomembrane network. There was no evidence that the granular vesicles contained TGBp1. Yeast two hybrid experiments showed TGBp1 self associates but failed to detect interactions between TGBp1 and TGBp2 or TGBp3. These experiments indicate that the PVX TGB proteins have complex subcellular accumulation patterns and likely cooperate across subcellular compartments to promote virus infection.

  15. Studying Coxiella burnetii Type IV Substrates in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Focus on Subcellular Localization and Protein Aggregation.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Escudero, María; Cid, Víctor J; Molina, María; Schulze-Luehrmann, Jan; Lührmann, Anja; Rodríguez-Escudero, Isabel

    2016-01-01

    Coxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative obligate parasitic bacterium that causes the disease Q-fever in humans. To establish its intracellular niche, it utilizes the Icm/Dot type IVB secretion system (T4BSS) to inject protein effectors into the host cell cytoplasm. The host targets of most cognate and candidate T4BSS-translocated effectors remain obscure. We used the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model to express and study six C. burnetii effectors, namely AnkA, AnkB, AnkF, CBU0077, CaeA and CaeB, in search for clues about their role in C. burnetii virulence. When ectopically expressed in HeLa cells, these effectors displayed distinct subcellular localizations. Accordingly, GFP fusions of these proteins produced in yeast also decorated distinct compartments, and most of them altered cell growth. CaeA was ubiquitinated both in yeast and mammalian cells and, in S. cerevisiae, accumulated at juxtanuclear quality-control compartments (JUNQs) and insoluble protein deposits (IPODs), characteristic of aggregative or misfolded proteins. AnkA, which was not ubiquitinated, accumulated exclusively at the IPOD. CaeA, but not AnkA or the other effectors, caused oxidative damage in yeast. We discuss that CaeA and AnkA behavior in yeast may rather reflect misfolding than recognition of conserved targets in the heterologous system. In contrast, CBU0077 accumulated at vacuolar membranes and abnormal ER extensions, suggesting that it interferes with vesicular traffic, whereas AnkB associated with the yeast nucleolus. Both effectors shared common localization features in HeLa and yeast cells. Our results support the idea that C. burnetii T4BSS effectors manipulate multiple host cell targets, which can be conserved in higher and lower eukaryotic cells. However, the behavior of CaeA and AnkA prompt us to conclude that heterologous protein aggregation and proteostatic stress can be a limitation to be considered when using the yeast model to assess the function of bacterial effectors.

  16. Studying Coxiella burnetii Type IV Substrates in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Focus on Subcellular Localization and Protein Aggregation

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez-Escudero, María; Cid, Víctor J.; Molina, María; Schulze-Luehrmann, Jan; Lührmann, Anja; Rodríguez-Escudero, Isabel

    2016-01-01

    Coxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative obligate parasitic bacterium that causes the disease Q-fever in humans. To establish its intracellular niche, it utilizes the Icm/Dot type IVB secretion system (T4BSS) to inject protein effectors into the host cell cytoplasm. The host targets of most cognate and candidate T4BSS-translocated effectors remain obscure. We used the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model to express and study six C. burnetii effectors, namely AnkA, AnkB, AnkF, CBU0077, CaeA and CaeB, in search for clues about their role in C. burnetii virulence. When ectopically expressed in HeLa cells, these effectors displayed distinct subcellular localizations. Accordingly, GFP fusions of these proteins produced in yeast also decorated distinct compartments, and most of them altered cell growth. CaeA was ubiquitinated both in yeast and mammalian cells and, in S. cerevisiae, accumulated at juxtanuclear quality-control compartments (JUNQs) and insoluble protein deposits (IPODs), characteristic of aggregative or misfolded proteins. AnkA, which was not ubiquitinated, accumulated exclusively at the IPOD. CaeA, but not AnkA or the other effectors, caused oxidative damage in yeast. We discuss that CaeA and AnkA behavior in yeast may rather reflect misfolding than recognition of conserved targets in the heterologous system. In contrast, CBU0077 accumulated at vacuolar membranes and abnormal ER extensions, suggesting that it interferes with vesicular traffic, whereas AnkB associated with the yeast nucleolus. Both effectors shared common localization features in HeLa and yeast cells. Our results support the idea that C. burnetii T4BSS effectors manipulate multiple host cell targets, which can be conserved in higher and lower eukaryotic cells. However, the behavior of CaeA and AnkA prompt us to conclude that heterologous protein aggregation and proteostatic stress can be a limitation to be considered when using the yeast model to assess the function of bacterial effectors. PMID:26821324

  17. Astrocyte-neuron crosstalk regulates the expression and subcellular localization of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes.

    PubMed

    Mamczur, Piotr; Borsuk, Borys; Paszko, Jadwiga; Sas, Zuzanna; Mozrzymas, Jerzy; Wiśniewski, Jacek R; Gizak, Agnieszka; Rakus, Dariusz

    2015-02-01

    Astrocytes releasing glucose- and/or glycogen-derived lactate and glutamine play a crucial role in shaping neuronal function and plasticity. Little is known, however, how metabolic functions of astrocytes, e.g., their ability to degrade glucosyl units, are affected by the presence of neurons. To address this issue we carried out experiments which demonstrated that co-culturing of rat hippocampal astrocytes with neurons significantly elevates the level of mRNA and protein for crucial enzymes of glycolysis (phosphofructokinase, aldolase, and pyruvate kinase), glycogen metabolism (glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase), and glutamine synthetase in astrocytes. Simultaneously, the decrease of the capability of neurons to metabolize glucose and glutamine is observed. We provide evidence that neurons alter the expression of astrocytic enzymes by secretion of as yet unknown molecule(s) into the extracellular fluid. Moreover, our data demonstrate that almost all studied enzymes may localize in astrocytic nuclei and this localization is affected by the co-culturing with neurons which also reduces proliferative activity of astrocytes. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that the astrocyte-neuron crosstalk substantially affects the expression of basal metabolic enzymes in the both types of cells and influences their subcellular localization in astrocytes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Dissecting DNA damage response pathways by analyzing protein localization and abundance changes during DNA replication stress

    PubMed Central

    Tkach, Johnny M.; Yimit, Askar; Lee, Anna Y.; Riffle, Michael; Costanzo, Michael; Jaschob, Daniel; Hendry, Jason A.; Ou, Jiongwen; Moffat, Jason; Boone, Charles; Davis, Trisha N.; Nislow, Corey; Brown, Grant W.

    2012-01-01

    Re-localization of proteins is a hallmark of the DNA damage response. We use high-throughput microscopic screening of the yeast GFP fusion collection to develop a systems-level view of protein re-organization following drug-induced DNA replication stress. Changes in protein localization and abundance reveal drug-specific patterns of functional enrichments. Classification of proteins by sub-cellular destination allows the identification of pathways that respond to replication stress. We analyzed pairwise combinations of GFP fusions and gene deletion mutants to define and order two novel DNA damage responses. In the first, Cmr1 forms subnuclear foci that are regulated by the histone deacetylase Hos2 and are distinct from the typical Rad52 repair foci. In a second example, we find that the checkpoint kinases Mec1/Tel1 and the translation regulator Asc1 regulate P-body formation. This method identifies response pathways that were not detected in genetic and protein interaction screens, and can be readily applied to any form of chemical or genetic stress to reveal cellular response pathways. PMID:22842922

  19. Insights into Alternanthera mosaic virus TGB3 functions: Interactions with Nicotiana benthamiana PsbO correlate with chloroplast vesiculation and veinal necrosis caused by TGB3 overexpression

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) triple gene block 3 (TGB3) protein is involved in viral movement. AltMV TGB3 subcellular localization was previously shown to be distinct from that of Potato virus X (PVX) TGB3, and a chloroplast binding domain identified; veinal necrosis and chloroplast vesiculati...

  20. WAVE2 forms a complex with PKA and is involved in PKA enhancement of membrane protrusions.

    PubMed

    Yamashita, Hiroshi; Ueda, Kazumitsu; Kioka, Noriyuki

    2011-02-04

    PKA contributes to many physiological processes, including glucose homeostasis and cell migration. The substrate specificity of PKA is low compared with other kinases; thus, complex formation with A-kinase-anchoring proteins is important for the localization of PKA in specific subcellular regions and the phosphorylation of specific substrates. Here, we show that PKA forms a complex with WAVE2 (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family verprolin-homologous protein 2) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and mouse brain extracts. Two separate regions of WAVE2 are involved in WAVE2-PKA complex formation. This complex localizes to the leading edge of MDA-MB-231 cells. PKA activation results in enlargement of the membrane protrusion. WAVE2 depletion impairs PKA localization at membrane protrusions and the enlargement of membrane protrusion induced by PKA activation. Together, these results suggest that WAVE2 works as an A-kinase-anchoring protein that recruits PKA at membrane protrusions and plays a role in the enlargement of membrane protrusions induced by PKA activation.

  1. The two-pore channel TPC1 is required for efficient protein processing through early and recycling endosomes.

    PubMed

    Castonguay, Jan; Orth, Joachim H C; Müller, Thomas; Sleman, Faten; Grimm, Christian; Wahl-Schott, Christian; Biel, Martin; Mallmann, Robert Theodor; Bildl, Wolfgang; Schulte, Uwe; Klugbauer, Norbert

    2017-08-30

    Two-pore channels (TPCs) are localized in endo-lysosomal compartments and assumed to play an important role for vesicular fusion and endosomal trafficking. Recently, it has been shown that both TPC1 and 2 were required for host cell entry and pathogenicity of Ebola viruses. Here, we investigate the cellular function of TPC1 using protein toxins as model substrates for distinct endosomal processing routes. Toxin uptake and activation through early endosomes but not processing through other compartments were reduced in TPC1 knockout cells. Detailed co-localization studies with subcellular markers confirmed predominant localization of TPC1 to early and recycling endosomes. Proteomic analysis of native TPC1 channels finally identified direct interaction with a distinct set of syntaxins involved in fusion of intracellular vesicles. Together, our results demonstrate a general role of TPC1 for uptake and processing of proteins in early and recycling endosomes, likely by providing high local Ca 2+ concentrations required for SNARE-mediated vesicle fusion.

  2. Bovine adenovirus 3 core protein precursor pVII localizes to mitochondria, and modulates ATP synthesis, mitochondrial Ca2+ and mitochondrial membrane potential.

    PubMed

    Anand, Sanjeev K; Gaba, Amit; Singh, Jaswant; Tikoo, Suresh K

    2014-02-01

    Viruses modulate the functions of mitochondria by translocating viral proteins to the mitochondria. Subcellular fractionation and sensitivity to proteinase K/Triton X-100 treatment of mitochondrial fractions of bovine adenovirus (BAdV)-3-infected/transfected cells suggested that core protein pVII localizes to the mitochondria and contains a functional mitochondrial localization signal. Moreover, mitochondrial localization of BAdV-3 pVII appears to help in the retention of mitochondrial Ca(2+), inducing a significant increase in the levels of ATP and maintaining the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in transfected cells. In contrast, mitochondrial localization of BAdV-3 pVII has no significant effect on the levels of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) and reactive oxygen species production in the transfected cells. Consistent with these results, expression of pVII in transfected cells treated with staurosporine decreased significantly the activation of caspase-3. Our results suggested that BAdV-3 pVII localizes to mitochondria, and interferes with apoptosis by inhibiting loss of the MMP and by increasing mitochondrial Ca(2+) and ATP production.

  3. Advanced Glycation End-Products affect transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Puddu, A., E-mail: alep100@hotmail.com; Storace, D.; Odetti, P.

    2010-04-23

    Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) are generated by the covalent interaction of reducing sugars with proteins, lipids or nucleic acids. AGEs are implicated in diabetic complications and pancreatic {beta}-cell dysfunction. We previously demonstrated that exposure of the pancreatic islet cell line HIT-T15 to high concentrations of AGEs leads to a significant decrease of insulin secretion and content. Insulin gene transcription is positively regulated by the beta cell specific transcription factor PDX-1 (Pancreatic and Duodenal Homeobox-1). On the contrary, the forkhead transcription factor FoxO1 inhibits PDX-1 gene transcription. Activity of FoxO1 is regulated by post-translational modifications: phosphorylation deactivates FoxO1, and acetylation preventsmore » FoxO1 ubiquitination. In this work we investigated whether AGEs affect expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1 and FoxO1. HIT-T15 cells were cultured for 5 days in presence of AGEs. Cells were then lysed and processed for subcellular fractionation. We determined intracellular insulin content, then we assessed the expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1, FoxO1, phosphoFoxO1 and acetylFoxO1. As expected intracellular insulin content was lower in HIT-T15 cells cultured with AGEs. The results showed that AGEs decreased expression and nuclear localization of PDX-1, reduced phosphorylation of FoxO1, and increased expression and acetylation of FoxO1. These results suggest that AGEs decrease insulin content unbalancing transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression.« less

  4. Amyloid precursor protein and Presenilin 1 interaction studied by FRET in human H4 cells.

    PubMed

    Nizzari, Mario; Venezia, Valentina; Bianchini, Paolo; Caorsi, Valentina; Diaspro, Alberto; Repetto, Emanuela; Thellung, Stefano; Corsaro, Alessandro; Carlo, Pia; Schettini, Gennaro; Florio, Tullio; Russo, Claudio

    2007-01-01

    The mayor pathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are senile plaque and neurofibrillary tangles. Senile plaque are primarily made up of deposits of amyloid-beta protein, a proteolytic product derived from the amyloid precursor protein (APP). APP is a transmembrane protein detected into the endoplasmic reticulum, in the Golgi apparatus, at the cell surface, recycled by endocytosis to endosomes, whose physiological function is unclear. Presenilins (PS), are a component of gamma-secretase complex that cleave alpha-CTFs (carboxy-terminal fragment), or beta-CTFs, leaving 40 or 42 amino acids amyloid-beta peptides and 58 or 56 amino acids intracellular domains (AICD). Where the amyloid-beta peptides is generated is not clear. The study of APP-PS interaction in specific cell compartments provides a good opportunity to light upon the molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of the "gamma-secretase complex," and where beta-amyloid is generated. In our study we used a biophysical assay of protein proximity: fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), that can provide information about molecular interactions when two proteins are in the close proximity (<10 nm), to examine the subcellular localization and interaction between APP and PS1 in human neuroglioma cells (H4). Confocal microscopic analysis reveals extensive colocalization in different cells' compartment, and centrosomal or microtubule organizing center (MTOC) localization of APP and PS1, but not necessarily a close molecular interaction. We used FRET to determine if APP and PS1 interact at the cell centrosome. FRET data suggest a close interaction between APP and PS1 in subcellular compartments and at the centrosome of H4 cells. Using this approach we show that APP and PS1 are closely associated in the centrosomes of the H4 cell.

  5. The Cdc42 GTPase-associated proteins Gic1 and Gic2 are required for polarized cell growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Guang-Chao; Kim, Yung-Jin; Chan, Clarence S.M.

    1997-01-01

    BEM2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a Rho-type GTPase-activating protein that is required for proper bud site selection at 26°C and for bud emergence at elevated temperatures. We show here that the temperature-sensitive growth phenotype of bem2 mutant cells can be suppressed by increased dosage of the GIC1 gene. The Gic1 protein, together with its structural homolog Gic2, are required for cell size and shape control, bud site selection, bud emergence, actin cytoskeletal organization, mitotic spindle orientation/positioning, and mating projection formation in response to mating pheromone. Each protein contains a CRIB (Cdc42/Rac-interactive binding) motif and each interacts in the two-hybrid assay with the GTP-bound form of the Rho-type Cdc42 GTPase, a key regulator of polarized growth in yeast. The CRIB motif of Gic1 and the effector domain of Cdc42 are required for this association. Genetic experiments indicate that Gic1 and Gic2 play positive roles in the Cdc42 signal transduction pathway, probably as effectors of Cdc42. Subcellular localization studies with a functional green fluorescent protein–Gic1 fusion protein indicate that this protein is concentrated at the incipient bud site of unbudded cells, at the bud tip and mother-bud neck of budded cells, and at cortical sites on large-budded cells that may delimit future bud sites in the two progeny cells. The ability of Gic1 to associate with Cdc42 is important for its function but is apparently not essential for its subcellular localization. PMID:9367979

  6. GenoMycDB: a database for comparative analysis of mycobacterial genes and genomes.

    PubMed

    Catanho, Marcos; Mascarenhas, Daniel; Degrave, Wim; Miranda, Antonio Basílio de

    2006-03-31

    Several databases and computational tools have been created with the aim of organizing, integrating and analyzing the wealth of information generated by large-scale sequencing projects of mycobacterial genomes and those of other organisms. However, with very few exceptions, these databases and tools do not allow for massive and/or dynamic comparison of these data. GenoMycDB (http://www.dbbm.fiocruz.br/GenoMycDB) is a relational database built for large-scale comparative analyses of completely sequenced mycobacterial genomes, based on their predicted protein content. Its central structure is composed of the results obtained after pair-wise sequence alignments among all the predicted proteins coded by the genomes of six mycobacteria: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (strains H37Rv and CDC1551), M. bovis AF2122/97, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis K10, M. leprae TN, and M. smegmatis MC2 155. The database stores the computed similarity parameters of every aligned pair, providing for each protein sequence the predicted subcellular localization, the assigned cluster of orthologous groups, the features of the corresponding gene, and links to several important databases. Tables containing pairs or groups of potential homologs between selected species/strains can be produced dynamically by user-defined criteria, based on one or multiple sequence similarity parameters. In addition, searches can be restricted according to the predicted subcellular localization of the protein, the DNA strand of the corresponding gene and/or the description of the protein. Massive data search and/or retrieval are available, and different ways of exporting the result are offered. GenoMycDB provides an on-line resource for the functional classification of mycobacterial proteins as well as for the analysis of genome structure, organization, and evolution.

  7. Pseudomonas oleovorans Strain KBPF-004 Culture Supernatants Reduced Seed Transmission of Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus and Pepper mild mottle virus, and Remodeled Aggregation of 126 kDa and Subcellular Localization of Movement Protein of Pepper mild mottle virus

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Nam-Gyu; Seo, Eun-Young; Han, Sang-Hyuk; Gong, Jun-Su; Park, Cheol-Nam; Park, Ho-Seop; Domier, Leslie L; Hammond, John; Lim, Hyoun-Sub

    2017-01-01

    Efforts to control viral diseases in crop production include several types of physical or chemical treatments; antiviral extracts of a number of plants have also been examined to inhibit plant viral infection. However, treatments utilizing naturally selected microorganisms with activity against plant viruses are poorly documented. Here we report isolation of a soil inhabiting bacterium, Pseudomonas oleovorans strain KBPF-004 (developmental code KNF2016) which showed antiviral activity against mechanical transmission of tobamoviruses. Antiviral activity was also evaluated in seed transmission of two tobamoviruses, Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) and Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), by treatment of seed collected from infected pepper and watermelon, respectively. Pepper and watermelon seeds were treated with culture supernatant of P. oleovorans strain KBPF-004 or control strain ATCC 8062 before planting. Seeds germinated after treatment with water or ATCC 8062 yielded about 60% CGMMV or PMMoV positive plants, whereas < 20% of KBPF-004-treated seeds were virus-infected, a significantly reduced seed transmission rate. Furthermore, supernatant of P. oleovorans strain KBPF-004 remodeled aggregation of PMMoV 126 kDa protein and subcellular localization of movement protein in Nicotiana benthamiana, diminishing aggregation of the 126 kDa protein and essentially abolishing association of the movement protein with the microtubule network. In leaves agroinfiltrated with constructs expressing the coat protein (CP) of either PMMoV or CGMMV, less full-size CP was detected in the presence of supernatant of P. oleovorans strain KBPF-004. These changes may contribute to the antiviral effects of P. oleovorans strain KBPF-004. PMID:28811756

  8. High-numerical-aperture cryogenic light microscopy for increased precision of superresolution reconstructions

    PubMed Central

    Nahmani, Marc; Lanahan, Conor; DeRosier, David; Turrigiano, Gina G.

    2017-01-01

    Superresolution microscopy has fundamentally altered our ability to resolve subcellular proteins, but improving on these techniques to study dense structures composed of single-molecule-sized elements has been a challenge. One possible approach to enhance superresolution precision is to use cryogenic fluorescent imaging, reported to reduce fluorescent protein bleaching rates, thereby increasing the precision of superresolution imaging. Here, we describe an approach to cryogenic photoactivated localization microscopy (cPALM) that permits the use of a room-temperature high-numerical-aperture objective lens to image frozen samples in their native state. We find that cPALM increases photon yields and show that this approach can be used to enhance the effective resolution of two photoactivatable/switchable fluorophore-labeled structures in the same frozen sample. This higher resolution, two-color extension of the cPALM technique will expand the accessibility of this approach to a range of laboratories interested in more precise reconstructions of complex subcellular targets. PMID:28348224

  9. Specialized Functional Diversity and Interactions of the Na,K-ATPase

    PubMed Central

    Matchkov, Vladimir V.; Krivoi, Igor I.

    2016-01-01

    Na,K-ATPase is a protein ubiquitously expressed in the plasma membrane of all animal cells and vitally essential for their functions. A specialized functional diversity of the Na,K-ATPase isozymes is provided by molecular heterogeneity, distinct subcellular localizations, and functional interactions with molecular environment. Studies over the last decades clearly demonstrated complex and isoform-specific reciprocal functional interactions between the Na,K-ATPase and neighboring proteins and lipids. These interactions are enabled by a spatially restricted ion homeostasis, direct protein-protein/lipid interactions, and protein kinase signaling pathways. In addition to its “classical” function in ion translocation, the Na,K-ATPase is now considered as one of the most important signaling molecules in neuronal, epithelial, skeletal, cardiac and vascular tissues. Accordingly, the Na,K-ATPase forms specialized sub-cellular multimolecular microdomains which act as receptors to circulating endogenous cardiotonic steroids (CTS) triggering a number of signaling pathways. Changes in these endogenous cardiotonic steroid levels and initiated signaling responses have significant adaptive values for tissues and whole organisms under numerous physiological and pathophysiological conditions. This review discusses recent progress in the studies of functional interactions between the Na,K-ATPase and molecular microenvironment, the Na,K-ATPase-dependent signaling pathways and their significance for diversity of cell function. PMID:27252653

  10. Fluorescent sensors of protein kinases: from basics to biomedical applications.

    PubMed

    Nhu Ngoc Van, Thi; Morris, May C

    2013-01-01

    Protein kinases constitute a major class of enzymes underlying essentially all biological processes. These enzymes present similar structural folds, yet their mechanism of action and of regulation vary largely, as well as their substrate specificity and their subcellular localization. Classical approaches to study the function/activity of protein kinases rely on radioactive endpoint assays, which do not allow for characterization of their dynamic activity in their native environment. The development of fluorescent biosensors has provided a whole new avenue for studying protein kinase behavior and regulation in living cells in real time with high spatial and temporal resolution. Two major classes of biosensors have been developed: genetically encoded single-chain fluorescence resonance energy transfer biosensors and peptide/protein biosensors coupled to small synthetic fluorophores which are sensitive to changes in their environment. In this review, we discuss the developments in fluorescent biosensor technology related to protein kinase sensing and the different strategies employed to monitor protein kinase activity, conformation, or relative abundance, as well as kinase regulation and subcellular dynamics in living cells. Moreover, we discuss their application in biomedical settings, for diagnostics and therapeutics, to image disease progression and monitor response to therapeutics, in drug discovery programs, for high-throughput screening assays, for postscreen characterization of drug candidates, and for clinical evaluation of novel drugs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. [Chromosomal proteins: histones and acid proteins].

    PubMed

    Salvini, M; Gabrielli, F

    1976-01-01

    Experimental data about the chemistry and the biology of chromosomal proteins are reviewed. Paragraphs include: aminoacid sequential data and post-translational covalent modications of histones, histone chemical differences in different tissues of the same species and in homologous organs of different species, histone synthesis subcellular localization and its association with DNA synthesis, histone synthesis transcriptional and translational control, histone synthesis during meiosis, oogenesis and early embryogenesis. The possible role of histones as controllers of gene expression is discussed and a model of primary structure of chromatine is proposed. The "acidic proteins" data concern the high tissue eterogenity of these proteins and their role in the steroid-hormon-controlled gene expression. The possible role of acidic proteins as general controllers of gene expression in eucariotic cells is discussed.

  12. Identification and characterization of intracellular proteins that bind oligonucleotides with phosphorothioate linkages

    PubMed Central

    Liang, Xue-hai; Sun, Hong; Shen, Wen; Crooke, Stanley T.

    2015-01-01

    Although the RNase H-dependent mechanism of inhibition of gene expression by chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) has been well characterized, little is known about the interactions between ASOs and intracellular proteins that may alter cellular localization and/or potency of ASOs. Here, we report the identification of 56 intracellular ASO-binding proteins using multi-step affinity selection approaches. Many of the tested proteins had no significant effect on ASO activity; however, some proteins, including La/SSB, NPM1, ANXA2, VARS and PC4, appeared to enhance ASO activities, likely through mechanisms related to subcellular distribution. VARS and ANXA2 co-localized with ASOs in endocytic organelles, and reduction in the level of VARS altered lysosome/ASO localization patterns, implying that these proteins may facilitate ASO release from the endocytic pathway. Depletion of La and NPM1 reduced nuclear ASO levels, suggesting potential roles in ASO nuclear accumulation. On the other hand, Ku70 and Ku80 proteins inhibited ASO activity, most likely by competition with RNase H1 for ASO/RNA duplex binding. Our results demonstrate that phosphorothioate-modified ASOs bind a set of cellular proteins that affect ASO activity via different mechanisms. PMID:25712094

  13. Structure and function of yeast glutaredoxin 2 depend on postranslational processing and are related to subcellular distribution.

    PubMed

    Porras, Pablo; McDonagh, Brian; Pedrajas, Jose Rafael; Bárcena, J Antonio; Padilla, C Alicia

    2010-04-01

    We have previously shown that glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae localizes at 3 different subcellular compartments, cytosol, mitochondrial matrix and outer membrane, as the result of different postranslational processing of one single gene. Having set the mechanism responsible for this remarkable phenomenon, we have now aimed at defining whether this diversity of subcellular localizations correlates with differences in structure and function of the Grx2 isoforms. We have determined the N-terminal sequence of the soluble mitochondrial matrix Grx2 by mass spectrometry and have determined the exact cleavage site by Mitochondrial Processing Peptidase (MPP). As a consequence of this cleavage, the mitochondrial matrix Grx2 isoform possesses a basic tetrapeptide extension at the N-terminus compared to the cytosolic form. A functional relationship to this structural difference is that mitochondrial Grx2 displays a markedly higher activity in the catalysis of GSSG reduction by the mitochondrial dithiol dihydrolipoamide. We have prepared Grx2 mutants affected on key residues inside the presequence to direct the protein to one single cellular compartment; either the cytosol, the mitochondrial membrane or the matrix and have analyzed their functional phenotypes. Strains expressing Grx2 only in the cytosol are equally sensitive to H(2)O(2) as strains lacking the gene, whereas those expressing Grx2 exclusively in the mitochondrial matrix are more resistant. Mutations on key basic residues drastically affect the cellular fate of the protein, showing that evolutionary diversification of Grx2 structural and functional properties are strictly dependent on the sequence of the targeting signal peptide. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Tobacco etch virus protein P1 traffics to the nucleolus and associates with the host 60S ribosomal subunits during infection.

    PubMed

    Martínez, Fernando; Daròs, José-Antonio

    2014-09-01

    The genus Potyvirus comprises a large group of positive-strand RNA plant viruses whose genome encodes a large polyprotein processed by three viral proteinases. P1 protein, the most amino-terminal product of the polyprotein, is an accessory factor stimulating viral genome amplification whose role during infection is not well understood. We infected plants with Tobacco etch virus (TEV; genus Potyvirus) clones in which P1 was tagged with a fluorescent protein to track its expression and subcellular localization or with an affinity tag to identify host proteins involved in complexes in which P1 also takes part during infection. Our results showed that TEV P1 exclusively accumulates in infected cells at an early stage of infection and that the protein displays a dynamic subcellular localization, trafficking in and out of the nucleus and nucleolus during infection. Inside the nucleolus, P1 particularly targets the dense granular component. Consistently, we found functional nucleolar localization and nuclear export signals in TEV P1 sequence. Our results also indicated that TEV P1 physically interacts with the host 80S cytoplasmic ribosomes and specifically binds to the 60S ribosomal subunits during infection. In vitro translation assays of reporter proteins suggested that TEV P1 stimulates protein translation, particularly when driven from the TEV internal ribosome entry site. These in vitro assays also suggested that TEV helper-component proteinase (HC-Pro) inhibits protein translation. Based on these findings, we propose that TEV P1 stimulates translation of viral proteins in infected cells. In this work, we researched the role during infection of tobacco etch virus P1 protease. P1 is the most mysterious protein of potyviruses, a relevant group of RNA viruses infecting plants. Our experiments showed that the viral P1 protein exclusively accumulates in infected cells at an early stage of infection and moves in and out of the nucleus of infected cells, particularly targeting the nucleolus. Our experiments also showed that P1 protein binds host ribosomes during infection. Based on these findings and other in vitro experiments we propose that P1 protein stimulates translation of viral proteins during infection. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  15. Identification of two functional nuclear localization signals in the capsid protein of duck circovirus

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xiang, Qi-Wang; Zou, Jin-Feng; Wang, Xin

    The capsid protein (CP) of duck circovirus (DuCV) is the major immunogenic protein and has a high proportion of arginine residues concentrated at the N terminus of the protein, which inhibits efficient mRNA translation in prokaryotic expression systems. In this study, we investigated the subcellular distribution of DuCV CP expressed via recombinant baculoviruses in Sf9 cells and the DNA binding activities of the truncated recombinant DuCV CPs. The results showed that two independent bipartite nuclear localization signals (NLSs) situated at N-terminal 1-17 and 18-36 amino acid residue of the CP. Moreover, two expression level regulatory signals (ELRSs) and two DNAmore » binding signals (DBSs) were also mapped to the N terminus of the protein and overlapped with the two NLSs. The ability of CP to bind DNA, coupled with the karyophilic nature of this protein, strongly suggests that it may be responsible for nuclear targeting of the viral genome.« less

  16. GsLRPK, a novel cold-activated leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase from Glycine soja, is a positive regulator to cold stress tolerance.

    PubMed

    Yang, Liang; Wu, Kangcheng; Gao, Peng; Liu, Xiaojuan; Li, Guangpu; Wu, Zujian

    2014-02-01

    Plant LRR-RLKs serve as protein interaction platforms, and as regulatory modules of protein activation. Here, we report the isolation of a novel plant-specific LRR-RLK from Glycine soja (termed GsLRPK) by differential screening. GsLRPK expression was cold-inducible and shows Ser/Thr protein kinase activity. Subcellular localization studies using GFP fusion protein indicated that GsLRPK is localized in the plasma membrane. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that temperature, salt, drought, and ABA treatment can alter GsLRPK gene transcription in G. soja. However, just protein induced by cold stress not by salinity and ABA treatment in tobacco was found to possess kinase activity. Furthermore, we found that overexpression of GsLRPK in yeast and Arabidopsis can enhance resistance to cold stress and increase the expression of a number of cold responsive gene markers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Several protein regions contribute to determine the nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of the influenza A virus nucleoprotein.

    PubMed

    Bullido, R; Gómez-Puertas, P; Albo, C; Portela, A

    2000-01-01

    A systematic analysis was carried out to identify the amino acid signals that regulate the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport of the influenza A virus nucleoprotein (NP). The analysis involved determining the intracellular localization of eight deleted recombinant NP proteins and 14 chimeric proteins containing the green fluorescent protein fused to different NP fragments. In addition, the subcellular distribution of NP derivatives that contained specific substitutions at serine-3, which is the major phosphorylation site of the A/Victoria/3/75 NP, were analysed. From the results obtained, it is concluded that the NP contains three signals involved in nuclear accumulation and two regions that cause cytoplasmic accumulation of the fusion proteins. One of the karyophilic signals was located at the N terminus of the protein, and the data obtained suggest that the functionality of this signal can be modified by phosphorylation at serine-3. These findings are discussed in the context of the transport of influenza virus ribonucleoprotein complexes into and out of the nucleus.

  18. Profiling Synaptic Proteins Identifies Regulators of Insulin Secretion and Lifespan

    PubMed Central

    Kaplan, Joshua M.

    2008-01-01

    Cells are organized into distinct compartments to perform specific tasks with spatial precision. In neurons, presynaptic specializations are biochemically complex subcellular structures dedicated to neurotransmitter secretion. Activity-dependent changes in the abundance of presynaptic proteins are thought to endow synapses with different functional states; however, relatively little is known about the rules that govern changes in the composition of presynaptic terminals. We describe a genetic strategy to systematically analyze protein localization at Caenorhabditis elegans presynaptic specializations. Nine presynaptic proteins were GFP-tagged, allowing visualization of multiple presynaptic structures. Changes in the distribution and abundance of these proteins were quantified in 25 mutants that alter different aspects of neurotransmission. Global analysis of these data identified novel relationships between particular presynaptic components and provides a new method to compare gene functions by identifying shared protein localization phenotypes. Using this strategy, we identified several genes that regulate secretion of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and influence lifespan in a manner dependent on insulin/IGF signaling. PMID:19043554

  19. The early UL31 gene of equine herpesvirus 1 encodes a single-stranded DNA-binding protein that has a nuclear localization signal sequence at the C-terminus

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kim, Seongman; Chul Ahn, Byung; O'Callaghan, Dennis J.

    2012-10-25

    The amino acid sequence of the UL31 protein (UL31P) of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) has homology to that of the ICP8 of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Here we show that the UL31 gene is synergistically trans-activated by the IEP and the UL5P (EICP27). Detection of the UL31 RNA transcript and the UL31P in EHV-1-infected cells at 6 h post-infection (hpi) as well as metabolic inhibition assays indicated that UL31 is an early gene. The UL31P preferentially bound to single-stranded DNA over double-stranded DNA in gel shift assays. Subcellular localization of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-UL31 fusion proteins revealedmore » that the C-terminal 32 amino acid residues of the UL31P are responsible for the nuclear localization. These findings may contribute to defining the role of the UL31P single-stranded DNA-binding protein in EHV-1 DNA replication.« less

  20. Echinococcus granulosus fatty acid binding proteins subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Alvite, Gabriela; Esteves, Adriana

    2016-05-01

    Two fatty acid binding proteins, EgFABP1 and EgFABP2, were isolated from the parasitic platyhelminth Echinococcus granulosus. These proteins bind fatty acids and have particular relevance in flatworms since de novo fatty acids synthesis is absent. Therefore platyhelminthes depend on the capture and intracellular distribution of host's lipids and fatty acid binding proteins could participate in lipid distribution. To elucidate EgFABP's roles, we investigated their intracellular distribution in the larval stage by a proteomic approach. Our results demonstrated the presence of EgFABP1 isoforms in cytosolic, nuclear, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions, suggesting that these molecules could be involved in several cellular processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Translocation of the ABC transporter ABCD4 from the endoplasmic reticulum to lysosomes requires the escort protein LMBD1.

    PubMed

    Kawaguchi, Kosuke; Okamoto, Takumi; Morita, Masashi; Imanaka, Tsuneo

    2016-07-26

    We previously demonstrated that ABCD4 does not localize to peroxisomes but rather, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), because it lacks the NH2-terminal hydrophilic region required for peroxisomal targeting. It was recently reported that mutations in ABCD4 result in a failure to release vitamin B12 from lysosomes. A similar phenotype is caused by mutations in LMBRD1, which encodes the lysosomal membrane protein LMBD1. These findings suggested to us that ABCD4 translocated from the ER to lysosomes in association with LMBD1. In this report, it is demonstrated that ABCD4 interacts with LMBD1 and then localizes to lysosomes, and this translocation depends on the lysosomal targeting ability of LMBD1. Furthermore, endogenous ABCD4 was localized to both lysosomes and the ER, and its lysosomal localization was disturbed by knockout of LMBRD1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that the subcellular localization of the ABC transporter is determined by its association with an adaptor protein.

  2. New Korean isolates of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) differ in symptom severity and subcellular localization of the 126 kDa protein

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Two isolates of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) were selected from a nationwide survey of pepper fields in South Korea in 2014 and 2015, in which Cucumber mosaic virus was also detected; the two PMMoV isolates, Sangcheong 47 (S-47, KX399390) and Jeongsong 76 (J-76, KX399389), share ~99% nucleotide ...

  3. Formin' actin in the nucleus.

    PubMed

    Baarlink, Christian; Grosse, Robert

    2014-01-01

    Many if not most proteins can, under certain conditions, change cellular compartments, such as, for example, shuttling from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Thus, many proteins may exert functions in various and very different subcellular locations, depending on the signaling context. A large amount of actin regulatory proteins has been detected in the mammalian cell nucleus, although their potential roles are much debated and are just beginning to emerge. Recently, members of the formin family of actin nucleators were also reported to dynamically localize to the nuclear environment. Here we discuss our findings that specific diaphanous-related formins can promote nuclear actin assembly in a signal-dependent manner.

  4. Expression and subcellular localization of NHE3 in the human gallbladder epithelium

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Yongsheng; Kong, Jing; Wu, Shuodong

    2014-01-01

    Background: Enhanced gallbladder concentrating function is an important factor for the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstone disease (CGD), but the mechanism is unknown. Potential candidates for regulation of gallbladder ion absorption are suggested to be Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3). In this study, we investigated the expression and subcellular localization of NHE3 in both acalculous and calculous human gallbladders. Methods: Adult human gallbladder tissue was obtained from 23 patients (7 men, 16 women) who had undergone cholecystectomy. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A (acalculous group) and Group B (calculous group). Gene expression of NHE3 was quantitatively estimated by real-time PCR. Protein expression was studied by Western blotting assays. Furthermore, expression of immunoreactive NHE3 was investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results: There was no significant difference in the NHE3 mRNA expression between calculous and acalculous human gallbladders. NHE3 protein expression in gallbladders from patients with cholelithiasis is increased compared to those without gallstones. Immunohistochemistry studies prove that NHE3 is located both on the apical plasma membrane and in the intracellular pool in human GBECs. Conclusions: NHE3 may play a role in the pathogenesis of human CGD. Additional studies are required to further delineate the underlying mechanisms. PMID:25674247

  5. Co-localization of fluorescent labeled lipid nanoparticles with specifically tagged subcellular compartments by single particle tracking at low nanoparticle to cell ratios.

    PubMed

    Tiffany, Matthew; Szoka, Francis C

    2016-11-01

    We utilized quantitative high-resolution single particle tracking to study the internalization and endosomal sorting of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) by HeLa cells in vitro to gain a better understanding of how cells process LNPs that are used for siRNA delivery. We compared the trafficking of three formulations that have been demonstrated to deliver siRNA into cells. They were composed of either a tritratable anionic lipid, formulation of cholesterol hemisuccinate (CHEMS), or a titratatable cationic lipid formulation of 1,2-dilinoleyloxy-3-dimethylaminopropane (DLinDMA) or a non-titratable cationic formulation lipid formulation of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP). They also contained either a substantial percentage of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) or cholesterol and 5 mole percent 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycerol-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000 (PEG-DMG). We optically measured the endosomal pH experienced by individual LNPs, observed the internalization pathways used and tracked the particles as they co-localized with fluorescent protein tags on compartment-specific proteins, during endosomal sorting to the lysosome. The data revealed significant differences in the accumulation in subcellular compartments among the three formulations, which help to explain the observed effects LNP composition exerts on in vitro delivery efficiency.

  6. How do bacteria localize proteins to the cell pole?

    PubMed Central

    Laloux, Géraldine; Jacobs-Wagner, Christine

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT It is now well appreciated that bacterial cells are highly organized, which is far from the initial concept that they are merely bags of randomly distributed macromolecules and chemicals. Central to their spatial organization is the precise positioning of certain proteins in subcellular domains of the cell. In particular, the cell poles – the ends of rod-shaped cells – constitute important platforms for cellular regulation that underlie processes as essential as cell cycle progression, cellular differentiation, virulence, chemotaxis and growth of appendages. Thus, understanding how the polar localization of specific proteins is achieved and regulated is a crucial question in bacterial cell biology. Often, polarly localized proteins are recruited to the poles through their interaction with other proteins or protein complexes that were already located there, in a so-called diffusion-and-capture mechanism. Bacteria are also starting to reveal their secrets on how the initial pole ‘recognition’ can occur and how this event can be regulated to generate dynamic, reproducible patterns in time (for example, during the cell cycle) and space (for example, at a specific cell pole). Here, we review the major mechanisms that have been described in the literature, with an emphasis on the self-organizing principles. We also present regulation strategies adopted by bacterial cells to obtain complex spatiotemporal patterns of protein localization. PMID:24345373

  7. The UL24 protein of herpes simplex virus 1 affects the sub-cellular distribution of viral glycoproteins involved in fusion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ben Abdeljelil, Nawel; Rochette, Pierre-Alexandre; Pearson, Angela, E-mail: angela.pearson@iaf.inrs.ca

    2013-09-15

    Mutations in UL24 of herpes simplex virus type 1 can lead to a syncytial phenotype. We hypothesized that UL24 affects the sub-cellular distribution of viral glycoproteins involved in fusion. In non-immortalized human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) we detected viral glycoproteins B (gB), gD, gH and gL present in extended blotches throughout the cytoplasm with limited nuclear membrane staining; however, in HFFs infected with a UL24-deficient virus (UL24X), staining for the viral glycoproteins appeared as long, thin streaks running across the cell. Interestingly, there was a decrease in co-localized staining of gB and gD with F-actin at late times in UL24X-infected HFFs.more » Treatment with chemical agents that perturbed the actin cytoskeleton hindered the formation of UL24X-induced syncytia in these cells. These data support a model whereby the UL24 syncytial phenotype results from a mislocalization of viral glycoproteins late in infection. - Highlights: • UL24 affects the sub-cellular distribution of viral glycoproteins required for fusion. • Sub-cellular distribution of viral glycoproteins varies in cell-type dependent manner. • Drugs targeting actin microfilaments affect formation of UL24-related syncytia in HFFs.« less

  8. Developmental and Subcellular Organization of Single-Cell C₄ Photosynthesis in Bienertia sinuspersici Determined by Large-Scale Proteomics and cDNA Assembly from 454 DNA Sequencing.

    PubMed

    Offermann, Sascha; Friso, Giulia; Doroshenk, Kelly A; Sun, Qi; Sharpe, Richard M; Okita, Thomas W; Wimmer, Diana; Edwards, Gerald E; van Wijk, Klaas J

    2015-05-01

    Kranz C4 species strictly depend on separation of primary and secondary carbon fixation reactions in different cell types. In contrast, the single-cell C4 (SCC4) species Bienertia sinuspersici utilizes intracellular compartmentation including two physiologically and biochemically different chloroplast types; however, information on identity, localization, and induction of proteins required for this SCC4 system is currently very limited. In this study, we determined the distribution of photosynthesis-related proteins and the induction of the C4 system during development by label-free proteomics of subcellular fractions and leaves of different developmental stages. This was enabled by inferring a protein sequence database from 454 sequencing of Bienertia cDNAs. Large-scale proteome rearrangements were observed as C4 photosynthesis developed during leaf maturation. The proteomes of the two chloroplasts are different with differential accumulation of linear and cyclic electron transport components, primary and secondary carbon fixation reactions, and a triose-phosphate shuttle that is shared between the two chloroplast types. This differential protein distribution pattern suggests the presence of a mRNA or protein-sorting mechanism for nuclear-encoded, chloroplast-targeted proteins in SCC4 species. The combined information was used to provide a comprehensive model for NAD-ME type carbon fixation in SCC4 species.

  9. Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator and Drugs: Insights from Cellular Trafficking.

    PubMed

    Bridges, Robert J; Bradbury, Neil A

    2018-01-01

    The eukaryotic cell is organized into membrane-delineated compartments that are characterized by specific cadres of proteins sustaining biochemically distinct cellular processes. The appropriate subcellular localization of proteins is key to proper organelle function and provides a physiological context for cellular processes. Disruption of normal trafficking pathways for proteins is seen in several genetic diseases, where a protein's absence for a specific subcellular compartment leads to organelle disruption, and in the context of an individual, a disruption of normal physiology. Importantly, several drug therapies can also alter protein trafficking, causing unwanted side effects. Thus, a deeper understanding of trafficking pathways needs to be appreciated as novel therapeutic modalities are proposed. Despite the promising efficacy of novel therapeutic agents, the intracellular bioavailability of these compounds has proved to be a potential barrier, leading to failures in treatments for various diseases and disorders. While endocytosis of drug moieties provides an efficient means of getting material into cells, the subsequent release and endosomal escape of materials into the cytosol where they need to act has been a barrier. An understanding of cellular protein/lipid trafficking pathways has opened up strategies for increasing drug bioavailability. Approaches to enhance endosomal exit have greatly increased the cytosolic bioavailability of drugs and will provide a means of investigating previous drugs that may have been shelved due to their low cytosolic concentration.

  10. New insights into the nucleolar localization of a plant RNA virus-encoded protein that acts in both RNA packaging and RNA silencing suppression: involvement of importins alpha and relevance for viral infection.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Cañamás, Miryam; Hernández, Carmen

    2018-05-21

    Despite replication of plus strand RNA viruses takes place in the cytoplasm of host cells, different proteins encoded by these infectious agents have been shown to localize in the nucleus, with high accumulation at the nucleolus. In most cases, the molecular determinants and/or biological significance of such subcellular localization remain elusive. Recently, we reported that protein p37 encoded by Pelargonium line pattern virus (family Tombusviridae) acts in both RNA packaging and RNA silencing suppression. Connsistently with these functions, p37 was detected in the cytoplasm of plant cells though it was also present in the nucleus and, particularly, in the nucleolus. Here, we have aimed to gain further insights into factors influencing p37 nucleolar localization and into its potential relevance for viral infection. Besides mapping the protein region containing the nucleolar localization signal, we have found that p37 interacts with distinct members of the importin alpha family -main cellular transporters for nucleo-cytoplasmic traffic of proteins-, and that these interactions are crucial for nucleolar targeting of p37. Impairment of p37 nucleolar localization through down-regulation of importin alpha expression resulted in a reduction of viral accumulation, suggesting that sorting of the protein to the major subnuclear compartment is advantageous for the infection process.

  11. Localization and regulation of mouse pantothenate kinase 2 [The PanK2 Genes of Mouse and Human Specify Proteins with Distinct Subcellular Locations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Leonardi, Roberta; Zhang, Yong-Mei; Lykidis, Athanasios

    2007-09-07

    Coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis is initiated by pantothenatekinase (PanK) and CoA levels are controlled through differentialexpression and feedback regulation of PanK isoforms. PanK2 is amitochondrial protein in humans, but comparative genomics revealed thatacquisition of a mitochondrial targeting signal was limited to primates.Human and mouse PanK2 possessed similar biochemical properties, withinhibition by acetylCoA and activation by palmitoylcarnitine. Mouse PanK2localized in the cytosol, and the expression of PanK2 was higher in humanbrain compared to mouse brain. Differences in expression and subcellularlocalization should be considered in developing a mouse model for humanPanK2 deficiency.

  12. MiCroKit 3.0: an integrated database of midbody, centrosome and kinetochore.

    PubMed

    Ren, Jian; Liu, Zexian; Gao, Xinjiao; Jin, Changjiang; Ye, Mingliang; Zou, Hanfa; Wen, Longping; Zhang, Zhaolei; Xue, Yu; Yao, Xuebiao

    2010-01-01

    During cell division/mitosis, a specific subset of proteins is spatially and temporally assembled into protein super complexes in three distinct regions, i.e. centrosome/spindle pole, kinetochore/centromere and midbody/cleavage furrow/phragmoplast/bud neck, and modulates cell division process faithfully. Although many experimental efforts have been carried out to investigate the characteristics of these proteins, no integrated database was available. Here, we present the MiCroKit database (http://microkit.biocuckoo.org) of proteins that localize in midbody, centrosome and/or kinetochore. We collected into the MiCroKit database experimentally verified microkit proteins from the scientific literature that have unambiguous supportive evidence for subcellular localization under fluorescent microscope. The current version of MiCroKit 3.0 provides detailed information for 1489 microkit proteins from seven model organisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizasaccharomyces pombe, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Xenopus laevis, Mus musculus and Homo sapiens. Moreover, the orthologous information was provided for these microkit proteins, and could be a useful resource for further experimental identification. The online service of MiCroKit database was implemented in PHP + MySQL + JavaScript, while the local packages were developed in JAVA 1.5 (J2SE 5.0).

  13. MiCroKit 3.0: an integrated database of midbody, centrosome and kinetochore

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Zexian; Gao, Xinjiao; Jin, Changjiang; Ye, Mingliang; Zou, Hanfa; Wen, Longping; Zhang, Zhaolei; Xue, Yu; Yao, Xuebiao

    2010-01-01

    During cell division/mitosis, a specific subset of proteins is spatially and temporally assembled into protein super complexes in three distinct regions, i.e. centrosome/spindle pole, kinetochore/centromere and midbody/cleavage furrow/phragmoplast/bud neck, and modulates cell division process faithfully. Although many experimental efforts have been carried out to investigate the characteristics of these proteins, no integrated database was available. Here, we present the MiCroKit database (http://microkit.biocuckoo.org) of proteins that localize in midbody, centrosome and/or kinetochore. We collected into the MiCroKit database experimentally verified microkit proteins from the scientific literature that have unambiguous supportive evidence for subcellular localization under fluorescent microscope. The current version of MiCroKit 3.0 provides detailed information for 1489 microkit proteins from seven model organisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizasaccharomyces pombe, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Xenopus laevis, Mus musculus and Homo sapiens. Moreover, the orthologous information was provided for these microkit proteins, and could be a useful resource for further experimental identification. The online service of MiCroKit database was implemented in PHP + MySQL + JavaScript, while the local packages were developed in JAVA 1.5 (J2SE 5.0). PMID:19783819

  14. Regulation of NT-PGC-1alpha subcellular localization and function by protein kinase A-dependent modulation of nuclear export by CRM1.

    PubMed

    Chang, Ji Suk; Huypens, Peter; Zhang, Yubin; Black, Chelsea; Kralli, Anastasia; Gettys, Thomas W

    2010-06-04

    Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) plays a central role in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism and metabolic adaptation to environmental and nutritional stimuli. We recently described a novel, biologically active splice variant of PGC-1alpha (NT-PGC-1alpha, amino acids 1-270) that retains the ability to interact with and transactivate nuclear hormone receptors through its N-terminal transactivation domain. Whereas PGC-1alpha is an unstable nuclear protein sensitive to ubiquitin-mediated targeting to the proteasome, NT-PGC-1alpha is relatively stable and predominantly cytoplasmic, suggesting that its ability to interact with and activate nuclear receptors and transcription factors is dependent upon regulated access to the nucleus. We provide evidence that NT-PGC-1alpha interacts with the nuclear exportin, CRM1, through a specific leucine-rich domain (nuclear export sequence) that regulates its export to the cytoplasm. The nuclear export of NT-PGC-1alpha is inhibited by protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation of Ser-194, Ser-241, and Thr-256 on NT-PGC-1alpha, which effectively increases its nuclear concentration. Using site-directed mutagenesis to prevent or mimic phosphorylation at these sites, we show that the transcriptional activity of NT-PGC-1alpha is regulated in part through regulation of its subcellular localization. These findings suggest that the function of NT-PGC-1alpha as a transcriptional co-activator is regulated by protein kinase A-dependent inhibition of CRM1-mediated export from the nucleus.

  15. DRP1-Dependent Endocytosis is Essential for Polar Localization and Boron-Induced Degradation of the Borate Transporter BOR1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    PubMed

    Yoshinari, Akira; Fujimoto, Masaru; Ueda, Takashi; Inada, Noriko; Naito, Satoshi; Takano, Junpei

    2016-09-01

    Boron (B) is essential for plants but toxic in excess. The borate efflux transporter BOR1 is expressed in various root cells and localized to the inner/stele-side domain of the plasma membrane (PM) under low-B conditions. BOR1 is rapidly degraded through endocytosis upon sufficient B supply. The polar localization and degradation of BOR1 are considered important for efficient B translocation and avoidance of B toxicity, respectively. In this study, we first analyzed the subcellular localization of BOR1 in roots, cotyledons and hypocotyls, and revealed a polar localization in various cell types. We also found that the inner polarity of BOR1 is established after completion of cytokinesis in the root meristem. Moreover, variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy visualized BOR1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) as particles in the PM with significant lateral movements but in restricted areas. Importantly, a portion of BOR1-GFP particles co-localized with DYNAMIN-RELATED PROTEIN 1A (DRP1A), which is involved in scission of the clathrin-coated vesicles, and they disappeared together from the PM. To examine the contribution of DRP1A-mediated endocytosis to BOR1 localization and degradation, we developed an inducible expression system of the DRP1A K47A variant. The DRP1A variant prolonged the residence time of clathrin on the PM and inhibited endocytosis of membrane lipids. The dominant-negative DRP1A blocked endocytosis of BOR1 and disturbed its polar localization and B-induced degradation. Our results provided insight into the endocytic mechanisms that modulate the subcellular localization and abundance of a mineral transporter for nutrient homeostasis in plant cells. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Multi-label learning with fuzzy hypergraph regularization for protein subcellular location prediction.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jing; Tang, Yuan Yan; Chen, C L Philip; Fang, Bin; Lin, Yuewei; Shang, Zhaowei

    2014-12-01

    Protein subcellular location prediction aims to predict the location where a protein resides within a cell using computational methods. Considering the main limitations of the existing methods, we propose a hierarchical multi-label learning model FHML for both single-location proteins and multi-location proteins. The latent concepts are extracted through feature space decomposition and label space decomposition under the nonnegative data factorization framework. The extracted latent concepts are used as the codebook to indirectly connect the protein features to their annotations. We construct dual fuzzy hypergraphs to capture the intrinsic high-order relations embedded in not only feature space, but also label space. Finally, the subcellular location annotation information is propagated from the labeled proteins to the unlabeled proteins by performing dual fuzzy hypergraph Laplacian regularization. The experimental results on the six protein benchmark datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method by comparing it with the state-of-the-art methods, and illustrate the benefit of exploiting both feature correlations and label correlations.

  17. Identification of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in Primary Cilia and Their Possible Involvement in Body Weight Control

    PubMed Central

    Omori, Yoshihiro; Chaya, Taro; Yoshida, Satoyo; Irie, Shoichi; Tsujii, Toshinori; Furukawa, Takahisa

    2015-01-01

    Primary cilia are sensory organelles that harbor various receptors such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). We analyzed subcellular localization of 138 non-odorant GPCRs. We transfected GPCR expression vectors into NIH3T3 cells, induced ciliogenesis by serum starvation, and observed subcellular localization of GPCRs by immunofluorescent staining. We found that several GPCRs whose ligands are involved in feeding behavior, including prolactin-releasing hormone receptor (PRLHR), neuropeptide FF receptor 1 (NPFFR1), and neuromedin U receptor 1 (NMUR1), localized to the primary cilia. In addition, we found that a short form of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2S) is efficiently transported to the primary cilia, while a long form of dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2L) is rarely transported to the primary cilia. Using an anti-Prlhr antibody, we found that Prlhr localized to the cilia on the surface of the third ventricle in the vicinity of the hypothalamic periventricular nucleus. We generated the Npy2r-Cre transgenic mouse line in which Cre-recombinase is expressed under the control of the promoter of Npy2r encoding a ciliary GPCR. By mating Npy2r-Cre mice with Ift80 flox mice, we generated Ift80 conditional knockout (CKO) mice in which Npy2r-positive cilia were diminished in number. We found that Ift80 CKO mice exhibited a body weight increase. Our results suggest that Npy2r-positive cilia are important for body weight control. PMID:26053317

  18. Abnormal subcellular localization of AQP5 and downregulated AQP5 protein in parotid glands of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

    PubMed

    Wang, Di; Yuan, Zhenfang; Inoue, Noriko; Cho, Gota; Shono, Masayuki; Ishikawa, Yasuko

    2011-05-01

    The mechanisms underlying diabetic xerostomia have not been clarified in relation with aquaporin-5 (AQP5) subcellular localization in salivary glands. Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunocytochemistry were used to analyse AQP5 protein levels and mRNA expression. AQP5 protein levels were measured in the apical plasma membrane (APM) and detergent-insoluble fraction prepared from streptozotocin-diabetic rat parotid glands. Despite an increase in AQP5 mRNA, AQP5 protein levels were decreased in diabetic parotid glands compared with controls. Immunohistochemical studies indicated that AQP5, under unstimulated conditions, colocalised with flotillin-2 and GM1 with a diffuse pattern in the apical cytoplasm of acinar and duct cells in both control and diabetic rats. Ten minutes after intravenous injection of muscarinic agonist cevimeline, AQP5 was dramatically increased together with flotillin-2 and GM1 in the APM of parotid acinar and duct cells of control but not diabetic rats. Sixty minutes after injection, AQP5 was located in a diffuse pattern in the apical cytoplasm in both rats. Treatment of the parotid tissues with cevimeline for 10min increased the Triton X-100 solubility of AQP5 in control but not diabetic rats. Administration of insulin to diabetic rats tended to restore the cevimeline-induced translocation of AQP5. Lack of AQP5 translocation in the salivary gland in response to a muscarinic agonist and downregulation of AQP5 protein might lead to diabetic xerostomia. Cevimeline is useful to cure diabetic xerostomia under insulin administration. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Alfalfa Mob1-like proteins are involved in cell proliferation and are localized in the cell division plane during cytokinesis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Citterio, Sandra; Piatti, Simonetta; Albertini, Emidio

    2006-04-15

    Mps-one-binder (Mob) proteins play a crucial role in yeast cytokinesis. After cloning two Mob1-like genes, MsMob1-A and MsMob1-B from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) we show that, although they are constitutively expressed in roots, stems, leaves, flowers and pods, their transcripts and proteins are mostly produced in actively proliferating tissues. A polyclonal antibody specifically raised against MsMob1 proteins was used for immunolocalization studies in synchronized root tip cells. The subcellular localization of MsMob1-like proteins is demonstrated to be cell cycle-regulated. Cytoplasmic localization is faint and diffused during G{sub 1} and S. It becomes concentrated in punctuate and fibrillar structures in G{submore » 2} as well as M phase. At the stage of cytokinesis, the protein is found at the emerging cell plate marking the progressive formation of the septum. Mob1 proteins partially co-localize with microtubules structures functionally related to the spindles and important for cytokinesis in eukaryotic cells. The MsMob1 expression cannot rescue the lethality of the yeast mob1 mutant, suggesting that interaction of Mob1 proteins with their effectors may be species-specific. Localization of Mob1 proteins in the inner layer of the root cap indicates an additional function for this class of proteins in plants, which is likely related to the onset of programmed cell death.« less

  20. Localization of a portion of the liver isoform of fatty-acid-binding protein (L-FABP) to peroxisomes

    PubMed Central

    Antonenkov, Vasily D.; Sormunen, Raija T.; Ohlmeier, Steffen; Amery, Leen; Fransen, Marc; Mannaerts, Guy P.; Hiltunen, J. Kalervo

    2005-01-01

    The liver isoform of fatty-acid-binding protein (L-FABP) facilitates the cellular uptake, transport and metabolism of fatty acids and is also involved in the regulation of gene expressions and cell differentiation. Consistent with these functions, L-FABP is predominantly present in the cytoplasm and to a lesser extent in the nucleus; however, a significant portion of this protein has also been detected in fractions containing different organelles. More recent observations, notably on L-FABP-deficient mice, indicated a possible direct involvement of L-FABP in the peroxisomal oxidation of long-chain fatty acids. In order to clarify the links between L-FABP and peroxisomal lipid metabolism, we reinvestigated the subcellular distribution of the protein. Analytical subcellular fractionation by a method preserving the intactness of isolated peroxisomes, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of peroxisomal matrix proteins combined with MS analysis, and immunoelectron microscopy of liver sections demonstrate the presence of L-FABP in the matrix of peroxisomes as a soluble protein. Peroxisomal L-FABP was highly inducible by clofibrate. The induction of L-FABP was accompanied by a marked increase in the binding capacity of peroxisomal matrix proteins for oleic acid and cis-parinaric acid. The peroxisomal β-oxidation of palmitoyl-CoA and acyl-CoA thioesterase activity were stimulated by L-FABP, indicating that the protein modulates the function of peroxisomal lipid-metabolizing enzymes. The possible role of intraperoxisomal L-FABP in lipid metabolism is discussed. PMID:16262600

  1. Localization of a portion of the liver isoform of fatty-acid-binding protein (L-FABP) to peroxisomes.

    PubMed

    Antonenkov, Vasily D; Sormunen, Raija T; Ohlmeier, Steffen; Amery, Leen; Fransen, Marc; Mannaerts, Guy P; Hiltunen, J Kalervo

    2006-03-01

    The liver isoform of fatty-acid-binding protein (L-FABP) facilitates the cellular uptake, transport and metabolism of fatty acids and is also involved in the regulation of gene expressions and cell differentiation. Consistent with these functions, L-FABP is predominantly present in the cytoplasm and to a lesser extent in the nucleus; however, a significant portion of this protein has also been detected in fractions containing different organelles. More recent observations, notably on L-FABP-deficient mice, indicated a possible direct involvement of L-FABP in the peroxisomal oxidation of long-chain fatty acids. In order to clarify the links between L-FABP and peroxisomal lipid metabolism, we reinvestigated the subcellular distribution of the protein. Analytical subcellular fractionation by a method preserving the intactness of isolated peroxisomes, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of peroxisomal matrix proteins combined with MS analysis, and immunoelectron microscopy of liver sections demonstrate the presence of L-FABP in the matrix of peroxisomes as a soluble protein. Peroxisomal L-FABP was highly inducible by clofibrate. The induction of L-FABP was accompanied by a marked increase in the binding capacity of peroxisomal matrix proteins for oleic acid and cis-parinaric acid. The peroxisomal beta-oxidation of palmitoyl-CoA and acyl-CoA thioesterase activity were stimulated by L-FABP, indicating that the protein modulates the function of peroxisomal lipid-metabolizing enzymes. The possible role of intraperoxisomal L-FABP in lipid metabolism is discussed.

  2. Molecular and biochemical analysis of symbiotic plant receptor kinase complexes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cook, Douglas R; Riely, Brendan K

    DE-FG02-01ER15200 was a 36-month project, initiated on Sept 1, 2005 and extended with a one-year no cost extension to August 31, 2009. During the project period we published seven manuscripts (2 in review). Including the prior project period (2002-2005) we published 12 manuscripts in journals that include Science, PNAS, The Plant Cell, Plant Journal, Plant Physiology, and MPMI. The primary focus of this work was to further elucidate the function of the Nod factor signaling pathway that is involved in initiation of the legume-rhizobium symbiosis and in particular to explore the relationship between receptor kinase-like proteins and downstream effectors ofmore » symbiotic development. During the project period we have map-base cloned two additional players in symbiotic development, including an ERF transcription factor and an ethylene pathway gene (EIN2) that negatively regulates symbiotic signaling; we have also further characterized the subcellular distribution and function of a nuclear-localized symbiosis-specific ion channel, DMI1. The major outcome of the work has been the development of systems for exploring and validating protein-protein interactions that connect symbiotic receptor-like proteins to downstream responses. In this regard, we have developed both homologous (i.e., in planta) and heterologous (i.e., in yeast) systems to test protein interactions. Using yeast 2-hybrid screens we isolated the only known interactor of the nuclear-localized calcium-responsive kinase DMI3. We have also used yeast 2-hybrid methodology to identify interactions between symbiotic signaling proteins and certain RopGTPase/RopGEF proteins that regulate root hair polar growth. More important to the long-term goals of our work, we have established a TAP tagging system that identifies in planta interactions based on co-immuno precipitation and mass spectrometry. The validity of this approach has been shown using known interactors that either co-iummnoprecipate (i.e., remorin) or co-localize (i.e., the flotillin FLOT4) with symbiotic receptor-like proteins. As controls for TAP tag analysis we have generated protein isoforms that carry fluorescent domains (translational fusions to GFP) and these have been used to establish the subcellular location and dynamics of two symbiotic receptors, LYK3 and DMI2. Both proteins localize to membrane microdomains, or putative lipid rafts, and display dynamic behavior following elicitation with the Nod factor ligand. Finally, mass spectrometry of interacting proteins is yielding lists of candidate proteins that we are poised to test using semi-high throughput RNAi technology and Tnt1 knockout collections in Medicago truncatula.« less

  3. Intracellular Localization of Arabidopsis Sulfurtransferases1

    PubMed Central

    Bauer, Michael; Dietrich, Christof; Nowak, Katharina; Sierralta, Walter D.; Papenbrock, Jutta

    2004-01-01

    Sulfurtransferases (Str) comprise a group of enzymes widely distributed in archaea, eubacteria, and eukaryota which catalyze the transfer of a sulfur atom from suitable sulfur donors to nucleophilic sulfur acceptors. In all organisms analyzed to date, small gene families encoding Str proteins have been identified. The gene products were localized to different compartments of the cells. Our interest concerns the localization of Str proteins encoded in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis. Computer-based prediction methods revealed localization in different compartments of the cell for six putative AtStrs. Several methods were used to determine the localization of the AtStr proteins experimentally. For AtStr1, a mitochondrial localization was demonstrated by immunodetection in the proteome of isolated mitochondria resolved by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and subsequent blotting. The respective mature AtStr1 protein was identified by mass spectrometry sequencing. The same result was obtained by transient expression of fusion constructs with the green fluorescent protein in Arabidopsis protoplasts, whereas AtStr2 was exclusively localized to the cytoplasm by this method. Three members of the single-domain AtStr were localized in the chloroplasts as demonstrated by transient expression of green fluorescent protein fusions in protoplasts and stomata, whereas the single-domain AtStr18 was shown to be cytoplasmic. The remarkable subcellular distribution of AtStr15 was additionally analyzed by transmission electron immunomicroscopy using a monospecific antibody against green fluorescent protein, indicating an attachment to the thylakoid membrane. The knowledge of the intracellular localization of the members of this multiprotein family will help elucidate their specific functions in the organism. PMID:15181206

  4. Intracellular localization of Arabidopsis sulfurtransferases.

    PubMed

    Bauer, Michael; Dietrich, Christof; Nowak, Katharina; Sierralta, Walter D; Papenbrock, Jutta

    2004-06-01

    Sulfurtransferases (Str) comprise a group of enzymes widely distributed in archaea, eubacteria, and eukaryota which catalyze the transfer of a sulfur atom from suitable sulfur donors to nucleophilic sulfur acceptors. In all organisms analyzed to date, small gene families encoding Str proteins have been identified. The gene products were localized to different compartments of the cells. Our interest concerns the localization of Str proteins encoded in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis. Computer-based prediction methods revealed localization in different compartments of the cell for six putative AtStrs. Several methods were used to determine the localization of the AtStr proteins experimentally. For AtStr1, a mitochondrial localization was demonstrated by immunodetection in the proteome of isolated mitochondria resolved by one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and subsequent blotting. The respective mature AtStr1 protein was identified by mass spectrometry sequencing. The same result was obtained by transient expression of fusion constructs with the green fluorescent protein in Arabidopsis protoplasts, whereas AtStr2 was exclusively localized to the cytoplasm by this method. Three members of the single-domain AtStr were localized in the chloroplasts as demonstrated by transient expression of green fluorescent protein fusions in protoplasts and stomata, whereas the single-domain AtStr18 was shown to be cytoplasmic. The remarkable subcellular distribution of AtStr15 was additionally analyzed by transmission electron immunomicroscopy using a monospecific antibody against green fluorescent protein, indicating an attachment to the thylakoid membrane. The knowledge of the intracellular localization of the members of this multiprotein family will help elucidate their specific functions in the organism.

  5. Localization to Mature Melanosomes by Virtue of Cytoplasmic Dileucine Motifs Is Required for Human OCA2 Function

    PubMed Central

    Sitaram, Anand; Piccirillo, Rosanna; Palmisano, Ilaria; Harper, Dawn C.; Dell'Angelica, Esteban C.; Schiaffino, M. Vittoria

    2009-01-01

    Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 is caused by defects in the gene OCA2, encoding a pigment cell-specific, 12-transmembrane domain protein with homology to ion permeases. The function of the OCA2 protein remains unknown, and its subcellular localization is under debate. Here, we show that endogenous OCA2 in melanocytic cells rapidly exits the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and thus does not behave as a resident ER protein. Consistently, exogenously expressed OCA2 localizes within melanocytes to melanosomes, and, like other melanosomal proteins, localizes to lysosomes when expressed in nonpigment cells. Mutagenized OCA2 transgenes stimulate melanin synthesis in OCA2-deficient cells when localized to melanosomes but not when specifically retained in the ER, contradicting a proposed primary function for OCA2 in the ER. Steady-state melanosomal localization requires a conserved consensus acidic dileucine-based sorting motif within the cytoplasmic N-terminal region of OCA2. A second dileucine signal within this region confers steady-state lysosomal localization in melanocytes, suggesting that OCA2 might traverse multiple sequential or parallel trafficking routes. The two dileucine signals physically interact in a differential manner with cytoplasmic adaptors known to function in trafficking other proteins to melanosomes. We conclude that OCA2 is targeted to and functions within melanosomes but that residence within melanosomes may be regulated by secondary or alternative targeting to lysosomes. PMID:19116314

  6. A novel mechanism of E2F1 regulation via nucleocytoplasmic shuttling: determinants of nuclear import and export.

    PubMed

    Ivanova, Iordanka A; Vespa, Alisa; Dagnino, Lina

    2007-09-01

    E2F1 is a transcription factor central for cell survival, proliferation, and repair following genomic insult. Depending on the cell type and conditions, E2F1 can induce apoptosis in transformed cells, behaving as a tumour suppressor, or impart growth advantages favouring tumour formation. The pleiotropic functions of E2F1 are a likely consequence of its ability to transcriptionally control a wide variety of target genes, and require tight regulation of its activity at multiple levels. Although sequestration of proteins to particular cellular compartments is a well-established regulatory mechanism, virtually nothing is known about its contribution to modulation of E2F1 target gene expression. We have examined the subcellular trafficking of E2F1 and, contrary to the widely held notion that this factor is constitutively nuclear, we now demonstrate that it is subjected to continuous nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. We have also defined two nuclear localization domains and a nuclear export region, which mediates CRM1-dependent transit out of the nucleus. The predominant subcellular location of E2F1 is likely determined by the balance between the activity of nuclear import and export domains, and can be modulated by differentiation stimuli in epidermal cells. Thus, we have identified a hitherto unrecognized mechanism to control E2F1 function through modulation of its subcellular localization.

  7. Monitoring Interactions and Dynamics of Endogenous Beta-catenin With Intracellular Nanobodies in Living Cells*

    PubMed Central

    Traenkle, Bjoern; Emele, Felix; Anton, Roman; Poetz, Oliver; Haeussler, Ragna S.; Maier, Julia; Kaiser, Philipp D.; Scholz, Armin M.; Nueske, Stefan; Buchfellner, Andrea; Romer, Tina; Rothbauer, Ulrich

    2015-01-01

    β-catenin is the key component of the canonical Wnt pathway and plays a crucial role in a multitude of developmental and homeostatic processes. The different tasks of β-catenin are orchestrated by its subcellular localization and participation in multiprotein complexes. To gain a better understanding of β-catenin's role in living cells we have generated a new set of single domain antibodies, referred to as nanobodies, derived from heavy chain antibodies of camelids. We selected nanobodies recognizing the N-terminal, core or C-terminal domain of β-catenin and applied these new high-affinity binders as capture molecules in sandwich immunoassays and co-immunoprecipitations of endogenous β-catenin complexes. In addition, we engineered intracellularly functional anti-β-catenin chromobodies by combining the binding moieties of the nanobodies with fluorescent proteins. For the first time, we were able to visualize the subcellular localization and nuclear translocation of endogenous β-catenin in living cells using these chromobodies. Moreover, the chromobody signal allowed us to trace the accumulation of diffusible, hypo-phosphorylated β-catenin in response to compound treatment in real time using High Content Imaging. The anti-β-catenin nanobodies and chromobodies characterized in this study are versatile tools that enable a novel and unique approach to monitor the dynamics of subcellular β-catenin in biochemical and cell biological assays. PMID:25595278

  8. Characterization and subcellular compartmentation of recombinant 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from Arabidopsis in transgenic tobacco.

    PubMed

    Garcia, I; Rodgers, M; Pepin, R; Hsieh, T F; Matringe, M

    1999-04-01

    4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (4HPPD) catalyzes the formation of homogentisate (2,5-dihydroxyphenylacetate) from p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate and molecular oxygen. In plants this enzyme activity is involved in two distinct metabolic processes, the biosynthesis of prenylquinones and the catabolism of tyrosine. We report here the molecular and biochemical characterization of an Arabidopsis 4HPPD and the compartmentation of the recombinant protein in chlorophyllous tissues. We isolated a 1508-bp cDNA with one large open reading frame of 1338 bp. Southern analysis strongly suggested that this Arabidopsis 4HPPD is encoded by a single-copy gene. We investigated the biochemical characteristics of this 4HPPD by overproducing the recombinant protein in Escherichia coli JM105. The subcellular localization of the recombinant 4HPPD in chlorophyllous tissues was examined by overexpressing its complete coding sequence in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), using Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation. We performed western analyses for the immunodetection of protein extracts from purified chloroplasts and total leaf extracts and for the immunocytochemistry on tissue sections. These analyses clearly revealed that 4HPPD was confined to the cytosol compartment, not targeted to the chloroplast. Western analyses confirmed the presence of a cytosolic form of 4HPPD in cultured green Arabidopsis cells.

  9. Characterization of ecto-nucleotidases in human oviducts with an improved approach simultaneously identifying protein expression and in situ enzyme activity.

    PubMed

    Villamonte, María Lina; Torrejón-Escribano, Benjamín; Rodríguez-Martínez, Aitor; Trapero, Carla; Vidal, August; Gómez de Aranda, Inmaculada; Sévigny, Jean; Matías-Guiu, Xavier; Martín-Satué, Mireia

    2018-03-01

    Extracellular ATP and its hydrolysis product adenosine modulate various reproductive functions such as those taking place in oviducts, including contraction, beating of cilia, and maintenance of fluid composition that, in turn, influences sperm capacitation and hyperactivation, as well as oocyte and embryo nourishing. Ecto-nucleotidases are the enzymes that regulate extracellular ATP and adenosine levels, thus playing a role in reproduction. We have optimized a convenient method for characterizing ecto-nucleotidases that simultaneously localizes the protein and its associated enzyme activity in the same tissue slice and characterizes ecto-nucleotidases in human oviducts. The technique combines immunofluorescence and in situ histochemistry, allowing precise identification of ecto-nucleotidases at a subcellular level. In oviducts, remarkably, ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 2 (NTPDase2) and NTPDase3, with the ability to hydrolyze ATP to AMP, are expressed in ciliated epithelial cells but with different subcellular localization. Ecto-5'nucleotidase/CD73 is also expressed apically in ciliated cells. CD73, together with alkaline phosphatase, also expressed apically in oviductal epithelium, complete the hydrolysis sequence by dephosphorylating AMP to adenosine. The concerted action of these enzymes would contribute to the local increase of adenosine concentration necessary for sperm capacitation. The use of this method would be an asset for testing new potential therapeutic drugs with inhibitory potential, which is of great interest presently in the field of oncology and in other clinical disciplines.

  10. Mouse Stbd1 is N-myristoylated and affects ER-mitochondria association and mitochondrial morphology.

    PubMed

    Demetriadou, Anthi; Morales-Sanfrutos, Julia; Nearchou, Marianna; Baba, Otto; Kyriacou, Kyriacos; Tate, Edward W; Drousiotou, Anthi; Petrou, Petros P

    2017-03-01

    Starch binding domain-containing protein 1 (Stbd1) is a carbohydrate-binding protein that has been proposed to be a selective autophagy receptor for glycogen. Here, we show that mouse Stbd1 is a transmembrane endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein with the capacity to induce the formation of organized ER structures in HeLa cells. In addition to bulk ER, Stbd1 was found to localize to mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs), which represent regions of close apposition between the ER and mitochondria. We demonstrate that N -myristoylation and binding of Stbd1 to glycogen act as major determinants of its subcellular targeting. Moreover, overexpression of non-myristoylated Stbd1 enhanced the association between ER and mitochondria, and further induced prominent mitochondrial fragmentation and clustering. Conversely, shRNA-mediated Stbd1 silencing resulted in an increase in the spacing between ER and mitochondria, and an altered morphology of the mitochondrial network, suggesting elevated fusion and interconnectivity of mitochondria. Our data unravel the molecular mechanism underlying Stbd1 subcellular targeting, support and expand its proposed function as a selective autophagy receptor for glycogen and uncover a new role for the protein in the physical association between ER and mitochondria. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  11. Unique nuclear localization of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Neu4 sialidase is regulated by nuclear transport receptor importin α/β.

    PubMed

    Honda, Akinobu; Chigwechokha, Petros Kingstone; Kamada-Futagami, Yuko; Komatsu, Masaharu; Shiozaki, Kazuhiro

    2018-06-01

    Sialidase catalyzes the removal of sialic acids from glycoconjugates. Different from Neu1 and Neu3 sialidases, Neu4 enzymatic properties such as substrate specificity and subcellular localization are not well-conserved among vertebrates. In fish only zebrafish and medaka neu4 genes have been cloned and their polypeptides have been characterized so far. Thus, characterization of Neu4 from other fish species is necessary to evaluate Neu4 physiological functions. Here, Nile tilapia was chosen for the characterization of Neu4 polypeptide considering that it is one of the major cultured fish all over the world and that its genomic sequences are now available. Coding DNA sequence of tilapia Neu4 was identified as 1,497 bp and its recombinant protein showed broad substrate specificity and optimal sialidase enzyme activity pH at 4.0. Neu4 activity was sustained even in neutral and alkali pH. Interestingly, immunofluorescence analysis revealed that major subcellular localization of tilapia Neu4 was nuclear, quite distinct from zebrafish (ER) and medaka Neu4 (lysosome). Bioinformatic analysis showed the existence of putative nuclear localization signal (NLS) in tilapia Neu4. In general, it is known that importin families bind to several proteins via NLS and transfer them into nucleus. Therefore, to determine the involvement of putative NLS in Neu4 nuclear localization, Neu4 mutant deleting NLS was constructed and expressed in cultured cells. As a result, NLS deletion significantly diminished the nuclear localization. Furthermore, treatment of importazole, interrupter of binding importin β and RanGTP, significantly suppressed Neu4 nuclear localization. In summary, tilapia Neu4 is a unique sialidase localized at nucleus and its transport system into nucleus is regulated by importin. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

  12. Trafficking and degradation pathways in pathogenic conversion of prions and prion-like proteins in neurodegenerative diseases.

    PubMed

    Victoria, Guiliana Soraya; Zurzolo, Chiara

    2015-09-02

    Several neurodegenerative diseases such as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are caused by the conversion of cellular proteins to a pathogenic conformer. Despite differences in the primary structure and subcellular localization of these proteins, which include the prion protein, α-synuclein and amyloid precursor protein (APP), striking similarity has been observed in their ability to seed and convert naïve protein molecules as well as transfer between cells. This review aims to cover what is known about the intracellular trafficking of these proteins as well as their degradation mechanisms and highlight similarities in their movement through the endocytic pathway that could contribute to the pathogenic conversion and seeding of these proteins which underlies the basis of these diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. A Monoclonal Antibody Toolkit for C. elegans

    PubMed Central

    Hadwiger, Gayla; Dour, Scott; Arur, Swathi; Fox, Paul; Nonet, Michael L.

    2010-01-01

    Background Antibodies are critical tools in many avenues of biological research. Though antibodies can be produced in the research laboratory setting, most research labs working with vertebrates avail themselves of the wide array of commercially available reagents. By contrast, few such reagents are available for work with model organisms. Methodology/Principal Findings We report the production of monoclonal antibodies directed against a wide range of proteins that label specific subcellular and cellular components, and macromolecular complexes. Antibodies were made to synaptobrevin (SNB-1), a component of synaptic vesicles; to Rim (UNC-10), a protein localized to synaptic active zones; to transforming acidic coiled-coil protein (TAC-1), a component of centrosomes; to CENP-C (HCP-4), which in worms labels the entire length of their holocentric chromosomes; to ORC2 (ORC-2), a subunit of the DNA origin replication complex; to the nucleolar phosphoprotein NOPP140 (DAO-5); to the nuclear envelope protein lamin (LMN-1); to EHD1 (RME-1) a marker for recycling endosomes; to caveolin (CAV-1), a marker for caveolae; to the cytochrome P450 (CYP-33E1), a resident of the endoplasmic reticulum; to β-1,3-glucuronyltransferase (SQV-8) that labels the Golgi; to a chaperonin (HSP-60) targeted to mitochondria; to LAMP (LMP-1), a resident protein of lysosomes; to the alpha subunit of the 20S subcomplex (PAS-7) of the 26S proteasome; to dynamin (DYN-1) and to the α-subunit of the adaptor complex 2 (APA-2) as markers for sites of clathrin-mediated endocytosis; to the MAGUK, protein disks large (DLG-1) and cadherin (HMR-1), both of which label adherens junctions; to a cytoskeletal linker of the ezrin-radixin-moesin family (ERM-1), which localized to apical membranes; to an ERBIN family protein (LET-413) which localizes to the basolateral membrane of epithelial cells and to an adhesion molecule (SAX-7) which localizes to the plasma membrane at cell-cell contacts. In addition to working in whole mount immunocytochemistry, most of these antibodies work on western blots and thus should be of use for biochemical fractionation studies. Conclusions/Significance We have produced a set of monoclonal antibodies to subcellular components of the nematode C. elegans for the research community. These reagents are being made available through the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB). PMID:20405020

  14. A20 Functional Domains Regulate Subcellular Localization and NF-Kappa B Activation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-08-15

    that the first function to be described for A20 was that of an anti -apoptotic protein (55). They based their choice of experiments and preliminary...mediated apoptosis (55). After positive selection of the resulting clones with neomycin and verification of A20 expression, they compared the...Karposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) mediated cell transformation (72). K13 can directly activate NF-κB by interacting with the IKK complex and is

  15. Multidimensional proteomics for cell biology.

    PubMed

    Larance, Mark; Lamond, Angus I

    2015-05-01

    The proteome is a dynamic system in which each protein has interconnected properties - dimensions - that together contribute to the phenotype of a cell. Measuring these properties has proved challenging owing to their diversity and dynamic nature. Advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics now enable the measurement of multiple properties for thousands of proteins, including their abundance, isoform expression, turnover rate, subcellular localization, post-translational modifications and interactions. Complementing these experimental developments are new data analysis, integration and visualization tools as well as data-sharing resources. Together, these advances in the multidimensional analysis of the proteome are transforming our understanding of various cellular and physiological processes.

  16. Optogenetic Tools for Subcellular Applications in Neuroscience.

    PubMed

    Rost, Benjamin R; Schneider-Warme, Franziska; Schmitz, Dietmar; Hegemann, Peter

    2017-11-01

    The ability to study cellular physiology using photosensitive, genetically encoded molecules has profoundly transformed neuroscience. The modern optogenetic toolbox includes fluorescent sensors to visualize signaling events in living cells and optogenetic actuators enabling manipulation of numerous cellular activities. Most optogenetic tools are not targeted to specific subcellular compartments but are localized with limited discrimination throughout the cell. Therefore, optogenetic activation often does not reflect context-dependent effects of highly localized intracellular signaling events. Subcellular targeting is required to achieve more specific optogenetic readouts and photomanipulation. Here we first provide a detailed overview of the available optogenetic tools with a focus on optogenetic actuators. Second, we review established strategies for targeting these tools to specific subcellular compartments. Finally, we discuss useful tools and targeting strategies that are currently missing from the optogenetics repertoire and provide suggestions for novel subcellular optogenetic applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The Synaptic Function of α-Synuclein

    PubMed Central

    Burré, Jacqueline

    2015-01-01

    α-Synuclein is an abundant neuronal protein which localizes predominantly to presynaptic terminals, and is strongly linked genetically and pathologically to Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. While the accumulation of α-synuclein in the form of misfolded oligomers and large aggregates defines multiple neurodegenerative diseases called “synucleinopathies”, its cellular function has remained largely unclear, and is the subject of intense investigation. In this review, I focus on the structural characteristics of α-synuclein, its cellular and subcellular localization, and discuss how this relates to its function in neurons, in particular at the neuronal synapse. PMID:26407041

  18. Systems Imaging of the Immune Synapse.

    PubMed

    Ambler, Rachel; Ruan, Xiangtao; Murphy, Robert F; Wülfing, Christoph

    2017-01-01

    Three-dimensional live cell imaging of the interaction of T cells with antigen-presenting cells (APCs) visualizes the subcellular distributions of signaling intermediates during T cell activation at thousands of resolved positions within a cell. These information-rich maps of local protein concentrations are a valuable resource in understanding T cell signaling. Here, we describe a protocol for the efficient acquisition of such imaging data and their computational processing to create four-dimensional maps of local concentrations. This protocol allows quantitative analysis of T cell signaling as it occurs inside live cells with resolution in time and space across thousands of cells.

  19. Localization of intracellular and plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPases in the cerebellum.

    PubMed

    Sepúlveda, M Rosario; Mata, Ana M

    2005-01-01

    The sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase contribute to the regulation of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. These proteins transport Ca2+ ions into the endoplasmic reticulum and to the extracellular medium, respectively. A different localization of the two families of Ca2+-ATPases has been shown in concrete subcellular areas of Purkinje cells and in other neuronal elements from cerebellum. In the light of the actual knowledge of Ca2+-ATPases, this strict distribution suggests the existence of different demands on Ca2+ homeostasis in these cerebellar and cellular subregions.

  20. The SNARE Protein Syntaxin 3 Confers Specificity for Polarized Axonal Trafficking in Neurons

    PubMed Central

    Soo Hoo, Linda; Banna, Chris D.; Radeke, Carolyn M.; Sharma, Nikunj; Albertolle, Mary E.; Low, Seng Hui; Weimbs, Thomas; Vandenberg, Carol A.

    2016-01-01

    Cell polarity and precise subcellular protein localization are pivotal to neuronal function. The SNARE machinery underlies intracellular membrane fusion events, but its role in neuronal polarity and selective protein targeting remain unclear. Here we report that syntaxin 3 is involved in orchestrating polarized trafficking in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. We show that syntaxin 3 localizes to the axonal plasma membrane, particularly to axonal tips, whereas syntaxin 4 localizes to the somatodendritic plasma membrane. Disruption of a conserved N-terminal targeting motif, which causes mislocalization of syntaxin 3, results in coincident mistargeting of the axonal cargos neuron-glia cell adhesion molecule (NgCAM) and neurexin, but not transferrin receptor, a somatodendritic cargo. Similarly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of endogenous syntaxin 3 leads to partial mistargeting of NgCAM, demonstrating that syntaxin 3 plays an important role in its targeting. Additionally, overexpression of syntaxin 3 results in increased axonal growth. Our findings suggest an important role for syntaxin 3 in maintaining neuronal polarity and in the critical task of selective trafficking of membrane protein to axons. PMID:27662481

  1. The SNARE Protein Syntaxin 3 Confers Specificity for Polarized Axonal Trafficking in Neurons.

    PubMed

    Soo Hoo, Linda; Banna, Chris D; Radeke, Carolyn M; Sharma, Nikunj; Albertolle, Mary E; Low, Seng Hui; Weimbs, Thomas; Vandenberg, Carol A

    Cell polarity and precise subcellular protein localization are pivotal to neuronal function. The SNARE machinery underlies intracellular membrane fusion events, but its role in neuronal polarity and selective protein targeting remain unclear. Here we report that syntaxin 3 is involved in orchestrating polarized trafficking in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. We show that syntaxin 3 localizes to the axonal plasma membrane, particularly to axonal tips, whereas syntaxin 4 localizes to the somatodendritic plasma membrane. Disruption of a conserved N-terminal targeting motif, which causes mislocalization of syntaxin 3, results in coincident mistargeting of the axonal cargos neuron-glia cell adhesion molecule (NgCAM) and neurexin, but not transferrin receptor, a somatodendritic cargo. Similarly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of endogenous syntaxin 3 leads to partial mistargeting of NgCAM, demonstrating that syntaxin 3 plays an important role in its targeting. Additionally, overexpression of syntaxin 3 results in increased axonal growth. Our findings suggest an important role for syntaxin 3 in maintaining neuronal polarity and in the critical task of selective trafficking of membrane protein to axons.

  2. WAVE2 Forms a Complex with PKA and Is Involved in PKA Enhancement of Membrane Protrusions*

    PubMed Central

    Yamashita, Hiroshi; Ueda, Kazumitsu; Kioka, Noriyuki

    2011-01-01

    PKA contributes to many physiological processes, including glucose homeostasis and cell migration. The substrate specificity of PKA is low compared with other kinases; thus, complex formation with A-kinase-anchoring proteins is important for the localization of PKA in specific subcellular regions and the phosphorylation of specific substrates. Here, we show that PKA forms a complex with WAVE2 (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family verprolin-homologous protein 2) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and mouse brain extracts. Two separate regions of WAVE2 are involved in WAVE2-PKA complex formation. This complex localizes to the leading edge of MDA-MB-231 cells. PKA activation results in enlargement of the membrane protrusion. WAVE2 depletion impairs PKA localization at membrane protrusions and the enlargement of membrane protrusion induced by PKA activation. Together, these results suggest that WAVE2 works as an A-kinase-anchoring protein that recruits PKA at membrane protrusions and plays a role in the enlargement of membrane protrusions induced by PKA activation. PMID:21119216

  3. Predicting protein submitochondrial locations using a K-Nearest neighbor method based on the Bit-Score weighted euclidean distance

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Mitochondria are essential subcellular organelles found in eukaryotic cells. Knowing information on a protein’s subcellular or sub subcellular location provides in-depth insights about the microenvironment where it interacts with other molecules and is crucial for inferring the protein’s function. T...

  4. Subcellular localization and interactions among rubber particle proteins from Hevea brasiliensis.

    PubMed

    Brown, Daniel; Feeney, Mistianne; Ahmadi, Mathin; Lonoce, Chiara; Sajari, Roslinda; Di Cola, Alessandra; Frigerio, Lorenzo

    2017-11-02

    Natural rubber (polyisoprene) from the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis is synthesized by specialized cells called laticifers. It is not clear how rubber particles arise, although one hypothesis is that they derive from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Here we cloned the genes encoding four key proteins found in association with rubber particles and studied their intracellular localization by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. We show that, while the cis-prenyltransferase (CPT), responsible for the synthesis of long polyisoprene chains, is a soluble, cytosolic protein, other rubber particle proteins such as rubber elongation factor (REF), small rubber particle protein (SRPP) and Hevea rubber transferase 1-REF bridging protein (HRBP) are associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We also show that SRPP can recruit CPT to the ER and that interaction of CPT with HRBP leads to both proteins relocating to the plasma membrane. We discuss these results in the context of the biogenesis of rubber particles. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  5. Localization of a bacterial group II intron-encoded protein in human cells.

    PubMed

    Reinoso-Colacio, Mercedes; García-Rodríguez, Fernando Manuel; García-Cañadas, Marta; Amador-Cubero, Suyapa; García Pérez, José Luis; Toro, Nicolás

    2015-08-05

    Group II introns are mobile retroelements that self-splice from precursor RNAs to form ribonucleoparticles (RNP), which can invade new specific genomic DNA sites. This specificity can be reprogrammed, for insertion into any desired DNA site, making these introns useful tools for bacterial genetic engineering. However, previous studies have suggested that these elements may function inefficiently in eukaryotes. We investigated the subcellular distribution, in cultured human cells, of the protein encoded by the group II intron RmInt1 (IEP) and several mutants. We created fusions with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and with a FLAG epitope. We found that the IEP was localized in the nucleus and nucleolus of the cells. Remarkably, it also accumulated at the periphery of the nuclear matrix. We were also able to identify spliced lariat intron RNA, which co-immunoprecipitated with the IEP, suggesting that functional RmInt1 RNPs can be assembled in cultured human cells.

  6. Localization of a bacterial group II intron-encoded protein in human cells

    PubMed Central

    Reinoso-Colacio, Mercedes; García-Rodríguez, Fernando Manuel; García-Cañadas, Marta; Amador-Cubero, Suyapa; Pérez, José Luis García; Toro, Nicolás

    2015-01-01

    Group II introns are mobile retroelements that self-splice from precursor RNAs to form ribonucleoparticles (RNP), which can invade new specific genomic DNA sites. This specificity can be reprogrammed, for insertion into any desired DNA site, making these introns useful tools for bacterial genetic engineering. However, previous studies have suggested that these elements may function inefficiently in eukaryotes. We investigated the subcellular distribution, in cultured human cells, of the protein encoded by the group II intron RmInt1 (IEP) and several mutants. We created fusions with yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and with a FLAG epitope. We found that the IEP was localized in the nucleus and nucleolus of the cells. Remarkably, it also accumulated at the periphery of the nuclear matrix. We were also able to identify spliced lariat intron RNA, which co-immunoprecipitated with the IEP, suggesting that functional RmInt1 RNPs can be assembled in cultured human cells. PMID:26244523

  7. N-terminal acetylation -an Essential Protein Modification Emerges as an Important Regulator of Stress Responses.

    PubMed

    Linster, Eric; Wirtz, Markus

    2018-06-26

    N-terminal acetylation (NTA) is a prevalent protein modification in eukaryotes. The majority of proteins is acetylated at their N-terminus in a co-translational manner by ribosome-associated N-terminal acetyltransferases (NAT). However, the recent discovery of Golgi-membrane localized NATs in metazoan, and plastid-localized NATs in plants challenged the dogma of static, co-translational imprinting of the proteome by NTA. Indeed, NTA by the cytosolic NatA is highly dynamic and under hormonal control in plants. Such active control has not been evidenced yet in other eukaryotes and might be an adaptation to the sessile lifestyle of plants forcing them to cope with diverse environmental challenges. The function of NTA for individual proteins is distinct and yet unpredictable. In yeast and humans, NTA has been shown to affect protein-protein interactions, subcellular localization, folding, aggregation, or degradation of a handful of proteins. In particular, the impact of NTA on the protein-turnover is documented by diverse examples in yeast. Consequently, NTA has recently dicovered to be a degradation signal in a distinct branch of the N-end rule pathway ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the NAT machinery in higher plants and discuss the potential function of NTA during biotic and abiotic stresses.

  8. Identification and characterization of intracellular proteins that bind oligonucleotides with phosphorothioate linkages.

    PubMed

    Liang, Xue-hai; Sun, Hong; Shen, Wen; Crooke, Stanley T

    2015-03-11

    Although the RNase H-dependent mechanism of inhibition of gene expression by chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) has been well characterized, little is known about the interactions between ASOs and intracellular proteins that may alter cellular localization and/or potency of ASOs. Here, we report the identification of 56 intracellular ASO-binding proteins using multi-step affinity selection approaches. Many of the tested proteins had no significant effect on ASO activity; however, some proteins, including La/SSB, NPM1, ANXA2, VARS and PC4, appeared to enhance ASO activities, likely through mechanisms related to subcellular distribution. VARS and ANXA2 co-localized with ASOs in endocytic organelles, and reduction in the level of VARS altered lysosome/ASO localization patterns, implying that these proteins may facilitate ASO release from the endocytic pathway. Depletion of La and NPM1 reduced nuclear ASO levels, suggesting potential roles in ASO nuclear accumulation. On the other hand, Ku70 and Ku80 proteins inhibited ASO activity, most likely by competition with RNase H1 for ASO/RNA duplex binding. Our results demonstrate that phosphorothioate-modified ASOs bind a set of cellular proteins that affect ASO activity via different mechanisms. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  9. Interplay Between Protein Homeostasis Networks in Protein Aggregation and Proteotoxicity

    PubMed Central

    Douglas, Peter M.; Cyr, Douglas M.

    2010-01-01

    The misfolding and aggregation of disease proteins is characteristic of numerous neurodegenerative diseases. Particular neuronal populations are more vulnerable to proteotoxicity while others are more apt to tolerate the misfolding and aggregation of disease proteins. Thus, the cellular environment must play a significant role in determining whether disease proteins are converted into toxic or benign forms. The endomembrane network of eukaryotes divides the cell into different subcellular compartments that possess distinct sets of molecular chaperones and protein interaction networks. Chaperones act as agonists and antagonists of disease protein aggregation to prevent the accumulation of toxic intermediates in the aggregation pathway. Interacting partners can also modulate the conformation and localization of disease proteins and thereby influence proteotoxicity. Thus, interplay between these protein homeostasis network components can modulate the self-association of disease proteins and determine whether they elicit a toxic or benign outcome. PMID:19768782

  10. An Extended Proteome Map of the Lysosomal Membrane Reveals Novel Potential Transporters*

    PubMed Central

    Chapel, Agnès; Kieffer-Jaquinod, Sylvie; Sagné, Corinne; Verdon, Quentin; Ivaldi, Corinne; Mellal, Mourad; Thirion, Jaqueline; Jadot, Michel; Bruley, Christophe; Garin, Jérôme; Gasnier, Bruno; Journet, Agnès

    2013-01-01

    Lysosomes are membrane-bound endocytic organelles that play a major role in degrading cell macromolecules and recycling their building blocks. A comprehensive knowledge of the lysosome function requires an extensive description of its content, an issue partially addressed by previous proteomic analyses. However, the proteins underlying many lysosomal membrane functions, including numerous membrane transporters, remain unidentified. We performed a comparative, semi-quantitative proteomic analysis of rat liver lysosome-enriched and lysosome-nonenriched membranes and used spectral counts to evaluate the relative abundance of proteins. Among a total of 2,385 identified proteins, 734 proteins were significantly enriched in the lysosomal fraction, including 207 proteins already known or predicted as endo-lysosomal and 94 proteins without any known or predicted subcellular localization. The remaining 433 proteins had been previously assigned to other subcellular compartments but may in fact reside on lysosomes either predominantly or as a secondary location. Many membrane-associated complexes implicated in diverse processes such as degradation, membrane trafficking, lysosome biogenesis, lysosome acidification, signaling, and nutrient sensing were enriched in the lysosomal fraction. They were identified to an unprecedented extent as most, if not all, of their subunits were found and retained by our screen. Numerous transporters were also identified, including 46 novel potentially lysosomal proteins. We expressed 12 candidates in HeLa cells and observed that most of them colocalized with the lysosomal marker LAMP1, thus confirming their lysosomal residency. This list of candidate lysosomal proteins substantially increases our knowledge of the lysosomal membrane and provides a basis for further characterization of lysosomal functions. PMID:23436907

  11. Phosphoinositide-binding proteins in autophagy.

    PubMed

    Lystad, Alf Håkon; Simonsen, Anne

    2016-08-01

    Phosphoinositides represent a very small fraction of membrane phospholipids, having fast turnover rates and unique subcellular distributions, which make them perfect for initiating local temporal effects. Seven different phosphoinositide species are generated through reversible phosphorylation of the inositol ring of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). The negative charge generated by the phosphates provides specificity for interaction with various protein domains that commonly contain a cluster of basic residues. Examples of domains that bind phosphoinositides include PH domains, WD40 repeats, PX domains, and FYVE domains. Such domains often display specificity toward a certain species or subset of phosphoinositides. Here we will review the current literature of different phosphoinositide-binding proteins involved in autophagy. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  12. KPNA2 is a nuclear export protein that contributes to aberrant localisation of key proteins and poor prognosis of breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Alshareeda, A T; Negm, O H; Green, A R; Nolan, C C; Tighe, P; Albarakati, N; Sultana, R; Madhusudan, S; Ellis, I O; Rakha, E A

    2015-06-09

    It is recognised that modulations of the nuclear import of macromolecules have a role in changing cellular phenotypes and carcinogenesis. We and others have noticed that aberrant subcellular localisation of DNA damage response (DDR) proteins in breast cancer (BC) is associated with loss-of-function phenotype. This study aims to investigate the biological and clinical significance of the nucleocytoplasmic transport protein karyopherin α-2 (KPNA2), and its role in controlling DDR proteins subcellular localisation in BC. A large (n=1494) and well-characterised series of early-stage invasive BC with a long-term follow-up was assessed for KPNA2 protein by using immunohistochemistry. KPNA2 expression was associated with the subcellular localisation of key DDR proteins that showed cytoplasmic expression including BRCA1, RAD51, SMC6L1, γH2AX, BARD1, UBC9, PIAS1 and CHK1. High level of KPNA2 was associated not only with cytoplasmic localisation of these proteins but also with their low/negative nuclear expression. Positive KPNA2 expression was associated with negative oestrogen receptor and triple-negative phenotype. Survival analysis showed that KPNA2 was associated with poor outcome (P<0.0001), but this effect was not independent of other prognostic variables. This study provides further evidence for the complexity of DDR mechanism in BC, and that KNPA2 has a role in the aberrant subcellular localisation of DDR proteins with subsequent impaired function.

  13. A novel mutation in DDR2 causing spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia with short limbs and abnormal calcifications (SMED-SL) results in defective intra-cellular trafficking.

    PubMed

    Al-Kindi, Adila; Kizhakkedath, Praseetha; Xu, Huifang; John, Anne; Sayegh, Abeer Al; Ganesh, Anuradha; Al-Awadi, Maha; Al-Anbouri, Lamya; Al-Gazali, Lihadh; Leitinger, Birgit; Ali, Bassam R

    2014-04-11

    The rare autosomal genetic disorder, Spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia with short limbs and abnormal calcifications (SMED-SL), is reported to be caused by missense or splice site mutations in the human discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) gene. Previously our group has established that trafficking defects and loss of ligand binding are the underlying cellular mechanisms of several SMED-SL causing mutations. Here we report the clinical characteristics of two siblings of consanguineous marriage with suspected SMED-SL and identification of a novel disease-causing mutation in the DDR2 gene. Clinical evaluation and radiography were performed to evaluate the patients. All the coding exons and splice sites of the DDR2 gene were sequenced by Sanger sequencing. Subcellular localization of the mutated DDR2 protein was determined by confocal microscopy, deglycosylation assay and Western blotting. DDR2 activity was measured by collagen activation and Western analysis. In addition to the typical features of SMED-SL, one of the patients has an eye phenotype including visual impairment due to optic atrophy. DNA sequencing revealed a novel homozygous dinucleotide deletion mutation (c.2468_2469delCT) on exon 18 of the DDR2 gene in both patients. The mutation resulted in a frameshift leading to an amino acid change at position S823 and a predicted premature termination of translation (p.S823Cfs*2). Subcellular localization of the mutant protein was analyzed in mammalian cell lines, and it was found to be largely retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which was further supported by its N-glycosylation profile. In keeping with its cellular mis-localization, the mutant protein was found to be deficient in collagen-induced receptor activation, suggesting protein trafficking defects as the major cellular mechanism underlying the loss of DDR2 function in our patients. Our results indicate that the novel mutation results in defective trafficking of the DDR2 protein leading to loss of function and disease. This confirms our previous findings that DDR2 missense mutations occurring at the kinase domain result in retention of the mutant protein in the ER.

  14. Cellular Distribution and Subcellular Localization of Molecular Components of Vesicular Transmitter Release in Horizontal Cells of Rabbit Retina

    PubMed Central

    HIRANO, ARLENE A.; BRANDSTÄTTER, JOHANN H.; BRECHA, NICHOLAS C.

    2010-01-01

    The mechanism underlying transmitter release from retinal horizontal cells is poorly understood. We investigated the possibility of vesicular transmitter release from mammalian horizontal cells by examining the expression of synaptic proteins that participate in vesicular transmitter release at chemical synapses. Using immunocytochemistry, we evaluated the cellular and subcellular distribution of complexin I/II, syntaxin-1, and synapsin I in rabbit retina. Strong labeling for complexin I/II, proteins that regulate a late step in vesicular transmitter release, was found in both synaptic layers of the retina, and in somata of A- and B-type horizontal cells, of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)- and glycinergic amacrine cells, and of ganglion cells. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated the presence of complexin I/II in horizontal cell processes postsynaptic to rod and cone ribbon synapses. Syntaxin-1, a core protein of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive-factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex known to bind to complexin, and synapsin I, a synaptic vesicle-associated protein involved in the Ca2+-dependent recruitment of synaptic vesicles for transmitter release, were also present in the horizontal cells and their processes at photoreceptor synapses. Photoreceptors and bipolar cells did not express any of these proteins at their axon terminals. The presence of complexin I/II, syntaxin-1, and synapsin I in rabbit horizontal cell processes and tips suggests that a vesicular mechanism may underlie transmitter release from mammalian horizontal cells. PMID:15912504

  15. Amyloid beta precursor protein and ubiquitin epitopes in human and experimental dystrophic axons. Ultrastructural localization.

    PubMed Central

    Bacci, B.; Cochran, E.; Nunzi, M. G.; Izeki, E.; Mizutani, T.; Patton, A.; Hite, S.; Sayre, L. M.; Autilio-Gambetti, L.; Gambetti, P.

    1994-01-01

    Dystrophic axons (DA) represent a major pathological feature of several neurodegenerative disorders, including infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD) and Alzheimer disease. We have previously presented evidence that amyloid beta precursor protein (BPP) and ubiquitin (Ub) are present in DA of different origin. We have now characterized the immunoreactivity of DA experimentally induced in rat by the administration of parabromophenylacetylurea (BPAU) and examined the subcellular localization of Ub and BPP in BPAU-induced DA and in DA present in subjects affected by INAD. BPAU-induced DA strongly immunoreacted with antisera to Ub and to COOH- and NH2-terminal regions of BPP. Immunoblots of DA-enriched brain regions were consistent with an increase in the amount of Ub and BPP in DA. Moreover, BPAU-induced DA immunoreacted with antibodies to PGP 9.5, a neuronal-specific Ub COOH-terminal hydrolase, and to the inducible heat shock protein 70. Antigenic characterization also indicated that the tubulovesicular membranes within DA derived largely from the smooth endoplasmic reticulum rather than from the Golgi system or the synaptic vesicles. Subcellular immunolocalization of Ub and BPP in both INAD- and BPAU-induced DA revealed that Ub and BPP colocalize in granulovesicular material in both conditions. In INAD DA intense Ub immunoreactivity was also detected in nonmembranous electron dense structures that were present only in these DA, probably because of the chronic course of INAD. Although BPP immunostaining may be related to accumulation of BPP-containing membranes in DA, Ub immunostaining is likely to result from activation of the Ub system by the neuron in the attempt to remove excessive and possibly abnormal proteins. A similar pathogenesis can be postulated for DA of Alzheimer disease. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 PMID:7512790

  16. Report of four new patients with protein-truncating mutations in C6orf221/KHDC3L and colocalization with NLRP7

    PubMed Central

    Reddy, Ramesh; Akoury, Elie; Phuong Nguyen, Ngoc Minh; Abdul-Rahman, Omar A; Dery, Christine; Gupta, Neerja; Daley, William P; Ao, Asangla; Landolsi, Hanene; Ann Fisher, Rosemary; Touitou, Isabelle; Slim, Rima

    2013-01-01

    To date, two maternal-effect genes have been shown to have causative roles in recurrent hydatidiform moles (RHMs); NLRP7 that is mutated in 48–60% of patients with RHMs and C6orf221 (HUGO-approved nomenclature is now KHDC3L), a recently identified gene, that is mutated in 14% of patients with RHMs who are negative for NLRP7 mutations. We sequenced KHDC3L in 97 patients with RHMs and reproductive loss who are mostly negative for NLRP7 mutations. We identified three unrelated patients, each homozygous for one of the two protein-truncating mutations, a novel 4-bp deletion resulting in a frameshift, c.299_302delTCAA, p.Ile100Argfs*2, and a previously described 4-bp deletion, c.322_325delGACT, p.Asp108Ilefs*30, transmitted on a shared haplotype to three patients from different populations. We show that five HM tissues from one of these patients are diploid and biparental similar to HMs from patients with two defective NLRP7 mutations. Using immunofluorescence, we show that KHDC3L protein displays a juxta perinuclear signal and colocalizes with NLRP7 in lymphoblastoid cell lines from normal subjects. Using cell lines from patients, we demonstrate that the KHDC3L mutations do not change the subcellular localization of the protein in hematopoietic cells. Our data highlight the similarities between the two causative genes for RHMs, KHDC3L and NLRP7, in their subcellular localization, the parental contribution to the HM tissues caused by them, and the presence of several founder mutations and variants in both of them indicating positive selection and adaptation. PMID:23232697

  17. Subcellular localization and characterization of G protein-coupled receptor homolog from lymphocystis disease virus isolated in China.

    PubMed

    Huang, Youhua; Huang, Xiaohong; Zhang, Jing; Gui, Jianfang; Zhang, Qiya

    2007-01-01

    G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a large superfamily involved in various types of signal transduction pathways, and play an important role in coordinating the activation and migration of leukocytes to sites of infection and inflammation. Viral GPCRs, on the other hand, can help the virus to escape from host immune surveillance and contribute to viral pathogenesis. Lymphocystis disease virus isolated in China (LCDV-C) contains a putative homolog of cellular GPCRs, LCDV-C GPCR. In this paper, LCDV-C GPCR was cloned, and the subcellular localization and characterization of GPCR protein were investigated in fish cells. LCDV-C GPCR encoded a 325 amino acid peptide, containing a typical seven-transmembrane domain characteristic of the chemokine receptors and a conserved DRY motif that is usually essential for receptor activation. Transient transfection of GPCR-EGFP in fathead minnow (FHM) cells and epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells indicated that LCDV-C GPCR was expressed abundantly in both the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Transient overexpression of GPCR in these two cells cannot induce obvious apoptosis. FHM cells stably expressing GPCR showed enhanced cell proliferation and significant anchorage-independent growth. The effects of GPCR protein on external apoptotic stimuli were examined. Few apoptotic bodies were observed in cells expressing GPCR treated with actinomycin D (ActD). Quantitative analysis of apoptotic cells indicated that a considerable decrease in the apoptotic fraction of cells expressing GPCR, compared with the control cells, was detected after exposure to ActD and cycloheximide. These data suggest that LCDV-C GPCR may inhibit apoptosis as part of its potential mechanism in mediating cellular transformation.

  18. Interference of HTLV-1 Tax Protein with Cell Polarity Regulators: Defining the Subcellular Localization of the Tax-DLG1 Interaction

    PubMed Central

    Marziali, Federico; Bugnon Valdano, Marina; Brunet Avalos, Clarisse; Moriena, Lucía; Cavatorta, Ana Laura; Gardiol, Daniela

    2017-01-01

    Human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV)-1 Tax (Tax) protein is very important in viral replication and cell transformation. Tax localizes in the nucleus and cytoplasm in association with organelles. Some activities of Tax depend on interactions with PDZ (PSD-95/Discs Large/Z0-1) domain–containing proteins such as Discs large protein 1 (DLG1) which is involved in cell polarity and proliferation. The DLG1 interaction results in a cytoplasmic co-localization pattern resembling vesicular aggregates, the nature of which is still unknown. To further explore the role of PDZ proteins in HTLV-1 cell transformation, we deeply investigated the Tax-DLG1 association. By fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we detected, for the first time, the direct binding of Tax to DLG1 within the cell. We showed that the interaction specifically affects the cellular distribution of not only DLG1, but also Tax. After studying different cell structures, we demonstrated that the aggregates distribute into the Golgi apparatus in spatial association with the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC). This study contributes to understand the biological significance of Tax-PDZ interactions. PMID:29168728

  19. Interference of HTLV-1 Tax Protein with Cell Polarity Regulators: Defining the Subcellular Localization of the Tax-DLG1 Interaction.

    PubMed

    Marziali, Federico; Bugnon Valdano, Marina; Brunet Avalos, Clarisse; Moriena, Lucía; Cavatorta, Ana Laura; Gardiol, Daniela

    2017-11-23

    Human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV)-1 Tax (Tax) protein is very important in viral replication and cell transformation. Tax localizes in the nucleus and cytoplasm in association with organelles. Some activities of Tax depend on interactions with PDZ (PSD-95/Discs Large/Z0-1) domain-containing proteins such as Discs large protein 1 (DLG1) which is involved in cell polarity and proliferation. The DLG1 interaction results in a cytoplasmic co-localization pattern resembling vesicular aggregates, the nature of which is still unknown. To further explore the role of PDZ proteins in HTLV-1 cell transformation, we deeply investigated the Tax-DLG1 association. By fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we detected, for the first time, the direct binding of Tax to DLG1 within the cell. We showed that the interaction specifically affects the cellular distribution of not only DLG1, but also Tax. After studying different cell structures, we demonstrated that the aggregates distribute into the Golgi apparatus in spatial association with the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC). This study contributes to understand the biological significance of Tax-PDZ interactions.

  20. Purification and immunolocalization of an annexin-like protein in pea seedlings

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clark, G. B.; Dauwalder, M.; Roux, S. J.

    1992-01-01

    As part of a study to identify potential targets of calcium action in plant cells, a 35-kDa, annexin-like protein was purified from pea (Pisum sativum L.) plumules by a method used to purify animal annexins. This protein, called p35, binds to a phosphatidylserine affinity column in a calcium-dependent manner and binds 45Ca2+ in a dot-blot assay. Preliminary sequence data confirm a relationship for p35 with the annexin family of proteins. Polyclonal antibodies have been raised which recognize p35 in Western and dot blots. Immunofluorescence and immunogold techniques were used to study the distribution and subcellular localization of p35 in pea plumules and roots. The highest levels of immunostain were found in young developing vascular cells producing wall thickenings and in peripheral root-cap cells releasing slime. This localization in cells which are actively involved in secretion is of interest because one function suggested for the animal annexins is involvement in the mediation of exocytosis.

  1. Regulation of the Drosophila Hypoxia-Inducible Factor α Sima by CRM1-Dependent Nuclear Export ▿

    PubMed Central

    Romero, Nuria M.; Irisarri, Maximiliano; Roth, Peggy; Cauerhff, Ana; Samakovlis, Christos; Wappner, Pablo

    2008-01-01

    Hypoxia-inducible factor α (HIF-α) proteins are regulated by oxygen levels through several different mechanisms that include protein stability, transcriptional coactivator recruitment, and subcellular localization. It was previously reported that these transcription factors are mainly nuclear in hypoxia and cytoplasmic in normoxia, but so far the molecular basis of this regulation is unclear. We show here that the Drosophila melanogaster HIF-α protein Sima shuttles continuously between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. We identified the relevant nuclear localization signal and two functional nuclear export signals (NESs). These NESs are in the Sima basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain and promote CRM1-dependent nuclear export. Site-directed mutagenesis of either NES provoked Sima nuclear retention and increased transcriptional activity, suggesting that nuclear export contributes to Sima regulation. The identified NESs are conserved and probably functional in the bHLH domains of several bHLH-PAS proteins. We propose that rapid nuclear export of Sima regulates the duration of cellular responses to hypoxia. PMID:18332128

  2. Localizing Proteins in Fixed Giardia lamblia and Live Cultured Mammalian Cells by Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy.

    PubMed

    Nyindodo-Ogari, Lilian; Schwartzbach, Steven D; Skalli, Omar; Estraño, Carlos E

    2016-01-01

    Confocal fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy (EM) are complementary methods for studying the intracellular localization of proteins. Confocal fluorescence microscopy provides a rapid and technically simple method to identify the organelle in which a protein localizes but only EM can identify the suborganellular compartment in which that protein is present. Confocal fluorescence microscopy, however, can provide information not obtainable by EM but required to understand the dynamics and interactions of specific proteins. In addition, confocal fluorescence microscopy of cells transfected with a construct encoding a protein of interest fused to a fluorescent protein tag allows live cell studies of the subcellular localization of that protein and the monitoring in real time of its trafficking. Immunostaining methods for confocal fluorescence microscopy are also faster and less involved than those for EM allowing rapid optimization of the antibody dilution needed and a determination of whether protein antigenicity is maintained under fixation conditions used for EM immunogold labeling. This chapter details a method to determine by confocal fluorescence microscopy the intracellular localization of a protein by transfecting the organism of interest, in this case Giardia lamblia, with the cDNA encoding the protein of interest and then processing these organisms for double label immunofluorescence staining after chemical fixation. Also presented is a method to identify the organelle targeting information in the presequence of a precursor protein, in this case the presequence of the precursor to the Euglena light harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein of photosystem II precursor (pLHCPII), using live cell imaging of mammalian COS7 cells transiently transfected with a plasmid encoding a pLHCPII presequence fluorescent protein fusion and stained with organelle-specific fluorescent dyes.

  3. Delivering Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes to the Nucleus Using Engineered Nuclear Protein Domains.

    PubMed

    Boyer, Patrick D; Ganesh, Sairaam; Qin, Zhao; Holt, Brian D; Buehler, Markus J; Islam, Mohammad F; Dahl, Kris Noel

    2016-02-10

    Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have great potential for cell-based therapies due to their unique intrinsic optical and physical characteristics. Consequently, broad classes of dispersants have been identified that individually suspend SWCNTs in water and cell media in addition to reducing nanotube toxicity to cells. Unambiguous control and verification of the localization and distribution of SWCNTs within cells, particularly to the nucleus, is needed to advance subcellular technologies utilizing nanotubes. Here we report delivery of SWCNTs to the nucleus by noncovalently attaching the tail domain of the nuclear protein lamin B1 (LB1), which we engineer from the full-length LMNB1 cDNA. More than half of this low molecular weight globular protein is intrinsically disordered but has an immunoglobulin-fold composed of a central hydrophobic core, which is highly suitable for associating with SWCNTs, stably suspending SWCNTs in water and cell media. In addition, LB1 has an exposed nuclear localization sequence to promote active nuclear import of SWCNTs. These SWCNTs-LB1 dispersions in water and cell media display near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectra with sharp van Hove peaks and an NIR fluorescence spectra, suggesting that LB1 individually disperses nanotubes. The dispersing capability of SWCNTs by LB1 is similar to that by albumin proteins. The SWCNTs-LB1 dispersions with concentrations ≥150 μg/mL (≥30 μg/mL) in water (cell media) remain stable for ≥75 days (≥3 days) at 4 °C (37 °C). Further, molecular dynamics modeling of association of LB1 with SWCNTs reveal that the exposure of the nuclear localization sequence is independent of LB1 binding conformation. Measurements from confocal Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, NIR fluorescence imaging of SWCNTs, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy show that millions of these SWCNTs-LB1 complexes enter HeLa cells, localize to the nucleus of cells, and interact with DNA. We postulate that the modification of native cellular proteins as noncovalent dispersing agents to provide specific transport will open new possibilities to utilize both SWCNT and protein properties for multifunctional subcellular targeting applications. Specifically, nuclear targeting could allow delivery of anticancer therapies, genetic treatments, or DNA to the nucleus.

  4. Prominin-1 Localizes to the Open Rims of Outer Segment Lamellae in Xenopus laevis Rod and Cone Photoreceptors

    PubMed Central

    Han, Zhou; Anderson, David W.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose. Prominin-1 expresses in rod and cone photoreceptors. Mutations in the prominin-1 gene cause retinal degeneration in humans. In this study, the authors investigated the expression and subcellular localization of xlProminin-1 protein, the Xenopus laevis ortholog of prominin-1, in rod and cone photoreceptors of this frog. Methods. Antibodies specific for xlProminin-1 were generated. Immunoblotting was used to study the expression and posttranslational processing of xlProminin-1 protein. Immunocytochemical light and electron microscopy and transgenesis were used to study the subcellular distribution of xlProminin-1. Results. xlProminin-1 is expressed and is subject to posttranslational proteolytic processing in the retina, brain, and kidney. xlProminin-1 is differently expressed and localized in outer segments of rod and cone photoreceptors of X. laevis. Antibodies specific for the N or C termini of xlProminin-1 labeled the open rims of lamellae of cone outer segments (COS) and the open lamellae at the base of rod outer segments (ROS). By contrast, anti–peripherin-2/rds antibody, Xper5A11, labeled the closed rims of cone lamellae adjacent to the ciliary axoneme and the rims of the closed ROS disks. The extent of labeling of the basal ROS by anti–xlProminin-1 antibodies varied with the light cycle in this frog. The entire ROS was also faintly labeled by both antibodies, a result that contrasts with the current notion that prominin-1 localizes only to the basal ROS. Conclusions. These findings suggest that xlProminin-1 may serve as an anti–fusogenic factor in the regulation of disk morphogenesis and may help to maintain the open lamellar structure of basal ROS and COS disks in X. laevis photoreceptors. PMID:22076989

  5. The N Terminus of Phosphodiesterase TbrPDEB1 of Trypanosoma brucei Contains the Signal for Integration into the Flagellar Skeleton ▿

    PubMed Central

    Luginbuehl, Edith; Ryter, Damaris; Schranz-Zumkehr, Judith; Oberholzer, Michael; Kunz, Stefan; Seebeck, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    The precise subcellular localization of the components of the cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathways is a crucial aspect of eukaryotic intracellular signaling. In the human pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, the strict control of cAMP levels by cAMP-specific phosphodiesterases is essential for parasite survival, both in cell culture and in the infected host. Among the five cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases identified in this organism, two closely related isoenzymes, T. brucei PDEB1 (TbrPDEB1) (PDEB1) and TbrPDEB2 (PDEB2) are predominantly responsible for the maintenance of cAMP levels. Despite their close sequence similarity, they are distinctly localized in the cell. PDEB1 is mostly located in the flagellum, where it forms an integral part of the flagellar skeleton. PDEB2 is mainly located in the cell body, and only a minor part of the protein localizes to the flagellum. The current study, using transfection of procyclic trypanosomes with green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporters, demonstrates that the N termini of the two enzymes are essential for determining their final subcellular localization. The first 70 amino acids of PDEB1 are sufficient to specifically direct a GFP reporter to the flagellum and to lead to its detergent-resistant integration into the flagellar skeleton. In contrast, the analogous region of PDEB2 causes the GFP reporter to reside predominantly in the cell body. Mutagenesis of selected residues in the N-terminal region of PDEB2 demonstrated that single amino acid changes are sufficient to redirect the reporter from a cell body location to stable integration into the flagellar skeleton. PMID:20693305

  6. Expression and subcellular localization of a novel nuclear acetylcholinesterase protein.

    PubMed

    Santos, Susana Constantino Rosa; Vala, Inês; Miguel, Cláudia; Barata, João T; Garção, Pedro; Agostinho, Paula; Mendes, Marta; Coelho, Ana V; Calado, Angelo; Oliveira, Catarina R; e Silva, João Martins; Saldanha, Carlota

    2007-08-31

    Acetylcholine is found in the nervous system and also in other cell types (endothelium, lymphocytes, and epithelial and blood cells), which are globally termed the non-neuronal cholinergic system. In this study we investigated the expression and subcellular localization of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in endothelial cells. Our results show the expression of the 70-kDa AChE in both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments. We also describe, for the first time, a nuclear and cytoskeleton-bound AChE isoform with approximately 55 kDa detected in endothelial cells. This novel isoform is decreased in response to vascular endothelial growth factor via the proteosomes pathway, and it is down-regulated in human leukemic T-cells as compared with normal T-cells, suggesting that the decreased expression of the 55-kDa AChE protein may contribute to an angiogenic response and associate with tumorigenesis. Importantly, we show that its nuclear expression is not endothelial cell-specific but also evidenced in non-neuronal and neuronal cells. Concerning neuronal cells, we can distinguish an exclusively nuclear expression in postnatal neurons in contrast to a cytoplasmic and nuclear expression in embryonic neurons, suggesting that the cell compartmentalization of this new AChE isoform is changed during the development of nervous system. Overall, our studies suggest that the 55-kDa AChE may be involved in different biological processes such as neural development, tumor progression, and angiogenesis.

  7. Rho-associated protein kinase regulates subcellular localisation of Angiomotin and Hippo-signalling during preimplantation mouse embryo development.

    PubMed

    Mihajlović, Aleksandar I; Bruce, Alexander W

    2016-09-01

    The differential activity of the Hippo-signalling pathway between the outer- and inner-cell populations of the developing preimplantation mouse embryo directs appropriate formation of trophectoderm and inner cell mass (ICM) lineages. Such distinct signalling activity is under control of intracellular polarization, whereby Hippo-signalling is either supressed in polarized outer cells or activated in apolar inner cells. The central role of apical-basolateral polarization to such differential Hippo-signalling regulation prompted us to reinvestigate the role of potential upstream molecular regulators affecting apical-basolateral polarity. This study reports that the chemical inhibition of Rho-associated kinase (Rock) is associated with failure to form morphologically distinct blastocysts, indicative of compromised trophectoderm differentiation, and defects in the localization of both apical and basolateral polarity factors associated with malformation of tight junctions. Moreover, Rock-inhibition mediates mislocalization of the Hippo-signalling activator Angiomotin (Amot), to the basolateral regions of outer cells and is concomitant with aberrant activation of the pathway. The Rock-inhibition phenotype is mediated by Amot, as RNAi-based Amot knockdown totally rescues the normal suppression of Hippo-signalling in outer cells. In conclusion, Rock, via regulating appropriate apical-basolateral polarization in outer cells, regulates the appropriate activity of the Hippo-signalling pathway, by ensuring correct subcellular localization of Amot protein in outer cells. Copyright © 2016 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Localization of the kinesin adaptor proteins trafficking kinesin proteins 1 and 2 in primary cultures of hippocampal pyramidal and cortical neurons.

    PubMed

    Loss, Omar; Stephenson, F Anne

    2015-07-01

    Neuronal function requires regulated anterograde and retrograde trafficking of mitochondria along microtubules by using the molecular motors kinesin and dynein. Previous work has established that trafficking kinesin proteins (TRAKs),TRAK1 and TRAK2, are kinesin adaptor proteins that link mitochondria to kinesin motor proteins via an acceptor protein in the mitochondrial outer membrane, etc. the Rho GTPase Miro. Recent studies have shown that TRAK1 preferentially controls mitochondrial transport in axons of hippocampal neurons by virtue of its binding to both kinesin and dynein motor proteins, whereas TRAK2 controls mitochondrial transport in dendrites resulting from its binding to dynein. This study further investigates the subcellular localization of TRAK1 and TRAK2 in primary cultures of hippocampal and cortical neurons by using both commercial antibodies and anti-TRAK1 and anti-TRAK2 antibodies raised in our own laboratory (in-house). Whereas TRAK1 was prevalently localized in axons of hippocampal and cortical neurons, TRAK2 was more prevalent in dendrites of hippocampal neurons. In cortical neurons, TRAK2 was equally distributed between axons and dendrites. Some qualitative differences were observed between commercial and in-house-generated antibody immunostaining. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. The polyomavirus BK agnoprotein co-localizes with lipid droplets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Unterstab, Gunhild; Gosert, Rainer; Leuenberger, David

    Agnoprotein encoded by human polyomavirus BK (BKV) is a late cytoplasmic protein of 66 amino acids (aa) of unknown function. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a fine granular and a vesicular distribution in donut-like structures. Using BKV(Dunlop)-infected or agnoprotein-transfected cells, we investigated agnoprotein co-localization with subcellular structures. We found that agnoprotein co-localizes with lipid droplets (LD) in primary human renal tubular epithelial cells as well as in other cells supporting BKV replication in vitro (UTA, Vero cells). Using agnoprotein-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion constructs, we demonstrate that agnoprotein aa 20-42 are required for targeting LD, whereas aa 1-20 or aa 42-66more » were not. Agnoprotein aa 22-40 are predicted to form an amphipathic helix, and mutations A25D and F39E, disrupting its hydrophobic domain, prevented LD targeting. However, changing the phosphorylation site serine-11 to alanine or aspartic acid did not alter LD co-localization. Our findings provide new clues to unravel agnoprotein function.« less

  10. Rice proteome database: a step toward functional analysis of the rice genome.

    PubMed

    Komatsu, Setsuko

    2005-09-01

    The technique of proteome analysis using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) has the power to monitor global changes that occur in the protein complement of tissues and subcellular compartments. In this study, the proteins of rice were cataloged, a rice proteome database was constructed, and a functional characterization of some of the identified proteins was undertaken. Proteins extracted from various tissues and subcellular compartments in rice were separated by 2D-PAGE and an image analyzer was used to construct a display of the proteins. The Rice Proteome Database contains 23 reference maps based on 2D-PAGE of proteins from various rice tissues and subcellular compartments. These reference maps comprise 13129 identified proteins, and the amino acid sequences of 5092 proteins are entered in the database. Major proteins involved in growth or stress responses were identified using the proteome approach. Some of these proteins, including a beta-tubulin, calreticulin, and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activase in rice, have unexpected functions. The information obtained from the Rice Proteome Database will aid in cloning the genes for and predicting the function of unknown proteins.

  11. Subcellular Localization of a Plant Catalase-Phenol Oxidase, AcCATPO, from Amaranthus and Identification of a Non-canonical Peroxisome Targeting Signal

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Ning; Teng, Xiao-Lu; Xiao, Xing-Guo

    2017-01-01

    AcCATPO is a plant catalase-phenol oxidase recently identified from red amaranth. Its physiological function remains unexplored. As the starting step of functional analysis, here we report its subcellular localization and a non-canonical targeting signal. Commonly used bioinformatics programs predicted a peroxisomal localization for AcCATPO, but failed in identification of canonical peroxisomal targeting signals (PTS). The C-terminal GFP tagging led the fusion protein AcCATPO-GFP to the cytosol and the nucleus, but N-terminal tagging directed the GFP-AcCATPO to peroxisomes and nuclei, in transgenic tobacco. Deleting the tripeptide (PTM) at the extreme C-terminus almost ruled out the peroxisomal localization of GFP-AcCATPOΔ3, and removing the C-terminal decapeptide completely excluded peroxisomes as the residence of GFP-AcCATPOΔ10. Furthermore, this decapeptide as a targeting signal could import GFP-10aa to the peroxisome exclusively. Taken together, these results demonstrate that AcCATPO is localized to the peroxisome and the nucleus, and its peroxisomal localization is attributed to a non-canonical PTS1, the C-terminal decapeptide which contains an internal SRL motif and a conserved tripeptide P-S/T-I/M at the extreme of C-terminus. This work may further the study as to the physiological function of AcCATPO, especially clarify its involvement in betalain biosynthesis, and provide a clue to elucidate more non-canonic PTS. PMID:28824680

  12. Subcellular Localization of a Plant Catalase-Phenol Oxidase, AcCATPO, from Amaranthus and Identification of a Non-canonical Peroxisome Targeting Signal.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ning; Teng, Xiao-Lu; Xiao, Xing-Guo

    2017-01-01

    AcCATPO is a plant catalase-phenol oxidase recently identified from red amaranth. Its physiological function remains unexplored. As the starting step of functional analysis, here we report its subcellular localization and a non-canonical targeting signal. Commonly used bioinformatics programs predicted a peroxisomal localization for AcCATPO, but failed in identification of canonical peroxisomal targeting signals (PTS). The C-terminal GFP tagging led the fusion protein AcCATPO-GFP to the cytosol and the nucleus, but N-terminal tagging directed the GFP-AcCATPO to peroxisomes and nuclei, in transgenic tobacco. Deleting the tripeptide (PTM) at the extreme C-terminus almost ruled out the peroxisomal localization of GFP-AcCATPOΔ3, and removing the C-terminal decapeptide completely excluded peroxisomes as the residence of GFP-AcCATPOΔ10. Furthermore, this decapeptide as a targeting signal could import GFP-10aa to the peroxisome exclusively. Taken together, these results demonstrate that AcCATPO is localized to the peroxisome and the nucleus, and its peroxisomal localization is attributed to a non-canonical PTS1, the C-terminal decapeptide which contains an internal SRL motif and a conserved tripeptide P-S/T-I/M at the extreme of C-terminus. This work may further the study as to the physiological function of AcCATPO, especially clarify its involvement in betalain biosynthesis, and provide a clue to elucidate more non-canonic PTS.

  13. Intrinsically disordered proteins aggregate at fungal cell-to-cell channels and regulate intercellular connectivity.

    PubMed

    Lai, Julian; Koh, Chuan Hock; Tjota, Monika; Pieuchot, Laurent; Raman, Vignesh; Chandrababu, Karthik Balakrishna; Yang, Daiwen; Wong, Limsoon; Jedd, Gregory

    2012-09-25

    Like animals and plants, multicellular fungi possess cell-to-cell channels (septal pores) that allow intercellular communication and transport. Here, using a combination of MS of Woronin body-associated proteins and a bioinformatics approach that identifies related proteins based on composition and character, we identify 17 septal pore-associated (SPA) proteins that localize to the septal pore in rings and pore-centered foci. SPA proteins are not homologous at the primary sequence level but share overall physical properties with intrinsically disordered proteins. Some SPA proteins form aggregates at the septal pore, and in vitro assembly assays suggest aggregation through a nonamyloidal mechanism involving mainly α-helical and disordered structures. SPA loss-of-function phenotypes include excessive septation, septal pore degeneration, and uncontrolled Woronin body activation. Together, our data identify the septal pore as a complex subcellular compartment and focal point for the assembly of unstructured proteins controlling diverse aspects of intercellular connectivity.

  14. Retention mechanisms for ER and Golgi membrane proteins.

    PubMed

    Gao, Caiji; Cai, Yi; Wang, Yejun; Kang, Byung-Ho; Aniento, Fernando; Robinson, David G; Jiang, Liwen

    2014-08-01

    Unless there are mechanisms to selectively retain membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or in the Golgi apparatus, they automatically proceed downstream to the plasma or vacuole membranes. Two types of coat protein complex I (COPI)-interacting motifs in the cytosolic tails of membrane proteins seem to facilitate membrane retention in the early secretory pathway of plants: a dilysine (KKXX) motif (which is typical of p24 proteins) for the ER and a KXE/D motif (which occurs in the Arabidopsis endomembrane protein EMP12) for the Golgi apparatus. The KXE/D motif is highly conserved in all eukaryotic EMPs and is additionally present in hundreds of other proteins of unknown subcellular localization and function. This novel signal may represent a new general mechanism for Golgi targeting and the retention of polytopic integral membrane proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Localization and expression of clarin-1, the Clrn1 gene product, in auditory hair cells and photoreceptors

    PubMed Central

    Zallocchi, Marisa; Meehan, Daniel T.; Delimont, Duane; Askew, Charles; Garrige, Suneetha; Gratton, Michael Anne; Rothermund-Franklin, Christie A.; Cosgrove, Dominic

    2009-01-01

    The Usher syndrome 3A (CLRN1) gene encodes clarin-1, which is a member of the tetraspanin family of transmembrane proteins. Although identified more than 6 years ago, little is known about its localization or function in the eye and ear. We developed a polyclonal antibody that react with all clarin-1 isoforms and used it to characterize protein expression in cochlea and retina. In the cochlea, we observe clarin-1expression in the stereocilia of P0 mice, and in synaptic terminals present at the base of the auditory hair cells from E18 to P6. In the retina, clarin-1 localizes to the connecting cilia, inner segment of photoreceptors and to the ribbon synapses. RT-PCR from P0 cochlea and P28 retina show mRNAs encoding only isoforms 2 and 3. Western-blots show that only isoform 2 is present in protein extracts from these same tissues. We examined clarin-1 expression in the immortomouse-derived hair cell line UB/OC-1. Only isoform 2 is expressed in UB/OC-1 at both mRNA and protein levels, suggesting this isoform is biologically relevant to hair cell function. The protein co-localizes with microtubules and post-transgolgi vesicles. The sub-cellular localization of clarin-1 in hair cells and photoreceptors suggests it functions at both the basal and apical poles of neurosensoriepithelia. PMID:19539019

  16. Subcellular localization and cytoplasmic complex status of endogenous Keap1.

    PubMed

    Watai, Yoriko; Kobayashi, Akira; Nagase, Hiroko; Mizukami, Mio; McEvoy, Justina; Singer, Jeffrey D; Itoh, Ken; Yamamoto, Masayuki

    2007-10-01

    Keap1 acts as a sensor for oxidative/electrophilic stress, an adaptor for Cullin-3-based ubiquitin ligase, and a regulator of Nrf2 activity through the interaction with Nrf2 Neh2 domain. However, the mechanism(s) of Nrf2 migration into the nucleus in response to stress remains largely unknown due to the lack of a reliable antibody for the detection of endogenous Keap1 molecule. Here, we report the generation of a new monoclonal antibody for the detection of endogenous Keap1 molecules. Immunocytochemical analysis of mouse embryonic fibroblasts with the antibody revealed that under normal, unstressed condition, Keap1 is localized primarily in the cytoplasm with minimal amount in the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum. This subcellular localization profile of Keap1 appears unchanged after treatment of cells with diethyl maleate, an electrophile, and/or Leptomycin B, a nuclear export inhibitor. Subcellular fractionation analysis of mouse liver cells showed similar results. No substantial change in the subcellular distribution profile could be observed in cells isolated from butylated hydroxyanisole-treated mice. Analyses of sucrose density gradient centrifugation of mouse liver cells indicated that Keap1 appears to form multiprotein complexes in the cytoplasm. These results demonstrate that endogenous Keap1 remains mostly in the cytoplasm, and electrophiles promote nuclear accumulation of Nrf2 without altering the subcellular localization of Keap1.

  17. ALA-mediated PDT of melanoma tumors: light-sensitizer interactions determined by a novel spectral imaging system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malik, Zvi; Dishi, M.

    1995-05-01

    The subcellular localization of endogenous protoporphyrin (endo- PP) during photosensitization in B-16 melanoma cells was analyzed by a novel spectral imaging system, the SpectraCube 1000. The melanoma cells were incubated with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), and then the fluorescence of endo-PP was recorded in individual living cells by three modes: conventional fluorescence imaging, multipixel point by point fluorescence spectroscopy, and image processing, by operating a function of spectral similarity mapping and reconstructing new images derived from spectral information. The fluorescence image of ALA-treated cells revealed vesicular distribution of endo-PP all over the cytosol, with mitochondrial, lysosomal, as well as endoplasmic reticulum cisternael accumulation. Two main spectral fluorescence peaks were demonstrated at 635 and 705 nm, with intensities that differed from one subcellular site to another. Photoirradiation of the cells included point-specific subcellular fluorescence spectrum changes and demonstrated photoproduct formation. Spectral image reconstruction revealed the local distribution of a chosen spectrum in the photosensitized cells. On the other hand, B 16 cells treated with exogenous protoporphyrin (exo-PP) showed a dominant fluorescence peak at 670 nm and a minor peak at 630 nm. Fluorescence was localized at a perinuclear=Golgi region. Light exposure induced photobleaching and photoproduct-spectral changes followed by relocalization. The new localization at subcellular compartments showed pH dependent spectral shifts and photoproduct formation on a subcellular level.

  18. Protein (multi-)location prediction: utilizing interdependencies via a generative model.

    PubMed

    Simha, Ramanuja; Briesemeister, Sebastian; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Shatkay, Hagit

    2015-06-15

    Proteins are responsible for a multitude of vital tasks in all living organisms. Given that a protein's function and role are strongly related to its subcellular location, protein location prediction is an important research area. While proteins move from one location to another and can localize to multiple locations, most existing location prediction systems assign only a single location per protein. A few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations for proteins, however, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, such systems do not capture dependencies among locations and usually consider locations as independent. We hypothesize that a multi-location predictor that captures location inter-dependencies can improve location predictions for proteins. We introduce a probabilistic generative model for protein localization, and develop a system based on it-which we call MDLoc-that utilizes inter-dependencies among locations to predict multiple locations for proteins. The model captures location inter-dependencies using Bayesian networks and represents dependency between features and locations using a mixture model. We use iterative processes for learning model parameters and for estimating protein locations. We evaluate our classifier MDLoc, on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins derived from the DBMLoc dataset, which is the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available. Our results, obtained by using MDLoc, significantly improve upon results obtained by an initial simpler classifier, as well as on results reported by other top systems. MDLoc is available at: http://www.eecis.udel.edu/∼compbio/mdloc. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  19. Promotion of neuritogenesis in mouse neuroblastoma cells by ganglioside GM3: Involvement of three signal pathways

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Edwards, A.H.

    1989-01-01

    Ganglioside GM3 was extracted from human placentae and tested for neuritogenic properties towards the mouse neuroblastoma cell line Neuro-2A. GM3 (2.5 {mu}M) was found to inhibit cell growth when added exogenously to the cell culture. ({sup 3}H)Thymidine incorporation was inhibited by 49% within 6 hr. Neuritogenesis was evident within 24 hr evidenced by an increase in the number and length of neurites produced compared to control cells. An enzymatic assay for protein kinase C activity was employed to study effects of GM3 on the subcellular localization of the enzyme. Ganglioside GM3 was found to alter the subcellular localization of themore » phospholipid- and calcium-dependent protein kinase C. These results were confirmed using a binding assay employing the labeled phorbol ester ({sup 3}H)phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate. Finally, GM3-modulation of IP{sub 3} formation and cytosolic calcium in the Neuro-2A cells was investigated. GM3 did not alter the phosphoinositol metabolism as evidenced by IP{sub 3} formation in these cells. However, the addition of GM3 (16 {mu}M) to cells loaded with the photoprotein, aequorin, induced an increase in the intracellular calcium concentration within 2 min, which was sustained for 10 min. Removal of external calcium by chelation did not abrogate the response to GM3, indicating that calcium was being released from internal stores. The calcium influx was temporally correlated with the translocation of protein kinase C, providing a rationale whereby GM3 may induce the enzyme to translocate.« less

  20. Regulation of Cell Physiology and Pathology by Protein S-Glutathionylation: Lessons Learned from the Cardiovascular System

    PubMed Central

    Pimentel, David; Haeussler, Dagmar Johanna; Matsui, Reiko; Burgoyne, Joseph Robert; Cohen, Richard Alan

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Significance: Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species contributing to homeostatic regulation and the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiac hypertrophy, is well established. The ability of oxidant species to mediate such effects is in part dependent on their ability to induce specific modifications on particular amino acids, which alter protein function leading to changes in cell signaling and function. The thiol containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine, are the only oxidized amino acids that undergo reduction by cellular enzymes and are, therefore, prime candidates in regulating physiological signaling. Various reports illustrate the significance of reversible oxidative modifications on cysteine thiols and their importance in modulating cardiovascular function and physiology. Recent Advances: The use of mass spectrometry, novel labeling techniques, and live cell imaging illustrate the emerging importance of reversible thiol modifications in cellular redox signaling and have advanced our analytical abilities. Critical Issues: Distinguishing redox signaling from oxidative stress remains unclear. S-nitrosylation as a precursor of S-glutathionylation is controversial and needs further clarification. Subcellular distribution of glutathione (GSH) may play an important role in local regulation, and targeted tools need to be developed. Furthermore, cellular redundancies of thiol metabolism complicate analysis and interpretation. Future Directions: The development of novel pharmacological analogs that specifically target subcellular compartments of GSH to promote or prevent local protein S-glutathionylation as well as the establishment of conditional gene ablation and transgenic animal models are needed. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 16, 524–542. PMID:22010840

  1. Learning from Heterogeneous Data Sources: An Application in Spatial Proteomics

    PubMed Central

    Breckels, Lisa M.; Holden, Sean B.; Wojnar, David; Mulvey, Claire M.; Christoforou, Andy; Groen, Arnoud; Trotter, Matthew W. B.; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Gatto, Laurent

    2016-01-01

    Sub-cellular localisation of proteins is an essential post-translational regulatory mechanism that can be assayed using high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS). These MS-based spatial proteomics experiments enable us to pinpoint the sub-cellular distribution of thousands of proteins in a specific system under controlled conditions. Recent advances in high-throughput MS methods have yielded a plethora of experimental spatial proteomics data for the cell biology community. Yet, there are many third-party data sources, such as immunofluorescence microscopy or protein annotations and sequences, which represent a rich and vast source of complementary information. We present a unique transfer learning classification framework that utilises a nearest-neighbour or support vector machine system, to integrate heterogeneous data sources to considerably improve on the quantity and quality of sub-cellular protein assignment. We demonstrate the utility of our algorithms through evaluation of five experimental datasets, from four different species in conjunction with four different auxiliary data sources to classify proteins to tens of sub-cellular compartments with high generalisation accuracy. We further apply the method to an experiment on pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells to classify a set of previously unknown proteins, and validate our findings against a recent high resolution map of the mouse stem cell proteome. The methodology is distributed as part of the open-source Bioconductor pRoloc suite for spatial proteomics data analysis. PMID:27175778

  2. Subcellular localization and logistics of integral membrane protein biogenesis in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Bogdanov, Mikhail; Aboulwafa, Mohammad; Saier, Milton H

    2013-01-01

    Transporters catalyze entry and exit of molecules into and out of cells and organelles, and protein-lipid interactions influence their activities. The bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) catalyzes transport-coupled sugar phosphorylation as well as nonvectorial sugar phosphorylation in the cytoplasm. The vectorial process is much more sensitive to the lipid environment than the nonvectorial process. Moreover, cytoplasmic micellar forms of these enzyme-porters have been identified, and non-PTS permeases have similarly been shown to exist in 'soluble' forms. The latter porters exhibit lipid-dependent activities and can adopt altered topologies by simply changing the lipid composition. Finally, intracellular membranes and vesicles exist in Escherichia coli leading to the following unanswered questions: (1) what determines whether a PTS permease catalyzes vectorial or nonvectorial sugar phosphorylation? (2) How do phospholipids influence relative amounts of the plasma membrane, intracellular membrane, inner membrane-derived vesicles and cytoplasmic micelles? (3) What regulates the route(s) of permease insertion and transfer into and between the different subcellular sites? (4) Do these various membranous forms have distinct physiological functions? (5) What methods should be utilized to study the biogenesis and interconversion of these membranous structures? While research concerning these questions is still in its infancy, answers will greatly enhance our understanding of protein-lipid interactions and how they control the activities, conformations, cellular locations and biogenesis of integral membrane proteins. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. Protein (multi-)location prediction: utilizing interdependencies via a generative model

    PubMed Central

    Shatkay, Hagit

    2015-01-01

    Motivation: Proteins are responsible for a multitude of vital tasks in all living organisms. Given that a protein’s function and role are strongly related to its subcellular location, protein location prediction is an important research area. While proteins move from one location to another and can localize to multiple locations, most existing location prediction systems assign only a single location per protein. A few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations for proteins, however, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, such systems do not capture dependencies among locations and usually consider locations as independent. We hypothesize that a multi-location predictor that captures location inter-dependencies can improve location predictions for proteins. Results: We introduce a probabilistic generative model for protein localization, and develop a system based on it—which we call MDLoc—that utilizes inter-dependencies among locations to predict multiple locations for proteins. The model captures location inter-dependencies using Bayesian networks and represents dependency between features and locations using a mixture model. We use iterative processes for learning model parameters and for estimating protein locations. We evaluate our classifier MDLoc, on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins derived from the DBMLoc dataset, which is the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available. Our results, obtained by using MDLoc, significantly improve upon results obtained by an initial simpler classifier, as well as on results reported by other top systems. Availability and implementation: MDLoc is available at: http://www.eecis.udel.edu/∼compbio/mdloc. Contact: shatkay@udel.edu. PMID:26072505

  4. FRET-based genetically-encoded sensors for quantitative monitoring of metabolites.

    PubMed

    Mohsin, Mohd; Ahmad, Altaf; Iqbal, Muhammad

    2015-10-01

    Neighboring cells in the same tissue can exist in different states of dynamic activities. After genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, fluxomics is now equally important for generating accurate quantitative information on the cellular and sub-cellular dynamics of ions and metabolite, which is critical for functional understanding of organisms. Various spectrometry techniques are used for monitoring ions and metabolites, although their temporal and spatial resolutions are limited. Discovery of the fluorescent proteins and their variants has revolutionized cell biology. Therefore, novel tools and methods targeting sub-cellular compartments need to be deployed in specific cells and targeted to sub-cellular compartments in order to quantify the target-molecule dynamics directly. We require tools that can measure cellular activities and protein dynamics with sub-cellular resolution. Biosensors based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) are genetically encoded and hence can specifically target sub-cellular organelles by fusion to proteins or targetted sequences. Since last decade, FRET-based genetically encoded sensors for molecules involved in energy production, reactive oxygen species and secondary messengers have helped to unravel key aspects of cellular physiology. This review, describing the design and principles of sensors, presents a database of sensors for different analytes/processes, and illustrate examples of application in quantitative live cell imaging.

  5. Protein Composition of Trypanosoma brucei Mitochondrial Membranes

    PubMed Central

    Acestor, Nathalie; Panigrahi, Aswini K.; Ogata, Yuko; Anupama, Atashi; Stuart, Kenneth D.

    2010-01-01

    Mitochondria consist of four compartments, outer membrane, intermembrane space, inner membrane and matrix; each harboring specific functions and structures. In this study, we used mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize the protein composition of Trypanosoma brucei mitochondrial membranes, which were enriched by different biochemical fractionation techniques. The analyses identified 202 proteins that contain one or more transmembrane domain(s) and/or positive GRAVY scores. Of these, various criteria were used to assign 72 proteins to mitochondrial membranes with high confidence, and 106 with moderate to low confidence. The sub-cellular localization of a selected subset of 13 membrane assigned proteins was confirmed by tagging and immunofluorescence analysis. While most proteins assigned to mitochondrial membrane have putative roles in metabolic, energy generating, and transport processes, ~50% have no known function. These studies result in a comprehensive profile of the composition and sub-organellar location of proteins in the T. brucei mitochondrion thus, providing useful information on mitochondrial functions. PMID:19834910

  6. Targeted Analysis of KLF6/KLF6-SV1 Regulating Pathways in Prostate Cancer Development and Metastasis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-09-01

    and KLF6-SV1 it will be important to define the functionality of the putative NLS, the 5BR, as well as the role of nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling in...aa EGFP -56 aa -16 aa KLF6 KLF6-SV1 5BR ZF,ZF~F3 ZF, ZF2 ZF3 l29KLF6 57KLF6 17KLF6 located near or within other important domains that...the transporter protein Crm1/Xpo1, first discovered in yeast [33–36]. Subcellular localization and protein turnover are two related events that are

  7. Subcellular localisations of the CPTI collection of YFP-tagged proteins in Drosophila embryos

    PubMed Central

    Lye, Claire M.; Naylor, Huw W.; Sanson, Bénédicte

    2014-01-01

    A key challenge in the post-genomic area is to identify the function of the genes discovered, with many still uncharacterised in all metazoans. A first step is transcription pattern characterisation, for which we now have near whole-genome coverage in Drosophila. However, we have much more limited information about the expression and subcellular localisation of the corresponding proteins. The Cambridge Protein Trap Consortium generated, via piggyBac transposition, over 600 novel YFP-trap proteins tagging just under 400 Drosophila loci. Here, we characterise the subcellular localisations and expression patterns of these insertions, called the CPTI lines, in Drosophila embryos. We have systematically analysed subcellular localisations at cellularisation (stage 5) and recorded expression patterns at stage 5, at mid-embryogenesis (stage 11) and at late embryogenesis (stages 15-17). At stage 5, 31% of the nuclear lines (41) and 26% of the cytoplasmic lines (67) show discrete localisations that provide clues on the function of the protein and markers for organelles or regions, including nucleoli, the nuclear envelope, nuclear speckles, centrosomes, mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, lysosomes and peroxisomes. We characterised the membranous/cortical lines (102) throughout stage 5 to 10 during epithelial morphogenesis, documenting their apico-basal position and identifying those secreted in the extracellular space. We identified the tricellular vertices as a specialized membrane domain marked by the integral membrane protein Sidekick. Finally, we categorised the localisation of the membranous/cortical proteins during cytokinesis. PMID:25294944

  8. Positioning cell wall synthetic complexes by the bacterial morphogenetic proteins MreB and MreD.

    PubMed

    White, Courtney L; Kitich, Aleksandar; Gober, James W

    2010-05-01

    In Caulobacter crescentus, intact cables of the actin homologue, MreB, are required for the proper spatial positioning of MurG which catalyses the final step in peptidoglycan precursor synthesis. Similarly, in the periplasm, MreC controls the spatial orientation of the penicillin binding proteins and a lytic transglycosylase. We have now found that MreB cables are required for the organization of several other cytosolic murein biosynthetic enzymes such as MraY, MurB, MurC, MurE and MurF. We also show these proteins adopt a subcellular pattern of localization comparable to MurG, suggesting the existence of cytoskeletal-dependent interactions. Through extensive two-hybrid analyses, we have now generated a comprehensive interaction map of components of the bacterial morphogenetic complex. In the cytosol, this complex contains both murein biosynthetic enzymes and morphogenetic proteins, including RodA, RodZ and MreD. We show that the integral membrane protein, MreD, is essential for lateral peptidoglycan synthesis, interacts with the precursor synthesizing enzymes MurG and MraY, and additionally, determines MreB localization. Our results suggest that the interdependent localization of MreB and MreD functions to spatially organize a complex of peptidoglycan precursor synthesis proteins, which is required for propagation of a uniform cell shape and catalytically efficient peptidoglycan synthesis.

  9. Unexpected Role for a Serine/Threonine-Rich Domain in the Candida albicans Iff Protein Family▿†

    PubMed Central

    Boisramé, Anita; Cornu, Amandine; Da Costa, Grégory; Richard, Mathias L.

    2011-01-01

    Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins are an important class of cell wall proteins in Candida albicans because of their localization and their function, even if more than half of them have no characterized homolog in the databases. In this study, we focused on the IFF protein family, investigating their exposure on the cell surface and the sequences that determine their subcellular localization. Protein localization and surface exposure were monitored by the addition of a V5 tag on all members of the family. The data obtained using the complete proteins showed for Iff3 (or -9), Iff5, Iff6, and Iff8 a covalent linkage to the β-1,6-glucan network but, remarkably, showed that Iff2/Hyr3 was linked through disulfide bridges or NaOH-labile bonds. However, since some proteins of the Iff family were undetectable, we designed chimeric constructions using the last 60 amino acids of these proteins to test the localization signal. These constructions showed a β-1,6-glucan linkage for Iff1/Rbr3, Iff2/Hyr3, Iff4 and Iff7/Hyr4 C-terminal–Iff5 fusion proteins, and a membrane localization for the Iff10/Flo9 C terminus-Iff5 fusion protein. Immunofluorescence analyses coupled to these cell fraction data confirmed the importance of the length of the central serine/threonine-rich region for cell surface exposure. Further analysis of the Iff2/Hyr3 linkage to the cell surface showed for the first time that a serine/threonine central region of a GPI-anchored protein may be responsible for the disulfide and the NaOH bonds to the glucan and glycoproteins network and may also override the signal of the proximal ω site region. PMID:21841123

  10. Small Molecule DFPM Derivative-Activated Plant Resistance Protein Signaling in Roots Is Unaffected by EDS1 Subcellular Targeting Signal and Chemical Genetic Isolation of victr R-Protein Mutants

    PubMed Central

    Mevers, Emily; García, Ana V.; Highhouse, Samantha; Gerwick, William H.; Parker, Jane E.; Schroeder, Julian I.

    2016-01-01

    The small molecule DFPM ([5-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)furan-2-yl]-piperidine-1-ylmethanethione) was recently shown to trigger signal transduction via early effector-triggered immunity signaling genes including EDS1 and PAD4 in Arabidopsis thaliana accession Col-0. Chemical genetic analyses of A. thaliana natural variants identified the plant Resistance protein-like Toll/Interleukin1 Receptor (TIR)-Nucleotide Binding (NB)-Leucine-Rich Repeat (LRR) protein VICTR as required for DFPM-mediated root growth arrest. Here a chemical genetic screen for mutants which disrupt DFPM-mediated root growth arrest in the Col-0 accession identified new mutant alleles of the TIR-NB-LRR gene VICTR. One allele, victr-6, carries a Gly216-to-Asp mutation in the Walker A domain supporting an important function of the VICTR nucleotide binding domain in DFPM responses consistent with VICTR acting as a canonical Resistance protein. The essential nucleo-cytoplasmic regulator of TIR-NB-LRR-mediated effector-triggered immunity, EDS1, was reported to have both nuclear and cytoplasmic actions in pathogen resistance. DFPM was used to investigate the requirements for subcellular EDS1 localization in DFPM-mediated root growth arrest. EDS1-YFP fusions engineered to localize mainly in the cytoplasm or the nucleus by tagging with a nuclear export signal (NES) or a nuclear localization signal (NLS), respectively, were tested. We found that wild-type EDS1-YFP and both the NES and NLS-tagged EDS1 variants were induced by DFPM treatments and fully complemented eds1 mutant plants in root responses to DFPM, suggesting that enrichment of EDS1 in either compartment could confer DFPM-mediated root growth arrest. We further found that a light and O2-dependent modification of DFPM is necessary to mediate DFPM signaling in roots. Chemical analyses including Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and High-Resolution Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry identified a DFPM modification product that is likely responsible for bioactivity mediating root growth arrest. We propose a chemical structure of this product and a possible reaction mechanism for DFPM modification. PMID:27219122

  11. A Plasmodesmal Glycosyltransferase-Like Protein

    PubMed Central

    Zalepa-King, Lisa; Citovsky, Vitaly

    2013-01-01

    Plasmodesmata (Pd) are plant intercellular connections that represent cytoplasmic conduits for a wide spectrum of cellular transport cargoes, from ions to house-keeping proteins to transcription factors and RNA silencing signals; furthermore, Pd are also utilized by most plant viruses for their spread between host cells. Despite this central role of Pd in the plant life cycle, their structural and functional composition remains poorly characterized. In this study, we used a known Pd-associated calreticulin protein AtCRT1 as bait to isolate other Pd associated proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. These experiments identified a beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase-like enzyme (AtGnTL). Subcellular localization studies using confocal microscopy observed AtGnTL at Pd within living plant cells and demonstrated colocalization with a Pd callose-binding protein (AtPDCB1). That AtGnTL is resident in Pd was consistent with its localization within the plant cell wall following plasmolysis. Initial characterization of an Arabidopsis T-DNA insertional mutant in the AtGnTL gene revealed defects in seed germination and delayed plant growth. PMID:23469135

  12. Garlic virus X 11-kDa protein granules move within the cytoplasm and traffic a host protein normally found in the nucleolus.

    PubMed

    Lu, Yuwen; Yan, Fei; Guo, Wei; Zheng, Hongying; Lin, Lin; Peng, Jiejun; Adams, Michael J; Chen, Jianping

    2011-09-01

    The subcellular localization of the 11-kDa protein (p11) encoded by ORF3 of Garlic virus X (GarVX; genus Allexivirus, family Alphaflexiviridae) was examined by confocal microscopy. Granules with intense fluorescence were visible on the endoplasmic reticulum when p11 fused with green or red fluorescent protein (GFP or RFP) was expressed in epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana. Moreover, the p11-RFP granules moved in the cytoplasm, along the cell periphery and through the cell membranes to adjacent cells. A 17-kDa protein (p17) of garlic interacting with p11 was identified by yeast two-hybridization and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay. When p17 fused to GFP was expressed in epidermal cells of N. benthamiana, it localized to the nucleolus. However, in the presence of GarVX p11, the distribution of p17 changed to that of p11, but did not appear to affect the pattern of movement of p11. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY © 2011 BSPP AND BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD. NO CLAIM TO ORIGINAL US GOVERNMENT WORKS.

  13. [Identification and analysis of the proteins interacted with Prestin in cochlear outer hair cells of guinea pig].

    PubMed

    Luo, X; Wang, J Y; Zhang, F L; Xia, Y

    2018-01-07

    Objective: To explore the regulation and mechanism of Prestin protein by identifying the proteins interacted with Prestin in cochlear outer hair cell(OHC) and analyzing their biological function. Methods: Co-immunoprecipitation combined mass spectrometry technology was used to isolate and identify the proteins interacted with Prestin protein of OHC, bioinformatics was used to construct Prestin protein interaction network. The proteins interacted with Prestin in OHC of guinea pig were determined by matching primary interaction mass spectrometry with protein interaction network, and annotated their functions. Results: The results of co-immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry showed that 116 kinds of credible proteins could interact with Prestin. By constructing Prestin protein interaction network, matching the results of mass spectrometry and analyzing of sub-cellular localization, eight kinds of proteins were confirmed that they interacted with Prestin directly, namely EEF2, HSP90AB1, FN1, FLNA, EEF1A1, HSP90B1, ATP5A1, and ERH, respectively, which were mainly involved in the synthesis and transportation, transmembrane folding and localization, structural stability and signal transduction of Prestin protein. Conclusion: EEF2, HSP90AB1, FN1, FLNA, EEF1A1, HSP90B1, ATP5A1 and ERH provide molecular basis for sensory amplification function of OHCs by participating in biotransformation, transmembrane folding and localization, signal transduction and other biological processes of Prestin protein.

  14. Deg proteases and their role in protein quality control and processing in different subcellular compartments of the plant cell.

    PubMed

    Schuhmann, Holger; Adamska, Iwona

    2012-05-01

    Degradation of periplasmic proteins (Deg)/high temperature requirement A (HtrA) proteases are ATP-independent serine endopeptidases found in almost every organism. Database searches revealed that 16 Deg paralogues are encoded by the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, six of which were experimentally shown to be located in chloroplasts, one in peroxisomes, one in mitochondria and one in the nucleus. Two more Deg proteases are predicted to reside in chloroplasts, five in mitochondria (one of them with a dual chloroplastidial/mitochondrial localization) and the subcellular location of one protein is uncertain. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of Deg proteases in maintaining protein homeostasis and protein processing in various subcompartments of the plant cell. The chloroplast Deg proteases are the best examined so far, especially with respect to their role in the degradation of photodamaged photosynthetic proteins and in biogenesis of photosystem II (PSII). A combined action of thylakoid lumen and stroma Deg proteases in the primary cleavage of photodamaged D1 protein from PSII reaction centre is discussed on the basis of a recently resolved crystal structure of plant Deg1. The peroxisomal Deg protease is a processing enzyme responsible for the cleavage of N-terminal peroxisomal targeting signals (PTSs). A. thaliana mutants lacking this enzyme show reduced peroxisomal β-oxidation, indicating for the first time the impact of protein processing on peroxisomal functions in plants. Much less data is available for mitochondrial and nuclear Deg proteases. Based on the available expression data we hypothesize a role in general protein quality control and during acquired heat resistance. Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2011.

  15. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shiheido, Hirokazu, E-mail: shiheido@ak.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Shimizu, Jun

    BEN domain-containing protein 3 (BEND3) has recently been reported to function as a heterochromatin-associated protein in transcriptional repression in the nucleus. BEND3 should have nuclear localization signals (NLSs) to localize to the nucleus in light of its molecular weight, which is higher than that allowed to pass through nuclear pore complexes. We here analyzed the subcellular localization of deletion/site-directed mutants of human BEND3 by an immunofluorescence assay in an attempt to identify the amino acids essential for its nuclear localization. We found that three basic amino acid residues located in the N-terminal region of BEND3 (BEND3{sub 56–58}, KRK) are essential,more » suggesting that these residues play a role as a functional NLS. These results provide valuable information for progressing research on BEND3. - Highlights: • BEND3 localizes to the nucleus. • The N-terminal 60 amino acids region of BEND3 contains NLS. • Amino acids located between 56 and 58 of BEND3 (KRK) are part of NLS. • KRK motif is highly conserved among BEND3 homologs.« less

  16. Microtubule actin crosslinking factor 1b: a novel plakin that localizes to the Golgi complex.

    PubMed

    Lin, Chung-Ming; Chen, Hui-Jye; Leung, Conrad L; Parry, David A D; Liem, Ronald K H

    2005-08-15

    MACF1 (microtubule actin crosslinking factor), also called ACF7 (actin crosslinking family 7) is a cytoskeletal linker protein that can associate with both actin filaments and microtubules. We have identified a novel alternatively spliced isoform of MACF1. We named this isoform MACF1b and renamed the original isoform MACF1a. MACF1b is identical to MACF1a, except that it has a region containing plakin (or plectin) repeats in the middle of the molecule. MACF1b is ubiquitously expressed in adult tissues with especially high levels in the lung. We studied the subcellular localization of MACF1b proteins in mammalian cell lines. In two lung cell lines, MACF1b was chiefly localized to the Golgi complex. Upon treatments that disrupt the Golgi complex, MACF1b redistributed into the cytosol, but remained co-localized with the dispersed Golgi ministacks. MACF1b proteins can be detected in the enriched Golgi fraction by western blotting. The domain of MACF1b that targets it to the Golgi was found at the N-terminal part of the region that contains the plakin repeats. Reducing the level of MACF1 proteins by small-interfering RNA resulted in the dispersal of the Golgi complex.

  17. Trafficking regulates the subcellular distribution of voltage-gated sodium channels in primary sensory neurons.

    PubMed

    Bao, Lan

    2015-09-30

    Voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) comprise at least nine pore-forming α subunits. Of these, Nav1.6, Nav1.7, Nav1.8 and Nav1.9 are the most frequently studied in primary sensory neurons located in the dorsal root ganglion and are mainly localized to the cytoplasm. A large pool of intracellular Navs raises the possibility that changes in Nav trafficking could alter channel function. The molecular mediators of Nav trafficking mainly consist of signals within the Navs themselves, interacting proteins and extracellular factors. The surface expression of Navs is achieved by escape from the endoplasmic reticulum and proteasome degradation, forward trafficking and plasma membrane anchoring, and it is also regulated by channel phosphorylation and ubiquitination in primary sensory neurons. Axonal transport and localization of Navs in afferent fibers involves the motor protein KIF5B and scaffold proteins, including contactin and PDZ domain containing 2. Localization of Nav1.6 to the nodes of Ranvier in myelinated fibers of primary sensory neurons requires node formation and the submembrane cytoskeletal protein complex. These findings inform our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying Nav trafficking in primary sensory neurons.

  18. Mitochondrial targeting of the human peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (MSRA), an enzyme involved in the repair of oxidized proteins.

    PubMed

    Hansel, Alfred; Kuschel, Lioba; Hehl, Solveig; Lemke, Cornelius; Agricola, Hans-Jürgen; Hoshi, Toshinori; Heinemann, Stefan H

    2002-06-01

    Peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (MSRA) catalyzes the reduction of methionine sulfoxide to methionine. This widely expressed enzyme constitutes an important repair mechanism for oxidatively damaged proteins, which accumulate during the manifestation of certain degenerative diseases and aging processes. In addition, it is discussed to be involved in regulatory processes. Here we address the question of how the enzyme's diverse functions are reflected in its subcellular localization. Using fusions of the human version of MSRA with the enhanced green fluorescence protein expressed in various mammalian cell lines, we show a distinct localization at mitochondria. The N-terminal 23 amino acid residues contain the signal for this mitochondrial targeting. Activity tests showed that they are not required for enzyme function. Mitochondrial localization of native MSRA in mouse and rat liver slices was verified with an MSRA-specific antibody by using immunohistochemical methods. The protein was located in the mitochondrial matrix, as demonstrated by using pre-embedding immunostaining and electron microscopy. Mitochondria are the major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, MSRA has to be considered an important means for the general reduction of ROS release from mitochondria.

  19. Differentiation-induced Colocalization of the KH-type Splicing Regulatory Protein with Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein and the c-src Pre-mRNA

    PubMed Central

    Hall, Megan P.; Huang, Sui; Black, Douglas L.

    2004-01-01

    We have examined the subcellular localization of the KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP). KSRP is a multidomain RNA-binding protein implicated in a variety of cellular processes, including splicing in the nucleus and mRNA localization in the cytoplasm. We find that KSRP is primarily nuclear with a localization pattern that most closely resembles that of polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB). Colocalization experiments of KSRP with PTB in a mouse neuroblastoma cell line determined that both proteins are present in the perinucleolar compartment (PNC), as well as in other nuclear enrichments. In contrast, HeLa cells do not show prominent KSRP staining in the PNC, even though PTB labeling identified the PNC in these cells. Because both PTB and KSRP interact with the c-src transcript to affect N1 exon splicing, we examined the localization of the c-src pre-mRNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The src transcript is present in specific foci within the nucleus that are presumably sites of src transcription but are not generally perinucleolar. In normally cultured neuroblastoma cells, these src RNA foci contain PTB, but little KSRP. However, upon induced neuronal differentiation of these cells, KSRP occurs in the same foci with src RNA. PTB localization remains unaffected. This differentiation-induced localization of KSRP with src RNA correlates with an increase in src exon N1 inclusion. These results indicate that PTB and KSRP do indeed interact with the c-src transcript in vivo, and that these associations change with the differentiated state of the cell. PMID:14657238

  20. Minimalist ensemble algorithms for genome-wide protein localization prediction.

    PubMed

    Lin, Jhih-Rong; Mondal, Ananda Mohan; Liu, Rong; Hu, Jianjun

    2012-07-03

    Computational prediction of protein subcellular localization can greatly help to elucidate its functions. Despite the existence of dozens of protein localization prediction algorithms, the prediction accuracy and coverage are still low. Several ensemble algorithms have been proposed to improve the prediction performance, which usually include as many as 10 or more individual localization algorithms. However, their performance is still limited by the running complexity and redundancy among individual prediction algorithms. This paper proposed a novel method for rational design of minimalist ensemble algorithms for practical genome-wide protein subcellular localization prediction. The algorithm is based on combining a feature selection based filter and a logistic regression classifier. Using a novel concept of contribution scores, we analyzed issues of algorithm redundancy, consensus mistakes, and algorithm complementarity in designing ensemble algorithms. We applied the proposed minimalist logistic regression (LR) ensemble algorithm to two genome-wide datasets of Yeast and Human and compared its performance with current ensemble algorithms. Experimental results showed that the minimalist ensemble algorithm can achieve high prediction accuracy with only 1/3 to 1/2 of individual predictors of current ensemble algorithms, which greatly reduces computational complexity and running time. It was found that the high performance ensemble algorithms are usually composed of the predictors that together cover most of available features. Compared to the best individual predictor, our ensemble algorithm improved the prediction accuracy from AUC score of 0.558 to 0.707 for the Yeast dataset and from 0.628 to 0.646 for the Human dataset. Compared with popular weighted voting based ensemble algorithms, our classifier-based ensemble algorithms achieved much better performance without suffering from inclusion of too many individual predictors. We proposed a method for rational design of minimalist ensemble algorithms using feature selection and classifiers. The proposed minimalist ensemble algorithm based on logistic regression can achieve equal or better prediction performance while using only half or one-third of individual predictors compared to other ensemble algorithms. The results also suggested that meta-predictors that take advantage of a variety of features by combining individual predictors tend to achieve the best performance. The LR ensemble server and related benchmark datasets are available at http://mleg.cse.sc.edu/LRensemble/cgi-bin/predict.cgi.

  1. Minimalist ensemble algorithms for genome-wide protein localization prediction

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Computational prediction of protein subcellular localization can greatly help to elucidate its functions. Despite the existence of dozens of protein localization prediction algorithms, the prediction accuracy and coverage are still low. Several ensemble algorithms have been proposed to improve the prediction performance, which usually include as many as 10 or more individual localization algorithms. However, their performance is still limited by the running complexity and redundancy among individual prediction algorithms. Results This paper proposed a novel method for rational design of minimalist ensemble algorithms for practical genome-wide protein subcellular localization prediction. The algorithm is based on combining a feature selection based filter and a logistic regression classifier. Using a novel concept of contribution scores, we analyzed issues of algorithm redundancy, consensus mistakes, and algorithm complementarity in designing ensemble algorithms. We applied the proposed minimalist logistic regression (LR) ensemble algorithm to two genome-wide datasets of Yeast and Human and compared its performance with current ensemble algorithms. Experimental results showed that the minimalist ensemble algorithm can achieve high prediction accuracy with only 1/3 to 1/2 of individual predictors of current ensemble algorithms, which greatly reduces computational complexity and running time. It was found that the high performance ensemble algorithms are usually composed of the predictors that together cover most of available features. Compared to the best individual predictor, our ensemble algorithm improved the prediction accuracy from AUC score of 0.558 to 0.707 for the Yeast dataset and from 0.628 to 0.646 for the Human dataset. Compared with popular weighted voting based ensemble algorithms, our classifier-based ensemble algorithms achieved much better performance without suffering from inclusion of too many individual predictors. Conclusions We proposed a method for rational design of minimalist ensemble algorithms using feature selection and classifiers. The proposed minimalist ensemble algorithm based on logistic regression can achieve equal or better prediction performance while using only half or one-third of individual predictors compared to other ensemble algorithms. The results also suggested that meta-predictors that take advantage of a variety of features by combining individual predictors tend to achieve the best performance. The LR ensemble server and related benchmark datasets are available at http://mleg.cse.sc.edu/LRensemble/cgi-bin/predict.cgi. PMID:22759391

  2. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bandyopadhyay, Anindya; Kopperud, Kristin; Anderson, Gavin

    The genome of Potato yellow dwarf virus (PYDV; Nucleorhabdovirus type species) was determined to be 12,875 nucleotides (nt). The antigenome is organized into seven open reading frames (ORFs) ordered 3'-N-X-P-Y-M-G-L-5', which likely encode the nucleocapsid, phospho, movement, matrix, glyco and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins, respectively, except for X, which is of unknown function. The ORFs are flanked by a 3' leader RNA of 149 nt and a 5' trailer RNA of 97 nt, and are separated by conserved intergenic junctions. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that PYDV is closely related to other leafhopper-transmitted rhabdoviruses. Functional protein assays were used to determine themore » subcellular localization of PYDV proteins. Surprisingly, the M protein was able to induce the intranuclear accumulation of the inner nuclear membrane in the absence of any other viral protein. Finally, bimolecular fluorescence complementation was used to generate the most comprehensive protein interaction map for a plant-adapted rhabdovirus to date.« less

  3. Constraints imposed by non-functional protein–protein interactions on gene expression and proteome size

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jingshan; Maslov, Sergei; Shakhnovich, Eugene I

    2008-01-01

    Crowded intracellular environments present a challenge for proteins to form functional specific complexes while reducing non-functional interactions with promiscuous non-functional partners. Here we show how the need to minimize the waste of resources to non-functional interactions limits the proteome diversity and the average concentration of co-expressed and co-localized proteins. Using the results of high-throughput Yeast 2-Hybrid experiments, we estimate the characteristic strength of non-functional protein–protein interactions. By combining these data with the strengths of specific interactions, we assess the fraction of time proteins spend tied up in non-functional interactions as a function of their overall concentration. This allows us to sketch the phase diagram for baker's yeast cells using the experimentally measured concentrations and subcellular localization of their proteins. The positions of yeast compartments on the phase diagram are consistent with our hypothesis that the yeast proteome has evolved to operate closely to the upper limit of its size, whereas keeping individual protein concentrations sufficiently low to reduce non-functional interactions. These findings have implication for conceptual understanding of intracellular compartmentalization, multicellularity and differentiation. PMID:18682700

  4. Identification of Contractile Vacuole Proteins in Trypanosoma cruzi

    PubMed Central

    Park, Miyoung; Martins, Vicente P.; Atwood, James; Moles, Kristen; Collins, Dalis; Rohloff, Peter; Tarleton, Rick; Moreno, Silvia N. J.; Orlando, Ron; Docampo, Roberto

    2011-01-01

    Contractile vacuole complexes are critical components of cell volume regulation and have been shown to have other functional roles in several free-living protists. However, very little is known about the functions of the contractile vacuole complex of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, other than a role in osmoregulation. Identification of the protein composition of these organelles is important for understanding their physiological roles. We applied a combined proteomic and bioinfomatic approach to identify proteins localized to the contractile vacuole. Proteomic analysis of a T. cruzi fraction enriched for contractile vacuoles and analyzed by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS resulted in the addition of 109 newly detected proteins to the group of expressed proteins of epimastigotes. We also identified different peptides that map to at least 39 members of the dispersed gene family 1 (DGF-1) providing evidence that many members of this family are simultaneously expressed in epimastigotes. Of the proteins present in the fraction we selected several homologues with known localizations in contractile vacuoles of other organisms and others that we expected to be present in these vacuoles on the basis of their potential roles. We determined the localization of each by expression as GFP-fusion proteins or with specific antibodies. Six of these putative proteins (Rab11, Rab32, AP180, ATPase subunit B, VAMP1, and phosphate transporter) predominantly localized to the vacuole bladder. TcSNARE2.1, TcSNARE2.2, and calmodulin localized to the spongiome. Calmodulin was also cytosolic. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining subcellular fractionation, proteomic analysis, and bioinformatic approaches for localization of organellar proteins that are difficult to detect with whole cell methodologies. The CV localization of the proteins investigated revealed potential novel roles of these organelles in phosphate metabolism and provided information on the potential participation of adaptor protein complexes in their biogenesis. PMID:21437209

  5. Structural requirements of oleosin domains for subcellular targeting to the oil body.

    PubMed Central

    van Rooijen, G J; Moloney, M M

    1995-01-01

    We have investigated the protein domains responsible for the correct subcellular targeting of plant seed oleosins. We have attempted to study this targeting in vivo using "tagged" oleosins in transgenic plants. Different constructs were prepared lacking gene sequences encoding one of three structural domains of natural oleosins. Each was fused in frame to the Escherichia coli uid A gene encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS). These constructs were introduced into Brassica napus using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. GUS activity was measured in washed oil bodies and in the soluble protein fraction of the transgenic seeds. It was found that complete Arabidopsis oleosin-GUS fusions undergo correct subcellular targeting in transgenic Brassica seeds. Removal of the C-terminal domain of the Arabidopsis oleosin comprising the last 48 amino acids had no effect on overall subcellular targeting. In contrast, loss of the first 47 amino acids (N terminus) or amino acids 48 to 113 (which make up a lipophilic core) resulted in impaired targeting of the fusion protein to the oil bodies and greatly reduced accumulation of the fusion protein. Northern blotting revealed that this reduction is not due to differences in mRNA accumulation. Results from these measurements indicated that both the N-terminal and central oleosin domain are important for targeting to the oil body and show that there is a direct correlation between the inability to target to the oil body and protein stability. PMID:8539295

  6. Nance-Horan syndrome protein, NHS, associates with epithelial cell junctions.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Shiwani; Ang, Sharyn L; Shaw, Marie; Mackey, David A; Gécz, Jozef; McAvoy, John W; Craig, Jamie E

    2006-06-15

    Nance-Horan syndrome, characterized by congenital cataracts, craniofacial, dental abnormalities and mental disturbances, is an X-linked disorder with significant phenotypic heterogeneity. Affected individuals have mutations in the NHS (Nance-Horan syndrome) gene typically resulting in premature truncation of the protein. This report underlines the complexity of the regulation of the NHS gene that transcribes several isoforms. We demonstrate the differential expression of the two NHS isoforms, NHS-A and NHS-1A, and differences in the subcellular localization of the proteins encoded by these isoforms. This may in part explain the pleiotropic features of the syndrome. We show that the endogenous and exogenous NHS-A isoform localizes to the cell membrane of mammalian cells in a cell-type-dependent manner and that it co-localizes with the tight junction (TJ) protein ZO-1 in the apical aspect of cell membrane in epithelial cells. We also show that the NHS-1A isoform is a cytoplasmic protein. In the developing mammalian lens, we found continuous expression of NHS that became restricted to the lens epithelium in pre- and postnatal lens. Consistent with the in vitro findings, the NHS-A isoform associates with the apical cell membrane in the lens epithelium. This study suggests that disturbances in intercellular contacts underlie cataractogenesis in the Nance-Horan syndrome. NHS is the first gene localized at TJs that has been implicated in congenital cataracts.

  7. Effects of sulfite on the uptake and binding of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide in cultured murine respiratory epithelial cells.

    PubMed Central

    Green, J L; Jones, B C; Reed, G A

    1994-01-01

    Sulfur dioxide (SO2) may act as a cocarcinogen with benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the respiratory tract. We have modeled this effect by examining the interactions of 7r,8t-dihydroxy-9t,10t-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (anti-BPDE) with sulfite, the physiological form of SO2, in a murine respiratory epithelial cell line (C10). We exposed C10 cells to [3H]-anti-BPDE and determined the effects of 1 and 10 mM sulfite on the uptake and subcellular localization of labeled products. Autoradiographic analysis showed that sulfite doubled the nuclear localization of anti-BPDE-derived materials after a 4-hr incubation period. The net nuclear localization of anti-BPDE-derived materials was not affected by sulfite during the first 60 min, but nuclear localization continued to increase in the sulfite-containing incubations throughout the 4-hr incubation period. Little increase in nuclear localization of anti-BPDE-derived material was noted in the incubations without sulfite after 60 min. Subcellular fractionation was performed to determine the amount of label associated with cytosolic and nuclear fractions and to determine covalent binding to protein and DNA. Sulfite produced a modest increase in the amount of [3H]-anti-BPDE-derived products bound to protein; however, binding to nuclear DNA increased by more than 200% with 10 mM sulfite. Analysis of the supernatants from the cytosolic and nuclear fractions of cells exposed to anti-BPDE and sulfite demonstrated the presence of 7r,8t,9t-trihydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene-10c-su lfonate (BPT-10-sulfonate). [3H]-BPT-10-sulfonate was unable to enter C10 cells, suggesting that it is formed intracellularly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Images Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 4. PMID:8033853

  8. Nuclear Cytoplasmic Trafficking of Proteins is a Major Response of Human Fibroblasts to Oxidative Stress

    PubMed Central

    Baqader, Noor O.; Radulovic, Marko; Crawford, Mark; Stoeber, Kai; Godovac-Zimmermann, Jasminka

    2014-01-01

    We have used a subcellular spatial razor approach based on LC–MS/MS-based proteomics with SILAC isotope labeling to determine changes in protein abundances in the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments of human IMR90 fibroblasts subjected to mild oxidative stress. We show that response to mild tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide treatment includes redistribution between the nucleus and cytoplasm of numerous proteins not previously associated with oxidative stress. The 121 proteins with the most significant changes encompass proteins with known functions in a wide variety of subcellular locations and of cellular functional processes (transcription, signal transduction, autophagy, iron metabolism, TCA cycle, ATP synthesis) and are consistent with functional networks that are spatially dispersed across the cell. Both nuclear respiratory factor 2 and the proline regulatory axis appear to contribute to the cellular metabolic response. Proteins involved in iron metabolism or with iron/heme as a cofactor as well as mitochondrial proteins are prominent in the response. Evidence suggesting that nuclear import/export and vesicle-mediated protein transport contribute to the cellular response was obtained. We suggest that measurements of global changes in total cellular protein abundances need to be complemented with measurements of the dynamic subcellular spatial redistribution of proteins to obtain comprehensive pictures of cellular function. PMID:25133973

  9. The eukaryotic signal sequence, YGRL, targets the chlamydial inclusion

    PubMed Central

    Kabeiseman, Emily J.; Cichos, Kyle H.; Moore, Elizabeth R.

    2014-01-01

    Understanding how host proteins are targeted to pathogen-specified organelles, like the chlamydial inclusion, is fundamentally important to understanding the biogenesis of these unique subcellular compartments and how they maintain autonomy within the cell. Syntaxin 6, which localizes to the chlamydial inclusion, contains an YGRL signal sequence. The YGRL functions to return syntaxin 6 to the trans-Golgi from the plasma membrane, and deletion of the YGRL signal sequence from syntaxin 6 also prevents the protein from localizing to the chlamydial inclusion. YGRL is one of three YXXL (YGRL, YQRL, and YKGL) signal sequences which target proteins to the trans-Golgi. We designed various constructs of eukaryotic proteins to test the specificity and propensity of YXXL sequences to target the inclusion. The YGRL signal sequence redirects proteins (e.g., Tgn38, furin, syntaxin 4) that normally do not localize to the chlamydial inclusion. Further, the requirement of the YGRL signal sequence for syntaxin 6 localization to inclusions formed by different species of Chlamydia is conserved. These data indicate that there is an inherent property of the chlamydial inclusion, which allows it to recognize the YGRL signal sequence. To examine whether this “inherent property” was protein or lipid in nature, we asked if deletion of the YGRL signal sequence from syntaxin 6 altered the ability of the protein to interact with proteins or lipids. Deletion or alteration of the YGRL from syntaxin 6 does not appreciably impact syntaxin 6-protein interactions, but does decrease syntaxin 6-lipid interactions. Intriguingly, data also demonstrate that YKGL or YQRL can successfully substitute for YGRL in localization of syntaxin 6 to the chlamydial inclusion. Importantly and for the first time, we are establishing that a eukaryotic signal sequence targets the chlamydial inclusion. PMID:25309881

  10. Moonlighting proteins in cancer.

    PubMed

    Min, Kyung-Won; Lee, Seong-Ho; Baek, Seung Joon

    2016-01-01

    Since the 1980s, growing evidence suggested that the cellular localization of proteins determined their activity and biological functions. In a classical view, a protein is characterized by the single cellular compartment where it primarily resides and functions. It is now believed that when proteins appear in different subcellular locations, the cells surpass the expected activity of proteins given the same genomic information to fulfill complex biological behavior. Many proteins are recognized for having the potential to exist in multiple locations in cells. Dysregulation of translocation may cause cancer or contribute to poorer cancer prognosis. Thus, quantitative and comprehensive assessment of dynamic proteins and associated protein movements could be a promising indicator in determining cancer prognosis and efficiency of cancer treatment and therapy. This review will summarize these so-called moonlighting proteins, in terms of a coupled intracellular cancer signaling pathway. Determination of the detailed biological intracellular and extracellular transit and regulatory activity of moonlighting proteins permits a better understanding of cancer and identification of potential means of molecular intervention. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. RNA:RNA interaction can enhance RNA localization in Drosophila oocytes

    PubMed Central

    Hartswood, Eve; Brodie, Jim; Vendra, Georgia; Davis, Ilan; Finnegan, David J.

    2012-01-01

    RNA localization is a key mechanism for targeting proteins to particular subcellular domains. Sequences necessary and sufficient for localization have been identified, but little is known about factors that affect its kinetics. Transcripts of gurken and the I factor, a non-LTR retrotransposon, colocalize at the nucleus in the dorso–antero corner of the Drosophila oocyte directed by localization signals, the GLS and ILS. I factor RNA localizes faster than gurken after injection into oocytes, due to a difference in the intrinsic localization ability of the GLS and ILS. The kinetics of localization of RNA containing the ILS are enhanced by the presence of a stem–loop, the A loop. This acts as an RNA:RNA interaction element in vivo and in vitro, and stimulates localization of RNA containing other localization signals. RNA:RNA interaction may be a general mechanism for modulating RNA localization and could allow an mRNA that lacks a localization signal to hitchhike on another RNA that has one. PMID:22345148

  12. In silico prediction of escherichia coli proteins targeting the host cell nucleus, with special reference to their role in colon cancer etiology.

    PubMed

    Khan, Abdul Arif

    2014-06-01

    The potential role of Escherichia coli in the development of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has been investigated in many studies. Although the exact mechanism is not clear, chronic inflammation caused by E. coli and other related events are suggested as possible causes behind E. coli-induced colon cancer. It has been found that CRC cells, but not normal cells, are colonized by an intracellular form of E. coli. We predicted nuclear targeting of bacterial proteins in the host cell through computational tools nuclear localization signal (NLS) mapper and balanced subcellular localization predictor (BaCeILo). During intracellular E. coli residence, such targeting is highly likely and may have a possible role in colon cancer etiology. We observed that several gene expression-associated proteins of E. coli can migrate to the host nucleus during intracellular infections. This situation provides an opportunity for competitive interaction of host and pathogen proteins with similar cellular substrates, thereby increasing the chances of development of colon cancer. Moreover, the results indicated that proteins localized in the membrane of E. coli mostly act as secretary proteins in host cells. No exact correlation was observed between NLS prediction and nuclear localization prediction by BaCeILo. This is partly because of a number of reasons, including that only 30% of nuclear proteins carry NLS and that proteins <40 kDa molecular weight can passively target the host nucleus. This study concludes that detection of gene expression-specific E. coli proteins and their targeting of the nucleus may have a profound impact on CRC etiology.

  13. Determination of the Subcellular Distribution of Liposomes Using Confocal Microscopy.

    PubMed

    Solomon, Melani A

    2017-01-01

    It is being increasingly recognized that therapeutics need to be delivered to specific organelle targets within cells. Liposomes are versatile lipid-based drug delivery vehicles that can be surface-modified to deliver the loaded cargo to specific subcellular locations within the cell. Hence, the development of such technology requires a means of measuring the subcellular distribution possibly by utilizing imaging techniques that can visualize and quantitate the extent of this subcellular localization. The apparent increase of resolution along the Z-axis offered by confocal microscopy makes this technique suitable for such studies. In this chapter, we describe the application of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to determine the subcellular distribution of fluorescently labeled mitochondriotropic liposomes.

  14. Kif4 Is Essential for Mouse Oocyte Meiosis.

    PubMed

    Camlin, Nicole J; McLaughlin, Eileen A; Holt, Janet E

    2017-01-01

    Progression through the meiotic cell cycle must be strictly regulated in oocytes to generate viable embryos and offspring. During mitosis, the kinesin motor protein Kif4 is indispensable for chromosome condensation and separation, midzone formation and cytokinesis. Additionally, the bioactivity of Kif4 is dependent on phosphorylation via Aurora Kinase B and Cdk1, which regulate Kif4 function throughout mitosis. Here, we examine the role of Kif4 in mammalian oocyte meiosis. Kif4 localized in the cytoplasm throughout meiosis I and II, but was also observed to have a dynamic subcellular distribution, associating with both microtubules and kinetochores at different stages of development. Co-localization and proximity ligation assays revealed that the kinetochore proteins, CENP-C and Ndc80, are potential Kif4 interacting proteins. Functional analysis of Kif4 in oocytes via antisense knock-down demonstrated that this protein was not essential for meiosis I completion. However, Kif4 depleted oocytes displayed enlarged polar bodies and abnormal metaphase II spindles, indicating an essential role for this protein for correct asymmetric cell division in meiosis I. Further investigation of the phosphoregulation of meiotic Kif4 revealed that Aurora Kinase and Cdk activity is critical for Kif4 kinetochore localization and interaction with Ndc80 and CENP-C. Finally, Kif4 protein but not gene expression was found to be upregulated with age, suggesting a role for this protein in the decline of oocyte quality with age.

  15. The microtubule-associated protein EB1 maintains cell polarity through activation of protein kinase C.

    PubMed

    Schober, Joseph M; Kwon, Guim; Jayne, Debbie; Cain, Jeanine M

    2012-01-06

    The plus-ends of microtubules target the cell cortex to modulate actin protrusion dynamics and polarity, but little is known of the molecular mechanism that couples the interaction. EB1 protein associates with the plus-ends of microtubules, placing EB1 in an ideal spatial position to mediate microtubule-actin cross talk. The objective of the current study was to further understand intracellular signaling involved in EB1-dependent cell polarity and motility. B16F10 mouse melanoma cells were depleted of EB1 protein using short hair-pin RNA interference. Correlative live cell-immunofluorescence microscopy was performed to determine localization of WAVE2 and IQGAP1 to protruding versus retracting edges. EB1 knock down caused poor subcellular separation of WAVE2 and IQGAP1, and overall decreased localization. Activation of PKC corrected defects in WAVE2 and IQGAP1 localization, cell spreading and cell shape to levels observed in control cells, but did not correct defects in cell migration. Consistent with these findings, decreased PKC phosphorylation was observed in EB1 knock down cells. These findings support a model where EB1 protein links microtubules to actin protrusion and cell polarity through signaling pathways involving PKC. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Deciphering the roles of acyl-CoA-binding proteins in plant cells.

    PubMed

    Lung, Shiu-Cheung; Chye, Mee-Len

    2016-09-01

    Lipid trafficking is vital for metabolite exchange and signal communications between organelles and endomembranes. Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are involved in the intracellular transport, protection, and pool formation of acyl-CoA esters, which are important intermediates and regulators in lipid metabolism and cellular signaling. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of plant ACBP families from a cellular and developmental perspective. Plant ACBPs have been extensively studied in Arabidopsis thaliana (a dicot) and to a lesser extent in Oryza sativa (a monocot). Thus far, they have been detected in the plasma membrane, vesicles, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, apoplast, cytosol, nuclear periphery, and peroxisomes. In combination with biochemical and molecular genetic tools, the widespread subcellular distribution of respective ACBP members has been explicitly linked to their functions in lipid metabolism during development and in response to stresses. At the cellular level, strong expression of specific ACBP homologs in specialized cells, such as embryos, stem epidermis, guard cells, male gametophytes, and phloem sap, is of relevance to their corresponding distinct roles in organ development and stress responses. Other interesting patterns in their subcellular localization and spatial expression that prompt new directions in future investigations are discussed.

  17. The accumulation and localization of chalcone synthase in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.).

    PubMed

    Wang, Huiling; Wang, Wei; Zhan, JiCheng; Yan, Ailing; Sun, Lei; Zhang, Guojun; Wang, Xiaoyue; Ren, Jiancheng; Huang, Weidong; Xu, Haiying

    2016-09-01

    Chalcone synthase (CHS, E.C.2.3.1.74) is the first committed enzyme in the flavonoid pathway. Previous studies have primarily focused on the cloning, expression and regulation of the gene at the transcriptional level. Little is yet known about the enzyme accumulation, regulation at protein level, as well as its localization in grapevine. In present study, the accumulation, tissue and subcellular localization of CHS in different grapevine tissues (Vitis vinifera L. Cabernet Sauvignon) were investigated via the techniques of Western blotting, immunohistochemical localization, immunoelectron microscopy and confocal microscopy. The results showed that CHS were mainly accumulated in the grape berry skin, leaves, stem tips and stem phloem, correlated with flavonoids accumulation. The accumulation of CHS is developmental dependent in grape berry skin and flesh. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that CHS were primarily localized in the exocarp and vascular bundles of the fruits during berry development; in palisade, spongy tissues and vascular bundles of the leaves; in the primary phloem and pith ray in the stems; in the growth point, leaf primordium, and young leaves of leaf buds; and in the endoderm and primary phloem of grapevine roots. Furthermore, at the subcellular level, the cell wall, cytoplasm and nucleus localized patterns of CHS were observed in the grapevine vegetative tissue cells. Results above indicated that distribution of CHS in grapevine was organ-specific and tissue-specific. This work will provide new insight for the biosynthesis and regulation of diverse flavonoid compounds in grapevine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. [Expression and localization of transmembrane protein CMTM2 in human testis and sperm].

    PubMed

    Zhang, X W; Lan, K; Yang, W B; Li, Q; Zhao, Y P; Yin, H Q; Kite, B; Bai, W J; Xu, T

    2017-08-18

    To study the expression of transmembrane protein CMTM2 in the testis and sperm of adult males and to approach the potential function of the protein in the male reproductive system. The expression of CMTM2 in human testis and sperm was confirmed by Western blot. Immunohistochemical staining was used for detecting CMTM2 localization in the testis tissue, TRITC-CMTM2 and FITC-Hoechst double immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the subcellular localization of CMTM2 in the human sperm before and after acrosome reaction, that is, immunofluorescent staining was used for detecting CMTM2 localization in both the testis and sperm before and after the acrosome reaction. CMTM2 was presented in both human testis and sperm. In the testis, CMTM2 immunoreactive particles were observed mainly in the membrane of the different stages of spermatogenic cells. In the human sperm, its immunoreactivity was restrictively localized to the posterior head where sperm-egg fusion occurred, and the CMTM2 localization was not affected by sperm acrosome reaction. CMTM2 was widely expressed in seminiferous tubules of the human testis, mainly in the cell membranes of spermatogenic cells, which was consistent with the previous reports. The immunofluorescence performed on frozen human testis slides showed similar findings with immunohistochemistry, which gave weight to the localization of CMTM2 in the cell membranes of spermatogenic cells at different stages. TRITC-CMTM2 and FITC-Hoechst double immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the subcellular localization of CMTM2 in the human sperm before and after acrosome reaction. CMTM2 was localized at the posterior head of sperm before and after acrosome reaction. The localization and expression of CMTM2 were not affected by sperm acrosome reaction. Expression of CMTM2 in the male reproductive system of the adult human exhibits cell- and region-specific patterns, which suggests that they may play an important role in spermatogenesis and sperm-egg fusion. The expression of CMTM2 in the male reproductive system of the adult human exhibits cell- and region-specific patterns, which suggests that they may play an important role in spermatogenesis and sperm-egg fusion. However, it still remains to be further elucidated about the definite role of CMTM2 in male reproductive system and the process of spermatogenesis. And in vitro fertilization experiments are needed to confirm the role of CMTM2 in fertilization in future.

  19. Disruption of SLP-76 interaction with Gads inhibits dynamic clustering of SLP-76 and FcepsilonRI signaling in mast cells.

    PubMed

    Silverman, Michael A; Shoag, Jonathan; Wu, Jennifer; Koretzky, Gary A

    2006-03-01

    We developed a confocal real-time imaging approach that allows direct observation of the subcellular localization pattern of proteins involved in proximal FcepsilonRI signaling in RBL cells and primary bone marrow-derived mast cells. The adaptor protein Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing leukocyte phosphoprotein of 76 kDa (SLP-76) is critical for FcepsilonRI-induced calcium flux, degranulation, and cytokine secretion. In this study, we imaged SLP-76 and found it in the cytosol of unstimulated cells. Upon FcepsilonRI cross-linking, SLP-76 translocates to the cell membrane, forming clusters that colocalize with the FcepsilonRI, the tyrosine kinase Syk, the adaptor LAT, and phosphotyrosine. The disruption of the SLP-76 interaction with its constitutive binding partner, Gads, through the mutation of SLP-76 or the expression of the Gads-binding region of SLP-76, inhibits the translocation and clustering of SLP-76, suggesting that the interaction of SLP-76 with Gads is critical for appropriate subcellular localization of SLP-76. We further demonstrated that the expression of the Gads-binding region of SLP-76 in bone marrow-derived mast cells inhibits FcepsilonRI-induced calcium flux, degranulation, and cytokine secretion. These studies revealed, for the first time, that SLP-76 forms signaling clusters following FcepsilonRI stimulation and demonstrated that the Gads-binding region of SLP-76 regulates clustering of SLP-76 and FcepsilonRI-induced mast cell responses.

  20. Identification of a calmodulin-regulated Ca2+-ATPase in the endoplasmic reticulum

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hong, B.; Ichida, A.; Wang, Y.; Gens, J. S.; Pickard, B. G.; Harper, J. F.; Evans, M. L. (Principal Investigator)

    1999-01-01

    A unique subfamily of calmodulin-dependent Ca2+-ATPases was recently identified in plants. In contrast to the most closely related pumps in animals, plasma membrane-type Ca2+-ATPases, members of this new subfamily are distinguished by a calmodulin-regulated autoinhibitor located at the N-terminal instead of a C-terminal end. In addition, at least some isoforms appear to reside in non-plasma membrane locations. To begin delineating their functions, we investigated the subcellular localization of isoform ACA2p (Arabidopsis Ca2+-ATPase, isoform 2 protein) in Arabidopsis. Here we provide evidence that ACA2p resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In buoyant density sucrose gradients performed with and without Mg2+, ACA2p cofractionated with an ER membrane marker and a typical "ER-type" Ca2+-ATPase, ACA3p/ECA1p. To visualize its subcellular localization, ACA2p was tagged with a green fluorescence protein at its C terminus (ACA2-GFPp) and expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis. We collected fluorescence images from live root cells using confocal and computational optical-sectioning microscopy. ACA2-GFPp appeared as a fluorescent reticulum, consistent with an ER location. In addition, we observed strong fluorescence around the nuclei of mature epidermal cells, which is consistent with the hypothesis that ACA2p may also function in the nuclear envelope. An ER location makes ACA2p distinct from all other calmodulin-regulated pumps identified in plants or animals.

  1. Localization and regulation of the N terminal splice variant of PGC-1α in adult skeletal muscle fibers.

    PubMed

    Shen, Tiansheng; Liu, Yewei; Schneider, Martin F

    2012-01-01

    The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) regulates expression of genes for metabolism and muscle fiber type. Recently, a novel splice variant of PGC-1α (NT-PGC-1α, amino acids 1-270) was cloned and found to be expressed in muscle. Here we use Flag-tagged NT-PGC-1α to examine the subcellular localization and regulation of NT-PGC-1α in skeletal muscle fibers. Flag-NT-PGC-1α is located predominantly in the myoplasm. Nuclear NT-PGC-1α can be increased by activation of protein kinase A. Activation of p38 MAPK by muscle activity or of AMPK had no effect on the subcellular distribution of NT-PGC-1α. Inhibition of CRM1-mediated export only caused relatively slow nuclear accumulation of NT-PGC-1α, indicating that nuclear export of NT-PGC-1α may be mediated by both CRM1-dependent and -independent pathways. Together these results suggest that the regulation of NT-PGC-1α in muscle fibers may be very different from that of the full-length PGC-1α, which is exclusively nuclear.

  2. Focal calcium monitoring with targeted nanosensors at the cytosolic side of endoplasmic reticulum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hou, Yanyan; Arai, Satoshi; Takei, Yoshiaki; Murata, Atsushi; Takeoka, Shinji; Suzuki, Madoka

    2016-01-01

    Ca2+ distribution is spatially and temporally non-uniform inside cells due to cellular compartmentalization. However, Ca2+ sensing with small organic dyes, such as fura-2 and fluo-4, has been practically applied at a single cell level where the averaged signal from freely diffusing dye molecules is acquired. In this study, we aimed to target azide-functionalized fura-2 (N3-fura-2) to a specific site of subcellular compartments to realize focal Ca2+ sensing. Using scAVD (single-chain avidin)-biotin interaction and a copper-free click reaction system, we linked N3-fura-2 to specifically-targeted scAVD protein fused with a red fluorescent protein mCherry, so that Ca2+ sensors conjugated with four N3-fura-2 dyes with dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-PEG4-biotin as a linker were generated at subcellular compartments in living cells. In cytoplasm, N3-fura-2 showed a prolonged retention period after binding to scAVD. Furthermore, the reacted N3-fura-2 was retained inside cells even after free dyes were washed out by methanol fixation. When scAVD was overexpressed on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, N3-fura-2 was accumulated on ER membranes. Upon histamine stimulation, which increases cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, ER-localized N3-fura-2 successfully sensed the Ca2+ level changes at the cytosolic side of ER membrane. Our study demonstrated specific targeting of N3-fura-2 to subcellular compartments and the ability of sensing focal Ca2+ level changes with the specifically targeted Ca2+ sensors.

  3. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Busch, Albert; Kiel, Tilman; Heupel, Wolfgang-M.

    Lamins, which form the nuclear lamina, not only constitute an important determinant of nuclear architecture, but additionally play essential roles in many nuclear functions. Mutations in A-type lamins cause a wide range of human genetic disorders (laminopathies). The importance of lamin A (LaA) in the spatial arrangement of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) prompted us to study the role of LaA mutants in nuclear protein transport. Two mutants, causing prenatal skin disease restrictive dermopathy (RD) and the premature aging disease Hutchinson Gilford progeria syndrome, were used for expression in HeLa cells to investigate their impact on the subcellular localization of NPC-associatedmore » proteins and nuclear protein import. Furthermore, dynamics of the LaA mutants within the nuclear lamina were studied. We observed affected localization of NPC-associated proteins, diminished lamina dynamics for both LaA mutants and reduced nuclear import of representative cargo molecules. Intriguingly, both LaA mutants displayed similar effects on nuclear morphology and functions, despite their differences in disease severity. Reduced nuclear protein import was also seen in RD fibroblasts and impaired lamina dynamics for the nucleoporin Nup153. Our data thus represent the first study of a direct link between LaA mutant expression and reduced nuclear protein import.« less

  4. Automated analysis and reannotation of subcellular locations in confocal images from the Human Protein Atlas.

    PubMed

    Li, Jieyue; Newberg, Justin Y; Uhlén, Mathias; Lundberg, Emma; Murphy, Robert F

    2012-01-01

    The Human Protein Atlas contains immunofluorescence images showing subcellular locations for thousands of proteins. These are currently annotated by visual inspection. In this paper, we describe automated approaches to analyze the images and their use to improve annotation. We began by training classifiers to recognize the annotated patterns. By ranking proteins according to the confidence of the classifier, we generated a list of proteins that were strong candidates for reexamination. In parallel, we applied hierarchical clustering to group proteins and identified proteins whose annotations were inconsistent with the remainder of the proteins in their cluster. These proteins were reexamined by the original annotators, and a significant fraction had their annotations changed. The results demonstrate that automated approaches can provide an important complement to visual annotation.

  5. The Fusarium oxysporum gnt2, Encoding a Putative N-Acetylglucosamine Transferase, Is Involved in Cell Wall Architecture and Virulence

    PubMed Central

    López-Fernández, Loida; Ruiz-Roldán, Carmen; Pareja-Jaime, Yolanda; Prieto, Alicia; Khraiwesh, Husam; Roncero, M. Isabel G.

    2013-01-01

    With the aim to decipher the molecular dialogue and cross talk between Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersci and its host during infection and to understand the molecular bases that govern fungal pathogenicity, we analysed genes presumably encoding N-acetylglucosaminyl transferases, involved in glycosylation of glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans or small molecule acceptors in other microorganisms. In silico analysis revealed the existence of seven putative N-glycosyl transferase encoding genes (named gnt) in F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici genome. gnt2 deletion mutants showed a dramatic reduction in virulence on both plant and animal hosts. Δgnt2 mutants had αalterations in cell wall properties related to terminal αor β-linked N-acetyl glucosamine. Mutant conidia and germlings also showed differences in structure and physicochemical surface properties. Conidial and hyphal aggregation differed between the mutant and wild type strains, in a pH independent manner. Transmission electron micrographs of germlings showed strong cell-to-cell adherence and the presence of an extracellular chemical matrix. Δgnt2 cell walls presented a significant reduction in N-linked oligosaccharides, suggesting the involvement of Gnt2 in N-glycosylation of cell wall proteins. Gnt2 was localized in Golgi-like sub-cellular compartments as determined by fluorescence microscopy of GFP::Gnt2 fusion protein after treatment with the antibiotic brefeldin A or by staining with fluorescent sphingolipid BODIPY-TR ceramide. Furthermore, density gradient ultracentrifugation allowed co-localization of GFP::Gnt2 fusion protein and Vps10p in subcellular fractions enriched in Golgi specific enzymatic activities. Our results suggest that N-acetylglucosaminyl transferases are key components for cell wall structure and influence interactions of F. oxysporum with both plant and animal hosts during pathogenicity. PMID:24416097

  6. The asparagine residue in the FRNK box of potyviral helper-component protease is critical for its small RNA binding and subcellular localization.

    PubMed

    Sahana, Nandita; Kaur, Harpreet; Jain, R K; Palukaitis, Peter; Canto, Tomas; Praveen, Shelly

    2014-05-01

    The multifunctional potyviral helper-component protease (HcPro) contains variable regions with some functionally conserved domains, such as the FRNK box. Natural variants occur at the FRNK box, a conserved central domain, known for its role in RNA binding and RNAi suppression activities, although no dominant natural variants for the N(182) residue are known to occur. Here, a mutant at HcPro(N182L) was developed to investigate its role in natural populations. Using in vitro studies, we found an increase in the small RNA (sRNA) binding potential of HcPro(N182L) without affecting its protein-protein interaction properties, suggesting that the presence of N(182) is critical to maintain threshold levels of sRNAs, but does not interfere in the self-interaction of HcPro. Furthermore, we found that expression of HcPro(N182L) in Nicotiana benthamiana affected plant growth. Transient expression of HcPro(N182L) induced reporter gene expression in 16c GFP transgenic plants more than HcPro did, suggesting that replacement of asparagine in the FRNK box favours RNA silencing suppression. HcPro was found to be distributed in the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas HcPro(N182L) was observed only in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in N. benthamiana leaves, when fused to a GFP tag and expressed by agro-infiltration, suggesting mutation favours oligomerization of HcPro. These findings suggest that amino acid N(182) of the conserved FRNK box may regulate RNA silencing mechanisms, and is required for maintenance of the subcellular localization of the protein for its multi-functionality. Hence, the N(182) residue of the FRNK box seems to be indispensable for potyvirus infection during evolution.

  7. Defining the human deubiquitinating enzyme interaction landscape.

    PubMed

    Sowa, Mathew E; Bennett, Eric J; Gygi, Steven P; Harper, J Wade

    2009-07-23

    Deubiquitinating enzymes (Dubs) function to remove covalently attached ubiquitin from proteins, thereby controlling substrate activity and/or abundance. For most Dubs, their functions, targets, and regulation are poorly understood. To systematically investigate Dub function, we initiated a global proteomic analysis of Dubs and their associated protein complexes. This was accomplished through the development of a software platform called CompPASS, which uses unbiased metrics to assign confidence measurements to interactions from parallel nonreciprocal proteomic data sets. We identified 774 candidate interacting proteins associated with 75 Dubs. Using Gene Ontology, interactome topology classification, subcellular localization, and functional studies, we link Dubs to diverse processes, including protein turnover, transcription, RNA processing, DNA damage, and endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. This work provides the first glimpse into the Dub interaction landscape, places previously unstudied Dubs within putative biological pathways, and identifies previously unknown interactions and protein complexes involved in this increasingly important arm of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.

  8. Defining the Human Deubiquitinating Enzyme Interaction Landscape

    PubMed Central

    Sowa, Mathew E.; Bennett, Eric J.; Gygi, Steven P.; Harper, J. Wade

    2009-01-01

    Summary Deubiquitinating enzymes (Dubs) function to remove covalently attached ubiquitin from proteins, thereby controlling substrate activity and/or abundance. For most Dubs, their functions, targets, and regulation are poorly understood. To systematically investigate Dub function, we initiated a global proteomic analysis of Dubs and their associated protein complexes. This was accomplished through the development of a software platform, called CompPASS, which uses unbiased metrics to assign confidence measurements to interactions from parallel non-reciprocal proteomic datasets. We identified 774 candidate interacting proteins associated with 75 Dubs. Using Gene Ontology, interactome topology classification, sub-cellular localization and functional studies, we link Dubs to diverse processes, including protein turnover, transcription, RNA processing, DNA damage, and endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. This work provides the first glimpse into the Dub interaction landscape, places previously unstudied Dubs within putative biological pathways, and identifies previously unknown interactions and protein complexes involved in this increasingly important arm of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. PMID:19615732

  9. Human Autoantibodies Reveal Titin as a Chromosomal Protein

    PubMed Central

    Machado, Cristina; Sunkel, Claudio E.; Andrew, Deborah J.

    1998-01-01

    Assembly of the higher-order structure of mitotic chromosomes is a prerequisite for proper chromosome condensation, segregation and integrity. Understanding the details of this process has been limited because very few proteins involved in the assembly of chromosome structure have been discovered. Using a human autoimmune scleroderma serum that identifies a chromosomal protein in human cells and Drosophila embryos, we cloned the corresponding Drosophila gene that encodes the homologue of vertebrate titin based on protein size, sequence similarity, developmental expression and subcellular localization. Titin is a giant sarcomeric protein responsible for the elasticity of striated muscle that may also function as a molecular scaffold for myofibrillar assembly. Molecular analysis and immunostaining with antibodies to multiple titin epitopes indicates that the chromosomal and muscle forms of titin may vary in their NH2 termini. The identification of titin as a chromosomal component provides a molecular basis for chromosome structure and elasticity. PMID:9548712

  10. The flavivirus capsid protein: Structure, function and perspectives towards drug design.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Edson R A; Mohana-Borges, Ronaldo; de Alencastro, Ricardo B; Horta, Bruno A C

    2017-01-02

    Flaviviruses, such as dengue and zika viruses, are etiologic agents transmitted to humans mainly by arthropods and are of great epidemiological interest. The flavivirus capsid protein is a structural element required for the viral nucleocapsid assembly that presents the classical function of sheltering the viral genome. After decades of research, many reports have shown its different functionalities and influence over cell normal functioning. The subcellular distribution of this protein, which involves accumulation around lipid droplets and nuclear localization, also corroborates with its multi-functional characteristic. As flavivirus diseases are still in need of global control and in view of the possible key functionalities that the capsid protein promotes over flavivirus biology, novel considerations arise towards anti-flavivirus drug research. This review covers the main aspects concerning structural and functional features of the flavivirus C protein, ultimately, highlighting prospects in drug discovery based on this viral target. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Membrane raft association is a determinant of plasma membrane localization.

    PubMed

    Diaz-Rohrer, Blanca B; Levental, Kandice R; Simons, Kai; Levental, Ilya

    2014-06-10

    The lipid raft hypothesis proposes lateral domains driven by preferential interactions between sterols, sphingolipids, and specific proteins as a central mechanism for the regulation of membrane structure and function; however, experimental limitations in defining raft composition and properties have prevented unequivocal demonstration of their functional relevance. Here, we establish a quantitative, functional relationship between raft association and subcellular protein sorting. By systematic mutation of the transmembrane and juxtamembrane domains of a model transmembrane protein, linker for activation of T-cells (LAT), we generated a panel of variants possessing a range of raft affinities. These mutations revealed palmitoylation, transmembrane domain length, and transmembrane sequence to be critical determinants of membrane raft association. Moreover, plasma membrane (PM) localization was strictly dependent on raft partitioning across the entire panel of unrelated mutants, suggesting that raft association is necessary and sufficient for PM sorting of LAT. Abrogation of raft partitioning led to mistargeting to late endosomes/lysosomes because of a failure to recycle from early endosomes. These findings identify structural determinants of raft association and validate lipid-driven domain formation as a mechanism for endosomal protein sorting.

  12. Membrane raft association is a determinant of plasma membrane localization

    PubMed Central

    Diaz-Rohrer, Blanca B.; Levental, Kandice R.; Simons, Kai; Levental, Ilya

    2014-01-01

    The lipid raft hypothesis proposes lateral domains driven by preferential interactions between sterols, sphingolipids, and specific proteins as a central mechanism for the regulation of membrane structure and function; however, experimental limitations in defining raft composition and properties have prevented unequivocal demonstration of their functional relevance. Here, we establish a quantitative, functional relationship between raft association and subcellular protein sorting. By systematic mutation of the transmembrane and juxtamembrane domains of a model transmembrane protein, linker for activation of T-cells (LAT), we generated a panel of variants possessing a range of raft affinities. These mutations revealed palmitoylation, transmembrane domain length, and transmembrane sequence to be critical determinants of membrane raft association. Moreover, plasma membrane (PM) localization was strictly dependent on raft partitioning across the entire panel of unrelated mutants, suggesting that raft association is necessary and sufficient for PM sorting of LAT. Abrogation of raft partitioning led to mistargeting to late endosomes/lysosomes because of a failure to recycle from early endosomes. These findings identify structural determinants of raft association and validate lipid-driven domain formation as a mechanism for endosomal protein sorting. PMID:24912166

  13. Localization of SERBP1 in stress granules and nucleoli.

    PubMed

    Lee, Yu-Jen; Wei, Hung-Ming; Chen, Ling-Yun; Li, Chuan

    2014-01-01

    SERPINE1 mRNA-binding protein 1 (SERBP1) is an arginine-methylated RNA-binding protein whose modification affects protein interaction and intracellular localization. In the present study, we show that, under normal growth conditions without stress, SERBP1 interacts with arginine-methylated and stress granule-associated proteins such as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1, fragile X mental retardation protein and fragile X mental retardation syndrome-related protein 1 in an RNA-dependent manner. We also show that, after arsenite treatment, a proportion of full-length SERBP1 protein co-localizes with the typical stress granule marker T-cell intracellular antigen-1 in the cytoplasmic stress granules. Truncated SERBP1 with an N-terminal, central RG or C-terminal deletion, or single-domain segments comprising the N-terminal, central or C-terminal region, were recruited to stress granules upon arsenite treatment but with reduced efficiency. In addition, upon arsenite treatment, the localization of SERBP1 changed from a diffuse cytoplasmic localization to nuclear-dominant (concentrated in the nucleolus) A similar distribution was observed when cells were treated with the methylation inhibitor adenosine periodate, and was also detected for N- or C-terminal domain deletions and all three single-domain fragments even without stress induction. We further demonstrate that adenosine periodate treatment delays the association/dissociation of SERBP1 with stress granules. Hypomethylation retains SERBP1 in the nucleus/nucleolus regardless of arsenite treatment. Our study indicates that arginine methylation is correlated with recruitment of SERBP to stress granules and nucleoli and its retention therein. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an RNA-binding protein that is shifted simultaneously to cytoplasmic stress granules and nucleoli, two ribonucleoprotein-enriched subcellular compartments, upon stress. © 2013 FEBS.

  14. Cloning and expression analysis of FaPR-1 gene in strawberry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mo, Fan; Luo, Ya; Ge, Cong; Mo, Qin; Ling, Yajie; Luo, Shu; Tang, Haoru

    2018-04-01

    The FaPR-1 gene was cloned by RT-PCR from `Benihoppe' strawberry and its bioinformatics analysis was conducted. The results showed that the open reading frame was 483 bp encoding encoding l60 amino acids which protein molecular weight and theoretical isoelectricity were 17854.17 and 8.72 respectively. Subcellular localization prediction shows that this gene is located extracellularly. By comparing strawberry FaPR-l and other plant Pathogenesis-related protein, homology and phylogenetic tree construction showed that the homology with grapes, peach is relatively close. In the treatments of ABA, sucrose and the mixture of the two, the expression of FaPR-1 in strawberry fruit were significantly increased.

  15. Phosphatidic acid (PA) binds PP2AA1 to regulate PP2A activity and PIN1 polar localization.

    PubMed

    Gao, Hong-Bo; Chu, Yu-Jia; Xue, Hong-Wei

    2013-09-01

    Phospholipase D (PLD) exerts broad biological functions in eukaryotes through regulating downstream effectors by its product, phosphatidic acid (PA). Protein kinases and phosphatases, such as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1) and Protein Phosphatase 2C (PP2C), are PA-binding proteins that execute crucial regulatory functions in both animals and plants. PA participates in many signaling pathways by modulating the enzymatic activity and/or subcellular localization of bound proteins. In this study, we demonstrated that PLD-derived PA interacts with the scaffolding A1 subunit of Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and regulates PP2A-mediated PIN1 dephosphorylation in Arabidopsis. Genetic and pharmacological studies showed that both PA and PP2A participate in the regulation of auxin distribution. In addition, both the phosphorylation status and polar localization of PIN1 protein were affected by PLD inhibitors. Exogenous PA triggered the membrane accumulation of PP2AA1 and enhanced the PP2A activity at membrane, while PLD inhibition resulted in the reduced endosomal localization and perinuclear aggregation of PP2AA1. These results demonstrate the important role of PLD-derived PA in normal PP2A-mediated PIN dephosphorylation and reveal a novel mechanism, in which PA recruits PP2AA1 to the membrane system and regulates PP2A function on membrane-targeted proteins. As PA and PP2A are conserved among eukaryotes, other organisms might use similar mechanisms to mediate multiple biological processes.

  16. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Sai Kam; Ho, Sai Fan; Department of Biochemistry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong

    Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the X protein (HBx) is thought to mediate the cellular changes associated with carcinogenesis. Recently, isolation of the hepatitis B virus integrants from HCC tissue by others have established the fact that the X gene is often truncated at its C-terminus. Expression of the GFP fusion proteins of HBx and its truncation mutants with a GFP tag in human liver cell-lines in this study revealed that the C-terminus of HBx is indispensable for its specific localization in the mitochondria. A crucial region of seven aminomore » acids at the C-terminus has been mapped out in which the cysteine residue at position 115 serves as the most important residue for the subcellular localization. When cysteine 115 of HBx is mutated to alanine the mitochondria targeting property of HBx is abrogated.« less

  17. A novel mutation in DDR2 causing spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia with short limbs and abnormal calcifications (SMED-SL) results in defective intra-cellular trafficking

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The rare autosomal genetic disorder, Spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia with short limbs and abnormal calcifications (SMED-SL), is reported to be caused by missense or splice site mutations in the human discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) gene. Previously our group has established that trafficking defects and loss of ligand binding are the underlying cellular mechanisms of several SMED-SL causing mutations. Here we report the clinical characteristics of two siblings of consanguineous marriage with suspected SMED-SL and identification of a novel disease-causing mutation in the DDR2 gene. Methods Clinical evaluation and radiography were performed to evaluate the patients. All the coding exons and splice sites of the DDR2 gene were sequenced by Sanger sequencing. Subcellular localization of the mutated DDR2 protein was determined by confocal microscopy, deglycosylation assay and Western blotting. DDR2 activity was measured by collagen activation and Western analysis. Results In addition to the typical features of SMED-SL, one of the patients has an eye phenotype including visual impairment due to optic atrophy. DNA sequencing revealed a novel homozygous dinucleotide deletion mutation (c.2468_2469delCT) on exon 18 of the DDR2 gene in both patients. The mutation resulted in a frameshift leading to an amino acid change at position S823 and a predicted premature termination of translation (p.S823Cfs*2). Subcellular localization of the mutant protein was analyzed in mammalian cell lines, and it was found to be largely retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which was further supported by its N-glycosylation profile. In keeping with its cellular mis-localization, the mutant protein was found to be deficient in collagen-induced receptor activation, suggesting protein trafficking defects as the major cellular mechanism underlying the loss of DDR2 function in our patients. Conclusions Our results indicate that the novel mutation results in defective trafficking of the DDR2 protein leading to loss of function and disease. This confirms our previous findings that DDR2 missense mutations occurring at the kinase domain result in retention of the mutant protein in the ER. PMID:24725993

  18. A Small Secreted Virulence-Related Protein Is Essential for the Necrotrophic Interactions of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum with Its Host Plants

    PubMed Central

    Lyu, Xueliang; Shen, Cuicui; Fu, Yanping; Xie, Jiatao; Jiang, Daohong; Li, Guoqing; Cheng, Jiasen

    2016-01-01

    Small, secreted proteins have been found to play crucial roles in interactions between biotrophic/hemi-biotrophic pathogens and plants. However, little is known about the roles of these proteins produced by broad host-range necrotrophic phytopathogens during infection. Here, we report that a cysteine-rich, small protein SsSSVP1 in the necrotrophic phytopathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was experimentally confirmed to be a secreted protein, and the secretion of SsSSVP1 from hyphae was followed by internalization and cell-to-cell movement independent of a pathogen in host cells. SsSSVP1∆SP could induce significant plant cell death and targeted silencing of SsSSVP1 resulted in a significant reduction in virulence. Through yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays, we demonstrated that SsSSVP1∆SP interacted with QCR8, a subunit of the cytochrome b-c1 complex of mitochondrial respiratory chain in plants. Double site-directed mutagenesis of two cysteine residues (C38 and C44) in SsSSVP1∆SP had significant effects on its homo-dimer formation, SsSSVP1∆SP-QCR8 interaction and plant cell death induction, indicating that partial cysteine residues surely play crucial roles in maintaining the structure and function of SsSSVP1. Co-localization and BiFC assays showed that SsSSVP1∆SP might hijack QCR8 to cytoplasm before QCR8 targeting into mitochondria, thereby disturbing its subcellular localization in plant cells. Furthermore, virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) of QCR8 in tobacco caused plant abnormal development and cell death, indicating the cell death induced by SsSSVP1∆SP might be caused by the SsSSVP1∆SP-QCR8 interaction, which had disturbed the QCR8 subcellular localization and hence disabled its biological functions. These results suggest that SsSSVP1 is a potential effector which may manipulate plant energy metabolism to facilitate the infection of S. sclerotiorum. Our findings indicate novel roles of small secreted proteins in the interactions between host-non-specific necrotrophic fungi and plants, and highlight the significance to illuminate the pathogenic mechanisms of this type of interaction. PMID:26828434

  19. Grow-ING, Age-ING and Die-ING: ING proteins link cancer, senescence and apoptosis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Russell, Michael; Berardi, Philip; Gong Wei

    The INhibitor of Growth (ING) family of plant homeodomain (PHD) proteins induce apoptosis and regulate gene expression through stress-inducible binding of phospholipids with subsequent nuclear and nucleolar localization. Relocalization occurs concomitantly with interaction with a subset of nuclear proteins, including PCNA, p53 and several regulators of acetylation such as the p300/CBP and PCAF histone acetyltransferases (HATs), as well as the histone deacetylases HDAC1 and hSir2. These interactions alter the localized state of chromatin compaction, subsequently affecting the expression of subsets of genes, including those associated with the stress response (Hsp70), apoptosis (Bax, MDM2) and cell cycle regulation (p21{sup WAF1}, cyclinmore » B) in a cell- and tissue-specific manner. The expression levels and subcellular localization of ING proteins are altered in a significant number of human cancer types, while the expression of ING isoforms changes during cellular aging, suggesting that ING proteins may play a role in linking cellular transformation and replicative senescence. The variety of functions attributed to ING proteins suggest that this tumor suppressor serves to link the disparate processes of cell cycle regulation, cell suicide and cellular aging through epigenetic regulation of gene expression. This review examines recent findings in the ING field with a focus on the functions of protein-protein interactions involving ING family members and the mechanisms by which these interactions facilitate the various roles that ING proteins play in tumorigenesis, apoptosis and senescence.« less

  20. G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1/G protein-coupled receptor 30 localizes in the plasma membrane and traffics intracellularly on cytokeratin intermediate filaments.

    PubMed

    Sandén, Caroline; Broselid, Stefan; Cornmark, Louise; Andersson, Krister; Daszkiewicz-Nilsson, Joanna; Mårtensson, Ulrika E A; Olde, Björn; Leeb-Lundberg, L M Fredrik

    2011-03-01

    G protein-coupled receptor 30 [G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1)], has been introduced as a membrane estrogen receptor and a candidate cancer biomarker and therapeutic target. However, several questions surround the subcellular localization and signaling of this receptor. In native cells, including mouse myoblast C(2)C(12) cells, Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells, and human ductal breast epithelial tumor T47-D cells, G-1, a GPER1 agonist, and 17β-estradiol stimulated GPER1-dependent cAMP production, a defined plasma membrane (PM) event, and recruitment of β-arrestin2 to the PM. Staining of fixed and live cells showed that GPER1 was localized both in the PM and on intracellular structures. One such intracellular structure was identified as cytokeratin (CK) intermediate filaments, including those composed of CK7 and CK8, but apparently not endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, or microtubules. Reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation of GPER1 and CKs confirmed an association of these proteins. Live staining also showed that the PM receptors constitutively internalize apparently to reach CK filaments. Receptor localization was supported using FLAG- and hemagglutinin-tagged GPER1. We conclude that GPER1-mediated stimulation of cAMP production and β-arrestin2 recruitment occur in the PM. Furthermore, the PM receptors constitutively internalize and localize intracellularly on CK. This is the first observation that a G protein-coupled receptor is capable of associating with intermediate filaments, which may be important for GPER1 regulation in epithelial cells and the relationship of this receptor to cancer.

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