作者机构：
[Yan, Lin; Zhao, Jingyan; Peng, Jianxin; Liu, Kaiyu; Yan, Xiumei; Yang, Yongbo; Ma, Haihao; Song, Jiping; Peng, Rong] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Peng, JX; Liu, KY] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Apaf-1;apoptosis;caspase;Spodoptera litura
摘要：
Simple Summary Apoptosis plays an important role in both the development of lepidopteran insects and the elimination of cells. The apoptosis signal pathways are well documented in mammals and Drosophila melanogaster. However, it remains less clear in lepidopteran insects. This study characterized the apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) from Spodoptera litura. The results showed that S. litura Apaf-1 (Sl-Apaf-1) is similar to the mammalian Apaf-1. Sl-Apaf-1 consists of a caspase recruitment domain (CARD), as well as nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD) and the C-terminal WD40-repeat domain (WD), and interacts with Sl-caspase-5 (a homologue of mammalian caspase-9). The activated Sl-caspase-5 can cleave Sl-procaspase-1 (a homologue of caspase-3 in mammals), which directly causes apoptosis. The apoptosis signal pathway is conserved between lepidopteran insects and mammals. Apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) is an adaptor molecule, essential for activating initiator caspase and downstream effector caspases, which directly cause apoptosis. In fruit flies, nematodes, and mammals, Apaf-1 has been extensively studied. However, the structure and function of Apaf-1 in Lepidoptera remain unclear. This study identified a novel Apaf-1 from Spodoptera litura, named Sl-Apaf-1. Sl-Apaf-1 contains three domains: a CARD domain, as well as NOD and WD motifs, and is very similar to mammalian Apaf-1. Interference of Sl-apaf-1 expression in SL-1 cells blocked apoptosis induced by actinomycin D. Overexpression of Sl-apaf-1 significantly enhances apoptosis induced by actinomycin D in Sf9/SL-1/U2OS cells, suggesting that the function of Sl-Apaf-1 is evolutionarily conserved. Furthermore, Sl-Apaf-1 could interact with Sl-caspase-5 (a homologue of mammalian caspase-9) and yielded a binding affinity of 1.37 x 10(6) M-1 according isothermal titration calorimetry assay. Initiator caspase (procaspase-5) of S. litura could be activated by Sl-Apaf-1 (without WD motif) in vitro, and the activated Sl-caspase-5 could cleave Sl-procaspase-1 (a homologue of caspase-3 in mammals), which directly caused apoptosis. This study demonstrates the key role of Sl-Apaf-1 in the apoptosis pathway, suggesting that the apoptosis pathway in Lepidopteran insects and mammals is conserved.
作者机构：
[Yong, Yu-Le; Lin, Peng; Liu, Man; Zheng, Nai-Shan; Li, Hao; Zhang, Ren-Yu; Chen, Zhi-Nan; Bian, Huijie; Liu, Ze-Kun; Wei, Ding] Fourth Mil Med Univ, Natl Translat Sci Ctr Mol Med, Dept Cell Biol, Xian 710032, Peoples R China.;[Liu, Ke] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.;[Yang, Xiao-Zhen; Hu, Cai-Xia] Capital Med Univ, Beijing Youan Hosp, Oncol & Hepatobiliary Minimally Invas Intervent C, Beijing 100069, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Chen, ZN; Bian, HJ] F;Fourth Mil Med Univ, Natl Translat Sci Ctr Mol Med, Dept Cell Biol, Xian 710032, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Genomic sequencing analysis of tumors provides potential molecular therapeutic targets for precision medicine. However, identifying a key driver gene or mutation that can be used for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment remains difficult. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing on genomic DNA obtained from six pairs of HCC and adjacent tissues and identified two novel somatic mutations of UBE2S (p. Gly57Ala and p. Lys63Asn). Predictions of the functional effects of the mutations showed that two amino-acid substitutions were potentially deleterious. Further, we observed that wild-type UBE2S, especially in the nucleus, was significantly higher in HCC tissues than that in adjacent tissues and closely related to the clinicopathological features of patients with HCC. Functional assays revealed that overexpression of UBE2S promoted the proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and G1/S phase transition of HCC cells in vitro, and promoted the tumor growth significantly in vivo. Mechanistically, UBE2S interacted with TRIM28 in the nucleus, both together enhanced the ubiquitination of p27 to facilitate its degradation and cell cycle progression. Most importantly, the small-molecule cephalomannine was found by a luciferase-based sensitive high-throughput screen (HTS) to inhibit UBE2S expression and significantly attenuate HCC progression in vitro and in vivo, which may represent a promising strategy for HCC therapy.
摘要：
BACKGROUND: The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a major agricultural pest that has invaded the East Hemisphere since 2016, generating a serious threat to the food security worldwide including Africa and Asia. The Cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been shown to be effective against this insect pest. In different insect ABC transporters (ABCC2 or ABCC3) have been shown to be involved as receptors of some Cry1 toxins. Here we analyzed the role of SfABCC2 and SfABCC3 in the toxicity of Cry1Fa and Cry1Ab toxins in this insect pest. RESULTS: Two S. frugiperda SfABCC2 and SfABCC3 knockout strains, coding for potential functional Bt receptors, were created using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system. Both knockout strains showed resistance to both Cry1Fa and Cry1Ab toxins compared with the susceptible strain. SfABCC2 knockout strain showed higher resistance to both Cry toxins than SfABCC3 knockout strain, suggesting a major role of SfABCC2 in the mode of action of these Cry toxins. In addition, expression of SfABCC2 and SfABCC3 genes in Trichoplusia ni Hi5 cells also increased the susceptibility to Cry1Ab and Cry1Fa toxins, in agreement with the genome editing results. The double knockout of SfABCC2 and SfABCC3 strain was not viable in contrast to other lepidopteran species. Furthermore, we report here that SfABCC2 or SfABCC3 knockout strains increased their susceptibility to abamectin and spinosad insecticides. CONCLUSION: We provide functional evidence that in S. frugiperda these two ABCC transporters serve as receptors of Bt Cry1Fa and Cry1Ab toxins. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
摘要：
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are positive single-stranded RNA viruses that cause severe respiratory syndromes in humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV-2) at the end of 2019 became a global pandemic. The 3C-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) processes viral polyproteins to yield mature non-structural proteins, thus playing an important role in the CoV life cycle, and therefore is considered as a prominent target for antiviral drugs. To date, many 3CLpro inhibitors have been reported, and their molecular mechanisms have been illustrated. Here, we briefly introduce the structural features of 3CLpro of the human-related SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and explore the potency and mechanism of their cognate inhibitors. This information will shed light on the development and optimization of CoV 3CLpro inhibitors, which may benefit the further designation of therapeutic strategies for treating CoV diseases.
摘要：
BACKGROUND: Pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) are responsible for transporting sex pheromones and general odorant binding proteins (GOBPs) have been proposed to transport host-plant volatiles. A large number of OBPs have been identified from Lepidoptera insect species. However, olfactory molecular biology and physiology studies on PBP and GOBP proteins in sugarcane pests were limited. Chilo infuscatellus is one of the most widely distributed pests in sugarcane producing areas. RESULTS: Three PBPs (CinfPBP1, CinfPBP2 and CinfPBP3) and two GOBPs (CinfGOBP1 and CinfGOBP2) were identified and five olfactory gene transcripts were abundantly expressed in the antennae. The binding assays showed the CinfPBP1-3 exhibited strong binding affinity to the sex pheromone component Z11-16: OH and 16: OH of C. infuscatellus. Meanwhile, the CinfGOBP1-2 had high binding affinities with its host-plant volatiles from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum). The field trapping results suggested four volatile components including Octadecane, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, α-Terpineol and Hexadecane from host plants and sex pheromones mixed baits play synergistic roles in attracting C. infuscatellus adult moths. CONCLUSION: Functional characterization of CinfPBPs and CinfGOBPs in C. infuscatellus could help us to find new environmentally friendly alternative pest control strategies to conventional pest control using pesticides in the sugarcane field. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
摘要：
The interaction of Tudor domain-containing proteins (TDRDs) with P-element-induced wimpy testis (PIWI) proteins plays critical roles in transposon silencing and spermatogenesis. Most human TDRDs recognize PIWI proteins in a methylarginine-dependent manner via their extended Tudor (eTudor) domains, except TDRD2, which prefers an unmethylated PIWI protein. In order to illustrate the recognition of unmethylated PIWI proteins by TDRD2, we extensively tried co-crystallization of the TDRD2 eTudor with different PIWIL1 peptides, but to no avail. Recombinant antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) have been used to crystallize some difficult proteins in the past, so we generated Fab against the TDRD2 eTudor protein using a phage-display antibody library, and one of these Fab fragments indeed facilitated the co-crystallization of TDRD2 and PIWIL1. Structural analysis of Fab, the TDRD2 eTudor domain in complex with an unmethylated PIWIL1-derived peptide revealed that the PIWIL1 residues G3 through R8 bound between the Tudor core and SN domain of TDRD2. The C-terminal residues of the PIWIL1 peptide were not resolved, presumably due to steric competition with the heavy chain of the Fab. We propose Fab-assisted crystallization as a tool not only for structural studies of single proteins, but also for analysis of interactions between proteins and their ligands in cases where co-crystallization of native protein complexes fails.
摘要：
Cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) is the major insect herbivore of cotton plants. As its larvae feed and grow on cotton, H. armigera can likely tolerate gossypol, the main defense metabolite produced by cotton plants, through detoxification and sequestration mechanisms. Recent reports have shown that various P450 monooxygenases and UDP-glycosyltransferases in H. armigera are involved in gossypol detoxification, while the roles of ABC transporters, another gene family widely associated with metabolite detoxification, remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that ingestion of gossypol-infused artificial diet and cotton leaves significantly induced the expression of HaABCB6 in H. armigera larvae. Knockdown and knockout of HaABCB6 increased sensitivity of H. armigera larvae to gossypol. Moreover, HaABCB6-GFP fusion protein was localized on lysosomes in Hi5 cells and its overexpression significantly enhanced gossypol tolerance in vitro. These experimental results strongly support that HaABCB6 plays an important role in gossypol detoxification by H. armigera.
期刊：
Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,2020年118:103306 ISSN：0965-1748
通讯作者：
Liu, Kaiyu;Soberon, Mario
作者机构：
[Liu, Kaiyu; Wei, Wei; Yang, Yongbo; Pan, Shuang; He, Sijia; Ma, Yuemin] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430070, Peoples R China.;[Xiao, Yutao] Chinese Acad Agr Sci, Agr Genom Inst Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, Peoples R China.;[Soberon, Mario; Bravo, Alejandra] Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Biotecnol, Apdo Postal 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Morelos, Mexico.
通讯机构：
[Liu, Kaiyu] C;[Soberon, Mario] U;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430070, Peoples R China.;Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Biotecnol, Apdo Postal 510-3, Cuernavaca 62250, Morelos, Mexico.
摘要：
Insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely used to control insect pests, but their efficacy is reduced when pests evolve resistance. We report on a novel allele (r16) of the cadherin gene (PgCad1) in pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) associated with resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac, which is produced by transgenic cotton. The r16 allele isolated from a field population in China has 1545 base pairs of a degenerate transposon inserted in exon 20 of PgCad1, which generates a mis-spliced transcript containing a premature stop codon. A strain homozygous for r16 had 300-fold resistance to Cry1Ac, 2.6-fold cross-resistance to Cry2Ab, and completed its life cycle on transgenic Bt cotton producing Cry1Ac. Inheritance of Cry1Ac resistance was recessive and tightly linked with r16. Compared with transfected insect cells expressing wild-type PgCad1, cells expressing r16 were less susceptible to Cry1Ac. Recombinant cadherin protein was transported to the cell membrane in cells transfected with the wild-type PgCad1 allele, but not in cells transfected with r16. Cadherin occurred on brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) in the midgut of susceptible larvae, but not resistant larvae. These results imply that the r16 allele mediates Cry1Ac resistance in pink bollworm by interfering with the localization of cadherin.
摘要：
MeCP2 is an abundant protein, involved in transcriptional repression by binding to CG and non-CG methylated DNA. However, MeCP2 might also function as a transcription activator as MeCP2 is found bound to sparsely methylated promoters of actively expressed genes. Furthermore, Attachment Region Binding Protein (ARBP), the chicken ortholog of MeCP2, has been reported to bind to Matrix/scaffold attachment regions (MARs/SARs) DNA with an unmethylated 5'-CAC/GTG-3' consensus sequence. In our previous study, although we have systemically measured the binding abilities of MBDs to unmethylated CAC/GTG DNA and the complex structures reveal that the MBD2-MBD (MBD of MBD2) binds to the unmethylated CAC/GTG DNA by recognizing the complementary GTG trinucleotide, how the MeCP2-MBD (MBD of MeCP2) recognizes the unmethylated CAC/GTG DNA, especially the MARs DNA, is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the binding characteristics of MeCP2 in recognizing unmethylated 5'-CAC/GTG-3' motif containing DNA by binding and structural studies. We found that MeCP2-MBD binds to MARs DNA with a comparable binding affinity to mCG DNA, and the MeCP2-CAC/GTG complex structure revealed that MeCP2 residues R111 and R133 form base-specific interactions with the GTG motif. For comparison, we also determined crystal structures of the MeCP2-MBD bound to mCG and mCAC/GTG DNA, respectively. Together, these crystal structures illustrate the adaptability of the MeCP2-MBD toward the GTG motif as well as the mCG DNA, and also provide structural basis of a biological role of MeCP2 as a transcription activator and its disease implications in Rett syndrome.
摘要：
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac toxin binds to midgut proteins, as cadherin (CAD) and ABCC2 transporter, to form pores leading to larval death. In cell lines, co-expression of CAD and ABCC2 enhance Cry1Ac toxicity significantly, but the mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that the expression of Helicoverpa armigera CAD (HaCAD-GFP) in Hi5 cells induces susceptibility to Cry1Ac and enhanced Cry1Ac toxicity when co-expressed with H. armigera ABCC2 (HaABCC2-GFP), since Cry1Ac toxicity increased 735-fold compared to Hi5 cells expressing HaCAD-GFP alone or 28-fold compared to HaABCC2-GFP alone. In contrast, the expression of the Spodoptera litura CAD (SlCAD-GFP) in Hi5 cells did not induce susceptibility to Cry1Ac nor it potentiated Cry1Ac toxicity with HaABCC2-GFP. To identify the CAD regions involved in the enhancement of Cry1Ac toxicity with ABCC2, the different CAD domains were replaced between SlCAD-GFP and HaCad-GFP proteins, and cytotoxicity assays were performed in Hi5 cells in the absence or presence of HaABCC2-GFP. The HaCAD toxin-binding region (TB), specifically the CAD repeat-11, was necessary to enhance Cry1Ac toxicity with ABCC2. We propose that CAD TB is involved in recruiting Cry1Ac to localize it in a good position for its interaction with the ABCC2, resulting in efficient toxin membrane insertion enhancing Cry1Ac toxicity.
期刊：
Journal of Bacteriology,2018年200(21):JB.00436-18 ISSN：0021-9193
通讯作者：
Qiu, Bao Sheri
作者机构：
[Zang, Sha-Sha; Li, Zheng-Ke; Qiu, Bao Sheri; Dai, Guo-Zheng; Liu, Ke; Song, Wei-Yu] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Zang, Sha-Sha; Li, Zheng-Ke; Qiu, Bao Sheri; Dai, Guo-Zheng; Liu, Ke; Song, Wei-Yu] Cent China Normal Univ, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Chen, Min] Univ Sydney, Sch Life & Environm Sci, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
通讯机构：
[Qiu, Bao Sheri] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.;Cent China Normal Univ, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.
期刊：
PROTEIN JOURNAL,2018年37(6):531-538 ISSN：1572-3887
通讯作者：
Liu, Yanli
作者机构：
[Liu, Jinlin; Liang, Xiao; Yang, Xiajie; Gong, Siying; Li, Fangzhou; Qi, Chao; Lei, Ming; Liu, Ke; Li, Bing; Liu, Yanli; Zhou, Mengqi] Cent China Normal Univ, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Cao, Yu] Cent China Normal Univ, Key Lab Pesticide & Chem Biol, Minist Educ, Coll Chem, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Liu, Yanli] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Hubei Key Lab Genet Regulat & Integrat Biol, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
关键词：
AL protein;PHD domain;Histone binding
摘要：
Alfin1-like (AL) is a family of proteins homologous to the alfalfa Alfin1 in plant and bears an Alfin domain and a PHD domain at their N- and C-terminus, respectively. There are 7 AL proteins in Arabidopsis, and the PHD domains of most AL proteins are reported to bind to histone H3K4me3. Here we reported gene cloning, protein expression and purification of the PHD domains of all the AL family proteins in Arabidopsis. We then systematically characterized their histone binding abilities by quantitative isothermal titration calorimetry and fluorescence polarization binding assays. Our binding results indicate that all the PHD domains of the AL proteins bind to the histone H3K4me3 peptide with varying methylation state preference and binding affinities. Our study presented here provides the foundation for further studies of the peptide state-specific recognition by PHD domains of AL proteins.
