A Cys-Gly-Cys Triad in the Dehydrogenase Region of Nox2 Plays a Key Role in the Interaction with p67phox

p67(phox) is the paramount cytosolic regulator of the superoxide-generating Nox of phagocytes, by controlling the conformation of the catalytic component, Nox2. The initiating event of this process is a protein-protein interaction between p67(phox) and the part of Nox2 protruding into the cytosol, known as the dehydrogenase region. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize region(s) in Nox2 acting as binding site(s) for p67(phox). For this purpose, we measured the binding of recombinant p67(phox) to an array of 91 overlapping synthetic pentadecapeptides covering the length of the dehydrogenase region (residues 288-570). We found that: 1) p67(phox) binds to a site corresponding to residues 357-383, represented by a cluster of 5 peptides (Nos. 24-28); 2) maximal binding was to peptides 24 (357-371) and 28 (369-383); 3) these shared a (369)Cys-Gly-Cys(371) triad, found to be responsible for binding; 4) the Cys-Gly-Cys triad was present in Nox2 of mammals, birds, and amphibians but was absent in other Nox; 5) substituting a Nox4 or Nox1 sequence for the Nox2 sequence in peptide 24 abolished binding; 6) replacing (369)Cys by Arg in peptide 24 (mimicking a mutation in chronic granulomatous disease) abolished binding; 7) the same replacement in peptide 28 did not affect binding, indicating the existence of an additional binding site. Our results reveal an essential role for the Cys-Gly-Cys triad in Nox2 in binding p67(phox), seconded by an additional binding region, comprising residues C terminal to Cys-Gly-Cys. The 2 regions interact with distinct partner sites in p67(phox)

Real-time detection of ammonium in soil pore water

Abstract The development of technologies for continuous measurement of nitrogen forms in the soil is essential for optimizing the application of fertilizers in agriculture and preventing water-resource pollution. However, there is no effective commercial technology available for continuous monitoring of ammonium species in soil pore water. This work investigates an approach for real-time measurement of ammonium in soil water using near-infrared transmission spectroscopy and partial least squares regression (PLSR) for spectral analysis. The PLSR model was trained using soil pore water collected from various soils spiked with ammonium to achieve a wide concentration range. The monitoring approach was then validated through transport experiments in a soil column. The results demonstrated capabilities for real-time tracking of the temporal variation in soil ammonium concentration and potential utilization in agronomical or environmental sensing

Decoding NADPH Oxidase 4 Expression in Human Tumors

NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) is a redox active, membrane-associated protein that contributes to genomic instability, redox signaling, and radiation sensitivity in human cancers based on its capacity to generate H2O2 constitutively. Most studies of NOX4 in malignancy have focused on the evaluation of a small number of tumor cell lines and not on human tumor specimens themselves; furthermore, these studies have often employed immunological tools that have not been well characterized. To determine the prevalence of NOX4 expression across a broad range of solid tumors, we developed a novel monoclonal antibody that recognizes a specific extracellular region of the human NOX4 protein, and that does not cross-react with any of the other six members of the NOX gene family. Evaluation of 20 sets of epithelial tumors revealed, for the first time, high levels of NOX4 expression in carcinomas of the head and neck (15/19 patients), esophagus (12/18 patients), bladder (10/19 patients), ovary (6/17 patients), and prostate (7/19 patients), as well as malignant melanoma (7/15 patients) when these tumors were compared to histologically-uninvolved specimens from the same organs. Detection of NOX4 protein upregulation by low levels of TGF-β1 demonstrated the sensitivity of this new probe; and immunofluorescence experiments found that high levels of endogenous NOX4 expression in ovarian cancer cells were only demonstrable associated with perinuclear membranes. These studies suggest that NOX4 expression is upregulated, compared to normal tissues, in a well-defined, and specific group of human carcinomas, and that its expression is localized on intracellular membranes in a fashion that could modulate oxidative DNA damage