The Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis thaliana multi-stress regulator TSPO is transiently induced by abiotic stresses. The final destination of this polytopic membrane protein is the Golgi apparatus, where its accumulation is strictly regulated, and TSPO is downregulated through a selective autophagic pathway. TSPO-related proteins regulate the physiology of the cell by generating functional protein complexes. A split-ubiquitin screen for potential TSPO interacting partners uncovered a plasma membrane aquaporin, PIP2;7. Pull-down assays and fluorescence imaging approaches revealed that TSPO physically interacts with PIP2;7 at the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi membranes in planta. Intriguingly, constitutive expression of fluorescently tagged PIP2;7 in TSPO-overexpressing transgenic lines resulted in patchy distribution of the fluorescence, reminiscent of the pattern of constitutively expressed yellow fluorescent protein-TSPO in Arabidopsis. Mutational stabilization of TSPO or pharmacological inhibition of the autophagic pathway affected concomitantly the detected levels of PIP2;7, suggesting that the complex containing both proteins is degraded through the autophagic pathway. Coexpression of TSPO and PIP2;7 resulted in decreased levels of PIP2;7 in the plasma membrane and abolished the membrane water permeability mediated by transgenic PIP2;7. Taken together, these data support a physiological role for TSPO in regulating the cell-surface expression of PIP2;7 during abiotic stress conditions through protein-protein interaction and demonstrate an aquaporin regulatory mechanism involving TSPO

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Functional characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana Translocator-related protein AtTSPO

Early event in plant responses to water-related stresses include increased levels of active abscisic acid (ABA), which regulates the expression of ABA-responsive genes (up to 10% of the plant genome). Some of them are strictly ABA-dependent in that their expression is almost undetectable in absence of elevated levels of ABA. The Arabidopsis thaliana gene At2g47770 has the peculiarity of being rapidely upregulated under salt, osmotic stress or plant treatment by ABA, while its transcripts are undetectable in plant grown under normal physiological conditions. At2g47770 encodes a membrane-bound protein designated AtTSPO which belongs to the tryptophan-rich sensory protein/mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptor family, whose founding member are the mammalian TSPO1 (Translocator protein) and the bacterial TspO (Tryptophan-rich Sensory Protein). Plants TSPO are not yet characterized. In this study, we showed that AtTSPO is mainly detected in dry seeds (rich in ABA), but can be induced in vegetative tissues by osmotic, salt stress or exogenous ABA treatment. Using biochemical and microscopy approaches, we present evidence that AtTSPO is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi stacks in the plant cell. Constitutive expression of AtTSPO may be detrimental for the cell since it increases sensitivity to NaCl and ABA, and reduces greening of cultured Arabidopsis cells under light growing conditions. The ABA-dependent induction of AtTSPO is only transient. Downregulation of AtTSPO seems to be enhanced by boosting tetrapyrroles biosynthesis. A possible mechanism could be that AtTSPO degradation is triggered by tetrapyrroles binding and could help detoxifying the cell of highly photooxidative porphyrins during stress. Our results suggest that AtTSPO is a highly regulated protein, induced by abiotic stress to modulate, at least in part, transient intracellular ABA-dependent stress perception and/or signalling.(BIOL 3) -- UCL, 201

Responses of an adventitious fast-growing plant to photodynamic stress: comparative study of anionic and cationic porphyrin effect on Arabidopsis thaliana

International audienc

ABA, porphyrins and plant TSPO-related protein

We have shown that, unexpectedly, AtTSPO (Arabidopsis thaliana TSPO-related protein) is an endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi-localized membrane protein in plant cells.1 This localization contrasts with that of mammalian 18-kDa translocator protein (at least for the mostly studied isoform, 18-kDa TSPO), a mitochondrial outer membrane protein (reviewed in ref. 2). Whereas the potential functions of 18-kDa TSPO are well documented, involved mainly in mitochondrial physiology,2 and its interest as a drug target is being explored,3 the roles of TSPO-related proteins in plant growth and development are yet to be specified. AtTSPO is expressed in dry seeds and can be induced in vegetative tissues by osmotic and salt stress or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. Moreover, it was shown that the ABA-dependent induction is transient, and that boosting tetrapyrroles biosynthesis through 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) feeding enhanced downregulation of AtTSPO, suggesting an inherent post-translational regulation mechanism also involving ABA and likely porphyrins. We present additional evidence that ABA can help stabilize constitutively expressed AtTSPO and that ALA feeding to knockout mutant seeds, induces substantial germination delay. Here we discuss the possible link between ABA and tetrapyrroles in AtTSPO expression and posttranslational regulation

Synergistic enhancement of tolerance mechanisms in response to photoactivation of cationic tetra (N-methylpyridyl) porphyrins in tomato plantlets

International audienceAntimicrobial photodynamic treatment (APDT) is largely used in medical domain and could be envisaged as a farming practice against crop pathogens such as bacteria and fungi that generate drops in agricultural yields. Thus, as a prerequisite for this potential application, we studied the effect of water-soluble anionic (TPPS and Zn-TPPS) and cationic (TMPyP and Zn-TMPyP) porphyrins tested on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plantlets grown in vitro under a 16 h photoperiod. First of all, under dark conditions, none of the four porphyrins inhibited germination and induced cytotoxic effects on tomato plantlets as etiolated development was not altered. The consequences of porphyrin long-term photoactivation (14 days) were thus studied on in vitro-grown tomato plantlets at phenotypic and molecular levels. Cationic porphyrins especially Zn-TMPyP were the most efficient photosensitizers and dramatically altered growth without killing plantlets. Indeed, tomato plantlets were rescued after cationic porphyrins treatment. To gain insight, the different molecular ways implied in the plantlet tolerance to photoactivated Zn-TMPyP, lipid peroxidation, antioxidative molecules (total thiols, proline, ascorbate), and ROS detoxification enzymes were evaluated. In parallel to an increase in lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide production, antioxidative molecules and enzymes (guaiacol peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase) were up-regulated in root apparatus in response to photoactivated Zn-TMPyP. This study showed that tomato plantlets could overcome the pressure triggered by photoactivated cationic porphyrin by activating antioxidative molecule and enzyme arsenal and confining Zn-TMPyP into cell wall and/or apoplasm, suggesting that APDT directed against tomato pathogens could be envisaged in the future

The Arabidopsis thaliana trehalase is a plasma membrane-bound enzyme with extracellular activity

The lack of trehalose accumulation in most plant species has been partly attributed to the presence of an active trehalase. Although trehalose synthesis enzymes are thought to be cytosolic, and previous studies have indicated that trehalase activity is extracellular, the exact location of the enzyme has not yet been established in plant cell. We present evidence that the yet uncharacterised full-length Arabidopsis trehalase is a plasma membrane-bound protein, probably anchored to the membrane through a predicted N-terminal membrane spanning domain. The full-length AtTRE1, when expressed in yeast can functionally substitute for the extracellularly active trehalase Ath1p, by sustaining the growth of an ath1 null mutant strain on trehalose and at pH 4.8. We further demonstrate that AtTRE1 expressed in yeast is plasma membrane-bound as in plant cell. In light of these findings, the regulation of plant cell endogenous trehalose by trehalase is discussed

The Arabidopsis Abiotic Stress-Induced TSPO-Related Protein Reduces Cell-Surface Expression of the Aquaporin PIP2;7 through Protein-Protein Interactions and Autophagic Degradation.

The Arabidopsis thaliana multi-stress regulator TSPO is transiently induced by abiotic stresses. The final destination of this polytopic membrane protein is the Golgi apparatus, where its accumulation is strictly regulated, and TSPO is downregulated through a selective autophagic pathway. TSPO-related proteins regulate the physiology of the cell by generating functional protein complexes. A split-ubiquitin screen for potential TSPO interacting partners uncovered a plasma membrane aquaporin, PIP2;7. Pull-down assays and fluorescence imaging approaches revealed that TSPO physically interacts with PIP2;7 at the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi membranes in planta. Intriguingly, constitutive expression of fluorescently tagged PIP2;7 in TSPO-overexpressing transgenic lines resulted in patchy distribution of the fluorescence, reminiscent of the pattern of constitutively expressed yellow fluorescent protein-TSPO in Arabidopsis. Mutational stabilization of TSPO or pharmacological inhibition of the autophagic pathway affected concomitantly the detected levels of PIP2;7, suggesting that the complex containing both proteins is degraded through the autophagic pathway. Coexpression of TSPO and PIP2;7 resulted in decreased levels of PIP2;7 in the plasma membrane and abolished the membrane water permeability mediated by transgenic PIP2;7. Taken together, these data support a physiological role for TSPO in regulating the cell-surface expression of PIP2;7 during abiotic stress conditions through protein-protein interaction and demonstrate an aquaporin regulatory mechanism involving TSPO

The Arabidopsis TSPO-related protein is a stress and abscisic acid-regulated, ER-Golgi-localized membrane protein

Summary The Arabidopsis gene At2g47770 encodes a membrane-bound protein designated AtTSPO (Arabidopsis thaliana TSPO-related). AtTSPO is related to the bacterial outer membrane tryptophan-rich sensory protein (TspO) and the mammalian mitochondrial 18 kDa Translocator Protein (18 kDa TSPO), members of the TspO/MBR domain-containing membrane proteins. In this study we showed that AtTSPO is mainly detected in dry seeds, but can be induced in vegetative tissues by osmotic or salt stress or abscisic acid treatment, corroborating available transcriptome data. Using subcellular fractionation, immunocytochemistry, and fluorescent protein tagging approaches we present evidence that AtTSPO is targeted to the secretory pathway in plant. Induced or constitutively expressed AtTSPO can be detected in the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi stacks of plant cell. AtTSPO tagged with fluorescent protein in transgenic plant (Arabidopsis and tobacco) was mainly detected in Golgi stacks of leaf epidermal cells. Constitutive expression of AtTSPO resulted in increased sensitivity to NaCl, but not to osmotic stress, and in reduced greening of cultured Arabidopsis cells under light growing conditions. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtTSPO were more sensitive to ABA-induced growth inhibition, indicating that constitutive expression of AtTSPO may enhance ABA sensitivity. AtTSPO is rapidly downregulated during seeds imbibition, and the ABA-dependent induction in plant is transient. Downregulation of AtTSPO seems to be boosted by aminolevulenic acid treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that AtTSPO is a highly regulated protein, induced by abiotic stress to modulate, at least in part, transient intracellular ABA-dependent stress perception and/or signalling