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

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

The C313Y Piedmontese mutation decreases myostatin covalent dimerisation and stability

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myostatin is a key negative regulator of muscle growth and development, whose activity has important implications for the treatment of muscle wastage disorders. Piedmontese cattle display a double-muscled phenotype associated with the expression of C313Y mutant myostatin. <it>In vivo</it>, C313Y myostatin is proteolytically processed, exported and circulated extracellularly but fails to correctly regulate muscle growth. The C313Y mutation removes the C313-containing disulphide bond, an integral part of the characteristic TGF-β cystine-knot structural motif.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we present <it>in vitro </it>analysis of the structure and stability of the C313Y myostatin protein that reveals significantly decreased covalent dimerisation for C313Y myostatin accompanied by a loss of structural stability compared to wild type. The C313Y myostatin growth factor, processed from full length precursor protein, fails to inhibit C2C12 myoblast proliferation in contrast to wild type myostatin. Although structural modeling shows the substitution of tyrosine causes structural perturbation, biochemical analysis of additional disulphide mutants, C313A and C374A, indicates that an intact cystine-knot motif is a major determinant in myostatin growth factor stability and covalent dimerisation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This research shows that the cystine-knot structure is important for myostatin dimerisation and stability, and that disruption of this structural motif perturbs myostatin signaling.</p

Geographical Representativeness of Published and Ongoing Randomized Controlled Trials. The Example of: Tobacco Consumption and HIV Infection

BACKGROUND: The challenge for evidence-based healthcare is to reduce mortality and the burden of diseases. This study aimed to compare where research is conducted to where research is needed for 2 public health priorities: tobacco consumption and HIV infection. METHODS: We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in Cochrane systematic reviews published between 1997 and 2007 and registered ongoing RCTs identified in January 2009 through the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP) evaluating interventions aimed at reducing or stopping tobacco use and treating or preventing HIV infection. We used the WHO and World Bank reports to classify the countries by income level, as well as map the global burden of disease and mortality attributable to tobacco use and HIV infection to the countries where the trials performed. RESULTS: We evaluated 740 RCTs included in systematic reviews and 346 ongoing RCTs. For tobacco use, 4% of RCTs included in systematic reviews and 2% of ongoing trials were performed in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries represented 70% of the mortality related to tobacco use. For HIV infection, 31% of RCTs included in systematic reviews and 33% of ongoing trials were performed in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries represented 99% of the mortality related to HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight an important underrepresentation of low- and middle-income countries in currently available evidence (RCTs included in systematic reviews) and awaiting evidence (registered ongoing RCTs) for reducing or stopping tobacco use and treating or preventing HIV infection

Computerized clinical decision support systems for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing: A decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some drugs have a narrow therapeutic range and require monitoring and dose adjustments to optimize their efficacy and safety. Computerized clinical decision support systems (CCDSSs) may improve the net benefit of these drugs. The objective of this review was to determine if CCDSSs improve processes of care or patient outcomes for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review. Studies from our previous review were included, and new studies were sought until January 2010 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, and Inspec databases. Randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of a CCDSS on process of care or patient outcomes were selected by pairs of independent reviewers. A study was considered to have a positive effect (<it>i.e.</it>, CCDSS showed improvement) if at least 50% of the relevant study outcomes were statistically significantly positive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-three randomized controlled trials were identified, assessing the effect of a CCDSS on management of vitamin K antagonists (14), insulin (6), theophylline/aminophylline (4), aminoglycosides (3), digoxin (2), lidocaine (1), or as part of a multifaceted approach (3). Cluster randomization was rarely used (18%) and CCDSSs were usually stand-alone systems (76%) primarily used by physicians (85%). Overall, 18 of 30 studies (60%) showed an improvement in the process of care and 4 of 19 (21%) an improvement in patient outcomes. All evaluable studies assessing insulin dosing for glycaemic control showed an improvement. In meta-analysis, CCDSSs for vitamin K antagonist dosing significantly improved time in therapeutic range.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CCDSSs have potential for improving process of care for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing, specifically insulin and vitamin K antagonist dosing. However, studies were small and generally of modest quality, and effects on patient outcomes were uncertain, with no convincing benefit in the largest studies. At present, no firm recommendation for specific systems can be given. More potent CCDSSs need to be developed and should be evaluated by independent researchers using cluster randomization and primarily assess patient outcomes related to drug efficacy and safety.</p

Crystal structure of nucleotide-free dynamin

Dynamin is a mechanochemical GTPase that oligomerizes around the neck of clathrin-coated pits and catalyses vesicle scission in a GTP-hydrolysis-dependent manner. The molecular details of oligomerization and the mechanism of the mechanochemical coupling are currently unknown. Here we present the crystal structure of human dynamin 1 in the nucleotide-free state with a four-domain architecture comprising the GTPase domain, the bundle signalling element, the stalk and the pleckstrin homology domain. Dynamin 1 oligomerized in the crystals via the stalks, which assemble in a criss-cross fashion. The stalks further interact via conserved surfaces with the pleckstrin homology domain and the bundle signalling element of the neighbouring dynamin molecule. This intricate domain interaction rationalizes a number of disease-related mutations in dynamin 2 and suggests a structural model for the mechanochemical coupling that reconciles previous models of dynamin function

Promoting Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission in midlife prolongs healthy lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster

The accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria has been implicated in aging, but a deeper understanding of mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy during aging is missing. Here, we show that upregulating Drp1—a Dynamin-related protein that promotes mitochondrial fission—in midlife, prolongs Drosophila lifespan and healthspan. We find that short-term induction of Drp1, in midlife, is sufficient to improve organismal health and prolong lifespan, and observe a midlife shift toward a more elongated mitochondrial morphology, which is linked to the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria in aged flight muscle. Promoting Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission, in midlife, facilitates mitophagy and improves both mitochondrial respiratory function and proteostasis in aged flies. Finally, we show that autophagy is required for the anti-aging effects of midlife Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission. Our findings indicate that interventions that promote mitochondrial fission could delay the onset of pathology and mortality in mammals when applied in midlife

Leptin Administration Favors Muscle Mass Accretion by Decreasing FoxO3a and Increasing PGC-1α in ob/ob Mice

Absence of leptin has been associated with reduced skeletal muscle mass in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. The aim of our study was to examine the effect of leptin on the catabolic and anabolic pathways regulating muscle mass. Gastrocnemius, extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscle mass as well as fiber size were significantly lower in ob/ob mice compared to wild type littermates, being significantly increased by leptin administration (P<0.001). This effect was associated with an inactivation of the muscle atrophy-related transcription factor forkhead box class O3 (FoxO3a) (P<0.05), and with a decrease in the protein expression levels of the E3 ubiquitin-ligases muscle atrophy F-box (MAFbx) (P<0.05) and muscle RING finger 1 (MuRF1) (P<0.05). Moreover, leptin increased (P<0.01) protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), a regulator of muscle fiber type, and decreased (P<0.05) myostatin protein, a negative regulator of muscle growth. Leptin administration also activated (P<0.01) the regulators of cell cycle progression proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cyclin D1, and increased (P<0.01) myofibrillar protein troponin T. The present study provides evidence that leptin treatment may increase muscle mass of ob/ob mice by inhibiting myofibrillar protein degradation as well as enhancing muscle cell proliferation

A Genome Scan for Positive Selection in Thoroughbred Horses

Thoroughbred horses have been selected for exceptional racing performance resulting in system-wide structural and functional adaptations contributing to elite athletic phenotypes. Because selection has been recent and intense in a closed population that stems from a small number of founder animals Thoroughbreds represent a unique population within which to identify genomic contributions to exercise-related traits. Employing a population genetics-based hitchhiking mapping approach we performed a genome scan using 394 autosomal and X chromosome microsatellite loci and identified positively selected loci in the extreme tail-ends of the empirical distributions for (1) deviations from expected heterozygosity (Ewens-Watterson test) in Thoroughbred (n = 112) and (2) global differentiation among four geographically diverse horse populations (FST). We found positively selected genomic regions in Thoroughbred enriched for phosphoinositide-mediated signalling (3.2-fold enrichment; P<0.01), insulin receptor signalling (5.0-fold enrichment; P<0.01) and lipid transport (2.2-fold enrichment; P<0.05) genes. We found a significant overrepresentation of sarcoglycan complex (11.1-fold enrichment; P<0.05) and focal adhesion pathway (1.9-fold enrichment; P<0.01) genes highlighting the role for muscle strength and integrity in the Thoroughbred athletic phenotype. We report for the first time candidate athletic-performance genes within regions targeted by selection in Thoroughbred horses that are principally responsible for fatty acid oxidation, increased insulin sensitivity and muscle strength: ACSS1 (acyl-CoA synthetase short-chain family member 1), ACTA1 (actin, alpha 1, skeletal muscle), ACTN2 (actinin, alpha 2), ADHFE1 (alcohol dehydrogenase, iron containing, 1), MTFR1 (mitochondrial fission regulator 1), PDK4 (pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, isozyme 4) and TNC (tenascin C). Understanding the genetic basis for exercise adaptation will be crucial for the identification of genes within the complex molecular networks underlying obesity and its consequential pathologies, such as type 2 diabetes. Therefore, we propose Thoroughbred as a novel in vivo large animal model for understanding molecular protection against metabolic disease

The Impact of eHealth on the Quality and Safety of Health Care: A Systematic Overview

Aziz Sheikh and colleagues report the findings of their systematic overview that assessed the impact of eHealth solutions on the quality and safety of health care