653 research outputs found

    Balanced Ero1 activation and inactivation establishes ER redox homeostasis

    Get PDF
    The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) provides an environment optimized for oxidative protein folding through the action of Ero1p, which generates disulfide bonds, and Pdi1p, which receives disulfide bonds from Ero1p and transfers them to substrate proteins. Feedback regulation of Ero1p through reduction and oxidation of regulatory bonds within Ero1p is essential for maintaining the proper redox balance in the ER. In this paper, we show that Pdi1p is the key regulator of Ero1p activity. Reduced Pdi1p resulted in the activation of Ero1p by direct reduction of Ero1p regulatory bonds. Conversely, upon depletion of thiol substrates and accumulation of oxidized Pdi1p, Ero1p was inactivated by both autonomous oxidation and Pdi1p-mediated oxidation of Ero1p regulatory bonds. Pdi1p responded to the availability of free thiols and the relative levels of reduced and oxidized glutathione in the ER to control Ero1p activity and ensure that cells generate the minimum number of disulfide bonds needed for efficient oxidative protein folding.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (GM46941

    The kunitz domain protein BLI-5 plays a functionally conserved role in cuticle formation in a diverse range of nematodes

    Get PDF
    The cuticle of parasitic nematodes performs many critical functions and is essential for proper development and for protection from the host immune response. The biosynthesis, assembly, modification and turnover of this exoskeleton have been most extensively studied in the free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, where it represents a complex multi-step process involving a whole suite of enzymes. The biosynthesis of the cuticle has an additional level of complexity, as many of the enzymes also require additional proteins to aid their activation and selective inhibition. Blister-5 (BLI-5) represents a protein with a kunitz-type serine protease interacting domain and is involved in cuticle collagen biosynthesis in C. elegans, through its interaction with subtilisin-like processing enzymes (such as BLI-4). Mutation of the bli-5 gene causes blistering of the collagenous adult cuticle. Homologues of BLI-5 have been identified in several parasitic species that span different nematode clades. In this study, we molecularly and biochemically characterize BLI-5 homologues from the clade V nematodes C. elegans and Haemonchus contortus and from the clade III filarial nematode Brugia malayi. The nematode BLI-5 orthologues possess a shared domain structure and perform similar in vitro and in vivo functions, performing important proteolytic enzyme functions. The results demonstrate that the bli-5 genes from these diverse parasitic nematodes are able to complement a C. elegansbli-5 mutant and thereby support the use of the C. elegans model system to examine gene function in the experimentally less-amenable parasitic species

    Biosynthesis and enzymology of the Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle: identification and characterization of a novel serine protease inhibitor.

    Get PDF
    The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans represents an excellent model in which to examine nematode gene expression and function. A completed genome, straightforward transgenesis, available mutants and practical genome-wide RNAi approaches provide an invaluable toolkit in the characterization of nematode genes. We have performed a targeted RNAi screen in an attempt to identify components of the cuticle collagen biosynthetic pathway. Collagen biosynthesis and cuticle assembly are multi-step processes that involve numerous key enzymes involved in post-translational modification, trimer folding, procollagen processing and subsequent cross-linking stages. Many of these steps, the modifications and the enzymes are unique to nematodes and may represent attractive targets for the control of parasitic nematodes. A novel serine protease inhibitor was uncovered during our targeted screen, which is involved in collagen maturation, proper cuticle assembly and the moulting process. We have confirmed a link between this inhibitor and the previously uncharacterized bli-5 locus in C. elegans. The mutant phenotype, spatial expression pattern and the over-expression phenotype of the BLI-5 protease inhibitor and their relevance to collagen biosynthesis are discussed

    Crossover in the nature of the metallic phases in the perovskite-type RNiO_3

    Full text link
    We have measured the photoemission spectra of Nd1x_{1-x}Smx_{x}NiO3_{3}, where the metal-insulator transition and the N\'{e}el ordering occur at the same temperature for x0.4x \lesssim 0.4 and the metal-insulator transition temperature (TMIT_{MI}) is higher than the N\'{e}el temperature for x0.4x \gtrsim 0.4. For x0.4x \le 0.4, the spectral intensity at the Fermi level is high in the metallic phase above TMIT_{MI} and gradually decreases with cooling in the insulating phase below TMIT_{MI} while for x>0.4x > 0.4 it shows a pseudogap-like behavior above TMIT_{MI} and further diminishes below TMIT_{MI}. The results clearly establish that there is a sharp change in the nature of the electronic correlations in the middle (x0.4x \sim 0.4) of the metallic phase of the RRNiO3_3 system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure, submitted to Phys. Rev.

    Sexual health assessment in the primary care of older women

    Get PDF
    Sexual health is a concern throughout the lifespan, regardless of the aging process. Primary care providers often overlook the sexual assessment of older women. This poster addresses the scope of the problem, reviews various studies on the topic, and suggests interventions that primary care providers can incorporate into practice

    An ER source for H2O2

    Get PDF
    The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized peroxiredoxin 4 (PRDX4) supports disulfide bond formation in eukaryotic cells lacking endoplasmic reticulum oxidase 1 (ERO1). The source of peroxide that fuels PRDX4-mediated disulfide bond formation has remained a mystery, because ERO1 is believed to be a major producer of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the ER lumen. We report on a simple kinetic technique to track H2O2 equilibration between cellular compartments, suggesting that the ER is relatively isolated from cytosolic or mitochondrial H2O2 pools. Furthermore, expression of an ER-adapted catalase to degrade lumenal H2O2 attenuated PRDX4-mediated disulfide bond formation in cells lacking ERO1, whereas depletion of H2O2 in the cytosol or mitochondria had no similar effect. ER catalase did not effect the slow residual disulfide bond formation in cells lacking both ERO1 and PRDX4. These observations point to exploitation of a hitherto unrecognized lumenal source of H2O2 by PRDX4 and a parallel slow H2O2-independent pathway for disulfide formation.Supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust (Wellcome 084812) the European Commission (EU FP7 Beta-Bat No: 277713) and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PTDC/QUI-BIQ/119677/2010) and, a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for core facilities to the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (Wellcome 100140). DR is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow. TK was supported by Strategic Young Researcher Overseas Visits Program for Accelerating Brain Circulation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Rockefeller University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.20150612
    corecore