ADP-ribosylation: From molecular mechanisms to human disease

Post-translational modification of proteins by ADP-ribosylation, catalysed by poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) using NAD+ as a substrate, plays central roles in DNA damage signalling and repair, modulates a range of cellular signalling cascades and initiates programmed cell death by parthanatos. Here, we present mechanistic aspects of ADP-ribose modification, PARP activation and the cellular functions of ADP-ribose signalling, and discuss how this knowledge is uncovering therapeutic avenues for the treatment of increasingly prevalent human diseases such as cancer, ischaemic damage and neurodegeneration.Fil: Hoch, Nicolas Carlos. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Polo Ilacqua, Luis Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentina. University of Sussex; Reino Unid

Modélisation du mouvement des chevreuils dans un paysage bocager simulé : premiers résultats, projets

Les tiques, dont Ixodes ricinus, espèce la plus répandue en Europe, sont vecteurs de nombreux agents pathogènes, protozoaires, bactéries ou virus, qui peuvent être responsables de maladies touchant l’Homme (Borreliose de Lyme) ou l’animal(babésiose bovine). En vue d’identifier les zones à risque vis-à-vis de ces maladies, il est important de connaître la distribution spatiale des tiques. Cette distribution dépend d’une part des conditions locales de température et d’humidité, d’autre part des mouvements des hôtes des tiques(Estrada-Peña, 2002). Les chevreuils sont notamment reconnus pour influencer fortement la densité de tiques(Ruiz-Fons et Gilbert 2010) et se déplacer sur de longues distances. Dans le cadre de l’estimation spatiale des risques, il est nécessaire de disposer d’un modèle de déplacement des hôtes en fonction des caractéristiques du paysage, dont le développement n’a pas été réalisé à ce jour. Dans un premier temps, une approche théorique a été privilégiée. Un modèle du paysage a été développé via une tesselation de Voronoï et un processus de marquage. Au sein de ce paysage modélisé, le mouvement du chevreuil est modélisé par des équations différentielles stochastiques. Ce mouvement se décompose donc en deux termes : un de dérive, qui dépend d’une fonction de potentiel reliée aux différents habitats qui composent le paysage, et un terme de diffusion. A partir d’une première fonction potentielle, il est donc possible de simuler le déplacement d’un individu dans un paysage modélisé. Les développements actuels visent dans un premier temps à tester différentes fonctions de potentiel en fonction de nos connaissances sur le comportement du chevreuil. L’étape suivante consistera à développer des méthodes d’inférence afin d’estimer les paramètres à partir de données simulées ou observées. Par la suite le prototype obtenu pourra être utilisé pour tester l’influence des caractéristiques du paysage sur le mouvement des chevreuils. Enfin, un couplage avec un modèle de dynamique de population de tiques (Hoch et al, 2010) fournira des aires de répartition simulées des vecteurs

Cytomapper: an R/bioconductor package for visualisation of highly multiplexed imaging data

SUMMARY: Highly multiplexed imaging technologies enable spatial profiling of dozens of biomarkers in situ. Here we describe cytomapper, a computational tool written in R, that enables visualisation of pixel- and cell-level information obtained by multiplexed imaging. To illustrate its utility, we analysed 100 images obtained by imaging mass cytometry from a cohort of type 1 diabetes patients. In addition, cytomapper includes a Shiny application that allows hierarchical gating of cells based on marker expression and visualisation of selected cells in corresponding images. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The cytomapper package can be installed via https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/cytomapper.html. Code for analysis and further instructions can be found at https://github.com/BodenmillerGroup/cytomapper_publication. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

The RIR motif in the scaffold protein XRCC1 mediates a low-affinity interaction with polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase (PNKP) during DNA single-strand break repair

The scaffold protein X-ray repair cross-complementing 1 (XRCC1)interacts with multiple enzymes involved in DNA base excision repair and single-strand break repair(SSBR) and is important for genetic integrity and normal neurological function. One of the most important interactions of XRCC1 is that with polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase(PNKP), a dual-function DNA kinase/phosphatase that processes damaged DNA termini and that, if mutated, results in ataxia with oculomotor apraxia 4 (AOA4) and microcephaly with early-onset seizures and developmental delay(MCSZ). XRCC1 and PNKP interact via a high-affinity phosphorylationdependent interaction site in XRCC1 and a fork-head associated domain in PNKP. Here, we identified using biochemical and biophysical approaches a second PNKP interaction site in XRCC1 that binds PNKP with lower affinity and independently of XRCC1 phosphorylation. However, this interaction nevertheless stimulated PNKP activity and promoted SSBR and cell survival. The low-affinity interaction site required the highly conserved REV1-interacting (RIR) motif in XRCC1 and included three critical and evolutionarily invariant phenylalanine residues. We propose a bipartite interaction model in which the previously identified highaffinity interaction acts as a molecular tether, holding XRCC1 and PNKP together and thereby promoting the low-affinity interaction identified here, which then stimulates PNKP directly

Serotonin transporter-deficient mice display enhanced adipose tissue inflammation after chronic high-fat diet feeding.

INTRODUCTION Serotonin is involved in leukocyte recruitment during inflammation. Deficiency of the serotonin transporter (SERT) is associated with metabolic changes in humans and mice. A possible link and interaction between the inflammatory effects of serotonin and metabolic derangements in SERT-deficient mice has not been investigated so far. METHODS SERT-deficient (Sert -/-) and wild type (WT) mice were fed a high-fat diet, starting at 8 weeks of age. Metabolic phenotyping (metabolic caging, glucose and insulin tolerance testing, body and organ weight measurements, qPCR, histology) and assessment of adipose tissue inflammation (flow cytometry, histology, qPCR) were carried out at the end of the 19-week high-fat diet feeding period. In parallel, Sert -/- and WT mice received a control diet and were analyzed either at the time point equivalent to high-fat diet feeding or as early as 8-11 weeks of age for baseline characterization. RESULTS After 19 weeks of high-fat diet, Sert -/- and WT mice displayed similar whole-body and fat pad weights despite increased relative weight gain due to lower starting body weight in Sert -/-. In obese Sert -/- animals insulin resistance and liver steatosis were enhanced as compared to WT animals. Leukocyte accumulation and mRNA expression of cytokine signaling mediators were increased in epididymal adipose tissue of obese Sert -/- mice. These effects were associated with higher adipose tissue mRNA expression of the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and presence of monocytosis in blood with an increased proportion of pro-inflammatory Ly6C+ monocytes. By contrast, Sert -/- mice fed a control diet did not display adipose tissue inflammation. DISCUSSION Our observations suggest that SERT deficiency in mice is associated with inflammatory processes that manifest as increased adipose tissue inflammation upon chronic high-fat diet feeding due to enhanced leukocyte recruitment

New Species in the Old World: Europe as a Frontier in Biodiversity Exploration, a Test Bed for 21st Century Taxonomy

The number of described species on the planet is about 1.9 million, with ca. 17,000 new species described annually, mostly from the tropics. However, taxonomy is usually described as a science in crisis, lacking manpower and funding, a politically acknowledged problem known as the Taxonomic Impediment. Using data from the Fauna Europaea database and the Zoological Record, we show that contrary to general belief, developed and heavily-studied parts of the world are important reservoirs of unknown species. In Europe, new species of multicellular terrestrial and freshwater animals are being discovered and named at an unprecedented rate: since the 1950s, more than 770 new species are on average described each year from Europe, which add to the 125,000 terrestrial and freshwater multicellular species already known in this region. There is no sign of having reached a plateau that would allow for the assessment of the magnitude of European biodiversity. More remarkably, over 60% of these new species are described by non-professional taxonomists. Amateurs are recognized as an essential part of the workforce in ecology and astronomy, but the magnitude of non-professional taxonomist contributions to alpha-taxonomy has not been fully realized until now. Our results stress the importance of developing a system that better supports and guides this formidable workforce, as we seek to overcome the Taxonomic Impediment and speed up the process of describing the planetary biodiversity before it is too late

The SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 macrodomain reverses PARP9/DTX3L-dependent ADP-ribosylation induced by interferon signaling

SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein 3 (Nsp3) contains a macrodomain that is essential for coronavirus pathogenesis and is thus an attractive target for drug development. This macrodomain is thought to counteract the host interferon (IFN) response, an important antiviral signalling cascade, via the reversal of protein ADP-ribosylation, a posttranslational modification catalyzed by host poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). However, the main cellular targets of the coronavirus macrodomain that mediate this effect are currently unknown. Here, we use a robust immunofluorescence-based assay to show that activation of the IFN response induces ADP-ribosylation of host proteins and that ectopic expression of the SARSCoV- 2 Nsp3 macrodomain reverses this modification in human cells. We further demonstrate that this assay can be used to screen for on-target and cell-active macrodomain inhibitors. This IFN-induced ADP-ribosylation is dependent on PARP9 and its binding partner DTX3L, but surprisingly the expression of the Nsp3 macrodomain or the deletion of either PARP9 or DTX3L does not impair IFN signaling or the induction of IFNresponsive genes. Our results suggest that PARP9/DTX3Ldependent ADP-ribosylation is a downstream effector of the host IFN response and that the cellular function of the SARSCoV- 2 Nsp3 macrodomain is to hydrolyze this end product of IFN signaling, rather than to suppress the IFN response itself

XRCC1 mutation is associated with PARP1 hyperactivation and cerebellar ataxia

XRCC1 is a molecular scaffold protein that assembles multi-protein complexes involved in DNA single-strand break repair1,2. Here we show that biallelic mutations in the human XRCC1 gene are associated with ocular motor apraxia, axonal neuropathy, and progressive cerebellar ataxia. Cells from a patient with mutations in XRCC1 exhibited not only reduced rates of single-strand break repair but also elevated levels of protein ADP-ribosylation. This latter phenotype is recapitulated in a related syndrome caused by mutations in the XRCC1 partner protein PNKP3,4,5 and implicates hyperactivation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase/s as a cause of cerebellar ataxia. Indeed, remarkably, genetic deletion of Parp1 rescued normal cerebellar ADP-ribose levels and reduced the loss of cerebellar neurons and ataxia in Xrcc1-defective mice, identifying a molecular mechanism by which endogenous single-strand breaks trigger neuropathology. Collectively, these data establish the importance of XRCC1 protein complexes for normal neurological function and identify PARP1 as a therapeutic target in DNA strand break repair-defective disease

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Measurement of the Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section in pp collisions at 7 TeV

The production of b jets in association with a Z/gamma* boson is studied using proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and recorded by the CMS detector. The inclusive cross section for Z/gamma* + b-jet production is measured in a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns. The Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section with Z/gamma* to ll (where ll = ee or mu mu) for events with the invariant mass 60 < M(ll) < 120 GeV, at least one b jet at the hadron level with pT > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.1, and a separation between the leptons and the jets of Delta R > 0.5 is found to be 5.84 +/- 0.08 (stat.) +/- 0.72 (syst.) +(0.25)/-(0.55) (theory) pb. The kinematic properties of the events are also studied and found to be in agreement with the predictions made by the MadGraph event generator with the parton shower and the hadronisation performed by PYTHIA.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic