Physical Properties of Escherichia coli Spheroplast Membranes

AbstractWe investigated the physical properties of bacterial cytoplasmic membranes by applying the method of micropipette aspiration to Escherichia coli spheroplasts. We found that the properties of spheroplast membranes are significantly different from that of laboratory-prepared lipid vesicles or that of previously investigated animal cells. The spheroplasts can adjust their internal osmolality by increasing their volumes more than three times upon osmotic downshift. Until the spheroplasts are swollen to their volume limit, their membranes are tensionless. At constant external osmolality, aspiration increases the surface area of the membrane and creates tension. What distinguishes spheroplast membranes from lipid bilayers is that the area change of a spheroplast membrane by tension is a relaxation process. No such time dependence is observed in lipid bilayers. The equilibrium tension-area relation is reversible. The apparent area stretching moduli are several times smaller than that of stretching a lipid bilayer. We conclude that spheroplasts maintain a minimum surface area without tension by a membrane reservoir that removes the excessive membranes from the minimum surface area. Volume expansion eventually exhausts the membrane reservoir; then the membrane behaves like a lipid bilayer with a comparable stretching modulus. Interestingly, the membranes cease to refold when spheroplasts lost viability, implying that the membrane reservoir is metabolically maintained

Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein is required for T cell survival and cycling

Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and caspase-8 are key signal transducers for death receptor–induced apoptosis, whereas cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (cFLIP) antagonizes this process. Interestingly, FADD and caspase-8 also play a role in T cell development and T cell receptor (TCR)–mediated proliferative responses. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we generated cFLIP-deficient T cells by reconstituting Rag−/− blastocysts with cFLIP-deficient embryonic stem cells. These Rag chimeric mutant mice (rcFLIP−/−) had severely reduced numbers of T cells in the thymus, lymph nodes, and spleen, although mature T lymphocytes did develop. Similar to FADD- or caspase-8–deficient cells, rcFLIP−/− T cells were impaired in proliferation in response to TCR stimulation. Further investigation revealed that cFLIP is required for T cell survival, as well as T cell cycling in response to TCR stimulation. Interestingly, some signaling pathways from the TCR complex appeared competent, as CD3 plus CD28 cross-linking was capable of activating the ERK pathway in rcFLIP−/− T cells. We demonstrate an essential role for cFLIP in T cell function

Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein is required for T cell survival and cycling

Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and caspase-8 are key signal transducers for death receptor–induced apoptosis, whereas cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (cFLIP) antagonizes this process. Interestingly, FADD and caspase-8 also play a role in T cell development and T cell receptor (TCR)–mediated proliferative responses. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we generated cFLIP-deficient T cells by reconstituting Rag−/− blastocysts with cFLIP-deficient embryonic stem cells. These Rag chimeric mutant mice (rcFLIP−/−) had severely reduced numbers of T cells in the thymus, lymph nodes, and spleen, although mature T lymphocytes did develop. Similar to FADD- or caspase-8–deficient cells, rcFLIP−/− T cells were impaired in proliferation in response to TCR stimulation. Further investigation revealed that cFLIP is required for T cell survival, as well as T cell cycling in response to TCR stimulation. Interestingly, some signaling pathways from the TCR complex appeared competent, as CD3 plus CD28 cross-linking was capable of activating the ERK pathway in rcFLIP−/− T cells. We demonstrate an essential role for cFLIP in T cell function

Defective Hepatic Response to Interferon and Activation of Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 3 in Chronic Hepatitis C

Approximately half of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients do not respond to current interferon (IFN)-α combination therapy. To understand IFN-α resistance in vivo, we examined the dynamic responses to both type I and type II IFNs, human IFN (hIFN)- α, -γ, and consensus IFN, in the chimpanzee model

Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant Driven by Quintessence

There are indications from the study of quasar absorption spectra that the fine structure constant $\alpha$ may have been measurably smaller for redshifts $z>2.$ Analyses of other data ($^{149}$Sm fission rate for the Oklo natural reactor, variation of $^{187}$Re $\beta$-decay rate in meteorite studies, atomic clock measurements) which probe variations of $\alpha$ in the more recent past imply much smaller deviations from its present value. In this work we tie the variation of $\alpha$ to the evolution of the quintessence field proposed by Albrecht and Skordis, and show that agreement with all these data, as well as consistency with WMAP observations, can be achieved for a range of parameters. Some definite predictions follow for upcoming space missions searching for violations of the equivalence principle.Comment: Final version, to be published in Phys Rev

LLL-3 inhibits STAT3 activity, suppresses glioblastoma cell growth and prolongs survival in a mouse glioblastoma model

Persistent activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signalling has been linked to oncogenesis and the development of chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma and other cancers. Inhibition of the STAT3 pathway thus represents an attractive therapeutic approach for cancer. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of a small molecule compound known as LLL-3, which is a structural analogue of the earlier reported STAT3 inhibitor, STA-21, on the cell viability of human glioblastoma cells, U87, U373, and U251 expressing constitutively activated STAT3. We also investigated the inhibitory effects of LLL-3 on U87 glioblastoma cell growth in a mouse tumour model as well as the impact it had on the survival time of the treated mice. We observed that LLL-3 inhibited STAT3-dependent transcriptional and DNA binding activities. LLL-3 also inhibited viability of U87, U373, and U251 glioblastoma cells as well as induced apoptosis of these glioblastoma cell lines as evidenced by increased poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and caspase-3 cleavages. Furthermore, the U87 glioblastoma tumour-bearing mice treated with LLL-3 exhibited prolonged survival relative to vehicle-treated mice (28.5 vs 16 days) and had smaller intracranial tumours and no evidence of contralateral invasion. These results suggest that LLL-3 may be a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of glioblastoma with constitutive STAT3 activation