Intronic hammerhead ribozymes in mRNA biogenesis

[EN] Small self-cleaving ribozymes are a group of natural RNAs that are capable of catalyzing their own and sequence-specific endonucleolytic cleavage. One of the most studied members is the hammerhead ribozyme (HHR), a catalytic RNA originally discovered in subviral plant pathogens but recently shown to reside in a myriad of genomes along the tree of life. In eukaryotes, most of the genomic HHRs seem to be related to short interspersed retroelements, with the main exception of a group of strikingly conserved ribozymes found in the genomes of all amniotes (reptiles, birds and mammals). These amniota HHRs occur in the introns of a few specific genes, and clearly point to a preserved biological role during pre-mRNA biosynthesis. More specifically, bioinformatic analysis suggests that these intronic ribozymes could offer a new form of splicing regulation of the mRNA of higher vertebrates. We review here the latest advances in the discovery and biological characterization of intronic HHRs of vertebrates, including new conserved examples in the genomes of the primitive turtle and coelacanth fishThis work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (BFU2011-23398) to MdlP.García Robles, I.; Sanchez Navarro, JA.; La Peña Del Rivero, MD. (2012). Intronic hammerhead ribozymes in mRNA biogenesis. Biological Chemistry. 393(11):1317-1326. https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2012-0223S131713263931

Simultaneous boron ion-channel/growth factor receptor activation for enhanced vascularization

[EN] Boron ion is essential in metabolism and its concentration is regulated by ion-channel NaBC1. NaBC1 mutations cause corneal dystrophies such as Harboyan syndrome. Here we propose a 3D molecular model for NaBC1 and show that simultaneous stimulation of NaBC1 and vascular growth factor receptors (VEGFR) promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo with ultra-low concentrations of VEGF. We show Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) organization into tubular structures indicative of vascularization potential. Enhanced cell sprouting was found only in the presence of VEGF and boron, effect abrogated after blocking NaBC1. We demonstrate that stimulated NaBC1 promotes angiogenesis via PI3k-independent pathways and that ¿5ß1/¿vß3-integrin binding is not essential to enhanced HUVEC organization. We describe a novel vascularization mechanism that involves the crosstalk and colocalization between NaBC1/VEGFR receptors. This has important translational consequences: just by administering boron, taking advantage of endogenous VEGF, in vivo vascularization is shown in a chorioallantoic membrane assay.P.R. acknowledges support from the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de Espana (MINECO) (MAT2015-69315-C3-1-R), and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&I Plan 2008-2011, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program, CIBER Actions and financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. M. S. S. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC-HealInSynergy 306990) and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC-EP/P001114/1). The authors are very grateful to Productos Florida farm for kindly providing chick embryos for CAM assay.Rico Tortosa, PM.; Rodrigo Navarro, A.; La Peña Del Rivero, MD.; Moulisova, V.; Costell, M.; Salmerón Sánchez, M. (2018). Simultaneous boron ion-channel/growth factor receptor activation for enhanced vascularization. Advanced Biosystems. 3(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.201800220S11231Yancopoulos, G. D., Davis, S., Gale, N. W., Rudge, J. S., Wiegand, S. J., & Holash, J. (2000). Vascular-specific growth factors and blood vessel formation. Nature, 407(6801), 242-248. doi:10.1038/35025215Carmeliet, P. (2005). Angiogenesis in life, disease and medicine. Nature, 438(7070), 932-936. doi:10.1038/nature04478Moulisová, V., Gonzalez-García, C., Cantini, M., Rodrigo-Navarro, A., Weaver, J., Costell, M., … Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2017). Engineered microenvironments for synergistic VEGF – Integrin signalling during vascularization. Biomaterials, 126, 61-74. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.02.024Briquez, P. S., Clegg, L. E., Martino, M. M., Gabhann, F. M., & Hubbell, J. A. (2016). Design principles for therapeutic angiogenic materials. Nature Reviews Materials, 1(1). doi:10.1038/natrevmats.2015.6Hanft, J. R., Pollak, R. A., Barbul, A., Gils, C. va., Kwon, P. S., Gray, S. M., … Breen, T. J. (2008). Phase I trial on the safety of topical rhVEGF on chronic neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers. Journal of Wound Care, 17(1), 30-37. doi:10.12968/jowc.2008.17.1.27917Woo, E. J. (2012). Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2: adverse events reported to the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database. The Spine Journal, 12(10), 894-899. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2012.09.052United States Food and Drug Administration Product Description Regranex https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/UCM142821.avi (accessed: May2008).Carmeliet, P., & Jain, R. K. (2011). Molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of angiogenesis. Nature, 473(7347), 298-307. doi:10.1038/nature10144Hynes, R. O. (2002). Integrins. Cell, 110(6), 673-687. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00971-6Mahabeleshwar, G. H., Feng, W., Reddy, K., Plow, E. F., & Byzova, T. V. (2007). Mechanisms of Integrin–Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor Cross-Activation in Angiogenesis. Circulation Research, 101(6), 570-580. doi:10.1161/circresaha.107.155655Olsson, A.-K., Dimberg, A., Kreuger, J., & Claesson-Welsh, L. (2006). VEGF receptor signalling ? in control of vascular function. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 7(5), 359-371. doi:10.1038/nrm1911Alexander, R. A., Prager, G. W., Mihaly-Bison, J., Uhrin, P., Sunzenauer, S., Binder, B. R., … Breuss, J. M. (2012). VEGF-induced endothelial cell migration requires urokinase receptor (uPAR)-dependent integrin redistribution. Cardiovascular Research, 94(1), 125-135. doi:10.1093/cvr/cvs017Herkenne, S., Paques, C., Nivelles, O., Lion, M., Bajou, K., Pollenus, T., … Struman, I. (2015). The interaction of uPAR with VEGFR2 promotes VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Science Signaling, 8(403), ra117-ra117. doi:10.1126/scisignal.aaa2403Lauritzen, I., Chemin, J., Honoré, E., Jodar, M., Guy, N., Lazdunski, M., & Jane Patel, A. (2005). Cross‐talk between the mechano‐gated K 2P channel TREK‐1 and the actin cytoskeleton. EMBO reports, 6(7), 642-648. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400449Gasparski, A. N., & Beningo, K. A. (2015). Mechanoreception at the cell membrane: More than the integrins. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 586, 20-26. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2015.07.017Munaron, L., Genova, T., Avanzato, D., Antoniotti, S., & Fiorio Pla, A. (2012). Targeting Calcium Channels to Block Tumor Vascularization. Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery, 8(1), 27-37. doi:10.2174/1574892811308010027Yao, X., & Garland, C. J. (2005). Recent Developments in Vascular Endothelial Cell Transient Receptor Potential Channels. Circulation Research, 97(9), 853-863. doi:10.1161/01.res.0000187473.85419.3eRico, P., Rodrigo-Navarro, A., & Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2015). Borax-Loaded PLLA for Promotion of Myogenic Differentiation. Tissue Engineering Part A, 21(21-22), 2662-2672. doi:10.1089/ten.tea.2015.0044Park, M., Li, Q., Shcheynikov, N., Zeng, W., & Muallem, S. (2004). NaBC1 Is a Ubiquitous Electrogenic Na+-Coupled Borate Transporter Essential for Cellular Boron Homeostasis and Cell Growth and Proliferation. Molecular Cell, 16(3), 331-341. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2004.09.030Vithana, E. N., Morgan, P., Sundaresan, P., Ebenezer, N. D., Tan, D. T. H., Mohamed, M. D., … Aung, T. (2006). Mutations in sodium-borate cotransporter SLC4A11 cause recessive congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED2). Nature Genetics, 38(7), 755-757. doi:10.1038/ng1824Lopez, I. A., Rosenblatt, M. I., Kim, C., Galbraith, G. C., Jones, S. M., Kao, L., … Kurtz, I. (2009). Slc4a11Gene Disruption in Mice. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 284(39), 26882-26896. doi:10.1074/jbc.m109.008102Parker, M. D., Ourmozdi, E. P., & Tanner, M. J. A. (2001). Human BTR1, a New Bicarbonate Transporter Superfamily Member and Human AE4 from Kidney. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 282(5), 1103-1109. doi:10.1006/bbrc.2001.4692Zangi, R., & Filella, M. (2012). Transport routes of metalloids into and out of the cell: A review of the current knowledge. Chemico-Biological Interactions, 197(1), 47-57. doi:10.1016/j.cbi.2012.02.001Tanjore, H., Zeisberg, E. M., Gerami-Naini, B., & Kalluri, R. (2007). β1 integrin expression on endothelial cells is required for angiogenesis but not for vasculogenesis. Developmental Dynamics, 237(1), 75-82. doi:10.1002/dvdy.21385Gerber, H.-P., Dixit, V., & Ferrara, N. (1998). Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Induces Expression of the Antiapoptotic Proteins Bcl-2 and A1 in Vascular Endothelial Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 273(21), 13313-13316. doi:10.1074/jbc.273.21.13313Tan, C., Cruet-Hennequart, S., Troussard, A., Fazli, L., Costello, P., Sutton, K., … Dedhar, S. (2004). Regulation of tumor angiogenesis by integrin-linked kinase (ILK). Cancer Cell, 5(1), 79-90. doi:10.1016/s1535-6108(03)00281-2George, E. L., Baldwin, H. S., & Hynes, R. O. (1997). Fibronectins Are Essential for Heart and Blood Vessel Morphogenesis But Are Dispensable for Initial Specification of Precursor Cells. Blood, 90(8), 3073-3081. doi:10.1182/blood.v90.8.3073Fassler, R., & Meyer, M. (1995). Consequences of lack of beta 1 integrin gene expression in mice. Genes & Development, 9(15), 1896-1908. doi:10.1101/gad.9.15.1896Soldi, R., Mitola, S., Strasly, M., Defilippi, P., Tarone, G., & Bussolino, F. (1999). Role of αvβ3 integrin in the activation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2. The EMBO Journal, 18(4), 882-892. doi:10.1093/emboj/18.4.882Takahashi, S., Leiss, M., Moser, M., Ohashi, T., Kitao, T., Heckmann, D., … Fässler, R. (2007). The RGD motif in fibronectin is essential for development but dispensable for fibril assembly. Journal of Cell Biology, 178(1), 167-178. doi:10.1083/jcb.200703021Ribatti, D. (2008). Chapter 5 Chick Embryo Chorioallantoic Membrane as a Useful Tool to Study Angiogenesis. International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology, 181-224. doi:10.1016/s1937-6448(08)01405-6Novosel, E. C., Kleinhans, C., & Kluger, P. J. (2011). Vascularization is the key challenge in tissue engineering. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 63(4-5), 300-311. doi:10.1016/j.addr.2011.03.004García, J. R., & García, A. J. (2015). Biomaterial-mediated strategies targeting vascularization for bone repair. Drug Delivery and Translational Research, 6(2), 77-95. doi:10.1007/s13346-015-0236-0Briquez, P. S., Hubbell, J. A., & Martino, M. M. (2015). Extracellular Matrix-Inspired Growth Factor Delivery Systems for Skin Wound Healing. Advances in Wound Care, 4(8), 479-489. doi:10.1089/wound.2014.0603Simón-Yarza, T., Formiga, F. R., Tamayo, E., Pelacho, B., Prosper, F., & Blanco-Prieto, M. J. (2012). Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Delivery Systems for Cardiac Repair: An Overview. Theranostics, 2(6), 541-552. doi:10.7150/thno.3682Kargozar, S., Baino, F., Hamzehlou, S., Hill, R. G., & Mozafari, M. (2018). Bioactive Glasses: Sprouting Angiogenesis in Tissue Engineering. Trends in Biotechnology, 36(4), 430-444. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.12.003Laplante, M., & Sabatini, D. M. (2009). mTOR signaling at a glance. Journal of Cell Science, 122(20), 3589-3594. doi:10.1242/jcs.051011Byzova, T. V., Goldman, C. K., Pampori, N., Thomas, K. A., Bett, A., Shattil, S. J., & Plow, E. F. (2000). A Mechanism for Modulation of Cellular Responses to VEGF. Molecular Cell, 6(4), 851-860. doi:10.1016/s1097-2765(05)00076-

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data