Identification of mouse Jun dimerization protein 2 as a novel repressor of ATF-211The nucleotide sequence reported herein has been deposited in the DDBJ, EMBL and GenBank databanks under the accession number AB034697.

AbstractA mouse cDNA that encodes a DNA-binding protein was identified by yeast two-hybrid screening, using activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2) as the bait. The protein contained a bZIP (basic amino acid-leucine zipper region) domain and its amino acid sequence was almost identical to that of rat Jun dimerization protein 2 (JDP2). Mouse JDP2 interacted with ATF-2 both in vitro and in vivo via its bZIP domain. It was encoded by a single gene and various transcripts were expressed in all tested tissues of adult mice, as well as in embryos, albeit at different levels in various tissues. Furthermore, mouse JDP2 bound to the cAMP-response element (CRE) as a homodimer or as a heterodimer with ATF-2, and repressed CRE-dependent transcription that was mediated by ATF-2. JDP2 was identified as a novel repressor protein that affects ATF-2-mediated transcription

Telephone Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Subthreshold Depression and Presenteeism in Workplace: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Subthreshold depression is highly prevalent in the general population and causes great loss to society especially in the form of reduced productivity while at work (presenteeism). We developed a highly-structured manualized eight-session cognitive-behavioral program with a focus on subthreshold depression in the workplace and to be administered via telephone by trained psychotherapists (tCBT).We conducted a parallel-group, non-blinded randomized controlled trial of tCBT in addition to the pre-existing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) versus EAP alone among workers with subthreshold depression at a large manufacturing company in Japan. The primary outcomes were depression severity as measured with Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and presenteeism as measured with World Health Organization Health and Work Productivity Questionnaire (HPQ). In the course of the trial the follow-up period was shortened in order to increase acceptability of the study.The planned sample size was 108 per arm but the trial was stopped early due to low accrual. Altogether 118 subjects were randomized to tCBT+EAP (n = 58) and to EAP alone (n = 60). The BDI-II scores fell from the mean of 17.3 at baseline to 11.0 in the intervention group and to 15.7 in the control group after 4 months (p<0.001, Effect size = 0.69, 95%CI: 0.32 to 1.05). However, there was no statistically significant decrease in absolute and relative presenteeism (p = 0.44, ES = 0.15, -0.21 to 0.52, and p = 0.50, ES = 0.02, -0.34 to 0.39, respectively).Remote CBT, including tCBT, may provide easy access to quality-assured effective psychotherapy for people in the work force who present with subthreshold depression. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in longer terms. The study was funded by Sekisui Chemicals Co. Ltd.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00885014

Leading role of TBP in the Establishment of Complexity in Eukaryotic Transcription Initiation Systems

While both archaeal and eukaryotic transcription initiation systems utilize TBP (TATA box-binding protein) and TFIIB (transcription factor IIB), eukaryotic systems include larger numbers of initiation factors. It remains uncertain how eukaryotic transcription initiation systems have evolved. Here, we investigate the evolutionary development of TBP and TFIIB, each of which has an intramolecular direct repeat, using two evolutionary indicators. Inter-repeat sequence dissimilarity (dDR, distance between direct repeats) indicates that the asymmetry of two repeats in TBP and TFIIB has gradually increased during evolution. Interspecies sequence diversity (PD, phylogenetic diversity) indicates that the resultant asymmetric structure, which is related to the ability to interact with multiple factors, diverged in archaeal TBP and archaeal/eukaryotic TFIIB during evolution. Our findings suggest that eukaryotic TBP initially acquired multiple Eukarya-specific interactors through asymmetric evolution of the two repeats. After the asymmetric TBP generated the complexity of the eukaryotic transcription initiation systems, its diversification halted and its asymmetric structure spread throughout eukaryotic species

Effect of leucine-to-methionine substitutions on the diffraction quality of histone chaperone SET/TAF-Iβ/INHAT crystals

The combination of leucine-to-methionine substitutions and optimization of cryoconditions improved the resolution of histone chaperone SET/TAF-Iβ/INHAT crystals from around 5.5 to 2.3 Å without changing the crystallization conditions, allowing successful structure determination of SET/TAF-Iβ/INHAT by the multiwavelength anomalous diffraction method

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the non-ATPase subunit Nas6 in complex with the ATPase subunit Rpt3 of the 26S proteasome from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The complex of the non-ATPase subunit Nas6 with the C-terminal domain of the ATPase subunit Rpt3 of the 26S proteasome from S. cerevisiae was co-expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The crystals obtained from the protein complex diffracted to a resolution of 2.2 Å