The workability of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and Pseudomonas putida KT2440 expression platforms with autodisplayed cellulases: a comparison

This article comparatively reports the workability of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and Pseudomonas putida KT2440 cell factories for the expression of three model autodisplayed cellulases (i.e., endoglucanase, BsCel5A; exoglucanase, CelK; β-glucosidase, BglA). The differentiation of the recombinant cells was restricted to their cell growth and enzyme expression/activity attributes. Comparatively, the recombinant E. coli showed higher cell growth rates but lower enzyme activities than the recombinant P. putida. However, the endo-, exoglucanase, and β-glucosidase on the surfaces of both cell factories showed activity over a broad range of pH (4-10) and temperature (30-100 °C). The pH and temperature optima were pH 6, 60 °C (BsCel5A); pH 6, 60-70 °C (CelK); and pH 6, 50 °C (BglA). Overall, the P. putida cell factory with autodisplayed enzymes demonstrated higher bioactivity and remarkable biochemical characteristics and thus was chosen for the saccharification of filter paper. A volumetric blend of the three cellulases with P. putida as the host yielded a ratio of 1:1:1.5 of endoglucanase, exoglucanase, and β-glucosidase, respectively, as the optimum blend composition for filter paper degradation. At an optical density (578 nm) of 50, the blend generated a maximum sugar yield of about 0.7 mg/ml (~ 0.08 U/g) from Whatman filter paper (Ø 6 mm, ~ 2.5 mg) within 24 h

Targeting homeostatic mechanisms of endoplasmic reticulum stress to increase susceptibility of cancer cells to fenretinide-induced apoptosis: the role of stress proteins ERdj5 and ERp57

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) malfunction, leading to ER stress, can be a consequence of genome instability and hypoxic tissue environments. Cancer cells survive by acquiring or enhancing survival mechanisms to counter the effects of ER stress and these homeostatic responses may be new therapeutic targets. Understanding the links between ER stress and apoptosis may be approached using drugs specifically to target ER stress responses in cancer cells. The retinoid analogue fenretinide [N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide] is a new cancer preventive and chemotherapeutic drug, that induces apoptosis of some cancer cell types via oxidative stress, accompanied by induction of an ER stress-related transcription factor, GADD153. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that fenretinide induces ER stress in neuroectodermal tumour cells, and to elucidate the role of ER stress responses in fenretinide-induced apoptosis. The ER stress genes ERdj5, ERp57, GRP78, calreticulin and calnexin were induced in neuroectodermal tumour cells by fenretinide. In contrast to the apoptosis-inducing chemotherapeutic drugs vincristine and temozolomide, fenretinide induced the phosphorylation of eIF2α, expression of ATF4 and splicing of XBP-1 mRNA, events that define ER stress. In these respects, fenretinide displayed properties similar to the ER stress inducer thapsigargin. ER stress responses were inhibited by antioxidant treatment. Knockdown of ERp57 or ERdj5 by RNA interference in these cells increased the apoptotic response to fenretinide. These data suggest that downregulating homeostatic ER stress responses may enhance apoptosis induced by oxidative stress-inducing drugs acting through the ER stress pathway. Therefore, ER-resident proteins such as ERdj5 and ERp57 may represent novel chemotherapeutic targets

Decision support tools for site-specific fertilizer recommendations and agricultural planning in selected countries in sub-Sahara Africa

Peer Revie

Type I Interferons Induce T Regulatory 1 Responses and Restrict Humoral Immunity during Experimental Malaria

We thank Christopher Hunter and Bob Axtell for critical feedback, and the Flow Cytometry Laboratory at OUHSC for technical assistance.Author Summary Humoral immunity is essential for host resistance to pathogens that trigger highly inflammatory immune responses, including Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria. Long-lived, secreted antibody responses depend on a specialized subset of CD4 T cells called T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. However, anti-Plasmodium humoral immunity is often short-lived, non-sterilizing, and immunity rapidly wanes, leaving individuals susceptible to repeated bouts of malaria. Here we explored the relationship between inflammatory type I interferons, the regulation of pathogen-specific CD4 T cell responses, and humoral immunity using models of experimental malaria and systemic virus infection. We identified that type I interferons promote the formation and accumulation of pathogen-specific CD4 T regulatory 1 cells that co-express interferon-gamma and interleukin-10. Moreover, we show that the combined activity of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 limits the magnitude of infection-induced Tfh responses, the secretion of parasite-specific secreted antibody, and parasite control. Our study provides new insight into the regulation of T regulatory 1 responses and humoral immunity during inflammatory immune reactions against systemic infections.Yeshttp://www.plospathogens.org/static/editorial#pee

Proteasome inhibitor-adapted myeloma cells are largely independent from proteasome activity and show complex proteomic changes, in particular in redox and energy metabolism

Adaptive resistance of myeloma to proteasome inhibition represents a clinical challenge, whose biology is poorly understood. Proteasome mutations were implicated as underlying mechanism, while an alternative hypothesis based on low activation status of the unfolded protein response was recently suggested (IRE1/XBP1-low model). We generated bortezomib- and carfilzomib-adapted, highly resistant multiple myeloma cell clones (AMO-BTZ, AMO-CFZ), which we analyzed in a combined quantitative and functional proteomic approach. We demonstrate that proteasome inhibitor-adapted myeloma cells tolerate subtotal proteasome inhibition, irrespective of a proteasome mutation, and uniformly show an 'IRE1/XBP1-low' signature. Adaptation of myeloma cells to proteasome inhibitors involved quantitative changes in >600 protein species with similar patterns in AMO-BTZ and AMO-CFZ cells: proteins involved in metabolic regulation, redox homeostasis, and protein folding and destruction were upregulated, while apoptosis and transcription/translation were downregulated. The quantitatively most upregulated protein in AMO-CFZ cells was the multidrug resistance protein (MDR1) protein ABCB1, and carfilzomib resistance could be overcome by MDR1 inhibition. We propose a model where proteasome inhibitor-adapted myeloma cells tolerate subtotal proteasome inhibition owing to metabolic adaptations that favor the generation of reducing equivalents, such as NADPH, which is supported by oxidative glycolysis. Proteasome inhibitor resistance may thus be targeted by manipulating the energy and redox metabolism

Total economic value, ecosystem services and the role of public policy instruments in the creation and destruction of forest values

Established frameworks such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) and the Total Economic Value (TEV) recognize how forest ecosystems have extrinsic and intrinsic value to society. We critically discuss the appropriateness of attempting to adapt a service-dominant logic (S-D logic) framework to meet the unique characteristics of forest ecosystems by incorporating elements from the MEA and TEV. This chapter enriches the current discussion related to S-D logic and forests by including inherent values in-neglect, no-use and no-trade. These categories highlight how the value of forests can be created or destroyed when forest owners neglect values to their wellbeing or when absence of transactions fail to clearly define beneficiaries. Within an overview of Services in Family Forestry we argue and illustrate how the process of participation in public policy programs can influence individual and collective value co-creation and co-destruction. Moreover, institutions can play a critical role in the value creation process as brokers between beneficiaries

A Murine Model of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Based on B Cell-Restricted Expression of Sf3b1 Mutation and Atm Deletion

SF3B1 is recurrently mutated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but its role in the pathogenesis of CLL remains elusive. Here, we show that conditional expression of Sf3b1-K700E mutation in mouse B cells disrupts pre-mRNA splicing, alters cell development, and induces a state of cellular senescence. Combination with Atm deletion leads to the overcoming of cellular senescence and the development of CLL-like disease in elderly mice. These CLL-like cells show genome instability and dysregulation of multiple CLL-associated cellular processes, including deregulated B cell receptor signaling, which we also identified in human CLL cases. Notably, human CLLs harboring SF3B1 mutations exhibit altered response to BTK inhibition. Our murine model of CLL thus provides insights into human CLL disease mechanisms and treatment