Characterization of the core complex of Rubrivivax gelatinosus in a mutant devoid of the LH2 antenna

AbstractThe core complex of purple bacteria is a supramolecular assembly consisting of an array of light-harvesting LH1 antenna organized around the reaction center. It has been isolated and characterized in this work using a Rubrivivax gelatinosus mutant lacking the peripheral LH2 antenna. The purification did not modify the organization of the complex as shown by comparison with the intact membranes of the mutant. The protein components consisted exclusively of the reaction center, the associated tetraheme cyt c and the LH1 αβ subunits; no other protein which could play the role of pufX could be detected. The complex migrated as a single band in a sucrose gradient, and as a monomer in a native Blue gel electrophoresis. Comparison of its absorbance spectrum with those of the isolated RC and of the LH1 antenna as well as measurements of the bacteriochlorophyll/tetraheme cyt c ratio indicated that the mean number of LH1 subunits per RC-cyt c is near 16. The polypeptides of the LH1 antenna were shown to present several modifications. The α one was formylated at its N-terminal residue and the N-terminal methionine of β was cleaved, as already observed for other Rubrivivax gelatinosus strains. Both modifications occurred possibly by post-translational processing. Furthermore the α polypeptides were heterogeneous, some of them having lost the 15 last residues of their C-terminus. This truncation of the hydrophobic C-terminal extension is similar to that observed previously for the α polypeptide of the Rubrivivax gelatinosus LH2 antenna and is probably due to proteolysis or to instability of this extension

Neuronal Cholesterol Accumulation Induced by Cyp46a1 Down-Regulation in Mouse Hippocampus Disrupts Brain Lipid Homeostasis

Impairment in cholesterol metabolism is associated with many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the lipid alterations underlying neurodegeneration and the connection between altered cholesterol levels and AD remains not fully understood. We recently showed that cholesterol accumulation in hippocampal neurons, induced by silencing Cyp46a1 gene expression, leads to neurodegeneration with a progressive neuronal loss associated with AD-like phenotype in wild-type mice. We used a targeted and non-targeted lipidomics approach by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry to further characterize lipid modifications associated to neurodegeneration and cholesterol accumulation induced by CYP46A1 inhibition. Hippocampus lipidome of normal mice was profiled 4 weeks after cholesterol accumulation due to Cyp46a1 gene expression down-regulation at the onset of neurodegeneration. We showed that major membrane lipids, sphingolipids and specific enzymes involved in phosphatidylcholine and sphingolipid metabolism, were rapidly increased in the hippocampus of AAV-shCYP46A1 injected mice. This lipid accumulation was associated with alterations in the lysosomal cargoe, accumulation of phagolysosomes and impairment of endosome-lysosome trafficking. Altogether, we demonstrated that inhibition of cholesterol 24-hydroxylase, key enzyme of cholesterol metabolism leads to a complex dysregulation of lipid homeostasis. Our results contribute to dissect the potential role of lipids in severe neurodegenerative diseases like AD

Chemical Imaging on Liver Steatosis Using Synchrotron Infrared and ToF-SIMS Microspectroscopies

Fatty liver or steatosis is a frequent histopathological change. It is a precursor for steatohepatitis that may progress to cirrhosis and in some cases to hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study we addressed the in situ composition and distribution of biochemical compounds on tissue sections of steatotic liver using both synchrotron FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) and ToF-SIMS (time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry) microspectroscopies. FTIR is a vibrational spectroscopy that allows investigating the global biochemical composition and ToF-SIMS lead to identify molecular species in particular lipids. Synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy demonstrated that bands linked to lipid contribution such as -CH3 and -CH2 as well as esters were highly intense in steatotic vesicles. Moreover, a careful analysis of the -CH2 symmetric and anti-symmetric stretching modes revealed a slight downward shift in spectra recorded inside steatotic vesicles when compared to spectra recorded outside, suggesting a different lipid environment inside the steatotic vesicles. ToF-SIMS analysis of such steatotic vesicles disclosed a selective enrichment in cholesterol as well as in diacylglycerol (DAG) species carrying long alkyl chains. Indeed, DAG C36 species were selectively localized inside the steatotic vesicles whereas DAG C30 species were detected mostly outside. Furthermore, FTIR detected a signal corresponding to olefin (C = C, 3000-3060 cm−1) and revealed a selective localization of unsaturated lipids inside the steatotic vesicles. ToF-SIMS analysis definitely demonstrated that DAG species C30, C32, C34 and C36 carrying at least one unsaturated alkyl chain were selectively concentrated into the steatotic vesicles. On the other hand, investigations performed on the non-steatotic part of the fatty livers have revealed important changes when compared to the normal liver. Although the non-steatotic regions of fatty livers exhibited normal histological aspect, IR spectra demonstrated an increase in the lipid content and ToF-SIMS detected small lipid droplets corresponding most likely to the first steps of lipid accretion

Structural Basis for the Regulation Mechanism of the Tyrosine Kinase CapB from Staphylococcus aureus

Bacteria were thought to be devoid of tyrosine-phosphorylating enzymes. However, several tyrosine kinases without similarity to their eukaryotic counterparts have recently been identified in bacteria. They are involved in many physiological processes, but their accurate functions remain poorly understood due to slow progress in their structural characterization. They have been best characterized as copolymerases involved in the synthesis and export of extracellular polysaccharides. These compounds play critical roles in the virulence of pathogenic bacteria, and bacterial tyrosine kinases can thus be considered as potential therapeutic targets. Here, we present the crystal structures of the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated states of the tyrosine kinase CapB from the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus together with the activator domain of its cognate transmembrane modulator CapA. This first high-resolution structure of a bacterial tyrosine kinase reveals a 230-kDa ring-shaped octamer that dissociates upon intermolecular autophosphorylation. These observations provide a molecular basis for the regulation mechanism of the bacterial tyrosine kinases and give insights into their copolymerase function

Multiple Changes in Peptide and Lipid Expression Associated with Regeneration in the Nervous System of the Medicinal Leech

peer reviewe

Fragmentation induced in atmospheric pressure photoionization of peptides

peer reviewe

MALDI-TOF MS Profiling of Annonaceous Acetogenins in Annona muricata Products for Human Consumption

Annonaceous acetogenins are proposed as environmental neurotoxicants consumed through medicinal and alimentary habits and responsible for atypical parkinsonian syndromes observed in tropical areas. Potential sources of exposure still have to be determined, as, to date, only a few batches of products for human consumption were searched for these compounds. To assess the presence of acetogenins, we propose a fast, sensitive and accurate method of screening, using MALDI-TOF MS, with minimal sample preparation. Development of the technique is discussed. Its application to leaves of herbal tea, pulp and bottled nectar of Annona muricata is presented

MALDI-TOF MS Profiling of Annonaceous Acetogenins in Annona muricata Products for Human Consumption

Annonaceous acetogenins are proposed as environmental neurotoxicants consumed through medicinal and alimentary habits and responsible for atypical parkinsonian syndromes observed in tropical areas. Potential sources of exposure still have to be determined, as, to date, only a few batches of products for human consumption were searched for these compounds. To assess the presence of acetogenins, we propose a fast, sensitive and accurate method of screening, using MALDI-TOF MS, with minimal sample preparation. Development of the technique is discussed. Its application to leaves of herbal tea, pulp and bottled nectar of Annona muricata is presented

Attempts for molecular depth profiling directly on a rat brain tissue section using fullerene and bismuth cluster ion beams

International audienc

Study of a bisquaternary ammonium salt by atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry

peer reviewedA comprehensive atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) mass spectrometry investigation of hexamethonium bromide is reported. This bisquaternary ammonium salt is a model system for the investigation of multiply charged species and elucidation of ion formation processes. It has been used to elucidate the physico-chemical phenomenon occurring when photoionization is carried out at atmospheric pressure. First, the in-source fragmentations were studied for aqueous solutions of the salt with the photoionization lamp switched off, i.e. under thermospray conditions. It is shown that, in this mode of operation, fragmentations are minor and may be classified into two classes, namely dequaternization and charge separation, arising from the two precursors, M2+ and [M+Br]+. Second, the fragmentation patterns have been monitored in dopant-assisted APPI for different dopants (toluene, toluene-d8 anisole and hexafluorobenzene) at various amounts. At low dopant flow rates, the [M+Br]+ and M2+ ions are still observed. As the flow rate is increased, these precursor ions lose intensity and are finally suppressed for all three dopants. Comparison of toluene and toluene-d8 reveals that H atoms may be transferred from the dopant to the molecular ions, very likely mediated by the solvent. The role of the solvent (water) was also investigated by using heavy water. Apart from the thermospray fragmentations, which are also observed in APPI, several fragmentation pathways appear to be specific to the photoionization process. Photoionization efficiencies are measured by determination of the relative photoionization cross sections with respect to toluene. It is found that, when the ionization efficiencies are taken into account, the depletion of the precursors as a function of the dopant flow rates is the same for all three dopant molecules. This result shows that the precursor ions are depleted by reactions with the photoelectrons released from the dopant. Three additional mechanisms are proposed to account for this effect: electron transfer or H atom transfer from negatively charged water nanodroplets and H atom transfer from the dopant