Gemin4: A Novel Component of the Smn Complex That Is Found in Both Gems and Nucleoli

The survival of motor neurons (SMN) protein, the product of the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) gene, is localized both in the cytoplasm and in discrete nuclear bodies called gems. In both compartments SMN is part of a large complex that contains several proteins including Gemin2 (formerly SIP1) and the DEAD box protein Gemin3. In the cytoplasm, the SMN complex is associated with snRNP Sm core proteins and plays a critical role in spliceosomal snRNP assembly. In the nucleus, SMN is required for pre-mRNA splicing by serving in the regeneration of spliceosomes. These functions are likely impaired in cells of SMA patients because they have reduced levels of functional SMN. Here, we report the identification by nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry of a novel component of the SMN complex that we name Gemin4. Gemin4 is associated in vivo with the SMN complex through a direct interaction with Gemin3. The tight interaction of Gemin4 with Gemin3 suggests that it could serve as a cofactor of this DEAD box protein. Gemin4 also interacts directly with several of the Sm core proteins. Monoclonal antibodies against Gemin4 efficiently immunoprecipitate the spliceosomal U snRNAs U1 and U5 from Xenopus oocytes cytoplasm. Immunolocalization experiments show that Gemin4 is colocalized with SMN in the cytoplasm and in gems. Interestingly, Gemin4 is also detected in the nucleoli, suggesting that the SMN complex may also function in preribosomal RNA processing or ribosome assembly

Mars oxygen production system design

The design and construction phase is summarized of the Mars oxygen demonstration project. The basic hardware required to produce oxygen from simulated Mars atmosphere was assembled and tested. Some design problems still remain with the sample collection and storage system. In addition, design and development of computer compatible data acquisition and control instrumentation is ongoing

Pre-mRNA splicing imprints mRNA in the nucleus with a novel RNA-binding protein that persists in the cytoplasm

We describe a novel RNA binding protein, Y14, a predominantly nuclear nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein. Interestingly, Y14 associates preferentially with mRNAs produced by splicing but not with pre-mRNAs, introns, or mRNAs produced from intronless cDNAs. Y14 associates with both nuclear mRNAs and newly exported cytoplasmic mRNAs. Splicing of a single intron is sufficient for Y14 association. Y14-containing nuclear complexes are different from general hnRNP complexes. They contain hnRNP proteins and several unique proteins including the mRNA export factor TAP. Thus, Y14 defines novel intermediates in the pathway of gene expression, postsplicing nuclear preexport mRNPs, and newly exported cytoplasmic mRNPs, whose composition is established by splicing. These findings suggest that pre-mRNA splicing imprints mRNA with a unique set of proteins that persists in the cytoplasm and thereby communicates the history of the transcript

The contribution of cell surface FcRn in monoclonal antibody serum uptake from the intestine in suckling rat pups

The neonatal Fc Receptor (FcRn) in intestinal epithelium is the primary mechanism for transfer of maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) from suckled milk to serum; but the factors contributing to the rapid uptake of IgG are poorly understood. These studies help to determine the contribution of cell-surface FcRn in IgG uptake in 2-week old rat pups by varying local pH and binding conditions. Variants of a human wild-type IgG monoclonal antibody (mAb WT) were assessed for binding affinity (KD) to rat (r)FcRn at pH6.0 and subsequent off-rate at pH7.4 (1/s) by Surface Plasmon Resonance. Selected mAbs were administered intra-intestinally in isofluorane-anesthetized 2-week rat pups. Full-length mAb in serum was quantified by immunoassay, (r)FcRn mRNA expression by RT-PCR, and mAb epithelial localization was visualized by immunohistochemistry. After duodenal administration, serum levels of mAb variants correlated with their rFcRn off-rate at pH7.4, but not their affinity at pH6.0. The greatest serum levels of IgG were measured when mAb was administered in the duodenum where rFcRn mRNA expression is greatest, and was increased further by duodenal administration in pH6.0 buffer. More intense human IgG immunostaining was detected in epithelium than the same variant administered at higher pH. These data suggest an increased contribution for cell-surface receptor. We conclude that, in the neonate duodenum, receptor off-rates are as important as affinities for FcRn mediated uptake, and cell surface binding of IgG to rFcRn plays contributes to IgG uptake alongside pinocytosis; both of which responsible for increased IgG uptake

Giambattista Vico and the wisdom of teaching

This paper offers a rehabilitation of the neglected eighteenth-century thinker and philosopher, Giambattista Vico (1668–1744), and defends the contemporary relevance of his construction of the wisdom of teaching. Reinventing the ancient traditions of European rhetoric, and reacting with great critical hostility to the pervasive educational influence of the thought and methods of Rene Descartes and his followers in the Jansenist movement, Vico’s major writings and public lectures sought to articulate a complete philosophy of education quite at variance with the styles of rationality and pedagogy favoured in the European Enlightenment. In his insistence on the key function of poetics, narrative, myth, religion, shared common sense, emotion, belonging and ritual in the formation of the educated person, Vico laid stress upon the role of the imagination and its nurture in the development of a properly enlarged and sympathetic rationality. With the implications for teaching methods, curriculum and the understanding and protection of the unique capacities of childhood, Vico has much to offer the philosophy and practice of modern education as it faces the multiple allures of hyperationality and the attenuated knowledge-economy account of its central aims and purposes

Unique pharmacology of a novel allosteric agonist/sensitizer insulin receptor monoclonal antibody

Objective: Insulin resistance is a key feature of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), and improving insulin sensitivity is important for disease management. Allosteric modulation of the insulin receptor (IR) with monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can enhance insulin sensitivity and restore glycemic control in animal models of T2D. Methods: A novel human mAb, IRAB-A, was identified by phage screening using competition binding and surface plasmon resonance assays with the IR extracellular domain. Cell based assays demonstrated agonist and sensitizer effects of IRAB-A on IR and Akt phosphorylation, as well as glucose uptake. Lean and diet-induced obese mice were used to characterize single-dose in vivo pharmacological effects of IRAB-A; multiple-dose IRAB-A effects were tested in obese mice. Results: In vitro studies indicate that IRAB-A exhibits sensitizer and agonist properties distinct from insulin on the IR and is translated to downstream signaling and function; IRAB-A bound specifically and allosterically to the IR and stabilized insulin binding. A single dose of IRAB-A given to lean mice rapidly reduced fed blood glucose for approximately 2 weeks, with concomitant reduced insulin levels suggesting improved insulin sensitivity. Phosphorylated IR (pIR) from skeletal muscle and liver were increased by IRAB-A; however, phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) levels were only elevated in skeletal muscle and not liver vs. control; immunochemistry analysis (IHC) confirmed the long-lived persistence of IRAB-A in skeletal muscle and liver. Studies in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice with IRAB-A reduced fed blood glucose and insulinemia yet impaired glucose tolerance and led to protracted insulinemia during a meal challenge. Conclusion: Collectively, the data suggest IRAB-A acts allosterically on the insulin receptor acting non-competitively with insulin to both activate the receptor and enhance insulin signaling. While IRAB-A produced a decrease in blood glucose in lean mice, the data in DIO mice indicated an exacerbation of insulin resistance; these data were unexpected and suggested the interplay of complex unknown pharmacology. Taken together, this work suggests that IRAB-A may be an important tool to explore insulin receptor signaling and pharmacology. Keywords: Insulin, Insulin receptor, Positive allosteric modulator, Monoclonal antibody, Diabete