Angiotensin II Enhances Adenylyl Cyclase Signaling via Ca2+/Calmodulin. Gq-Gs Cross-Talk Regulates Collagen Production in Cardiac Fibroblasts

Cardiac fibroblasts regulate formation of extracellular matrix in the heart, playing key roles in cardiac remodeling and hypertrophy. In this study, we sought to characterize cross-talk between Gq and Gs signaling pathways and its impact on modulating collagen synthesis by cardiac fibroblasts. Angiotensin II (ANG II) activates cell proliferation and collagen synthesis but also potentiates cyclic AMP (cAMP) production stimulated by β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR). The potentiation of β-AR-stimulated cAMP production by ANG II is reduced by phospholipase C inhibition and enhanced by overexpression of Gq. Ionomycin and thapsigargin increased intracellular Ca2+ levels and potentiated isoproterenol- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP production, whereas chelation of Ca2+ with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′, N′-tetraacetic acid/AM inhibited such potentiation. Inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, protein kinase C, or Gβγ did not alter this cross-talk. Immunoblot analyses showed prominent expression of adenylyl cyclase 3 (AC3), a Ca2+-activated isoform, along with AC2, AC4, AC5, AC6, and AC7. Of those isoforms, only AC3 and AC5/6 proteins were detected in caveolin-rich fractions. Overexpression of AC6 increased βAR-stimulated cAMP accumulation but did not alter the size of the ANG II potentiation, suggesting that the cross-talk is AC isoform-specific. Isoproterenol-mediated inhibition of serum-stimulated collagen synthesis increased from 31 to 48% in the presence of ANG II, indicating that βAR-regulated collagen synthesis increased in the presence of ANG II. These data indicate that ANG II potentiates cAMP formation via Ca2+-dependent activation of AC activity, which in turn attenuates collagen synthesis and demonstrates one functional consequence of cross-talk between Gq and Gs signaling pathways in cardiac fibroblasts

Confident and sensitive phosphoproteomics using combinations of collision induced dissociation and electron transfer dissociation

We present a workflow using an ETD-optimised version of Mascot Percolator and a modified version of SLoMo (turbo-SLoMo) for analysis of phosphoproteomic data. We have benchmarked this against several database searching algorithms and phosphorylation site localisation tools and show that it offers highly sensitive and confident phosphopeptide identification and site assignment with PSM-level statistics, enabling rigorous comparison of data acquisition methods. We analysed the Plasmodium falciparum schizont phosphoproteome using for the first time, a data-dependent neutral loss-triggered-ETD (DDNL) strategy and a conventional decision-tree method. At a posterior error probability threshold of 0.01, similar numbers of PSMs were identified using both methods with a 73% overlap in phosphopeptide identifications. The false discovery rate associated with spectral pairs where DDNL CID/ETD identified the same phosphopeptide was < 1%. 72% of phosphorylation site assignments using turbo-SLoMo without any score filtering, were identical and 99.8% of these cases are associated with a false localisation rate of < 5%. We show that DDNL acquisition is a useful approach for phosphoproteomics and results in an increased confidence in phosphopeptide identification without compromising sensitivity or duty cycle. Furthermore, the combination of Mascot Percolator and turbo-SLoMo represents a robust workflow for phosphoproteomic data analysis using CID and ETD fragmentation. Biological significance Protein phosphorylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification that regulates protein function. Mass spectrometry-based approaches have revolutionised its analysis on a large-scale but phosphorylation sites are often identified by single phosphopeptides and therefore require more rigorous data analysis to unsure that sites are identified with high confidence for follow-up experiments to investigate their biological significance. The coverage and confidence of phosphoproteomic experiments can be enhanced by the use of multiple complementary fragmentation methods. Here we have benchmarked a data analysis pipeline for analysis of phosphoproteomic data generated using CID and ETD fragmentation and used it to demonstrate the utility of a data-dependent neutral loss triggered ETD fragmentation strategy for high confidence phosphopeptide identification and phosphorylation site localisation

Genomic imprinting and parent-of-origin effects on complex traits

Parent-of-origin effects occur when the phenotypic effect of an allele depends on whether it is inherited from an individual’s mother or father. Several phenomena can cause parent-of-origin effects, with the best characterized being parent-of-origin dependent gene expression associated with genomic imprinting. Imprinting plays a critical role in a diversity of biological processes and in certain contexts it structures epigenetic relationships between DNA sequence and phenotypic variation. The development of new mapping approaches applied to the growing abundance of genomic data has demonstrated that imprinted genes can be important contributors to complex trait variation. Therefore, to understand the genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits, including complex diseases and traits of agricultural importance, it is crucial to account for these parent-of-origin effects. Here we discuss patterns of phenotypic variation associated with imprinting, evidence supporting its role in complex trait variation, and approaches for identifying its molecular signatures

A SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map reveals targets for drug repurposing

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 respiratory disease, has infected over 2.3 million people, killed over 160,000, and caused worldwide social and economic disruption1,2. There are currently no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy, nor are there vaccines for its prevention, and these efforts are hampered by limited knowledge of the molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To address this, we cloned, tagged and expressed 26 of the 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in human cells and identified the human proteins physically associated with each using affinity-purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS), identifying 332 high-confidence SARS-CoV-2-human protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Among these, we identify 66 druggable human proteins or host factors targeted by 69 compounds (29 FDA-approved drugs, 12 drugs in clinical trials, and 28 preclinical compounds). Screening a subset of these in multiple viral assays identified two sets of pharmacological agents that displayed antiviral activity: inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the Sigma1 and Sigma2 receptors. Further studies of these host factor targeting agents, including their combination with drugs that directly target viral enzymes, could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19

Anti-fibrotic effects of adenylyl cyclase in the heart : implications for connective tissue remodeling by cardiac fibroblasts

Cardiac fibroblasts (CF) are the most abundant cell type in the heart and are responsible for extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis and repair in response to cardiac injury. Following myocardial insult, exaggerated or maladaptive production of ECM material results in myocardial stiffening and decreased cardiac relaxation, ultimately leading to diastolic heart failure. A key component of increased collagen production by CF is their transformation from quiescent fibroblasts, into activated myofibroblasts, which are characterized by expression of a -smooth muscle actin (aSMA) and an increased collagen production capacity. Adenylyl cyclases (AC) are membrane- bound proteins that catalyze conversion of ATP to cyclic AMP (cAMP), a ubiquitous second messenger that influences growth, death, and differentiated cellular functions. Previous reports indicate that AC activation, or increases in cAMP, inhibit collagen production by CF, however no studies have examined the role of AC in CF function after myocardial infarction (MI) or examined the effects of AC activation on cardiac myofibroblast formation. In this thesis, I investigated AC function by CF isolated from adult rats after MI and conducted subsequent studies to determine the effects of AC activation and overexpression on myofibroblast transformation and collagen production. Furthermore, I examined the cellular compartmentation of AC with other catalytic and structural molecules in CF in order to elucidate the cellular mechanisms by which cAMP regulates fibroblast-myofibroblast transformation and collagen productio