Identification of Amino Acids Essential for Estrone-3-Sulfate Transport within Transmembrane Domain 2 of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1

As an important structure in membrane proteins, transmembrane domains have been found to be crucial for properly targeting the protein to cell membrane as well as carrying out transport functions in transporters. Computer analysis of OATP sequences revealed transmembrane domain 2 (TM2) is among those transmembrane domains that have high amino acid identities within different family members. In the present study, we identify four amino acids (Asp70, Phe73, Glu74, and Gly76) that are essential for the transport function of OATP1B1, an OATP member that is specifically expressed in the human liver. A substitution of these four amino acids with alanine resulted in significantly reduced transport activity. Further mutagenesis showed the charged property of Asp70 and Glu74 is critical for proper function of the transporter protein. Comparison of the kinetic parameters indicated that Asp70 is likely to interact with the substrate while Glu74 may be involved in stabilizing the binding site through formation of a salt-bridge. The aromatic ring structure of Phe73 seems to play an important role because substitution of Phe73 with tyrosine, another amino acid with a similar structure, led to partially restored transport function. On the other hand, replacement of Gly76 with either alanine or valine could not recover the function of the transporter. Considering the nature of a transmembrane helix, we proposed that Gly76 may be important for maintaining the proper structure of the protein. Interestingly, when subjected to transport function analysis of higher concentration of esteone-3-sulfate (50 µM) that corresponds to the low affinity binding site of OATP1B1, mutants of Phe73, Glu74, and Gly76 all showed a transport function that is comparable to that of the wild-type, suggesting these amino acids may have less impact on the low affinity component of esteone-3-sulfate within OATP1B1, while Asp 70 seems to be involved in the interaction of both sites

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries.

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emic-etic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations

General self-efficacy and the effect of hospital workplace violence on doctors’ stress and job satisfaction in China

Objectives: This study aims at exploring associations of general self-efficacy (GSE), workplace violence and doctors' work-related attitudes. Material and Methods: In this study a cross-sectional survey design was applied. Questionnaires were administrated to 758 doctors working in 9 hospitals of Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, between June and October 2010. General information on age, gender, and years of working was collected, and the doctors' experience and witnessing workplace violence, job satisfaction, job initiative, occupational stress as well as GSE were measured. General linear regression analysis was performed in association analyses. Results: Both experiencing and witnessing workplace violence were significantly positively correlated with the level of occupational stress but significantly negatively correlated with job satisfaction, job initiative, and GSE. General self-efficacy significantly modified relationships between both experiencing and witnessing workplace violence with occupational stress (β = 0.49 for experiencing violence; β = 0.43 for witnessing violence; p 0.05). The levels of occupational stress declined significantly with the increase of GSE, while job satisfaction increased significantly along with its increase. The effects of GSE on occupational stress and job satisfaction weakened as the frequency of violence increased. Conclusions: The findings suggest that GSE can modify effects of workplace violence on health care workers' stress and job satisfaction. Enhancing GSE in combination with stress reduction may lead to facilitating health care workers' recovery from workplace violence, and thereby improving their work-related attitudes

N-glycosylation Dictates Proper Processing of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1

Organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) have been extensively recognized as key determinants of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of various drugs, xenobiotics and toxins. Putative N-glycosylation sites located in the extracellular loops 2 and 5 is considered a common feature of all OATPs and some members have been demonstrated to be glycosylated proteins. However, experimental evidence is still lacking on how such a post-translational modification affect the transport activity of OATPs and which of the putative glycosylation sites are utilized in these transporter proteins. In the present study, we substituted asparagine residues that are possibly involved in N-glycosylation with glutamine residues and identified three glycosylation sites (Asn134, Asn503 and Asn516) within the structure of OATP1B1, an OATP member that is mainly expressed in the human liver. Our results showed that Asn134 and Asn516 are used for glycosylation under normal conditions; however, when Asn134 was mutagenized, an additional asparagine at position 503 is involved in the glycosylation process. Simultaneously replacement of all three asparagines with glutamines led to significantly reduced protein level as well as loss of transport activity. Further studies revealed that glycosylation affected stability of the transporter protein and the unglycosylated mutant was retained within endoplasmic reticulum

Identification of Amino Acids Essential for Estrone-3-Sulfate Transport within Transmembrane Domain 2 of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1

As an important structure in membrane proteins, transmembrane domains have been found to be crucial for properly targeting the protein to cell membrane as well as carrying out transport functions in transporters. Computer analysis of OATP sequences revealed transmembrane domain 2 (TM2) is among those transmembrane domains that have high amino acid identities within different family members. In the present study, we identify four amino acids (Asp70, Phe73, Glu74, and Gly76) that are essential for the transport function of OATP1B1, an OATP member that is specifically expressed in the human liver. A substitution of these four amino acids with alanine resulted in significantly reduced transport activity. Further mutagenesis showed the charged property of Asp70 and Glu74 is critical for proper function of the transporter protein. Comparison of the kinetic parameters indicated that Asp70 is likely to interact with the substrate while Glu74 may be involved in stabilizing the binding site through formation of a salt-bridge. The aromatic ring structure of Phe73 seems to play an important role because substitution of Phe73 with tyrosine, another amino acid with a similar structure, led to partially restored transport function. On the other hand, replacement of Gly76 with either alanine or valine could not recover the function of the transporter. Considering the nature of a transmembrane helix, we proposed that Gly76 may be important for maintaining the proper structure of the protein. Interestingly, when subjected to transport function analysis of higher concentration of esteone-3-sulfate (50 µM) that corresponds to the low affinity binding site of OATP1B1, mutants of Phe73, Glu74, and Gly76 all showed a transport function that is comparable to that of the wild-type, suggesting these amino acids may have less impact on the low affinity component of esteone-3-sulfate within OATP1B1, while Asp 70 seems to be involved in the interaction of both sites

Amino Acid Residues in the Putative Transmembrane Domain 11 of Human Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1 Dictate Transporter Substrate Binding, Stability, and Trafficking

Organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs, gene symbol SLCO) are membrane proteins that mediate the sodium-independent transport of a wide range of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Due to their broad substrate specificity, wide tissue distribution, and involvement in drug–drug interactions, OATPs have been considered as key players in drug absorption, distribution, and excretion. Transmembrane domains (TMs) are crucial structural features involved in proper functions of many transporters. According to computer-based modeling and previous studies of our laboratory and others, TM11 of OATP1B1 may face the substrate interaction pocket and thus play an important role in the transport function of the protein. Alanine-scanning of the transmembrane domain identified seven critical amino acid residues within the region. Further analysis revealed that alanine substitution of these residues resulted in reduced protein stability, which led to significantly decreased protein expression on the plasma membrane. In addition, all mutants exhibited an altered Km for ES uptake (either high affinity or low affinity component, or both), though Km for taurocholate transport only changed in R580A, G584A, and F591A. These results suggested that critical residues in TM11 not only affect protein stability of the transporter, but its interaction with substrates as well. The identification of seven essential residues out of 21 TM amino acids highlighted the importance of this transmembrane domain in the proper function of OATP1B1

Conserved Tryptophan Residues within Putative Transmembrane Domain 6 Affect Transport Function of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1

The organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATPs, gene symbol SLCO) are a family of transporters that play important roles in the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of various drugs. Although substrate specificity of transporter proteins is under extensive study, the underlying mechanisms for substrate binding and/or recognition remain largely unknown. Transmembrane domain 6 (TM6) is a relatively conserved region within OATP family members, and several amino acid residues on its extracellular half are part of the OATP family signature sequence D-X-RW-(I,V)-GAWWX-G-(F,L)-L. In the present study, two adjacent tryptophan residues (Trp258 and Trp259) within TM6 were identified as critical amino acids for the transport function of OATP1B1. Kinetic studies showed that substitution of Trp258 with alanine resulted in monophasic kinetics for estrone-3-sulfate uptake, with a significantly higher Km value (Km = 12.0 ± 2.8 μM) than the high-affinity component of wild-type OATP1B1 (Km = 0.38 ± 0.06 μM). On the other hand, W259A retained the biphasic characteristic of the transporter. Km values of the high- and low-affinity components for estrone-3-sulfate of W259A are 1.93 ± 0.76 μM and 30.8 ± 4.4 μM, respectively. Further studies revealed that W258A retained transport function of another prototypic substrate, taurocholate, while W259A displayed a dramatically reduced uptake of the substrate and exhibited an 8-fold increase in the Km value compared with that of the wild-type and W258A. Our results suggest that Trp258 and Trp259 may play different roles in the uptake of different substrates by OATP1B1