Inhibitory effects of piceatannol on human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) in vitro.

Human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus, which results in the establishment of a latent infection that persists throughout the life of the host and can be reactivated when the immunity is low. Currently, there is no vaccine for hCMV infection, and the licensed antiviral drugs mainly target the viral enzymes and have obvious adverse reactions. Thus, it is important to search for compounds with anti-hCMV properties. The present study aimed to investigate the suppressive effects of piceatannol on hCMV Towne strain infection and the putative underlying mechanisms using human diploid fibroblast WI-38 cells. Piceatannol supplementation prevented the lytic changes induced by hCMV infection in WI-38 cells. Furthermore, piceatannol suppressed the expression of hCMV immediate-early (IE) and early (E) proteins as well as the replication of hCMV DNA in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, hCMV-induced cellular senescence was suppressed by piceatannol, as shown by a decline in the senescence-associated ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-Gal) activity and decreased production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). p16INK4a, a major senescence-associated molecule, was dramatically elevated by current hCMV infection that was attenuated by pre-incubation with piceatannol in a dose-dependent manner. These results demonstrated that piceatannol suppressed the hCMV infection via inhibition of the activation of p16INK4a and cellular senescence induced by hCMV. Together, these findings indicate piceatannol as a novel and potent anti-hCMV agent with the potential to be developed as an effective treatment for chronic hCMV infection.

Salidroside Delays Cellular Senescence by Stimulating Mitochondrial Biogenesis Partly through a miR-22/SIRT-1 Pathway.

Calorie restriction (CR) is a nongenetic intervention with a robust effect on delaying aging in mammals and other organisms. A mild stimulation on mitochondrial biogenesis induced by CR seems to be an important action mode for its benefits. Here, we reported that a component isolated from Rhodiola rosea L., salidroside, delays replicative senescence in human fibroblasts, which is related to its stimulation on mitochondrial biogenesis by activating SIRT1 partly resulted from inhibition on miR-22. Salidroside increased the mitochondrial mass that accompanied an increment of the key regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis including PGC-1α, NRF-1, and TFAM and reversed the mitochondrial dysfunction in presenescent 50PD cells, showing a comparable effect to that of resveratrol. SIRT1 is involved in the inducement of mitochondrial biogenesis by salidroside. The declined expression of SIRT1 in 50PD cells compared with the young 30PD cells was prevented upon salidroside treatment. In addition, pretreatment of EX-527, a selective SIRT1 inhibitor, could block the increased mitochondrial mass and decreased ROS production induced by salidroside in 50PD cells, resulting in an accelerated cellular senescence. We further found that salidroside reversed the elevated miR-22 expression in presenescent cells according to a miRNA array analysis and a subsequent qPCR validation. Enforced miR-22 expression by using a Pre-miR-22 lentiviral construct induced the young fibroblasts (30PD) into a senescence state, accompanied with increased senescence-related molecules including p53, p21, p16, and decreased SIRT1 expression, a known target of miR-22. However, salidroside could partly impede the senescence progression induced by lenti-Pre-miR-22. Taken together, our data suggest that salidroside delays replicative senescence by stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis partly through a miR22/SIRT1 pathway, which enriches our current knowledge of a salidroside-mediated postpone senility effect and provides a new perspective on the antidecrepitude function of this naturally occurring compound in animals and humans.

C-Terminal Domain of Hemocyanin, a Major Antimicrobial Protein from Litopenaeus vannamei: Structural Homology with Immunoglobulins and Molecular Diversity.

Invertebrates rely heavily on immune-like molecules with highly diversified variability so as to counteract infections. However, the mechanisms and the relationship between this variability and functionalities are not well understood. Here, we showed that the C-terminal domain of hemocyanin (HMC) from shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei contained an evolutionary conserved domain with highly variable genetic sequence, which is structurally homologous to immunoglobulin (Ig). This domain is responsible for recognizing and binding to bacteria or red blood cells, initiating agglutination and hemolysis. Furthermore, when HMC is separated into three fractions using anti-human IgM, IgG, or IgA, the subpopulation, which reacted with anti-human IgM (HMC-M), showed the most significant antimicrobial activity. The high potency of HMC-M is a consequence of glycosylation, as it contains high abundance of α-d-mannose relative to α-d-glucose and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine. Thus, the removal of these glycans abolished the antimicrobial activity of HMC-M. Our results present a comprehensive investigation of the role of HMC in fighting against infections through genetic variability and epigenetic modification.

Complexome of Escherichia coli cytosolic proteins under normal native conditions.

The interactions between proteins are important for the majority of biological functions and the interacting proteins are usually assembled into a complex. Knowing a set of protein complexes of a cell (complexome) is, therefore, essential for a better understanding and global view of cell functions. To visualize and identify the protein complexome of E. coli K-12 under normal native conditions on a proteome-wide scale, we developed an integrated proteomic platform with the combination of 2-D native/SDS-PAGE-based proteomics with co-immunoprecipitation, far-Western blotting, His-tag affinity purification and functional analysis, and used it to investigate the E. coli cytosolic complexome. A total of 24 distinct heteromeric and 8 homomeric protein complexes were identified. These complexes mainly contributed to glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, bioinformation processing, and cellular processes. Of the 24 hetereomeric complexes, 16 were reported for the first time, and 2 known complexes contained novel components that have not been reported previously based on DIP database search. Among them, RpoC-RpsA-Tig-GroL was found to be involved in transcriptional and co-translational folding, and EF-G-TufA-Tsf-RpsA linked a protein synthesis site with protein translational elongation factors. This systematic proteome analysis provides new insights into E. coli molecular systems biology.

Gut CaVP is an innate immune protein against bacterial challenge in amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri.

The importance of calcium-binding proteins in immune response of vertebrates is determined, but whether they have the role in invertebrates is largely unknown. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis indicated that calcium vector protein (CaVP), a protein unique to amphioxus, shared 68% similarity in amino acid sequence with human and mouse calmodulin (CaM). CaVP cDNA was cloned into a bacterial vector pET-32a, and its His-tagged fusion protein was produced in Eschherichia coli cells (BL21). The recombinant CaVP was purified by Ni-NTA column and SDS-PAGE, and then utilized for antibody preparing. The prepared antibodies could recognize amphioxus CaVP with high specificity. Further analysis by Western blotting showed that CaVP was detected in muscle and humoral fluid of normal animals and appeared in gut of bacterial immunized or challenged amphioxus. Interestingly, gut CaVP was significantly higher in a healthy sub-group than a wounded sub-group post bacterial challenge. This response was detected strongly in immunization and challenge by the same Gram-negative bacterium Vibro parahaemolyticus and weakly in immunization by V. parahaemolyticus and then challenge by Gram-negative Aeromonas hydrophila, whereas no any feedback was found in immunization by V. parahaemolyticus and challenge by Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. These findings indicate the importance of gut CaVP in response to bacterial challenge.

The localization of hnRNP A2/B1 in nuclear matrix and the aberrant expression during the RA-induced differentiation of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2/B1 is involved in the synthesis of RNA. Its expression is up-regulated in many tumor cell lines. In this study, we investigated the distribution of hnRNP A2/B1 in the nuclear matrix, including its co-localization with expression products of related genes. Results from 2-DE PAGE and MS showed that hnRNP A2/B1 is involved with components of nuclear matrix proteins of SK-N-SH cells, and that its expression level is down-regulated after retinoic acid (RA) treatment. Protein immunoblotting results further confirm the existence of hnRNP A2/B1 in the nuclear matrix, as well as its down-regulation after RA treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy observation showed that hnRNP A2/B1 localized in nuclear matrix of SK-N-SH cells and its distribution regions were altered after RA treatment. Laser scanning confocal microscopy observation showed that hnRNP A2/B1 co-localized with c-Myc, c-Fos, P53, and Rb in SK-N-SH cells. The co-localized region was altered as a result of RA treatment. Our data proved that hnRNP A2/B1 is a nuclear matrix protein and can be up-regulated in human neuroblastoma. The expression and distribution of hnRNP A2/B1 can affect the differentiation of SK-N-SH cells, as well as its co-localization with related oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.

Gut SCP is an immune-relevant molecule involved in the primary immunological memory or pattern recognition in the amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri.

To understand the role of calcium-binding proteins of invertebrates in immunological response, amphioxus sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein (SCP) was investigated in the present study. Following gene cloning, recombinant protein expression and purification and antibody preparation, the expression and alteration of SCP in the response to bacterial challenge were detected using Western blotting. SCP was not detected in the branchia, humoral fluid, gonad or in the gut of wounded animals, but it was abundant in muscle and appeared in the gut of healthy animals using Vibrio parahaemolyticus immunization and challenge. Furthermore, whether gut SCP possessed anamnestic response was investigated using cross-immune challenge between Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. Gut SCP showed stronger anamnestic activity or pattern-recognition in response to Gram-negative bacterium V. parahaemolyticus than Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. The response was faster and more species-specific to V. parahaemolyticus, whereas it was slower and longer to S. aureus. The reason why the response showed significant difference between Gram-positive and -negative bacteria awaits investigation. These results indicate that gut SCP is an immune-relevant molecule involved in the primary immunological memory or pattern recognition in the amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri.

Localization of prohibitin in the nuclear matrix and alteration of its expression during differentiation of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells induced by retinoic acid.

The nuclear matrix-intermediate filament system of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells before and after retinoic acid (RA) treatment was selectively extracted and the distribution of prohibitin (PHB) in the nuclear matrix, as well as its colocalization with related genes, was observed. Results of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), mass spectrometry (MS) identification, and protein immunoblotting all confirm that PHB was present in the components of SK-N-SH nuclear matrix proteins and was down-regulated after RA treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy observations show that PHB was localized in the nuclear matrix and its distribution was altered due to RA treatment. Laser confocal microscopy results reveal that PHB colocalized with the expression products of c-myc, c-fos, p53, and Rb, but the colocalization region was altered after RA treatment. Our results prove that PHB is a nuclear matrix protein and is localized in nuclear matrix fibers. The distribution of PHB in SK-N-SH cells and its colocalization with related proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes suggest that PHB plays pivotal roles in the differentiation of SK-N-SH cells and deserves further study.

Characterization of outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli in response to phenol stress.

Gram-negative bacteria are generally more tolerant to disinfectants than Gram-positive bacteria due to outer membrane (OM) barrier, but the tolerant mechanism is not well characterized. We have utilized comparative proteomic methodologies to characterize the OM proteins of E. coli K-12 K99+ in response to phenol stress and found that nine proteins were altered significantly. They were OM proteins OmpA, FadL, LamB, and OmpT, cytoplasmic-associated proteins AceA and EF-Tu, inner membrane protein AtpB, putative capsid protein Q8FewO, and unknown location protein Dps. They were reported here for the first time to be phenol-tolerant proteins. The alteration and functional characterization of the four OM proteins were further investigated using western blotting, genetically modified strains with gene deletion and gene complementation approaches. Our results characterized the functional OM proteins of E. coli in resistance to phenol, and provide novel insights into the mechanisms of bacterial disinfectant-tolerance and new drug targets for control of phenol-resistant bacteria.

Aberrant expression and localization of hnRNP-A2/B1 is a common event in human gastric adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Nuclear-matrix proteins can be proteomic markers for cancer lesions. The present study aimed to determine the roles of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins--A2 and B1 (hnRNP-A2/B1) in human gastric carcinogenesis. METHODS: Human gastric cancer and non-cancerous tissues were collected for immunohistochemical analysis. Proteomics technique, Western blot, laser confocal microscope, and real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were performed to determine the aberrant expression of nuclear-matrix proteins. RESULTS: hnRNP-A2/B1 existed in the nuclear matrix of gastric cancer cells, and its expression was enhanced in human gastric cancer and decreased by hexamethylene bisacetamide. The colocalization of hnRNP-A2/B1 with c-myc, c-fos, p53, and Rb was translocated from the nucleolus to the cytoplasm during the differentiation of tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: hnRNP-A2/B1 affected tumor cell differentiation through interaction with oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes, and it was overexpressed in human gastric cancer. We postulate that hnRNP-A2/B1 could serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis of human gastric cancer.

Complexome of Escherichia coli envelope proteins under normal physiological conditions.

The interactions between proteins are important for very numerous, if not all, biological functions, and the interacted proteins might form part of a protein complex. To understand the protein complexes of a cell, complexome, is essential for a better understanding of cell functions. In the present study, we have performed a systematic fractionation and analysis of Escherichia coli K-12 membrane proteins under proximately normal physiological conditions using two-dimensional native/SDS-PAGE (N-PAGE)-based proteomics. Sixteen distinct heteromeric protein complexes including their associated periplasmic and/or cytoplasmic proteins were determined based on the distribution patterns of the protein spots in the gel and proteins' functions. Out of these 16 complexes, 10 were novel ones, in which six were reported here for the first time and the other four contained novel components that have not been reported previously. Interestingly, YaeT, one of the most important protein components in the well-known outer membrane assembly complex, was found to interact with the energy generation system Nar/Fdh-N. This finding may modify the previously well-accepted concept that energy supply is not required for outer membrane assembly, and suggest that the interaction of membrane proteins with energy supply system is a characteristic feature of E. coli envelope protein network.

Aberrant expression of nuclear matrix proteins during HMBA-induced differentiation of gastric cancer cells.

AIM: To investigate the aberrant expression of nuclear matrix proteins in human gastric cancer cells before and after hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) treatment. METHODS: Proteomics analysis of differential nuclear matrix proteins was performed by two dimensional electrophoresis polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The expression levels of three nuclear matrix proteins were further confirmed by Western blotting and their locations in nuclear matrix filament were observed by quantum dots-based immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Proteomics analysis showed that 43 protein spots were significantly changed due to HMBA treatment. Fifteen proteins were identified in the HMBA-induced differentiation of gastric tumor cells. Eight proteins spots were down-regulated while seven were up-regulated. Among these proteins, prohibitin, nucleophosmin and hnRNP A2/B1 were significantly decreased in HMBA-treated human gastric cancer cells, and their locations in nuclear matrix were altered by HMBA. Our results proved the alteration of specific nuclear matrix proteins during the differentiation of human gastric cancer cells. And the aberrant expressions of nuclear matrix proteins were of significance in revealing the regulatory mechanism of tumor cell proliferation and differentiation. CONCLUSION: The aberrant expressions and intracellular redistributions of nuclear matrix proteins before and after HMBA treatment indicated that nuclear matrix proteins play a pivotal role in the differentiation of gastric cancer cells.

Localization of nucleophosmin in nuclear matrix and changes in its expression during the differentiation of human neuroblastoma induced by retinoic acid.

In this article, we selectively extracted the nuclear matrix and intermediate filament system of human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells pre- and post-treated with retinoic acid (RA). The distribution of nucleophosmin (NPM) in the nuclear matrix and its colocalization with several products of related genes were investigated. Results from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF showed that NPM was a component of the nuclear matrix and its expression in SK-N-SH cells post-treated with RA was down-regulated. Immunofluorescent microscopy observations further showed that NPM was localized in the nuclear matrix of SK-N-SH cells, and its expression level and distribution were altered after treatment with RA. The colocalization of NPM with c-myc, c-fos, p53, and Rb in SK-N-SH cells was observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope, but the colocalization region was changed by RA. Our results prove that NPM is a nuclear matrix protein, which is localized in nuclear matrix fibers. The colocalization of NPM with its related genes and oncogenes affect the differentiation of SK-N-SH cells. The expression of NPM and its distribution in the process of cell differentiation deserve more intensive investigation.

Immunoproteomic identification of polyvalent vaccine candidates from Vibrio parahaemolyticus outer membrane proteins.

Bacterium is still a major cause of many infectious diseases and a global threat to human health, aquaculture, and animal feeding. Prevention by vaccination is the most efficient and economical way of fighting bacterial diseases, but one of the persistent challenges to prevent bacterial infections and disease transmissions is the existence of multiple bacterial species, families, and genera and the lack of efficient polyvalent vaccines against them. The information on candidate immunogens for polyvalent vaccine development is elusive, as well. For the development of broad cross-protective vaccines, we have employed heterogeneous antiserum-based immunoproteomics approaches to identify antigenically similar outer membrane (OM) proteins that could be used as potential polyvalent vaccine candidates against Vibrio parahaemolyticus , V. alginolyticus , V. fluvialis , Aeromonas hydrophila , and A. sobria infections. VPA1435, VP0764, VPA1186, VP1061, and VP2850 could be recognized by at least three antisera and demonstrated significantly passive and active immune protection against V. parahaemolyticus infection in a crucian carp model. VP1061 and VP2850 induced higher immune and protective abilities than the other three OM proteins. Furthermore, the abilities of VP1061 and VP2850 in the generation of broad cross-protective immune reaction against the infections of V. alginolyticus , A. hydrophila , and Pseudomonas fluorescens were also investigated in fish and mouse models. Our results suggested that VP1061 and VP2850 could potentially be used as polyvalent vaccine candidates for the development of novel polyvalent vaccines against V. parahaemolyticus and other Gram-negative pathogens. On the basis of these results, characteristics of OM proteins as polyvalent vaccine candidates have been addressed.

Identification of broad cross-protective immunogens using heterogeneous antiserum-based immunoproteomic approach.

Bacterium is still one of the major causes of life-threatening microbial infections. The most effective way to control bacterial infections is probably vaccine prevention. However, development of bacterial vaccine, especially polyvalent vaccines that could be used to fight against a variety of bacterial serotypes and species, is challenging due to the difficulty in identifying broad cross-protective antigens for different serotypes and species of pathogenic bacteria. In the present study, we developed a new approach to identify polyvalent vaccine candidates from outer membrane (OM) proteins of Vibrio alginolyticus with the ability to fight against infections caused by different genera and families of Gram-negative bacteria. This approach combined heterogeneous antiserum-based immunoproteomics with bacterial immunization challenging method. Four of the 35 protein spots resolved in a 2-DE gel of V. alginolyticus sarcosine-insoluble fraction could be recognized not only by homogeneous antiserum, but also by heterogeneous antisera obtained from other bacterial species, genera and families. The genes encoding the four OM proteins were then cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21. The expressed recombinant proteins were used as broadly cross-protective immunogens to immunize carps for investigation of their cross-protective spectra, activities and protective abilities in carps. The carps immunized with OmpA (VA0764) and Pal (VA1061) have abilities to fight against infections not only caused by V. alginolyticus, but also by Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas fluorescens. This study provides a novel approach for the identification of broadly cross-protective antigens, and possibly polyvalent vaccines against a variety of microbial infections.

Functional characterisation of altered outer membrane proteins for tetracycline resistance in Escherichia coli.

Alterations in the outer membrane (OM) proteome in response to tetracycline have been reported in Escherichia coli K-12, but information regarding their functional profile is not available. In this study, upregulation of FimD, Tsx, OmpW, OmpC and TolC and downregulation of LamB in response to tetracycline were detected and confirmed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis subproteomics and Western blotting, respectively. The ability of the six altered OM proteins was investigated using genetically modified strains with gene deletion or complementation. Of the six mutants tested, DeltatolC and DeltaompC showed decreased minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and DeltalamB showed an increased MIC. These changes in the three mutants could be completely recovered by gene complementation. The survival capability of gene-deleted was significantly increased in DeltalamB mutants and significantly decreased in DeltatolC, DeltaompC, DeltaompW and Deltatsx with respect to the control; a more significant decrease was observed in DeltatolC and DeltaompC than DeltaompW and Deltatsx. These changes were also observed in their complemented strains. Our results indicate that LamB, OmpC and TolC are important OM proteins for tetracycline resistance in E. coli. Meanwhile, our data suggest that functional validation is required to investigate whether the altered proteins obtained from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis play a direct or indirect role in phenotypic changes.

Dodecamer is required for agglutination of Litopenaeus vannamei hemocyanin with bacterial cells and red blood cells.

Hemocyanins are multi-functional proteins, although they are well known to be respiratory proteins of invertebrate to date. In the present study, the agglutination ability of two oligomers of hemocyanin, hexamer and dodecamer, with pathogenic bacteria and red blood cells (RBCs) is investigated in pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Hexameric hemocyanin exhibits an extremely high stability even in the absence of Ca(2+) and in alkaline pH. Dodecamer (di-hexamer) is easily dissociated into hexamers in unphysiological conditions. Hexamer and dodecamer are interchanged reciprocally with environmental conditions. Both oligomers can bind to bacteria and RBCs, but agglutination is observed only using dodecamer but not using hexamer in agglutination assay. However, the agglutination is detected when hexamer is utilized in the presence of antiserum against hemocyanin. These results indicate that dodecamer of hemocyanin is required for agglutination with bacteria and RBCs. It can be logically inferred that there is only one carbohydrate-binding site to bacterial cells and RBCs in the hexamer, while at least two sites in the dodecamer. Our finding has provided new insights into structural-functional relationship of hemocyanin.