Regulation of xenogeneic porcine pancreatic islets.

The use of xenogeneic porcine pancreatic islets has been shown to be a potentially promising alternative to using human allogeneic islets to treat insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes (T1D). This article provides an overview of the existing FDA regulatory framework that would be applied to the regulation of clinical trials utilizing xenogeneic porcine pancreatic islets to treat T1D.

Loss of SUMO1 in mice affects RanGAP1 localization and formation of PML nuclear bodies, but is not lethal as it can be compensated by SUMO2 or SUMO3.

Conjugation of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) to target proteins regulates numerous biological processes and has been implicated in tumorigenesis and metastasis. The three SUMO isoforms in vertebrates, SUMO1 and the highly similar SUMO2 and SUMO3, can be conjugated to unique as well as overlapping subsets of target proteins. Yet, it is still not clear whether roles for each family member are distinct or whether redundancy exists. Here we describe a mutant mouse line that completely lacks SUMO1, but surprisingly is viable and lacks any overt phenotype. Our study points to compensatory utilization of SUMO2 and/or SUMO3 for sumoylation of SUMO1 targets. The ability of SUMO isoforms to substitute for one another has important implications for rational targeting of the SUMO pathway.

Sumoylation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, zinc finger proteins, and nuclear pore complex proteins: a proteomic analysis.

SUMO, a small ubiquitin-related modifier, is known to covalently attach to a number of nuclear regulatory proteins such as p53, IkappaB, promyelocytic leukemia protein and c-Jun. The sumoylation reaction is catalyzed by the SUMO protease, which exposes the C-terminal active glycine residue of the nascent SUMO, the heterodimeric SUMO activating enzyme, the SUMO conjugating enzyme, Ubc9, and SUMO protein ligases, in a manner similar to ubiquitinylation. Identification of SUMO-regulated proteins is hampered by the fact that many sumoylated proteins are present at a level below normal detection limit. This limitation was overcome by either in vivo overexpression of Myc-SUMO or in vitro sumoylation with excess biotin-SUMO and Ubc9. Sumoylated proteins so obtained were affinity purified or isolated by immunoprecipitation. The isolated sumoylated proteins were identified by sequence analysis using mass spectrometric methods. Results reveal that several heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), zinc finger proteins, and nuclear pore complex proteins were sumoylated. The sumoylation of hnRNP A1, hnRNP F, and hnRNP K were confirmed in vivo by coimmunoprecipitation. In view of the facts that hnRNPs have been implicated in RNA splicing, transport, stability, and translation, our findings suggest that sumoylation could play an important role in regulating mRNA metabolism.

Biotin-ubiquitin tagging of mammalian proteins in Escherichia coli.

Ubiquitin has been used in protein expression for enhancing yields and biological activities of recombinant proteins. Biotin binds tightly and specifically to avidin and has been widely utilized as a tag for protein purification and monitoring. Here, we report a versatile system that takes the advantages of both biotin and ubiquitin for protein expression, purification, and monitoring. The tripartite system contained coding sequences for a leader biotinylation peptide, ubiquitin, and biotin holoenzyme synthetase in two reading frames under the control of T7 promoter. The expression and purification of several large mammalian enzymes as biotin-ubiquitin fusions were accomplished including human ubiquitin activating enzyme, SUMO activating enzymes, and aspartyl-tRNA synthetase. Expressed proteins were purified by one-step affinity column chromatography on monomeric avidin columns and purified proteins exhibited active function. Additionally, the ubiquitin protein hydrolase UBP41, expressed and purified as biotin-UBP41, efficiently and specifically cleaved off the biotin-ubiquitin tag from biotin-ubiquitin fusions to produce unmodified proteins. The present expression system should be useful for the expression, purification, and functional characterization of mammalian proteins and the construction of protein microarrays.

Two-Dimensional (1)H NMR Studies on Octahedral Nickel(II) Complexes.

The dinucleating ligand ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetrakis[(2-(1-ethylbenzimidazoyl)] (EGTB-Et; 1) was used to synthesize the dinuclear Ni(II) tetraacetonitrile complex cation [Ni(2)(EGTB-Et)(CH(3)CN)(4)](2+) (2): triclinic space group P&onemacr; (a = 12.273(5) Å, b = 12.358(7) Å, c = 12.561(6) Å, alpha = 90.43(4) degrees, beta = 110.26(3) degrees, gamma = 99.21 (4) degrees, and Z = 1). The structure shows two identical octahedral Ni(II) centers each bound to two benzimidazole ring nitrogen atoms, one amine nitrogen atom, an ether oxygen atom, and two acetonitrile nitrogen atoms. The Ni(II) ions are tethered together by a diethyl ether linkage with a crystallographic center of inversion between the methylene carbons of this bridge. The Ni--Ni separation in 2 is 7.072 Å. The mononuclear Ni(II) complex cation [Ni(Bipy)(2)(OAc)](+) (3) (Bipy = bipyridine) was synthesized and crystallographically characterized: monoclinic space group P2(1)/c (a = 9.269(4) Å, b = 8.348(4) Å, c = 14.623(7) Å, and beta = 102.46(4) degrees, Z = 2). The Ni(II) ions in 3 adopts a distorted octahedral geometry and is bound to four bipyridine ring nitrogen atoms and two carboxylate oxygen atoms. The average Ni-N and Ni-O distances are 2.062 and 2.110 Å. The electronic absorption spectra of both 2 and 3 were recorded in acetonitrile solution and are consistent with octahedral coordination geometries about the Ni(II) ions with Racah parameters of 840 and 820 cm(-)(1), respectively. Both one- and two-dimensional (1)H NMR techniques were used to assign the observed hyperfine shifted (1)H NMR resonances of 2 and 3 in acetonitrile solution. Clear COSY cross signals are observed between the aromatic protons of both the benzimidazole and pyridine protons of 2 and 3, respectively. The use of 2D NMR methods to assign inequivalent aromatic protons rather than synthetic methods such as substitution or deuteration are discussed.