The archaeal highly thermostable GH35 family ß-galactosidase DaßGal has a unique seven domain protein fold.

The most extensively studied ß-d-galactosidases (EC3.2.1.23) belonging to four glycoside hydrolase (GH) families 1, 2, 35, and 42 are widely distributed among Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryotes. Here, we report a novel GH35 family ß-galactosidase from the hyperthermophilic Thermoprotei archaeon Desulfurococcus amylolyticus (DaßGal). Unlike fungal monomeric six-domain ß-galactosidases, the DaßGal enzyme is a dimer; it has an extra jelly roll domain D7 and three composite domains (D4, D5, and D6) that are formed by the distantly located polypeptide chain regions. The enzyme possesses a high specificity for ß-d-galactopyranosides, and its distinguishing feature is the ability to cleave pNP-ß-d-fucopyranoside. DaßGal efficiently catalyzes the hydrolysis of lactose at high temperatures, remains stable and active at 65 °Ð¡, and retains activity at 95 °Ð¡ with a half-life time value equal to 73 min. These properties make archaeal DaßGal a more attractive candidate for biotechnology than the widely used fungal ß-galactosidases.

An MSH6 germline pathogenic variant p.Gly162Ter associated with Lynch syndrome.

We identified a three-generation Russian family with Lynch syndrome with a novel germline variant of the MSH6 gene. An 84-year-old female was diagnosed with endometrial adenocarcinoma at the age of 49 years. Her son was diagnosed with colorectal tubular adenoma at the age of 32 years. A germline nonsense variant (c.484 G > T:p.Gly162Ter) in exon 3 of the MSH6 gene was revealed by whole-exome sequencing. Sanger sequencing confirmed the cosegregation of the MSH6 nonsense variant in family members.

Delivery of functional exogenous proteins by plant-derived vesicles to human cells in vitro.

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) gain more and more attention as promising carriers of exogenous bioactive molecules to the human cells. Derived from various edible sources, these EVs are remarkably biocompatible, biodegradable and highly abundant from plants. In this work, EVs from grapefruit juice were isolated by differential centrifugation followed by characterization of their size, quantity and morphology by nanoparticle tracking analysis, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy and cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM). In Cryo-EM experiments, we visualized grapefruit EVs with the average size of 41 ± 13 nm, confirmed their round-shaped morphology and estimated the thickness of their lipid bilayer as 5.3 ± 0.8 nm. Further, using cell culture models, we have successfully demonstrated that native grapefruit-derived extracellular vesicles (GF-EVs) are highly efficient carriers for the delivery of the exogenous Alexa Fluor 647 labeled bovine serum albumin (BSA) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) into both human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and colon cancer cells. Interestingly, loading to plant EVs significantly ameliorated the uptake of exogenous proteins by human cells compared to the same proteins without EVs. Most importantly, we have confirmed the functional activity of human recombinant HSP70 in the colon cancer cell culture upon delivery by GF-EVs. Analysis of the biodistribution of GF-EVs loaded with 125I-labeled BSA in mice demonstrated a significant uptake of the grapefruit-derived extracellular vesicles by the majority of organs. The results of our study indicate that native plant EVs might be safe and effective carriers of exogenous proteins into human cells.

Thermostability improvement of Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase via directed evolution of its gene located on episomal expression vector in Pichia pastoris cells.

Novel thermostable variants of glucoamylase (GA) from filamentous fungus Aspergillus awamori X100 were constructed using the directed evolution approach based on random mutagenesis by error-prone PCR of the catalytic domain region of glucoamylase gene located on a new episomal expression vector pPEHα in Pichia pastoris cells. Out of 3000 yeast transformants screened, six new thermostable GA variants with amino acid substitutions Val301Asp, Thr390Ala, Thr390Ala/Ser436Pro, Leu7Met/His391Tyr, Asn9His/Ile82Phe and Ser8Arg/Gln338Leu were identified and studied. To estimate the effect of each substitution in the double mutants, we have constructed the relevant single mutants of GA by site-directed mutagenesis and analyzed their thermal properties. Results of the analysis showed that only Ile82Phe and Ser8Arg substitutions by themselves increased enzyme thermostability. While the substitutions Leu7Met, Asn9His and Gln338Leu decreased the thermal stability of GA, the synergistic effect of double mutant variants Leu7Met/His391Tyr, Asn9His/Ile82Phe and Ser8Arg/Gln338Leu resulted in significant thermostability improvement as compared to the wild type GA. Thr390Ala and Thr390Ala/Ser436Pro mutant variants revealed the highest thermostability with free activation energy changes ΔΔG of 2.99 and 3.1 kJ/mol at 80°C, respectively.

Exosomes are natural carriers of exogenous siRNA to human cells in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles of endocytic origin that are involved in cell-to-cell communication including shuttle RNA, mainly mRNA and microRNA. As exosomes naturally carry RNA between cells, these particles might be useful in gene cancer therapy to deliver therapeutic short interfering RNA (siRNA) to the target cells. Despite the promise of RNA interference (RNAi) for use in therapy, several technical obstacles must be overcome. Exogenous siRNA is prone to degradation, has a limited ability to cross cell membranes and may induce an immune response. Naturally occurring RNA carriers, such as exosomes, might provide an untapped source of effective delivery strategies. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that exosomes can deliver siRNA to recipient cells in vitro. The different strategies were used to introduce siRNAs into human exosomes of various origins. The delivery of fluorescently labeled siRNA via exosomes to cells was confirmed using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Two different siRNAs against RAD51 and RAD52 were used to transfect into the exosomes for therapeutic delivery into target cells. The exosome-delivered siRNAs were effective at causing post-transcriptional gene silencing in recipient cells. Moreover, the exosome-delivered siRNA against RAD51 was functional and caused the massive reproductive cell death of recipient cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly suggest that exosomes effectively delivered the siRNA into the target cells. The therapeutic potential of exosome-mediated siRNA delivery was demonstrated in vitro by the strong knockdown of RAD51, a prospective therapeutic target for cancer cells. The results give an additional evidence of the ability to use human exosomes as vectors in cancer therapy, including RNAi-based gene therapy.

Two RecA protein types that mediate different modes of hyperrecombination.

RecAX53 is a chimeric variant of the Escherichia coli RecA protein (RecAEc) that contains a part of the central domain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa RecA (RecAPa), encompassing a region that differs from RecAEc at 12 amino acid positions. Like RecAPa, this chimera exhibits hyperrecombination activity in E. coli cells, increasing the frequency of recombination exchanges per DNA unit length (FRE). RecAX53 confers the largest increase in FRE observed to date. The contrasting properties of RecAX53 and RecAPa are manifested by in vivo differences in the dependence of the FRE value on the integrity of the mutS gene and thus in the ratio of conversion and crossover events observed among their hyperrecombination products. In strains expressing the RecAPa or RecAEc protein, crossovers are the main mode of hyperrecombination. In contrast, conversions are the primary result of reactions promoted by RecAX53. The biochemical activities of RecAX53 and its ancestors, RecAEc and RecAPa, have been compared. Whereas RecAPa generates a RecA presynaptic complex (PC) that is more stable than that of RecAEc, RecAX53 produces a more dynamic PC (relative to both RecAEc and RecAPa). The properties of RecAX53 result in a more rapid initiation of the three-strand exchange reaction but an inability to complete the four-strand transfer. This indicates that RecAX53 can form heteroduplexes rapidly but is unable to convert them into crossover configurations. A more dynamic RecA activity thus translates into an increase in conversion events relative to crossovers.

Distinguishing characteristics of hyperrecombinogenic RecA protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa acting in Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, a relatively low frequency of recombination exchanges (FRE) is predetermined by the activity of RecA protein, as modulated by a complex regulatory program involving both autoregulation and other factors. The RecA protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (RecA(Pa)) exhibits a more robust recombinase activity than its E. coli counterpart (RecA(Ec)). Low-level expression of RecA(Pa) in E. coli cells results in hyperrecombination (an increase of FRE) even in the presence of RecA(Ec). This genetic effect is supported by the biochemical finding that the RecA(Pa) protein is more efficient in filament formation than RecA K72R, a mutant protein with RecA(Ec)-like DNA-binding ability. Expression of RecA(Pa) also partially suppresses the effects of recF, recO, and recR mutations. In concordance with the latter, RecA(Pa) filaments initiate recombination equally from both the 5' and 3' ends. Besides, these filaments exhibit more resistance to disassembly from the 5' ends that makes the ends potentially appropriate for initiation of strand exchange. These comparative genetic and biochemical characteristics reveal that multiple levels are used by bacteria for a programmed regulation of their recombination activities.

Characteristic thermodependence of the RadA recombinase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Desulfurococcus amylolyticus.

The Desulfurococcus amylolyticus RadA protein (RadA(Da)) promotes recombination at temperatures approaching the DNA melting point. Here, analyzing ATPase of the RadA(Da) presynaptic complex, we described other distinguishing characteristics of RadA(Da). These include sensitivity to NaCl, preference for lengthy single-stranded DNA as a cofactor, protein activity at temperatures of over 100 degrees C, and bimodal ATPase activity. These characteristics suggest that RadA(Da) is a founding member of a new class of archaeal recombinases.

Rad51 protein from the thermotolerant yeast Pichia angusta as a typical but thermodependent member of the Rad51 family.

The Rad51 protein from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia angusta (Rad51(Pa)) of the taxonomic complex Hansenula polymorpha is a homolog of the RecA-RadA-Rad51 protein superfamily, which promotes homologous recombination and recombination repair in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We cloned the RAD51 gene from the cDNA library of the thermotolerant P. angusta strain BKM Y1397. Induction of this gene in a rad51-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain partially complemented the survival rate after ionizing radiation. Purified Rad51(Pa) protein exhibited properties typical of the superfamily, including the stoichiometry of binding to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) (one protomer of Rad51(Pa) per 3 nucleotides) and DNA specificity for ssDNA-dependent ATP hydrolysis [poly(dC) > poly(dT) > phiX174 ssDNA > poly(dA) > double-stranded M13 DNA]. An inefficient ATPase and very low cooperativity for ATP interaction position Rad51(Pa) closer to Rad51 than to RecA. Judging by thermoinactivation, Rad51(Pa) alone was 20-fold more thermostable at 37 degrees C than its S. cerevisiae homolog (Rad51(Sc)). Moreover, it maintained ssDNA-dependent ATPase and DNA transferase activities up to 52 to 54 degrees C, whereas Rad51(Sc) was completely inactive at 47 degrees C. A quick nucleation and an efficient final-product formation in the strand exchange reaction promoted by Rad51(Pa) occurred only at temperatures above 42 degrees C. These reaction characteristics suggest that Rad51(Pa) is dependent on high temperatures for activity.