Detailed aggregate exposure analysis shows that exposure to fragrance ingredients in consumer products is low: Many orders of magnitude below thresholds of concern.

The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) and Creme Global Cremeglobal.com partnered to develop an aggregate exposure model for fragrance ingredients. The model provides a realistic estimate of the total exposure of fragrance ingredients to individuals across a population. The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) and Dermal Sensitization Threshold (DST) were used to demonstrate the magnitude of low exposure to fragrance materials. The total chronic systemic, inhalation, and dermal 95th percentile exposures on approximately 3000 fragrance ingredients in RIFM's inventory were compared to their respective TTC or DST. Additionally, representative fragrance ingredients were randomly selected and analyzed for exposure distribution by product type (i.e., cosmetic/personal care, household care, oral care, and air care) and route of exposure. It was found that 76 % of fragrance ingredients fall below their respective TTC limits when compared to 95th percentile systemic exposure, while 99 % are below inhalation TTC limits. The lowest 95th percentile aggregate exposure by product type was from household care products, then air care, and oral care products. The highest exposure was from personal care/cosmetic products. The volume of use for most fragrance ingredients (63 %) was <1 metric ton, estimating that environmental exposure to fragrance ingredients is likely low.

Heme Protein Binding of Sulfonamide Compounds: A Correlation Study by Spectroscopic, Calorimetric, and Computational Methods.

Protein-ligand interaction studies are useful to determine the molecular mechanism of the binding phenomenon, leading to the establishment of the structure-function relationship. Here, we report the binding of well-known antibiotic sulfonamide drugs (sulfamethazine, SMZ; and sulfadiazine, SDZ) with heme protein myoglobin (Mb) using spectroscopic, calorimetric, ζ potential, and computational methods. Formation of a 1:1 complex between the ligand and Mb through well-defined equilibrium was observed. The binding constants obtained between Mb and SMZ/SDZ drugs were on the order of 104 M-1. SMZ with two additional methyl (-CH3) substitutions has higher affinity than SDZ. Upon drug binding, a notable loss in the helicity (via circular dichroism) and perturbation of the three-dimensional (3D) protein structure (via infrared and synchronous fluorescence experiments) were observed. The binding also indicated the dominance of non-polyelectrolytic forces between the amino acid residues of the protein and the drugs. The ligand-protein binding distance signified high probability of energy transfer between them. Destabilization of the protein structure upon binding was evident from differential scanning calorimetry results and ζ potential analyses. Molecular docking presented the best probable binding sites of the drugs inside protein pockets. Thus, the present study explores the potential binding characteristics of two sulfonamide drugs (with different substitutions) with myoglobin, correlating the structural and energetic aspects.

AC-motif: a DNA motif containing adenine and cytosine repeat plays a role in gene regulation.

I-motif or C4 is a four-stranded DNA structure with a protonated cytosine:cytosine base pair (C+:C) found in cytosine-rich sequences. We have found that oligodeoxynucleotides containing adenine and cytosine repeats form a stable secondary structure at a physiological pH with magnesium ion, which is similar to i-motif structure, and have named this structure 'adenine:cytosine-motif (AC-motif)'. AC-motif contains C+:C base pairs intercalated with putative A+:C base pairs between protonated adenine and cytosine. By investigation of the AC-motif present in the CDKL3 promoter (AC-motifCDKL3), one of AC-motifs found in the genome, we confirmed that AC-motifCDKL3 has a key role in regulating CDKL3 gene expression in response to magnesium. This is further supported by confirming that genome-edited mutant cell lines, lacking the AC-motif formation, lost this regulation effect. Our results verify that adenine-cytosine repeats commonly present in the genome can form a stable non-canonical secondary structure with a non-Watson-Crick base pair and have regulatory roles in cells, which expand non-canonical DNA repertoires.

The effect of hairpin loop on the structure and gene expression activity of the long-loop G-quadruplex.

G-quadruplex (G4), a four-stranded DNA or RNA structure containing stacks of guanine tetrads, plays regulatory roles in many cellular functions. So far, conventional G4s containing loops of 1-7 nucleotides have been widely studied. Increasing experimental evidence suggests that unconventional G4s, such as G4s containing long loops (long-loop G4s), play a regulatory role in the genome by forming a stable structure. Other secondary structures such as hairpins in the loop might thus contribute to the stability of long-loop G4s. Therefore, investigation of the effect of the hairpin-loops on the structure and function of G4s is required. In this study, we performed a systematic biochemical investigation of model G4s containing long loops with various sizes and structures. We found that the long-loop G4s are less stable than conventional G4s, but their stability increased when the loop forms a hairpin (hairpin-G4). We also verified the biological significance of hairpin-G4s by showing that hairpin-G4s present in the genome also form stable G4s and regulate gene expression as confirmed by in cellulo reporter assays. This study contributes to expanding the scope and diversity of G4s, thus facilitating future studies on the role of G4s in the human genome.

The Transcription Factor Ets1 Suppresses T Follicular Helper Type 2 Cell Differentiation to Halt the Onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in ETS1 are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Ets1-/- mice develop SLE-like symptoms, suggesting that dysregulation of this transcription factor is important to the onset or progression of SLE. We used conditional deletion approaches to examine the impact of Ets1 expression in different immune cell types. Ets1 deletion on CD4+ T cells, but not B cells or dendritic cells, resulted in the SLE autoimmunity, and this was associated with the spontaneous expansion of T follicular helper type 2 (Tfh2) cells. Ets1-/- Tfh2 cells exhibited increased expression of GATA-3 and interleukin-4 (IL-4), which induced IgE isotype switching in B cells. Neutralization of IL-4 reduced Tfh2 cell frequencies and ameliorated disease parameters. Mechanistically, Ets1 suppressed signature Tfh and Th2 cell genes, including Cxcr5, Bcl6, and Il4ra, thus curbing the terminal Tfh2 cell differentiation process. Tfh2 cell frequencies in SLE patients correlated with disease parameters, providing evidence for the relevance of these findings to human disease.

Cell surface polysaccharides of Bifidobacterium bifidum induce the generation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells.

Dysregulation of intestinal microflora is linked to inflammatory disorders associated with compromised immunosuppressive functions of Foxp3+ T regulatory (Treg) cells. Although mucosa-associated commensal microbiota has been implicated in Treg generation, molecular identities of the "effector" components controlling this process remain largely unknown. Here, we have defined Bifidobacterium bifidum as a potent inducer of Foxp3+ Treg cells with diverse T cell receptor specificity to dietary antigens, commensal bacteria, and B. bifidum itself. Cell surface ß-glucan/galactan (CSGG) polysaccharides of B. bifidum were identified as key components responsible for Treg induction. CSGG efficiently recapitulated the activity of whole bacteria and acted via regulatory dendritic cells through a partially Toll-like receptor 2-mediated mechanism. Treg cells induced by B. bifidum or purified CSGG display stable and robust suppressive capacity toward experimental colitis. By identifying CSGG as a functional component of Treg-inducing bacteria, our studies highlight the immunomodulatory potential of CSGG and CSGG-producing microbes.

Correction: The mutational landscape of ocular marginal zone lymphoma identifies frequent alterations in TNFAIP3 followed by mutations in TBL1XR1 and CREBBP.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.14928.].

Genome-wide analysis of regulatory G-quadruplexes affecting gene expression in human cytomegalovirus.

G-quadruplex (G4), formed by repetitive guanosine-rich sequences, is known to play various key regulatory roles in cells. Herpesviruses containing a large double-stranded DNA genome show relatively higher density of G4-forming sequences in their genomes compared to human and mouse. However, it remains poorly understood whether all of these sequences form G4 and how they play a role in the virus life cycle. In this study, we performed genome-wide analyses of G4s present in the putative promoter or gene regulatory regions of a 235-kb human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome and investigated their roles in viral gene expression. We evaluated 36 putative G4-forming sequences associated with 20 genes for their ability to form G4 and for the stability of G4s in the presence or absence of G4-stabilizing ligands, by circular dichroism and melting temperature analyses. Most identified sequences formed a stable G4; 28 sequences formed parallel G4s, one formed an antiparallel G4, and four showed mixed conformations. However, when we assessed the effect of G4 on viral promoters by cloning the 20 putative viral promoter regions containing 36 G4-forming sequences into the luciferase reporter and monitoring the expression of luciferase reporter gene in the presence of G4-stabilizing chemicals, we found that only 9 genes were affected by G4 formation. These results revealed promoter context-dependent gene suppression by G4 formation. Mutational analysis of two potential regulatory G4s also demonstrated gene suppression by the sequence-specific G4 formation. Furthermore, the analysis of a mutant virus incapable of G4 formation in the UL35 promoter confirmed promoter regulation by G4 in the context of virus infection. Our analyses provide a platform for assessing G4 functions at the genomic level and demonstrate the properties of the HCMV G4s and their regulatory roles in viral gene expression.

The mutational landscape of ocular marginal zone lymphoma identifies frequent alterations in TNFAIP3 followed by mutations in TBL1XR1 and CREBBP.

Ocular marginal zone lymphoma is a common type of low-grade B-cell lymphoma. To investigate the genomic changes that occur in ocular marginal zone lymphoma, we analyzed 10 cases of ocular marginal zone lymphoma using whole-genome and RNA sequencing and an additional 38 cases using targeted sequencing. Major genetic alterations affecting genes involved in nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway activation (60%), chromatin modification and transcriptional regulation (44%), and B-cell differentiation (23%) were identified. In whole-genome sequencing, the 6q23.3 region containing TNFAIP3 was deleted in 5 samples (50%). In addition, 5 structural variation breakpoints in the first intron of IL20RA located in the 6q23.3 region was found in 3 samples (30%). In targeted sequencing, a disruptive mutation of TNFAIP3 was the most common alteration (54%), followed by mutations of TBL1XR1 (18%), cAMP response element binding proteins (CREBBP) (17%) and KMT2D (6%). All TBL1XR1 mutations were located within the WD40 domain, and TBL1XR1 mutants transfected into 293T cells increased TBL1XR1 binding with nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR), leading to increased degradation of NCoR and the activation of NF-κB and JUN target genes. This study confirms genes involving in the activation of the NF-kB signaling pathway is the major driver in the oncogenesis of ocular MZL.

An ubiquitin-binding molecule can work as an inhibitor of ubiquitin processing enzymes and ubiquitin receptors.

The ubiquitin pathway plays a critical role in regulating diverse biological processes, and its dysregulation is associated with various diseases. Therefore, it is important to have a tool that can control the ubiquitin pathway in order to improve understanding of this pathway and to develop therapeutics against relevant diseases. We found that Chicago Sky Blue 6B binds directly to the ß-groove, a major interacting surface of ubiquitin. Hence, it could successfully inhibit the enzymatic activity of ubiquitin processing enzymes and the binding of ubiquitin to the CXCR4, a cell surface ubiquitin receptor. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this ubiquitin binding chemical could effectively suppress the ubiquitin induced cancer cell migration by blocking ubiquitin-CXCR4 interaction. Current results suggest that ubiquitin binding molecules can be developed as inhibitors of ubiquitin-protein interactions, which will have the value not only in unveiling the biological role of ubiquitin but also in treating related diseases.

Design of a RANK-Mimetic Peptide Inhibitor of Osteoclastogenesis with Enhanced RANKL-Binding Affinity.

The receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK) and its ligand RANKL are key regulators of osteoclastogenesis and well-recognized targets in developing treatments for bone disorders associated with excessive bone resorption, such as osteoporosis. Our previous work on the structure of the RANK-RANKL complex revealed that Loop3 of RANK, specifically the non-canonical disulfide bond at the tip, performs a crucial role in specific recognition of RANKL. It also demonstrated that peptide mimics of Loop3 were capable of interfering with the function of RANKL in osteoclastogenesis. Here, we reported the structure-based design of a smaller peptide with enhanced inhibitory efficiency. The kinetic analysis and osteoclast differentiation assay showed that in addition to the sharp turn induced by the disulfide bond, two consecutive arginine residues were also important for binding to RANKL and inhibiting osteoclastogenesis. Docking and molecular dynamics simulations proposed the binding mode of the peptide to the RANKL trimer, showing that the arginine residues provide electrostatic interactions with RANKL and contribute to stabilizing the complex. These findings provided useful information for the rational design of therapeutics for bone diseases associated with RANK/RANKL function.

In silico work flow for scaffold hopping in Leishmania.

BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis,a broad spectrum of diseases caused by several sister species of protozoa belonging to family trypanosomatidae and genus leishmania , generally affects poorer sections of the populace in third world countries. With the emergence of strains resistant to traditional therapies and the high cost of second line drugs which generally have severe side effects, it becomes imperative to continue the search for alternative drugs to combat the disease. In this work, the leishmanial genomes and the human genome have been compared to identify proteins unique to the parasite and whose structures (or those of close homologues) are available in the Protein Data Bank. Subsequent to the prioritization of these proteins (based on their essentiality, virulence factor etc.), inhibitors have been identified for a subset of these prospective drug targets by means of an exhaustive literature survey. A set of three dimensional protein-ligand complexes have been assembled from the list of leishmanial drug targets by culling structures from the Protein Data Bank or by means of template based homology modeling followed by ligand docking with the GOLD software. Based on these complexes several structure based pharmacophores have been designed and used to search for alternative inhibitors in the ZINC database. RESULT: This process led to a list of prospective compounds which could serve as potential antileishmanials. These small molecules were also used to search the Drug Bank to identify prospective lead compounds already in use as approved drugs. Interestingly, paromomycin which is currently being used as an antileishmanial drug spontaneously appeared in the list, probably giving added confidence to the 'scaffold hopping' computational procedures adopted in this work. CONCLUSIONS: The report thus provides the basis to experimentally verify several lead compounds for their predicted antileishmanial activity and includes several useful data bases of prospective drug targets in leishmania, their inhibitors and protein--inhibitor three dimensional complexes.

Potential of known and short prokaryotic protein motifs as a basis for novel peptide-based antibacterial therapeutics: a computational survey.

Short linear motifs (SLiMs) are functional stretches of protein sequence that are of crucial importance for numerous biological processes by mediating protein-protein interactions. These motifs often comprise peptides of less than 10 amino acids that modulate protein-protein interactions. While well-characterized in eukaryotic intracellular signaling, their role in prokaryotic signaling is less well-understood. We surveyed the distribution of known motifs in prokaryotic extracellular and virulence proteins across a range of bacterial species and conducted searches for novel motifs in virulence proteins. Many known motifs in virulence effector proteins mimic eukaryotic motifs and enable the pathogen to control the intracellular processes of their hosts. Novel motifs were detected by finding those that had evolved independently in three or more unrelated virulence proteins. The search returned several significantly over-represented linear motifs of which some were known motifs and others are novel candidates with potential roles in bacterial pathogenesis. A putative C-terminal G[AG].$ motif found in type IV secretion system proteins was among the most significant detected. A KK$ motif that has been previously identified in a plasminogen-binding protein, was demonstrated to be enriched across a number of adhesion and lipoproteins. While there is some potential to develop peptide drugs against bacterial infection based on bacterial peptides that mimic host components, this could have unwanted effects on host signaling. Thus, novel SLiMs in virulence factors that do not mimic host components but are crucial for bacterial pathogenesis, such as the type IV secretion system, may be more useful to develop as leads for anti-microbial peptides or drugs.

In silico study of rotavirus VP7 surface accessible conserved regions for antiviral drug/vaccine design.

BACKGROUND: Rotaviral diarrhoea kills about half a million children annually in developing countries and accounts for one third of diarrhea related hospitalizations. Drugs and vaccines against the rotavirus are handicapped, as in all viral diseases, by the rapid mutational changes that take place in the DNA and protein sequences rendering most of these ineffective. As of now only two vaccines are licensed and approved by the WHO (World Health Organization), but display reduced efficiencies in the underdeveloped countries where the disease is more prevalent. We approached this issue by trying to identify regions of surface exposed conserved segments on the surface glycoproteins of the virion, which may then be targeted by specific peptide vaccines. We had developed a bioinformatics protocol for these kinds of problems with reference to the influenza neuraminidase protein, which we have refined and expanded to analyze the rotavirus issue. RESULTS: Our analysis of 433 VP7 (Viral Protein 7 from rotavirus) surface protein sequences across 17 subtypes encompassing mammalian hosts using a 20D Graphical Representation and Numerical Characterization method, identified four possible highly conserved peptide segments. Solvent accessibility prediction servers were used to identify that these are predominantly surface situated. These regions analyzed through selected epitope prediction servers for their epitopic properties towards possible T-cell and B-cell activation showed good results as epitopic candidates (only dry lab confirmation). CONCLUSIONS: The main reasons for the development of alternative vaccine strategies for the rotavirus are the failure of current vaccines and high production costs that inhibit their application in developing countries. We expect that it would be possible to use the protein surface exposed regions identified in our study as targets for peptide vaccines and drug designs for stable immunity against divergent strains of the rotavirus. Though this study is fully dependent on computational prediction algorithms, it provides a platform for wet lab experiments.

Graphical representation and mathematical characterization of protein sequences and applications to viral proteins.

Graphical representation and numerical characterization (GRANCH) of nucleotide and protein sequences is a new field that is showing a lot of promise in analysis of such sequences. While formulation and applications of GRANCH techniques for DNA/RNA sequences started just over a decade ago, analyses of protein sequences by these techniques are of more recent origin. The emphasis is still on developing the underlying technique, but significant results have been achieved in using these methods for protein phylogeny, mass spectral data of proteins and protein serum profiles in parasites, toxicoproteomics, determination of different indices for use in QSAR studies, among others. We briefly mention these in this chapter, with some details on protein phylogeny and viral diseases. In particular, we cover a systematic method developed in GRANCH to determine conserved surface exposed peptide segments in selected viral proteins that can be used for drug and vaccine targeting. The new GRANCH techniques and applications for DNAs and proteins are covered briefly to provide an overview to this nascent field.

Computational analysis and determination of a highly conserved surface exposed segment in H5N1 avian flu and H1N1 swine flu neuraminidase.

BACKGROUND: Catalytic activity of influenza neuraminidase (NA) facilitates elution of progeny virions from infected cells and prevents their self-aggregation mediated by the catalytic site located in the body region. Research on the active site of the molecule has led to development of effective inhibitors like oseltamivir, zanamivir etc, but the high rate of mutation and interspecies reassortment in viral sequences and the recent reports of oseltamivir resistant strains underlines the importance of determining additional target sites for developing future antiviral compounds. In a recent computational study of 173 H5N1 NA gene sequences we had identified a 50-base highly conserved region in 3'-terminal end of the NA gene. RESULTS: We extend the graphical and numerical analyses to a larger number of H5N1 NA sequences (514) and H1N1 swine flu sequences (425) accessed from GenBank. We use a 2D graphical representation model for the gene sequences and a Graphical Sliding Window Method (GSWM) for protein sequences scanning the sequences as a block of 16 amino acids at a time. Using a protein sequence descriptor defined in our model, the protein sliding scan method allowed us to compare the different strains for block level variability, which showed significant statistical correlation to average solvent accessibility of the residue blocks; single amino acid position variability results in no correlation, indicating the impact of stretch variability in chemical environment. Close to the C-terminal end the GSWM showed less descriptor-variability with increased average solvent accessibility (ASA) that is also supported by conserved predicted secondary structure of 3' terminal RNA and visual evidence from 3D crystallographic structure. CONCLUSION: The identified terminal segment, strongly conserved in both RNA and protein sequences, is especially significant as it is surface exposed and structural chemistry reveals the probable role of this stretch in tetrameric stabilization. It could also participate in other biological processes associated with conserved surface residues. A RNA double hairpin secondary structure found in this segment in a majority of the H5N1 strains also supports this observation. In this paper we propose this conserved region as a probable site for designing inhibitors for broad-spectrum pandemic control of flu viruses with similar NA structure.

Numerical characterization of protein sequences and application to voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunit phylogeny.

We propose a new method to compare sequences of protein families by generating numerical characterizations through a 20D representation. Using a walk along the axes representing the amino acids we generate a vector for each sequence whose components can be used to derive distance matrices between sequences and whose magnitudes can be used to compare the similarities/dissimilarities between the different sequences. The distance matrices enable creation of phylogenetic trees without need for multiple alignments or any other model dependencies. In this paper we test this technique with human globin gene sequences and then apply the method to a contemporary issue of evolutionary relationships of rat and human voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunits and compare with published literature. The close match of the results demonstrates the reliability and ease of use of this method.

Computational study of dispersion and extent of mutated and duplicated sequences of the H5N1 influenza neuraminidase over the period 1997-2008.

Study of mutational changes in neuraminidase (NA) gene sequences is important to track the effectiveness of the inhibitors to the H5N1 avian flu virus that targets this component of the viral apparatus. Our analysis based on numerical characterization studies of 682 complete neuraminidase gene and protein sequences available in the database, updated to March 2009, and which extends our previous work based on a sample of 173 sequences has revealed several interesting features. We have noticed that identical sequences have appeared over significant distances in space and time, raising the need for a deeper understanding of the longevity of such viral strains in the environment. Structural sections like transmembrane, stalk, body, and C-terminal tail regions have shown independent recombinations between strains from various species including human and avian hosts highlighting influenza's flexibility in host selection and recombination. Our analysis confirmed a biased nature in mutational accumulation in structural segments: a highly conserved 50-base C-terminal tail section identified in our earlier paper seems to accumulate mutational changes at a rate of about a fifth to an eighth of transmembrane and stalk regions, although the length is about half of these. Parallel study of the equivalent section to the C-terminal region in protein sequences reveals only 13 separate varieties, and all the other 669 sequences are duplicates to three of these varieties showing the highly conserved nature of this segment. Our analysis of active site related bases and amino acids showed highly conserved characteristic of those constructs, whereas the rest of the segments demonstrated rather large mutational changes. These kinds of high level of mutation in major part of the H5N1 NA sequences and recombinations within structural segments coupled with strong conservation of a few select segments show that the potential of rapid mutations to more virulent forms of this variety of avian flu continue to remain of concern, especially with the possibility of long duration dormancy of some of these viral strains, whereas islands of highly conserved segments could signify potential regions for inhibitor designs.