Changes to the proteome and targeted metabolites of xylem sap in Brassica oleracea in response to salt stress.

Root-to-shoot signalling via xylem sap is an important mechanism by which plants respond to stress. This signalling could be mediated by alteration in the concentrations of inorganic and/or organic molecules. The effect of salt stress on the contents of xylem sap in Brassica olarecea has been analysed by mass spectrometry in order to quantify these changes. Subcellular location of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) by immunogold labelling and peroxidase isozymes was also analysed by isoelectrofocusing. The xylem sap metabolome analysis demonstrated the presence of many organic compounds such as sugars, organic acids and amino acids. Of these, amino acid concentrations, particularly that of glutamine, the major amino acid in the sap, were substantially reduced by salt stress. The xylem sap proteome analysis demonstrated the accumulation of enzymes involved in xylem differentiation and lignification, such as cystein proteinases, acid peroxidases, and a putative hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase under salt stress. The peroxidase isozyme pattern showed that salt stress induced a high accumulation of an acid isoform. These results suggest that xylem differentiation and lignification is induced by salt stress. The combination of different methods to analyse the xylem sap composition provides new insights into mechanisms in plant development and signalling under salt stress.

Class III peroxidases in plant defence reactions.

When plants are attacked by pathogens, they defend themselves with an arsenal of defence mechanisms, both passive and active. The active defence responses, which require de novo protein synthesis, are regulated through a complex and interconnected network of signalling pathways that mainly involve three molecules, salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET), and which results in the synthesis of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Microbe or elicitor-induced signal transduction pathways lead to (i) the reinforcement of cell walls and lignification, (ii) the production of antimicrobial metabolites (phytoalexins), and (iii) the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Among the proteins induced during the host plant defence, class III plant peroxidases (EC 1.11.1.7; hydrogen donor: H(2)O(2) oxidoreductase, Prxs) are well known. They belong to a large multigene family, and participate in a broad range of physiological processes, such as lignin and suberin formation, cross-linking of cell wall components, and synthesis of phytoalexins, or participate in the metabolism of ROS and RNS, both switching on the hypersensitive response (HR), a form of programmed host cell death at the infection site associated with limited pathogen development. The present review focuses on these plant defence reactions in which Prxs are directly or indirectly involved, and ends with the signalling pathways, which regulate Prx gene expression during plant defence. How they are integrated within the complex network of defence responses of any host plant cell will be the cornerstone of future research.

"Super-rapid" Technique in Donation After Circulatory Death Liver Donors: Advantages and Disadvantages.

In recent years, donation after circulatory death (DCD) has increased as an option to overcome the organ donor shortage crisis and to decrease the large number of patients on liver transplant waiting lists. The "super-rapid" technique is now the "gold standard" procurement method because of its availability, reproducibility, low cost, and extensive experience. Recently, extracorporeal support has been implemented, with encouraging results. Strict donor acceptance criteria have proven to be essential to optimize the DCD liver graft outcomes and minimize biliary complication rates. In this study we assessed the state of the art of DCD liver transplantation with regard to its development and the actual strategies to prevent graft complications, with aim of expanding the pool of marginal liver donors.

[Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST): factors predictive of survival after R0-cytoreduction]. / Tumores del estroma gastrointestinal (GIST): factores pronósticos de supervivencia tras citorreducción R0.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the different factors predictive of survival associated with optimal R0-cytoreduction in c-kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors. METHODS: Thirty-five patients were operated on in our Oncological Surgery Department from January 2002 to February 2007 because of CD117/c-kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and an optimal surgical cytoreduction was obtained without macroscopical residual disease. Demographic, anatomical, clinical, pathological, and immunohistochemical variables were analyzed from a specific database. Survival and multivariate analyses were developed using Kaplan-Meier and multiple Cox regression models, respectively. RESULTS: Five-year overall survival was 77% with a mean survival of 52 months. Risk of malignant behaviour according to Fletcher s classification and tumor size higher than 10 cm had a significantly negative influence on overall survival in the univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Proliferative Ki-67 activity higher than 50% was the only statistically significant variable in the multivariate analysis. Twenty percent of tumors recurred. Only 3 patients with metastatic disease received adjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate, all of them with Ki-67 > 50% and currently alive. CONCLUSIONS: The poliferative Ki-67 index could represent an excellent predictive factor for survival in patients with c-kit-positive stromal gastrointestinal tumors. Confirmation and an adequate cut-off level should be the main objectives for future prospective studies, mostly focused on the appropriate selection of optimal candidates to imatinib-mesylate-based treatment.

Kinetic characteristics of the enzymatic conversion in presence of cyclodextrins: study of the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids by lipoxygenase.

The capability of cyclodextrins (CDs) to greatly enhance the solubility in water of poorly water-soluble substances makes them an ideal alternative system for studying the expression of enzyme activity with such substrates in aqueous solution. In order to evaluate the behaviour of the enzymes in presence of CDs a study of the lipoxygenase (LOX)-catalyzed oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as model reaction has been carried out. This was done by using LOX from two different sources (soybean and potato tuber), at two pH values (6.3 and 9.0), with two substrates (linoleic acid and arachidonic acid) and three types of CD (beta-CD, methyl-beta-CD and monoglucosyl-beta-CD). PUFA have been shown to form inclusion complexes of 1:2 stoichiometry which are in equilibrium with free PUFA and free CD, thus complexation is governed by two equilibrium constants, K1 and K2 (J.M. López-Nicolás et al., Biochem. J. 308 (1995) 151-154; R. Bru et al., Colloids Surf. 97 (1995) 263-269). For the oxidation of PUFA by LOX in the presence of beta-CD we propose a model in which free PUFA is the only effective substrate, thus the oxidation of the complexed substrate requires the previous dissociation of the complex. The equilibrium constants of complex formation are determined by both a physico-chemical and an enzymatic method. In spite of giving quite similar results, the second was proven to be more accurate so it was employed in further studies. CD was shown to slow down the reaction rate of LOX, specifically due to the increase of Km, Vmax remaining unchanged. That apparent inhibition is due to removal of effective (free) substrate in the form of inclusion complexes. This 'sequestered' substrate can, however, be converted since it is in equilibrium with the free. The feasibility of realizing a CD-mediated accurate control over the conversion rate is demonstrated in the experiment called 'cyclodextrin assay' in which the concentration of the free substrate is calculated by using the equilibrium constants of complex formation and setting the initial concentrations of total substrate and total CD. From the observation of the reaction progress curves in the conditions of the CD assay, we have studied some characteristic parameters of the oxidation of PUFA by LOX in this new medium, such as enzymatic activity, duration of linear product accumulation and the lag phase.

Trypsin-SBTI interaction in reverse micelles. A slow intermicellar exchange-dependent binding.

Solubilisate exchange between reverse micelles must take place before any reaction inside reverse micelles occurs if the reactants are confined to the aqueous micellar core. When the interacting species are 2 small molecules or one small molecule and one macromolecule, it has been shown that the exchange is faster than the typical turnover of an enzymatic reaction. The study of the interaction between 2 macromolecules (trypsin and soybean trypsin inhibitor) in reverse micelles carried out in this work reveals that the exchange between these macromolecule-containing reverse micelles slows down by a thousand times and the limiting-step in the exchange, the fusion, by 10(6) times. Both reverse micellar size (omega 0 = [water]/[surfactant]) and temperature affected the rate of the fusion process. A hypothesis for the proposed active role of macromolecules in the exchange process is also given.

Prediction model to discard a priori liver allografts.

BACKGROUND: The use of expanded criteria for donors to expand the donor pool has increased the number of discarded liver grafts in situ. The aim of our study was to elaborate a prediction model to reduce the percentage of liver grafts discarded before the procuring team is sent out. METHODS: We analyzed the donor factors of 244 evaluated candidates for liver donation. We performed a multiple logistic regression to evaluate the probability of liver grafts discarded (PD). RESULTS: The PD was determined by use of 3 variables: age, pathological ultrasonography, and body mass index >30. The area under curve was 82.7%, and, for a PD of 70%, the false-positive probability was 1.2%. CONCLUSIONS: We have created a useful clinical prediction model that could avoid up to 20% of discarded liver grafts.

Proteome alterations monitored by DIGE analysis in Silybum marianum cell cultures elicited with methyl jasmonate and methyl B cyclodextrin.

Elicitation with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or/and cyclodextrin (CD) strongly induced silymarin (Sm) accumulation in suspensions of Silybum marianum, with most of Sm isomers being detected in the culture medium. This induction provides a model platform to characterize the regulation of flavonolignan accumulation and release in response to elicitors and, with this aim, changes in the S. marianum cell proteome were investigated. The DIGE technique was used to detect statistically significant changes in the cell's proteome. A total number of 1269 unique spots were detected, 67 of which were de-regulated upon elicitation. Nineteen spots were identified by nLC-MS/MS database search analysis. Identified proteins belong to a few categories, including metabolism, stress and defense responses and transport processes. The most abundant group was represented by pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins and heat shock proteins. Two proteins related to transport process were identified and both were upregulated by elicitation. One was identified as Ras-related protein Rab11C of the Rab family of small ATPase superfamily. A second protein was identified as an ABC transporter. Some of the identified proteins are discussed with respect to their putative role in the extracellular flavonolignan accumulation in S. marianum cultures. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Most approaches to increase secondary metabolite yields using plant cell cultures have been focused on the optimization of its biosynthesis. The study of other post biosynthetic events, like chemical or enzymatic modifications, transport, storage/secretion and catabolism/degradation are also biotechnologically relevant. Secretion is of particular interest since if cell cultures are to be used routinely for the commercial production, they must release the targeted metabolites into the extracellular medium. Elicitor-induced silymarin accumulation and release in S. marianum cell cultures provide a responsive model system to profile both alterations in proteins related to monolignol/flavonoid biosynthesis and to identify potential systems involved in secretion of secondary metabolites. The proteomic approach undertaken in this work has permitted identify some of the events occurring in elicited S. marianum cell cultures. One attainment of this study is that a vesicular transport mechanism could be involved in the release of this class of secondary metabolites to the extracellular compartment. This finding forms a baseline for future research on a non-sequenced medicinal plant S. marianum at molecular level.

Carney's triad: case report and review.

INTRODUCTION: Carney's triad is a rare pathogenic entity which consists of the association in young women of multiple condromatosis in the lung, gastric leiomyosarcoma, and extradrenal paraganglioma; although the presence of three at the same time is not required for its diagnosis. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 27-year-old woman who was diagnosed of pulmonary multiple hamartomatosis and gastric stromal tumor. DISCUSSION: A review of the literature shows the most important prognosis factors and therapeutic options. Surgery for gastrointestinal stromal tumors and extradrenal paraganglioma seems to be the best treatment up to date.

Product inhibition of alpha-chymotrypsin in reverse micelles.

The alpha-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of succinyl-L-alanyl-L-alanyl- L-prolyl-L-phenylalanyl p-nitroanilide has been studied in reverse micelles of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) in isooctane. It has been found that alpha-chymotrypsin is strongly inhibited competitively by the acidic peptide product which is formed during the course of the reaction. It has also been shown that the application of the integrated form of the Michaelis-Menten equation can be useful to detect possible inhibition effects and abnormal kinetic behavior of enzymes in reverse micelles. Furthermore, it has been shown that the turnover number (kcat) at low water content is lower than in water and increases as the water content in the system is lower than in water and increases as the water content in the system (wo = [H2O]/[AOT]) increases, kcat reaching the value in water at high wo. If however, initial velocity data, as obtained under conditions where the enzyme is not saturated with substrate, are plotted against wo, the curves are bell-shaped, with a maximum around wo = 15.

Catalytic activity of elastase in reverse micelles.

The activity of porcine pancreatic elastase has been studied in reverse micelles formed by AOT (sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate) in isooctane. For the two substrates succinyl-L-Ala-L-Ala-L-Ala-p-nitroanilide and succinyl-L-Ala-L-Ala-L-Pro-L-Leu-p-nitroanilide, the catalytic constant, kcat, in reverse micelles increases with increasing wo until, at high wo, the value of kcat measured in bulk buffer solution is approached (wo = [H2O/]AOT]). In analogy to alpha-chymotrypsin--and in apparent contrast to many other enzymes--elastase does not show a maximum in the kcat-wo profile. Within the wo range of 8 to 35, for both substrates, the Michaelis constant Km (as expressed relative to the total volume of the solution, Km,overall) increases with increasing wo.

The effect of substrate partitioning on the kinetics of enzymes acting in reverse micelles.

A theoretical model for the expression of enzymic activity in reverse micelles previously developed [Bru. Sánchez-Ferrer & García-Carmona (1989) Biochem. J. 259, 355-361] was extended in the present work. The substrate concentration in each reverse-micelle phase (free water, bound water and surfactant apolar tails) and the organic solvent was expressed as a function of the total substrate concentration, taking into account its partition coefficients, that is, partitioning of the substrate in a multiphasic system. In each phase the enzyme expresses a catalytic constant and a Km. Thus the whole reaction rate is the addition of the particular rates expressed in each domain. This model was compared with that developed for a biphasic system [Levashov, Klyachko, Pantin, Khmelnitski & Martinek (1980) Bioorg. Khim. 6, 929-943] by fitting the experimental results obtained with mushroom tyrosinase (working on both 4-t-butylcatechol and 4-methylcatechol) to the two models. The parameters which characterize reverse micelles, omega 0 (water/surfactant molar ratio) and theta (fraction of water) were investigated. The omega 0 profile was shown to be hyperbolic for both substrates. Activity towards 4-t-butylcatechol decreases as theta increases, this observation being attributable to a dilution of the substrate. A Km of 7.8 M for 4-t-butylcatechol could be calculated on the basis of the biphasic model, whereas it was 13.5 mM when calculating on the basis of our model. A new parameter, rho (= [substrate]/theta), was defined to characterize those substrates that mainly solubilize in the reverse micelle ('micellar substrates').

Phase separation of biomolecules in polyoxyethylene glycol nonionic detergents.

The advantage of aqueous two-phase systems based on polyoxyethylene detergents over other liquid-liquid two-phase systems lies in their capacity to fractionate membrane proteins simply by heating the solution over a biocompatible range of temperatures (20 to 37 degrees C). This permits the peripheral membrane proteins to be effectively separated from the integral membrane proteins, which remain in the detergent-rich phase due to the interaction of their hydrophobic domains with detergent micelles. Since the first reports of this special characteristic of polyoxyethylene glycol detergents in 1981, numerous reports have consolidated this procedure as a fundamental technique in membrane biochemistry and molecular biology. As examples of their use in these two fields, this review summarizes the studies carried out on the topology, diversity, and anomalous behavior of transmembrane proteins on the distribution of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane proteins, and on a mechanism to describe the pH-induced translocation of viruses, bacterial endotoxins, and soluble cytoplasmic proteins related to membrane fusion. In addition, the phase separation capacity of these polyoxyethylene glycol detergents has been used to develop quick fractionation methods with high recoveries, on both a micro- and macroscale, and to speed up or increase the efficiency of bioanalytical assays.

A theoretical study on the expression of enzymic activity in reverse micelles.

The present work deals with a theoretical model of catalysis by enzymes entrapped in reverse micelles. Three aspects of the enzyme-reverse-micelle system have been considered: structure, dynamics and enzyme distribution and catalysis in reverse micelles. A proposed structural model of reverse micelles [El Seoud (1984) in Reverse Micelles (Luisi, P. L. & Straub, B. E., eds.), p. 81, Plenum Press, New York] consists of three domains: surfactant apolar tails, bound water and free water. Dynamics are based on a dynamic equilibrium of association-dissociation that lead one to consider the dispersed polar phase as a pseudo-continuous phase [Luisi, Giomini, Pileni & Robinson (1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 947, 207-246]. Enzyme is distributed among the reverse-micelle domains and it expresses a catalytic constant for each one of them. The overall activity is calculated taking into account the volume in which enzyme is solubilized, and expressed as a function of the whole volume (V). The characteristic parameters of reverse micelles, omega 0 (= [H2O]/[surfactant]) and theta (= % water, v/v), were investigated as modulators of enzymic activity. Three basic patterns of modulation by omega 0 were found depending on which domain the enzyme expressed the highest catalytic constant. Combinations of those basic patterns lead to other modulation types that can be found experimentally, such as superactivation. Other combinations predict behaviour patterns not described to date, such as superinhibition. Dependence of catalytic activity on theta was only stated at omega 0 values around a critical value, which coincides with the appearance of free water.

Partial purification of a thylakoid-bound enzyme using temperature-induced phase partitioning.

Triton X-114 was used to partially purify broad bean polyphenol oxidase, a thylakoid membrane-bound enzyme, in latent form, free of phenolic compounds and chlorophylls, with a high recovery rate. The activation of the latent enzyme by detergents or trypsin was 10 times higher than that obtained when the enzyme was purified by other methods used in plant biochemistry, such as acetone powders and ammonium sulfate fractionation. The kinetic parameters of the latent and activated enzyme are also given.

Novel procedure for extraction of a latent grape polyphenoloxidase using temperature-induced phase separation in triton x-114.

Polyphenoloxidase from grape berries is extracted only by nonionic detergents with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance between 12.4 and 13.5. The enzyme was partially purified in latent form, free of phenolics and chlorophylls, by using temperature phase partitioning in a solution of Triton X-114. This method permits the purification of the enzyme with the same fold purification as the commonly used method, but with a yield three times higher and a 90% reduction in time needed. The latent enzyme can be activated by different treatments, including trypsin and cationic and anionic detergents. Cetyltrimethylamonium bromide was found to be the most effective detergent activator, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate. Polyphenoloxidase in grape berries, in spite of being an integral membrane protein, had an anomalous interaction with Triton X-114, remaining in the detergent-poor phase after phase separation. This could be explained by its having a short hydrophobic tail that anchors it to the membrane.

Characteristics of tyrosinase in AOT-isooctane reverse micelles.

Isooctane-AOT-H(2)O is a suitable system for studying enzyme behavior in organic solvents. Tyrosinase was able to catalyze a well-known reaction in aqueous medium: oxidation of 4-methylcatechol to yield 4-methyl-o-benzoquinone. This reaction was studied using the preceding ternary system with adequate amounts of each component to make up reverse micelles. 4-Methyl-o-benzoquinone stability was demonstrated in isooctane even at alkaline pH values. Apparent K(m) and V(max) were similar to those in water, but substrate inhibition was more evident. The pH and temperature appear to be shifted toward high and low values, respectively. Characteristic parameters of reverse micelles, omega(0) (= H(2)O/AOT) and percentage of H(2)O (v/v), were investigated. The results obtained showed that the steady-state rate varies either with omega(0) or with percentage of H(2)O. The variation observed with omega(0) showed an optimal value while an increase in percentage of H(2)O can lead to decreased or increased activity depending on substrate concentration.

sn-1,2-diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase from pig liver: mixed micellar assay and kinetic analysis of the partially pure enzyme.

sn-1,2-Diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase from pig liver microsomes was partially purified through a procedure involving solubilization with sodium cholate and chromatography on Sepharose 6B. The resulting preparation was 19-fold enriched with respect to microsomes and was shown to be very sensitive to different detergents. Sodium cholate gave the best yields in activity. In a mixed micellar assay with Triton X-100 a strong dependence of the enzyme activity on the concentration of mixed micelles was observed, due to Triton X-100 acting as an inactivator. Soja phosphatidylcholine added exogenously protected the enzyme against detergent inactivation and stimulated the enzyme activity. Dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine had a similar stimulatory effect, whereas didecanoyl- or dioctanoyl-phosphatidylcholine did not; thus long-chain phosphatidylcholines seem to be essential in the activation of cholinephosphotransferase. In a mixed micellar assay with sodium cholate no inactivation of the enzyme could be detected and it was found that soja phosphatidylcholine stimulates the activity in a greater extent than in Triton X-100 mixed micelles. The phospholipid activates the enzyme in a noncompetitive way with an activation constant of 176 mol%. Km was estimated as 1.54 mol% with a Vmax = 30 nmol/min/mg protein. Those results support an activation mechanism by phosphatidylcholine interacting at sites different from the active center. The high activation constant led to the conclusion that cholinephosphotransferase requires a lipidic boundary for full activation. No activation by substrate was observed. Short-chain diacylglycerides such as dihexanoyl-, dioctanoyl-, or didecanoylglycerol can be used as substrates although the enzyme in this case has only 5 to 10% of the activity it has for dioleoylglycerol or egg diglycerides.

Cell-linked and extracellular cholesterol oxidase activities from Rhodococcus erythropolis. Isolation and physiological characterization.

Rhodococcus erythropolis cells growing in a cholesterol-free glycerol-containing mineral medium displayed very low levels of a cell-wall-bound cholesterol oxidase activity. Addition of cholesterol induced a marked increase in the synthesis of this enzyme, which reached a maximum within 6 days and was subsequently followed by the appearance of extracellular cholesterol oxidase in the culture broth. Significant levels of induction were only achieved when cholesterol emulsified with Tween 80. The presence of chloramphenicol at the time of induction completely prevented the emergence of both enzymatic forms, suggesting the requirement of de novo protein synthesis. Upon transfer of cholesterol-growing cultures to fresh medium lacking cholesterol, the extracellular cholesterol oxidase was quickly erased, while the activity of the particulate enzyme decreased sharply. The electrophoretic pattern on native Western blotting as well as on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels, together with kinetic data, strongly support the idea that the particulate and extracellular cholesterol oxidases are two different forms of the same enzyme with an estimated molecular mass of 55 kDa.