Incorporation of Oxidized Phenylalanine Derivatives into Insulin Signaling Relevant Proteins May Link Oxidative Stress to Signaling Conditions Underlying Chronic Insulin Resistance.

A link between oxidative stress and insulin resistance has been suggested. Hydroxyl free radicals are known to be able to convert phenylalanine (Phe) into the non-physiological tyrosine isoforms ortho- and meta-tyrosine (o-Tyr, m-Tyr). The aim of our study was to examine the role of o-Tyr and m-Tyr in the development of insulin resistance. We found that insulin-induced uptake of glucose was blunted in cultures of 3T3-L1 grown on media containing o- or m-Tyr. We show that these modified amino acids are incorporated into cellular proteins. We focused on insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1), which plays a role in insulin signaling. The activating phosphorylation of IRS-1 was increased by insulin, the effect of which was abolished in cells grown in m-Tyr or o-Tyr media. We found that phosphorylation of m- or o-Tyr containing IRS-1 segments by insulin receptor (IR) kinase was greatly reduced, PTP-1B phosphatase was incapable of dephosphorylating phosphorylated m- or o-Tyr IRS-1 peptides, and the SH2 domains of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) bound the o-Tyr IRS-1 peptides with greatly reduced affinity. According to our data, m- or o-Tyr incorporation into IRS-1 modifies its protein-protein interactions with regulating enzymes and effectors, thus IRS-1 eventually loses its capacity to play its role in insulin signaling, leading to insulin resistance.

Effects of Jasmonic Acid in ER Stress and Unfolded Protein Response in Tomato Plants.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress elicits a protective mechanism called unfolded protein response (UPR) to maintain cellular homeostasis, which can be regulated by defence hormones. In this study, the physiological role of jasmonic acid (JA) in ER stress and UPR signalling has been investigated in intact leaves of tomato plants. Exogenous JA treatments not only induced the transcript accumulation of UPR marker gene SlBiP but also elevated transcript levels of SlIRE1 and SlbZIP60. By the application of JA signalling mutant jai1 plants, the role of JA in ER stress sensing and signalling was further investigated. Treatment with tunicamycin (Tm), the inhibitor of N-glycosylation of secreted glycoproteins, increased the transcript levels of SlBiP. Interestingly, SlIRE1a and SlIRE1b were significantly lower in jai1. In contrast, the transcript accumulation of Bax Inhibitor-1 (SlBI1) and SlbZIP60 was higher in jai1. To evaluate how a chemical chaperone modulates Tm-induced ER stress, plants were treated with sodium 4-phenylbutyrate, which also decreased the Tm-induced increase in SlBiP, SlIRE1a, and SlBI1 transcripts. In addition, it was found that changes in hydrogen peroxide content, proteasomal activity, and lipid peroxidation induced by Tm is regulated by JA, while nitric oxide was not involved in ER stress and UPR signalling in leaves of tomato.

Anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like actions of Urocortin 2 and its fragments in mice.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like actions of Urocortin 2 (Ucn2) and its two fragments, Ucn2 (1-21) and Ucn2 (22-38), in mice, in an attempt to identify the biologically active sequence of this 38 amino acid neuropeptide. In this purpose, male C57BL/6 mice were treated intracerebroventricularly (icv) with 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 µg/2 µl of Ucn2, Ucn2 (1-21) or Ucn2 (22-38). After 30 min, the mice were evaluated in an elevated plus-maze test and a forced swim test for anxiety- and depression-like behavior, respectively. Each test lasted 5 min. Ucn2 at dose of 0.25 µg/2 µl and Ucn2 (1-21) at dose of 0.125 µg/2 µl, but not Ucn2 (22-38), increased significantly the number of entries into and the time spent in the open-arms, without influencing the total number of entries. In parallel, the same doses of Ucn2 and Ucn2 (1-21), but not Ucn2 (22-38), increased significantly the climbing and the swimming activity, while decreasing significantly the time of immobility. In addition, Ucn2 at doses of 0.125 µg/2 µl and 0.5 µg/2 µl decreased significantly the time of immobility, but they did not change the other parameters. The present study demonstrates that Ucn2 exerts anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in C57BL/6 mice, which are mediated by the N-terminal, but not the C-terminal fragment of the peptide. The establishment of the smallest active sequence by further fragmentation of Ucn2 (1-21) may allow the synthesis of new anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs.

Synthesis and ABCG2 inhibitory activity of novel fumitremorgin C analogs--specificity and structure activity correlations.

The Ko family of fumitremorgin C analogs are potent and selective ABCG2 inhibitors. However, the most potent Ko compounds carry an ester linkage in their side-chain that makes them chemically and metabolically less stable. We have synthesized 16 tricyclic and 28 tetracyclic novel analogs devoid of ester linkages and tested them for ABCG2 inhibition potency and specificity. Unlike in the tricyclic analog group, potent ABCG2 inhibitory compounds were found among the tetracyclic analogs. The most potent compounds carried the 3S,6S,12aS configuration. We observed a marked stereospecificity as compounds with the 3S,6S,12aS configuration were at least 18-fold more potent inhibitors than their diastereoisomeric pairs with a 3S,6R,12aS configuration. This stereospecificity was not observed in ABCB1 and ABCC1 inhibition. Therefore, a single chiral center confers specificity for ABCG2 over ABCB1 and ABCC1. This is quite unexpected considering the large multivalent drug binding site these transporters harbor.

Cooperativity network of Trp-cage miniproteins: probing salt-bridges.

Trp-cage miniprotein was used to investigate the role of a salt-bridge (Asp(9) -Arg(16) ) in protein formation, by mutating residues at both sides, we mapped its contribution to overall stability and its role in folding mechanism. We found that both of the above side-chains are also part of a dense interaction network composed of electrostatic, H-bonding, hydrophobic, etc. components. To elucidate the fold stabilizing effects, we compared and contrasted electronic circular dichroism and NMR data of miniproteins equipped with a salt-bridge with those of the salt-bridge deleted mutants. Data were acquired both in neutral and in acidic aqueous solutions to decipher the pH dependency of both fully and partially charged partners. Our results indicate that the folding of Trp-cage miniproteins is more complex than a simple two-state process as we detected an intermediate state that differs significantly from the native fold. The intermediate formation is related to the salt-bridge stabilization; in the miniprotein variants equipped with salt-bridge the population of the intermediate state at acidic pH is significantly higher than it is for the salt-bridge deleted mutants. In this molecular framework Arg(16) stabilizes more than Asp(9) does, because of its higher degree of 3D-fold cooperation. In conclusion, the Xxx(9) leftright arrow Xxx(16) salt-bridge is not an isolated entity of this fold; rather it is an integrated part of a complex interaction network.

Synthesis of N-glycopeptides applying glycoamino Acid building blocks with a combined fmoc/boc strategy.

Mono-, di- and trisaccharide representing the reducing terminal of the core structure of N-glycans were incorporated into Leu-Lys-Asn-Gly-Gly-Pro hexapeptide that is a partial structure of the Trp-cage mini-protein by linear assembly. These studies provide evidence that the used combination of Fmoc and Boc strategy and mild conditions result in glycopeptides in high purity and reasonable yield.