The unique monoclonal antibodies and immunochemical assay for comprehensive determination of the cell-bound and soluble HER2 in different biological samples.

The expression of the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) protein in cancer cells is a well-established cancer marker used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in modern treatment protocols, especially in breast cancer. The gold-standard immunohistochemical diagnostic methods with the specific anti-HER2 antibodies are utilized in the clinic to measure expression level of the membrane-bound receptor. However, a soluble extracellular domain (ECD) of HER2 is released to the extracellular matrix, thus the blood assays for HER2 measurements present an attractive way for HER2 level determination. There is a need for accurate and validated assays that can be used to correlate the concentration of the circulating HER2 protein with disease clinical manifestations. Here we describe two monoclonal antibodies binding HER2 with a unique sequence of the complementarity-determining regions that recognize HER2 ECD. Development and validation of the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification of the soluble HER2 in a variety of biological samples is also presented. The assay provides HER2 quantitation within a concentrations range from 1.56 to 100 ng/ml with sensitivity at the level of 0.5 ng/ml that meets the expectations for measurements of HER2 in the blood and tumor tissue samples. The method presents satisfactory intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy for immunochemical quantification of biomarkers in biological samples. The utility of the generated monoclonal anti-HER2 antibodies has been confirmed for use in the precise measurement of HER2 (both cell-bound and soluble) in several types of biological material, including serum, solid tumor tissue, and cell culture medium. Additionally, the developed immunochemical tools have a potential for HER2 detection, not only in a wide range of sample types but also independently of the sample storage/pre-processing, allowing for comprehensive HER2 analysis in tissue (IHC), cultured cells (immunofluorescence) and blood (ELISA).

Elevated levels of sphingolipid MIPC in the plasma membrane disrupt the coordination of cell growth with cell wall formation in fission yeast.

Coupling cell wall expansion with cell growth is a universal challenge faced by walled organisms. Mutations in Schizosaccharomyces pombe css1, which encodes a PM inositol phosphosphingolipid phospholipase C, prevent cell wall expansion but not synthesis of cell wall material. To probe how Css1 modulates cell wall formation we used classical and chemical genetics coupled with quantitative mass spectrometry. We found that elevated levels of the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway's final product, mannosylinositol phosphorylceramide (MIPC), specifically correlated with the css1-3 phenotype. We also found that an apparent indicator of sphingolipids and a sterol biosensor accumulated at the cytosolic face of the PM at cell tips and the division site of css1-3 cells and, in accord, the PM in css1-3 was less dynamic than in wildtype cells. Interestingly, disrupting the protein glycosylation machinery recapitulated the css1-3 phenotype and led us to investigate Ghs2, a glycosylated PM protein predicted to modify cell wall material. Disrupting Ghs2 function led to aberrant cell wall material accumulation suggesting Ghs2 is dysfunctional in css1-3. We conclude that preventing an excess of MIPC in the S. pombe PM is critical to the function of key PM-localized proteins necessary for coupling growth with cell wall formation.

DYRK kinase Pom1 drives F-BAR protein Cdc15 from the membrane to promote medial division.

In many organisms, positive and negative signals cooperate to position the division site for cytokinesis. In the rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, symmetric division is achieved through anillin/Mid1-dependent positive cues released from the central nucleus and negative signals from the DYRK-family polarity kinase Pom1 at cell tips. Here we establish that Pom1's kinase activity prevents septation at cell tips even if Mid1 is absent or mislocalized. We also find that Pom1 phosphorylation of F-BAR protein Cdc15, a major scaffold of the division apparatus, disrupts Cdc15's ability to bind membranes and paxillin, Pxl1, thereby inhibiting Cdc15's function in cytokinesis. A Cdc15 mutant carrying phosphomimetic versions of Pom1 sites or deletion of Cdc15 binding partners suppresses division at cell tips in cells lacking both Mid1 and Pom1 signals. Thus, inhibition of Cdc15-scaffolded septum formation at cell poles is a key Pom1 mechanism that ensures medial division.

Activation of mammalian terget of rapamycin kinase and glycogen synthase kinase-3ß accompanies abnormal accumulation of cholesterol in fibroblasts from Niemann-Pick type C patients.

BACKGROUND: Niemann Pick type C (NPC) lysosomal disorder is linked to the disruption of cholesterol transport. Recent data suggest that the molecular background of this disease is more complex. It was found that accumulation of cholesterol and glycolipids in the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment of NPC1 cells may affect mitochondrial functions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, primary skin fibroblasts derived from skin biopsies of two anonymous patients with NPC-carrying mutations in the NPC1 gene, characterized by a high total cholesterol content, as well as two healthy donors were used. The presence of signaling proteins in the whole cell lysates and mitochondrial fractions were examined by Western blotting assay. RESULTS: In this report, we provide experimental evidence that in NPC1 cells, dysfunction of mitochondria and cellular metabolism, as reported by Wos et al in 2016, coexist with alterations in signal transduction pathways, such as the mammalian target of rapamycin, AKT, phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1, glycogen synthase kinase-3 ß, and Jun amino-terminal kinase, leading to abnormal cholesterol accumulation and distribution. CONCLUSION: Differences in signal transduction between control and NPC1 cells may suggest that the latter cells experienced significant alterations in the complex molecular mechanisms that control cellular energy metabolism and vesicular transport.

The older traveller.

All over the world there has been a sudden increase in the number of international travels, mostly for touristic purposes. According to the World Tourism Organisation, the number of international journeys exceeded 1.323 billion in 2017 and it continues to grow. Of the growing number of travellers more and more are the elderly (> 65 years), this fact can be attributed to longer life expectancy and a better quality of life, especially in the developed countries. The article lists the main destinations chosen by senior tourists and their reasons for travel, it also discusses physiological changes in organs and systems affecting the elderly, which are the result of travelling across time zones and to areas with different environment. The article looks at various groups of patients affected by chronic diseases and examines health-related consequences of travel, including the most common complications. The general health prevention measures, with emphasis on vaccinations and antimalarial chemoprophylaxis, have also been discussed.

Two-Step Membrane Binding of NDPK-B Induces Membrane Fluidity Decrease and Changes in Lipid Lateral Organization and Protein Cluster Formation.

Nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPKs) are crucial elements in a wide array of cellular physiological or pathophysiological processes such as apoptosis, proliferation, or metastasis formation. Among the NDPK isoenzymes, NDPK-B, a cytoplasmic protein, was reported to be associated with several biological membranes such as plasma or endoplasmic reticulum membranes. Using several membrane models (liposomes, lipid monolayers, and supported lipid bilayers) associated with biophysical approaches, we show that lipid membrane binding occurs in a two-step process: first, initiation by a strong electrostatic adsorption process and followed by shallow penetration of the protein within the membrane. The NDPK-B binding leads to a decrease in membrane fluidity and formation of protein patches. The ability of NDPK-B to form microdomains at the membrane level may be related to protein-protein interactions triggered by its association with anionic phospholipids. Such accumulation of NDPK-B would amplify its effects in functional platform formation and protein recruitment at the membrane.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in fibroblasts derived from patients with Niemann-Pick type C disease.

Mutations in the NPC1 or NPC2 genes lead to Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease, a rare lysosomal storage disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. These mutations result in cholesterol and glycosphingolipid accumulation in the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment. Complications in the storage of cholesterol in NPC1 mutant cells are associated with other anomalies, such as altered distribution of intracellular organelles and properties of the plasma membrane. The pathomechanism of NPC disease is largely unknown. Interestingly, other storage diseases such as Gaucher and Farber diseases are accompanied by severe mitochondrial dysfunction. This prompted us to investigate the effect of absence or dysfunction of the NPC1 protein on mitochondrial properties to confirm or deny a putative relationship between NPC1 mutations and mitochondrial function. This study was performed on primary skin fibroblasts derived from skin biopsies of two NPC patients, carrying mutations in the NPC1 gene. We observed altered organization of mitochondria in NPC1 mutant cells, significant enrichment in mitochondrial cholesterol content, increased respiration, altered composition of the respiratory chain complex, and substantial reduction in cellular ATP level. Thus, a primary lysosomal defect in NPC1 mutant fibroblasts is accompanied by deregulation of the organization and function of the mitochondrial network.

[Annexins in mitochondria]. / Aneksyny mitochondriów.

Annexins form a family of membrane- and calcium-binding proteins, widely distributed in vertebrates. Their interactions with membranes are regulated by changes of intracellular concentration of calcium ([Ca2+]in.), pH, and the presence of negatively charged phospholipids as well as cholesterol in membranes. As protein participating in membrane fusion and sensors of a [Ca2+]in. Annexins may regulate various signaling pathways including patways involving protein kinase C (PKC isoforms. They also particpate in membrane repair mechanisms (along with actin cytoskeleton and S100 protein), in the vesicular transport (cholesterol enriched domains) as well in in intracellular calcium homeostasis and regulation of mitochondrial function and mitochondrial network structure. The last possibility is a topic of present review commemorating 90th Birthday of Professor Lech Wojtczak.

[Participation of annexins in endocytosis and EGFR-mediated signal transduction]. / Udzial aneksyn w procesie endocytozy i przekazywaniu sygnalów, w których uczestnicza receptory EGF.

Annexins are a family of membrane interacting proteins, widely distributed in vertebrates. Their involvement in the endosomal transport is due to annexin capability of binding cellular constituents such as membrane phospholipids and intracellular protein partners in a calcium dependent manner. Furthermore, annexins, through endosomal transport of particular receptors and specific cargo, may regulate various processes involved in signal transduction. Cell surface receptors after activation by signal molecule are internalized during endocytosis and transduce signal downstream the signaling pathway. The optimal conditions to modulate the signal are provided by the compartment specific membrane platforms carrying signal transducing complexes. In this review we describe a role of some members of the annexin family, annexin A1 (AnxA1), annexin A2 (AnxA2), annexin A6 (AnxA6) and annexin A8 (AnxA8) in the epidermal growth factor (EGF) signal transduction pathway. Annexins due to their specialized structure and specific localization in the cell may modulate signal transduction either directly, by interacting with EGF receptor (EGFR) or indirectly by interacting with EGF pathway regulators and effectors, by participating in formation and stabilization of the cholesterol enriched signal transduction platforms and by participating in EGFR transport and degradation.

[Participation of annexins in signal transduction, regulation of plasma membrane structure and membrane repair mechanisms]. / Udzial aneksyn w przekazywaniu sygnalów, regulacji struktury blony komórkowej i naprawie jej uszkodzen.

Cell integrity, assured by plasma membrane continuity, is essential to maintain proper cell functioning and survival. Plasma membrane separates the cell interior from the extracellular milieu and constitutes a barrier due to which the spatial relationship between organelles and the internal membrane network as well as the chemical composition of the cytoplasm are preserved during the cellular life span. Therefore, all cellular processes including intracellular ion homeostasis, exchange of substances between the extracellular environment and the cytoplasm, maintenance of cellular shape, cellular movement, vesicular traffic, cell division and membrane biogenesis, as well as and cellular signaling depend on the integrity, structure and function of the plasma membrane. In the course of these processes the plasma membrane is subjected to dynamic changes that can create a kind of mechanical stress and be a source of cell-threatening injuries. These membrane injuries could be also created upon chemical stress and due to the presence of hydrolytic enzymes or bacterial toxins in the extracellular milieu. All the mentioned factors turn to be deleterious to the membrane permeability, especially that to calcium ions. Many investigators underline that the influx of Ca2+ to the cytoplasm as a result of membrane injury creates a signal interpreted by the cell as an immediate danger. Many calcium-dependent mechanisms have evolved In relation to this. A growing number of evidence suggests that in some of these mechanisms ubiquitous cellular proteins, annexins, may participate as calcium sensors and molecules interacting with the plasma membrane. In this review the data are presented that annexins participate in the regulation of membrane structure and may be involved in the calcium-dependent membrane repair mechanisms.

Do annexins participate in lipid messenger mediated intracellular signaling? A question revisited.

Annexins are physiologically important proteins that play a role in calcium buffering but also influence membrane structure, participate in Ca²âº-dependent membrane repair events and in remodelling of the cytoskeleton. Thirty years ago several peptides isolated from lung perfusates, peritoneal leukocytes, neutrophiles and renal cells were proven inhibitory to the activity of phospholipase A2. Those peptides were found to derive from structurally related proteins: annexins AnxA1 and AnxA2. These findings raised the question whether annexins may participate in regulation of the production of lipid second messengers and, therefore, modulate numerous lipid mediated signaling pathways in the cell. Recent advances in the field of annexins made also with the use of knock-out animal models revealed that these proteins are indeed important constituents of specific signaling pathways. In this review we provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that annexins, as membrane-binding proteins and organizers of the membrane lateral heterogeneity, may participate in lipid mediated signaling pathways by affecting the distribution and activity of lipid metabolizing enzymes (most of the reports point to phospholipase A2) and of protein kinases regulating activity of these enzymes. Moreover, some experimental data suggest that annexins may directly interact with lipid metabolizing enzymes and, in a calcium-dependent or independent manner, with some of their substrates and products. On the basis of these observations, many investigators suggest that annexins are capable of linking Ca²âº, redox and lipid signaling to coordinate vital cellular responses to the environmental stimuli.