A two-dimensional, diagonal sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique to screen for protease substrates in protein mixtures

Proteases have emerged during the past few years as key players in the control of cell fate. Many have been identified and cloned, but to understand their function and to elucidate the pathways in which they are involved, the intracellular substrates processed by each protease must be identified. Even the intensive efforts in genome sequencing and cloning that yield new protein sequences every day do not provide a complete solution: the occurrence of a cleavage motif in a protein sequence is not sufficient for proteolytic susceptibility since folding may prevent access of the protease to the substrate site

Somatic excision of the Mu1 transposable element of maize.

The Mu transposons of the Robertsons's Mutator transposable element system in maize are unusual in many respects, when compared to the other known plant transposon systems. The excision of these elements occurs late in somatic tissues and very rarely in the germ line. Unlike the other plant transposons, there is no experimental evidence directly linking Mu element excision and integration. We have analyzed the excision products generated by a Mu1 transposon inserted into the bronze 1 locus of maize. We find that the excision products or 'footprints' left by the Mu1 element resemble those of the other plant transposable elements, rather than those of the animal transposable element systems. We also find some novel types of footprints resembling recombinational events. We suggest that the Mu1 element can promote intrachromosomal crossovers and conversions near its site of insertion, and that this may be another mechanism by which transposons can accelerate the evolution of genomes

Las1 Is an Essential Nuclear Protein Involved in Cell Morphogenesis and Cell Surface Growth

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutations that cause a requirement for SSD1-v for viability were isolated, yielding one new gene, LAS1, and three previously identified genes, SIT4, BCK1/SLK1, and SMP3. Three of these genes, LAS1, SIT4, and BCK1/SLK1, encode proteins that have roles in bud formation or morphogenesis. LAS1 is essential and loss of LAS1 function causes the cells to arrest as 80% unbudded cells and 20% large budded cells that accumulate many vesicles at the mother-daughter neck. Overexpression of LAS1 results in extra cell surface projections in the mother cell, alterations in actin and SPA2 localization, and the accumulation of electron-dense structures along the periphery of both the mother cell and the bud. The nuclear localization of LAS1 suggests a role of LAS1 for regulating bud formation and morphogenesis via the expression of components that function directly in these processes

LAS1 is an essential nuclear protein involved in cell morphogenesis and cell surface growth.

Abstract Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutations that cause a requirement for SSD1-v for viability were isolated, yielding one new gene, LAS1, and three previously identified genes, SIT4, BCK1/SLK1, and SMP3. Three of these genes, LAS1, SIT4, and BCK1/SLK1, encode proteins that have roles in bud formation or morphogenesis. LAS1 is essential and loss of LAS1 function causes the cells to arrest as 80% unbudded cells and 20% large budded cells that accumulate many vesicles at the mother-daughter neck. Overexpression of LAS1 results in extra cell surface projections in the mother cell, alterations in actin and SPA2 localization, and the accumulation of electron-dense structures along the periphery of both the mother cell and the bud. The nuclear localization of LAS1 suggests a role of LAS1 for regulating bud formation and morphogenesis via the expression of components that function directly in these processes.</jats:p

Bioengineering of Genetically Encoded Gene Promoter Repressed by the Flavonoid Apigenin for Constructing Intracellular Sensor for Molecular Events

In recent years, Synthetic Biology has emerged as a new discipline where functions that were traditionally performed by electronic devices are replaced by “cellular devices”; genetically encoded circuits constructed of DNA that are built from biological parts (aka bio-parts). The cellular devices can be used for sensing and responding to natural and artificial signals. However, a major challenge in the field is that the crosstalk between many cellular signaling pathways use the same signaling endogenous molecules that can result in undesired activation. To overcome this problem, we utilized a specific promoter that can activate genes with a natural, non-toxic ligand at a highly-induced transcription level with low background or undesirable off-target expression. Here we used the orphan aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor that upon activation binds to specific AHR response elements (AHRE) of the Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP1A1) promoter. Flavonoids have been identified as AHR ligands. Data presented here show the successful creation of a synthetic gene “off” switch that can be monitored directly using an optical reporter gene. This is the first step towards bioengineering of a synthetic, nanoscale bio-part for constructing a sensor for molecular events.</jats:p

Apigenin induces DNA damage through the PKCδ-dependent activation of ATM and H2AX causing down-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle control and DNA repair

Apigenin, an abundant plant flavonoid, exhibits anti-proliferative and anti-carcinogenic activities through mechanisms yet not fully defined. In the present study, we show that the treatment of leukemia cells with apigenin resulted in the induction of DNA damage preceding the activation of the apoptotic program. Apigenin-induced DNA damage was mediated by p38 and protein kinase C-delta (PKCδ), yet was independent of reactive oxygen species or caspase activity. Treatment of monocytic leukemia cells with apigenin induced the phosphorylation of the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase and histone H2AX, two key regulators of the DNA damage response, without affecting the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated and Rad-3-related (ATR) kinase. Silencing and pharmacological inhibition of PKCδ abrogated ATM and H2AX phosphorylation, whereas inhibition of p38 reduced H2AX phosphorylation independently of ATM. We established that apigenin delayed cell cycle progression at G1/S and increased the number of apoptotic cells. In addition, genome-wide mRNA analyses showed that apigenin-induced DNA damage led to down-regulation of genes involved in cell-cycle control and DNA repair. Taken together, the present results show that the PKCδ-dependent activation of ATM and H2AX define the signaling networks responsible for the regulation of DNA damage promoting genome-wide mRNA alterations that result in cell cycle arrest, hence contributing to the anti-carcinogenic activities of this flavonoid

Bioengineering of genetically encoded gene promoter repressed by flavonoids for constructing intracellular sensor for molecular events

AbstractIn recent years, Synthetic Biology has emerged as a new discipline where functions that were traditionally performed by electronic devices are replaced by “cellular devices”. Those are genetically encoded circuits, constructed of DNA that are built from biological parts (aka bio-parts). The cellular devices can be used for sensing and responding to natural and artificial signals. However, a major challenge in the field is that the crosstalk between many cellular signaling pathways use the same signaling endogenous molecules that can result in undesired activation. To overcome this problem, we utilized a specific promoter that can activate genes with a natural, non-toxic ligand at a highly-induced transcription level with low background or undesirable off-target expression. Here we used the orphan aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor that upon activation binds to specific AHR response elements (AHRE) of the Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP1A1) promoter. Flavonoids have been identified as AHR ligands. Data presented here shows successful creation of a synthetic gene “off” switch that can be monitored directly using an optical reporter gene. This is the first step towards bioengineering of a synthetic, nanoscale bio-part for constructing a sensor for molecular events.</jats:p

Bioengineering of Genetically Encoded Gene Promoter Repressed by the Flavonoid Apigenin for Constructing Intracellular Sensor for Molecular Events

In recent years, Synthetic Biology has emerged as a new discipline where functions that were traditionally performed by electronic devices are replaced by “cellular devices”; genetically encoded circuits constructed of DNA that are built from biological parts (aka bio-parts). The cellular devices can be used for sensing and responding to natural and artificial signals. However, a major challenge in the field is that the crosstalk between many cellular signaling pathways use the same signaling endogenous molecules that can result in undesired activation. To overcome this problem, we utilized a specific promoter that can activate genes with a natural, non-toxic ligand at a highly-induced transcription level with low background or undesirable off-target expression. Here we used the orphan aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor that upon activation binds to specific AHR response elements (AHRE) of the Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP1A1) promoter. Flavonoids have been identified as AHR ligands. Data presented here show the successful creation of a synthetic gene “off” switch that can be monitored directly using an optical reporter gene. This is the first step towards bioengineering of a synthetic, nanoscale bio-part for constructing a sensor for molecular events