The recent identification of several novel endocytic compartments has challenged our current understanding of the topological and functional organization of the endocytic pathway. Using quantitative single vesicle imaging and acute manipulation of phosphoinositides we show that APPL endosomes, which participate in growth factor receptor trafficking and signaling, represent an early endocytic intermediate common to a subset of clathrin derived endocytic vesicles and macropinosomes. Most APPL endosomes are precursors of classical PI3P positive endosomes, and PI3P plays a critical role in promoting this conversion. Depletion of PI3P causes a striking reversion of Rab5 positive endosomes to the APPL stage, and results in enhanced growth factor signaling. These findings reveal a surprising plasticity of the early endocytic pathway. Importantly, PI3P functions as a switch to dynamically regulate maturation and signaling of APPL endosomes.

BMP signaling mediated by ACVR1 plays a critical role for development of multiple structures including the cardiovascular and skeletal systems. While deficient ACVR1 signaling impairs normal embryonic development, hyperactive ACVR1 function (R206H in humans and Q207D mutation in mice, ca-ACVR1) results in formation of heterotopic ossification (HO). We developed a mouse line, which conditionally expresses ca-ACVR1 with Nfatc1-Cre(+) transgene. Mutant mice developed ectopic cartilage and bone at the distal joints of the extremities including the interphalangeal joints and hind limb ankles as early as P4 in the absence of trauma or exogenous bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) administration. Micro-CT showed that even at later time points (up to P40), cartilage and bone development persisted at the affected joints most prominently in the ankle. Interestingly, this phenotype was not present in areas of bone outside of the joints - tibia are normal in mutants and littermate controls away from the ankle. These findings demonstrate that this model may allow for further studies of heterotopic ossification, which does not require the use of stem cells, direct trauma or activation with exogenous Cre gene administration.

The Ubiquitin Specific Protease-19 (USP19) regulates cell cycle progression and is involved in the cellular response to different types of stress, including the unfolded protein response (UPR), hypoxia and muscle atrophy. Using the unique N-terminal domain as bait in a yeast-two hybrid screen we have identified the ubiquitin ligases Seven In Absentia Homolog (SIAH)-1 and SIAH2 as binding partners of USP19. The interaction is mediated by a SIAH-consensus binding motif and promotes USP19 ubiquitylation and proteasome-dependent degradation. These findings identify USP19 as a common substrate of the SIAH ubiquitin ligases.

Chrysotile asbestos is closely associated with excess mortality from pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Although multiple mechanisms in which chrysotile asbestos fibers induce pulmonary disease have been identified, the role of autophagy in human lung epithelial cells has not been examined. In this study, we evaluated whether chrysotile asbestos induces autophagy in A549 human lung epithelial cells and then analyzed the possible underlying molecular mechanism. Chrysotile asbestos induced autophagy in A549 cells based on a series of biochemical and microscopic autophagy markers. We observed that asbestos increased expression of A549 cell microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3-II), an autophagy marker, in conjunction with dephosphorylation of phospho-AKT, phospho-mTOR, and phospho-p70S6K. Notably, AKT1/AKT2 double-knockout murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) had negligible asbestos-induced LC3-II expression, supporting a crucial role for AKT signaling. Chrysotile asbestos also led to the phosphorylation/activation of Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAPK. Pharmacologic inhibition of JNK, but not p38 MAPK, dramatically inhibited the protein expression of LC3-II. Moreover, JNK2(-/-) MEFs but not JNK1(-/-) MEFs blocked LC3-II levels induced by chrysotile asbestos. In addition, N-acetylcysteine, an antioxidant, attenuated chrysotile asbestos-induced dephosphorylation of P-AKT and completely abolished phosphorylation/activation of JNK. Finally, we demonstrated that chrysotile asbestos-induced apoptosis was not affected by the presence of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine or autophagy-related gene 5 siRNA, indicating that the chrysotile asbestos-induced autophagy may be adaptive rather than prosurvival. Our findings demonstrate that AKT/mTOR and JNK2 signaling pathways are required for chrysotile asbestos-induced autophagy. These data provide a mechanistic basis for possible future clinical applications targeting these signaling pathways in the management of asbestos-induced lung disease.

Myostatin, a member of the TGF-β superfamily, has been shown to act as a negative regulator of myogenesis. Although its role in myogenesis has been clearly documented through genetic analysis, few gene cascades that respond to myostatin signaling and regulate myogenesis have been characterized, especially in avian species. In a previous study, we screened for such genes in chicken fetal myoblasts (CFMs) using the differential display PCR method and found that cardiac ankyrin repeat protein (CARP) was downregulated by myostatin and specifically expressed in chicken skeletal muscle. However, little is known about the potential functions of CARP in chicken skeletal myogenesis. In this study, the expression patterns of chicken CARP and the possible function of this gene in skeletal muscle growth were characterized. Our data showed that CARP was predominantly expressed in postnatal skeletal muscle, and its expression increased during myogenic differentiation in CFM cells. When CARP was overexpressed, CFM cell growth was enhanced by accelerating the cell cycle at the G1 to S phase transition and increasing cyclin D1 expression. CARP knockdown had the opposite effect: while myoblasts underwent differentiation, knockdown of CARP expression induced extensive cell death, suppressed the formation of myotubes, and markedly decreased the expression of differentiation-related genes such as myosin heavy chain (MHC), myoD, and caveolin-3. Our findings indicate that CARP may play a key role in the myostatin signaling cascade that governs chicken skeletal myogenesis through promoting proliferation and avoiding apoptosis during CFM cell differentiation.

Naringin, the primary active compound of the traditional Chinese medicine Rhizoma drynariae, possesses many pharmacological activities. The present study is an effort to explore the anti-osteoporosis potential of naringin in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, we used ovariectomized rats to clarify the mechanisms by which naringin anti-osteoporosis. In vitro, we used osteoclasts to investigate naringin promotes osteoclasts apoptosis. Naringin was effective at enhancing BMD, trabecular thickness, bone mineralization, and mechanical strength in a dose-dependent manner. The result of RT-PCR analysis revealed that naringin down-regulated the mRNA expression levels of BCL-2 and up-regulated BAX, caspase-3 and cytochrome C. In addition, naringin significantly reduced the bone resorption area in vitro. These findings suggest that naringin promotes the apoptosis of osteoclasts by regulating the activity of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and prevents OVX-induced osteoporosis in rats.

Melittin is a water-soluble toxic peptide derived from the venom of the bee. Although many studies show the anti-tumor activity of melittin in human cancer including glioma cells, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here the effect of melittin on human hepatocelluar carcinoma HepG2 cell proliferation in vitro and further mechanisms was investigated. We found melittin could inhibit cell proliferation in vitro using Flow cytometry and MTT method. Besides, we discovered that melittin significantly downregulated the expressions of CyclinD1 and CDK4. Results of western Blot and Real-time PCR analysis indicated that melittin was capable to upregulate the expression of PTEN and attenuate histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) expression. Further studies demonstrated that knockdown of HDAC2 completely mimicked the effects of melittin on PTEN gene expression. Conversely, it was that the potential utility of melittin on PTEN expression was reversed in cells treated with a recombinant pEGFP-C2-HDAC2 plasmid. In addition, treatment with melittin caused a downregulation of Akt phosphorylation, while overexpression of HDAC2 promoted Akt phosphorylation. These findings suggested that the inhibitory of cell growth by melittin might be led by HDAC2-mediated PTEN upregulation, Akt inactivation, and inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathways.

Mutations in the inositol 5-phosphatase OCRL cause Lowe syndrome and Dent's disease. Although OCRL, a direct clathrin interactor, is recruited to late-stage clathrin-coated pits, clinical manifestations have been primarily attributed to intracellular sorting defects. Here we show that OCRL loss in Lowe syndrome patient fibroblasts impacts clathrin-mediated endocytosis and results in an endocytic defect. These cells exhibit an accumulation of clathrin-coated vesicles and an increase in U-shaped clathrin-coated pits, which may result from sequestration of coat components on uncoated vesicles. Endocytic vesicles that fail to lose their coat nucleate the majority of the numerous actin comets present in patient cells. SNX9, an adaptor that couples late-stage endocytic coated pits to actin polymerization and which we found to bind OCRL directly, remains associated with such vesicles. These results indicate that OCRL acts as an uncoating factor and that defects in clathrin-mediated endocytosis likely contribute to pathology in patients with OCRL mutations.

Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium that results in ventricular systolic dysfunction and causes acute-onset heart failure. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has become the primary noninvasive tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of myocarditis. The aim of our study was to assess the CMR findings at different course of FM and the short-term outcomes of fulminant myocarditis (FM) in children.

Type 1 interferons (IFN) protect the host against viruses by engaging a cognate receptor (consisting of IFNAR1/IFNAR2 chains) and inducing downstream signaling and gene expression. However, inflammatory stimuli can trigger IFNAR1 ubiquitination and downregulation thereby attenuating IFN effects in vitro. The significance of this paradoxical regulation is unknown. Presented here results demonstrate that inability to stimulate IFNAR1 ubiquitination in the Ifnar1(SA) knock-in mice renders them highly susceptible to numerous inflammatory syndromes including acute and chronic pancreatitis, and autoimmune and toxic hepatitis. Ifnar1(SA) mice (or their bone marrow-receiving wild type animals) display persistent immune infiltration of inflamed tissues, extensive damage and gravely inadequate tissue regeneration. Pharmacologic stimulation of IFNAR1 ubiquitination is protective against from toxic hepatitis and fulminant generalized inflammation in wild type but not Ifnar1(SA) mice. These results suggest that endogenous mechanisms that trigger IFNAR1 ubiquitination for limiting the inflammation-induced tissue damage can be purposely mimicked for therapeutic benefits.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common and complex neurodegenerative disease in the elderly individuals. Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been used to investigate AD pathogenesis. These GWAS have yielded important new insights into the genetic mechanisms of AD. However, these newly identified AD susceptibility loci exert only very small risk effects and cannot fully explain the underlying AD genetic risk. We hypothesize that combining the findings from different AD GWAS may have greater power than genetic analysis alone. To identify new AD risk factors, we integrated findings from 3 previous large-scale AD GWAS (n = 14,138) using a gene-based meta-analysis and subsequently conducted a pathway analysis using the kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes and gene ontology databases. Interestingly, we not only confirmed previous findings, but also highlighted, for the first time, the involvement of cardiovascular disease-related pathways in AD. Our results provided the clues as to the link between these diseases using pathway analysis methods. We believe that these findings will be very useful for future genetic studies of AD.

High expression levels of SLFN11 correlate with the sensitivity of human cancer cells to DNA-damaging agents. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism. Here, we show that SLFN11 interacts directly with RPA1 and is recruited to sites of DNA damage in an RPA1-dependent manner. Furthermore, we establish that SLFN11 inhibits checkpoint maintenance and homologous recombination repair by promoting the destabilization of the RPA-ssDNA complex, thereby sensitizing cancer cell lines expressing high endogenous levels of SLFN11 to DNA-damaging agents. Finally, we demonstrate that the RPA1-binding ability of SLFN11 is required for its function in the DNA damage response. Our findings not only provide novel insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the drug sensitivity of cancer cell lines expressing SLFN11 at high levels, but also suggest that SLFN11 expression can serve as a biomarker to predict responses to DNA-damaging therapeutic agents.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and progressive destruction of bone microstructure, resulting in increased the risk of fracture. Previous studies have demonstrated the effect of naringin (NG) or treadmill exercise (EX) on osteoporosis, however, reports about effects of NG plus EX on osteoporosis are limited. This study was designed to investigate the impact of combined treatment with naringin and treadmill exercise on osteoporosis in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Three months after bilateral ovariectomy, Seventy-five rats were randomly assigned to the following treatment groups: OVX, sham-operated (SHAM), NG, EX, or NG plus EX treatment. Treatments were administered for 60 days. Bone metabolism, bone mineral density, trabecular bone parameters, immunohistochemistry, and the bone strength were evaluated. Compared to the OVX groups, all treatments increased bone volume (BV/TV), trabecula number (Tb.N), trabecula thickness (Tb.Th), bone mineral density (BMD), and mechanical strength. NG + EX showed the strongest effects on BV/TV, Tb.Th, and biomechanical strength. Additionally, decreased C-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX-1) and enhanced osteocalcin (OCN) expression were observed in the NG + EX group. The present study demonstrates that the NG + EX may have a therapeutic advantage over each monotherapy for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Organ size determination is one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries in biology. Aberrant activation of the major effector and transcription co-activator YAP in the Hippo pathway causes drastic organ enlargement in development and underlies tumorigenesis in many human cancers. However, how robust YAP activation is achieved during organ size control remains elusive. Here we report that the YAP signaling is sustained through a novel microRNA-dependent positive feedback loop. miR-130a, which is directly induced by YAP, could effectively repress VGLL4, an inhibitor of YAP activity, thereby amplifying the YAP signals. Inhibition of miR-130a reversed liver size enlargement induced by Hippo pathway inactivation and blocked YAP-induced tumorigenesis. Furthermore, the Drosophila Hippo pathway target bantam functionally mimics miR-130a by repressing the VGLL4 homolog SdBP/Tgi. These findings reveal an evolutionarily conserved positive feedback mechanism underlying robustness of the Hippo pathway in size control and tumorigenesis.

Coelibactin is a putative non-ribosomally synthesized peptide with predicted zincophore activity and which has been implicated in antibiotic regulation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). The coelibactin biosynthetic pathway contains a stereo- and regio-specific monooxygenation step catalyzed by a cytochrome P450 enzyme (CYP105N1). We have determined the X-ray crystal structure of CYP105N1 at 2.9 Å and analyzed it in the context of the bacterial CYP105 family as a whole. The crystal structure reveals a channel between the α-helical domain and the β-sheet domain exposing the heme pocket and the long helix I to the solvent. This wide-open conformation of CYP105N1 may be related to the bulky substrate coelibactin. The ligand-free CYP105N1 structure has enough room in the substrate access channel to allow the coelibactin to enter into the active site. Analysis of typical siderophore ligands suggests that CYP105N1 may produce derivatives of coelibactin, which would then be able to chelate the zinc divalent cation.

Deficits in cognitive functioning have been reported in humans exposed to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Evidence suggests that dioxins induce cholinergic dysfunction mediated by hypothyroidism. However, little is known about direct effects of dioxins on the cholinergic system.

Tumor infiltrated type II (M2) macrophages promote tumorigenesis by suppressing immune clearance, promoting proliferation, and stimulating angiogenesis. Interestingly, macrophages were also found to enrich in small foci of altered hepatocytes containing liver tumor-initiating cells (TICs). However, whether and how TICs specifically recruit macrophages and the function of these macrophages in tumor initiation remain unknown due to technical difficulties. In this study, by generating genetically defined liver TICs, we demonstrate that TICs actively recruit M2 macrophages from as early as the single-cell stage. Elimination of TIC-associated macrophages (TICAMs) abolishes tumorigenesis in a manner dependent on the immune system. Mechanistically, activation of the Hippo pathway effector Yes-associated protein (YAP) underlies macrophage recruitment by TICs. These results demonstrate for the first time that macrophages play a decisive role in the survival of single TICs in vivo and provide a proof of principle for TIC elimination by targeting YAP or M2 macrophages.

Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been identified as critical regulators in a variety of cancer types. Cancer susceptibility candidate 15 (CASC15), a lncRNA located at chromosome 6p22.3, has been discovered to participate in melanoma progression and phenotype switching. Nevertheless, the roles and molecular mechanisms of CASC15 in melanoma are far from being understood.

As a new tumor marker, the microRNA-21 (miRNA21) level can provide important information for early diagnosis, drug treatment, and prognosis of gastric cancer. With the tool of molecular beacons which can hybridize specifically with target miRNA-21 and generate fluorescence signal change, this paper develops a direct, simple, and rapid method for miRNA-21 detection with detection limit of 0.5 nM. Under the optimal conditions, the method was used to detect the expression of miRNA-21 in tumor cells and tissues. The results showed significant differences of miRNA-21 levels in tumor cells which have different origins and different degree of malignancy. In 8 cases of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, the level of miRNA-21 in 6 cases was higher than that in adjacent tissues, 1 case had lower expression level than that in adjacent tissues, and 1 case had no significant difference. Furthermore, qRT-PCR method was used to verify the detection results based on the fluorescent probe detection method. The consistent results show that the molecular beacon assay has a good prospect in direct and rapid detection of miRNA-21 expression and will be widely used in the functional research and clinical diagnosis of microRNA.

Several studies have investigated the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among the general population in several parts of China. However, the results have been inconsistent. This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the overall prevalence of AD between 2007 and 2017 in China.