Biomedical subjects

Jing Luan

Publications and source records attributed to Jing Luan.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Identification and expression of a novel class of glutathione-S-transferase from amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri with implications to the origin of vertebrate liver.

Glutathione-S-transferases have been identified in all the living species examined so far, yet little is known to date about them in amphioxus, a model organism for insights into the origin and evolution of vertebrates. We have isolated a cDNA encoding an amphioxus (Branchiostoma belcheri) glutathione-S-transferase with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 26 kDa, from the gut cDNA library. The glutathione-S-transferase had 43.7-51.8% identity to most glutathione-S-transferases identified from aquatic organisms including fish and green alga, but it was much less identical (<27%) to other cytosolic glutathione-S-transferase classes. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the glutathione-S-transferase was grouped together with most piscine and algal glutathione-S-transferases, separating from other cytosolic glutathione-S-transferase classes. Moreover, the glutathione-S-transferase had an exon-intron organization typical of zebrafish putative GST, red sea bream GSTR1 and plaice GSTA1 genes. The recombinant glutathione-S-transferase has been successfully expressed and purified, which showed a relatively high catalytic activity (3.37+/-0.1 unit/mg) toward 1-chloro-2, 4-dinitrobenzene and a moderate activity toward ethacrynic acid (0.41+/-0.01 unit/mg), although it had no detectable activity toward 1, 2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene, 4-hydroxynonenal, 4-nitrobenzyl chloride and cumene hydroperoxide. In addition, we have revealed a tissue-specific expression pattern of the glutathione-S-transferase gene in B. belcheri, with the most abundant expression in the hepatic caecum. All these indicate that the amphioxus glutathione-S-transferase belongs to a novel rho-class of glutathione-S-transferases with a tissue-specific expression pattern. The relation between the glutathione-S-transferase expression in amphioxus hepatic caecum and the origin of vertebrate liver is also discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Structural determinants for inhibitor specificity and selectivity in PDE2A using the wheat germ in vitro translation system.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) modulate signaling by cyclic nucleotides in diverse processes such as cardiac contractility, platelet aggregation, lipolysis, glycogenolysis, and smooth muscle contraction. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) stimulated human phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2) is expressed mainly in brain and heart tissues. PDE2A is involved in the regulation of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis by the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), making PDE2-type enzymes important targets for drug discovery. The design of more potent and selective inhibitors of PDE2A for the treatment of heart disease would be greatly aided by the identification of active site residues in PDE2A that determine substrate and inhibitor selectivity. The identification of active site residues through traditional mutational studies involves the time-consuming and tedious purification of a large number of mutant proteins from overexpressing cells. Here we report an alternative approach to rapidly produce active site mutants of human PDE2A and identify their enzymatic properties using a wheat germ in vitro translation (IVT, also known as cell-free translation) system. We also present the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of human PDE2A determined at 1.7 A resolution, which provided a framework for the rational design of active site mutants. Using a rapid IVT approach for expression of human PDE2A mutants, we identified the roles of active site residues Asp811, Gln812, Ile826, and Tyr827 in inhibitor and substrate selectivity for PDE2A.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗

PubMed2005

Characterization and expression profile of AmphiCD63 encoding a novel member of TM4SF proteins from amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri tsingtauense.

The study on CD antigen genes remains lacking in the cephalochordate amphioxus to date. In this report, the cDNA encoding CD63 was identified for the first time from the gut cDNA library of amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri tsingtauense. Primary structural examination showed that the protein encoded by the cDNA contained four potential transmembrane domains characteristic of transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) proteins and a conserved CCG motif in the putative major extracellular loop. BLAST search revealed that the cDNA is closely associated with other known CD63 antigen genes, and it was thus designated AmphiCD63. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that AmphiCD63 is extremely close to vertebrate CD63, CD151 and CD53, suggesting they may have been evolved from a common ancestral gene. RT-PCR analysis exhibited that AmphiCD63 mRNA was abundant in muscle, ovary, foregut including hepatic caecum and hindgut, while it was present at considerably lower levels in notochord and gill and absent in testis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Potential role for Duffy antigen chemokine-binding protein in angiogenesis and maintenance of homeostasis in response to stress.

CXC chemokines, which induce angiogenesis, have glutamine-leucine-arginine amino acid residues (ELR motif) in the amino terminus and bind CXCR2 and the Duffy antigen chemokine-binding protein. Duffy, a seven transmembrane protein that binds CXC and CC chemokines, has not been shown to couple to trimeric G proteins or to transduce intracellular signals, although it is highly expressed on red blood cells, endothelial cells undergoing neovascularization, and neuronal cells. The binding of chemokines by Duffy could modulate chemokine responses positively or negatively. Positive regulation could come through the presentation of chemokine to functional receptors, and negative regulation could come through Duffy competition with functional chemokine receptors for chemokine binding, thus serving as a decoy receptor. To determine whether Duffy has a role in angiogenesis and/or maintenance of homeostasis, we developed transgenic mice expressing mDuffy under the control of the preproendothelin promoter/enhancer (PPEP), which directs expression of the transgene to the endothelium. Two PPEP-mDuffy-transgenic founders were identified, and expression of the transgene in the endothelium was verified by Northern blot, RT-PCR, and immunostaining of tissues. The phenotype of the mice carrying the transgene appeared normal by all visual parameters. However, careful comparison of transgenic and nontransgenic mice revealed two phenotypic differences: mDuffy-transgenic mice exhibited a diminished angiogenic response to MIP-2 in the corneal micropocket assay, and mDuffy-transgenic mice exhibited enhanced hepatocellular toxicity and necrosis as compared with nontransgenic littermates in response to overdose of acetaminophen (APAP; 400 mg/kg body weight). Morover, APAP treatment was lethal in 50% of the mDuffy-transgenic mice 24 h post challenge, and 100% of the nontransgenic littermates survived this treatment at the 24 h time point. Our data suggest that enhanced expression of mDuffy on endothelial cells can lead to impaired angiogenic response to chemokines and impaired maintenance of homeostasis in response to toxic stresses.

Acetaminophen↗