PubMed · 8451501
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B Lebeau. 1993. [Building before destroying].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8451501/
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Membrane targeting was investigated as a potential strategy to increase the fusogenic activity of an isolated fusion peptide. This was achieved by coupling the fusogenic carboxy-terminal part of the beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta, amino acids 29-40), involved in Alzheimer's disease, to a positively charged peptide (PIP2-binding peptide, PBP) interacting specifically with a naturally occurring negatively charged phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate (PIP2). Peptide-induced vesicle fusion was spectroscopically evidenced by: (i) mixing of membrane lipids, (ii) mixing of aqueous vesicular contents, and (iii) an irreversible increase in vesicle size, at concentrations five to six times lower than the Abeta(29-40) peptide. In contrast, at these concentrations the PBP-Abeta(29-40) peptide did not display any significant activity on neutral vesicles, indicating that negatively charged phospholipids included as targets in the membranes, are required to compensate for the lower hydrophobicity of this peptide. When the alpha-helical structure of the chimeric peptide was induced by dissolving it in trifluoroethanol, an increase of the fusogenic potential of the peptide was observed, supporting the hypothesis that the alpha-helical conformation of the peptide is crucial to trigger the lipid-peptide interaction. The specificity of the interaction between PIP2 and the PBP moiety, was shown by the less efficient targeting of the chimeric peptide to membranes charged with phosphatidylserine. These data thus demonstrate that the specific properties of both the Abeta(29-40) and the PBP peptide are conserved in the chimeric peptide, and that a synergetic effect is reached through chemical linkage of these two fragments.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the mechanism of transcriptional activation of human chorionic gonadotropin-alpha (hCGalpha) gene by epidermal growth factor (EGF) in trophoblast cells. We stably transfected hCGalpha promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase constructs into Rcho-1 trophoblast cells and monitored the promoter activities. -290-base pair hCGalpha promoter containing a tandem repeat of cAMP response element (CRE) was activated by EGF in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Deletion analysis of hCGalpha promoter suggested an involvement of CRE in EGF-induced hCGalpha transcriptional activation. Moreover, the hCGalpha promoter, of which both CREs were mutated, did not respond to EGF. These results indicate that EGF activates the hCGalpha gene transcription through CRE. Although EGF did not alter the amount of CRE-binding protein (CREB), EGF induced CREB phosphorylation. We next examined the mechanism of CREB phosphorylation by EGF. Protein kinase C inhibitors (H7, staurosporin, and chelerythrine) inhibited EGF-induced CREB phosphorylation, whereas either mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 inhibitor (PD98059) or protein kinase A inhibitor (H8) showed no effect. Furthermore, H7 and staurosporin but not H8 inhibited hCGalpha promoter activation by EGF. In conclusion, EGF promotes hCGalpha gene transcription via the CRE region probably by phosphorylating CREB mainly through the protein kinase C pathway in trophoblast cells.
The standard Salmonella mutagenicity test uses two strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA1535 and TA100) containing the same base pair substitution mutation (hisG46). These strains differ only in that strain TA100 contains the plasmid pKM101, whose mucAB gene products enhance SOS mutagenesis. This makes strain TA100, in general, the more sensitive of the two for mutagen detection, raising the question as to whether or not to include strain TA1535 in the core battery of strains in routine testing. Out of 659 chemicals judged as mutagens in the S. typhimurium assay when subjected to the National Toxicology Program's screening protocol, 36 (5%) were evaluated as positive in strain TA1535 but not in strain TA100. Of these, 23 were judged as negative and 13 as equivocal in strain TA100, and 5 were positive or equivocal in at least one other strain (TA97 or TA98). In general, the data on these chemicals indicate that the absolute increases in revertants per plate induced in strain TA1535 were too small to have been judged as positive if similar increases occurred in strain TA100, which has a much higher spontaneous background. For three chemicals (acetaldehyde oxime, 6-mercaptopurine, and 1,3-butadiene) the absolute increases in revertants in strain TA1535 greatly exceeded those in strain TA100. Evaluation of the reproducibility of these findings and of the mechanisms and relevance of unique TA1535 positives should be useful when decisions are made as to whether this strain should be kept as a part of the core battery of strains in the S. typhimurium assay.