Proteasome and NF-kappa B inhibiting phaeophytins from the green alga Cladophora fascicularis

Chemical examination of the green alga Cladophora fascicularis resulted in the isolation and characterization of a new porphyrin derivative, porphyrinolactone (1), along with five known phaeophytins 2-6 and fourteen sterols and cycloartanes. The structure of 1 was determined on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and by comparison of its NMR data with those of known phaeophytins. Compounds 1-6 displayed moderate inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) induced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activation, while 2 and 4 displayed potential inhibitory activity toward proteasome chymotripsin-like activation. The primary structure-activity relationship was also discussed.

水稻幼苗脱黄化过程以及灌浆期茎的蛋白质组学研究

水稻既是我国三大粮食作物之一，又是基因组学研究的模式材料，在生产实践和科学研究中都占有极其重要的地位。基因组学研究取得的巨大成就以前所未有的深度和广度推动了生命科学各个研究领域的飞速发展。水稻基因组的破译是水稻科学研究的重要里程碑，同时也宣告了功能基因组学时代的到来。蛋白质组学是研究细胞内全部蛋白质的动态表达及其相互关系的新兴学科，是功能基因组学研究的重要组成部分和战略制高点。 本论文采用高分辨率的蛋白质双向电泳分离技术和高通量的蛋白质质谱分析技术以及生物信息学等手段，开展水稻灌浆期茎蛋白质组表达模式和水稻幼苗脱黄化过程的比较蛋白质组学研究，探讨茎生长发育规律和水稻应答光信号相关蛋白质及其网络调控机制，是学科前沿与实际应用的有机结合，在科研和生产实践中都具有重要的意义。 首先，分别构建了灌浆期水稻顶端茎段和水稻黄化幼苗的蛋白质组表达谱。并对其中185个目的蛋白点进行了MALDI-TOF/MS分析和数据库检索鉴定。共有149个蛋白质得到了鉴定，蛋白质鉴定的成功率为80.5％。这些被鉴定的蛋白质分属118个基因的表达产物，根据它们功能可以分为13种不同的类别，其中绝大多数为能量产生和代谢以及抗性相关的蛋白质。 在水稻灌浆期顶端茎段表达的蛋白质中，与能量和物质代谢相关的蛋白质例如ATPase、磷酸丙糖异构酶，6－磷酸葡萄糖异构酶等占有很高比例，说明茎段组织中具有很强的代谢活动。与生长发育相关的蛋白质包括beta-tubulins、无机焦磷酸酶（inorganic pyrophosphatase）、液泡质子ATP酶（vacuolar proton-ATPase）以及UDP葡萄糖焦磷酸酶等的大量累积，显示出顶端茎段细胞分裂和生长迅速;同时，贮存多糖和结构多糖也在旺盛合成。G蛋白、GDP释放抑制因子等信号传导蛋白以及苯丙氨酸氨解酶、谷胱苷肽S转移酶（glutathione S-transferase，GST）、抗坏血酸过氧化酶（ascorbate peroxidase，APX）以及超氧化物歧化酶（superoxide dismutase，SOD）等抗性相关蛋白质在该时期丰度表达，表明在灌浆期水稻顶端茎段能够迅速感受并传递外界信号，从而使得其在遭受胁迫时能够立刻启动抗逆防御系统，最大限度地降低不利环境对种子发育的影响。 在黑暗中萌发和生长的水稻黄化幼苗随着光照时间（0~24小时）的延长，能通过双向电泳后检测到的蛋白质逐渐变少，24小时后趋于稳定，相当于正常光照条件下生长的水稻幼苗蛋白质组表达谱。进一步分析表明，在黄化苗中，分解代谢及能量产生相关的蛋白如丙糖磷酸异构酶、琥珀酰辅酶A连接酶、异戊酰辅酶A脱氢酶与ATPase等的表达量比较丰富;另外，还可能启动了脂肪酸的α氧化分解途径，以供黑暗中生长所需的物质和能量。当黄化幼苗光照后，与光合作用及物质合成相关的一些蛋白质表达量增加，而那些分解代谢相关酶类则有所下降。同时，鸟核苷酸结合蛋白β亚基类似蛋白、20S proteasome以及Bowman Birk trypsin inhibitor等信号传递及抗性相关蛋白随着光照时间的延长而减少，说明黑暗胁迫条件下水稻幼苗启动了相关的抗逆途径。叶绿素合成途径中的蛋白酶胆色素原脱氨基酶和金属鳌合酶在脱黄化过程中表达量有所下降，可能是因为叶绿素合成产物具有反馈抑制作用。 本研究首次利用蛋白质组学方法来解析水稻灌浆期茎蛋白质组表达模式和水稻黄化幼苗响应光因子的蛋白质组变化情况，鉴定了一些有价值的蛋白质，并得到了它们的表达特点和相关数据，为更好地理解水稻顶端茎秆的生长特点和功效、水稻应答黑暗胁迫和光形态建成以及光合作用机理等提供了分子证据。

RNF220, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets Sin3B for ubiquitination

Modification of proteins by ubiquitination plays important roles in various cellular processes. During this process, the target specificity is determined by ubiquitin ligases. Here we identify RNF220 (RING finger protein 220) as a novel ubiquitin ligase for Sin3B. As a conserved RING protein, RNF220 can bind E2 and mediate auto-ubiquitination of itself. Through a yeast two-hybrid screen, we isolated Sin3B as one of its targets, which is a scaffold protein of the Sin3/HDAC (histone deacetylase) corepressor complex. RNF220 specifically interacts with Sin3B both in vitro and in vivo. Sin3B can be regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Co-expression of RNF220 promotes the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of Sin3B. Taken together, these results reveal a new mechanism for regulating the Sin3/HDAC complex. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in lymphoid organ of Fenneropenaeus chinensis response to Vibrio anguillarum stimulation

To gain an insight into the function of shrimp lymphoid organ at protein level, we analyzed the proteome of lymphoid organ in healthy Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis (F. chinensis) through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) based proteomic approach. A total of 95 spots representing 75 protein entries were identified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with both online and in-house database. According to Gene Ontology (GO) annotation of biological process, the identified proteins were classified into 13 categories. Among them, approximately 36% of proteins related to cytoskeleton are noticeable. Then, a comparative proteomic approach was employed to investigate the differentially expressed proteins in lymphoid organ of Vibrio anguillarum-challenged F. chinensis. At 24 h post-injection (hpi), 17 differentially expressed protein spots were successfully identified, including 4 up-regulated protein spots (represent 4 proteins: cathepsin L protein similar to squid CG16901-PC, protein kinase C and protein similar to T-complex Chaperonin 5 CG8439-PA), and 13 down-regulated protein spots (represent 9 proteins: actin, beta-actin, cytoplasmic actin CyII, alpha tubulin, beta tubulin, protein similar to proteasome delta, vacuolar ATP synthase subunit B, elongation factor 2, carboxypeptidase B). These data may help us to understand the function of lymphoid organ and the molecular immune mechanism of shrimp responsive to pathogen infection. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.