Interaction with calmodulin is important for the secretion of thimet oligopeptidase following stimulation

Thimet oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.15; EP24.15) was originally described as a neuropeptide-metabolizing enzyme, highly expressed in the brain, kidneys and neuroendocrine tissue. EP24.15 lacks a typical signal peptide sequence for entry into the secretory pathway and is secreted by cells via an unconventional and unknown mechanism. In this study, we identified a novel calcium-dependent interaction between EP24.15 and calmodulin, which is important for the stimulated, but not constitutive, secretion of EP24.15. We demonstrated that, in vitro, EP24.15 and calmodulin physically interact only in the presence of Ca(2+), with an estimated K(d) value of 0.52 mu m. Confocal microscopy confirmed that EP24.15 colocalizes with calmodulin in the cytosol of resting HEK293 cells. This colocalization markedly increases when cells are treated with either the calcium ionophore A23187 or the protein kinase A activator forskolin. Overexpression of calmodulin in HEK293 cells is sufficient to greatly increase the A23187-stimulated secretion of EP24.15, which can be inhibited by the calmodulin inhibitor calmidazolium. The specific inhibition of protein kinase A with KT5720 reduces the A23187-stimulated secretion of EP24.15 and inhibits the synergistic effects of forskolin with A23187. Treatment with calmidazolium and KT5720 nearly abolishes the stimulatory effects of A23187 on EP24.15 secretion. Together, these data suggest that the interaction between EP24.15 and calmodulin is regulated within cells and is important for the stimulated secretion of EP24.15 from HEK293 cells.

Four-level systems and a universal quantum gate

We discuss the possibility of implementing a universal quantum XOR gate by using two coupled quantum dots subject to external magnetic fields that are parallel and slightly different. We consider this system in two different field configurations. In the first case, parallel external fields with the intensity difference at each spin being proportional to the time-dependent interaction between the spins. A general exact solution describing this system is presented and analyzed to adjust field parameters. Then we consider parallel fields with intensity difference at each spin being constant and the interaction between the spins switching on and off adiabatically. In both cases we adjust characteristics of the external fields (their intensities and duration) in order to have the parallel pulse adequate for constructing the XOR gate. In order to provide a complete theoretical description of all the cases, we derive relations between the spin interaction, the inter-dot distance, and the external field. (C) 2008 WILEYNCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Weinheim.

Role of alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor in Calcium Signaling Induced by Prion Protein Interaction with Stress-inducible Protein 1

The prion protein (PrP(C)) is a conserved glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol-anchored cell surface protein expressed by neurons and other cells. Stress-inducible protein 1 (STI1) binds PrP(C) extracellularly, and this activated signaling complex promotes neuronal differentiation and neuroprotection via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase 1 (PKA) pathways. However, the mechanism by which the PrPC-STI1 interaction transduces extracellular signals to the intracellular environment is unknown. We found that in hippocampal neurons, STI1-PrP(C) engagement induces an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) levels. This effect was not detected in PrP(C)-null neurons or wild-type neurons treated with an STI1 mutant unable to bind PrP(C). Using a best candidate approach to test for potential channels involved in Ca(2+) influx evoked by STI1-PrP(C), we found that alpha-bungarotoxin, a specific inhibitor for alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha 7nAChR), was able to block PrP(C)-STI1-mediated signaling, neuroprotection, and neuritogenesis. Importantly, when alpha 7nAChR was transfected into HEK 293 cells, it formed a functional complex with PrP(C) and allowed reconstitution of signaling by PrP(C)-STI1 interaction. These results indicate that STI1 can interact with the PrP(C).alpha 7nAChR complex to promote signaling and provide a novel potential target for modulation of the effects of prion protein in neurodegenerative diseases.

Numerical prediction of three-dimensional time-dependent viscoelastic extrudate swell using differential and algebraic models

This study investigates the numerical simulation of three-dimensional time-dependent viscoelastic free surface flows using the Upper-Convected Maxwell (UCM) constitutive equation and an algebraic explicit model. This investigation was carried out to develop a simplified approach that can be applied to the extrudate swell problem. The relevant physics of this flow phenomenon is discussed in the paper and an algebraic model to predict the extrudate swell problem is presented. It is based on an explicit algebraic representation of the non-Newtonian extra-stress through a kinematic tensor formed with the scaled dyadic product of the velocity field. The elasticity of the fluid is governed by a single transport equation for a scalar quantity which has dimension of strain rate. Mass and momentum conservations, and the constitutive equation (UCM and algebraic model) were solved by a three-dimensional time-dependent finite difference method. The free surface of the fluid was modeled using a marker-and-cell approach. The algebraic model was validated by comparing the numerical predictions with analytic solutions for pipe flow. In comparison with the classical UCM model, one advantage of this approach is that computational workload is substantially reduced: the UCM model employs six differential equations while the algebraic model uses only one. The results showed stable flows with very large extrudate growths beyond those usually obtained with standard differential viscoelastic models. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On ""Schwinger mechanism for gluon pair production in the presence of arbitrary time dependent chromo-electric field""

Recently the paper ""Schwinger mechanism for gluon pair production in the presence of arbitrary time dependent chromo-electric field"" by G. C. Nayak was published [Eur. Phys. J. C 59: 715, 2009; arXiv:0708.2430]. Its aim is to obtain an exact expression for the probability of non-perturbative gluon pair production per unit time per unit volume and per unit transverse momentum in an arbitrary time-dependent chromo-electric background field. We believe that the obtained expression is open to question. We demonstrate its inconsistency on some well-known examples. We think that this is a consequence of using the socalled ""shift theorem""[arXiv:hep-th/0609192] in deriving the expression for the probability. We make some critical comments on the theorem and its applicability to the problem in question.

Cell-cell signal-dependent dynamic interactions between HD-GYP and GGDEF domain proteins mediate virulence in Xanthomonas campestris

RpfG is a paradigm for a class of widespread bacterial two-component regulators with a CheY-like receiver domain attached to a histidine-aspartic acid-glycine-tyrosine-proline (HD-GYP) cyclic di-GMP phosphodiesterase domain. In the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), a two-component system comprising RpfG and the complex sensor kinase RpfC is implicated in sensing and responding to the diffusible signaling factor (DSF), which is essential for cell-cell signaling. RpfF is involved in synthesizing DSF, and mutations of rpfF, rpfG, or rpfC lead to a coordinate reduction in the synthesis of virulence factors such as extracellular enzymes, biofilm structure, and motility. Using yeast two-hybrid analysis and fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments in Xcc, we show that the physical interaction of RpfG with two proteins with diguanylate cyclase (GGDEF) domains controls a subset of RpfG-regulated virulence functions. RpfG interactions were abolished by alanine substitutions of the three residues of the conserved GYP motif in the HD-GYP domain. Changing the GYP motif or deletion of the two GGDEF-domain proteins reduced Xcc motility but not the synthesis of extracellular enzymes or biofilm formation. RpfG-GGDEF interactions are dynamic and depend on DSF signaling, being reduced in the rpfF mutant but restored by DSF addition. The results are consistent with a model in which DSF signal transduction controlling motility depends on a highly regulated, dynamic interaction of proteins that influence the localized expression of cyclic di-GMP.