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A new coronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is responsible for the global pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020. Through structural analysis, it was found that several amino acid residues in the human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (hACE2) receptor directly interact with those in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike glycoprotein (S-protein). Various cell lines, including HEK293, HeLa cells, and the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) with the insect cell line Sf9, have been utilized to produce the RBD. In this study, we investigated the use of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) and BEVS. For efficient production of a highly pure recombinant RBD protein, we designed it with two tags (His tag and STREP tag) at the C-terminus and a solubilizing tag (SUMO) at the N-terminus. After expressing the protein using BmNPV and silkworm and purifying it with a HisTrap excel column, the eluted protein was digested with SUMO protease and further purified using a Strep-Tactin Superflow column. As a result, we obtained the RBD as a monomer with a yield of 2.6 mg/10 mL serum (equivalent to 30 silkworms). The RBD showed an affinity for the hACE2 receptor. Additionally, the RBDs from the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants were expressed and purified using the same protocol. It was found that the RBD from the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants could be obtained with yields of 1.4–2.6 mg/10 mL serum and had an affinity to the hACE2 receptor. • The RBDs were expressed using Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus and silkworm. • The RBDs in the serum from the silkworm-BEVS were purified using affinity columns. • The RBDs from VOCs were also obtained from serum in the silkworm-BEVS. • The RBDs in the serum from the silkworm-BEVS had an affinity for the hACE2 receptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich (HWW) syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly of the genitourinary tract comprising uterus didelphys, obstructed hemivagina, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. Patients with HWW syndrome usually present symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, pelvic mass, and purulent vaginal discharge. If not treated at an appropriate time, complications such as infertility, endometriosis, pyosalpinx, and subsequent pelvic adhesions may occur. Here, we report a case of HWW syndrome in a 7-year-old-girl who was also diagnosed as having central precocious puberty. She was brought to the pediatric department with chief complaints of lump in her breast and vaginal discharge. When she was around 2 months old, she was confirmed to have a single kidney on ultrasonography. We checked her past medical history and diagnosed her as having HWW syndrome based on the results of imaging studies, including abdominal ultrasonography and pelvic magnetic resonance imaging. She underwent treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue for 2 years. During 24 months of follow-up, she showed no serious problems or complications. If renal anomalies are identified immediately after birth or in infancy, further screening tests should be conducted prior to menstruation for determining congenital abnormalities of the reproductive tract and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress culminating in proteotoxicity contributes to the development of insulin resistance and progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pharmacologic interventions targeting several different nuclear receptors have emerged as potential treatments for insulin resistance. The mechanistic basis for these antidiabetic effects has primarily been attributed to multiple metabolic and inflammatory functions. Here we review recent advances in our understanding of the association of ER stress with insulin resistance and the role of nuclear receptors in promoting ER stress resolution and improving insulin resistance in the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new composite structural system that is able to enhance constructability and is suitable for realization of long-span structures was developed. Steel beams, steel reinforced concrete columns, reinforced concrete drop panels, and slabs are placed in the system. To determine the structural performance of the system, the gravity and lateral load resisting properties of the system were investigated. It was found that the presence of a reinforced concrete drop panel at the top of a column brings about a reduction of the negative moment at the top of the column. Also, it was observed that a reinforced concrete drop panel on the top of the column significantly affected the deflection-control of the beam. In a lateral load resisting test, cracks in slabs of the new structural system disperse in a better manner than is the case for crack patterns in the conventional composite system. Also, via push-over analysis using a package of structural analysis software, it was found that the developed structural system is effective in the prevention of stress concentration in the column zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ribonuclease L (RNase L) pathway plays an important role in the response of cells to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) during the events such as virus infection. Ribonuclease L inhibitor (RLI) belonging to the ABC transporter family is known as a regulator of the RNase L pathway. The homologs of RLI were reported in many organisms including the fruit fly and mosquito, but their functions in insects and arthropods have not been elucidated to date. In the present study, we cloned a cDNA of a silkworm RLI homolog, termed BmRLI, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of BmRLI mRNA was marked in the testis, ovary and fat body. From the cDNA, recombinant protein with an apparent molecular mass of 69?kDa was expressed in Escherichia coli and cultured insect cells. Although no obvious effect of up-regulation of the BmRLI expression on RNAi was observed, its down-regulation slightly reduced RNAi efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mammalian striated muscles, ryanodine receptor (RyR), triadin, junctin, and calsequestrin form a quaternary complex in the lumen of sarcoplasmic reticulum. Such intermolecular interactions contribute not only to the passive buffering of sareoplasmic reticulum luminal Ca2+, but also to the active Ca2+ release process during excitation-contraction coupling. Here we tested the hypothesis that specific charged amino acids within the luminal portion of RyR mediate its direct interaction with triadin. Using in vitro binding assay and site-directed mutagenesis, we found that the second intraluminal loop of the skeletal muscle RyR1 (amino acids 4860-4917), but not the first intraluminal loop of RyR1 (amino acids 4581-4640) could bind triadin. Specifically, three negatively charged residues Asp4878, Asp4907, and Glu4908 appear to be critical for the association with triadin. Using deletional approaches, we showed that a KEKE motif of triadin (amino acids 200-232) is essential for the binding to RyR1. Because the second intraluminal loop of RyR has been previously shown to contain the ion-conducting pore as well as the selectivity filter of the Ca2+ release channel, and Asp4878, Asp4907, and Glu4908 residues are predicted to locate at the periphery of the pore assembly of the channel, our data suggest that a physical interaction between RyR1 and triadin could play an active role in the overall Ca2+ release process of excitation-contraction coupling in muscle cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selectins are key to mediating interactions involved in cellular adhesion and migration, underlying processes such as immune responses, metastasis, and transplantation. Selectins are composed of a lectin domain, an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain, multiple short consensus repeats (SCRs), a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail. It is well-established that the lectin and EGF domains are required to mediate interactions with ligands; however, the contributions of the other domains in mediating these interactions remain obscure. Using various E-selectin constructs produced in a newly developed silkworm-based expression system and several assays performed under both static and physiological flow conditions, including flow cytometry, glycan array analysis, surface plasmon resonance, and cell-rolling assays, we show here that a reduction in the number of SCR domains is correlated with a decline in functional E-selectin binding to hematopoietic cell E- and/or L-selectin ligand (HCELL) and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1). Moreover, the binding was significantly improved through E-selectin dimerization and by a substitution (A28H) that mimics an extended conformation of the lectin and EGF domains. Analyses of the association and dissociation rates indicated that the SCR domains, conformational extension, and dimerization collectively contribute to the association rate of E-selectin-ligand binding, whereas just the lectin and EGF domains contribute to the dissociation rate. These findings provide the first evidence of the critical role of the association rate in functional E-selectin-ligand interactions, and they highlight that the SCR domains have an important role that goes beyond the structural extension of the lectin and EGF domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the alkaline protease (AprA) in pyocyanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. AprA was overproduced when a plasmid carrying the aprA gene was introduced to an aprA-deletion mutant strain, EG03; thus, aprA-complemented EG03 was used as an overproducing strain. The complemented strain produced higher pyocyanin than the mutant strain in all commercially available media evaluated. Particularly, pyocyanin production was higher in the complemented than in the parental strain in brain--heart infusion and tryptic soy broths. These results suggested that protein degradation products by AprA were utilized for pyocyanin production. Protein-rich media were used in subsequent validation studies. Similar results were obtained when the basal medium was supplemented with casein or skim milk as the sole organic nitrogen source. However, gelatin failed to induce abundant pyocyanin production in the complemented strain, despite the presence of protein degradation products by AprA as assessed by SDS-PAGE. Thus, gelatin degradation products may not be suitable for pyocyanin synthesis. In conclusion, AprA could contribute to pyocyanin production in the presence of several proteins or peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the role of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in virulence against the silkworm, Bombyx mori, mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 lacking manganese-SOD (PAO1sodM), iron-SOD (PAO1sodB), or both (PAO1sodMB) were generated. The mutants were injected into the hemocoel of B. mori. The virulence decreased in the order PAO1 = PAO1sodM > PAO1sodB > PAO1sodMB. In particular, PAO1sodMB was avirulent at a dose of 105 cells or less. The sod double mutant PAO1sodMB was then complemented with either pSodM or pSodB in trans. In both the complemented strains, the virulence was partially restored. Of the two plasmids, pSodB contributed more to the virulence of P. aeruginosa against B. mori. The results of growth in B. mori hemolymph broth and microscopic analysis suggested that a longer lag phase and superoxide sensitivity correlated with decreased virulence in sod mutants. In conclusion, the SODs are required for full virulence of P. aeruginosa against B. mori and Fe-SOD is more important than Mn-SOD in the infection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid factors (RFs) are autoantibodies against the fragment- crystallizable (Fc) region of IgG. In individuals with hematological diseases such as cryoglobulinemia and certain B cell lymphoma forms, the RFs derived from specific heavy- and light-chain germline pairs, so-called "stereotypic RFs," are frequently produced in copious amounts and form immune complexes with IgG in serum. Of note, many structural details of the antigen recognition mechanisms in RFs are unclear. Here we report the crystal structure of the RF YES8c derived from the IGHV1-69/IGKV3-20 germline pair, the most common of the stereotypic RFs, in complex with human IgG1-Fc at 2.8 Å resolution. We observed that YES8c binds to the CH2-CH3 elbow in the canonical antigen-binding manner involving a large antigen-antibody interface. On the basis of this observation, combined with mutational analyses, we propose a recognition mechanism common to IGHV1-69/IGKV3-20 RFs: (1) the interaction of the Leu432-His435 region of Fc enables the highly variable complementarity-determining region (CDR)-H3 to participate in the binding, (2) the hydrophobic tip in the CDR-H2 typical of IGHV1-69 antibodies recognizes the hydrophobic patch on Fc, and (3) the interaction of the highly conserved RF light chain with Fc is important for RF activity. These features may determine the putative epitope common to the IGHV1-69/IGKV3-20 RFs. We also showed that some mutations in the binding site of RF increase the affinity to Fc, which may aggravate hematological diseases. Our findings unravel the structural basis for germline-encoded antibody autoreactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N -glycosylation is an important posttranslational modification that results in a variety of biological activities, structural stability, and protein-protein interactions. There are still many mysteries in the structure and function of N-glycans, and detailed elucidation is necessary. Baculovirus expression system (BES) is widely used to produce recombinant glycoproteins, but it is not suitable for clinical use due to differences in N-glycan structure between insects and mammals. It is necessary to develop adequate model glycoproteins for analysis to efficiently alter the insect-type N-glycosylation pathway to human type. The previous research shows the recombinant alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (α1AGP) secreted from silkworm cultured cells or larvae is highly glycosylated and expected to be an excellent research candidate for the glycoprotein analysis expressed by BES. Therefore, we improved the α1AGP to be a better model for studying glycosylation. The modified α1AGP (α1AGPΔ) recombinant protein was successfully expressed and purified by using BES, however, the expression level in silkworm cultured cells and larvae were lower than that of the α1AGP. Subsequently, we confirmed the detailed profile of N-glycan on the α1AGPΔ by LS/MS analysis the N-glycan structure at each glycosylation site. These results indicated that the recombinant α1AGPΔ could be usable as a better model glycoprotein of N-glycosylation research in BES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a common feature of the final stage of nearly all cause types of chronic kidney disease. Although classic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ ) agonists have a protective effect on diabetic nephropathy, much less is known about their direct effects in renal fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate possible beneficial effects of lobeglitazone, a novel PPARγ agonist, on renal fibrosis in mice. Methods: We examined the effects of lobeglitazone on renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis in unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) induced renal fibrosis mice. We further defined the role of lobeglitazone on transforming growth factor (TGF)-signaling pathways in renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis through in vivo and in vitro study. Results: Through hematoxylin/eosin and sirius red staining, we observed that lobeglitazone effectively attenuates UUO-induced renal atrophy and fibrosis. Immunohistochemical analysis in conjunction with quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis revealed that lobeglitazone treatment inhibited UUO-induced upregulation of renal Smad-3 phosphorylation, α-smooth muscle actin, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, and type 1 collagen. In vitro experiments with rat mesangial cells and NRK-49F renal fibroblast cells suggested that the effects of lobeglitazone on UUO-induced renal fibrosis are mediated by inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that lobeglitazone has a protective effect on UUO-induced renal fibrosis, suggesting that its clinical applications could extend to the treatment of non-diabetic origin renal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant proteins can be generated quickly and easily in large amounts and at low-cost in silkworm larvae by using Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV). We searched for high-permissive silkworm strains that have high production levels of heterologous proteins and are thus suitable for use as biofactories. In this study, we performed the analysis using a BmNPV vector expressing luciferase as a marker, and we confirmed protein expression by evaluating luciferase activity, determined by western blotting and luciferase ELISA, and confirmed transcription expression by semi- and quantitative real time PCR. For the selection of host silkworm strains, we first chose 52 domestic BmNPV sensitive strains and then identified 10 high-permissive and 5 low-permissive strains. In addition, to determine which hybrid of the high-permissive strains would show heterosis, nine strains derived through threeway crossing were tested for luciferase activity by western blotting, and luciferase ELISA. We found a correlation between luciferase activity and luciferase protein expression, but not transcription. There was no noticeable difference in protein expression levels between Jam313 as the high-permissive control strain and the three-way hybrid strains; however, the three-way cross strains showed lower luciferase activity compared with Jam313. In this study, luciferase protein production in the larvae of 52 domestic silkworm strains was elucidated using BmNPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMOylation is an essential post-translational modification that regulates a variety of cellular processes including cell cycle progression. Although the SUMOylation pathway has been identified and investigated in many eukaryotes, the mechanisms of SUMOylation in regulating the functions of various substrates are still poorly understood. Here, we utilized a model species, the silkworm Bombyx mori that possesses holocentric chromosomes, to exploit the role of the SUMOylation system in cell cycle regulation. We identified all the components that are involved in the SUMOylation pathway in the silkworm genome. Our data revealed a cell cycle-dependent transcription of the SUMOylation genes, localization of the SUMOylation proteins, and abundance of the SUMOylation substrates in cultured silkworm cells. Importantly, the proliferation of the silkworm cells was strikingly inhibited by interference with SUMOylation genes expression, possibly due to an arrest of the SUMOylation-deficient cells at the G2/M phase. Furthermore, disruption of the SUMOylation genes induced the defects of holocentric chromosome congression and segregation during mitosis, which was consistent with high expressions of the SUMOylation genes and high enrichments of global SUMOylation at this stage, suggesting that the SUMOylation system in silkworm is essential for cell cycle regulation, with one particular role in mitosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epigenetic modifiers and transcription factors contribute to developmentally programmed gene expression. Here, we establish a functional link between epigenetic regulation by Polycomb group (PcG) proteins and transcriptional regulation by C/ebp that orchestrates the correct expression of Bombyx mori asparagine synthetase (BmASNS), a gene involved in the biosynthesis of asparagine. We show that the cis-regulatory elements of YY1-binding motifs and the CpG island present on the BmASNS promoter are required for the recruitment of PcG proteins and the subsequent deposition of the epigenetic repression mark H3K27me3. RNAi-mediated knockdown of PcG genes leads to derepression of the BmASNS gene via the recruitment of activators, including BmC/ebp, to the promoter. Intriguingly, we find that PcG proteins and BmC/ebp can dynamically modulate the transcriptional output of the BmASNS target in a cell cycle-dependent manner. It will be essential to suppress BmASNS expression by PcG proteins at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle in the presence of BmC/ebp activator. Thus, our results provide a novel insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the recruitment and regulation of the PcG system at a discrete gene locus in Bombyx mori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are evolutionarily conserved chromatin modifiers and act together in three multimeric complexes, Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), and Pleiohomeotic repressive complex (PhoRC), to repress transcription of the target genes. Here, we identified Polycomb target genes in Bombyx mori with holocentric centromere using genome-wide expression screening based on the knockdown of BmSCE, BmESC, BmPHO, or BmSCM gene, which represent the distinct complexes. As a result, the expressions of 29 genes were up-regulated after knocking down 4 PcG genes. Particularly, there is a significant overlap between targets of BmPho (331 out of 524) and BmScm (331 out of 532), and among these, 190 genes function as regulator factors playing important roles in development. We also found that BmPho, as well as BmScm, can interact with other Polycomb components examined in this study. Further detailed analysis revealed that the C-terminus of BmPho containing zinc finger domain is involved in the interaction between BmPho and BmScm. Moreover, the zinc finger domain in BmPho contributes to its inhibitory function and ectopic overexpression of BmScm is able to promote transcriptional repression by Gal4-Pho fusions including BmScm-interacting domain. Loss of BmPho expression causes relocalization of BmScm into the cytoplasm. Collectively, we provide evidence of a functional link between BmPho and BmScm, and propose two Polycomb-related repression mechanisms requiring only BmPho associated with BmScm or a whole set of PcG complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demonstrates that the over-expression of wild-type calsequestrin (CSQ) or a CSQ mutant lacking the junction binding region in mouse skeletal C2C12 myotube enhanced caffeine- and voltage-induced calcium[sup 2+] release by increasing the calcium[sup 2+] load in sarcoplasmic reticulum. Role of the aspartate-rich segment of CSQ in sustaining structural interactions that interfere with store-operated calcium[sup 2+] entry mechanism; Implications on membrane transport and structure and biogenesis.