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AimsL-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is a major Na+-independent neutral amino acid transporter, forming a complex with CD98hc. The aim of this study is to investigate the significance of LAT1 and CD98hc in invasive breast cancer.MethodsLAT1 and CD98hc expression was immunohistochemically assessed in 280 invasive breast cancers and analysed for association with clinicopathological features.ResultsHigh levels of LAT1 and CD98hc were observed in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) possessing negative immunoreactivity with oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, compared with non-TNBCs (NTNBCs), and were associated with lymph-node metastasis and higher nuclear grade. The high-LAT1-expression group showed a poor prognosis in NTNBC and TNBC, however, high-CD98hc-expression group showed a poor prognosis only in NTNBC. LAT1 and CD98hc expression could be the prognostic factors in univariate analyses, but not in multivariate analyses. Further, we found that invasive tumour components showed higher LAT1 and CD98hc expression than non-invasive tumour components.ConclusionsLAT1 and CD98hc may possess prognostic values in invasive breast cancer. LAT1 may be linked with cancer cell activities and disease progression in breast cancer.

Hydrogenases control the proton concentration in cells, which is an essential function for hydrogen metabolism in several microorganisms. Some [NiFe]-hydrogenases are catalytically active under air and are thus of great interest for developing bio-inspired synthetic models and new devices for clean energy conversion. Here, we provide an overview of the structural basis of the reaction mechanism of [NiFe]-hydrogenases, and the recent development of a new assay method which may uncover hidden properties of hydrogenases.Hydrogenases control the proton concentration in cells, which is an essential function for hydrogen metabolism in several microorganisms. Some [NiFe]-hydrogenases are catalytically active under air and are thus of great interest for developing bio-inspired synthetic models and new devices for clean energy conversion. We provide an overview of the structural basis of the reaction mechanism of [NiFe]-hydrogenases.

Iron–sulfur clusters form one of the largest and most diverse classes of enzyme cofactors in nature. They may serve as structural factors, form electron transfer chains between active sites and external redox partners, or form components of enzyme active sites. Their specific role is a consequence of the cluster type and the surrounding protein environment. The relative effects of these factors are not completely understood, and it is not yet possible to predict the properties of iron–sulfur clusters based on amino acid sequences or rationally tune their properties to generate proteins with new desirable functions. Here, we generate mutations in a [2Fe-2S] cluster protein, the TmHydC subunit of the trimeric [FeFe]-hydrogenase from Thermotoga maritima, to study the factors that affect its redox potential. Saturation mutagenesis of Val131 was used to tune the redox potential over a 135 mV range and revealed that cluster redox potential and electronic properties correlate with amino acid hydrophobicity and the ability to form hydrogen bonds to the cluster. Proline scanning mutagenesis between pairs of ligating cysteines was used to remove backbone amide hydrogen bonds to the cluster and decrease the redox potential by up to 132 mV, without large structural changes in most cases. However, substitution of Gly83 with proline caused a change of HydC to a [4Fe-4S] cluster protein with a redox potential of −526 mV. Together, these results confirm the importance of hydrogen bonding in tuning cluster redox potentials and demonstrate the versatility of iron–sulfur cluster protein folds at binding different types of clusters.

Prestidigitation: In a mutant of the heme protein nitrophorin 4, the first binding of guanidine to iron in a porphyrin is observed (see structure). The protein pocket has two effects that aid this binding: its overall structure holds the ligands together providing binding energy from the chelate effect and it facilitates the deprotonation of the highly basic guanidine residue.

Taschenspielertrick: In einer Mutante des Hämproteins Nitrophorin 4 wurde erstmals eine Porphyrineisen‐Guanidin‐Bindung beobachtet (siehe Struktur). Die Proteinmatrix bewirkt zweierlei: Ihre Gesamtstruktur hält die Liganden zusammen, sodass Bindungsenergie aus dem Chelateffekt gewonnen wird, und sie erleichtert die Deprotonierung des sehr basischen Guanidins.

Tyrosine 43 is positioned parallel to the fifth heme axial ligand, His34, of heme 1 in the tetraheme cytochrome c3. The replacement of tyrosine with leucine increased the redox potential of heme 1 by 44 and 35mV at the first and last reduction steps, respectively; its effects on the other hemes are small. In contrast, the Y43F mutation hardly changed the potentials. It shows that the aromatic ring at this position contributes to lowering the redox potential of heme 1 locally, although this cannot be the major contribution to the extremely low redox potentials of cytochrome c3. Furthermore, temperature-dependent line-width broadening in partially reduced samples established that the aromatic ring at position 43 participates in the control of the kinetics of intramolecular electron transfer. The rate of reduction of Y43L cytochrome c3 by 5-deazariboflavin semiquinone under partially reduced conditions was significantly different from that of the wild type in the last stage of the reduction, supporting the involvement of Tyr43 in regulation of reduction kinetics. The mutation of Y43L, however, did not induce a significant change in the crystal structure.

Neurofibromin is a tumor suppressor protein, which is similar in function to the GTPase activating protein (GAP), p120GAP, in that it accelerates inactivation of Ras. Mutations in the NF1 gene cause neurofibromatosis type 1, NF1, an autosomal dominant disease with a diverse spectrum of clinical manifestations, including neurofibromas. Ras activation (GTP binding) is induced by the GTP exchange factor Sos and its inactivation is regulated through the GAPs (p120GAP and neurofibromin). Strikingly, neurofibromin was nearly absent in MB-231 human breast cancer cells and present in the remaining four cell lines studied, with higher levels in BT-474 and MB-453 than in MCF-7 and BT-20 cells, as tested with polyclonal antibodies to both the N-terminal as well as the C-terminal peptides. Coordinated with the near absence of neurofibromin, these cells also presented with much greater levels of P-MAPK and activated Ras. Further, RT-PCR analysis demonstrated the absence of expression of NF1 mRNA type I isoform only in the MB-231 cell lines. This result documents for the first time an altered NF1 expression at the protein and mRNA levels in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells.