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Cell polarity plays a critical role in neuronal differentiation during development of the central nervous system (CNS). Recent studies have established the significance of atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and its interacting partners, which include PAR-3, PAR-6 and Lgl, in regulating cell polarization during neuronal differentiation. However, their roles in neuronal maintenance after CNS development remain unclear. Here we performed conditional deletion of aPKCλ, a major aPKC isoform in the brain, in differentiated neurons of mice by camk2a-cre or synapsinI-cre mediated gene targeting. We found significant reduction of aPKCλ and total aPKCs in the adult mouse brains. The aPKCλ deletion also reduced PAR-6β, possibly by its destabilization, whereas expression of other related proteins such as PAR-3 and Lgl-1 was unaffected. Biochemical analyses suggested that a significant fraction of aPKCλ formed a protein complex with PAR-6β and Lgl-1 in the brain lysates, which was disrupted by the aPKCλ deletion. Notably, the aPKCλ deletion mice did not show apparent cell loss/degeneration in the brain. In addition, neuronal orientation/distribution seemed to be unaffected. Thus, despite the polarity complex disruption, neuronal deletion of aPKCλ does not induce obvious cell loss or disorientation in mouse brains after cell differentiation.

Sixteen specimens of Ernogrammus zhirmunskii Markevich and Kharin, 2011, formerly known only from Peter the Great Bay, Russia, were collected from Volcano Bay on the Pacific coast of Hokkaido and from Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Pacific coast of the northern Honshu, Japan. This species is redescribed on the basis of these specimens and several errors in the original description are corrected. This species is easily distinguished from other stichaeid fishes in having a diagnostic lateral-line pattern and a rigid spine in the posteriormost part of the anal fin.

The validity and authorship of Parapercis elongata are discussed. Although Fourmanoir (1967) has been considered to be the author of P. elongata , Fourmanoir (1965) satisfies the nomenclatural requirements associated with the availability of species names and P. elongata Fourmanoir, 1965 has priority over P. elongata of Fourmanoir, 1967. Although the holotype of P. elongata was not able to be conclusively determined, no significant differences were recognized between the original description of P. elongata and the holotype and non-types of Parapercis alboguttata (Gunther, 1872). Accordingly, P. elongata Fourmanoir, 1965 is determined to be a junior synonym of P. alboguttata .

In polyglutamine diseases including Huntington's disease, the causative gene products containing expanded polyglutamine form nuclear aggregates in neurons. Recent studies have identified several transcriptional factors, which interact with and are sequestered by expanded polyglutamine aggregates in neurons. Further, altered expression of many genes has been shown in several polyglutamine disease models. These observations suggest an involvement of transcriptional dysregulation in pathological process of these diseases. In this chapter, we introduce several methods to examine the interaction of transcriptional factors with and their sequestration by expanded polyglutamine proteins in vitro and in vivo.

In polyglutamine diseases including Huntington's disease, the causative gene products containing expanded polyglutamine form nuclear aggregates in neurons. Recent studies have identified several transcriptional factors, which interact with and are sequestered by expanded polyglutamine aggregates in neurons. Further, altered expression of many genes has been shown in several polyglutamine disease models. These observations suggest an involvement of transcriptional dysregulation in pathological process of these diseases. In this chapter, we introduce several methods to examine the interaction of transcriptional factors with and their sequestration by expanded polyglutamine proteins in vitro and in vivo.

The evolutionarily conserved polarity proteins PAR-3, atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and PAR-6 critically regulate the apical membrane development required for epithelial organ development. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their roles remain to be clarified. We demonstrate that PAR-3 knockdown in MDCK cells retards apical protein delivery to the plasma membrane, and eventually leads to mislocalized apical domain formation at intercellular regions in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture systems. The defects in PAR-3 knockdown cells are efficiently rescued by wild-type PAR-3, but not by a point mutant (S827/829A) that lacks the ability to interact with aPKC, indicating that formation of the PAR-3–aPKC–PAR-6 complex is essential for apical membrane development. This is in sharp contrast with tight junction maturation, which does not necessarily depend on the aPKC–PAR-3 interaction, and indicates that the two fundamental processes essential for epithelial polarity are differentially regulated by these polarity proteins. Importantly, highly depolarized cells accumulate aPKC and PAR-6, but not PAR-3, on apical protein-containing vacuoles, which become targeted to PAR-3-positive primordial cell-cell contact sites during the initial stage of the repolarization process. Therefore, formation of the PAR-3–aPKC–PAR-6 complex might be required for targeting of not only the aPKC–PAR-6 complex but also of apical protein carrier vesicles to primordial junction structures.

Genetic studies in Drosophila have revealed that three tumor suppressors, Discs large (Dlg), Scribble (Scrib) and Lethal giant larvae (Lgl), which localize to the basolateral region of epithelial cells, cooperatively regulate cell polarity, junction formation and cell growth in epithelial cells. Subsequent studies in Drosophila, vertebrates and C. elegans have shown the evolutionary conservation of some of their functions in epithelial cells. Also, these studies revealed the importance of antagonistic interactions between these tumor suppressors and apical polarity regulators such as Crumbs and aPKC for the establishment of apical-basal polarity with organized cell-cell junctions and regulation of cell growth in epithelial cells.

We have previously shown that during early Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis PKC-3, a C. elegans atypical PKC (aPKC), plays critical roles in the establishment of cell polarity required for subsequent asymmetric cleavage by interacting with PAR-3 [Tabuse, Y., Y. Izumi, F. Piano, K.J. Kemphues, J. Miwa, and S. Ohno. 1998. Development (Camb.). 125:3607–3614]. Together with the fact that aPKC and a mammalian PAR-3 homologue, aPKC-specific interacting protein (ASIP), colocalize at the tight junctions of polarized epithelial cells (Izumi, Y., H. Hirose, Y. Tamai, S.-I. Hirai, Y. Nagashima, T. Fujimoto, Y. Tabuse, K.J. Kemphues, and S. Ohno. 1998. J. Cell Biol. 143:95–106), this suggests a ubiquitous role for aPKC in establishing cell polarity in multicellular organisms. Here, we show that the overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant of aPKC (aPKCkn) in MDCK II cells causes mislocalization of ASIP/PAR-3. Immunocytochemical analyses, as well as measurements of paracellular diffusion of ions or nonionic solutes, demonstrate that the biogenesis of the tight junction structure itself is severely affected in aPKCkn-expressing cells. Furthermore, these cells show increased interdomain diffusion of fluorescent lipid and disruption of the polarized distribution of Na+,K+-ATPase, suggesting that epithelial cell surface polarity is severely impaired in these cells. On the other hand, we also found that aPKC associates not only with ASIP/PAR-3, but also with a mammalian homologue of C. elegans PAR-6 (mPAR-6), and thereby mediates the formation of an aPKC-ASIP/PAR-3–PAR-6 ternary complex that localizes to the apical junctional region of MDCK cells. These results indicate that aPKC is involved in the evolutionarily conserved PAR protein complex, and plays critical roles in the development of the junctional structures and apico-basal polarization of mammalian epithelial cells.

A thiosulphate-cytochrome c reductase was highly purified from Chlorobium thiosulphatophilum and its properties were studied. The enzyme catalyses reduction with Na 2 S 2 O 3 of c cytochromes, including cytochrome c -551 of the bacterium. Cytochrome c (555, C. thiosulphatophilum ) does not react directly with the enzyme at an appreciable rate but stimulates greatly the reduction by the enzyme of cytochrome c -551 with Na 2 S 2 O 3 . The reduction of c cytochromes catalysed by the enzyme is strongly inhibited by cyanide and sulphite. Cytochrome c (553, C. thiosulphatophilum ), a c -type cytochrome with covalently bound flavin, was found to catalyse reduction with sulphide of c cytochromes, including cytochrome c -555. The reaction is strongly inhibited by cyanide. Cyanide seems to combine strongly with cytochrome c -553 probably at the flavin moiety. Thus, the absorption spectrum attributable to flavin of the haemoprotein is changed on addition of cyanide, and neither the original spectrum nor the activity reappears even after the cyanide-treated cytochrome has been subjected to gel filtration with a Sephadex G-25 column or to isoelectric focusing.

The pH dependence of resonance Raman spectra were studied for ferrous and ferric cytochromes c, c2, c3, c-551, and c-555. The frequencies of the 1565 cm-1 (ferric) and 1539 cm-1 lines (ferrous) were sensitive to the replacement of the sixth ligand. The titration curve for the 1565 cm-1 line of cytochrome c was parallel with that for the 695 nm band. The pH dependence of the 1539 cm-1 line of ferrous cytochrome c3 suggested the stepwise replacement of the sixth ligand of its four hemes, although such pH dependence was not recognized for the Raman spectra of other ferrous cytochromes investigated. The relative intensities of three Raman lines at 1639, 1587, and 1561 cm-1 of ferric protoporphyrin bis-imidazole complex were changed clearly by the presence of detergents. The relative intensities of the corresponding three Raman lines of cytochromes b5 and c were close to those of the ferric porphyrin complex in the presence and absence of detergents, respectively, suggesting an appreciable difference in their heme environments. Reduced hemin in detergent solution, unexpectedly, gave the Raman spectrum of ferric low spin type.

A cytochrome c peroxidase (ferrocytochrome c :H 2 O 2 oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.5) was isolated and highly purified from Thiobacillus novellus , and its properties were studied. The enzyme has haem c as the prosthetic group, and shows a peak at 398 nm in the oxidized form and peaks at 415, 520 and 550 nm in the reduced form. It peroxidatically oxidizes the reduced form of cytochrome c (550, Thiobacillus novellus ) and mammalian-type cytochromes c but does not react or reacts very poorly with bacterial c -type cytochromes such as cytochrome c (551, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ), cytochrome c (552, Nitrosomonas europaea ) and cytochrome c (555, Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum ). One mole of the enzyme oxidizes peroxidatically 2450 moles of tuna ferrocytochrome c per min at pH 8.5 and at 18 °C. The peroxidase reaction catalysed by the enzyme is strongly inhibited by cyanide and azide.

The mammalian protein ASIP/PAR-3 interacts with atypical protein kinase C isotypes (aPKC) and shows overall sequence similarity to the invertebrate proteins C. elegans PAR-3 and Drosophila Bazooka, which are crucial for the establishment of polarity in various cells. The physical interaction between ASIP/PAR-3 and aPKC is also conserved in C. elegans PAR-3 and PKC-3 and in Drosophila Bazooka and DaPKC. In mammals, ASIP/PAR-3 colocalizes with aPKC and concentrates at the tight junctions of epithelial cells, but the biological meaning of ASIP/PAR-3 in tight junctions remains to be clarified. In the present study, we show that ASIP/PAR-3 staining distributes to the subapical domain of epithelial cell-cell junctions, including epithelial cells with less-developed tight junctions, in clear contrast with ZO-1, another tight-junction-associated protein, the staining of which is stronger in cells with well-developed tight junctions. Consistently, immunogold electron microscopy revealed that ASIP/PAR-3 concentrates at the apical edge of tight junctions, whereas ZO-1 distributes alongside tight junctions. To clarify the meaning of this characteristic localization of ASIP, we analyzed the effects of overexpressed ASIP/PAR-3 on tight junction formation in cultured epithelial MDCK cells. The induced overexpression of ASIP/PAR-3, but not its deletion mutant lacking the aPKC-binding sequence, promotes cell-cell contact-induced tight junction formation in MDCK cells when evaluated on the basis of transepithelial electrical resistance and occludin insolubilization. The significance of the aPKC-binding sequence in tight junction formation is also supported by the finding that the conserved PKC-phosphorylation site within this sequence,ASIP-Ser827, is phosphorylated at the most apical tip of cell-cell contacts during the initial phase of tight junction formation in MDCK cells. Together,our present data suggest that ASIP/PAR-3 regulates epithelial tight junction formation positively through interaction with aPKC.