CHIP-mediated hyperubiquitylation of tau promotes its self-assembly into the insoluble tau filaments

The tau protein is a highly soluble and natively unfolded protein. Under pathological conditions, tau undergoes multiple post-translational modifications (PTMs) and conformational changes to form insoluble filaments, which are the proteinaceous signatures of tauopathies. To dissect the crosstalk among tau PTMs during the aggregation process, we phosphorylated and ubiquitylated recombinant tau in vitro using GSK3β and CHIP, respectively. The resulting phospho–ub-tau contained conventional polyubiquitin chains with lysine 48 linkages, sufficient for proteasomal degradation, whereas unphosphorylated ub-tau species retained only one–three ubiquitin moieties. Mass-spectrometric analysis of in vitro reconstituted phospho–ub-tau revealed seven additional ubiquitylation sites, some of which are known to stabilize tau protofilament stacking in the human brain with tauopathy. When the ubiquitylation reaction was prolonged, phospho–ub-tau transformed into insoluble hyperubiquitylated tau species featuring fibrillar morphology and in vitro seeding activity. We developed a small-molecule inhibitor of CHIP through biophysical screening; this effectively suppressed tau ubiquitylation in vitro and delayed its aggregation in cultured cells including primary cultured neurons. Our biochemical findings point to a “multiple-hit model,” where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process, thus indicating that targeting tau ubiquitylation may be an effective strategy to alleviate the course of tauopathies.

Multiple-hit model for tau aggregation, where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process.     

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue on Fe3+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under visible light irradiation

Fe³⁺-doped TiO₂ composite nanoparticles with different doping amounts were successfully synthesized using sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultravioletvisible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was used as a model reaction to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of Fe³⁺/TiO₂ nanoparticles under visible light irradiation. The influence of doping amount of Fe³⁺ (ω: 0.00%–3.00%) on photocatalytic activities of TiO₂ was investigated. Results show that the size of Fe³⁺/TiO₂ particles decreases with the increase of the amount of Fe³⁺ and their absorption spectra are broaden and absorption intensities are also increased. Doping Fe³⁺ can control the conversion of TiO₂ from anatase to rutile. The doping amount of Fe³⁺ remarkably affects the activity of the catalyst, and the optimum efficiency occurs at about the doping amount of 0.3%. The appropriate doping of Fe³⁺ can markedly increase the catalytic activity of TiO₂ under visible light irradiation. __________ Translated from Journal of Northwest Normal University (Natural Science), 2006, 42(6): 55–56 [译自: 西北师范大学学报(自然科学版)]     

Structural basis for inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatases by Keggin compounds phosphomolybdate and phosphotungstate

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) constitute a family of receptor-like, and cytoplasmic enzymes, which catalyze the dephosphorylation of phosphotyrosine residues in a variety of receptors and signaling molecules. Together with protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), PTPs are critically involved in regulating many cellular signaling processes. In this study, diverse compounds were screened for PTP inhibition and selectively screened for inhibitors with the end product inhibition properties. Among phosphate analogues and their derivatives for PTP inhibition, Keggin compounds phosphomolybdate (PM) and phosphotungstate (PT) strongly inhibited both PTP-1B and SHP-1, with K(i) values of 0.06-1.2 micromM in the presence of EDTA. Unlike the vanadium compounds, inhibition potencies of PM and PT were not significantly affected by EDTA. PM and PT were potent, competitive inhibitors for PTPs, but relatively poor inhibitors of Ser/Thr phosphatase. Interestingly, PM and PT did not inhibit alkaline phosphatase at all. The crystal structure of PTP-1B in complex with PM, at 2.0 A resolution, reveals that MoO(3), derived from PM by hydrolysis, binds at the active site. The molybdenium atom of the inhibitor is coordinated with six ligands: three oxo-ligands, two apical water molecules and a S atom of the catalytic cysteine residue. In support of the crystallographic finding, we observed that molybdenium oxides (MoO(3), MoO(2), and MoO(2)Cl(2)) inhibited PTP-1B with IC(50) in the range 5-15 micromM.     

Analysis of transient membrane protein interactions by single-molecule diffusional mobility shift assay

Various repertoires of membrane protein interactions determine cellular responses to diverse environments around cells dynamically in space and time. Current assays, however, have limitations in unraveling these interactions in the physiological states in a living cell due to the lack of capability to probe the transient nature of these interactions on the crowded membrane. Here, we present a simple and robust assay that enables the investigation of transient protein interactions in living cells by using the single-molecule diffusional mobility shift assay (smDIMSA). Utilizing smDIMSA, we uncovered the interaction profile of EGFR with various membrane proteins and demonstrated the promiscuity of these interactions depending on the cancer cell line. The transient interaction profile obtained by smDIMSA will provide critical information to comprehend the crosstalk among various receptors on the plasma membrane.Subject terms: Fluorescence imaging, Super-resolution microscopy, Single-molecule biophysics     

聚N—异丙基丙烯酰胺溶液的温度依赖关系

用自由基聚合法合成了聚Ｎ－异丙基丙烯酰胺（ＰＮＩＰＡＡＭ）样品，用乌氏粘度计考查了该聚合物的四氢呋喃（ＴＨＦ）溶液和水溶液的粘度与温度的依赖关系。发现ＰＮＩＰＡＡＭ－ＴＨＦ体系的特性粘数随温度升高而增大，ＰＮＩＰＡＡＭ－Ｈ２Ｏ体系的特性粘数－温度曲线表现出较为复杂的变化规律。并用实验确定的特性粘数对合成样品的分子量进行了表征Ｍｎ＝８．４４×１０＾５ｇ·ｍｏｌ＾－１。     

烟酸对酸性硫酸盐体系铜电沉积的影响

对溶液A: 0.8 mol•L－1硫酸铜,0.6 mol•L－1硫酸,5.0×10－5 mol•L－1氯离子,1.0×10－4 mol•L－1聚乙二醇的溶液,溶液B:在溶液A中加入2.0×10－2 mol•L－1烟酸,pH为0.5,运用循环伏安和计时安培法研究玻碳电极上铜的电沉积行为.结果表明,铜的电沉积过程经历了晶核形成过程,其电结晶按瞬时成核和三维生长方式进行.烟酸的加入对铜的电沉积具有阻化作用,但不改变铜的电结晶机理.沉积层的X射线衍射表明Cu为面心立方结构,在烟酸存在下沉积层出现(220)高择优取向,这可能是烟酸在Cu(220)晶面上发生强烈吸附作用的结果.     

NdOx作为助催化剂对PtRu/C电催化氧化甲醇活性的影响

采用沉积-还原法制备了PtRu-NdOx/C催化剂, 借助TEM、EDS和XRD等测试手段对其进行了微结构和组成的表征. 结果表明, 催化剂中Pt与Ru以合金形式存在, 而Nd的氧化物则以无定形形态存在. 催化剂粒子的平均粒径在2 nm左右, 晶胞参数为0.3896 nm, Nd氧化物的加入对PtRu合金的晶体结构影响不明显. 采用循环伏安法和计时电流法, 比较了PtRu-NdOx/C催化剂和PtRu /C催化剂对甲醇氧化的电催化活性, 结果表明, 加入Nd的氧化物作为助催化剂能明显提高PtRu /C催化剂对甲醇氧化的电催化性能.     

XPS analysis of the effect of Pt addition to Pd catalysts for complete benzene oxidation

Pt-Pd bimetallic catalysts were prepared in order to develop and investigate catalysts having excellent activity and stability for benzene destruction. The effect of Pt addition to Pd catalysts is studied by XPS analysis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A DFT study on the double bond migration of butene catalyzed by ionic pair of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride

The double bond migration of butene catalyzed by 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium fluoride (EmimF) has been studied using quantum chemical method. The geometries of reactant, transition state and product for the isomerization have been optimized by density functional theory (DFT) at the B3PW91/6-31G(d,p), 6-311++G(d,p) and aug-cc-PVDZ levels. The computed results show that the 4-H atom on imidazole ring of EmimF has a good catalytic activity to the double bond migration of butene and the catalytic reaction of 1-butene to 2-butene is a synergetic and elementary process. The apparent activation energy of isomerization is about 197 kJ/mol.