Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of liver infection in human. Because of the lack of an appropriate cell culture system for supporting HBV infection efficiently, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of hepadnavirus infection remain incompletely understood. Duck heptatitis B virus (DHBV) can naturally infect primary duck hepatocytes (PDHs) that provide valuable model systems for studying hepadnavirus infection in vitro. In this report, we explored global changes in cellular protein expression in DHBV infected PDHs by two-dimension gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).The effects of hepadnavirus infection on hepatocytes were investigated in DHBV infected PDHs by the 2-DE analysis. Proteomic profile of PDHs infected with DHBV were analyzed at 24, 72 and 120 h post-infection by comparing with uninfected PDHs, and 75 differentially expressed protein spots were revealed by 2-DE analysis. Among the selected protein spots, 51 spots were identified corresponding to 42 proteins by MS/MS analysis; most of them were matched to orthologous proteins of Gallus gallus, Anas platyrhynchos or other avian species, including alpha-enolase, lamin A, aconitase 2, cofilin-2 and annexin A2, etc. The down-regulated expression of beta-actin and annexin A2 was confirmed by Western blot analysis, and potential roles of some differentially expressed proteins in the virus-infected cells have been discussed.Differentially expressed proteins of DHBV infected PDHs revealed by 2-DE, are involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, stress responses and cytoskeleton processes etc, providing the insight to understanding of interactions between hepadnavirus and hepatocytes and molecular mechanisms of hepadnavirus pathogenesis.
Abstract Microfluidic free‐flow electrophoresis (μ‐FFE) is widely used for continuous separation of charged analytes. However, μ‐FFE is limited in the separation of analytes with the same electrophoretic mobility. In this work, we developed a novel microfluidic free‐flow paper electrochromatography (μ‐FFPE) by combining μ‐FFE with filter paper‐based chromatography, enabling continuous separation of analytes through the mechanism of both μ‐FFE and paper chromatography. Numerical simulation was applied to demonstrate the advantages of adding filter paper as the stationary phase of μ‐FFE. With the filter paper, a more stable separation system was achieved. The device was applied to the separation of simple mixtures of dyes and complex mixtures of glycans. With the μ‐FFPE fractionation, much more glycans and glycan types can be identified by LC‐MS, demonstrating the value of the method in biological analysis. The μ‐FFPE can provide a new platform for the separation and analysis of various biological molecules.
Increasing evidence suggests a critical role for mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) in protection against cardiac injuries; however, the downstream cytosolic actions of this enzyme are largely undefined.Proteomic analysis identified a significant downregulation of mitochondrial ALDH2 in the heart of a rat heart failure model after myocardial infarction. The mechanistic insights underlying ALDH2 action were elucidated using murine models overexpressing ALDH2 or its mutant or with the ablation of the ALDH2 gene (ALDH2 knockout) and neonatal cardiomyocytes undergoing altered expression and activity of ALDH2. Left ventricle dilation and dysfunction and cardiomyocyte death after myocardial infarction were exacerbated in ALDH2-knockout or ALDH2 mutant-overexpressing mice but were significantly attenuated in ALDH2-overexpressing mice. Using an anoxia model of cardiomyocytes with deficiency in ALDH2 activities, we observed prominent cardiomyocyte apoptosis and increased accumulation of the reactive aldehyde 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE). We subsequently examined the impacts of mitochondrial ALDH2 and 4-HNE on the relevant cytosolic protective pathways. Our data documented 4-HNE-stimulated p53 upregulation via the phosphorylation of JNK, accompanying increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis that was attenuated by inhibition of p53. Importantly, elevation of 4-HNE also triggered a reduction of the cytosolic HSP70, further corroborating cytosolic action of the 4-HNE instigated by downregulation of mitochondrial ALDH2.Downregulation of ALDH2 in the mitochondria induced an elevation of 4-HNE, leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis by subsequent inhibition of HSP70, phosphorylation of JNK, and activation of p53. This chain of molecular events took place in both the mitochondria and the cytosol, contributing to the mechanism underlying heart failure.
Infiltration of myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment is often associated with enhanced angiogenesis and tumor progression, resulting in poor prognosis in many types of cancer. The polypeptide chemokine PK2 (Bv8, PROK2) has been shown to regulate myeloid cell mobilization from the bone marrow, leading to activation of the angiogenic process, as well as accumulation of macrophages and neutrophils in the tumor site. Neutralizing antibodies against PK2 were shown to display potent anti-tumor efficacy, illustrating the potential of PK2-antagonists as therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer. In this study we demonstrate the anti-tumor activity of a small molecule PK2 antagonist, PKRA7, in the context of glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer xenograft tumor models. For the highly vascularized glioblastoma, PKRA7 was associated with decreased blood vessel density and increased necrotic areas in the tumor mass. Consistent with the anti-angiogenic activity of PKRA7 in vivo, this compound effectively reduced PK2-induced microvascular endothelial cell branching in vitro. For the poorly vascularized pancreatic cancer, the primary anti-tumor effect of PKRA7 appears to be mediated by the blockage of myeloid cell migration/infiltration. At the molecular level, PKRA7 inhibits PK2-induced expression of certain pro-migratory chemokines and chemokine receptors in macrophages. Combining PKRA7 treatment with standard chemotherapeutic agents resulted in enhanced effects in xenograft models for both types of tumor. Taken together, our results indicate that the anti-tumor activity of PKRA7 can be mediated by two distinct mechanisms that are relevant to the pathological features of the specific type of cancer. This small molecule PK2 antagonist holds the promise to be further developed as an effective agent for combinational cancer therapy.
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