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619 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 619
4-Amino-1,8-naphthalimide–ferrocene conjugates as potential multi-targeted anticancer and fluorescent cellular imaging agents

Abstract (Expand)

Eight ferrocenyl 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide logic gates for acidity and oxidisability are repurposed as anti-proliferation and cellular imaging agents against MCF-7 and K562 cancer cell lines. …er cell lines.

Authors: Alex D. Johnson, Joseph A. Buhagiar, David C. Magri

Date Published: 15th Dec 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Effect of graphite oxide on the catalytic behavior of (S)-selective amine transaminases

Abstract (Expand)

Graphite oxide (GO) has been used for the immobilization of several classes of enzymes, exhibiting very interesting properties as immobilization matrix. However, the effect the nanomaterial has on the … enzyme cannot be predicted. Herein, the effect GO has on the catalytic behavior of several (S)-selective amine transaminases ((S)-ATAs) has been investigated. These enzymes were the focus of this work as they are homodimers with pyridoxal 5’-phosphate in their active site, significantly more complex systems than other enzymes previously studied. Addition of GO (up to 0.1 mg/mL) in the reaction medium leads to activation (up to 50% improved activity) for most enzymes studied, while they maintain their temperature profile (they perform better between 40-45ºC), and their stability. However, the effect is not universal and there are enzymes that are negatively influenced by the presence of the nanomaterial. More profound is the effect on the (S)-ATA from Chromobacterium violaceum which loses almost 50% of its activity in the presence of 0.1 mg/mL GO, while the stability was significantly decreased, losing its activity after 2 h incubation at 40°C, in the presence of 25 μg/mL GO. This negative effect seems to rise from minor secondary structure alterations; namely, a loss of α-helices and subsequent increase in random coil (~3% in the presence of 25 μg/mL GO). We hypothesize that the effect the GO has on (S)-ATAs is correlated to the surface chemistry of the enzymes; the less negatively-charged enzymes are deactivated from the interaction with GO. This insight will aid the rationalization of ATA immobilization onto carbon-based nanomaterials.

Authors: Nikolaos Kaloudis, Panagiota Zygouri, Nikolaos Chalmpes, Konstantinos Spyrou, Dimitrios Gournis, Ioannis Pavlidis

Date Published: 6th Dec 2021

Publication Type: Journal

The chemical defensome of five model teleost fish

Abstract (Expand)

How an organism copes with chemicals is largely determined by the genes and proteins that collectively function to defend against, detoxify and eliminate chemical stressors. This integrative network … includes receptors and transcription factors, biotransformation enzymes, transporters, antioxidants, and metal- and heat-responsive genes, and is collectively known as the chemical defensome. Teleost fish is the largest group of vertebrate species and can provide valuable insights into the evolution and functional diversity of defensome genes. We have previously shown that the xenosensing pregnane x receptor (pxr, nr1i2) is lost in many teleost species, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), but it is not known if compensatory mechanisms or signaling pathways have evolved in its absence. In this study, we compared the genes comprising the chemical defensome of five fish species that span the teleosteii evolutionary branch often used as model species in toxicological studies and environmental monitoring programs: zebrafish (Danio rerio), medaka (Oryzias latipes), Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus), Atlantic cod, and three-spined stickleback. Genome mining revealed evolved differences in the number and composition of defensome genes that can have implication for how these species sense and respond to environmental pollutants, but we did not observe any candidates of compensatory mechanisms or pathways in cod and stickleback in the absence of pxr. The results indicate that knowledge regarding the diversity and function of the defensome will be important for toxicological testing and risk assessment studies.

Authors: Marta Eide, Xiaokang Zhang, Odd André Karlsen, Jared V. Goldstone, John Stegeman, Inge Jonassen, Anders Goksøyr

Date Published: 1st Dec 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Virus structure and structure-based antivirals

Abstract (Expand)

Structure-based antiviral developments in the past two years have been dominated by the structure determination and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 proteins and new lead molecules for picornaviruses. The … SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been targeted successfully with antibodies, nanobodies, and receptor protein mimics effectively blocking receptor binding or fusion. The two most promising non-structural proteins sharing strong structural and functional conservation across virus families are the main protease and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, for which design and reuse of broad range inhibitors already approved for use has been an attractive avenue. For picornaviruses, the increasing recognition of the transient expansion of the capsid as a critical transition towards RNA release has been targeted through a newly identified, apparently widely conserved, druggable, interprotomer pocket preventing viral entry. We summarize some of the key papers in these areas and ponder the practical uses and contributions of molecular modeling alongside empirical structure determination.

Authors: Zlatka Plavec, Ina Pöhner, Antti Poso, Sarah J Butcher

Date Published: 1st Dec 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Natural isotope correction improves analysis of protein modification dynamics

Abstract (Expand)

Abstract Stable isotope labelling in combination with high-resolution mass spectrometry approaches are increasingly used to analyze both metabolite and protein modification dynamics. To enable correct …ynamics. To enable correct estimation of the resulting dynamics, it is critical to correct the measured values for naturally occurring stable isotopes, a process commonly called isotopologue correction or deconvolution. While the importance of isotopologue correction is well recognized in metabolomics, it has received far less attention in proteomics approaches. Although several tools exist that enable isotopologue correction of mass spectrometry data, the majority is tailored for the analysis of low molecular weight metabolites. We here present PICor which has been developed for isotopologue correction of complex isotope labelling experiments in proteomics or metabolomics and demonstrate the importance of appropriate correction for accurate determination of protein modifications dynamics, using histone acetylation as an example.

Authors: Jörn Dietze, Alienke van Pijkeren, Anna-Sophia Egger, Mathias Ziegler, Marcel Kwiatkowski, Ines Heiland

Date Published: 1st Dec 2021

Publication Type: Journal

pISA-tree - a data management framework for life science research projects using a standardised directory tree

Abstract (Expand)

Abstract We have developed pISA-tree, a straightforward and flexible data management solution for organisation of life science project-associated research data and metadata. It enables on the fly …and metadata. It enables on the fly creation of enriched directory tree structure ( p roject/ I nvestigation/ S tudy/ A ssay), via a series of sequential batch files in a standardised manner based upon the ISA metadata framework. Metadata, according to the system-provided metadata templates, is generated in parallel at each level. The system supports reproducible research and is in accordance with the Open Science initiative and FAIR principles. Compared with similar frameworks, it does not require any systems administration and maintenance as it can be run on a personal computer or network drive. It is complemented with two R packages, pisar and seekr , where the former facilitates integration of the pISA-tree datasets into bioinformatic pipelines and the latter enables synchronisation with the FAIRDOMHub public repository using the SEEK API. Source code and detailed documentation of pISA-tree and its supporting R packages are available from https://github.com/NIB-SI/pISA-tree . We demonstrate the usability of pISA-tree with two examples of medium sized life science projects. Accordingly, it is suitable and also currently used to manage larger projects including several partners from different countries. Since pISA-tree was initiated by end user requirements with an emphasis on practicality, it will facilitate adoption of FAIR data management practices and open science principles.

Authors: Marko Petek, Maja Zagorščak, Andrej Blejec, Živa Ramšak, Anna Coll, Špela Baebler, Kristina Gruden

Date Published: 21st Nov 2021

Publication Type: Journal

A network-based approach reveals the dysregulated transcriptional regulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Abstract (Expand)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. We performed network analysis to investigate the dysregulated biological processes in the disease … progression and revealed the molecular mechanism underlying NAFLD. Based on network analysis, we identified a highly conserved disease-associated gene module across three different NAFLD cohorts and highlighted the predominant role of key transcriptional regulators associated with lipid and cholesterol metabolism. In addition, we revealed the detailed metabolic differences between heterogeneous NAFLD patients through integrative systems analysis of transcriptomic data and liver-specific genome-scale metabolic model. Furthermore, we identified transcription factors (TFs), including SREBF2, HNF4A, SREBF1, YY1, and KLF13, showing regulation of hepatic expression of genes in the NAFLD-associated modules and validated the TFs using data generated from a mouse NAFLD model. In conclusion, our integrative analysis facilitates the understanding of the regulatory mechanism of these perturbed TFs and their associated biological processes.

Authors: H. Yang, M. Arif, M. Yuan, X. Li, K. Shong, H. Turkez, J. Nielsen, M. Uhlen, J. Boren, C. Zhang, A. Mardinoglu

Date Published: 19th Nov 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Combining dictionary- and rule-based approximate entity linking with tuned BioBERT

Abstract (Expand)

Chemical named entity recognition (NER) is a significant step for many downstream applications like entity linking for the chemical text-mining pipeline. However, the identification of chemical entities … in a biomedical text is a challenging task due to the diverse morphology of chemical entities and the different types of chemical nomenclature. In this work, we describe our approach that was submitted for BioCreative version 7 challenge Track 2, focusing on the ‘Chemical Identification’ task for identifying chemical entities and entity linking, using MeSH. For this purpose, we have applied a two-stage approach as follows (a) usage of fine-tuned BioBERT for identification of chemical entities (b) semantic approximate search in MeSH and PubChem databases for entity linking. There was some friction between the two approaches, as our rule-based approach did not harmonise optimally with partially recognized words forwarded by the BERT component. For our future work, we aim to resolve the issue of the artefacts arising from BERT tokenizers and develop joint learning of chemical named entity recognition and entity linking using pre-trained transformer-based models and compare their performance with our preliminary approach. Next, we will improve the efficiency of our approximate search in reference databases during entity linking. This task is non-trivial as it entails determining similarity scores of large sets of trees with respect to a query tree. Ideally, this will enable flexible parametrization and rule selection for the entity linking search.

Authors: Ghadeer Mobasher, Lukrécia Mertová, Sucheta Ghosh, Olga Krebs, Bettina Heinlein, Wolfgang Müller

Date Published: 11th Nov 2021

Publication Type: Proceedings

SARS‐CoV‐2–host proteome interactions for antiviral drug discovery

Abstract (Expand)

Treatment options for COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, remain limited. Understanding viral pathogenesis at the molecular level is critical to develop effective therapy. Some recent studies have explored … SARS-CoV-2–host interactomes and provided great resources for understanding viral replication. However, host proteins that functionally associate with SARS-CoV-2 are localized in the corresponding subnetwork within the comprehensive human interactome. Therefore, constructing a downstream network including all potential viral receptors, host cell proteases, and cofactors is necessary and should be used as an additional criterion for the validation of critical host machineries used for viral processing. This study applied both affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and the complementary proximity-based labeling MS method (BioID-MS) on 29 viral ORFs and 18 host proteins with potential roles in viral replication to map the interactions relevant to viral processing. The analysis yields a list of 693 hub proteins sharing interactions with both viral baits and host baits and revealed their biological significance for SARS-CoV-2. Those hub proteins then served as a rational resource for drug repurposing via a virtual screening approach. The overall process resulted in the suggested repurposing of 59 compounds for 15 protein targets. Furthermore, antiviral effects of some candidate drugs were observed in vitro validation using image-based drug screen with infectious SARS-CoV-2. In addition, our results suggest that the antiviral activity of methotrexate could be associated with its inhibitory effect on specific protein-protein interactions.

Authors: Xiaonan Liu, Sini Huuskonen, Tuomo Laitinen, Taras Redchuk, Mariia Bogacheva, Kari Salokas, Ina Pöhner, Tiina Öhman, Arun Kumar Tonduru, Antti Hassinen, Lisa Gawriyski, Salla Keskitalo, Maria K Vartiainen, Vilja Pietiäinen, Antti Poso, Markku Varjosalo

Date Published: 1st Nov 2021

Publication Type: Journal

COVID19 Disease Map, a computational knowledge repository of virus-host interaction mechanisms.

Abstract (Expand)

We need to effectively combine the knowledge from surging literature with complex datasets to propose mechanistic models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, improving data interpretation and predicting key targets … of intervention. Here, we describe a large-scale community effort to build an open access, interoperable and computable repository of COVID-19 molecular mechanisms. The COVID-19 Disease Map (C19DMap) is a graphical, interactive representation of disease-relevant molecular mechanisms linking many knowledge sources. Notably, it is a computational resource for graph-based analyses and disease modelling. To this end, we established a framework of tools, platforms and guidelines necessary for a multifaceted community of biocurators, domain experts, bioinformaticians and computational biologists. The diagrams of the C19DMap, curated from the literature, are integrated with relevant interaction and text mining databases. We demonstrate the application of network analysis and modelling approaches by concrete examples to highlight new testable hypotheses. This framework helps to find signatures of SARS-CoV-2 predisposition, treatment response or prioritisation of drug candidates. Such an approach may help deal with new waves of COVID-19 or similar pandemics in the long-term perspective.

Authors: M. Ostaszewski, A. Niarakis, A. Mazein, I. Kuperstein, R. Phair, A. Orta-Resendiz, V. Singh, S. S. Aghamiri, M. L. Acencio, E. Glaab, A. Ruepp, G. Fobo, C. Montrone, B. Brauner, G. Frishman, L. C. Monraz Gomez, J. Somers, M. Hoch, S. Kumar Gupta, J. Scheel, H. Borlinghaus, T. Czauderna, F. Schreiber, A. Montagud, M. Ponce de Leon, A. Funahashi, Y. Hiki, N. Hiroi, T. G. Yamada, A. Drager, A. Renz, M. Naveez, Z. Bocskei, F. Messina, D. Bornigen, L. Fergusson, M. Conti, M. Rameil, V. Nakonecnij, J. Vanhoefer, L. Schmiester, M. Wang, E. E. Ackerman, J. E. Shoemaker, J. Zucker, K. Oxford, J. Teuton, E. Kocakaya, G. Y. Summak, K. Hanspers, M. Kutmon, S. Coort, L. Eijssen, F. Ehrhart, D. A. B. Rex, D. Slenter, M. Martens, N. Pham, R. Haw, B. Jassal, L. Matthews, M. Orlic-Milacic, A. Senff Ribeiro, K. Rothfels, V. Shamovsky, R. Stephan, C. Sevilla, T. Varusai, J. M. Ravel, R. Fraser, V. Ortseifen, S. Marchesi, P. Gawron, E. Smula, L. Heirendt, V. Satagopam, G. Wu, A. Riutta, M. Golebiewski, S. Owen, C. Goble, X. Hu, R. W. Overall, D. Maier, A. Bauch, B. M. Gyori, J. A. Bachman, C. Vega, V. Groues, M. Vazquez, P. Porras, L. Licata, M. Iannuccelli, F. Sacco, A. Nesterova, A. Yuryev, A. de Waard, D. Turei, A. Luna, O. Babur, S. Soliman, A. Valdeolivas, M. Esteban-Medina, M. Pena-Chilet, K. Rian, T. Helikar, B. L. Puniya, D. Modos, A. Treveil, M. Olbei, B. De Meulder, S. Ballereau, A. Dugourd, A. Naldi, V. Noel, L. Calzone, C. Sander, E. Demir, T. Korcsmaros, T. C. Freeman, F. Auge, J. S. Beckmann, J. Hasenauer, O. Wolkenhauer, E. L. Wilighagen, A. R. Pico, C. T. Evelo, M. E. Gillespie, L. D. Stein, H. Hermjakob, P. D'Eustachio, J. Saez-Rodriguez, J. Dopazo, A. Valencia, H. Kitano, E. Barillot, C. Auffray, R. Balling, R. Schneider

Date Published: 19th Oct 2021

Publication Type: Journal

COVID19 Disease Map, a computational knowledge repository of virus–host interaction mechanisms

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: Marek Ostaszewski, Anna Niarakis, Alexander Mazein, Inna Kuperstein, Robert Phair, Aurelio Orta‐Resendiz, Vidisha Singh, Sara Sadat Aghamiri, Marcio Luis Acencio, Enrico Glaab, Andreas Ruepp, Gisela Fobo, Corinna Montrone, Barbara Brauner, Goar Frishman, Luis Cristóbal Monraz Gómez, Julia Somers, Matti Hoch, Shailendra Kumar Gupta, Julia Scheel, Hanna Borlinghaus, Tobias Czauderna, Falk Schreiber, Arnau Montagud, Miguel Ponce de Leon, Akira Funahashi, Yusuke Hiki, Noriko Hiroi, Takahiro G Yamada, Andreas Dräger, Alina Renz, Muhammad Naveez, Zsolt Bocskei, Francesco Messina, Daniela Börnigen, Liam Fergusson, Marta Conti, Marius Rameil, Vanessa Nakonecnij, Jakob Vanhoefer, Leonard Schmiester, Muying Wang, Emily E Ackerman, Jason E Shoemaker, Jeremy Zucker, Kristie Oxford, Jeremy Teuton, Ebru Kocakaya, Gökçe Yağmur Summak, Kristina Hanspers, Martina Kutmon, Susan Coort, Lars Eijssen, Friederike Ehrhart, Devasahayam Arokia Balaya Rex, Denise Slenter, Marvin Martens, Nhung Pham, Robin Haw, Bijay Jassal, Lisa Matthews, Marija Orlic‐Milacic, Andrea Senff Ribeiro, Karen Rothfels, Veronica Shamovsky, Ralf Stephan, Cristoffer Sevilla, Thawfeek Varusai, Jean‐Marie Ravel, Rupsha Fraser, Vera Ortseifen, Silvia Marchesi, Piotr Gawron, Ewa Smula, Laurent Heirendt, Venkata Satagopam, Guanming Wu, Anders Riutta, Martin Golebiewski, Stuart Owen, Carole Goble, Xiaoming Hu, Rupert W Overall, Dieter Maier, Angela Bauch, Benjamin M Gyori, John A Bachman, Carlos Vega, Valentin Grouès, Miguel Vazquez, Pablo Porras, Luana Licata, Marta Iannuccelli, Francesca Sacco, Anastasia Nesterova, Anton Yuryev, Anita de Waard, Denes Turei, Augustin Luna, Ozgun Babur, Sylvain Soliman, Alberto Valdeolivas, Marina Esteban‐Medina, Maria Peña‐Chilet, Kinza Rian, Tomáš Helikar, Bhanwar Lal Puniya, Dezso Modos, Agatha Treveil, Marton Olbei, Bertrand De Meulder, Stephane Ballereau, Aurélien Dugourd, Aurélien Naldi, Vincent Noël, Laurence Calzone, Chris Sander, Emek Demir, Tamas Korcsmaros, Tom C Freeman, Franck Augé, Jacques S Beckmann, Jan Hasenauer, Olaf Wolkenhauer, Egon L Wilighagen, Alexander R Pico, Chris T Evelo, Marc E Gillespie, Lincoln D Stein, Henning Hermjakob, Peter D'Eustachio, Julio Saez‐Rodriguez, Joaquin Dopazo, Alfonso Valencia, Hiroaki Kitano, Emmanuel Barillot, Charles Auffray, Rudi Balling, Reinhard Schneider

Date Published: 1st Oct 2021

Publication Type: Journal

The SZT2 Interactome Unravels New Functions of the KICSTOR Complex

Abstract (Expand)

Seizure threshold 2 (SZT2) is a component of the KICSTOR complex which, under catabolic conditions, functions as a negative regulator in the amino acid-sensing branch of mTORC1. Mutations in this gene …e cause a severe neurodevelopmental and epileptic encephalopathy whose main symptoms include epilepsy, intellectual disability, and macrocephaly. As SZT2 remains one of the least characterized regulators of mTORC1, in this work we performed a systematic interactome analysis under catabolic and anabolic conditions. Besides numerous mTORC1 and AMPK signaling components, we identified clusters of proteins related to autophagy, ciliogenesis regulation, neurogenesis, and neurodegenerative processes. Moreover, analysis of SZT2 ablated cells revealed increased mTORC1 signaling activation that could be reversed by Rapamycin or Torin treatments. Strikingly, SZT2 KO cells also exhibited higher levels of autophagic components, independent of the physiological conditions tested. These results are consistent with our interactome data, in which we detected an enriched pool of selective autophagy receptors/regulators. Moreover, preliminary analyses indicated that SZT2 alters ciliogenesis. Overall, the data presented form the basis to comprehensively investigate the physiological functions of SZT2 that could explain major molecular events in the pathophysiology of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy in patients with SZT2 mutations.

Authors: Cecilia Cattelani, Dominik Lesiak, Gudrun Liebscher, Isabel I. Singer, Taras Stasyk, Moritz H. Wallnöfer, Alexander M. Heberle, Corrado Corti, Michael W. Hess, Kristian Pfaller, Marcel Kwiatkowski, Peter P. Pramstaller, Andrew A. Hicks, Kathrin Thedieck, Thomas Müller, Lukas A. Huber, Mariana Eca Guimaraes de Araujo

Date Published: 1st Oct 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Toward Reproducible Enzyme Modeling with Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Abstract (Expand)

To apply enzymes in technical processes, a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms is required. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of enzyme catalysis are crucial to plan, model, and … implement biocatalytic processes more efficiently. While the kinetic parameters, Km and kcat, are often accessible by optical methods, the determination of thermodynamic parameters requires more sophisticated methods. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) allows the label-free and highly sensitive analysis of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of individual steps in the catalytic cycle of an enzyme reaction. However, since ITC is susceptible to interferences due to denaturation or agglomeration of the enzymes, the homogeneity of the enzyme sample must always be considered, and this can be accomplished by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. We here report on the use of an ITC-dependent work flow to determine both the kinetic and the thermodynamic data for a cofactor-dependent enzyme. Using a standardized approach with the implementation of sample quality control by DLS, we obtain high-quality data suitable for the advanced modeling of the enzyme reaction mechanism. Specifically, we investigated stereoselective reactions catalyzed by the NADPH-dependent ketoreductase Gre2p under different reaction conditions. The results revealed that this enzyme operates with an ordered sequential mechanism and is affected by substrate or product inhibition depending on the reaction buffer. Data reproducibility is ensured by specifying standard operating procedures, using programmed workflows for data analysis, and storing all data in a F.A.I.R. (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) repository (https://doi.org/10.15490/fairdomhub.1.investigation.464.1). Our work highlights the utility for combined binding and kinetic studies for such complex multisubstrate reactions.

Authors: Felix Ott, Kersten S. Rabe, Christof M. Niemeyer, Gudrun Gygli

Date Published: 3rd Sep 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Quality control in scRNA-Seq can discriminate pacemaker cells: the mtRNA bias.

Abstract (Expand)

Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides high-resolution insights into complex tissues. Cardiac tissue, however, poses a major challenge due to the delicate isolation process and the large size … of mature cardiomyocytes. Regardless of the experimental technique, captured cells are often impaired and some capture sites may contain multiple or no cells at all. All this refers to "low quality" potentially leading to data misinterpretation. Common standard quality control parameters involve the number of detected genes, transcripts per cell, and the fraction of transcripts from mitochondrial genes. While cutoffs for transcripts and genes per cell are usually user-defined for each experiment or individually calculated, a fixed threshold of 5% mitochondrial transcripts is standard and often set as default in scRNA-seq software. However, this parameter is highly dependent on the tissue type. In the heart, mitochondrial transcripts comprise almost 30% of total mRNA due to high energy demands. Here, we demonstrate that a 5%-threshold not only causes an unacceptable exclusion of cardiomyocytes but also introduces a bias that particularly discriminates pacemaker cells. This effect is apparent for our in vitro generated induced-sinoatrial-bodies (iSABs; highly enriched physiologically functional pacemaker cells), and also evident in a public data set of cells isolated from embryonal murine sinoatrial node tissue (Goodyer William et al. in Circ Res 125:379-397, 2019). Taken together, we recommend omitting this filtering parameter for scRNA-seq in cardiovascular applications whenever possible.

Authors: A. M. Galow, S. Kussauer, M. Wolfien, R. M. Brunner, T. Goldammer, R. David, A. Hoeflich

Date Published: 24th Aug 2021

Publication Type: Manual

Bistability in fatty-acid oxidation resulting from substrate inhibition.

Abstract (Expand)

In this study we demonstrated through analytic considerations and numerical studies that the mitochondrial fatty-acid beta-oxidation can exhibit bistable-hysteresis behavior. In an experimentally … validated computational model we identified a specific region in the parameter space in which two distinct stable and one unstable steady state could be attained with different fluxes. The two stable states were referred to as low-flux (disease) and high-flux (healthy) state. By a modular kinetic approach we traced the origin and causes of the bistability back to the distributive kinetics and the conservation of CoA, in particular in the last rounds of the beta-oxidation. We then extended the model to investigate various interventions that may confer health benefits by activating the pathway, including (i) activation of the last enzyme MCKAT via its endogenous regulator p46-SHC protein, (ii) addition of a thioesterase (an acyl-CoA hydrolysing enzyme) as a safety valve, and (iii) concomitant activation of a number of upstream and downstream enzymes by short-chain fatty-acids (SCFA), metabolites that are produced from nutritional fibers in the gut. A high concentration of SCFAs, thioesterase activity, and inhibition of the p46Shc protein led to a disappearance of the bistability, leaving only the high-flux state. A better understanding of the switch behavior of the mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation process between a low- and a high-flux state may lead to dietary and pharmacological intervention in the treatment or prevention of obesity and or non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease.

Authors: F. Abegaz, A. M. F. Martines, M. A. Vieira-Lara, M. Rios-Morales, D. J. Reijngoud, E. C. Wit, B. M. Bakker

Date Published: 13th Aug 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Testing the inferred transcription rates of a dynamic, gene network model in absolute units (in silico Plants 2021)

Abstract (Expand)

The circadian clock coordinates plant physiology and development. Mathematical clock models have provided a rigorous framework to understand how the observed rhythms emerge from disparate, molecular … processes. However, models of the plant clock have largely been built and tested against RNA timeseries data in arbitrary, relative units. This limits model transferability, refinement from biochemical data and applications in synthetic biology. Here, we incorporate absolute mass units into a detailed model of the clock gene network in Arabidopsis thaliana. We re-interpret the established P2011 model, highlighting a transcriptional activator that overlaps the function of REVEILLE 8/LHY-CCA1-LIKE 5. The U2020 model incorporates the repressive regulation of PRR genes, a key feature of the most detailed clock model KF2014, without greatly increasing model complexity. We tested the experimental error distributions of qRT-PCR data calibrated for units of RNA transcripts/cell and of circadian period estimates, in order to link the models to data more appropriately. U2019 and U2020 models were constrained using these data types, recreating previously-described circadian behaviours with RNA metabolic processes in absolute units. To test their inferred rates, we estimated a distribution of observed, transcriptome-wide transcription rates (Plant Empirical Transcription Rates, PETR) in units of transcripts/cell/hour. The PETR distribution and the equivalent degradation rates indicated that the models’ predicted rates are biologically plausible, with individual exceptions. In addition to updated clock models, FAIR data resources and a software environment in Docker, this validation process represents an advance in biochemical realism for models of plant gene regulation.

Authors: Uriel Urquiza Garcia, Andrew J Millar

Date Published: 5th Aug 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Toward New Transmission-Blocking Combination Therapies: Pharmacokinetics of 10-Amino-Artemisinins and 11-Aza-Artemisinin and Comparison with Dihydroartemisinin and Artemether

Abstract (Expand)

As artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are compromised by resistance, we are evaluating triple combination therapies (TACTs) comprising an amino-artemisinin, a redox drug, and a third drug with …ox drug, and a third drug with different mode of action. Thus, here we briefly review efficacy data on artemisone, artemiside, other amino-artemisinins, and 11-aza-artemisinin and conduct absorption, distribution, and metabolism and excretion (ADME) profiling in vitro and pharmacokinetic (PK) profiling in vivo via intravenous (i.v.) and oral (p.o.) administration to mice.

Authors: Daniel J. Watson, Lizahn Laing, Liezl Gibhard, Ho Ning Wong, Richard K. Haynes, Lubbe Wiesner

Date Published: 16th Jul 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Educational reconstruction of size-depended-properties in nanotechnology for teaching in tertiary education

Abstract (Expand)

There is an overarching theme in Science Education to integrate in the school and university curriculum interdisciplinary state-of-art innovations. The field of Nanotechnology is such an example, because … it combines the aforementioned interdisciplinarity and novelty with a well-documented educational value. Herein, a novel teaching approach concerning size-dependent properties at the nanoscale for chemistry and physics undergraduate students is proposed. The analysis of the scientific content and its following reconstruction for teaching purposes is based on the theoretical framework of the Model of Educational Reconstruction (MER). This analysis yielded two fundamental concepts and a series of activities that can be the main core of teaching Nanotechnology at a university level.

Authors: Ioannis Metaxas, Emily Michailidi, Dimitris Stavrou, Ioannis V. Pavlidis

Date Published: 13th Jul 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Diversity and Evolution of Clostridium beijerinckii and Complete Genome of the Type Strain DSM 791T

Abstract (Expand)

Clostridium beijerinckii is a relatively widely studied, yet non-model, bacterium. While 246 genome assemblies of its various strains are available currently, the diversity of the whole species has not …pecies has not been studied, and it has only been analyzed in part for a missing genome of the type strain. Here, we sequenced and assembled the complete genome of the type strain Clostridium beijerinckii DSM 791T, composed of a circular chromosome and a circular megaplasmid, and used it for a comparison with other genomes to evaluate diversity and capture the evolution of the whole species. We found that strains WB53 and HUN142 were misidentified and did not belong to the Clostridium beijerinckii species. Additionally, we filtered possibly misassembled genomes, and we used the remaining 237 high-quality genomes to define the pangenome of the whole species. By its functional annotation, we showed that the core genome contains genes responsible for basic metabolism, while the accessory genome has genes affecting final phenotype that may vary among different strains. We used the core genome to reconstruct the phylogeny of the species and showed its great diversity, which complicates the identification of particular strains, yet hides possibilities to reveal hitherto unreported phenotypic features and processes utilizable in biotechnology.

Authors: Karel Sedlar, Marketa Nykrynova, Matej Bezdicek, Barbora Branska, Martina Lengerova, Petra Patakova, Helena Skutkova

Date Published: 1st Jul 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Welcome to the Family: Identification of the NAD(+) Transporter of Animal Mitochondria as Member of the Solute Carrier Family SLC25.

Abstract (Expand)

Subcellular compartmentation is a fundamental property of eukaryotic cells. Communication and metabolic and regulatory interconnectivity between organelles require that solutes can be transported across … their surrounding membranes. Indeed, in mammals, there are hundreds of genes encoding solute carriers (SLCs) which mediate the selective transport of molecules such as nucleotides, amino acids, and sugars across biological membranes. Research over many years has identified the localization and preferred substrates of a large variety of SLCs. Of particular interest has been the SLC25 family, which includes carriers embedded in the inner membrane of mitochondria to secure the supply of these organelles with major metabolic intermediates and coenzymes. The substrate specificity of many of these carriers has been established in the past. However, the route by which animal mitochondria are supplied with NAD(+) had long remained obscure. Only just recently, the existence of a human mitochondrial NAD(+) carrier was firmly established. With the realization that SLC25A51 (or MCART1) represents the major mitochondrial NAD(+) carrier in mammals, a long-standing mystery in NAD(+) biology has been resolved. Here, we summarize the functional importance and structural features of this carrier as well as the key observations leading to its discovery.

Authors: M. Ziegler, M. Monne, A. Nikiforov, G. Agrimi, I. Heiland, F. Palmieri

Date Published: 14th Jun 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Regulatory phosphorylation site tunes Phosphoglucomutase 1 as a metabolic valve to control mobilization of glycogen stores

Abstract (Expand)

Regulation of glycogen metabolism is of vital importance in organisms of all three kingdoms of life. Although the pathways involved in glycogen synthesis and degradation are well known, many regulatory … aspects around the metabolism of this polysaccharide remain undeciphered. Here, we used the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis as a model to investigate how glycogen metabolism is regulated in dormant nitrogen-starved cells, which entirely rely on glycogen catabolism to restore growth. We found that the activity of the enzymes involved in glycogen synthesis and degradation is tightly controlled at different levels via post-translational modifications. Phosphorylation of phosphoglucomutase 1 (Pgm1) on a peripheral residue (Ser63) regulates Pgm1 activity and controls the mobilization of the glycogen stores. Inhibition of Pgm1 activity via phosphorylation on Ser63 appears essential for survival of Synechocystis in the dormant state. Remarkably, this regulatory mechanism seems to be conserved from bacteria to humans. Moreover, phosphorylation of Pgm1 influences the formation of a metabolon, which includes Pgm1, oxidative pentose phosphate cycle protein (OpcA) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH). Analysis of the steady-state levels of the metabolic products of glycogen degradation together with protein-protein interaction studies revealed that the activity of G6PDH and the formation of this metabolon are under additional redox control, likely to ensure metabolic channeling of glucose-6-phosphate to the required pathways for each developmental stage.

Authors: Sofía Doello, Niels Neumann, Philipp Spät, Boris Maček, Karl Forchhammer

Date Published: 15th Apr 2021

Publication Type: Unpublished

Testing the inferred transcription rates of a dynamic, gene network model in absolute units

Abstract (Expand)

The circadian clock coordinates plant physiology and development. Mathematical clock models have provided a rigorous framework to understand how the observed rhythms emerge from disparate, molecular … processes. However, models of the plant clock have largely been built and tested against RNA timeseries data in arbitrary, relative units. This limits model transferability, refinement from biochemical data and applications in synthetic biology. Here, we incorporate absolute mass units into a detailed, gene circuit model of the clock in Arabidopsis thaliana. We re-interpret the established P2011 model, highlighting a transcriptional activator that overlaps the function of REVEILLE 8/LHY-CCA1-LIKE 5, and refactor dynamic equations for the Evening Complex. The U2020 model incorporates the repressive regulation of PRR genes, a key feature of the most detailed clock model F2014, without greatly increasing model complexity. We tested the experimental error distributions of qRT-PCR data calibrated for units of RNA transcripts/cell and of circadian period estimates, in order to link the models to data more appropriately. U2019 and U2020 models were constrained using these data types, recreating previously-described circadian behaviours with RNA metabolic processes in absolute units. To test their inferred rates, we estimated a distribution of observed, transcriptome-wide transcription rates (Plant Empirical Transcription Rates, PETR) in units of transcripts/cell/hour. The PETR distribution and the equivalent degradation rates indicated that the models’ predicted rates are biologically plausible, with individual exceptions. In addition to updated, explanatory models of the plant clock, this validation process represents an advance in biochemical realism for models of plant gene regulation.

Authors: Uriel Urquiza-Garcia, Andrew J Millar

Date Published: 20th Mar 2021

Publication Type: Tech report

Hypoxia Routes Tryptophan Homeostasis Towards Increased Tryptamine Production.

Abstract (Expand)

The liver is the central hub for processing and maintaining homeostatic levels of dietary nutrients especially essential amino acids such as tryptophan (Trp). Trp is required not only to sustain protein … synthesis but also as a precursor for the production of NAD, neurotransmitters and immunosuppressive metabolites. In light of these roles of Trp and its metabolic products, maintaining homeostatic levels of Trp is essential for health and well-being. The liver regulates global Trp supply by the immunosuppressive enzyme tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO2), which degrades Trp down the kynurenine pathway (KP). In the current study, we show that isolated primary hepatocytes when exposed to hypoxic environments, extensively rewire their Trp metabolism by reducing constitutive Tdo2 expression and differentially regulating other Trp pathway enzymes and transporters. Mathematical modelling of Trp metabolism in liver cells under hypoxia predicted decreased flux through the KP while metabolic flux through the tryptamine branch significantly increased. In line, the model also revealed an increased accumulation of tryptamines under hypoxia, at the expense of kynurenines. Metabolic measurements in hypoxic hepatocytes confirmed the predicted reduction in KP metabolites as well as accumulation of tryptamine. Tdo2 expression in cultured primary hepatocytes was reduced upon hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) stabilisation by dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), demonstrating that HIFs are involved in the hypoxic downregulation of hepatic Tdo2. DMOG abrogated hepatic luciferase signals in Tdo2 reporter mice, indicating that HIF stability also recapitulates hypoxic rewiring of Trp metabolism in vivo. Also in WT mice HIF stabilization drove homeostatic Trp metabolism away from the KP towards enhanced tryptamine production, leading to enhanced levels of tryptamine in liver, serum and brain. As tryptamines are the most potent hallucinogens known, the observed upregulation of tryptamine in response to hypoxic exposure of hepatocytes may be involved in the generation of hallucinations occurring at high altitude. KP metabolites are known to activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). The AHR-activating properties of tryptamines may explain why immunosuppressive AHR activity is maintained under hypoxia despite downregulation of the KP. In summary our results identify hypoxia as an important factor controlling Trp metabolism in the liver with possible implications for immunosuppressive AHR activation and mental disturbances.

Authors: S. R. Mohapatra, A. Sadik, S. Sharma, G. Poschet, H. M. Gegner, T. V. Lanz, P. Lucarelli, U. Klingmuller, M. Platten, I. Heiland, C. A. Opitz

Date Published: 8th Mar 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Excision of mutagenic replication-blocking lesions suppresses cancer but promotes cytotoxicity and lethality in nitrosamine-exposed mice

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: Jennifer E. Kay, Joshua J. Corrigan, Amanda L. Armijo, Ilana S. Nazari, Ishwar N. Kohale, Dorothea K. Torous, Svetlana L. Avlasevich, Robert G. Croy, Dushan N. Wadduwage, Sebastian E. Carrasco, Stephen D. Dertinger, Forest M. White, John M. Essigmann, Leona D. Samson, Bevin P. Engelward

Date Published: 1st Mar 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Finding new edges: systems approaches to MTOR signaling.

Abstract (Expand)

Cells have evolved highly intertwined kinase networks to finely tune cellular homeostasis to the environment. The network converging on the mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) kinase constitutes a … central hub that integrates metabolic signals and adapts cellular metabolism and functions to nutritional changes and stress. Feedforward and feedback loops, crosstalks and a plethora of modulators finely balance MTOR-driven anabolic and catabolic processes. This complexity renders it difficult - if not impossible - to intuitively decipher signaling dynamics and network topology. Over the last two decades, systems approaches have emerged as powerful tools to simulate signaling network dynamics and responses. In this review, we discuss the contribution of systems studies to the discovery of novel edges and modulators in the MTOR network in healthy cells and in disease.

Authors: A. M. Heberle, U. Rehbein, M. Rodriguez Peiris, K. Thedieck

Date Published: 26th Feb 2021

Publication Type: Journal

Upcycling of hydrolyzed PET by microbial conversion to a fatty acid derivative

Abstract (Expand)

The enzymatic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) results in a hydrolysate consisting almost exclusively of its two monomers, ethylene glycol and terephthalate. To biologically valorize the … PET hydrolysate, microbial upcycling into high-value products is proposed. Fatty acid derivatives hydroxyalkanoyloxy alkanoates (HAAs) represent such valuable target molecules. HAAs exhibit surface-active properties and can be exploited in the catalytical conversion to drop-in biofuels as well as in the polymerization to bio-based poly(amide urethane). This chapter presents the genetic engineering methods of pseudomonads for the metabolization of PET monomers and the biosynthesis of HAAs with detailed protocols concerning product purification.

Authors: Gina Welsing, Birger Wolter, Henric M.T. Hintzen, Till Tiso, Lars M. Blank

Date Published: 2021

Publication Type: Book

Rational engineering of Luminiphilus syltensis ( R )-selective amine transaminase for the acceptance of bulky substrates

Abstract (Expand)

Despite the plethora of information on (S)-selective amine transaminases, the (R)-selective ones are still not well-studied; only a few structures are known to the day, and their substrate scope is … limited, apart from a few stellar works on the field. Herein, Luminiphilus syltensis (R)-selective amine transaminase’s structure was elucidated to facilitate the engineering towards variants active on bulkier substrates. V37A variant led to increased activity towards 1-phenylpropylamine and to activity against 1-butylamine. On the contrary, S248 and T249 positions, located on the β-turn in P-pocket, seem crucial for maintaining enzyme’s activity.

Authors: Eleni Konia, Konstantinos Chatzicharalampous, Athina Drakonaki, Cornelia Muenke, Ulrich Ermler, Georgios Tsiotis, Ioannis V. Pavlidis

Date Published: 2021

Publication Type: Journal

A combined experimental and modelling approach for the Weimberg pathway optimisation

Abstract (Expand)

The oxidative Weimberg pathway for the five-step pentose degradation to α-ketoglutarate is a key route for sustainable bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to added-value products and biofuels. The … oxidative pathway from Caulobacter crescentus has been employed in in-vivo metabolic engineering with intact cells and in in-vitro enzyme cascades. The performance of such engineering approaches is often hampered by systems complexity, caused by non-linear kinetics and allosteric regulatory mechanisms. Here we report an iterative approach to construct and validate a quantitative model for the Weimberg pathway. Two sensitive points in pathway performance have been identified as follows: (1) product inhibition of the dehydrogenases (particularly in the absence of an efficient NAD+ recycling mechanism) and (2) balancing the activities of the dehydratases. The resulting model is utilized to design enzyme cascades for optimized conversion and to analyse pathway performance in C. cresensus cell- free extracts.

Authors: Lu Shen, Martha Kohlhaas, Junichi Enoki, Roland Meier, Bernhard Schönenberger, Roland Wohlgemuth, Robert Kourist, Felix Niemeyer, David van Niekerk, Christopher Bräsen, Jochen Niemeyer, Jacky Snoep, Bettina Siebers

Date Published: 1st Dec 2020

Publication Type: Not specified

Network-based drug repurposing for novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: Yadi Zhou, Yuan Hou, Jiayu Shen, Yin Huang, William Martin, Feixiong Cheng

Date Published: 1st Dec 2020

Publication Type: Journal

Advice from a systems-biology model of the corona epidemics

Abstract (Expand)

Using standard systems biology methodologies a 14-compartment dynamic model was developed for the Corona virus epidemic. The model predicts that: (i) it will be impossible to limit lockdown intensity … such that sufficient herd immunity develops for this epidemic to die down, (ii) the death toll from the SARS-CoV-2 virus decreases very strongly with increasing intensity of the lockdown, but (iii) the duration of the epidemic increases at first with that intensity and then decreases again, such that (iv) it may be best to begin with selecting a lockdown intensity beyond the intensity that leads to the maximum duration, (v) an intermittent lockdown strategy should also work and might be more acceptable socially and economically, (vi) an initially intensive but adaptive lockdown strategy should be most efficient, both in terms of its low number of casualties and shorter duration, (vii) such an adaptive lockdown strategy offers the advantage of being robust to unexpected imports of the virus, e.g. due to international travel, (viii) the eradication strategy may still be superior as it leads to even fewer deaths and a shorter period of economic downturn, but should have the adaptive strategy as backup in case of unexpected infection imports, (ix) earlier detection of infections is the most effective way in which the epidemic can be controlled, whilst waiting for vaccines.

Authors: Hans V. Westerhoff, Alexey N. Kolodkin

Date Published: 1st Dec 2020

Publication Type: Journal

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