Nephrin is a slit diaphragm protein critical for structural and functional integrity of visceral glomerular epithelial cells (podocytes) and is known to be tyrosine phosphorylated by Src family kinases. We studied the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), activated via the phosphorylation of nephrin, in actin cytoskeletal reorganization of cultured rat podocytes. Phosphorylation of rat nephrin by the Fyn kinase markedly increased its interaction with a regulatory subunit of PI3K. Stable transfection of rat nephrin in the podocytes with podocin led to nephrin tyrosine phosphorylation, PI3K-dependent phosphorylation of Akt, increased Rac1 activity, and an altered actin cytoskeleton with decreased stress fibers and increased lamellipodia. These changes were reversed with an inhibitor of PI3K and not seen when the nephrin-mutant Y1152F replaced wild-type nephrin. Rac1 and Akt1 contributed to lamellipodia formation and decreased stress fibers, respectively. Finally, in the rat model of puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis, nephrin tyrosine phosphorylation, nephrin-PI3K association, and glomerular Akt phosphorylation were all decreased. Our results suggest that PI3K is involved in nephrin-mediated actin reorganization in podocytes. Disturbed nephrin-PI3K interactions may contribute to abnormal podocyte morphology and proteinuria.

Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy was evaluated as a means of simultaneously determining the cis and trans content, iodine value (IV), and saponification number of neat fats and oils. Reference values for these parameters were obtained from oils using a previously developed mid-FTIR Edible Oil Analysis Package. Two partial least squares calibrations were developed for a 5-mm heated flow cell, the first a process calibration based on hydrogenated soybean samples and the second a more generalized calibration based on an oil sample matrix containing many oil types and designed to remove any correlations among the parameters measured. Each calibration performed well with its own validation samples; however, only the noncorrelated calibration was able to analyze oil samples accurately from a variety of sources. It was found that NIR analysis maintained the internal consistency between cis/trans and IV, and the accuracy and reproducibility of the predictions were on the order of ±1.5 and ±1.0 units, respectively, for all parameters evaluated. FT-NIR is shown to be a very workable means of determining cis/trans/IV values and saponification number for edible fats and oils, and it provides a rapid alternative to the commonly used chemical and physical methods presently employed in the industry.Paper no. J8909 in JAOCS 76, 491-497 (April 1999).

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