Various zircons of Proterozoic to Oligocene ages (1060‐31 Ma) were analysed by laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Calibration was performed using Harvard reference zircon 91500 or Australian National University reference zircon TEMORA 1 as external calibrant. The results agree with those obtained by SIMS within 2s error. Twenty‐four trace and rare earth elements (P, Ti, Cr, Y, Nb, fourteen REE, Hf, Ta, Pb, Th and U) were analysed on four fragments of zircon 91500. NIST SRM 610 was used as the reference material and 29Si was used as internal calibrant. Based on determinations of four fragments, this zircon shows significant intra‐and inter‐fragment variations in the range from 10% to 85% on a scale of 120 μm, with the variation of REE concentrations up to 38.7%, although the chondrite‐normalised REE distributions are very similar. In contrast, the determined age values for zircon 91500 agree with TIMS data and are homogeneous within 8.7 Ma (2s). A two‐stage ablation strategy was developed for optimising U‐Pb age determinations with satisfactory trace element and REE results. The first cycle of ablation was used to collect data for age determination only, which was followed by continuous ablation on the same spot to determine REE and trace element concentrations. Based on this procedure, it was possible to measure zircon ages as low as 30.37 0.39 Ma (MSWD = 1.4; 2s). Other examples for older zircons are also given.

Calcineurin is a calcium-activated protein phosphatase with a major role in calcium signaling in diverse cells and organs, and importance in clinical practice as the target of the immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporin A and FK506. Cell biological studies have focused mainlyy on the role of calcineurin in transcriptional signaling. Calcium entry in response to extracellular stimuli results in calcineurin activation and signal transmission from the cytosol into the nucleus through dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of the transcription factor NFAT. This initiates a cascade of transcriptional events involved in physiological and developmental processes. Molecular analyses of the calcineurin/NFAT interaction have been extended recently to encompass the interaction of calcineurin with other substrates, targeting proteins and regulators of calcineurin activity. These studies have increased our understanding of how this essential calciumactivated enzyme orchestrates intracellular events in cooperation with other signaling pathways, and suggested a link between altered calcineurin signaling and the developmental anomalies of Down syndrome.

TET (Ten-Eleven-Translocation) proteins are Fe(II) and α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases1-3 that modify the methylation status of DNA by successively oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxycytosine1,3-5, potential intermediates in the active erasure of DNA methylation marks5,6. We show here that IDAX/ CXXC4, a player in the Wnt signaling pathway7 that has been implicated in malignant renal cell carcinoma8 and colonic villous adenoma9, functions as a negative regulator of TET2 protein expression. IDAX/ CXXC4 was originally encoded within an ancestral TET2 gene that underwent a chromosomal gene inversion during evolution, thus separating the TET2 CXXC domain from the catalytic domain. The Idax CXXC domain binds DNA sequences containing unmethylated CpGs, localises to promoters and CpG islands in genomic DNA, and interacts directly with the catalytic domain of Tet2. Unexpectedly, Idax expression resulted in caspase activation and Tet2 protein downregulation, in a manner that depended on DNA-binding through the Idax CXXC domain. Idax depletion prevented Tet2 downregulation in differentiating mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, and shRNA against IDAX increased TET2 protein expression in the human monocytic cell line U937. Notably, we find that the expression and activity of TET3 are also regulated through its CXXC domain. Taken together, these results establish the separate and linked CXXC domains of TET2 and TET3 respectively as novel regulators of caspase activation and TET enzymatic activity.

No abstract

In hippocampal neurons, the scaffold protein AKAP79 recruits the phosphatase calcineurin to L-type Ca2+ channels, and couples Ca2+ influx to activation of calcineurin and of its substrate, the transcription factor NFAT. Here we show that an IAIIIT anchoring site in human AKAP79 binds the same surface of calcineurin as the PxIxIT recognition peptide of NFAT, albeit more strongly. A modest decrease in calcineurin-AKAP affinity due to an altered anchoring sequence is compatible with NFAT activation, whereas a further decrease impairs activation. Counterintuitively, increasing calcineurin-AKAP affinity increases recruitment of calcineurin to the scaffold but impairs NFAT activation, probably due both to slower release of active calcineurin from the scaffold and to sequestration of active calcineurin by “decoy” AKAP sites. We propose that calcineurin-AKAP79 scaffolding promotes NFAT signaling by balancing strong recruitment of calcineurin with its efficient release to communicate with NFAT.

Calcineurin, the conserved Ca(2+)/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatase, mediates diverse aspects of Ca(2+)-dependent signaling. We show that substrates bind calcineurin with varying strengths and examine the impact of this affinity on signaling. We altered the calcineurin-docking site, or PxIxIT motif, in Crz1, the calcineurin-regulated transcription factor in S. cerevisiae, to decrease (Crz1(PVIAVN)) or increase (Crz1(PVIVIT)) its affinity for calcineurin. As a result, the Ca(2+)-dependent dephosphorylation and activation of Crz1(PVIAVN) are decreased, whereas Crz1(PVIVIT) is constitutively dephosphorylated and hyperactive. Surprisingly, the physiological consequences of altering calcineurin-Crz1 affinity depend on the growth conditions. Crz1(PVIVIT) improves yeast growth under several environmental stress conditions but causes a growth defect during alkaline stress, most likely by titrating calcineurin away from other substrates or regulators. Thus, calcineurin-substrate affinity determines the Ca(2+) concentration dependence and output of signaling in vivo as well as the balance between different branches of calcineurin signaling in an overall biological response.

No abstract

No abstract