Proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) generates amyloid-beta peptide and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, the normal function of APP, whether this function is related to the proteolytic processing of APP, and where this processing takes place in neurons in vivo remain unknown. We have previously shown that the axonal transport of APP in neurons is mediated by the direct binding of APP to the kinesin light chain subunit of kinesin-I, a microtubule motor protein. Here we identify an axonal membrane compartment that contains APP, beta-secretase and presenilin-1. The fast anterograde axonal transport of this compartment is mediated by APP and kinesin-I. Proteolytic processing of APP can occur in the compartment in vitro and in vivo in axons. This proteolysis generates amyloid-beta and a carboxy-terminal fragment of APP, and liberates kinesin-I from the membrane. These results suggest that APP functions as a kinesin-I membrane receptor, mediating the axonal transport of beta-secretase and presenilin-1, and that processing of APP to amyloid-beta by secretases can occur in an axonal membrane compartment transported by kinesin-I.

Aberrant interactions between the host and the intestinal bacteria are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of many digestive diseases. However, studying the complex ecosystem at the human mucosal-luminal interface (MLI) is challenging and requires an integrative systems biology approach. Therefore, we developed a novel method integrating lavage sampling of the human mucosal surface, high-throughput proteomics, and a unique suite of bioinformatic and statistical analyses. Shotgun proteomic analysis of secreted proteins recovered from the MLI confirmed the presence of both human and bacterial components. To profile the MLI metaproteome, we collected 205 mucosal lavage samples from 38 healthy subjects, and subjected them to high-throughput proteomics. The spectral data were subjected to a rigorous data processing pipeline to optimize suitability for quantitation and analysis, and then were evaluated using a set of biostatistical tools. Compared to the mucosal transcriptome, the MLI metaproteome was enriched for extracellular proteins involved in response to stimulus and immune system processes. Analysis of the metaproteome revealed significant individual-related as well as anatomic region-related (biogeographic) features. Quantitative shotgun proteomics established the identity and confirmed the biogeographic association of 49 proteins (including 3 functional protein networks) demarcating the proximal and distal colon. This robust and integrated proteomic approach is thus effective for identifying functional features of the human mucosal ecosystem, and a fresh understanding of the basic biology and disease processes at the MLI.

Background: Dietary magnesium intake has been favorably associated with reduced risk of metabolic outcomes in observational studies; however, few randomized trials have introduced a systemsbiology approach to explore molecular mechanisms of pleiotropic metabolic actions of magnesium supplementation. Objective: We examined the effects of oral magnesium supplementation on metabolic biomarkers and global genomic and proteomic profiling in overweight individuals. Design: We undertook this randomized, crossover, pilot trial in 14 healthy, overweight volunteers [body mass index (in kg/m 2 ) 25] who were randomly assigned to receive magnesium citrate (500 mg elemental Mg/d) or a placebo for 4 wk with a 1-mo washout period. Fasting blood and urine specimens were collected according to standardized protocols. Biochemical assays were conducted on blood specimens. RNA was extracted and subsequently hybridized with the Human Gene ST 1.0 array (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). Urine proteomic profiling was analyzed with the CM10 ProteinChip array (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). Results: We observed that magnesium treatment significantly decreased fasting C-peptide concentrations (change: 20.4 ng/mL after magnesium treatment compared with +0.05 ng/mL after placebo treatment; P = 0.004) and appeared to decrease fasting insulin concentrations (change: 22.2 lU/mL after magnesium treatment compared with 0.0 lU/mL after placebo treatment; P = 0.25). No consistent patterns were observed across inflammatory biomarkers. Gene expression profiling revealed up-regulation of 24 genes and down-regulation of 36 genes including genes related to metabolic and inflammatory pathways such as C1q and tumor necrosis factorrelated protein 9 (C1QTNF9) and pro-platelet basic protein (PPBP). Urine proteomic profiling showed significant differences in the expression amounts of several peptides and proteins after treatment. Conclusion: Magnesium supplementation for 4 wk in overweight individuals led to distinct changes in gene expression and proteomic profiling consistent with favorable effects on several metabolic pathways. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00737815.

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Background Host-microbe interactions at the intestinal mucosal-luminal interface (MLI) are critical factors in the biology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods To address this issue, we performed a series of investigations integrating analysis of the bacteria and metaproteome at the MLI of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and healthy human subjects. After quantifying these variables in mucosal specimens from a first sample set, we searched for bacteria exhibiting strong correlations with host proteins. This assessment identified a small subset of bacterial phylotypes possessing this host interaction property. Using a second and independent sample set, we tested the association of disease state with levels of these 14 “host interaction” bacterial phylotypes. Results A high frequency of these bacteria (35%) significantly differentiated human subjects by disease type. Analysis of the MLI metaproteomes also yielded disease classification with exceptional confidence levels. Examination of the relationships between the bacteria and proteins, using regularized canonical correlation analysis (RCCA), sorted most subjects by disease type, supporting the concept that host-microbe interactions are involved in the biology underlying IBD. Moreover, this correlation analysis identified bacteria and proteins that were undetected by standard means-based methods such as ANOVA, and identified associations of specific bacterial phylotypes with particular protein features of the innate immune response, some of which have been documented in model systems. Conclusions These findings suggest that computational mining of mucosa-associated bacteria for host interaction provides an unsupervised strategy to uncover networks of bacterial taxa and host processes relevant to normal and disease states.

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Background To examine if the metabolic distress after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with a unique proteome. Methods Patients with severe TBI prospectively underwent cerebral microdialysis for the initial 96 h after injury. Hourly sampling of metabolism was performed and patients were categorized as having normal or abnormal metabolism as evidenced by the lactate/pyruvate ratio (LPR) threshold of 40. The microdialysate was frozen for proteomic batch processing retrospectively. We employed two different routes of proteomic techniques utilizing mass spectrometry (MS) and categorized as diagnostic and biomarker identification approaches. The diagnostic approach was aimed at finding a signature of MS peaks which can differentiate these two groups. We did this by enriching for intact peptides followed by MALDI-MS analysis. For the biomarker identification approach, we applied classical bottom-up (trypsin digestion followed by LC-MS/MS) proteomic methodologies. Results Five patients were studied, 3 of whom had abnormal metabolism and 2 who had normal metabolism. By comparison, the abnormal group had higher LPR (1609 ± 3691 vs. 15.5 ± 6.8, P < 0.001), higher glutamate (157 ± 84 vs. 1.8 ± 1.4 μM, P < 0.001), and lower glucose (0.27 ± 0.35 vs. 1.8 ± 1.1 mmol/l, P < 0.001). The abnormal group demonstrated 13 unique proteins as compared with the normal group in the microdialysate. These proteins consisted of cytoarchitectural proteins, as well as blood breakdown proteins, and a few mitochondrial proteins. A unique as yet to be characterized peptide was found at m/z (mass/charge) 4733.5, which may represent a novel biomarker of metabolic distress. Conclusion Metabolic distress after TBI is associated with a differential proteome that indicates cellular destruction during the acute phase of illness. This suggests that metabolic distress has immediate cellular consequences after TBI.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus agglutinates in plasma in a manner that requires host fibrinogen and clumping factor A, a bacterial surface protein with serine-aspartate (SD) repeats. Results: SdgB modifies serine residues in SD repeats with GlcNAc, and this glycosylation contributes to the pathogenesis of sepsis. Conclusion: Glycosylation of SD repeats aids bacterial escape from host defenses. Significance: Interference with glycosylation may alter staphylococcal infections.