Plant respiratory burst oxidase homolog (rboh) proteins, which are homologous to the mammalian 91-kDa glycoprotein subunit of the phagocyte oxidase (gp91 phox ) or NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2), have been implicated in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) both in stress responses and during development. Unlike mammalian gp91 phox /NOX2 protein, plant rboh proteins have hydrophilic N-terminal regions containing two EF-hand motifs, suggesting that their activation is dependent on Ca 2؉ . However, the significance of Ca 2؉ binding to the EF-hand motifs on ROS production has been unclear. By employing a heterologous expression system, we showed that ROS production by Arabidopsis thaliana rbohD (AtrbohD) was induced by ionomycin, which is a Ca 2؉ ionophore that induces Ca 2؉ influx into the cell. This activation required a conformational change in the EF-hand region, as a result of Ca 2؉ binding to the EF-hand motifs. We also showed that AtrbohD was directly phosphorylated in vivo, and that this was enhanced by the protein phosphatase inhibitor calyculin A (CA). Moreover, CA itself induced ROS production and dramatically enhanced the ionomycin-induced ROS production of AtrbohD. Our results suggest that Ca 2؉ binding and phosphorylation synergistically activate the ROS-producing enzyme activity of AtrbohD.Photosynthetic plants have developed various mechanisms to cope with oxidative stress, such as the production of antioxidants and enzymes that scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS).3 Plants are also equipped with mechanisms for producing ROS in response to internal and external stimuli. ROS production is induced during many physiological processes, including stress responses, cell growth, hormonal responses, stomatal closure, and disease resistance (see Refs. 1-4 and references therein).ROS production is induced in plants in response to recognition of pathogenic signals, such as pathogen/microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/MAMPs) or elicitors. Elicitor-induced ROS production is preceded by a rapid increase in the cytosolic free Ca 2ϩ concentration ([Ca 2ϩ ] cyt ) (5-7) and is inhibited both by Ca 2ϩ chelators such as EGTA and BAPTA, and by Ca 2ϩ channel blockers such as La 3ϩ (6,8). The overexpression of rice two-pore channel 1 (OsTPC1), which is a putative voltage-gated Ca 2ϩ channel, enhanced elicitor-induced ROS production (9). Elicitor-induced ROS production is also inhibited by diphenylene iodonium (DPI), which is known to inhibit NADPH oxidase activity (6, 10). NADPH oxidase activity in the microsomal membrane fraction from tomato and tobacco was activated by adding Ca 2ϩ in vitro (11), suggesting that elicitor-induced ROS production by plant NADPH oxidase might be dependent on Ca 2ϩ . In mammalian phagocytes, ROS production is mediated by the NADPH-dependent phagocytic oxidase (phox) complex, which consists of the catalytic subunit gp91 phox /NADPH oxidase (NOX) 2, together with the regulatory subunits p22 phox , p40 phox , p47 phox , p67 phox , and the small GTP-binding protein Rac (12). In...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to serious liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, about 85–90% of infected individuals become inactive carriers with sustained biochemical remission and very low risk of LC or HCC. To identify host genetic factors contributing to HBV clearance, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and replication analysis using samples from HBV carriers and spontaneously HBV-resolved Japanese and Korean individuals. Association analysis in the Japanese and Korean data identified the HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 genes with Pmeta = 1.89×10−12 for rs3077 and Pmeta = 9.69×10−10 for rs9277542. We also found that the HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 genes were significantly associated with protective effects against chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Japanese, Korean and other Asian populations, including Chinese and Thai individuals (Pmeta = 4.40×10−19 for rs3077 and Pmeta = 1.28×10−15 for rs9277542). These results suggest that the associations between the HLA-DP locus and the protective effects against persistent HBV infection and with clearance of HBV were replicated widely in East Asian populations; however, there are no reports of GWAS in Caucasian or African populations. Based on the GWAS in this study, there were no significant SNPs associated with HCC development. To clarify the pathogenesis of CHB and the mechanisms of HBV clearance, further studies are necessary, including functional analyses of the HLA-DP molecule.

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The DNA sequence encoding a novel human brain carboxylesterase (CES) has been determined. The protein is predicted to have 567 amino acids, including conserved motifs, such as GESAGG, GXXXXEFG, and GDHGD which comprise a catalytic triad, and the endoplasmic reticulum retention motif (HXEL-COOH) observed in CES families. Their gene products exhibited hydrolase activity towards temocapril, p-nitrophenylacetate and long-chain acyl-CoA. Since the molecular masses of these gene products are similar to those that exist in capillary endothelial cells of the human brain [Yamamda et al. (1994) Brain Res. 658, 163^167], these CES isozymes may function as a blood-brain barrier to protect the central nervous system from ester or amide compounds.z 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

To gain insight into the cellular functions of the mid1-complementing activity (MCA) family proteins, encoding putative Ca²⁺-permeable mechanosensitive channels, we isolated two MCA homologs of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) BY-2 cells, named NtMCA1 and NtMCA2. NtMCA1 and NtMCA2 partially complemented the lethality and Ca²⁺ uptake defects of yeast mutants lacking mechanosensitive Ca²⁺ channel components. Furthermore, in yeast cells overexpressing NtMCA1 and NtMCA2, the hypo-osmotic shock-induced Ca²⁺ influx was enhanced. Overexpression of NtMCA1 or NtMCA2 in BY-2 cells enhanced Ca²⁺ uptake, and significantly alleviated growth inhibition under Ca²⁺ limitation. NtMCA1-overexpressing BY-2 cells showed higher sensitivity to hypo-osmotic shock than control cells, and induced the expression of the touch-inducible gene, NtERF4. We found that both NtMCA1-GFP and NtMCA2-GFP were localized at the plasma membrane and its interface with the cell wall, Hechtian strands, and at the cell plate and perinuclear vesicles of dividing cells. NtMCA2 transcript levels fluctuated during the cell cycle and were highest at the G1 phase. These results suggest that NtMCA1 and NtMCA2 play roles in Ca²⁺-dependent cell proliferation and mechanical stress-induced gene expression in BY-2 cells, by regulating the Ca²⁺ influx through the plasma membrane.