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Now showing 1 - 10 of 18
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    Proteome-wide analysis reveals an age-associated cellular phenotype of in situ aged human fibroblasts
    (Orchard Park : Impact Journals, 2014) Waldera-Lupa, Daniel M.; Kalfalah, Faiza; Florea, Ana-Maria; Sass, Steffen; Kruse, Fabian; Rieder, Vera; Tigges, Julia; Fritsche, Ellen; Krutmann, Jean; Busch, Hauke; Boerries, Melanie; Meyer, Helmut E.; Boege, Fritz; Theis, Fabian; Reifenberger, Guido; StĂ¼hle, Kai
    We analyzed an ex vivo model of in situ aged human dermal fibroblasts, obtained from 15 adult healthy donors from three different age groups using an unbiased quantitative proteome-wide approach applying label-free mass spectrometry. Thereby, we identified 2409 proteins, including 43 proteins with an age-associated abundance change. Most of the differentially abundant proteins have not been described in the context of fibroblasts' aging before, but the deduced biological processes confirmed known hallmarks of aging and led to a consistent picture of eight biological categories involved in fibroblast aging, namely proteostasis, cell cycle and proliferation, development and differentiation, cell death, cell organization and cytoskeleton, response to stress, cell communication and signal transduction, as well as RNA metabolism and translation. The exhaustive analysis of protein and mRNA data revealed that 77 % of the age-associated proteins were not linked to expression changes of the corresponding transcripts. This is in line with an associated miRNA study and led us to the conclusion that most of the age-associated alterations detected at the proteome level are likely caused post-transcriptionally rather than by differential gene expression. In summary, our findings led to the characterization of novel proteins potentially associated with fibroblast aging and revealed that primary cultures of in situ aged fibroblasts are characterized by moderate age-related proteomic changes comprising the multifactorial process of aging.
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    Raf kinases mediate the phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A and regulate its stability in eukaryotic cells
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2012) Sanges, C.; Scheuermann, C.; Zahedi, R.P.; Sickmann, A.; Lamberti, A.; Migliaccio, N.; Baljuls, A.; Marra, M.; Zappavigna, S.; Reinders, J.; Rapp, U.; Abbruzzese, A.; Caraglia, M.; Arcari, P.
    We identified eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) Raf-mediated phosphorylation sites and defined their role in the regulation of eEF1A half-life and of apoptosis of human cancer cells. Mass spectrometry identified in vitro S21 and T88 as phosphorylation sites mediated by B-Raf but not C-Raf on eEF1A1 whereas S21 was phosphorylated on eEF1A2 by both B- and C-Raf. Interestingly, S21 belongs to the first eEF1A GTP/GDP-binding consensus sequence. Phosphorylation of S21 was strongly enhanced when both eEF1A isoforms were preincubated prior the assay with C-Raf, suggesting that the eEF1A isoforms can heterodimerize thus increasing the accessibility of S21 to the phosphate. Overexpression of eEF1A1 in COS 7 cells confirmed the phosphorylation of T88 also in vivo. Compared with wt, in COS 7 cells overexpressed phosphodeficient (A) and phospho-mimicking (D) mutants of eEF1A1 (S21A/D and T88A/D) and of eEF1A2 (S21A/D), resulted less stable and more rapidly proteasome degraded. Transfection of S21 A/D eEF1A mutants in H1355 cells increased apoptosis in comparison with the wt isoforms. It indicates that the blockage of S21 interferes with or even supports C-Raf induced apoptosis rather than cell survival. Raf-mediated regulation of this site could be a crucial mechanism involved in the functional switching of eEF1A between its role in protein biosynthesis and its participation in other cellular processes.
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    Regulation of the tumor-suppressor function of the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex by ubiquitin and SUMO
    (Basel : MDPI, 2014) Reidick, Christina; El Magraoui, Fouzi; Meyer, Helmut E.; Stenmark, Harald; Platta, Harald W.
    The occurrence of cancer is often associated with a dysfunction in one of the three central membrane-involution processes—autophagy, endocytosis or cytokinesis. Interestingly, all three pathways are controlled by the same central signaling module: the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K-III) complex and its catalytic product, the phosphorylated lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns3P). The activity of the catalytic subunit of the PI3K-III complex, the lipid-kinase VPS34, requires the presence of the membrane-targeting factor VPS15 as well as the adaptor protein Beclin 1. Furthermore, a growing list of regulatory proteins associates with VPS34 via Beclin 1. These accessory factors define distinct subunit compositions and thereby guide the PI3K-III complex to its different cellular and physiological roles. Here we discuss the regulation of the PI3K-III complex components by ubiquitination and SUMOylation. Especially Beclin 1 has emerged as a highly regulated protein, which can be modified with Lys11-, Lys48- or Lys63-linked polyubiquitin chains catalyzed by distinct E3 ligases from the RING-, HECT-, RBR- or Cullin-type. We also point out other cross-links of these ligases with autophagy in order to discuss how these data might be merged into a general concept.
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    Oxaliplatin-DNA adduct formation in white blood cells of cancer patients
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2008) Pieck, A.C.; Drescher, A.; Wiesmann, K.G.; Messerschmidt, J.; Weber, G.; Strumberg, D.; Hilger, R.A.; Scheulen, M.E.; Jaehde, U.
    In this study, we investigated the kinetics of oxaliplatin-DNA adduct formation in white blood cells of cancer patients in relation to efficacy as well as oxaliplatin-associated neurotoxicity. Thirty-seven patients with various solid tumours received 130 mg m−2 oxaliplatin as a 2-h infusion. Oxaliplatin-DNA adduct levels were measured in the first cycle using adsorptive stripping voltammetry. Platinum concentrations were measured in ultrafiltrate and plasma using a validated flameless atomic absorption spectrometry method. DNA adduct levels showed a characteristic time course, but were not correlated to platinum pharmacokinetics and varied considerably among individuals. In patients showing tumour response, adduct levels after 24 and 48 h were significantly higher than in nonresponders. Oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity was more pronounced but was not significantly different in patients with high adduct levels. The potential of oxaliplatin-DNA adduct measurements as pharmacodynamic end point should be further investigated in future trials.
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    Proteome analyses of hepatocellular carcinoma
    (Sugar Land, TX : Xia & He Publishing, 2014) Megger, Dominik A.; Naboulsi, Naboulsi; Meyer, Helmut E.; Sitek, Barbara
    Proteomics has evolved into a powerful and widely used bioanalytical technique in the study of cancer, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this review, we provide an up to date overview of feasible proteome-analytical techniques for clinical questions. In addition, we present a broad summary of proteomic studies of HCC utilizing various technical approaches for the analysis of samples derived from diverse sources like HCC cell lines, animal models, human tissue and body fluids.
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    DipA, a pore-forming protein in the outer membrane of lyme disease spirochetes exhibits specificity for the permeation of dicarboxylate
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2012) Thein, Marcus; Bonde, Mari; Bunikis, Ignas; Denker, Katrin; Sickmann, Albert; Bergström, Sven; Benz, Roland
    Lyme disease Borreliae are highly dependent on the uptake of nutrients provided by their hosts. Our study describes the identification of a 36 kDa protein that functions as putative dicarboxylate-specific porin in the outer membrane of Lyme disease Borrelia. The protein was purified by hydroxyapatite chromatography from Borrelia burgdorferi B31 and designated as DipA, for dicarboxylate-specific porin A. DipA was partially sequenced, and corresponding genes were identified in the genomes of B. burgdorferi B31, Borrelia garinii PBi and Borrelia afzelii PKo. DipA exhibits high homology to the Oms38 porins of relapsing fever Borreliae. B. burgdorferi DipA was characterized using the black lipid bilayer assay. The protein has a singlechannel conductance of 50 pS in 1 M KCl, is slightly selective for anions with a permeability ratio for cations over anions of 0.57 in KCl and is not voltage-dependent. The channel could be partly blocked by different di- and tricarboxylic anions. Particular high stability constants up to about 28,000 l/mol (in 0.1 M KCl) were obtained among the 11 tested anions for oxaloacetate, 2-oxoglutarate and citrate. The results imply that DipA forms a porin specific for dicarboxylates which may play an important role for the uptake of specific nutrients in different Borrelia species.
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    The proteome of human liver peroxisomes: Identification of five new peroxisomal constituents by a label-free quantitative proteomics survey
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2013) Gronemeyer, Thomas; Wiese, Sebastian; Ofman, Rob; Bunse, Christian; Pawlas, Magdalena; Hayen, Heiko; Eisenacher, Martin; Stephan, Christian; Meyer, Helmut E.; Waterham, Hans R.; Erdmann, Ralf; Wanders, Ronald J.; Warscheid, Bettina
    The peroxisome is a key organelle of low abundance that fulfils various functions essential for human cell metabolism. Severe genetic diseases in humans are caused by defects in peroxisome biogenesis or deficiencies in the function of single peroxisomal proteins. To improve our knowledge of this important cellular structure, we studied for the first time human liver peroxisomes by quantitative proteomics. Peroxisomes were isolated by differential and Nycodenz density gradient centrifugation. A label-free quantitative study of 314 proteins across the density gradient was accomplished using high resolution mass spectrometry. By pairing statistical data evaluation, cDNA cloning and in vivo colocalization studies, we report the association of five new proteins with human liver peroxisomes. Among these, isochorismatase domain containing 1 protein points to the existence of a new metabolic pathway and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase like 2 protein is likely involved in the transport or b-oxidation of fatty acids in human peroxisomes. The detection of alcohol dehydrogenase 1A suggests the presence of an alternative alcohol-oxidizing system in hepatic peroxisomes. In addition, lactate dehydrogenase A and malate dehydrogenase 1 partially associate with human liver peroxisomes and enzyme activity profiles support the idea that NAD+ becomes regenerated during fatty acid b-oxidation by alternative shuttling processes in human peroxisomes involving lactate dehydrogenase and/or malate dehydrogenase. Taken together, our data represent a valuable resource for future studies of peroxisome biochemistry that will advance research of human peroxisomes in health and disease.
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    Highly immunoreactive IgG antibodies directed against a set of twenty human proteins in the sera of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identified by protein array
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2014) May, Caroline; Nordhoff, Eckhard; Casjens, Swaantje; Turewicz, Michael; Eisenacher, Martin; Gold, Ralf; BrĂ¼ning, Thomas; Pesch, Beate; Stephan, Christian; Woitalla, Dirk; Penke, Botond; JanĂ¡ky, TamĂ¡s; VirĂ³k, DezsÅ‘; SiklĂ³s, LĂ¡szlĂ³; Engelhardt, Jozsef I.; Meyer, Helmut E.
    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common adult-onset motor neuron disorder, is characterized by the progressive and selective loss of upper and lower motor neurons. Diagnosis of this disorder is based on clinical assessment, and the average survival time is less than 3 years. Injections of IgG from ALS patients into mice are known to specifically mark motor neurons. Moreover, IgG has been found in upper and lower motor neurons in ALS patients. These results led us to perform a case-control study using human protein microarrays to identify the antibody profiles of serum samples from 20 ALS patients and 20 healthy controls. We demonstrated high levels of 20 IgG antibodies that distinguished the patients from the controls. These findings suggest that a panel of antibodies may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker for ALS.
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    Volatile organic compounds in uremia
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2012) Pagonas, Nikolaos; Vautz, Wolfgang; Seifert, Luzia; Slodzinski, Rafael; Jankowski, Joachim; Zidek, Walter; Westhoff, Timm H.
    Background: Although ‘‘uremic fetor’’ has long been felt to be diagnostic of renal failure, the compounds exhaled in uremia remain largely unknown so far. The present work investigates whether breath analysis by ion mobility spectrometry can be used for the identification of volatile organic compounds retained in uremia. Methods: Breath analysis was performed in 28 adults with an eGFR $60 ml/min per 1.73 m2, 26 adults with chronic renal failure corresponding to an eGFR of 10–59 ml/min per 1.73 m2, and 28 adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) before and after a hemodialysis session. Breath analysis was performed by ion mobility spectrometryafter gas-chromatographic preseparation. Identification of the compounds of interest was performed by thermal desorption gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results: Breath analyses revealed significant differences in the spectra of patients with and without renal failure. Thirteen compounds were chosen for further evaluation. Some compounds including hydroxyacetone, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone and ammonia accumulated with decreasing renal function and were eliminated by dialysis. The concentrations of these compounds allowed a significant differentiation between healthy, chronic renal failure with an eGFR of 10–59 ml/min, and ESRD (p,0.05 each). Other compounds including 4-heptanal, 4-heptanone, and 2-heptanone preferentially or exclusively occurred in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Conclusion: Impairment of renal function induces a characteristic fingerprint of volatile compounds in the breath. The technique of ion mobility spectrometry can be used for the identification of lipophilic uremic retention molecules.
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    Identification of Eps15 as antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibodies aa2 and ab52 of the wuerzburg hybridoma library against Drosophila brain
    (San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science, 2011) Halder, Partho; Chen, Yi-chun; Brauckhoff, Janine; Hofbauer, Alois; Dabauvalle, Marie-Christine; Lewandrowski, Urs; Winkler, Christiane; Sickmann, Albert; Buchner, Erich
    The Wuerzburg Hybridoma Library against the Drosophila brain represents a collection of around 200 monoclonal antibodies that bind to specific structures in the Drosophila brain. Here we describe the immunohistochemical staining patterns, the Western blot signals of one- and two-dimensional electrophoretic separation, and the mass spectrometric characterization of the target protein candidates recognized by the monoclonal antibodies aa2 and ab52 from the library. Analysis of a mutant of a candidate gene identified the Drosophila homolog of the Epidermal growth factor receptor Pathway Substrate clone 15 (Eps15) as the antigen for these two antibodies.