抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Stem cell biology has come of age. Unequivocal proof that stem cells exist in the haematopoietic system has given way to the prospective isolation of several tissue-specific stem and progenitor cells, the initial delineation of their properties and expressed genetic programmes, and the beginnings of their utility in regenerative medicine. Perhaps the most important and useful property of stem cells is that of self-renewal. Through this property, striking parallels can be found between stem cells and cancer cells: tumours may often originate from the transformation of normal stem cells, similar signalling pathways may regulate self-renewal in stem cells and cancer cells, and cancer cells may include 'cancer stem cells' - rare cells with indefinite potential for self-renewal that drive tumorigenesis.

/pdf/stem-cells-cancer-and-cancer-stem-cells-3s9b9ssybc.pdf

Stem cells, cancer, and cancer stem cells

Tight control of cell-cell communication is essential for the generation of a normally patterned embryo. A critical mediator of key cell-cell signaling events during embryogenesis is the highly conserved Wnt family of secreted proteins. Recent biochemical and genetic analyses have greatly enriched our understanding of how Wnts signal, and the list of canonical Wnt signaling components has exploded. The data reveal that multiple extracellular, cytoplasmic, and nuclear regulators intricately modulate Wnt signaling levels. In addition, receptor-ligand specificity and feedback loops help to determine Wnt signaling outputs. Wnts are required for adult tissue maintenance, and perturbations in Wnt signaling promote both human degenerative diseases and cancer. The next few years are likely to see novel therapeutic reagents aimed at controlling Wnt signaling in order to alleviate these conditions.

/pdf/the-wnt-signaling-pathway-in-development-and-disease-z4j8s29ao8.pdf

The Wnt signaling pathway in development and disease.

Roles moleculaires des proteines de choc thermique dans le fonctionnement des organismes a des temperatures normales et suite a des chocs thermiques; differents genes impliques

The heat-shock proteins

Pathology and genetics of tumors of soft tissue and bone

Niemann–Pick type C (NPC) 1 protein plays important roles in moving cholesterol and other lipids out of late endosomes by means of vesicular trafficking, but it is not known whether NPC1 directly interacts with cholesterol. We performed photoaffinity labeling of intact cells expressing fluorescent protein (FP)-tagged NPC1 by using [3H]7,7-azocholestanol ([3H]AC). After immunoprecipitation, 3H-labled NPC1-GFP appeared as a single band. Including excess unlabeled sterol to the labeling reaction significantly diminished the labeling. Altering the NPC1 sterol-sensing domain (SSD) with loss-of-function mutations (P692S and Y635C) severely reduced the extent of labeling. To further demonstrate the specificity of labeling, we show that NPC2, a late endosomal/lysosomal protein that binds to cholesterol with high affinity, is labeled, whereas mutant NPC2 proteins inactive in binding cholesterol are not. Vamp7, an abundant late endosomal membrane protein without an SSD but with one transmembrane domain, cannot be labeled. Binding between [3H]AC and NPC1 does not require NPC2. Treating cells with either U-18666A, a compound that creates an NPC-like phenotype, or with bafilomycin A1, a compound that raises late endosomal pH, has no effect on labeling of NPC1-YFP, suggesting that both drugs affect processes other than NPC1 binding to cholesterol. We also developed a procedure to label the NPC1-YFP by [3H]AC in vitro and showed that cholesterol is more effective in protection against labeling than its analogs epicholesterol or 5-α-cholestan. Overall, the results demonstrate that there is direct binding between NPC1 and azocholestanol; the binding does not require NPC2 but requires a functional SSD within NPC1.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/101/34/12473.full.pdf

Binding between the Niemann–Pick C1 protein and a photoactivatable cholesterol analog requires a functional sterol-sensing domain

The neurodegenerative disease Niemann–Pick Type C2 (NPC2) results from mutations in the NPC2 (HE1) gene that cause abnormally high cholesterol accumulation in cells. We find that purified NPC2, a secreted soluble protein, binds cholesterol specifically with a much higher affinity (Kd = 30–50 nM) than previously reported. Genetic and biochemical studies identified single amino acid changes that prevent both cholesterol binding and the restoration of normal cholesterol levels in mutant cells. The amino acids that affect cholesterol binding surround a hydrophobic pocket in the NPC2 protein structure, identifying a candidate sterol-binding location. On the basis of evolutionary analysis and mutagenesis, three other regions of the NPC2 protein emerged as important, including one required for efficient secretion.

/pdf/the-integrity-of-a-cholesterol-binding-pocket-in-niemann-41jcsv7sml.pdf

The integrity of a cholesterol-binding pocket in Niemann–Pick C2 protein is necessary to control lysosome cholesterol levels

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is critical for many developmental events and must be restrained to prevent cancer. A transmembrane protein, Smoothened (Smo), is necessary to transcriptionally activate Hh target genes. Smo activity is blocked by the Hh transmembrane receptor Patched (Ptc). The reception of a Hh signal overcomes Ptc inhibition of Smo, activating transcription of target genes. Using Drosophila salivary gland cells in vivo and in vitro as a new assay for Hh signal transduction, we investigated the regulation of Hh-triggered Smo stabilization and relocalization. Hh causes Smo to move from internal membranes to the cell surface. Relocalization is protein synthesis-independent and occurs within 30 min of Hh treatment. Ptc and the kinesin-related protein Costal2 (Cos2) cause internalization of Smo, a process that is dependent on both actin and microtubules. Disruption of endocytosis by dominant negative dynamin or Rab5 prevents Smo internalization. Fly versions of Smo mutants associated with human tumors are constitutively present at the cell surface. Forced localization of Smo at the plasma membrane activates Hh target gene transcription. Conversely, trapping of activated Smo mutants in the ER prevents Hh target gene activation. Control of Smo localization appears to be a crucial step in Hh signaling in Drosophila.

/pdf/altered-localization-of-drosophila-smoothened-protein-2eugds8h20.pdf

Altered localization of Drosophila Smoothened protein activates Hedgehog signal transduction

Niemann-Pick type C is a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in either of two genes, npc1 and npc2. Cells lacking Npc1, which is a transmembrane protein related to the Hedgehog receptor Patched, or Npc2, which is a secreted cholesterol-binding protein, have aberrant organelle trafficking and accumulate large quantities of cholesterol and other lipids. Though the Npc proteins are produced by all cells, cerebellar Purkinje neurons are especially sensitive to loss of Npc function. Since Niemann-Pick type C disease involves circulating molecules such as sterols and steroids and a robust inflammatory response within the brain parenchyma, it is crucial to determine whether external factors affect the survival of Purkinje cells (PCs). We investigated the basis of neurodegeneration in chimeric mice that have functional npc1 in only some cells. Death of mutant npc1 cells was not prevented by neighboring wild-type cells, and wild-type PCs were not poisoned by surrounding mutant npc1 cells. PCs undergoing cell-autonomous degeneration have features consistent with autophagic cell death. Chimeric mice exhibited a remarkable delay and reduction of wasting and ataxia despite their substantial amount of mutant tissue and dying cells, revealing a robust mechanism that partially compensates for massive PC death.

/pdf/cell-autonomous-death-of-cerebellar-purkinje-neurons-with-455hxoqk7c.pdf

Matthew P. Scott

Papers

Binding between the Niemann–Pick C1 protein and a photoactivatable cholesterol analog requires a functional sterol-sensing domain

The integrity of a cholesterol-binding pocket in Niemann–Pick C2 protein is necessary to control lysosome cholesterol levels

Altered localization of Drosophila Smoothened protein activates Hedgehog signal transduction

Cell-Autonomous Death of Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons with Autophagy in Niemann-Pick Type C Disease

Learning from Jekyll to control Hyde: Hedgehog signaling in development and cancer.