In-gel sample rehydration of immobilized pH gradient

Extracellular Pgk1 enhances neurite outgrowth of motoneurons through Nogo66/NgR-independent targeting of NogoA

NogoA inhibits neurite outgrowth of motoneurons (NOM) through interaction with its receptors, Nogo66/NgR. Inhibition of Nogo receptors rescues NOM, but not to the extent exhibited by NogoA-knockout mice, suggesting the presence of other pathways. We found that NogoA-overexpressing muscle cells reduced phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (Pgk1) secretion, resulting in inhibiting NOM. Apart from its glycolytic role and independent of the Nogo66 pathway, extracellular Pgk1 stimulated NOM by triggering a reduction of p-Cofilin-S3, a growth cone collapse marker, through decreasing a novel Rac1-GTP/p-Pak1-T423/p-P38-T180/p-MK2-T334/p-Limk1-S323/p-Cofilin-S3 molecular pathway. Not only did supplementary Pgk1 enhance NOM in defective cells, but injection of Pgk1 rescued denervation in muscle-specific NogoA-overexpression of zebrafish and an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis mouse model, SOD1 G93A. Thus, Pgk1 secreted from muscle is detrimental to motoneuron neurite outgrowth and maintenance.

Identification of the surfactant protein A receptor 210 as the unconventional myosin 18A

Mass spectrometric characterization of the surfactant protein A (SP-A) receptor 210 (SP-R210) led to the identification of myosin (Myo) XVIIIA and nonmuscle myosin IIA. Antibodies generated against the unique C-terminal tail of MyoXVIIIA revealed that MyoXVIIIA, MyoIIA, and SP-R210 have overlapping tissue distribution, all being highly expressed in myeloid cells, bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, and lung. Western blot analysis of COS-1 cells stably transfected with either MyoXVIIIA or MyoIIA indicated that SP-R210 antibodies recognize MyoXVIIIA. Furthermore, MyoXVIIIA but not MyoIIA localized to the surface of COS-1 cells, and most importantly, expression of MyoXVIIIA in COS-1 cells conferred SP-A binding. Western analysis of recombinant MyoXVIIIA domains expressed in bacteria mapped the epitopes of previously derived SP-R210 antibodies to the neck region of MyoXVIIIA. Antibodies raised against the neck domain of MyoXVIIIA blocked the binding of SP-A to macrophages. Together, these findings indicate that MyoXVIIIA constitutes a novel receptor for SP-A.

Evaluation of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteome analysis technology

Proteome analysis is most commonly accomplished by a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) to separate and visualize proteins and mass spectrometry (MS) for protein identification. Although this technique is powerful, mature, and sensitive, questions remain concerning its ability to characterize all of the elements of a proteome. In the current study, more than 1,500 features were visualized by silver staining a narrow pH range (4.9-5. 7) 2D gel in which 0.5 mg of total soluble yeast protein was separated. Fifty spots migrating to a region of 4 cm(2) were subjected to MS protein identification. Despite the high sample load and extended electrophoretic separation, proteins from genes with codon bias values of <0.1 (lower abundance proteins) were not found, even though fully one-half of all yeast genes fall into that range. Proteins from genes with codon bias values of <0.1 were found, however, if protein amounts exceeding the capacity of 2DE were fractionated and analyzed. We conclude that the large range of protein expression levels limits the ability of the 2DE-MS approach to analyze proteins of medium to low abundance, and thus the potential of this technique for proteome analysis is likewise limited.