Stress-induced antioxidant defense and protein chaperone response in the freeze-tolerant wood frog Rana sylvatica
CELL STRESS & CHAPERONES
Authors: Wu, Cheng-Wei; Tessier, Shannon N.; Storey, Kenneth B.
Abstract
Freeze tolerance is an adaptive response utilized by the wood frog Rana sylvatica to endure the sub-zero temperatures of winter. Survival of whole body freezing requires wood frogs to trigger cryoprotective mechanisms to deal with potential injuries associated with conversion of 65-70% of total body water into ice, including multiple consequences of ice formation such as cessation of blood flow and cell dehydration caused by water loss into ice masses. To understand how wood frogs defend against these stressors, we measured the expression of proteins known to be involved in the antioxidant defense and protein chaperone stress responses in brain and heart of wood frogs comparing freezing, anoxia, and dehydration stress. Our results showed that most stress proteins were regulated in a tissue- and stress-specific manner. Notably, protein levels of the cytosolic superoxide dismutase (SOD1) were upregulated by 1.37 +/- 0.11-fold in frozen brain, whereas the mitochondrial SOD2 isoform rose by 1.38 +/- 0.37-fold in the heart during freezing. Catalase protein levels were upregulated by 3.01 +/- 0.47-fold in the brain under anoxia stress, but remained unchanged in the heart. Similar context-specific regulatory patterns were also observed for the heat shock protein (Hsp) molecular chaperones. Hsp27 protein was down-regulated in the brain across the three stress conditions, whereas the mitochondrial Hsp60 was upregulated in anoxic brain by 1.73 +/- 0.38-fold and by 2.13 +/- 0.57-fold in the frozen heart. Overall, our study provides a snapshot of the regulatory expression of stress proteins in wood frogs under harsh environment conditions and shows that they are controlled in a tissue- and stress-specific manner.
SLC35B4, an Inhibitor of Gluconeogenesis, Responds to Glucose Stimulation and Downregulates Hsp60 among Other Proteins in HepG2 Liver Cell Lines
MOLECULES
Authors: Wex, Brigitte; Safi, Remi M.; Antonios, Gregory; Zgheib, Perla Z.; Awad, Dania B.; Kobeissy, Firas H.; Mahfouz, Rami A.; El-Sabban, Marwan M.; Yazbek, Soha N.
Abstract
SLC35B4, solute receptor for UDP-N-acetylglucosamine and UDP-xylose, is associated with diabetes and predisposing conditions. This study investigated the localization of SLC35B4 and compared the differential expression between a knockdown of SLC35B4 and controls in HepG2. Responsiveness to glucose, expression, and localization were assayed using Western blot and immunostaining. Localization was confirmed using a proximity ligation assay. Two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF were used to identify differentially expressed proteins and pathway analysis was performed. SLC35B4 was increased by 60% upon glucose stimulation and localized in Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum. Presence of SLC35B4 in the Golgi apparatus suggests its involvement in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugate proteins. Four proteins were markedly under-expressed (Hsp60, HspA8, TUBA1A, and ENO1) and linked to the pathogenesis of diabetes or post-translationally modified by O-GlcNAc. Glucose levels activate SLC35B4 expression. This triggers a downstream effect via Hsp60 and other proteins. We hypothesize that the downstream effect on the proteins is mediated via altering the glycosylation pattern inside liver cells. The downstream cascade ultimately alters the ability of cultured liver cells to inhibit endogenous glucose production, and this could play a role in the association of the above-listed genes with the pathogenesis of diabetes.