José Alberto Carrodeguas

Incidence in diverse pig populations of an IGF2 mutation with potential influence on meat quality and quantity: An assay based on real time PCR (RT-PCR)

IGF2, insulin-like growth factor 2, is implicated in myogenesis and lean meat content. A mutation in a single base (A for G substitution) of the gene for IGF2 (position 3072 in intron 3) has been recently described as the cause of a major QTL effect on muscle growth in pigs [Van Laere, A. S, Nguyen, M., Braunschweig, M., Nezer, C., Collete, C., & Moreau, L. et al. (2003). Nature, 425, 832-836]. We describe here a rapid assay based on real time PCR (RT-PCR) to detect this mutation. We have evaluated the incidence of the mutation in commercial pig crosses, in three populations of purebred Iberian or Iberian×Duroc crosses, and in cured meat products and wild boars. The incidence of the mutation varies among these groups. Penetrance of the A mutation is about 80% in the commercial population. Purebred Iberian pigs were all homozygous G/G whereas crosses of Iberian pigs were heterozygous (90%) or homozygous A/A (10%). The implications of this gene for the selection of Iberian pigs are discussed.

Allelic incidence in several pig breeds of a missense variant of pig melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene associated with carcass and productive traits; its relation to IGF2 genotype

MC4R, melanocortin-4 receptor, is involved in feed intake regulation. A mutation in a single base of MC4R, a G/A substitution in position 1426, has been linked to enhanced backfat thickness, average daily gain and daily feed intake. We present in this work a method to diagnose this mutation using real time PCR (RT-PCR) which allows rapid, cheap and reliable analysis of hundreds of samples in just 2h after DNA extraction. We have used this RT-PCR based assay to study the incidence of the mutation in several pig breeds or crosses (Iberian, Duroc, Pietrain, Large White, Large White×Pietrain) and wild boars. IGF2, insuline like growth factor 2, a gene with well demonstrated effects on carcass composition, of all these animals has also been analyzed and we show, using linkage disequilibrium analysis that both genes are independent. The implications of our results for pig selection toward fatty or lean carcasses are discussed.

Discovery of novel inhibitors of amyloid β-peptide 1-42 aggregation.

Alzheimers disease, characterized by deposits of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), is the most common neurodegenerative disease, but it still lacks a specific treatment. We have discovered five chemically unrelated inhibitors of the in vitro aggregation of the Aβ17-40 peptide by screening two commercial chemical libraries. Four of them (1-4) exhibit relatively low MCCs toward HeLa cells (17-184 μM). The usefulness of compounds 1-4 to inhibit the in vivo aggregation of Aβ1-42 has been demonstrated using two fungi models, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Podospora anserina, previously transformed to express Aβ1-42. Estimated IC(50)s are around 1-2 μM. Interestingly, addition of any of the four compounds to sonicated preformed P. anserina aggregates completely inhibited the appearance of SDS-resistant oligomers. This combination of HTP in vitro screening with validation in fungi models provides an efficient way to identify novel inhibitory compounds of Aβ1-42 aggregation for subsequent testing in animal models.

The chick embryo appears as a natural model for research in beta-amyloid precursor protein processing

This study reveals that the chick embryo has active the machinery for the production and degradation of the amyloid beta peptide characteristic of Alzheimers disease. We cloned the principal beta-amyloid precursor protein isoforms in the chick embryo and observed that they are highly homologous to the human sequences and identical at the C-terminal sequence, including the amyloid beta domain. Mammals such as rat or mouse, more commonly used as animal models of human diseases, have a distinct amyloid beta sequence. The distribution of beta-amyloid precursor protein isoforms in the chick embryo revealed that, as in humans, their expression is ubiquitous and the prototype beta-amyloid precursor protein-695 predominated in the nervous system. We also found that the chick embryo expresses the genes for the main proteolytic proteases implicated in the production of amyloid beta, including BACE-1, BACE-2, presenilin-1, presenilin-2 and nicastrin, as well as the amyloid beta-degrading enzyme neprilysin, or ADAM-17, a protease implicated in the non-amyloidogenic processing of beta-amyloid precursor protein. We have also found that between amyloid beta40 and amyloid beta42, this latter seems to be the major amyloid beta peptide produced during chick embryogenesis. The chick embryo appears as a suitable natural model to study cell biology and developmental function of beta-amyloid precursor protein and a potential assay system for drugs that regulate beta-amyloid precursor protein processing.

Identification of Specific Pluripotent Stem Cell Death—Inducing Small Molecules by Chemical Screening

A potential application of embryonic and inducible pluripotent stem cells for the therapy of degenerative diseases involves pure somatic cells, free of tumorigenic undifferentiated embryonic and inducible pluripotent stem cells. In complex collections of chemicals with pharmacological potential we expect to find molecules able to induce specific pluripotent stem cell death, which could be used in some cell therapy settings to eliminate undifferentiated cells. Therefore, we have screened a chemical library of 1120 small chemicals to identify compounds that induce specifically apoptotic cell death in undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Interestingly, three compounds currently used as clinically approved drugs, nortriptyline, benzethonium chloride and methylbenzethonium chloride, induced differential effects in cell viability in ESCs versus mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Nortriptyline induced apoptotic cell death in MEFs but not in ESCs, whereas benzethonium and methylbenzethonium chloride showed the opposite effect. Nortriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, has also been described as a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition, one of two major mechanisms involved in mitochondrial membrane permeabilization during apoptosis. Benzethonium chloride and methylbenzethonium chloride are quaternary ammonium salts used as antimicrobial agents with broad spectrum and have also been described as anticancer agents. A similar effect of benzethonium chloride was observed in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) when compared to both primary human skin fibroblasts and an established human fibroblast cell line. Human fibroblasts and hiPSCs were similarly resistant to nortriptyline, although with a different behavior. Our results indicate differential sensitivity of ESCs, hiPSCs and fibroblasts to certain chemical compounds, which might have important applications in the stem cell-based therapy by eliminating undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells from stem cell-derived somatic cells to prevent tumor formation after transplantation for therapy of degenerative diseases.

Protein oligomerization mediated by the transmembrane carboxyl terminal domain of Bcl-XL.

Bcl‐Xl physically interacts with Bcl‐Xl by cross‐linking study (View interaction)

Benzbromarone, Quercetin, and Folic Acid Inhibit Amylin Aggregation

Human Amylin, or islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), is a small hormone secreted by pancreatic β-cells that forms aggregates under insulin deficiency metabolic conditions, and it constitutes a pathological hallmark of type II diabetes mellitus. In type II diabetes patients, amylin is abnormally increased, self-assembled into amyloid aggregates, and ultimately contributes to the apoptotic death of β-cells by mechanisms that are not completely understood. We have screened a library of approved drugs in order to identify inhibitors of amylin aggregation that could be used as tools to investigate the role of amylin aggregation in type II diabetes or as therapeutics in order to reduce β-cell damage. Interestingly, three of the compounds analyzed—benzbromarone, quercetin, and folic acid—are able to slow down amylin fiber formation according to Thioflavin T binding, turbidimetry, and Transmission Electron Microscopy assays. In addition to the in vitro assays, we have tested the effect of these compounds in an amyloid toxicity cell culture model and we have found that one of them, quercetin, has the ability to partly protect cultured pancreatic insulinoma cells from the cytotoxic effect of amylin. Our data suggests that quercetin can contribute to reduce oxidative damage in pancreatic insulinoma β cells by modulating the aggregation propensity of amylin.

Exposure of any of two proapoptotic domains of presenilin 1-associated protein/mitochondrial carrier homolog 1 on the surface of mitochondria is sufficient for induction of apoptosis in a Bax/Bak-independent manner

Presenilin 1-associated protein/mitochondrial carrier homolog 1 (PSAP/Mtch1) is a proapoptotic outer mitochondrial membrane protein first identified as a presenilin 1-associated protein. The mechanism by which it induces apoptosis upon overexpression in cultured cells is so far unknown. We had previously reported that deletion of two independent regions of PSAP/Mtch1 is required to prevent apoptosis. We now report that mitochondrial targeting of the region containing both proapoptotic domains, or any of them independently, to the outer membrane is sufficient to induce apoptosis. On the other hand, targeting of that region to the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum does not induce apoptosis, indicating that attachment of those domains to the outer mitochondrial membrane, and not just cytosolic exposure, is a requisite for apoptosis. Overexpression of PSAP/Mtch1 in cultured cells causes mitochondrial depolarization and apoptosis that does not depend on Bax or Bak, since apoptosis is induced in mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking these two proteins. Our results suggest that apoptosis induced by PSAP/Mtch1 likely involves the permeability transition pore.

Extending in silico mechanism-of- action analysis by annotating targets with pathways: application to cellular cytotoxicity readouts

BACKGROUND An in silico mechanism-of-action analysis protocol was developed, comprising molecule bioactivity profiling, annotation of predicted targets with pathways and calculation of enrichment factors to highlight targets and pathways more likely to be implicated in the studied phenotype. RESULTS The method was applied to a cytotoxicity phenotypic endpoint, with enriched targets/pathways found to be statistically significant when compared with 100 random datasets. Application on a smaller apoptotic set (10 molecules) did not allowed to obtain statistically relevant results, suggesting that the protocol requires modification such as analysis of the most frequently predicted targets/annotated pathways. CONCLUSION Pathway annotations improved the mechanism-of-action information gained by target prediction alone, allowing a better interpretation of the predictions and providing better mapping of targets onto pathways.

c.A2456C-substitution in Pck1 changes the enzyme kinetic and functional properties modifying fat distribution in pigs.

Cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, PCK1, is one of the main regulatory enzymes of gluconeogenesis and glyceroneogenesis. The substitution of a single amino acid (Met139Leu) in PCK1 as a consequence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), c.A2456C, is associated in the pig to a negative phenotype characterized by reduced intramuscular fat content, enhanced backfat thickness and lower meat quality. The p.139L enzyme shows reduced kcat values in the glyceroneogenic direction and enhanced ones in the anaplerotic direction. Accordingly, the expression of the p.139L isoform results in about 30% lower glucose and 9% lower lipid production in cell cultures. Moreover, the ability of this isoform to be acetylated is also compromised, what would increase its susceptibility to be degraded in vivo by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The high frequency of the c.2456C allele in modern pig breeds implies that the benefits of including c.A2456C SNP in selection programs could be considerable.