Kaname Ohyama

Mutations in UVSSA cause UV-sensitive syndrome and impair RNA polymerase IIo processing in transcription-coupled nucleotide-excision repair

UV-sensitive syndrome (UVSS) is a genodermatosis characterized by cutaneous photosensitivity without skin carcinoma. Despite mild clinical features, cells from individuals with UVSS, like Cockayne syndrome cells, are very UV sensitive and are deficient in transcription-coupled nucleotide-excision repair (TC-NER), which removes DNA damage in actively transcribed genes. Three of the seven known UVSS cases carry mutations in the Cockayne syndrome genes ERCC8 or ERCC6 (also known as CSA and CSB, respectively). The remaining four individuals with UVSS, one of whom is described for the first time here, formed a separate UVSS-A complementation group; however, the responsible gene was unknown. Using exome sequencing, we determine that mutations in the UVSSA gene (formerly known as KIAA1530) cause UVSS-A. The UVSSA protein interacts with TC-NER machinery and stabilizes the ERCC6 complex; it also facilitates ubiquitination of RNA polymerase IIo stalled at DNA damage sites. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the processing of stalled RNA polymerase and explain the different clinical features across these TC-NER–deficient disorders.

Evaluation of chemiluminescence reagents for selective detection of reactive oxygen species

In order to evaluate the chemiluminescence (CL) reagents for selective detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we comprehensively measured the CL responses of 20 CL reagents (three luminol derivatives, two imidazopyrazinone derivatives, eight lophine derivatives, six acridinium ester derivatives and lucigenin) against six types of ROS (superoxide anion: O(2)(*-), hydroxyl radical: *OH, hydrogen peroxide: H(2)O(2), hypochlorite anion: ClO(-), singlet oxygen: (1)O(2), and nitric oxide: NO). As a result of the screening, it was found that nine CL reagents selectively detected O(2)(*-) while one CL reagent selectively detected *OH. However, no CL reagent had selectivity on the detection of H(2)O(2), ClO(-), (1)O(2) and NO. Our screening results could help to select the most suitable CL reagent for selective determination of different ROS. As an application study, 4-methoxyphenyl-10-methylacridinium-9-carboxylate (MMAC), one of the acridinium ester derivatives, showed high selectivity on the detection of O(2)(*-), and thus was applied to the assay of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The dynamic range and detection limit of the developed CL assay were 0.1-10 and 0.06 U mL(-1), respectively. Significant correlation (r=0.997) was observed between the results by the CL assay using MMAC and the spectrophotometric assay using 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium monosodium salt.

Selective determination of doxorubicin and doxorubicinol in rat plasma by HPLC with photosensitization reaction followed by chemiluminescence detection

A highly sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the determination of doxorubicin (DXR) and its metabolite doxorubicinol (DXR-ol) in rat plasma. The method was based on photosensitization reaction followed by peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence detection (PO-CL). DXR and DXR-ol that were fluorescent quinones, served as a photosensitizer in the presence of a hydrogen atom donor such as ethanol under aerobic conditions to produce hydrogen peroxide. Then the generated hydrogen peroxide and DXR or DXR-ol were monitored through PO-CL reaction by mixing with aryloxalate as a single post-column reagent that enabled highly selective and sensitive determination of DXR and DXR-ol. The separation of DXR and DXR-ol by HPLC was accomplished isocratically on an ODS column within 15 min. The method involves a simple one step protein precipitation by methanol and a sample size of 50-microL was sufficient. Besides, it can detect accurately the low plasma concentrations. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio=3) were 4.5 and 3.8 fmol for DXR and DXR-ol, respectively. The percentage recovery was found to be 90.7-102.4% and the inter- and intra-assay RSD values in rat plasma were 2.5-8.9%. The method has been successfully used to study pharmacokinetic profiles of DXR and DXR-ol in rats after a single-dose of DXR.

An ultrasensitive and highly selective determination method for quinones by high-performance liquid chromatography with photochemically initiated luminol chemiluminescence

Quinones are a class of compounds of substantial toxicological and pharmacological interest. An ultrasensitive and highly selective chemiluminescence (CL) method was newly developed for the determination of quinones based on the utility of photochemically initiated luminol CL. The method involved ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of quinones to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the unique photosensitization reaction accompanied with the photolytical generation of 3,6-dihydroxyphthalic acid (DHPA) from quinones. The photoproducts were detected by luminol CL reaction. Interestingly, it was noticed that DHPA had enhancement effect for the luminol CL. The generation of the enhancer (DHPA) in association with the oxidant (ROS) in the photochemical reaction greatly increases the sensitivity and selectivity of the proposed luminol CL method. In order to elucidate the type of ROS produced by the photosensitizaion reaction in relation to the proposed CL reaction, we investigated the quenching effect of selective ROS scavengers in the luminol CL. Although several ROS were generated, superoxide anion was the most effective ROS for the generated CL. Moreover, the enhancement mechanism of DHPA for luminol CL was confirmed. The enhancement was found to be through the formation of stabilized semiquinone anion radical that provided long-lived CL. The generation of the semiquinone radical was confirmed by electron spin resonance technique. Furthermore, we developed an HPLC method with on-line photochemical reaction followed by the proposed CL detection for the determination of four quinones. A luminol analogue, L-012, was used for its high sensitivity. The detection limits for quinones obtained with the proposed method (S/N=3) were in the range 1.5-24 fmol that were 10-1000 times more sensitive compared with the previous methods. Finally, the developed HPLC-CL system was successfully applied for the determination of quinones in airborne particulate samples collected at Nagasaki city.

Calcium/calmodulin‐signaling supports TRPV4 activation in osteoclasts and regulates bone mass

Osteoclast differentiation is critically dependent on calcium (Ca2+) signaling. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), mediates Ca2+ influx in the late stage of osteoclast differentiation and thereby regulates Ca2+ signaling. However, the system‐modifying effect of TRPV4 activity remains to be determined. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying TRPV4 activation based on osteoclast differentiation, TRPV4 gain‐of‐function mutants were generated by the amino acid substitutions R616Q and V620I in TRPV4 and were introduced into osteoclast lineage in Trpv4 null mice to generate Trpv4R616Q/V620I transgenic mice. As expected, TRPV4 activation in osteoclasts increased the number of osteoclasts and their resorption activity, thereby resulting in bone loss. During in vitro analysis, Trpv4R616Q/V620I osteoclasts showed activated Ca2+/calmodulin signaling compared with osteoclasts lacking Trpv4. In addition, studies of Trpv4R616Q/V620I mice that lacked the calmodulin‐binding domain indicated that bone loss due to TRPV4 activation was abrogated by loss of interactions between Ca2+/calmodulin signaling and TRPV4. Finally, modulators of TRPV4 interactions with the calmodulin‐binding domain were investigated by proteomic analysis. Interestingly, nonmuscle myosin IIa was identified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectroscopy (LC‐MS/MS) analysis, which was confirmed by immunoblotting following coimmunoprecipitation with TRPV4. Furthermore, myosin IIa gene silencing significantly reduced TRPV4 activation concomitant with impaired osteoclast maturation. These results indicate that TRPV4 activation reciprocally regulates Ca2+/calmodulin signaling, which involves an association of TRPV4 with myosin IIa, and promotes sufficient osteoclast function.

XRCC4 deficiency in human subjects causes a marked neurological phenotype but no overt immunodeficiency

BACKGROUND Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) is the major DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair mechanism in human cells. The final rejoining step requires DNA ligase IV (LIG4) together with the partner proteins X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 4 (XRCC4) and XRCC4-like factor. Patients with mutations in genes encoding LIG4, XRCC4-like factor, or the other NHEJ proteins DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit and Artemis are DSB repair defective and immunodeficient because of the requirement for NHEJ during V(D)J recombination. OBJECTIVE We found a patient displaying microcephaly and progressive ataxia but a normal immune response. We sought to determine pathogenic mutations and to describe the molecular pathogenesis of the patient. METHODS We performed next-generation exome sequencing. We evaluated the DSB repair activities and V(D)J recombination capacity of the patients cells, as well as performing a standard blood immunologic characterization. RESULTS We identified causal mutations in the XRCC4 gene. The patients cells are radiosensitive and display the most severe DSB repair defect we have encountered using patient-derived cell lines. In marked contrast, a V(D)J recombination plasmid assay revealed that the patients cells did not display the junction abnormalities that are characteristic of other NHEJ-defective cell lines. The mutant protein can interact efficiently with LIG4 and functions normally in in vitro assays and when transiently expressed in vivo. However, the mutation makes the protein unstable, and it undergoes proteasome-mediated degradation. CONCLUSION Our findings reveal a novel separation of impact phenotype: there is a pronounced DSB repair defect and marked clinical neurological manifestation but no clinical immunodeficiency.

Preparation and characterization of poly(l-phenylalanine) chiral stationary phases with varying peptide length.

Three new chiral stationary phases with different lengths of l-phenylalanine peptide were prepared by solid-phase synthesis with tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-l-phenylalanine on silica. The effect of phenylalanine peptide length on enantioselectivity was studied. The best separation of R/S-warfarin was achieved by the chiral stationary phase with intermediate peptide length. These stationary phases were found to exist mainly in alpha-helical conformation by using FT-IR spectra. The end-capping reagents for the N-terminus of the peptide were also evaluated.

Proteomic profiling of antigens in circulating immune complexes associated with each of seven autoimmune diseases

OBJECTIVE Immune complexes (ICs) trigger humoral immune responses. Therefore, the identification of constituent antigens within ICs would have very different clinical significance than identification of free antigens. DESIGN AND METHODS Here, we applied immune complexome analysis of serum to the study of seven major autoimmune diseases-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis, Takayasus arteritis, mixed connective tissue disease, dermatomyositis, Sjögrens syndrome, systemic scleroderma, and systemic lupus erythematosus-and healthy donors to comprehensively identify antigens incorporated into circulating ICs and to find disease-specific antigens. RESULTS We identified 468 distinct IC-associated antigens using this method. Importantly, 62 of those antigens were disease-specific antigens, and there were at least three disease-specific antigens for each of the seven autoimmune diseases. Of the disease-specific antigens identified, coiled-coil domain-containing protein 158 and spectrin were identified as potential autoantigens important to SSc and SS pathogenesis, respectively; notable titin and spectrin autoantibodies are reportedly found in SSc and SS patients, respectively. CONCLUSION Immune complexome analysis may be generally applicable to the study of the relationship between ICs and autoimmune diseases in animals and humans.

Simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid and its acyl and phenol glucuronide metabolites in human serum by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A simple capillary electrophoretic method was developed for simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and its metabolites, acyl glucuronide (AcMPAG) and phenol glucuronide (MPAG), in human serum. The method utilized only running buffer in the separation, prior acidification of serum, and extraction with ethyl acetate. Separation was performed by capillary zone electrophoresis using 20 mM sodium acetate-acetic acid (pH 4.9) as running buffer, applied voltage of 15 kV, and UV detection at 217 nm. Each electrophoretic run was completed within 14 min. The optimized method demonstrated good performance concerning specificity, linearity (r>0.998), sensitivity (limit of detection: for MPA, 0.10 microg/ml; for AcMPAG, 0.10 microg/ml; MPAG, 0.42 microg/ml), accuracy (87-108%) and precision (<9.3%). This method was successfully applied to measurements of MPA, AcMPAG, and MPAG in renal transplant patient samples and could be a useful alternative to HPLC-based methods.

Adamantyl-functionalized polymer monolith for capillary electrochromatography.

An adamantyl (ADM)-functionalized monolithic stationary phase was newly synthesized by a single-step copolymerization of 1-adamantyl-(alpha-trifluoromethyl) acrylate, ethylene dimethacrylate, and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid in order to prevent the peak tailing of basic solutes in capillary electrochromatography and was compared with butyl methacrylate (BMA)-based one. The ADM structure shields the negatively charged groups on the surface of monolith from basic solutes, resulting in better peak shapes than BMA-based monolithic stationary phase. As the monomers ratio decreased, the monolithic column had lower retention and higher column efficiency which was likely due to lower phase ratio and smaller globule size of monolith, respectively. The ADM-functionalized monolithic columns exhibited a good repeatability and reproducibility of column preparation with relative standard deviation values below 9% in the studied chromatographic parameters.