GOLPH3 Regulates EGFR in T98G Glioblastoma Cells by Modulating Its Glycosylation and Ubiquitylation

Protein trafficking is altered when normal cells acquire a tumor phenotype. A key subcellular compartment in regulating protein trafficking is the Golgi apparatus, but its role in carcinogenesis is still not well defined. Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3), a peripheral membrane protein mostly localized at the trans-Golgi network, is overexpressed in several tumor types including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most lethal primary brain tumor. Moreover, GOLPH3 is currently considered an oncoprotein, however its precise function in GBM is not fully understood. Here, we analyzed in T98G cells of GBM, which express high levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the effect of stable RNAi-mediated knockdown of GOLPH3. We found that silencing GOLPH3 caused a significant reduction in the proliferation of T98G cells and an unexpected increase in total EGFR levels, even at the cell surface, which was however less prone to ligand-induced autophosphorylation. Furthermore, silencing GOLPH3 decreased EGFR sialylation and fucosylation, which correlated with delayed ligand-induced EGFR downregulation and its accumulation at endo-lysosomal compartments. Finally, we found that EGF failed at promoting EGFR ubiquitylation when the levels of GOLPH3 were reduced. Altogether, our results show that GOLPH3 in T98G cells regulates the endocytic trafficking and activation of EGFR likely by affecting its extent of glycosylation and ubiquitylation.     

The Role of Excitation Photons Energy in the Photoinduced Carrier Dynamics in InGaAs/InAlAs Superlattice Heterostructures

Technical Physics Letters - The influence of excitation photons energy on the relaxation times of photoexcited carriers is studied. The involved relaxation mechanisms are evaluated and the...     

Methyltransferase Contingencies in the Pathway of Everninomicin D Antibiotics and Analogues

Everninomicins are orthoester oligosaccharide antibiotics with potent activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Everninomicins act by disrupting ribosomal assembly in a distinct region in comparison to clinically prescribed drugs. We employed microporous intergeneric conjugation with Escherichia coli to manipulate Micromonospora for targeted gene-replacement studies of multiple putative methyltransferases across the octasaccharide scaffold of everninomicin effecting the A₁, C, F, and H rings. Analyses of gene-replacement and genetic complementation mutants established the mutability of the everninomicin scaffold through the generation of 12 previously unreported analogues and, together with previous results, permitted assignment of the ten methyltransferases required for everninomicin biosynthesis. The in vitro activity of A₁- and H-ring-modifying methyltransferases demonstrated the ability to catalyze late-stage modification of the scaffold on an A₁-ring phenol and H-ring C-4’ hydroxy moiety. Together these results establish the potential of the everninomicin scaffold for modification through mutagenesis and in vitro modification of advanced biosynthetic intermediates.     

A simple model for the semicontinuous heterophase polymerization: Ethyl methacrylate as a case example

A simple but comprehensive model considering homogeneous and micellar nucleation, coagulation, entry of radicals to particles and to micelles and radicals' exit from particles, is presented. The model is validated, in a starved semicontinuous heterophase polymerization of ethyl methacrylate, at three monomer addition rates. The model accurately describes the overall and instantaneous conversion, the average particle density and diameter, and the number and weight average molar masses evolutions over time. It is found that even though the average number of radicals is much smaller than 0.5, the system is not 0-1. An empirical function was used to describe the gel effect. The homogeneous nucleation was the prevailing mechanism for particle formation and large exit rates of radicals were observed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 223–232, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Study of the Density of Interface States at the Insulator/In0.52Al0.48As Interface

Technical Physics Letters - The C–V characteristics of Au/Al2O3/In0.52Al0.48As and Au/SiO2/In0.52Al0.48As metal–insulator–semiconductor structures have been studied. It has been...     

Evaluation of the effect of processing on cocoa polyphenols: antiradical activity,anthocyanins and procyanidins profiling from raw beans to chocolate

The content and composition of anthocyanins and procyanidins in fermented cocoa beans (from different geographic origins: Ecuador, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria), roasted nibs, cocoa mass and chocolate were determined, beside the determination of the total antiradical capacity. Concerning geographic origin, cocoa beans and processed products from Ecuador showed the highest levels of anthocyanins, followed by Nigeria and Cameroon. Generally, as cocoa beans were further processed, the levels of anthocyanins and flavan‐3‐ols decreased. The largest observed losses of phenolics occurred during roasting. A progressive decreasing trend in polyphenol concentration was observed in the other processed samples as well. Despite the original content of polyphenols in raw cocoa beans, technological processes imply a significant impact on cocoa quality, confirming the need of specific optimisation to obtain high value chocolate.     

Histone Methylation Marks on Circulating Nucleosomes as Novel Blood-Based Biomarker in Colorectal Cancer

Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) are under investigation as a liquid biopsy in cancer as potential non-invasive biomarkers, as stable structure in circulation nucleosomes could be valuable sources for detection of cancer-specific alterations in histone modifications. Our interest is in histone methylation marks with a focus on colorectal cancer, one of the leading cancers respective the incidence and mortality. Our previous work included the analysis of trimethylations of lysine 9 on histone 3 (H3K9me3) and of lysine 20 on histone 4 (H4K20me3) by chromatin immuno- precipitation-related PCR in circulating nucleosomes. Here we asked whether global immunologic measurement of histone marks in circulation could be a suitable approach to show their potential as biomarkers. In addition to H3K9me3 and H4K20me3 we also measured H3K27me3 in plasma samples from CRC patients (n = 63) and cancer free individuals (n = 40) by ELISA-based methylation assays. Our results show that of three marks, the amounts of H3K27me3 (p = 0.04) and H4K20me3 (p < 0.001) were significantly lower in CRC patients than in healthy controls. For H3K9me3 similar amounts were measured in both groups. Areas under the curve (AUC) in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicating the power of CRC detection were 0.620 for H3K27me3, 0.715 for H4K20me3 and 0.769 for the combination of both markers. In conclusion, findings of this preliminary study reveal the potential of blood-based detection of CRC by quantification of histone methylation marks and the additive effect of the marker combination.