Structural Studies of G Protein-Coupled Receptors

Zhang, Dandan,Zhao, Qiang,Wu, Beili Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2015 Molecules and cells Vol.38 No.10

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest and the most physiologically important membrane protein family that recognizes a variety of environmental stimuli, and are drug targets in the treatment of numerous diseases. Recent progress on GPCR structural studies shed light on molecular mechanisms of GPCR ligand recognition, activation and allosteric modulation, as well as structural basis of GPCR dimerization. In this review, we will discuss the structural features of GPCRs and structural insights of different aspects of GPCR biological functions.

Enhancement of α-ketoglutarate Production in Torulopsis glabrata: Redistribution of Carbon Flux from Pyruvate to α-ketoglutarate

Dandan Zhang,Nan Liang,Zhongping Shi,Liming Liu,Jian Chen,Guocheng Du 한국생물공학회 2009 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.14 No.2

This manuscript aimed at increasing the production of α-ketoglutarate by the multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulpsis glabrata CCTCC M202019. The carbon flux was redistributed from pyruvate to α-ketoglutarate node by manipulating the specific activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH), pyruvate carboxylase (PC), pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDH). By proper increase of PDH, PC, and PDC activities, α-ketoglutarate in fermentation broth could be accumulated to the levels of 17.1 g/L, 21.6 g/L, and 31.2 g/L, respectively. In addition, decrease in the specific activity of KGDH also resulted in an enhanced α-ketoglutarate synthesis. With a proposed combinational enzymes regulation strategy, the highest α-ketoglutarate concentration of 37.7 g/L was achieved This manuscript aimed at increasing the production of α-ketoglutarate by the multi-vitamin auxotrophic yeast Torulpsis glabrata CCTCC M202019. The carbon flux was redistributed from pyruvate to α-ketoglutarate node by manipulating the specific activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH), pyruvate carboxylase (PC), pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDH). By proper increase of PDH, PC, and PDC activities, α-ketoglutarate in fermentation broth could be accumulated to the levels of 17.1 g/L, 21.6 g/L, and 31.2 g/L, respectively. In addition, decrease in the specific activity of KGDH also resulted in an enhanced α-ketoglutarate synthesis. With a proposed combinational enzymes regulation strategy, the highest α-ketoglutarate concentration of 37.7 g/L was achieved

Protein Associated with Adventitious Root Induction Analysis of Tree Peony (Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) Plantlets In Vitro by Two-dimensional Electrophoresis and Mass Spectrometry

Dandan Zhang,Zheng Wang,Liyun Shi,Wenqian Shang,Zhenzhu Fu,Dan He,Song Lin He 한국화훼학회 2016 화훼연구 Vol.24 No.2

In the present study, the plantlets in vitro of Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Wu Long Peng Sheng’ were used as laboratory materials. The proteome during adventitious root induction process was investigated to sift the related proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the protein spots were concentrated in the acidity gel region (pH 4 - 7) and the spots number had a dynamic change ranged from 373 to 462 at the process of root induction (0 – 7 d). 8 spots significantly changed were analyzed with a mass spectrometer and identified using associated software and databases. The peptide information of the 8 spots was similar to the ATP synthase β-subunit of P. suffruticosa (Spots 1 - 4 and 8), P. tenuifolia (Spots 5), P. californica (Spot 6) and P. brownie ( Spots 7) r espectiv ely. T he expression levels of protein spots 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 was dramatically downregulated, and that of protein spots 2 and 3 had a slightly opposite tendency on the 3rd day. The obviously decreased period is particularly interesting as it was consistent with the induction period of adventitious root primordial of tree peony plantlet in vitro. The ATP synthase β-subunit could be consumed for assembling the ATP synthase in order to supply energy to the rooting process. Therefore, we speculated that the ATP synthase β-subunit was involved in adventitious root initiation of tree peony plantlets in vitro and we expect that further studies should be carried out in order to export its action mechanism.

KRAB family is involved in network shifts in response to osmotic stress in camels

Dandan Cao,Shenyuan Wang,Dong Zhang,Yanru Zhang,Junwei Cao,Yongbin Liu,Huanmin Zhou 한국통합생물학회 2022 Animal cells and systems Vol.26 No.6

A feature of the camel is its tolerance to osmotic stress. However, few studies of osmotic stress in vivo or comparative analyses between different tissues of the camel have been performed. Here, we report the roles of Krüppel-associated box domain containing zinc-finger repressor proteins (KRAB-ZFPs) in transcriptional networks under osmotic stress in camels by analyzing transcriptomes of four different tissues under various osmotic conditions. We found that 273 of 278 KRAB-ZFPs were expressed in our data set, being involved in all of the 65 identified networks and exhibiting their extensive functional diversity. We also found that 110 KRAB-ZFPs were hub genes involved in more than half of the networks. We demonstrated that the osmotic stress response is involved in network shifts and that KRAB-ZFPs mediate this process. Finally, we presented the diverse mechanisms of osmotic stress responses in different tissues. These results revealed the genetic architecture of systematic physiological response in vivo to osmotic stress in camels. Our work will lead to new directions for studying the mechanism of osmotic stress response in anti-arid mammals.

Evaluation of Water Environment Performance Based on a DPSIR-SBM-Tobit Model

Dandan Zhang,Juqin Shen,Fu-hua Sun 대한토목학회 2020 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.24 No.5

Environmental problems – specifically relating to water – have become the key factors restricting sustainable development. To evaluate the performance of water environment, this study takes 31 provinces in China as the research area and constructs a water environment performance evaluation index system based on a DPSIR framework (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact and Response). The undesirable output slack measure model (SBM) is used to calculate the water environment performance of 31 provinces from 2005 to 2017. According to the study, the performance of the water environment in China shows a trend of decline, and the overall performance is low. The water environment performance in different provinces shows obvious differences. The Tobit model is then introduced to analyze the influence of indicators on water environment efficiency. The driving force indicators have significant negative effects on water environment performance. The pressure indicators have significant positive effects on the water environment performance. The state indicators play a significant role in promoting the improvement of water environment performance. With regard to the impact indicators, both industrial added value water consumption and GDP growth rate have significant negative effects on water environment performance. The impact of different response measures on water environment performance is inconsistent.

TEOA, a triterpenoid from Actinidia eriantha, induces autophagy in SW620 cells via endoplasmic reticulum stress and ROS-dependent mitophagy

Dandan Zhang,Cuixia Gao,Ruyi Li,Lin Zhang,Jingkui Tian 대한약학회 2017 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.40 No.5

2a,3a,24-Thrihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oicacid (TEOA),a pentacyclic triterpenoid, isolated from the roots of Actinidiaeriantha, exhibits significant cytotoxicity against SW620, BGC-823, HepG-2, A549 and PC-3 cancer cells. In this study, weinvestigated the underlying molecular mechanism of the anticanceractivity of TEOA in SW620 cells.We demonstrated thatTEOA induced apoptosis through cleavage of caspase-9 andPARP in SW620 cells. In addition, evidence of TEOA-mediatedautophagy included the induction of autophagolysosomesand activation of autophagic markers LC-3B and p62. Furtheranalysis illustrated that TEOA promoted the phosphorylation ofPERK and elF2a, followed by up-regulation of the downstreamprotein CHOP, suggesting the involvement of PERK/eIF2a/CHOP pathway and ER stress in TEOA-induced autophagy inSW620 cells. Meanwhile, TEOA-mediated PINK1, Parkin,ubiquitin and p62 activation revealed that TEOA inducedspecific autophagy-mitophagy in SW620 cells. Additionally, anantioxidant NAC attenuated the TEOA-induced mitophagy,indicating that TEOA triggers mitophagy via a ROS-dependentpathway. Collectively, our findings revealed a novel cellularmechanism of TEOA in the colon cancer cell line SW620, thusproviding a molecular basis for developing TEOA into an antitumorcandidate.

Ampelopsin-induced Autophagy Alleviates Muscle Atrophy Caused by Aging in SAMP8 Mice through Activating PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Dandan Chen,Ying Zhang,Meng Zhang,Xianjuan Kou 아시아건강운동학회 2022 Journal of Asian Society for Health & Exercise Vol.4 No.2

Structural Studies of G Protein-Coupled Receptors

Dandan Zhang,Beili Wu,Qiang Zhao 한국분자세포생물학회 2015 Molecules and cells Vol.38 No.10

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest and the most physiologically important membrane protein family that recognizes a variety of environmental stimuli, and are drug targets in the treatment of numerous diseases. Recent progress on GPCR structural studies shed light on molecular mechanisms of GPCR ligand recognition, activation and allosteric modulation, as well as structural basis of GPCR dimerization. In this review, we will discuss the structural features of GPCRs and structural insights of different aspects of GPCR biological functions.

One-Step Synthesis of Rod-Shaped NiFe-MOF as a Highly Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalyst

Dandan Zhang,Renxing Huang,Huaming Xie,Xingyong Liu,Ying Lei,Ming Pan 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2019 NANO Vol.14 No.8

Development of low-cost, highly active catalyst for efficient oxygen evolution reaction based on earth-abundant metals is still a great challenge. Here, we report that a rod-like bimetallic NiFe metal-organic framework (NiFe-MOF) can directly act as a highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst synthesized by a convenient-to-operate hydrothermal method. The rod-like NiFe-MOF can derive 10 mA cm -2 with a low overpotential of only 26 mV, and its Tafel slope is 40.82 mV dec -1, which is superior to that of monometallic Ni-MOF or Fe-MOF, and even can be comparable to that of RuO2. To identify the origin of enhancing OER activity, we resorted to X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, high resolution transmission electron microscopy image and nitrogen adsorption–desorption techniques and various electrochemical techniques to probe it gingerly. The results indicate that its high electrochemically active area and the synergistic effect of bimetallic node could be responsible for the surprisingly high catalytic performance of the NiFe-MOF. These results suggest that this kind of bimetallic MOF (NiFe-MOF) could be a promising electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

Demography and mass-rearing of Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae) reared on Golden Delicious and Red Fuji apples in the laboratory

Feng Dandan,Xue Qiqi,Men Lina,Li Xiaofei,Deng Angie,Zhang Yuhong,Ma Ruiyan,Zhang Zhiwei 한국응용곤충학회 2020 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.23 No.4

Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae), is one of the most serious fruit-boring pests in over ten species of fruit trees, and is especially damaging apples in the northern of China. The application of new planting systems, i.e., high-density and dwarfing rootstock orchard systems with mixed apple varieties, makes it im portant to study the fitness of C. sasakii on these apple varieties to gain fundamental knowledge for use in pest management involving this insect. In this study, life table data of C. sasakii were collected using Golden Delicious and Red Fuji apples as hosts. The egg-larva duration of male C. sasakii reared on Golden Delicious apples (22.81 d) was significantly shorter than that reared on Red Fuji apples (24.27 d). The egg-larva mortality in Golden Delicious apples (59.00%) was lower than that in Red Fuji apples (72.49%). The mortality of the pupal stage, however, was higher in Golden Delicious (10.51%) than in Red Fuji (0%). The total oviposition period (TPOP) on Golden Delicious apples (32.94 d) was significantly shorter than in individuals reared on Red Fuji apples (34.19 d). The intrinsic rate of increase (r = 0.0581 d −1 ), net reproductive rate (R 0 = 7.57 offspring), and finite rate of increase (λ = 1.0598 d −1 ) were all higher on Golden Delicious than those on Red Fuji. When the net re productive rate (R 0 ) was used, the harvest rate of pupae was higher (0.8678) when reared on Golden Delicious apples than when reared on Red Fuji apples (0.8398). When a large cohort size (n = 200) was used for effective bootstrap sample, the P E values for C. sasakii reared on Golden Delicious apples and Red Fuji apples were both almost equal to 1. For C. sasakii culturing purposes, Golden Delicious apples would be more productive than Red Fuji.