http://www.hindawi.com The latest articles from Hindawi Publishing Corporation © 2013 , Hindawi Publishing Corporation . All rights reserved. Wed, 15 May 2013 07:57:14 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2013/194858/ Advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with significant morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular, nervous, and renal complications. Attempts to cure diabetes mellitus using islet transplantation have been successful in providing a source for insulin secreting cells. However, limited donors, graft rejection, the need for continued immune suppression, and exhaustion of the donor cell pool prompted the search for a more sustained source of insulin secreting cells. Stem cell therapy is a promising alternative for islet transplantation in type 2 diabetic patients who fail to control hyperglycemia even with insulin injection. Autologous stem cell transplantation may provide the best outcome for those patients, since autologous cells are readily available and do not entail prolonged hospital stays or sustained immunotoxic therapy. Among autologous adult stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has been applied with varying degrees of success in both animal models and in clinical trials. This review will focus on the advantages of MSCs over other types of stem cells and the possible mechanisms by which MSCs transplant restores normoglycemia in type 2 diabetic patients. Sources of MSCs including autologous cells from diabetic patients and the use of various differentiation protocols in relation to best transplant outcome will be discussed. Nagwa El-Badri and Mohamed A. Ghoneim Copyright © 2013 Nagwa El-Badri and Mohamed A. Ghoneim. All rights reserved. Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:35:00 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2013/867957/ Damaged DNA, generated by the abstraction of one of five hydrogen atoms from the 2′-deoxyribose ring of the nucleic acid, can contain a variety of lesions, some of which compromise physiological processes. Recently, DNA damage, resulting from the formation of a C3′-thymidinyl radical in DNA oligomers, was found to be dependent on nucleic acid structure. Architectures relevant to DNA replication were observed to generate larger amounts of strand-break and 1-(2′-deoxy-β-D-threo-pentofuranosyl)thymidine formation than that observed for duplex DNA. To understand how this damage can affect the integrity of DNA, the impact of C3′-thymidinyl radical derived lesions on DNA stability and structure was characterized using biophysical methods. DNA architectures evaluated include duplex DNA (dsDNA), single 3′ or 5′-overhangs (OvHgs), and forks. Thermal melting analysis and differential scanning calorimetry measurements indicate that an individual 3′-OvHg is more destabilizing than a 5′-OvHg. The presence of a terminal 3′ or 5′ phosphate decreases the to the same extent, while the effect of the phosphate at the ss-dsDNA junction of OvHgs is dependent on sequence. Additionally, the effect of 1-(2′-deoxy-β-D-threo-pentofuranosyl)thymidine is found to depend on DNA architecture and proximity to the 3′ end of the damaged strand. Nicholas J. Amato, Christopher N. Mwai, Timothy C. Mueser, and Amanda C. Bryant-Friedrich Copyright © 2013 Nicholas J. Amato et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:25:48 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2013/951570/ MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNA sequences that repress protein synthesis by either inhibiting the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) or increasing mRNA degradation. Endogenous miRNAs have been found in various organisms, including animals, plants, and viruses. Mammalian miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved, are scattered throughout chromosomes, and play an important role in the immune response and the onset of cancer. For this study, the author explored the base composition characteristics of miRNA genes from the six mammalian species that contain the largest number of known miRNAs. It was found that mammalian miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved and GU-rich. Interestingly, in the miRNA sequences investigated, A residues are clearly the most frequent occupants of positions 2 and 3 of the 5′ end of miRNAs. Unlike G and U residues that may pair with C/U and A/G, respectively, A residues can only pair with U residues of target mRNAs, which may augment the recognition specificity of the 5′ seed region. Bin Wang Copyright © 2013 Bin Wang. All rights reserved. Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:28:27 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2013/219263/ Masayasu Kuwahara, Yingfu Li, Eriks Rozners, and Hiroshi Murakami Copyright © 2013 Masayasu Kuwahara et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:07:58 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2013/817350/ Aptamers are single-stranded synthetic DNA- or RNA-based oligonucleotides that fold into various shapes to bind to a specific target, which includes proteins, metals, and molecules. Aptamers have high affinity and high specificity that are comparable to that of antibodies. They are obtained using iterative method, called (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) SELEX and cell-based SELEX (cell-SELEX). Aptamers can be paired with recent advances in nanotechnology, microarray, microfluidics, and other technologies for applications in clinical medicine. One particular area that aptamers can shed a light on is biomarker discovery. Biomarkers are important in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this paper, we will describe ways in which aptamers can be used to discover biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics. Yun Min Chang, Michael J. Donovan, and Weihong Tan Copyright © 2013 Yun Min Chang et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:27:55 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/718582/ Subhendu Sekhar Bag, Jennifer M. Heemstra, Yoshio Saito, and David M. Chenoweth Copyright © 2012 Subhendu Sekhar Bag et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:14:18 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/958683/ The development of the in vitro selection technique has allowed the isolation of functional nucleic acids, including catalytic DNA molecules (DNAzymes), from random-sequence pools. The first-ever catalytic DNA obtained by this technique in 1994 is a DNAzyme that cleaves RNA. Since then, many other RNase-like DNAzymes have been reported from multiple in vitro selection studies. The discovery of various RNase DNAzymes has in turn stimulated the exploration of these enzymatic species for innovative applications in many different areas of research, including therapeutics, biosensing, and DNA nanotechnology. One particular research topic that has received considerable attention for the past decade is the development of RNase DNAzymes into fluorescent reporters for biosensing applications. This paper provides a concise survey of the most significant achievements within this research topic. Kha Tram, Pushpinder Kanda, and Yingfu Li Copyright © 2012 Kha Tram et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:59:58 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/652979/ MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are nonprotein coding RNAs between 20 and 22 nucleotides long that attenuate protein production. Different types of sequence data are being investigated for novel miRNAs, including genomic and transcriptomic sequences. A variety of machine learning methods have successfully predicted miRNA precursors, mature miRNAs, and other nonprotein coding sequences. MirTools, mirDeep2, and miRanalyzer require “read count” to be included with the input sequences, which restricts their use to deep-sequencing data. Our aim was to train a predictor using a cross-section of different species to accurately predict miRNAs outside the training set. We wanted a system that did not require read-count for prediction and could therefore be applied to short sequences extracted from genomic, EST, or RNA-seq sources. A miRNA-predictive decision-tree model has been developed by supervised machine learning. It only requires that the corresponding genome or transcriptome is available within a sequence window that includes the precursor candidate so that the required sequence features can be collected. Some of the most critical features for training the predictor are the miRNA:miRNA∗ duplex energy and the number of mismatches in the duplex. We present a cross-species plant miRNA predictor with 84.08% sensitivity and 98.53% specificity based on rigorous testing by leave-one-out validation. Philip H. Williams, Rod Eyles, and Georg Weiller Copyright © 2012 Philip H. Williams et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:32:43 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/978384/ MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of gene expression by modulating numerous target mRNAs expression at posttranscriptional level. Extensive studies have shown that miRNAs are critical in various important biological processes, including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, development, and apoptosis. In terms of their importance, miRNA dysfunction has been associated with a broad range of diseases. Increased number of studies have shown that miRNAs can functionally interact with a wide spectrum of environmental factors (EFs) including drugs, industrial materials, virus and bacterial pathogens, cigarette smoking, alcohol, nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress, and radiation. More importantly, the interactions between miRNAs and EFs have been shown to play critical roles in determining abnormal phenotypes and diseases. In this paper, we propose an outline of the current knowledge about specific roles of miRNAs in their interactions with various EFs and analyze the literatures detailing miRNAs-EFs interactions in the context of various of diseases. Juan Wang and Qinghua Cui Copyright © 2012 Juan Wang and Qinghua Cui. All rights reserved. Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:24:24 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/215876/ We describe a rational approach devoted to modulate the sugar-phosphate backbone geometry of nucleic acids. Constraints were generated by connecting one oxygen of the phosphate group to a carbon of the sugar moiety. The so-called dioxaphosphorinane rings were introduced at key positions along the sugar-phosphate backbone allowing the control of the six-torsion angles to ζ defining the polymer structure. The syntheses of all the members of the D-CNA family are described, and we emphasize the effect on secondary structure stabilization of a couple of diastereoisomers of ,-D-CNA exhibiting wether B-type canonical values or not. Dan-Andrei Catana, Brice-Loïc Renard, Marie Maturano, Corinne Payrastre, Nathalie Tarrat, and Jean-Marc Escudier Copyright © 2012 Dan-Andrei Catana et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:54:35 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/748913/ Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that bind to targets with high affinity and selectivity. Their use as molecular recognition elements has emerged as a viable approach for biosensing, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Despite this potential, relatively few aptamers exist that bind to small molecules. Small molecules are important targets for investigation due to their diverse biological functions as well as their clinical and commercial uses. Novel, effective molecular recognition probes for these compounds are therefore of great interest. This paper will highlight the technical challenges of aptamer development for small molecule targets, as well as the opportunities that exist for their application in biosensing and chemical biology. Maureen McKeague and Maria C. DeRosa Copyright © 2012 Maureen McKeague and Maria C. DeRosa. All rights reserved. Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:08:00 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/713510/ The presence of a nonproteinogenic moiety in a nonstandard peptide often improves the biological properties of the peptide. Non-standard peptide libraries are therefore used to obtain valuable molecules for biological, therapeutic, and diagnostic applications. Highly diverse non-standard peptide libraries can be generated by chemically or enzymatically modifying standard peptide libraries synthesized by the ribosomal machinery, using posttranslational modifications. Alternatively, strategies for encoding non-proteinogenic amino acids into the genetic code have been developed for the direct ribosomal synthesis of non-standard peptide libraries. In the strategies for genetic code expansion, non-proteinogenic amino acids are assigned to the nonsense codons or 4-base codons in order to add these amino acids to the universal genetic code. In contrast, in the strategies for genetic code reprogramming, some proteinogenic amino acids are erased from the genetic code and non-proteinogenic amino acids are reassigned to the blank codons. Here, we discuss the generation of genetically encoded non-standard peptide libraries using these strategies and also review recent applications of these libraries to the selection of functional non-standard peptides. Takashi Kawakami and Hiroshi Murakami Copyright © 2012 Takashi Kawakami and Hiroshi Murakami. All rights reserved. Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:12:46 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/247280/ The binding affinity and specificity of nucleic acid aptamers have made them valuable candidates for use as sensors in diagnostic applications. In particular, chromophore-functionalized aptamers offer a relatively simple format for detection and quantification of target molecules. We describe the use of nucleic-acid-staining reagents as an effective tool for detecting and signaling aptamer-target interactions. Aptamers varying in size and structure and targeting a range of molecules have been used in conjunction with commercially available chromophores to indicate and quantify the presence of cognate targets with high sensitivity and selectivity. Our assay precludes the covalent modification of nucleic acids and relies on the differential fluorescence signal of chromophores when complexed with aptamers with or without their cognate target. We also evaluate factors that are critical for the stability of the complex between the aptamer and chromophore in presence or absence of target molecules. Our results indicate the possibility of controlling those factors to enhance the sensitivity of target detection by the aptamers used in such assays. Kwabena Sarpong and Bhaskar Datta Copyright © 2012 Kwabena Sarpong and Bhaskar Datta. All rights reserved. Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:20:04 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/740982/ Glycoconjugates play various roles in biological processes. In particular, oligosaccharides on the surface of animal cells are involved in virus infection and cell-cell communication. Inhibitors of carbohydrate-protein interactions are potential antiviral drugs. Several anti-influenza drugs such as oseltamivir and zanamivir are derivatives of sialic acid, which inhibits neuraminidase. However, it is very difficult to prepare a diverse range of sugar derivatives by chemical synthesis or by the isolation of natural products. In addition, the pathogenic capsular polysaccharides of bacteria are carbohydrate antigens, for which a safe and efficacious method of vaccination is required. Phage-display technology has been improved to enable the identification of peptides that bind to carbohydrate-binding proteins, such as lectins and antibodies, from a large repertoire of peptide sequences. These peptides are known as “carbohydrate-mimetic peptides (CMPs)” because they mimic carbohydrate structures. Compared to carbohydrate derivatives, it is easy to prepare mono- and multivalent peptides and then to modify them to create various derivatives. Such mimetic peptides are available as peptide inhibitors of carbohydrate-protein interactions and peptide mimotopes that are conjugated with adjuvant for vaccination. Teruhiko Matsubara Copyright © 2012 Teruhiko Matsubara. All rights reserved. Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:05:45 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/156482/ Specific binders comprised of nucleic acids, that is, RNA/DNA aptamers, are attractive functional biopolymers owing to their potential broad application in medicine, food hygiene, environmental analysis, and biological research. Despite the large number of reports on selection of natural DNA/RNA aptamers, there are not many examples of direct screening of chemically modified nucleic acid aptamers. This is because of (i) the inferior efficiency and accuracy of polymerase reactions involving transcription/reverse-transcription of modified nucleotides compared with those of natural nucleotides, (ii) technical difficulties and additional time and effort required when using modified nucleic acid libraries, and (iii) ambiguous efficacies of chemical modifications in binding properties until recently; in contrast, the effects of chemical modifications on biostability are well studied using various nucleotide analogs. Although reports on the direct screening of a modified nucleic acid library remain in the minority, chemical modifications would be essential when further functional expansion of nucleic acid aptamers, in particular for medical and biological uses, is considered. This paper focuses on enzymatic production of chemically modified nucleic acids and their application to random screenings. In addition, recent advances and possible future research are also described. Yuuya Kasahara and Masayasu Kuwahara Copyright © 2012 Yuuya Kasahara and Masayasu Kuwahara. All rights reserved. Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:38:51 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/672536/ Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of CAG repeats in the ataxin 1 (ATXN1) gene. In affected cerebellar neurons of patients, mutant ATXN1 accumulates in ubiquitin-positive nuclear inclusions, indicating that protein misfolding is involved in SCA1 pathogenesis. In this study, we functionally annotated the target genes of the small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that were selectively activated in the affected brain compartments. The primary targets of these RNAs, which exhibited a significant enrichment in the cerebellum and cortex of SCA1 patients, were members of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Thus, we identified and functionally annotated a plausible regulatory pathway that may serve as a potential target to modulate the outcome of neurodegenerative diseases. Stephan Persengiev, Ivanela Kondova, and Ronald E. Bontrop Copyright © 2012 Stephan Persengiev et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:32:32 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/271453/ UvrD is a DNA helicase that participates in nucleotide excision repair and several replication-associated processes, including methyl-directed mismatch repair and recombination. UvrD is capable of displacing oligonucleotides from synthetic forked DNA structures in vitro and is essential for viability in the absence of Rep, a helicase associated with processing replication forks. These observations have led others to propose that UvrD may promote fork regression and facilitate resetting of the replication fork following arrest. However, the molecular activity of UvrD at replication forks in vivo has not been directly examined. In this study, we characterized the role UvrD has in processing and restoring replication forks following arrest by UV-induced DNA damage. We show that UvrD is required for DNA synthesis to recover. However, in the absence of UvrD, the displacement and partial degradation of the nascent DNA at the arrested fork occur normally. In addition, damage-induced replication intermediates persist and accumulate in uvrD mutants in a manner that is similar to that observed in other nucleotide excision repair mutants. These data indicate that, following arrest by DNA damage, UvrD is not required to catalyze fork regression in vivo and suggest that the failure of uvrD mutants to restore DNA synthesis following UV-induced arrest relates to its role in nucleotide excision repair. Kelley N. Newton, Charmain T. Courcelle, and Justin Courcelle Copyright © 2012 Kelley N. Newton et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:28:10 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/962652/ Probes for monitoring mRNA expression in vivo are of great interest for the study of biological and biomedical problems, but progress has been hampered by poor signal to noise and effective means for delivering the probes into live cells. Herein we report a PNA·DNA strand displacement-activated fluorescent probe that can image the expression of iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) mRNA, a marker of inflammation. The probe consists of a fluorescein labeled antisense PNA annealed to a shorter -labeled DNA which quenches the fluorescence, but when the quencher strand is displaced by the target mRNA the fluorescence is restored. DNA was used for the quencher strand to facilitate electrostatic binding of the otherwise netural PNA strand to a cationic shell crosslinked knedel-like (cSCK) nanoparticle which can deliver the PNA·DNA duplex probe into cells with less toxicity and greater efficiency than other transfection agents. RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells transfected with the iNOS PNA·DNA probe via the cSCK showed a 16 to 54-fold increase in average fluorescence per cell upon iNOS stimulation. The increase was 4 to 7-fold higher than that for a non-complementary probe, thereby validating the ability of a PNA·DNA strand displacement-activated probe to image mRNA expression in vivo. Zhenghui Wang, Ke Zhang, Karen L. Wooley, and John-Stephen Taylor Copyright © 2012 Zhenghui Wang et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:53:59 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/707323/ The duplex stability with target mRNA and the gene silencing potential of a novel bridged nucleic acid analogue are described. The analogue, ,- antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) ranging from 10- to 20-nt-long, targeted apolipoprotein B. ,- was directly compared to its conventional bridged (or locked) nucleic acid (,-BNA/LNA)-based counterparts. Melting temperatures of duplexes formed between ,--based antisense oligonucleotides and the target mRNA surpassed those of 2′,4′-BNA/LNA-based counterparts at all lengths. An in vitro transfection study revealed that when compared to the identical length ,-BNA/LNA-based counterpart, the corresponding ,--based antisense oligonucleotide showed significantly stronger inhibitory activity. This inhibitory activity was more pronounced in shorter (13-, 14-, and 16-mer) oligonucleotides. On the other hand, the 2′,4′-BNANC-based 20-mer AON exhibited the highest affinity but the worst value, indicating that very high affinity may undermine antisense potency. These results suggest that the potency of AONs requires a balance between reward term and penalty term. Balance of these two parameters would depend on affinity, length, and the specific chemistry of the AON, and fine-tuning of this balance could lead to improved potency. We demonstrate that ,- may be a better alternative to conventional ,-BNA/LNA, even for “short” antisense oligonucleotides, which are attractive in terms of drug-likeness and cost-effective bulk production. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Hidenori Yasuhara, Fumito Wada, Mariko Harada-Shiba, Takeshi Imanishi, and Satoshi Obika Copyright © 2012 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:29:00 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/371379/ In vitro selection by display methods has been an effective tool for engineering recombinant antibodies. mRNA display based on a cell-free translation system has the advantages of larger library sizes and quicker selection procedures compared with cell-based display methods such as phage display. However, mRNA display has been limited to select single-chain polypeptides such as scFvs due to its characteristic of linking a nascent polypeptide with its encoding mRNA on the ribosome. Here we demonstrated a new way of selecting heterodimeric Fab fragments by using mRNA display combined with emulsion PCR. We designed a pair of complementary 5′ UTR sequences that can link the Fab heavy and light chain genes together by overlap-extension PCR in water-in-oil emulsions. We confirmed that two mRNA-displayed polypeptides for heavy and light chain of a model Fab fragment were associated into the active form and that a specific Fab fragment gene was enriched over 100-fold per round of a model affinity selection followed by the gene-linking emulsion PCR. We further performed directed evolution of Fab fragments with higher binding activity from a randomized Fab fragment library. Takeshi Sumida, Hiroshi Yanagawa, and Nobuhide Doi Copyright © 2012 Takeshi Sumida et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:33:45 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/591025/ Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) replication and gene expression entails specific interaction of the viral protein Tat with its transactivation responsive element (TAR), to form a highly stable stem-bulge-loop structure. Previously, we described triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cation-based vectors that efficiently deliver nucleotide analogs (PNAs) into the cytoplasm of cells. In particular, we showed that the TPP conjugate of a linear 16-mer PNA targeting the apical stem-loop region of TAR impedes Tat-mediated transactivation of the HIV-1 LTR in vitro and also in cell culture systems. In this communication, we conjugated TPP to cyclic and hairpin PNAs targeting the loop region of HIV-1 TAR and evaluated their antiviral efficacy in a cell culture system. We found that TPP-cyclic PNAs containing only 8 residues, showed higher antiviral potency compared to hairpin PNAs of 12 or 16 residues. We further noted that the TPP-conjugates of the 8-mer cyclic PNA as well as the 16-mer linear PNA displayed similar antiviral efficacy. However, cyclic PNAs were shown to be highly specific to their target sequences. This communication emphasizes on the importance of small constrained cyclic PNAs over both linear and hairpin structures for targeting biologically relevant RNA hairpins. Gregory Upert, Audrey Di Giorgio, Alok Upadhyay, Dinesh Manvar, Nootan Pandey, Virendra N. Pandey, and Nadia Patino Copyright © 2012 Gregory Upert et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:50:20 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/816237/ Alternative pre-mRNA splicing has a major impact on cellular functions and development with the potential to fine-tune cellular localization, posttranslational modification, interaction properties, and expression levels of cognate proteins. The plasticity of regulation sets the stage for cells to adjust the relative levels of spliced mRNA isoforms in response to stress or stimulation. As part of an exon profiling analysis of mouse cortical neurons stimulated with high KCl to induce membrane depolarization, we detected a previously unrecognized exon (E24a) of the CASK gene, which encodes for a conserved peptide insertion in the guanylate kinase interaction domain. Comparative sequence analysis shows that E24a appeared selectively in mammalian CASK genes as part of a >3,000 base pair intron insertion. We demonstrate that a combination of a naturally defective 5 splice site and negative regulation by several splicing factors, including SC35 (SRSF2) and ASF/SF2 (SRSF1), drives E24a skipping in most cell types. However, this negative regulation is countered with an observed increase in E24a inclusion after neuronal stimulation and NMDA receptor signaling. Taken together, E24a is typically a skipped exon, which awakens during neuronal stimulation with the potential to diversify the protein interaction properties of the CASK polypeptide. Jill A. Dembowski, Ping An, Maritsa Scoulos-Hanson, Gene Yeo, Joonhee Han, Xiang-Dong Fu, and Paula J. Grabowski Copyright © 2012 Jill A. Dembowski et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 09 Sep 2012 09:08:17 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/295719/ Phage display technology is undoubtedly a powerful tool for affinity selection of target-specific peptide. Commercially available premade phage libraries allow us to take screening in the easiest way. On the other hand, construction of a custom phage library seems to be inaccessible, because several practical tips are absent in instructions. This paper focuses on what should be born in mind for beginners using commercially available cloning kits (Ph.D. with type 3 vector and T7Select systems for M13 and T7 phage, respectively). In the M13 system, Pro or a basic amino acid (especially, Arg) should be avoided at the N-terminus of peptide fused to gp3. In both systems, peptides containing odd number(s) of Cys should be designed with caution. Also, DNA sequencing of a constructed library before biopanning is highly recommended for finding unexpected bias. Keisuke Fukunaga and Masumi Taki Copyright © 2012 Keisuke Fukunaga and Masumi Taki. All rights reserved. Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:03:38 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/518162/ Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) has become an extremely powerful tool in chemistry and biology. Although PNA recognizes single-stranded nucleic acids with exceptionally high affinity and sequence selectivity, there is considerable ongoing effort to further improve properties of PNA for both fundamental science and practical applications. The present paper discusses selected recent studies that improve on cellular uptake and binding of PNA to double-stranded DNA and RNA. The focus is on chemical modifications of PNA's backbone and heterocyclic nucleobases. The paper selects representative recent studies and does not attempt to provide comprehensive coverage of the broad and vibrant field of PNA modification. Eriks Rozners Copyright © 2012 Eriks Rozners. All rights reserved. Mon, 03 Sep 2012 08:00:53 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/985260/ Early onset dystonia (EOD) is associated with a 3bp-(ΔGAG) in-frame deletion in the TOR1A gene, which encodes for torsinA. Carriers of the mutant (ΔGAG) allele can either develop or escape a dystonic phenotype (~30% penetrance). The expression ratio of the two alleles could be important for the manifestation or prevention of the disease since wild-type (WT) torsinA is thought to have protective function. Absence of an antibody discriminating WT from ΔE torsinA has precluded the determination ΔE and WT torsinA levels in manifesting and nonmanifesting carriers. We performed quantitative analysis of TOR1A allele expression in manifesting (MC) and nonmanifesting (NMC) carriers using quantitative allele-specific PCR (qASPCR) to determine the levels of mutant versus WT torsinA mRNA. The technique described showed high degree of specificity in detecting the two alleles. The present study represents the first comprehensive analysis of biallelic expression of the TOR1A gene in lymphoblast and brain samples from patients and NMC relatives. We demonstrate that mRNA is transcribed from both the WT and ΔGAG allele in peripheral and neural tissues with a trend for increased expression of the ΔGAG allele compared to the WT in carriers regardless of their phenotype and thus cannot account for the reduced penetrance. Ioanna A. Armata, Andreas I. Diplas, Laurie J. Ozelius, and Pullanipally Shashidharan Copyright © 2012 Ioanna A. Armata et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 22 Aug 2012 09:02:21 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/305867/ Multicomponent RNA-peptide complexes are attractive from the viewpoint of artificial design of functional biomacromolecular systems. We have developed self-folding and self-assembling RNAs that serve as templates to assist chemical ligation between two reactive peptides with RNA-binding capabilities. The design principle of previous templates, however, can be applied only to limited classes of RNA-binding peptides. In this study, we employed a two-piece derivative of a group I intron RNA from the Tetrahymena large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA) as a platform for new template RNAs. In this group I intron-based self-assembling platform, modules for the recognition of substrate peptides can be installed independently from modules holding the platform structure. The new self-assembling platform allows us to expand the repertoire of substrate peptides in template RNA design. Takahiro Tanaka, Hiroyuki Furuta, and Yoshiya Ikawa Copyright © 2012 Takahiro Tanaka et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 21 Aug 2012 08:19:31 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/971581/ Folded RNA molecules have recently emerged as critical regulatory elements in biological pathways, serving not just as carriers of genetic information but also as key components in enzymatic assemblies. In particular, the transactivation response element (TAR) of the HIV genome regulates transcriptional elongation by interacting specifically with the Tat protein, initiating the recruitment of the elongation complex. Preventing this interaction from occurring in vivo halts HIV replication, thus making RNA-binding molecules an intriguing pharmaceutical target. Using α-amino acids as starting materials, we have designed and synthesized a new class of polyamino-amido oligomers, called PAAs, specifically for binding to folded RNA structures. The PAA monomers were readily incorporated into a 125-member combinatorial library of PAA trimers. In order to rapidly assess RNA binding, a quantum dot-based fluorescent screen was developed to visualize RNA binding on-resin. The binding affinities of hits were quantified using a terbium footprinting assay, allowing us to identify a ligand (SFF) with low micromolar affinity (𝑘𝑑=14𝜇M) for TAR RNA. The work presented herein represents the development of a flexible scaffold that can be easily synthesized, screened, and subsequently modified to provide ligands specific for binding to folded RNAs. Jonathan K. Pokorski and Daniel H. Appella Copyright © 2012 Jonathan K. Pokorski and Daniel H. Appella. All rights reserved. Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:16:39 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/923214/ Directed evolution of proteins is a technique used to modify protein functions through “Darwinian selection.” In vitro compartmentalization (IVC) is an in vitro gene screening system for directed evolution of proteins. IVC establishes the link between genetic information (genotype) and the protein translated from the information (phenotype), which is essential for all directed evolution methods, by encapsulating both in a nonliving microcompartment. Herein, we introduce a new liposome-based IVC system consisting of a liposome, the protein synthesis using recombinant elements (PURE) system and a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) used as a microcompartment, in vitro protein synthesis system, and high-throughput screen, respectively. Liposome-based IVC is characterized by in vitro protein synthesis from a single copy of a gene in a cell-sized unilamellar liposome and quantitative functional evaluation of the synthesized proteins. Examples of liposome-based IVC for screening proteins such as GFP and β-glucuronidase are described. We discuss the future directions for this method and its applications. Takehiro Nishikawa, Takeshi Sunami, Tomoaki Matsuura, and Tetsuya Yomo Copyright © 2012 Takehiro Nishikawa et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:28:43 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/538129/ Here is presented a concept for in vitro selection of suppressor tRNAs. It uses a pool of dsDNA templates in compartmentalized water-in-oil micelles. The template contains a transcription/translation trigger, an amber stop codon, and another transcription trigger for the anticodon- or anticodon loop-randomized gene for tRNASer. Upon transcription are generated two types of RNAs, a tRNA and a translatable mRNA (mRNA-tRNA). When the tRNA suppresses the stop codon (UAG) of the mRNA, the full-length protein obtained upon translation remains attached to the mRNA (read-through ribosome display) that contains the sequence of the tRNA. In this way, the active suppressor tRNAs can be selected (amplified) and their sequences read out. The enriched anticodon (CUA) was complementary to the UAG stop codon and the enriched anticodon-loop was the same as that in the natural tRNASer. Atsushi Ogawa, Masayoshi Hayami, Shinsuke Sando, and Yasuhiro Aoyama Copyright © 2012 Atsushi Ogawa et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 08 Aug 2012 08:22:38 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jna/2012/392039/ In an ATP-dependent reaction, the Escherichia coli RecG helicase unwinds DNA junctions in vitro. We present evidence of a unique protein conformational change in the RecG helicase from an α-helix to a β-strand upon an ATP binding under dilute conditions using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. In contrast, under molecular crowding conditions, the α-helical conformation was stable even upon an ATP binding. These distinct conformational behaviors were observed to be independent of Na+ and Mg2+. Interestingly, CD measurements demonstrated that the spectra of a frayed duplex decreased with increasing of the RecG concentration both under dilute and molecular crowding conditions in the presence of ATP, suggesting that RecG unwound the frayed duplex. Our findings raise the possibility that the α-helix and β-strand forms of RecG are a preactive and an active structure with the helicase activity, respectively. Sarika Saxena, Satoru Nagatoishi, Daisuke Miyoshi, and Naoki Sugimoto Copyright © 2012 Sarika Saxena et al. All rights reserved.