Browsing by Author "Harris, Robert"

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    Characterization of the Mitochondrial Proteome in Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Wild-Type and Knockout Mice
    (2009-06-24T12:51:58Z) Ringham, Heather Nicole; Wang, Mu; Harris, Robert; Witzmann, Frank
    The goal of this study was to determine the effect of a PDK4 (pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoenzyme 4) knock-out on mitochondrial protein expression. A 2-D gel based mass spectrometry approach was used to analyze the mitochondrial proteomes of PDK4 wild-type and knockout mice. Mitochondria were isolated from the kidneys of mice in both well-fed and starved states. Previous studies show PDK4 increases greatly in the kidney in response to starvation and diabetes suggesting its significance in glucose homeostasis. The mitochondrial fractions of the four experimental groups (PDK4+/+ fed, PDK4+/+ starved, PDK4-/- fed, and PDK4-/- starved) were separated via large- format, high resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Gels were scanned, image analyzed, and ANOVA performed followed by a pair-wise multiple comparison procedure (Holm-Sidak method) for statistical analysis. The abundance of a total of 87 unique protein spots was deemed significantly different (p<0.01). 22 spots were up- or down-regulated in the fed knockout vs. fed wild-type; 26 spots in the starved knockout vs. starved wild-type; 61 spots in the fed vs. starved wild-types; and 44 in the fed vs. starved knockouts. Altered protein spots were excised from the gel, trypsinized, and identified via tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Differentially expressed proteins identified with high confidence include ATP synthase proteins, fatty acid metabolism proteins, components of the citric acid cycle and electron transport chain. Proteins of interest were analyzed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) to examine relationships among the proteins and analyze biological pathways, as well as ontological analysis with Generic Gene Ontology (GO) Term Mapper. IPA found a number of canonical pathways, biological functions, and functional networks associated with the 87 proteins. Oxidative phosphorylation was the pathway associated with a majority of the proteins, while the largest network of proteins involved carbohydrate metabolism and energy production. Overall, the effects of starvation were more extensive on mitochondrial protein expression than the PDK4 knockout.
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    Multiple, Nutrient Sensing Kinases Converge to Phosphorylate an Element of cdc34 That Increases Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Lifespan
    (2009-08) Cocklin, Ross Roland; Goebl, Mark G.; Bard, Martin; Harrington, Maureen; Harris, Robert; Wang, Mu
    Growth and division are tightly coordinated with available nutrient conditions. Cells of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, grow to a larger size prior to budding and DNA replication when preferred carbon sources such as glucose, as opposed to less preferred sources like ethanol and acetate, are available. A culture’s doubling time is also significantly reduced when the available carbon and nitrogen sources are more favorable. These physiological phenomena are well documented but the precise molecular mechanisms relaying nutrient conditions to the growth and division machinery are not well defined. I demonstrate here that Cdc34, the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme that promotes S phase entry, is phosphorylated upon a highly conserved serine residue which is part of a motif that defines the family of Cdc34/Ubc7 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes. This phosphorylation is regulated by multiple, nutrient sensing kinases including Protein Kinase A, Sch9 and TOR. Furthermore, this phosphorylation event is regulated through the cell cycle with the sole induction occurring in the G1 phase which is when nutrients are sensed and cells commit to another round of division. This phosphorylation likely activates Cdc34 and in turn propagates a signal to the cell division cycle machinery that nutrient conditions are favorable for commitment to a new round of division. This phosphorylation is critical for normal cell cycle progression but must be carefully controlled when cells are deprived of nutrients. Crippling the activity of Protein Kinase A, SCH9 or TOR increases the proportion of cells that survive stationary phase conditions, which because of the metabolic conditions that must be maintained and the similarity to post-mitotic mammalian cells, is referred to as a yeast culture’s chronological lifespan. Yeast cells expressing Cdc34 mutants that are no longer subject to this regulation by phosphorylation have a reduced chronological lifespan. A precise molecular mechanism describing the change in Cdc34 activity after phosphorylation of this serine residue is discussed.