ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5334-557X
Current Organisations
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
,
CSIRO
,
University of Oxford
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Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-02-2022
DOI: 10.1093/CVR/CVAC012
Abstract: Acute myocardial infarction rapidly increases blood neutrophils (& h). Release from bone marrow, in response to chemokine elevation, has been considered their source, but chemokine levels peak up to 24 h after injury, and after neutrophil elevation. This suggests that additional non-chemokine-dependent processes may be involved. Endothelial cell (EC) activation promotes the rapid (& min) release of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which have emerged as an important means of cell–cell signalling and are thus a potential mechanism for communicating with remote tissues. Here, we show that injury to the myocardium rapidly mobilizes neutrophils from the spleen to peripheral blood and induces their transcriptional activation prior to arrival at the injured tissue. Time course analysis of plasma-EV composition revealed a rapid and selective increase in EVs bearing VCAM-1. These EVs, which were also enriched for miRNA-126, accumulated preferentially in the spleen where they induced local inflammatory gene and chemokine protein expression, and mobilized splenic-neutrophils to peripheral blood. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we generated VCAM-1-deficient EC-EVs and showed that its deletion removed the ability of EC-EVs to provoke the mobilization of neutrophils. Furthermore, inhibition of miRNA-126 in vivo reduced myocardial infarction size in a mouse model. Our findings show a novel EV-dependent mechanism for the rapid mobilization of neutrophils to peripheral blood from a splenic reserve and establish a proof of concept for functional manipulation of EV-communications through genetic alteration of parent cells.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-07288-4
Abstract: Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are extracellular sacs containing biologically active products, such as proteins, cell wall components and toxins. OMVs are reported to contain DNA, however, little is known about the nature of this DNA, nor whether it can be transported into host cells. Our work demonstrates that chromosomal DNA is packaged into OMVs shed by bacteria during exponential phase. Most of this DNA was present on the external surfaces of OMVs, with smaller amounts located internally. The DNA within the internal compartments of Pseudomonas aeruginosa OMVs were consistently enriched in specific regions of the bacterial chromosome, encoding proteins involved in virulence, stress response, antibiotic resistance and metabolism. Furthermore, we demonstrated that OMVs carry DNA into eukaryotic cells, and this DNA was detectable by PCR in the nuclear fraction of cells. These findings suggest a role for OMV-associated DNA in bacterial-host cell interactions and have implications for OMV-based vaccines.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-10-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.18.464782
Abstract: Electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) and single-particle analysis (SPA) have revolutionized structure determination of homogeneous proteins. However, obtaining high-resolution structures from heterogeneous s les remains a major challenge, as the various protein states embedded in thin films of vitreous ice may be classified incorrectly, resulting in detrimental averaging of features. Here we present native electrospray ion-beam deposition (native ES-IBD) for the preparation of extremely high-purity cryo-EM s les, based on mass selection in vacuum. Folded protein ions are generated by native electrospray ionization, mass-filtered, and gently deposited on cryo-EM grids, and subsequently frozen in liquid nitrogen. We demonstrate homogeneous coverage of ice-free cryo-EM grids with mass-selected proteins and protein assemblies. SPA reveals that they remain structurally intact, but variations in secondary and tertiary structure are currently limiting information in 2D classes and 3D EM density maps. Our results show the potential of native ES-IBD to increase the scope and throughput of cryo-EM structure determination.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2008
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 09-2007
DOI: 10.1210/ME.2007-0077
Abstract: Endocrine cells are continually regulating the balance between hormone biosynthesis, secretion, and intracellular degradation to ensure that cellular hormone stores are maintained at optimal levels. In pancreatic beta-cells, intracellular insulin stores in beta-granules are mostly upheld by efficiently up-regulating proinsulin biosynthesis at the translational level to rapidly replenish the insulin lost via exocytosis. Under normal circumstances, intracellular degradation of insulin plays a relatively minor janitorial role in retiring aged beta-granules, apparently via crinophagy. However, this mechanism alone is not sufficient to maintain optimal insulin storage in beta-cells when insulin secretion is dysfunctional. Here, we show that despite an abnormal imbalance of glucose/glucagon-like peptide 1 regulated insulin production over secretion in Rab3A(-/-) mice compared with control animals, insulin storage levels were maintained due to increased intracellular beta-granule degradation. Electron microscopy analysis indicated that this was mediated by a significant 12-fold up-regulation of multigranular degradation vacuoles in Rab3A(-/-) mouse islet beta-cells (P <or= 0.001), which by further electron microscopy-tomography analysis was found to be mostly contributed by microautophagic activity. This increased autophagic activity in Rab3A(-/-) mouse islet beta-cells was associated with a specific decrease in islet lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2 gene expression (P <or= 0.05), at both the mRNA and protein expression levels. Lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2 is a documented negative regulator of autophagy. These findings indicate that the up-regulation of degradative pathways provides secretory-deficient endocrine cells with a compensatory mechanism for regulating their intracellular hormone content in vivo. These data may also have implications for the beta-cell's response to diminished insulin secretion during the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-08-2022
DOI: 10.1093/PNASNEXUS/PGAC153
Abstract: Despite tremendous advances in s le preparation and classification algorithms for electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) and single-particle analysis (SPA), s le heterogeneity remains a major challenge and can prevent access to high-resolution structures. In addition, optimization of preparation conditions for a given s le can be time-consuming. In the current work, it is demonstrated that native electrospray ion-beam deposition (native ES-IBD) is an alternative, reliable approach for the preparation of extremely high-purity s les, based on mass selection in vacuum. Folded protein ions are generated by native electrospray ionization, separated from other proteins, contaminants, aggregates, and fragments, gently deposited on cryo-EM grids, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and subsequently imaged by cryo-EM. We demonstrate homogeneous coverage of ice-free cryo-EM grids with mass-selected protein complexes. SPA reveals that the complexes remain folded and assembled, but variations in secondary and tertiary structures are currently limiting information in 2D classes and 3D EM density maps. We identify and discuss challenges that need to be addressed to obtain a resolution comparable to that of the established cryo-EM workflow. Our results show the potential of native ES-IBD to increase the scope and throughput of cryo-EM for protein structure determination and provide an essential link between gas-phase and solution-phase protein structures.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-12-2019
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDY426
Abstract: Deficiency of muscle basement membrane (MBM) component laminin-α2 leads to muscular dystrophy congenital type 1A (MDC1A), a currently untreatable myopathy. Laminin--α2 has two main binding partners within the MBM, dystroglycan and integrin. Integrins coordinate both cell adhesion and signalling however, there is little mechanistic insight into integrin's function at the MBM. In order to study integrin's role in basement membrane development and how this relates to the MBM's capacity to handle force, an itgβ1.b-/- zebrafish line was created. Histological examination revealed increased extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition at the MBM in the itgβ1.b-/- fish when compared with controls. Surprisingly, both laminin and collagen proteins were found to be increased in expression at the MBM of the itgβ1.b-/- larvae when compared with controls. This increase in ECM components resulted in a decrease in myotomal elasticity as determined by novel passive force analyses. To determine if it was possible to control ECM deposition at the MBM by manipulating integrin activity, RGD peptide, a potent inhibitor of integrin-β1, was injected into a zebrafish model of MDC1A. As postulated an increase in laminin and collagen was observed in the lama2-/- mutant MBM. Importantly, there was also an improvement in fibre stability at the MBM, judged by a reduction in fibre pathology. These results therefore show that blocking ITGβ1 signalling increases ECM deposition at the MBM, a process that could be potentially exploited for treatment of MDC1A.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 30-03-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/MMI.13055
Abstract: In Gram-negative bacteria, β-barrel proteins are integrated into the outer membrane by the β-barrel assembly machinery, with key components of the machinery being the Omp85 family members BamA and TamA. Recent crystal structures and cryo-electron microscopy show a erse set of secretion pores in Gram-negative bacteria, with α-helix (Wza and GspD) or β-strand (CsgG) transmembrane segments in the outer membrane. We developed assays to measure the assembly of three distinct secretion pores that mediate protein (GspD), curli fibre (CsgG) and capsular polysaccharide (Wza) secretion by bacteria and show that depletion of BamA and TamA does not diminish the assembly of Wza, GspD or CsgG. Like the well characterised pilotins for GspD and other secretins, small periplasmic proteins enhance the assembly of the CsgG β-barrel. We discuss a model for integral protein assembly into the bacterial outer membrane, focusing on the commonalities and differences in the assembly of Wza, GspD and CsgG.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2005
Publisher: American Diabetes Association
Date: 13-11-2011
DOI: 10.2337/DB11-0081
Abstract: The ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is essential for normal insulin secretion from β-cells. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the impaired insulin secretion in islets lacking β-cell ABCA1. Calcium imaging, patch cl , and membrane capacitance were used to assess the effect of ABCA1 deficiency on calcium flux, ion channel function, and exocytosis in islet cells. Electron microscopy was used to analyze β-cell ultrastructure. The quantity and distribution of proteins involved in insulin-granule exocytosis were also investigated. We show that a lack of β-cell ABCA1 results in impaired depolarization-induced exocytotic fusion of insulin granules. We observed disturbances in membrane microdomain organization and Golgi and insulin granule morphology in β-cells as well as elevated fasting plasma proinsulin levels in mice in the absence of β-cell ABCA1. Acute cholesterol depletion rescued the exocytotic defect in β-cells lacking ABCA1, indicating that elevated islet cholesterol accumulation directly impairs granule fusion and insulin secretion. Our data highlight a crucial role of ABCA1 and cellular cholesterol in β-cells that is necessary for regulated insulin granule fusion events. These data suggest that abnormalities of cholesterol metabolism may contribute to the impaired β-cell function in diabetes.
Location: Australia
Location: No location found
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Adam Costin.