Regulated proteolysis by cortical granule serine protease 1 at fertilization

Novel Ex Vivo Zymography Approach for Assessment of Protease Activity in Tissues with Activatable Antibodies

Proteases are involved in the control of numerous physiological processes, and their dysregulation has been identified in a wide range of pathologies, including cancer. Protease activity is normally tightly regulated post-translationally and therefore cannot be accurately estimated based on mRNA or protein expression alone. While several types of zymography approaches to estimate protease activity exist, there remains a need for a robust and reliable technique to measure protease activity in biological tissues. We present a novel quantitative ex vivo zymography (QZ) technology based on Probody^® therapeutics (Pb-Tx), a novel class of protease-activated cancer therapeutics that contain a substrate linker cleavable by tumor-associated proteases. This approach enables the measurement and comparison of protease activity in biological tissues via the detection of Pb-Tx activation. By exploiting substrate specificity and selectivity, cataloguing and differentiating protease activities is possible, with further refinement achieved using protease-specific inhibitors. Using the QZ assay and human tumor xenografts, patient tumor tissues, and patient plasma, we characterized protease activity in preclinical and clinical samples. The QZ assay offers the potential to increase our understanding of protease activity in tissues and inform diagnostic and therapeutic development for diseases, such as cancer, that are characterized by dysregulated proteolysis.

Monitoring Proteolytic Activity in Real Time: A New World of Opportunities for Biosensors

Proteases play a pivotal role in several biological processes, from digestion, cell proliferation, and differentiation to fertility. Deregulation of protease metabolism can result in several pathological conditions (i.e., cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and others). Therefore, monitoring proteolytic activity in real time could have a fundamental role in the early diagnosis of these diseases. Herein, the main approaches used to develop biosensors for monitoring proteolytic activity are reviewed. A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach is provided along with a discussion of their importance and promising opportunities for the early diagnosis of severe diseases. This new era of biosensors can be characterized by the ability to control and monitor biological processes, ultimately improving the potential of personalized medicine.

Probabilistic risk assessment of the effect of acidified seawater on development stages of sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis)

Growing evidence indicates that ocean acidification has a significant impact on calcifying marine organisms. However, there is a lack of exposure risk assessments for aquatic organisms under future environmentally relevant ocean acidification scenarios. The objective of this study was to investigate the probabilistic effects of acidified seawater on the life-stage response dynamics of fertilization, larvae growth, and larvae mortality of the green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis). We incorporated the regulation of primary body cavity (PBC) pH in response to seawater pH into the assessment by constructing an explicit model to assess effective life-stage response dynamics to seawater or PBC pH levels. The likelihood of exposure to ocean acidification was also evaluated by addressing the uncertainties of the risk characterization. For unsuccessful fertilization, the estimated 50% effect level of seawater acidification (EC50 _SW ) was 0.55 ± 0.014 (mean ± SE) pH units. This life stage was more sensitive than growth inhibition and mortality, for which the EC50 values were 1.13 and 1.03 pH units, respectively. The estimated 50% effect levels of PBC pH (EC50 _PBC ) were 0.99 ± 0.05 and 0.88 ± 0.006 pH units for growth inhibition and mortality, respectively. We also predicted the probability distributions for seawater and PBC pH levels in 2100. The level of unsuccessful fertilization had 50 and 90% probability risks of 5.07-24.51 (95% CI) and 0-6.95%, respectively. We conclude that this probabilistic risk analysis model is parsimonious enough to quantify the multiple vulnerabilities of the green sea urchin while addressing the systemic effects of ocean acidification. This study found a high potential risk of acidification affecting the fertilization of the green sea urchin, whereas there was no evidence for adverse effects on growth and mortality resulting from exposure to the predicted acidified environment.

A real-time fluorescence assay for protease activity and inhibitor screening based on the aggregation-caused quenching of a perylene probe

We have established a real-time and label-free fluorescence turn-on strategy for protease activity detection and inhibitor screening via peptide-induced aggregation-caused quenching of a perylene probe. Because of electrostatic interactions and high hydrophilicity, poly-l-glutamic acid sodium salt (PGA; a negatively charged peptide) could induce aggregation of a positively charged perylene probe (probe 1) and the monomer fluorescence of probe 1 was effectively quenched. After a protease was added, PGA was enzymatically hydrolyzed into small fragments and probe 1 disaggregated. The fluorescence recovery of probe 1 was found to be proportional to the concentration of protease in the range from 0 to 1 mU/ml. The detection limit was down to 0.1 mU/ml. In the presence of a protease inhibitor, protease activity was inhibited and fluorescence recovery reduced. Moreover, we demonstrated the potential application of our method in a complex mixture sample including 1% human serum. Our method is simple, fast and cost effective.

An ultrasensitive fluorescent nanosensor for trypsin based on upconversion nanoparticles

Trypsin and its inhibitors are relevant to many physiological processes and diseases. In this study, a nanosensor capable of detecting trypsin and its inhibitors was designed based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) and gold nanoparticle (AuNP). UCNP and AuNP were linked by a trypsin-sensitive peptide DDDDARC, forming the non-fluorescent UCNP-peptide-AuNP nanosensor. In the presence of trypsin, the peptide was cleaved and the quenched fluorescence was restored; in the presence of trypsin inhibitors, the recovery of the fluorescence was decreased. The nanosensor showed a superb sensitivity and selectivity for trypsin and its inhibitors, with a detection limit of 4.15ngmL^-1 for trypsin. UCNP-peptide-AuNP could eliminate the interference of background fluorescence and avoid the light toxicity, and potentially be used to diagnose trypsin-related diseases or screen trypsin inhibitors.

Regeneration in bipinnaria larvae of the bat star Patiria miniata induces rapid and broad new gene expression

BACKGROUND

Some metazoa have the capacity to regenerate lost body parts. This phenomenon in adults has been classically described in echinoderms, especially in sea stars (Asteroidea). Sea star bipinnaria larvae can also rapidly and effectively regenerate a complete larva after surgical bisection. Understanding the capacity to reverse cell fates in the larva is important from both a developmental and biomedical perspective; yet, the mechanisms underlying regeneration in echinoderms are poorly understood.

RESULTS

Here, we describe the process of bipinnaria regeneration after bisection in the bat star Patiria miniata. We tested transcriptional, translational, and cell proliferation activity after bisection in anterior and posterior bipinnaria halves as well as expression of SRAP, reported as a sea star regeneration associated protease (Vickery et al., 2001b). Moreover, we found several genes whose transcripts increased in abundance following bisection, including: Vasa, dysferlin, vitellogenin 1 and vitellogenin 2.

CONCLUSION

These results show a transformation following bisection, especially in the anterior halves, of cell fate reassignment in all three germ layers, with clear and predictable changes. These results define molecular events that accompany the cell fate changes coincident to the regenerative response in echinoderm larvae.

Preparation and use of sea urchin egg homogenates

Cell homogenates provide a simple and yet powerful means of investigating the actions of Ca(2+)-mobilizing second messengers and their target Ca(2+) stores. The sea urchin egg homogenate is particularly useful and almost unique in retaining robust Ca(2+) responses to all three major messengers, i.e., inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), cyclic ADP-ribose, and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) (Lee and Aarhus. J Biol Chem 270: 2152-2172, 1995). It is not only invaluable for probing the pharmacology and mechanism of action of these messengers, but can also be used to assay Ca(2+) uptake mechanisms (Churchill et al. Cell 111: 703-708, 2002), second messenger production (Morgan et al. Methods in cADPR and NAADP research. In: Putney JW Jr (ed) Methods in calcium signalling, CRC: Boca Raton, FL, 2006), and dynamics of luminal pH (pHL) changes within acidic Ca(2+) stores (Lee and Epel. Dev Biol 98: 446-454, 1983; Morgan and Galione. Biochem J 402: 301-310, 2007). Here, we detail the protocols for preparing and using egg homogenates, wherein eggs are shed and collected into artificial sea water (ASW), dejellied, washed several times in Ca(2+)-free ASW, and then finally washed and resuspended in an intracellular-like medium. Homogenization is effected with a Dounce glass tissue homogenizer (at 50 % (v/v)) and aliquots frozen and stored at -80 °C. For Ca(2+) (or pHL) measurements, homogenate is thawed and sequentially diluted in an intracellular-like medium and the fluorescence of Ca(2+)- or pHL-sensitive dyes monitored in a standard fluorimeter or plate-reader.

Ocean acidification and fertilization in the antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri: the importance of polyspermy

Ocean acidification (OA), the reduction of the seawater pH as a result of increasing levels of atmospheric CO2, is an important climate change stressor in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic. We examined the impact of OA on fertilization success in the Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri using pH treatment conditions reflective of the current and near-future "pH seascape" for this species: current (control: pH 8.052, 384.1 μatm of pCO2), a high CO2 treatment approximating the 0.2-0.3 unit decrease in pH predicted for 2100 (high CO2: pH 7.830, 666.0 μatm of pCO2), and an intermediate medium CO2 (pH 7.967, 473.4 μatm of pCO2). Using a fertilization kinetics approach and mixed-effect models, we observed significant variation in the OA response between individual male/female pairs (N = 7) and a significant population-level increase (70-100%) in tb (time for a complete block to polyspermy) at medium and high CO2, a mechanism that potentially explains the higher levels of abnormal development seen in OA conditions. However, two pairs showed higher fertilization success with CO2 treatment and a nonsignificant effect. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms and levels of interindividual variability in OA response, so that we can consider the potential for selection and adaptation of organisms to a future ocean.

Diversity in the fertilization envelopes of echinoderms

Cell surface changes in an egg at fertilization are essential to begin development and for protecting the zygote. Most fertilized eggs construct a barrier around themselves by modifying their original extracellular matrix. This construction usually results from calcium-induced exocytosis of cortical granules, the contents of which in sea urchins function to form the fertilization envelope (FE), an extracellular matrix of cortical granule contents built upon a vitelline layer scaffold. Here, we examined the molecular mechanism of this process in sea stars, a close relative of the sea urchins, and analyze the evolutionary changes that likely occurred in the functionality of this structure between these two organisms. We find that the FE of sea stars is more permeable than in sea urchins, allowing diffusion of molecules in excess of 2 megadaltons. Through a proteomic and transcriptomic approach, we find that most, but not all, of the proteins present in the sea urchin envelope are present in sea stars, including SFE9, proteoliaisin, and rendezvin. The mRNAs encoding these FE proteins accumulated most densely in early oocytes, and then beginning with vitellogenesis, these mRNAs decreased in abundance to levels nearly undetectable in eggs. Antibodies to the SFE9 protein of sea stars showed that the cortical granules in sea star also accumulated most significantly in early oocytes, but different from sea urchins, they translocated to the cortex of the oocytes well before meiotic initiation. These results suggest that the preparation for cell surface changes in sea urchins has been shifted to later in oogenesis, and perhaps reflects the meiotic differences among the species-sea star oocytes are stored in prophase of meiosis and fertilized during the meiotic divisions, as in most animals, whereas sea urchins are one of the few taxons in which eggs have completed meiosis prior to fertilization.

Sea urchin eggs in the acid reign

Sea urchin eggs have been an indispensable model system for studying egg activation and ionic signalling for at least a century. Instrumental in the discovery of two Ca(2+)-mobilizing second messengers, cyclic ADP-ribose and NAADP, the sea urchin has revolutionized cell biology for all phyla. This review attempts to summarize what we currently know about egg acidic vesicles in the context of Ca(2+) signalling. The dynamics of Ca(2+) storage, Ca(2+) mobilization, proton fluxes and two-pore channels will be discussed.

Cell surface changes in the egg at fertilization

An egg changes dramatically at fertilization. These changes include its developmental potential, its physiology, its gene expression profile, and its cell surface. This review highlights the changes in the cell surface of the egg that occur in response to sperm. These changes include modifications to the extracellular matrix, to the plasma membrane, and to the secretory vesicles whose contents direct many of these events. In some species, these changes occur within minutes of fertilization, and are sufficiently dramatic so that they can be seen by the light microscope. Many of these morphological changes were documented in remarkable detail early in the 1900 s by Ernest Everett Just. A recent conference in honor of his contributions stimulated this overview. We highlight the major cell surface changes that occur in echinoderms, one of Just's preferred research organisms.

A trypsin-like protease with apparent dual function in early Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer) development

BACKGROUND

Trypsin-like serine proteases are involved in a large number of processes including digestive degradation, regulation of developmental processes, yolk degradation and yolk degradome activation. Trypsin like peptidases considered to be involved in digestion have been characterized in Lepeophtheirus salmonis. During these studies a trypsin-like peptidase which differed in a number of traits were identified.

RESULTS

An intronless trypsin-like serine peptidase (LsTryp10) from L., salmonis was identified and characterized. LsTryp10 mRNA is evenly distributed in the ovaries and oocytes, but is located along the ova periphery. LsTryp10 protein is deposited in the oocytes and all embryonic cells. LsTryp10 mRNA translation and concurrent degradation after fertilization was found in the embryos demonstrating that LsTryp10 protein is produced both by the embryo and maternally. The results furthermore indicate that LsTryp10 protein of maternal origin has a distribution pattern different to that of embryonic origin.

CONCLUSION

Based on present data and previous studies of peptidases in oocytes and embryos, we hypothesize that maternally deposited LsTryp10 protein is involved in regulation of the yolk degradome. The function of LsTryp10 produced by the embryonic cells remains unknown. To our knowledge a similar expression pattern has not previously been reported for any protease.

Extracellular matrix modifications at fertilization: regulation of dityrosine crosslinking by transamidation

Fertilization is accompanied by the construction of an extracellular matrix that protects the new zygote. In sea urchins, this structure is built from glycoproteins residing at the egg surface and in secretory vesicles at the egg cortex. Four enzymatic activities are required for the transformation of these proteins into the mechanically and chemically resilient fertilization envelope: proteolysis, transamidation, NADPH-dependent oxidation and peroxidation. Here, we identify the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus enzymes responsible for the formation of epsilon(gamma-glutamyl)lysine crosslinks (transamidation). We find that these two transglutaminases are activated by local acidification and act on specific substrates within the fertilization envelope (including ovoperoxidase, rendezvin and SFE9). Surprisingly, these enzymes also regulate dityrosine crosslinking both by direct conjugation of ovoperoxidase and by modulating hydrogen peroxide production. Together, these results emphasize how transglutaminases can coordinate the activities of other enzymes during extracellular matrix transmogrifications.

Ca(2+) signaling occurs via second messenger release from intraorganelle synthesis sites

Cyclic ADP-ribose is an important Ca(2+)-mobilizing cytosolic messenger synthesized from beta-NAD(+) by ADP-ribosyl cyclases (ARCs). However, the focus upon ectocellular mammalian ARCs (CD38 and CD157) has led to confusion as to how extracellular enzymes generate intracellular messengers in response to stimuli. We have cloned and characterized three ARCs in the sea urchin egg and found that endogenous ARCbeta and ARCgamma are intracellular and located within the lumen of acidic, exocytotic vesicles, where they are optimally active. Intraorganelle ARCs are shielded from cytosolic substrate and targets by the organelle membrane, but this barrier is circumvented by nucleotide transport. We show that a beta-NAD(+) transporter provides ARC substrate that is converted luminally to cADPR, which, in turn, is shuttled out to the cytosol via a separate cADPR transporter. Moreover, nucleotide transport is integral to ARC activity physiologically because three transport inhibitors all inhibited the fertilization-induced Ca(2+) wave that is dependent upon cADPR. This represents a novel signaling mechanism whereby an extracellular stimulus increases the concentration of a second messenger by promoting messenger transport from intraorganelle synthesis sites to the cytosol.

Free-radical crosslinking of specific proteins alters the function of the egg extracellular matrix at fertilization

All animal embryos begin development by modifying the egg extracellular matrix. This protein-rich matrix protects against polyspermy, microbes and mechanical stress via enzyme-dependent transformations that alter the organization of its constituents. Using the sea urchin fertilization envelope,a well-defined extracellular structure formed within minutes of fertilization,we examine the mechanisms whereby limited permeability is established within this matrix. We find that the fertilization envelope acquires a barrier filtration of 40,000 daltons within minutes of insemination via a peroxidase-dependent mechanism, with dynamics that parallel requisite production of hydrogen peroxide by the zygote. To identify the molecular targets of this free-radical modification, we developed an in vivo technique to label and isolate the modified matrix components for mass spectrometry. This method revealed that four of the six major extracellular matrix components are selectively crosslinked, discriminating even sibling proteins from the same gene. Thus, specific free-radical chemistry is essential for establishing the embryonic microenvironment of early development.

Fertilization and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate induce pH changes in acidic Ca(2+) stores in sea urchin eggs

The second messenger nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) releases Ca(2+) from the acidic Ca(2+) stores of many organisms, including those of the sea urchin egg. We investigated whether the pH within the lumen of these acidic organelles changes in response to stimuli. Fertilization activates the egg by Ca(2+) release dependent upon NAADP, and accordingly, we report that fertilization also alters organellar pH in a spatio-temporally complex manner. Upon sperm fusion, vesicles deep in the egg center slowly acidify, whereas cortical vesicles undergo a rapid alkalinization. The cortical vesicle alkalinization is independent of exocytosis and cytosolic pH but coincides with the NAADP-dependent fertilization Ca(2+) wave. Microinjection of NAADP mimicked the fertilization cortical response, suggesting that it occurred within NAADP-sensitive acidic Ca(2+) stores. Our data show that NAADP and physiological stimuli alter the pH within intracellular organelles and suggest that NAADP signals through pH as well as Ca(2+).

Defending the zygote: search for the ancestral animal block to polyspermy

Fertilization is the union of a single sperm and an egg, an event that results in a diploid embryo. Animals use many mechanisms to achieve this ratio; the most prevalent involves physically blocking the fusion of subsequent sperm. Selective pressures to maintain monospermy have resulted in an elaboration of diverse egg and sperm structures. The processes employed for monospermy are as diverse as the animals that result from this process. Yet, the fundamental molecular requirements for successful monospermic fertilization are similar, implying that animals may have a common ancestral block to polyspermy. Here, we explore this hypothesis, reviewing biochemical, molecular, and genetic discoveries that lend support to a common ancestral mechanism. We also consider the evolution of alternative or radical techniques, including physiological polyspermy, with respect to our ability to describe a parsimonious guide to fertilization.

βγ subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins contribute to Ca2+ release at fertilization in the sea urchin

A cytoplasmic Ca2+ transient is required for egg activation at fertilization in all animals. The pathway leading to release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum in echinoderms includes activation of a SRC homolog, followed by phospholipase Cγ activation, and formation of inositol trisphosphate. However, the upstream activators or modulators of this signaling pathway are not known. We recently identified four Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins present in the sea urchin egg, and here we find that activation of G-proteins of the Gαs and Gαq type, but not Gαi or Gα12 type, is required for normal Ca2+ dynamics at fertilization. The effects of these G-proteins are mediated by the Gβγ subunits, occur upstream of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ release, and influence both the amplitude of Ca2+ release and the duration of the lag phase. We propose integration of the G-protein input into the framework of signaling at sea urchin fertilization.