The Oligopeptide Transporters： A Small Gene Family with a Diverse Group of Substrates and Functions？

Genes in the Oligopeptide Transport family encode integral membrane proteins that are believed to trans- locate their substrates from either the extracellular environment or an organelle into the cytosol. Phylogenetic analyses of plant transporters have revealed two distant clades. the Yellow Stripe-Like （YSL） proteins and the so-called Oligopeptide Transporters （OPTs）, for which the family was named. Three categories of substrates have been identified for this family： small peptides, secondary amino acids bound to metals, and glutathione. Notably, the YSL transporters are involved in metal homeostasis through the translocation of metal-chelates, indicating a level of conservation both in biological func- tion as well as substrates. In contrast, the functions of OPT proteins seem to be less defined and, in this review, I will examine the supporting and contradictory evidence for the proposed roles of OPTs in such diverse functions as long-dis- tance sulfur distribution, nitrogen mobilization, metal homeostasis, and heavy metal sequestration through the transport of glutathione, metal-chelates, and peptides.

Construction and characterization of intestinal oligopeptide transporter PepT1-targeted polymeric micelles for enhanced intestinal absorption of poorly water-soluble agents

To overcome the main barrier of intestinal epithelium for the oral absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs and further improve their oral absorption, Gly-Sar, the substrate of the oligopeptide transporter PepT1 widely distributed in the small intestine,conjugated poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactide)(Gly-Sar-PEG-b-PLA) was designed and synthesized, and Pep T1-targeted polymeric micelles were prepared and characterized. The structure of the synthesized Gly-Sar-PEG-b-PLA was confirmed by use of TLC and 1 H-NMR. The average molecular weight measured by GPC was 5954 g/mol with PDI of 1.34. The DiI-loaded polymeric micelles from Gly-Sar-PEG-b-PLA with drug loading content of 0.076% were characterized to exhibit 40.36 nm in diameter with PDI of 0.294, and well-defined spherical shape observed by TEM. Furthermore, the PepT1-targeted polymeric micelles profoundly enhanced intestinal absorption of poorly water-soluble drug. Therefore, the designed PepT1-targeted polymeric micelles might have a promising potential for oral delivery of water-insoluble drugs.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of SLC15A4 gene involved in the immune response in bovine rumen epithelial cells

The objective of this study was to determine the role of SLC15A4 in the muramyl dipeptide(MDP)-mediated inflammatory response of bovine rumen epithelial cells(BRECs).First,changes in the m RNA expression of proinflammatory factor genes in BRECs following 10μg m L^(–1)MDP treatments were examined.RT-q PCR results showed that the expression of pro-inflammatory factor(IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α)m RNAs were significantly increased under MDP stimulation(P<0.001).Moreover,SLC15A4-Knockout(SLC15A4-KO)cells were obtained through lentivirus packaging,transfection,screening,and cell monoclonal culture.In order to gain further insight into the potential function of SLC15A4,we utilized transcriptome data,which revealed a change in the genes between WT-BRECs and SLC15A4-KO.Five down-regulated pro-inflammatory genes and 13 down-regulated chemokine genes related to the inflammatory response were identified.Meanwhile,the down-regulated genes were mostly enriched in the nuclear factorκB(NF-κB)and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)signaling pathways.The results of RT-q PCR also verified these detected changes.To further determine the mechanism of how WT and SLC15A4-KO BRECs are involved in inflammatory responses,we investigated the inflammatory responses of cells exposed to MDP.WT-BRECs and SLC15A4-KO were treated with a culture medium containing 10μg m L^(–1)MDP,in comparison to a control without MDP.Our results show that SLC15A4-KO BRECs had reduced the expression of genes(IL-6,TNF-α,CXCL2,CXCL3,CXCL9,and CCL2)and proteins(p-p65 and p-p44/42)from the MDP-mediated inflammatory response compared to WT-BRECs(P<0.05).In this experiment,CRISPR-Cas9 was used to KO the di/tripeptide transporter SLC15A4,and its role was confirmed via the MDP-induced inflammatory response in BRECs.This work will provide a theoretical basis for studying the pro-inflammatory mechanism of MDP and its application in the prevention and treatment of subacute rumen acidosis in dairy cows.

Preparation and characterization of intestine PepT1-targeted calcium carbonate nanoparticles

To improve the oral absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs by overcoming the intestinal epithelium barrier, calcium carbonate nanoparticles targeting to intestine peptide transporter 1（Pep T1） were fabricated by modification of the surface of calcium carbonate nanoparticles with Gly-Sar. Gly-Sar-conjugated TPGS was successfully synthesized and characterized, and coumarin 6-loaded Gly-Sar modified calcium carbonate nanoparticles were then prepared and characterized to have a nano-scaled size of about 193 nm in diameter, cracked surface morphology under a scanning electron microscope, and high drug loading efficiency（60.5±5.9）%. Moreover, the Gly-Sar-modified calcium carbonate nanoparticles exhibited better drug loading stability during the process of their transcellular transport, and evidently enhanced intestinal absorption of poorly water-soluble agents. Therefore, the designed intestine Pep T1-targeted calcium carbonate nanoparticles might have a promising potential for oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs.