d-ribo-phytosphingosine-1-phosphate and phytosphingosine

Arabidopsis LONG-CHAIN BASE KINASE 1 (LCBK1) interacts with MEDEA, a component of PCR2 complex that negatively regulates immunity. LCBK1 phosphorylates phytosphingosine and thereby promotes stomatal immunity against bacterial pathogens. Arabidopsis polycomb-group repressor complex2 (PRC2) protein MEDEA (MEA) suppresses both pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI). MEA represses the expression of RPS2 and thereby attenuates AvrRpt2 effector-mediated ETI. However, the mechanism of MEA-mediated PTI diminution was not known. By screening the Arabidopsis cDNA library using yeast-2-hybrid interaction, we identified LONG-CHAIN BASE KINASE1 (LCBK1) as an MEA-interacting protein. We found that lcbk1 mutants are susceptible to virulent bacterial pathogens, such as Pseudomonas syringae pv maculicola (Psm) and P. syringae pv tomato (Pst) but not the avirulent strain of Pst that carries AvrRpt2 effector. Pathogen inoculation induces LCBK1 expression, especially in guard cells. We found that LCBK1 has a positive regulatory role in stomatal closure after pathogen inoculation. WT plants close stomata within an hour of Pst inoculation or flg22 (a 22 amino acid peptide from bacterial flagellin protein that activates PTI) treatment, but not lcbk1 mutants. LCBK1 phosphorylates phytosphingosine (PHS). Exogenous application of phosphorylated PHS (PHS-P) induces stomatal closure and rescues loss-of-PTI phenotype of lcbk1 mutant plants. MEA overexpressing (MEA-Oex) plants are defective, whereas loss-of-function mea-6 mutants are hyperactive in PTI-induced stomatal closure. Exogenous application of PHS-P rescues loss-of-PTI in MEA-Oex plants. Results altogether demonstrate that LCBK1 is an interactor of MEA that positively regulates PTI-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis.

Topics: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Phosphotransferases; Plant Diseases; Plant Stomata; Sphingosine

Calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp), the main constituent of dental enamel, is inherently susceptible to the etching and dissolving action of acids, resulting in tooth decay such as dental caries and dental erosion. Since the prevalence of erosive wear is gradually increasing, there is urgent need for agents that protect the enamel against erosive attacks. In the present study we studied in vitro the anti-erosive effects of a number of sphingolipids and sphingoid bases, which form the backbone of sphingolipids. Pretreatment of HAp discs with sphingosine, phytosphingosine (PHS), PHS phosphate and sphinganine significantly protected these against acid-induced demineralization by 80 ± 17%, 78 ± 17%, 78 ± 7% and 81 ± 8%, respectively (p < 0.001). On the other hand, sphingomyelin, acetyl PHS, octanoyl PHS and stearoyl PHS had no anti-erosive effects. Atomic force measurement revealed that HAp discs treated with PHS were almost completely and homogeneously covered by patches of PHS. This suggests that PHS and other sphingoid bases form layers on the surface of HAp, which act as diffusion barriers against H(+) ions. In principle, these anti-erosive properties make PHS and related sphingosines promising and attractive candidates as ingredients in oral care products.

Topics: Adsorption; Citric Acid; Dental Pellicle; Diffusion; Durapatite; Edetic Acid; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Materials Testing; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Protective Agents; Protein Kinase C; Sphingolipids; Sphingomyelins; Sphingosine; Surface Properties; Time Factors; Tooth Erosion

Previous research has shown that 1% to 10% of sessile Candida albicans cells survive treatment with high doses of miconazole (a fungicidal imidazole). In the present study, we investigated the involvement of sphingolipid biosynthetic intermediates in this survival. We observed that the LCB4 gene, coding for the enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of dihydrosphingosine and phytosphingosine, is important in governing the miconazole resistance of sessile Saccharomyces cerevisiae and C. albicans cells. The addition of 10 nM phytosphingosine-1-phosphate (PHS-1-P) drastically reduced the intracellular miconazole concentration and significantly increased the miconazole resistance of a hypersusceptible C. albicans heterozygous LCB4/lcb4 mutant, indicating a protective effect of PHS-1-P against miconazole-induced cell death in sessile cells. At this concentration of PHS-1-P, we did not observe any effect on the fluidity of the cytoplasmic membrane. The protective effect of PHS-1-P was not observed when the efflux pumps were inhibited or when tested in a mutant without functional efflux systems. Also, the addition of PHS-1-P during miconazole treatment increased the expression levels of genes coding for efflux pumps, leading to the hypothesis that PHS-1-P acts as a signaling molecule and enhances the efflux of miconazole in sessile C. albicans cells.

Topics: Antifungal Agents; Candida albicans; Cell Membrane; Drug Resistance, Fungal; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Membrane Transport Proteins; Miconazole; Mutation; Phosphorylation; Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Signal Transduction; Sphingosine

Topics: Acetyltransferases; Acyltransferases; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Fungal Proteins; Growth Inhibitors; Membrane Proteins; Mixed Function Oxygenases; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Serine C-Palmitoyltransferase; Signal Transduction; Sphingolipids; Sphingosine