EhCoactosin Stabilizes Actin Filaments in the Protist Parasite Entamoeba histolytica

Entamoeba histolytica is a protist parasite that is the causative agent of amoebiasis, and is a highly motile organism. The motility is essential for its survival and pathogenesis, and a dynamic actin cytoskeleton is required for this process. EhCoactosin, an actin-binding protein of the ADF/cofilin family, participates in actin dynamics, and here we report our studies of this protein using both structural and functional approaches. The X-ray crystal structure of EhCoactosin resembles that of human coactosin-like protein, with major differences in the distribution of surface charges and the orientation of terminal regions. According to in vitro binding assays, full-length EhCoactosin binds both F- and G-actin. Instead of acting to depolymerize or severe F-actin, EhCoactosin directly stabilizes the polymer. When EhCoactosin was visualized in E. histolytica cells using either confocal imaging or total internal reflectance microscopy, it was found to colocalize with F-actin at phagocytic cups. Over-expression of this protein stabilized F-actin and inhibited the phagocytic process. EhCoactosin appears to be an unusual type of coactosin involved in E. histolytica actin dynamics.     

Reversion mutation of cDNA CA8-204 minigene construct produces a truncated functional peptide that regulates calcium release in vitro and produces profound analgesia in vivo

Mammalian Genome - Intracellular calcium is critical in orchestrating neuronal excitability and analgesia. Carbonic anhydrase-8 (CA8) regulates intracellular calcium signaling through allosteric...     

Epigenetic Modulation in Parkinson’s Disease and Potential Treatment Therapies

In the recent past, huge emphasis has been given to the epigenetic alterations of the genes responsible for the cause of neurological disorders. Earlier, the scientists believed somatic changes and modifications in the genetic makeup of DNA to be the main cause of the neurodegenerative diseases. With the increase in understanding of the neural network and associated diseases, it was observed that alterations in the gene expression were not always originated by the change in the genetic sequence. For this reason, extensive research has been conducted to understand the role of epigenetics in the pathophysiology of several neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and, Huntington’s disease. In a healthy person, the epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis of a cell by either up-regulating or down-regulating the genes. Therefore, improved understanding of these modifications may provide better insight about the diseases and may serve as potential therapeutic targets for their treatment. The present review describes various epigenetic modifications involved in the pathology of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) backed by multiple researches carried out to study the gene expression regulation related to the epigenetic alterations. Additionally, we will briefly go through the current scenario about the various treatment therapies including small molecules and multiple phytochemicals potent enough to reverse these alterations and the future directions for a better management of PD.

     

Palynomorph distribution in a mangrove ecosystem along environmental and salinity gradient: a tool for palaeoecological reconstruction

Pollen assemblages closely reflect the local vegetation that characterizes the salinity status, providing useful analogs for paleoecologxical reconstruction in regional deposits. Palynological evidences of surface sediments from the Coringa mangrove wetland were correlated with the physicochemical and sediment salinity records to observe the relationship between them. The statistical analysis of the data obtained here revealed a marked horizontal salinity gradient from north to south.. In this study, ordination (detrended correspondence analysis) of palynomorph groups has identified a salinity gradient of 1.1 to 3.0 PSU from the north to the south in the wetland. High palynomorph deposition and lower salinity are observed along channel margins due to the mixing of estuarine water during the rainy season. The mudflats along the transects show a lower diversity of plants in the pollen record and high total dissolved solids (TDS) than commonly found in the coastal wetlands. The presence of scrubby halophytic vegetation in the upper saltmarsh and oligohaline-freshwater vegetation in the low tidal saline marshes is a zonation pattern related to the localized influence of freshwater conditions. Palynomarine Index (PMI) reveals the highest freshwater/tidal inundation along Ramannapalem due to the presence of numerous riverine channels while the remaining part of the wetland has restricted tidal inundation leading to the conversion of mangrove forests to salt pans and paddy fields. Thus, the health and productivity of the mangrove ecosystem are also governed by hydrodynamics, catchment land use, water discharge in the channels, and tidal flushing.

     

L-leucine stimulation of glucose uptake and utilization involves modulation of glucose – lipid metabolic switch and improved bioenergetic homeostasis in isolated rat psoas muscle ex vivo

Amino Acids - The antidiabetic effect of l-leucine has been attributed to its modulatory effect on glucose uptake and lipid metabolism in muscles. However, there is a dearth on its effect on...     

Life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of biochar produced from forest residues using portable systems

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Producing biochar from forest residues can help resolve environmental issues by reducing forest fires and mitigating climate change. However,...     

The Journey from Two-Step to Multi-Step Phosphorelay Signaling Systems

BackgroundThe two-component signaling (TCS) system is an important signal transduction machinery in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, excluding animals, that uses a protein phosphorylation mechanism for signal transmission.ConclusionProkaryotes have a primitive type of TCS machinery, which mainly comprises a membrane-bound sensory histidine kinase (HK) and its cognate cytoplasmic response regulator (RR). Hence, it is sometimes referred to as two-step phosphorelay (TSP). Eukaryotes have more sophisticated signaling machinery, with an extra component - a histidine-containing phosphotransfer (HPT) protein that shuttles between HK and RR to communicate signal baggage. As a result, the TSP has evolved from a two-step phosphorelay (His–Asp) in simple prokaryotes to a multi-step phosphorelay (MSP) cascade (His–Asp–His–Asp) in complex eukaryotic organisms, such as plants, to mediate the signaling network. This molecular evolution is also reflected in the form of considerable structural modifications in the domain architecture of the individual components of the TCS system. In this review, we present TCS system''s evolutionary journey from the primitive TSP to advanced MSP type across the genera. This information will be highly useful in designing the future strategies of crop improvement based on the individual members of the TCS machinery.