Text mining of full-text journal articles combined with gene expression analysis reveals a relationship between sphingosine-1-phosphate and invasiveness of a glioblastoma cell line

Background  

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a lysophospholipid, is involved in various cellular processes such as migration, proliferation, and survival. To date, the impact of S1P on human glioblastoma is not fully understood. Particularly, the concerted role played by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and S1P in aggressive tumor behavior and angiogenesis remains to be elucidated.     

Gelatin microspheres containing calcitonin gene-related peptide or substance P repair bone defects in osteoporotic rabbits

Objectives

To investigate the therapeutic effect of gelatin microspheres containing different concentrations of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or substance P on repairing bone defects in a rabbit osteoporosis model.

Results

Gelatin microspheres containing different concentrations of CGRP or substance P promoted osteogenesis after 3 months in a rabbit osteoporotic bone defective model. From micro-computed tomography imaging results, 10 nM CGRP was optimal for increasing the trabecular number and decreasing the trabecular bone separation degree; similar effects were observed with the microspheres containing 1 µM substance P. Histological analysis showed that the gelatin microspheres containing CGRP or substance P, regardless of the concentration, effectively promoted osteogenesis, and the highest effect was achieved in the groups containing 1 µM CGRP or 1 µM substance P.

Conclusions

Gelatin microspheres containing CGRP or substance P effectively promoted osteogenesis in a rabbit osteoporotic bone defect model dose-dependently, though their effects in repairing human alveolar ridge defects still need further investigation.

     

Enhanced inhibition of Aspergillus niger on sedge (Lepironia articulata) treated with heat‐cured lime oil

Aims

This study aimed to examine heat curing effect (30–100°C) on antifungal activities of lime oil and its components (limonene, p‐cymene, β‐pinene and α‐pinene) at concentrations ranging from 100 to 300 μl ml^?1 against Aspergillus niger in microbiological medium and to optimize heat curing of lime oil for efficient mould control on sedge (Lepironia articulata).

Methods and Results

Broth dilution method was employed to determine lime oil minimum inhibitory concentration, which was at 90 μl ml^?1 with heat curing at 70°C. Limonene, a main component of lime oil, was an agent responsible for temperature dependencies of lime oil activities observed. Response surface methodology was used to construct the mathematical model describing a time period of zero mould growth on sedge as functions of heat curing temperature and lime oil concentration. Heat curing of 90 μl ml^?1 lime oil at 70°C extended a period of zero mould growth on sedge to 18 weeks under moist conditions.

Conclusions

Heat curing at 70°C best enhanced antifungal activity of lime oil against A. niger both in medium and on sedge.

Significance and Impact of the Study

Heat curing of lime oil has potential to be used to enhance the antifungal safety of sedge products.     

An autocrine sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling loop enhances NF-κB-activation and survival

Background  

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid that regulates a multitude of cellular functions, including cell proliferation, survival, migration and angiogenesis. S1P mediates its effects either by signaling through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) or through an intracellular mode of action. In this study, we have investigated the mechanism behind S1P-induced survival signalling.     

Immunohistochemical localization of mu opioid receptor in the marginal division with comparison to patches in the neostriatum of the rat brain

Background  

Mu opioid receptor (MOR), which plays key roles in analgesia and also has effects on learning and memory, was reported to distribute abundantly in the patches of the neostriatum. The marginal division (MrD) of the neostriatum, which located at the caudomedial border of the neostriatum, was found to stain for enkephalin and substance P immunoreactivities and this region was found to be involved in learning and memory in our previous study. However, whether MOR also exists in the MrD has not yet been determined.     

RNA:protein ratio of the unicellular organism as a characteristic of phosphorous and nitrogen stoichiometry and of the cellular requirement of ribosomes for protein synthesis

Background  

Mean phosphorous:nitrogen (P:N) ratios and relationships of P:N ratios with the growth rate of organisms indicate a surprising similarity among and within microbial species, plants, and insect herbivores. To reveal the cellular mechanisms underling this similarity, the macromolecular composition of seven microorganisms and the effect of specific growth rate (SGR) on RNA:protein ratio, the number of ribosomes, and peptide elongation rate (PER) were analyzed under different conditions of exponential growth.     

Isolation of soybean protein P34 from oil bodies using hydrophobic interaction chromatography

Background  

Soybeans play a prominent role in allergologic research due to the high incidence of allergic reactions. For detailed studies on specific proteins it is necessary to have access to a large amount of pure substance.     

The possible mechanism of antifungal action of tea tree oil on Botrytis cinerea

Aims

Tea tree oil (TTO) has been confirmed in previous study as a potential natural antifungal agent to control Botrytis cinerea and grey mould in fresh fruit. However, the mechanism of its action has not been clearly revealed, and some hypotheses mainly depended on the results obtained from the bacterial test. For the antifungal mechanism, the effect of TTO on the mycelium morphology and ultrastructure, cell wall and membrane, and membrane fatty acid composition of B. cinerea was investigated in vitro experiments.

Methods and Results

Tea tree oil in vapour or contact phase exhibited higher activity against the mycelial growth of B. cinerea. Observations using scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope revealed that the mycelial morphology and ultrastructure alternations caused by TTO are the markedly shriveled or flatted empty hyphae, with thick cell walls, ruptured plasmalemma and cytoplasmic coagulation or leakage. Furthermore, TTO caused significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity after 4‐h treatment and markedly higher absorbance at 260 nm and electric conductivity in the external hyphae of fungi after 16‐h treatment. Moreover, decreased unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio of the fungal membrane was also observed after TTO treatment.

Conclusions

The methodology used in this study confirmed that the cell wall destroyed firstly in the presence of TTO, and then the membrane fatty acid composition changed, which resulted in the increasing of membrane permeability and releasing of cellular material. The above findings may be the main reason for TTO's antifungal ability to B. cinerea.

Significance and Impact of the Study

Understanding the mechanism of TTO antifungal action to B. cinerea is helpful for its commercial application on the preservation of fresh fruit and vegetables.     

Oral phosphatidylcholine pretreatment alleviates the signs of experimental rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction  

Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylcholine-derived metabolites exhibit anti-inflammatory properties in various stress conditions. We hypothesized that dietary phosphatidylcholine may potentially function as an anti-inflammatory substance and may decrease inflammatory activation in a chronic murine model of rheumatoid arthritis (collagen-induced arthritis).     

Diversity and abundance of bacteria in an underground oil-storage cavity

Background  

Microorganisms inhabiting subterranean oil fields have recently attracted much attention. Since intact groundwater can easily be obtained from the bottom of underground oil-storage cavities without contamination by surface water, studies on such oil-storage cavities are expected to provide valuable information to understand microbial ecology of subterranean oil fields.     

Integrated cellular network of transcription regulations and protein-protein interactions

Background  

With the accumulation of increasing omics data, a key goal of systems biology is to construct networks at different cellular levels to investigate cellular machinery of the cell. However, there is currently no satisfactory method to construct an integrated cellular network that combines the gene regulatory network and the signaling regulatory pathway.     

Genome-scale metabolic reconstruction and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in silico</Emphasis> analysis of methylotrophic yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia pastoris</Emphasis> for strain improvement

Background  

Pichia pastoris has been recognized as an effective host for recombinant protein production. A number of studies have been reported for improving this expression system. However, its physiology and cellular metabolism still remained largely uncharacterized. Thus, it is highly desirable to establish a systems biotechnological framework, in which a comprehensive in silico model of P. pastoris can be employed together with high throughput experimental data analysis, for better understanding of the methylotrophic yeast's metabolism.     

Intraluminal Blockade of Cell-Surface CD74 and Glucose Regulated Protein 78 Prevents Substance P-Induced Bladder Inflammatory Changes in the Rat

Background

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine constitutively expressed by urothelial cells. During inflammatory stimuli, MIF is released into the lumen complexed to other proteins and these complexes can bind to urothelial cell-surface receptors to activate signaling pathways. Since MIF is complexed to α1-inhibitor III (A1-I3; a member of the α2-macroglubulin family) and glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is a receptor for A1-I3 the goals of this study were to determine if substance P elicits urothelial cell-surface expression of GRP78 and to assess the functional role of CD74 (receptor for MIF) or GRP78 in substance P-induced bladder inflammatory changes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats received either saline or substance P (s.c.), bladders were collected 1 hour after treatment and processed for histology or protein/mRNA. The expression of GRP78 at urothelial cell-surface was determined by performing in vivo biotinylation of urothelial cell-surface proteins. Finally, in order to determine the effects of receptor blockade on substance P-induced MIF release and inflammatory changes, rats received either intraluminal antibodies to CD74, GRP78, both, or non-specific IgG (as a control).GRP78 and MIF immunostaining was simultaneously visualized in umbrella cells only after substance P treatment. Immunoprecipitation studies showed GRP78-MIF complexes increased after substance P while in vivo biotinylation confirmed substance P-induced GRP78 cell-surface expression in urothelial cells. Intraluminal blockade of CD74 and/or GRP78 prevented substance P-induced changes, including bladder edema, intraluminal MIF release by urothelial cells and production of inflammatory cytokines by urothelial cells.

Conclusions/Significance

GRP78 is expressed on the surface of urothelial cells after substance P treatment where it can bind MIF complexes. Blocking CD74 (receptor for MIF) and/or GRP78 prevented substance P-induced inflammatory changes in bladder and urothelium, indicating that these urothelial receptors are effective targets for disrupting MIF-mediated bladder inflammation.     

Enzymatic transesterification of Jatropha oil

Background  

Transesterification of Jatropha oil was carried out in t-butanol solvent using immobilized lipase from Enterobacter aerogenes. The presence of t-butanol significantly reduced the negative effects caused by both methanol and glycerol. The effects of various reaction parameters on transesterification of Jatropha oil were studied.     

Protein kinases of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum: the kinome of a divergent eukaryote

Background  

Malaria, caused by the parasitic protist Plasmodium falciparum, represents a major public health problem in the developing world. The P. falciparumgenome has been sequenced, which provides new opportunities for the identification of novel drug targets. Eukaryotic protein kinases (ePKs) form a large family of enzymes with crucial roles in most cellular processes; hence malarial ePKS represent potential drug targets. We report an exhaustive analysis of the P. falciparumgenomic database (PlasmoDB) aimed at identifying and classifying all ePKs in this organism.     

Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype

Background  

A finite state machine manipulating information-carrying DNA strands can be used to perform autonomous molecular-scale computations at the cellular level.     

Comparison of different treatment options for palm oil production waste on a life cycle basis

Background, aim, and scope  

Globally, 45 million metric tonnes of palm oil has been produced in 2009. The production of 1 t crude palm oil requires 5 t of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). On average, processing of 1 t FFB in palm oil mills generates 230 kg empty fruit bunches (EFB) and 650 kg palm oil mill effluent (POME) as residues. These residues cause considerable environmental burdens, particularly greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce those emissions, four waste management options are compared in the present study using 1,000 kg of FFB as functional unit.     

Tissue and subcellular distribution of CLIC1

Background  

CLIC1 is a chloride channel whose cellular role remains uncertain. The distribution of CLIC1 in normal tissues is largely unknown and conflicting data have been reported regarding the cellular membrane fraction in which CLIC1 resides.     

Asynchronous adaptive time step in quantitative cellular automata modeling

Background  

The behaviors of cells in metazoans are context dependent, thus large-scale multi-cellular modeling is often necessary, for which cellular automata are natural candidates. Two related issues are involved in cellular automata based multi-cellular modeling: how to introduce differential equation based quantitative computing to precisely describe cellular activity, and upon it, how to solve the heavy time consumption issue in simulation.