Vasorelaxing activity of stable powder preparations of dinitrosyl iron complexes with cysteine or glutathione ligands.

Vasorelaxant activity of new stable powder preparations of dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNIC) with thiol-containing ligands was investigated on rat abdominal aorta rings. The preparations preserve their physicochemical characteristics (EPR and optical absorption) if stored for a long time in dry air (at least half-year). Three preparations of DNIC were tested: diamagnetic dimeric DNIC with glutathione (DNIC-GS 1:2) or cysteine (DNIC-cys 1:2) and paramagnetic monomeric DNIC with cysteine (DNIC-cys 1:20). Being dissolved in physiological solution the preparations induced relaxation of vessel similarly to that by earlier described non-stable DNICs which should be stored in liquid nitrogen. The amplitudes and kinetic characteristics of the relaxation were dependent on the incorporated thiolate ligands. Rapid transient relaxation followed by significant tone recovery to stationary level (plateau) was observed for DNIC-cys 1:2. DNIC-cys 1:20 also induced initial rapid relaxation followed by incomplete tone recovery. DNIC-GS 1:2 induced slow developing and long lasting relaxation. NO scavenger, hydroxocobalamin (2x10(-5)M) eliminated the rapid transitory relaxation induced by DNIC-cys 1:20 and did not influence significantly on the plateau level. SOD increased duration of the DNIC-cys 1:2 and DNIC-cys 1:20 induced relaxation. The addition of 5x10(-5)M DNIC-cys 1:2 or DNIC-cys 1:20 induced long lasting vasorelaxation within 20min and more. However the EPR measurements demonstrated full rapid disappearance (within 1-2min) of both type of DNIC-cys in Krebs medium bubbled with carbogen gas. This was not the case for DNIC-GS 1:2. We suggested that the long lasting vasorelaxation observed during the addition of DNICs-cys was induced by S-nitrosocysteine derived from DNICs-cys and stabilized by EDTA in Krebs medium. The suggestion is in line with the fact that strong ferrous chelator bathophenantroline disulfonate (BPDS) which is capable of rapid degradation of DNICs did not abrogate the vasorelaxtion induced by DNIC addition.     

The Landscape of Intertwined Associations in Homooligomeric Proteins

We present an overview of the full repertoire of intertwined associations in homooligomeric proteins. This overview summarizes recent findings on the different categories of intertwined associations in known protein structures, their assembly modes, the properties of their interfaces, and their structural plasticity. Furthermore, the current body of knowledge on the so-called three-dimensional domain-swapped systems is reexamined in the context of the wider landscape of intertwined homooligomers, with a particular focus on the mechanistic aspects that underpin intertwined self-association processes in proteins. Insights gained from this integrated overview into the physical and biological roles of intertwining are highlighted.     

Basic mechanism for biorientation of mitotic chromosomes is provided by the kinetochore geometry and indiscriminate turnover of kinetochore microtubules

Accuracy of chromosome segregation relies on the ill-understood ability of mitotic kinetochores to biorient, whereupon each sister kinetochore forms microtubule (MT) attachments to only one spindle pole. Because initial MT attachments result from chance encounters with the kinetochores, biorientation must rely on specific mechanisms to avoid and resolve improper attachments. Here we use mathematical modeling to critically analyze the error-correction potential of a simplified biorientation mechanism, which involves the back-to-back arrangement of sister kinetochores and the marked instability of kinetochore–MT attachments. We show that a typical mammalian kinetochore operates in a near-optimal regime, in which the back-to-back kinetochore geometry and the indiscriminate kinetochore–MT turnover provide strong error-correction activity. In human cells, this mechanism alone can potentially enable normal segregation of 45 out of 46 chromosomes during one mitotic division, corresponding to a mis-segregation rate in the range of 10⁻¹–10⁻² per chromosome. This theoretical upper limit for chromosome segregation accuracy predicted with the basic mechanism is close to the mis-segregation rate in some cancer cells; however, it cannot explain the relatively low chromosome loss in diploid human cells, consistent with their reliance on additional mechanisms.     

A global population redistribution in a migrant shorebird detected with continent‐wide qualitative breeding survey data

Aim Over the last two decades, thousands of northward migrating ruffs (Philomachus pugnax) have disappeared from western European staging sites. These migratory ruffs were partly temperate breeding birds, but most individuals head towards the Eurasian Arctic tundras where 95% of the global population breeds. This regional decline may represent either: (1) local loss of breeding birds in western Europe, (2) a global decline, (3) shift(s) in distribution or (4) a combination of these. Location Northern Eurasia. Methods To put the declines in western Europe in context, we analysed Arctic monitoring data from the last two decades ( Soloviev & Tomkovich, 2009 ) to detect changes in regional breeding densities across northern Eurasia. We used a novel approach applying generalized additive modelling (GAM) and generalized estimations equations (GEE). Results We show that the global breeding population of ruffs has made a significant eastwards shift into the Asian part of the breeding range. In the European Arctic, ruffs decreased during the last 18 years. At the same time, in western Siberia, ruffs increased. In eastern Siberia, no significant population changes could be detected. These changes corroborate the finding that during northward migration, growing numbers of ruffs avoided staging areas in the Netherlands and Sweden and started migrating along a more easterly route leading into western Siberia. Main conclusions We detected an unprecedented large‐scale population redistribution of ruffs and suggest that this is a response to loss of habitat quality at the traditional staging site in the Netherlands.     

Molecular Identification of Bacteria by Total Sequence Screening: Determining the Cause of Death in Ancient Human Subjects

Research of ancient pathogens in ancient human skeletons has been mainly carried out on the basis of one essential historical or archaeological observation, permitting specific pathogens to be targeted. Detection of ancient human pathogens without such evidence is more difficult, since the quantity and quality of ancient DNA, as well as the environmental bacteria potentially present in the sample, limit the analyses possible. Using human lung tissue and/or teeth samples from burials in eastern Siberia, dating from the end of 17^th to the 19^th century, we propose a methodology that includes the: 1) amplification of all 16S rDNA gene sequences present in each sample; 2) identification of all bacterial DNA sequences with a degree of identity ≥95%, according to quality criteria; 3) identification and confirmation of bacterial pathogens by the amplification of the rpoB gene; and 4) establishment of authenticity criteria for ancient DNA. This study demonstrates that from teeth samples originating from ancient human subjects, we can realise: 1) the correct identification of bacterial molecular sequence signatures by quality criteria; 2) the separation of environmental and pathogenic bacterial 16S rDNA sequences; 3) the distribution of bacterial species for each subject and for each burial; and 4) the characterisation of bacteria specific to the permafrost. Moreover, we identified three pathogens in different teeth samples by 16S rDNA sequence amplification: Bordetella sp., Streptococcus pneumoniae and Shigella dysenteriae. We tested for the presence of these pathogens by amplifying the rpoB gene. For the first time, we confirmed sequences from Bordetella pertussis in the lungs of an ancient male Siberian subject, whose grave dated from the end of the 17^th century to the early 18^th century.