Identification and characterization of the Arabidopsis PHO1 gene involved in phosphate loading to the xylem

The Arabidopsis mutant pho1 is deficient in the transfer of Pi from root epidermal and cortical cells to the xylem. The PHO1 gene was identified by a map-based cloning strategy. The N-terminal half of PHO1 is mainly hydrophilic, whereas the C-terminal half has six potential membrane-spanning domains. PHO1 shows no homology with any characterized solute transporter, including the family of H(+)-Pi cotransporters identified in plants and fungi. PHO1 shows highest homology with the Rcm1 mammalian receptor for xenotropic murine leukemia retroviruses and with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Syg1 protein involved in the mating pheromone signal transduction pathway. PHO1 is expressed predominantly in the roots and is upregulated weakly under Pi stress. Studies with PHO1 promoter-beta-glucuronidase constructs reveal predominant expression of the PHO1 promoter in the stelar cells of the root and the lower part of the hypocotyl. There also is beta-glucuronidase staining of endodermal cells that are adjacent to the protoxylem vessels. The Arabidopsis genome contains 10 additional genes showing homology with PHO1. Thus, PHO1 defines a novel class of proteins involved in ion transport in plants.     

3-Substituted gem-cyclohexane sulfone based gamma-secretase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease: conformational analysis and biological activity

Previously, chemistry effort on the gem-cyclohexane series of gamma-secretase inhibitors has focused on the 4-position of the cyclohexane ring. Recently chemistry has been directed towards the 3-position and substitution here has also provided compounds with high gamma-secretase activity.     

Non-water miscible ionic liquid improves biocatalytic production of geranyl glucoside with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> overexpressing a glucosyltransferase

Whole cells of Escherichia coli overexpressing a glucosyltransferase from Vitis vinifera were used for the glucosylation of geraniol to geranyl glucoside. A high cell density cultivation process for the production of whole-cell biocatalysts was developed, gaining a dry cell mass concentration of up to 67.6 ± 1.2 g L^?1 and a glucosyltransferase concentration of up to 2.7 ± 0.1 g protein L^?1 within a process time of 48 h. Whole-cell batch biotransformations in milliliter-scale stirred-tank bioreactors showed highest conversion of geraniol at pH 7.0 although the pH optimum of the purified glucosyltransferase was at pH 8.5. The biocatalytic batch process performance was improved significantly by the addition of a water-immiscible ionic liquid (N-hexylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imid) for in situ substrate supply. The so far highest final geranyl glucoside concentration (291 ± 9 mg L^?1) and conversion (71 ± 2 %) reported for whole-cell biotransformations of geraniol were achieved with 5 % (v/v) of the ionic liquid.     

A test of improved force field parameters for urea: molecular-dynamics simulations of urea crystals

Molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations of urea crystals of different shapes (cubic, rectangular prismatic, and sheet) have been performed using our previously published force field for urea. This force field has been validated by calculating values for the cohesive energy, sublimation temperature, and melting point from the MD data. The cohesive energies computed from simulations of cubic and rectangular prismatic urea crystals in vacuo at 300 K agreed very well with the experimental sublimation enthalpies reported at 298 K. We also found very good agreement between the melting points as observed experimentally and from simulations. Annealing the crystals just below the melting point leads to reconstruction to form crystal faces that are consistent with experimental observations. The simulations reveal a melting mechanism that involves surface (corner/edge) melting well below the melting point, and rotational disordering of the urea molecules in the corner/edge regions of the crystal, which then facilitates the translational motion of these molecules.     

Iron-uptake in the Euryarchaeon Halobacterium salinarum

Iron-uptake is well studied in a plethora of pro- and eukaryotic organisms with the exception of Archaea, which thrive mainly in extreme environments. In this study, the mechanism of iron transport in the extremely halophilic Euryarchaeon Halobacterium salinarum strain JW 5 was analyzed. Under low-iron growth conditions no siderophores were detectable in culture supernatants. However, various xenosiderophores support growth of H. salinarum. In [⁵⁵Fe]–[¹⁴C] double-label experiments, H. salinarum displays uptake of iron but not of the chelator citrate. Uptake of iron was inhibited by cyanide and at higher concentrations by Ga. Furthermore, a K_M for iron uptake in cells of 2.36 μM and a V_max of approximately 67 pmol Fe/min/mg protein was determined. [⁵⁵Fe]-uptake kinetics were measured in the absence and presence of Ga. Uptake of iron was inhibited merely at very high Ga concentrations. The results indicate an energy dependent iron uptake process in H. salinarum and suggest reduction of the metal at the membrane level.     

The styryl dye FM1-43 suppresses odorant responses in a subset of olfactory neurons by blocking cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels

Many olfactory receptor neurons use a cAMP-dependent transduction mechanism to transduce odorants into depolarizations. This signaling cascade is characterized by a sequence of two currents: a cation current through cyclic nucleotide-gated channels followed by a chloride current through calcium-activated chloride channels. To date, it is not possible to interfere with these generator channels under physiological conditions with potent and specific blockers. In this study we identified the styryl dye FM1-43 as a potent blocker of native olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Furthermore, we characterized this substance to stain olfactory receptor neurons that are endowed with cAMP-dependent transduction. This allows optical differentiation and pharmacological interference with olfactory receptor neurons at the level of the signal transduction.     

Impact of valency of a glycoprotein B-specific monoclonal antibody on neutralization of herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoprotein B (gB) is an integral part of the multicomponent fusion system required for virus entry and cell-cell fusion. Here we investigated the mechanism of viral neutralization by the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2c, which specifically recognizes the gB of HSV type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2. Binding of MAb 2c to a type-common discontinuous epitope of gB resulted in highly efficient neutralization of HSV at the postbinding/prefusion stage and completely abrogated the viral cell-to-cell spread in vitro. Mapping of the antigenic site recognized by MAb 2c to the recently solved crystal structure of the HSV-1 gB ectodomain revealed that its discontinuous epitope is only partially accessible within the observed multidomain trimer conformation of gB, likely representing its postfusion conformation. To investigate how MAb 2c may interact with gB during membrane fusion, we characterized the properties of monovalent (Fab and scFv) and bivalent [IgG and F(ab')(2)] derivatives of MAb 2c. Our data show that the neutralization capacity of MAb 2c is dependent on cross-linkage of gB trimers. As a result, only bivalent derivatives of MAb 2c exhibited high neutralizing activity in vitro. Notably, bivalent MAb 2c not only was capable of preventing mucocutaneous disease in severely immunodeficient NOD/SCID mice upon vaginal HSV-1 challenge but also protected animals even with neuronal HSV infection. We also report for the first time that an anti-gB specific monoclonal antibody prevents HSV-1-induced encephalitis entirely independently from complement activation, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and cellular immunity. This indicates the potential for further development of MAb 2c as an anti-HSV drug.