Mining expressed sequence tags of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) to predict the drought responsive regulatory network

Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants - It is of great significance to understand the regulatory mechanisms by which plants deal with drought stress. Two EST libraries derived from rapeseed...     

The Role of Stem Cells in the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy: a Review

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neuromuscular disease due to injury in the infant’s brain. The CP disorder causes many neurologic dysfunctions in the patient. Various treatment methods have been used for the management of CP disorder. However, there has been no absolute cure for this condition. Furthermore, some of the procedures which are currently used for relief of symptoms in CP cause discomfort or side effects in the patient. Recently, stem cell therapy has attracted a huge interest as a new therapeutic method for treatment of CP. Several investigations in animal and human with CP have demonstrated positive potential of stem cell transplantation for the treatment of CP disorder. The ultimate goal of this therapeutic method is to harness the regenerative capacity of the stem cells causing a formation of new tissues to replace the damaged tissue. During the recent years, there have been many investigations on stem cell therapy. However, there are still many unclear issues regarding this method and high effort is needed to create a technology as a perfect treatment. This review will discuss the scientific background of stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy including evidences from current clinical trials.     

Insights into resistance mechanism of hepatitis C virus nonstructural 3/4A protease mutant to boceprevir using umbrella sampling simulation study

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus can cause inflammation in human liver cells, leading to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Based on the World Health Organization reports, about 228 million people in the world have hepatitis C. To date, some inhibitory medicines against the hepatitis C virus nonstructural 3/4A protease, such as boceprevir, have entered clinical trial phases. However, several hepatitis C virus nonstructural 3/4A protease mutations have been recognized to decrease susceptibility of boceprevir to hepatitis C virus. The molecular details behind inhibitor resistance of these single-point mutations are not still understood. Thus, in this research, computational strategies were applied to clarify the inhibitor resistance mechanism. From umbrella sampling simulation and energy profiles, the polar interactions are the main driving force for boceprevir binding. Based on the analyzed R155T mutant, the main reason for the occurrence of boceprevir resistance is the conformation alterations of S4 and extended S2 binding pockets. These changes, lead to decreased binding ability of the key residues to P2 and P4 moieties of boceprevir. Moreover, structural results show that the disappearance of important salt bridges can bring about the great conformation changes of the binding pockets in R155T.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma