Redescription of Eimeria megabubonis Upton,Campbell, Weigel & McKown, 1990 (Apicomplexa: Emeriidae) from the great horned owl Bubo virginianus (Gmelin)

Systematic Parasitology - While nine nominal species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 have been described from strigiform birds, molecular sequence data are not available for any of these species. In the...     

Invasive lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin as a distinct variant of lobular carcinoma: a case report

ABSTRACT: The differences between invasive lobular and ductal carcinomas affect the diagnostic and therapeutic management for patients with breast cancer. In most cases, this can be accomplished because of distinct histomorphologic features. However, occasionally, this task may become quite difficult, in particular when dealing with the variants of infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Lobular carcinoma has been considered a variant of mucin-secreting carcinoma with only intracytoplasmic mucin. The presence of extracellular mucin is a feature of ductal carcinoma. Herein is presented a case of lobular carcinoma with extracellular and intracellular mucin in a 43-year-old female patient, and confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Up to the present, infiltrating lobular carcinoma displaying extracellular mucin has not been described in the literature except two case. Virtual slides The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1839906067716744.     

Structural basis of TRAPPIII‐mediated Rab1 activation

The GTPase Rab1 is a master regulator of the early secretory pathway and is critical for autophagy. Rab1 activation is controlled by its guanine nucleotide exchange factor, the multisubunit TRAPPIII complex. Here, we report the 3.7 Å cryo‐EM structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae TRAPPIII complex bound to its substrate Rab1/Ypt1. The structure reveals the binding site for the Rab1/Ypt1 hypervariable domain, leading to a model for how the complex interacts with membranes during the activation reaction. We determined that stable membrane binding by the TRAPPIII complex is required for robust activation of Rab1/Ypt1 in vitro and in vivo, and is mediated by a conserved amphipathic α‐helix within the regulatory Trs85 subunit. Our results show that the Trs85 subunit serves as a membrane anchor, via its amphipathic helix, for the entire TRAPPIII complex. These findings provide a structural understanding of Rab activation on organelle and vesicle membranes.     

Hydrolysis of lignocellulose by anaerobic fungi produces free sugars and organic acids for two-stage fine chemical production with Kluyveromyces marxianus

Development of the bioeconomy is driven by our ability to access the energy-rich carbon trapped in recalcitrant plant materials. Current strategies to release this carbon rely on expensive enzyme cocktails and physicochemical pretreatment, producing inhibitory compounds that hinder subsequent microbial bioproduction. Anaerobic fungi are an appealing solution as they hydrolyze crude, untreated biomass at ambient conditions into sugars that can be converted into value-added products by partner organisms. However, some carbon is lost to anaerobic fungal fermentation products. To improve efficiency and recapture this lost carbon, we built a two-stage bioprocessing system pairing the anaerobic fungus Piromyces indianae with the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus, which grows on a wide range of sugars and fermentation products. In doing so we produce fine and commodity chemicals directly from untreated lignocellulose. P. indianae efficiently hydrolyzed substrates such as corn stover and poplar to generate sugars, fermentation acids, and ethanol, which K. marxianus consumed while producing 2.4 g/L ethyl acetate. An engineered strain of K. marxianus was also able to produce 550 mg/L 2-phenylethanol and 150 mg/L isoamyl alcohol from P. indianae hydrolyzed lignocellulosic biomass. Despite the use of crude untreated plant material, production yields were comparable to optimized rich yeast media due to the use of all available carbon including organic acids, which formed up to 97% of free carbon in the fungal hydrolysate. This work demonstrates that anaerobic fungal pretreatment of lignocellulose can sustain the production of fine chemicals at high efficiency by partnering organisms with broad substrate versatility.     

Predicting direct protein interactions from affinity purification mass spectrometry data

Background  

Affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry identification (AP-MS) is an increasingly popular approach to observe protein-protein interactions (PPI) in vivo. One drawback of AP-MS, however, is that it is prone to detecting indirect interactions mixed with direct physical interactions. Therefore, the ability to distinguish direct interactions from indirect ones is of much interest.     

Amylase levels in the tissues and body fluids of the domestic cat (Felis catus).

1. The amylase activities of serum, liver, pancreas, submaxillary and parotid glands, saliva, duodenum, colon, lung, heart, spleen, kidney and skeletal muscle of the domestic cat, were determined. 2. As in most mammals, the highest amylase content was found in the pancreas. Levels in saliva and salivary glands were very low. 3. Amylase activities of the serum, liver and pancreas have an optimum pH 7.0-7.5. 4. Amylases of serum, liver and pancreas were inactivated by removal of chloride and these activities mainly restored by addition of chloride.     

A field guide to the proteomics of post-translational modifications in DNA repair

All cells incur DNA damage from exogenous and endogenous sources and possess pathways to detect and repair DNA damage. Post-translational modifications (PTMs), in the past 20 years, have risen to ineluctable importance in the study of the regulation of DNA repair mechanisms. For example, DNA damage response kinases are critical in both the initial sensing of DNA damage as well as in orchestrating downstream activities of DNA repair factors. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics revolutionized the study of the role of PTMs in the DNA damage response and has canonized PTMs as central modulators of nearly all aspects of DNA damage signaling and repair. This review provides a biologist-friendly guide for the mass spectrometry analysis of PTMs in the context of DNA repair and DNA damage responses. We reflect on the current state of proteomics for exploring new mechanisms of PTM-based regulation and outline a roadmap for designing PTM mapping experiments that focus on the DNA repair and DNA damage responses.     

S100 proteins and their influence on pro-survival pathways in cancer.

The S100 gene family is composed of at least 20 members that share a common structure defined in part by the Ca2+ binding EF-hand motif. These genes which are expressed in a discriminate fashion in specific cells and tissues, have been described to have either an intracellular or extracellular function, or both. S100 proteins are implicated in the immune response, differentiation, cytoskeleton dynamics, enzyme activity, Ca2+ homeostasis and growth. A potential role for S100 proteins in neoplasia stems from these activities and from the observation that several S100 proteins have altered levels of expression in different stages and types of cancer. While the precise role and importance of S100 proteins in the development and promotion of cancer is poorly understood, it appears that the binding of Ca2+ is essential for exposing amino acid residues that are important in forming protein-protein interactions with effector molecules. The identity of some of these effector molecules has also now begun to emerge, and with this the elucidation of the signaling pathways that are modulated by these proteins. Some of these interactions are consistent with the diverse functions noted above. Others suggest that, many S100s may also promote cancer progression through specific roles in cell survival and apoptosis pathways. This review summarizes these findings and their implications.