TNF-α and α-synuclein fibrils differently regulate human astrocyte immune reactivity and impair mitochondrial respiration

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HYMENOMONAS CORONATA SP. NOV., A NEW COCCOLITHOPHORID FROM THE TEXAS COAST1,2

A new species of Hymenomonas (H. coronata) has been isolated from the Texas coast, grown in axenic culture, and examined by both light and electron microscopy. Certain cultural and ultrastructural observations are presented. This alga has several haptophycean characteristics, although a definite haptonema has not been observed. Similarities to other members of the genus are evident, such us type and shape of coccoliths and pyrenoid-chloroplast morphology.     

The maize chromosomal HMGa protein recognizes structural features of DNA and increases DNA flexibility

The abundant maize high-mobility group protein HMGa belongs to the chromosomal, non-histone proteins and consists of a basic region containing the HMG-box DNA-binding domain and a highly acidic carboxy-terminal tail. The full-length HMGa protein and a truncated version lacking the acidic tail were synthesized in Escherichia coli and tested for their ability to induce DNA-bending in a ligase mediated circularization assay with short DNA fragments. It is shown that the recombinant HMGa protein as well as its truncated form efficiently cause circularization of the tested DNA fragments without an obvious requirement for stable DNA-binding. They bind furthermore preferentially to A/T-rich linear DNA or bent DNA structures such as four-way junctions and DNA minicircles. The DNA-binding properties and the ability to increase DNA flexibility suggest a general role of the HMGa protein in assisting the formation of nucleoprotein complexes, possibly by facilitating interactions of proteins bound to adjacent DNA sites.     

Pear polygalacturonases

The polygalacturonase activity in extracts of ripe D'Anjou pears is due to two enzymes, which can be resolved by chromatography on Sephadex G-100. One     

Magnetic resonance imaging of total body fat

In this study we assessed different magneticresonance imaging (MRI) scanning regimes and examined some of theassumptions commonly made for measuring body fat content by MRI. Wholebody MRI was used to quantify and study different body fat depots in 67 women. The whole body MRI results showed that there was a significant variation in the percentage of total internal, as well as visceral, adipose tissue across a range of adiposity, which could not be predicted from total body fat and/or subcutaneous fat.Furthermore, variation in the amount of total, subcutaneous, andvisceral adipose tissue was not related to standard anthropometricmeasurements such as skinfold measurements, body mass index, andwaist-to-hip ratio. Finally, we show for the first time subjects with apercent body fat close to the theoretical maximum (68%). This studydemonstrates that the large variation in individual internal fatcontent cannot be predicted from either indirect methods or directimaging techniques, such as MRI or computed tomography, on the basis ofa single-slice sampling strategy.

     

Analysis of distal flanking regions of maize 19-kDa zein genes

Two genomic fragments from maize, each containing a 19-kDa zein gene with extensive flanking regions, have been sequenced and examined by computer-aided analysis and Southern blotting techniques. Sequence analysis of the distal flanking sequences has revealed interesting sequence motifs, some not seen before. In particular, four nearly identical, G + C-rich, 17 to 21-bp perfect palindromes were found clustered in a 133-bp stretch lying 2 kb upstream from the zein-coding region in the genomic clone pMS2. These palindromic sequences exhibit other interesting features, including a precise spatial organization with respect to each other, and their proximity to several other repeated motifs in the same region. Southern blot analysis indicates that these palindromes, or closely related sequences, are found frequently in the maize genome. Possible secondary structures for the palindrome units are presented, which resemble functionally important sequences found upstream from other eukaryotic genes.