Effects of low frequency vibrations on the human spine

There is a general agreement in literature about effects of low frequency vibrations on spine in tractor drivers. Tractor drivers are exposed to noxious vibrations transmitted mostly by the seat. Spine generally presents a picture of degenerative lesions with higher incidence than in control groups. A statistical relation to the precocity of tractor driving can be shown.     

Hypoxia and the Hypoxic Response Pathway Protect against Pore-Forming Toxins in C. elegans

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are by far the most abundant bacterial protein toxins and are important for the virulence of many important pathogens. As such, cellular responses to PFTs critically modulate host-pathogen interactions. Although many cellular responses to PFTs have been recorded, little is understood about their relevance to pathological or defensive outcomes. To shed light on this important question, we have turned to the only genetic system for studying PFT-host interactions—Caenorhabditis elegans intoxication by Crystal (Cry) protein PFTs. We mutagenized and screened for C. elegans mutants resistant to a Cry PFT and recovered one mutant. Complementation, sequencing, transgenic rescue, and RNA interference data demonstrate that this mutant eliminates a gene normally involved in repression of the hypoxia (low oxygen response) pathway. We find that up-regulation of the C. elegans hypoxia pathway via the inactivation of three different genes that normally repress the pathway results in animals resistant to Cry PFTs. Conversely, mutation in the central activator of the hypoxia response, HIF-1, suppresses this resistance and can result in animals defective in PFT defenses. These results extend to a PFT that attacks mammals since up-regulation of the hypoxia pathway confers resistance to Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC), whereas down-regulation confers hypersusceptibility. The hypoxia PFT defense pathway acts cell autonomously to protect the cells directly under attack and is different from other hypoxia pathway stress responses. Two of the downstream effectors of this pathway include the nuclear receptor nhr-57 and the unfolded protein response. In addition, the hypoxia pathway itself is induced by PFT, and low oxygen is protective against PFT intoxication. These results demonstrate that hypoxia and induction of the hypoxia response protect cells against PFTs, and that the cellular environment can be modulated via the hypoxia pathway to protect against the most prevalent class of weapons used by pathogenic bacteria.     

MOTIPS: Automated Motif Analysis for Predicting Targets of Modular Protein Domains

Background  

Many protein interactions, especially those involved in signaling, involve short linear motifs consisting of 5-10 amino acid residues that interact with modular protein domains such as the SH3 binding domains and the kinase catalytic domains. One straightforward way of identifying these interactions is by scanning for matches to the motif against all the sequences in a target proteome. However, predicting domain targets by motif sequence alone without considering other genomic and structural information has been shown to be lacking in accuracy.     

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry5B Protein Is Highly Efficacious as a Single-Dose Therapy against an Intestinal Roundworm Infection in Mice

Background

Intestinal parasitic nematode diseases are one of the great diseases of our time. Intestinal roundworm parasites, including hookworms, whipworms, and Ascaris, infect well over 1 billion people and cause significant morbidity, especially in children and pregnant women. To date, there is only one drug, albendazole, with adequate efficacy against these parasites to be used in mass drug administration, although tribendimidine may emerge as a second. Given the hundreds of millions of people to be treated, the threat of parasite resistance, and the inadequacy of current treatments, new anthelmintics are urgently needed. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) proteins are the most common used biologically produced insecticides in the world and are considered non-toxic to vertebrates.

Methods/Principal Findings

Here we study the ability of a nematicidal Cry protein, Cry5B, to effect a cure in mice of a chronic roundworm infection caused by the natural intestinal parasite, Heligmosomoides bakeri (formerly polygyrus). We show that Cry5B produced from either of two Bt strains can act as an anthelmintic in vivo when administered as a single dose, achieving a ∼98% reduction in parasite egg production and ∼70% reduction in worm burdens when delivered per os at ∼700 nmoles/kg (90–100 mg/kg). Furthermore, our data, combined with the findings of others, suggest that the relative efficacy of Cry5B is either comparable or superior to current anthelmintics. We also demonstrate that Cry5B is likely to be degraded quite rapidly in the stomach, suggesting that the actual dose reaching the parasites is very small.

Conclusions/Significance

This study indicates that Bt Cry proteins such as Cry5B have excellent anthelmintic properties in vivo and that proper formulation of the protein is likely to reveal a superior anthelmintic.     

Phenylalanine requirement in children with classical PKU determined by indicator amino acid oxidation

Dietary restriction of phenylalanine is the main treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU), and current estimates of requirements are based on plasma phenylalanine concentration and growth. The present study aimed to determine more precisely the phenylalanine requirements in patients with the disease by use of indicator amino acid oxidation, with L-[1-13C]lysine as the indicator. Breath 13CO2 production (F 13 CO2) was used as the end point. Finger-prick blood samples were also collected for measurement of phenylalanine to relate phenylalanine intake to blood phenylalanine levels. The mean phenylalanine requirement, estimated using a two-phase linear regression crossover analysis, was 14 mg. kg(-1). day(-1), and the safe population intake (upper 95% confidence interval of the mean) was found to be 19.5 mg. kg(-1). day(-1). A balance between phenylalanine intake and the difference between fed and fasted blood phenylalanine concentration was observed at an intake of 20 mg. kg(-1). day(-1). The similarity between these two values (19.5 and 20 mg. kg(-1). day(-1)) suggests that the maximal phenylalanine intake for children with PKU should be no higher than 20 mg. kg(-1). day(-1).