Outdoor exercise reduces the risk of hypovitaminosis D in the obese

Obesity is associated with lower levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). Obese individuals might need higher doses of vitamin D supplementation than the general population. In this cross-sectional study, associations between 25(OH)D serum levels, body mass index (BMI), and outdoor exercise were assessed in a population of 291 ambulatory patients attending the Osteoporosis Center at the University of Miami, mean age 62 ± 13.48 years. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² and hypovitaminosis D as 25(OH)D ≤ 30 ng/ml. Overall, prevalence of obesity was 14.1% and of hypovitaminosis D was 42.4%. Among Hispanics, there was a significantly higher prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in obese (63.2%) compared to non-obese individuals (35.8%). Outdoor exercise had a significant effect on the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Hispanics, with a lower prevalence in those performing outdoor exercise (24.1%) compared to those who did not (47.9%). After adjusting for age, gender, and ethnicity, those reporting outdoor exercise were 47% less likely to have hypovitaminosis D, while those with obesity had more than twice the risk. Since outdoor exercise may protect overweight individuals from hypovitaminosis D, prevention programs involving higher doses of vitamin D and/or outdoor exercise may result in additional metabolic and functional benefits in this population.     

Surgical castration of the male common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

In a prospective, clinical, surgery study we report here for the first time, in detail, on the surgical castration of 10 captive adult male common hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius). The successful procedures, a species-specific modification of standard equine castration techniques, provide valuable insight into the spatially dynamic nature of the common hippopotamus testis. The use of ultrasonography to locate the testis before and during the procedures and species-specific positioning during surgery greatly facilitated this distinctive procedure. Additionally, this surgical method provides an important additional tool for captive management of the common hippopotamus. Castration of individual males not only facilitates population control but can potentially also be employed to limit intermale aggression.     

The higher‐level phylogenetic relationships of the Eumeninae (Insecta,Hymenoptera, Vespidae), with emphasis on Eumenes sensu lato

Cladistic analyses were carried out to infer the phylogenetic relationships among taxa that were originally part of the large genus Eumenes. Terminals belonging to other eumenine lineages were also included, as well as terminals from other vespid subfamilies. Analyses under equal weights and implied weights were carried out, and better results were obtained with the latter. The results corroborated the monophyly of Eumeninae, and recovered Zethini sensu lato as the sister‐lineage to the remaining eumenines. Eumenes sensu lato as originally recognized is paraphyletic relative to Odynerus sensu lato. A natural classification at the tribal level congruent with the phylogenetic results may be proposed, and the names Zethini, Odynerini, and Eumenini are already available. This is the most comprehensive phylogeny of the Eumeninae to date. A new generic synonymy is Alfieria Giordani Soika, 1934 = Delta de Saussure, 1855.     

Interaction of wild type, G68R and L125M isoforms of the arylamine-N-acetyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis with isoniazid: a computational study on a new possible mechanism of resistance

Isoniazid (INH) is a front-line drug used in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), a disease that remains a major cause of death worldwide. Isoniazid is a prodrug, requiring activation in the mycobacterial cell by the catalase-peroxidase (CP) enzyme. Recent studies have suggested that acetylation of INH by the arylamine-N-acetyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TBNAT) may be a possible cause of inactivation of the drug thus resulting in resistant strains. In this study, computational techniques were applied to investigate the binding of isoniazid to three TBNAT isoforms: wild type, G68R and L125M. Since there is no experimental structure available, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were initially used for the refinement of TBNAT homology models. Distinct conformations of the models were selected during the production stage of MD simulations for molecular docking experiments with the drug. Finally, each mode of binding was refined by new molecular MD simulations. Essential dynamics (ED) analysis and linear interaction energy calculations (LIE) were used to evaluate the impact of amino acid substitutions on the structural and binding properties of the enzymes. The results suggest that the wild type and the G68R TBNATs have a similar pattern of affinity to INH. On the other hand, the calculated enzyme-INH dissociation constant (KD) was estimated 33 times lower for L125M isoform in comparison with wild type enzyme. This last finding is consistent with the hypothesis that isolated mutations in the tbnat gene can produce M. tuberculosis strains resistant to isoniazid.     

Purification and Characterization of an l-Amino Amidase from Mycobacterium neoaurum ATCC 25795

An l-amino amidase from Mycobacterium neoaurum ATCC 25795 responsible for the enantioselective resolution of dl-alpha-methyl valine amide was purified and characterized. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography, which resulted in a homogeneous preparation of the enzyme with a native molecular mass of 136 kDa and a subunit molecular mass of 40 kDa. The purified enzyme displayed the highest activity at 50 degrees C and at pH 8.0 and 9.5. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by the metal-chelating agent 1,10-phenanthroline, the disulfide-reducing agent dithiothreitol, and the cysteine proteinase inhibitor iodoacetamide. The purified amino amidase showed a unique l-enantioselective activity towards a broad range of both alpha-H- and alpha-alkyl-substituted amino acid amides, with the highest activity towards the cyclic amino acid amide dl-proline amide. No activity was measured with dl-mandelic acid amide nor with the dipeptide l-phenylalanine-l-leucine. The highest catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m) ratio) was measured with dl-alpha-allyl alanine amide, dl-alpha-methyl phenylalanine amide, and dl-alpha-methyl leucine amide.     

Variation of transition-state structure as a function of the nucleotide in reactions catalyzed by dehydrogenases. 2. Formate dehydrogenase

Since hydride transfer is completely rate limiting for yeast formate dehydrogenase [Blanchard, J.S., & Cleland, W. W. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 3543], the intrinsic isotope effects on this reaction are fully expressed. Primary deuterium, 13C, and 18O isotope effects in formate and the alpha-secondary deuterium isotope effect at C-4 of the nucleotide have been measured for nucleotide substrates with redox potentials varying from -0.320 (NAD) to -0.258 V (acetylpyridine-NAD). As the redox potential gets more positive, the primary deuterium isotope effect increases from 2.2 to 3.1, the primary 13C isotope effect decreases from 1.042 to 1.036, the alpha-secondary deuterium isotope effect drops from 1.23 to 1.06, and Vmax decreases. The 18O isotope effects increase from 1.005 to 1.008 per single 18O substitution in formate (these values are dominated by the normal isotope effect on the dehydration of formate during binding; pyridinealdehyde-NAD gives an inverse value, possibly because it is not fully dehydrated during binding). These isotope effects suggest a progression toward earlier transition states as the redox potential of the nucleotide becomes more positive, with NAD having a late and acetyl-pyridine-NAD a nearly symmetrical transition state. By contrast, the I2 oxidation of formate in dimethyl sulfoxide has a very early transition state (13k = 1.0154; Dk = 2.2; 18k = 0.9938), which becomes later as the proportion of water in the solvent increases (13k = 1.0265 in 40% dimethyl sulfoxide and 1.0362 in water). alpha-secondary deuterium isotope effects with formate dehydrogenase are decreased halfway to the equilibrium isotope effect when deuterated formate is the substrate, showing that the bending motion of the secondary hydrogen is coupled to hydride transfer in the transition state and that tunneling of the two hydrogens is involved. The 15N isotope effect of 1.07 for NAD labeled at N-1 of the nicotinamide ring suggests that N-1 becomes pyramidal during the reaction. 18O fractionation factors for formate ion relative to aqueous solution are 1.0016 in sodium formate crystal, 1.0042 bound to Dowex-1, and 1.0040 as an ion pair (probably hydrated) in CHCl3. The CO2 analogue azide binds about 10(4) times better than the formate analogue nitrate to enzyme-nucleotide complexes (even though the Ki values for both and the affinity for formate vary by 2 orders of magnitude among the various nucleotides), but the ratio is not sensitive to the redox potential of the nucleotide. Thus, not the nature of the transition state but rather the shape of the initial binding pocket for formate is determining the relative affinity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Wound degradomics - current status and future perspectives

Proteases are pivotal modulators of extracellular matrix components and bioactive proteins at all phases of cutaneous wound healing and thereby essentially contribute to the successful reestablishment of skin integrity upon injury. As a consequence, disturbance of proteolytic activity at the wound site is a major factor in the pathology of chronic wounds. A large body of data acquired in many years of research provide a good understanding of how individual proteases may influence the repair process. The next challenge will be to integrate these findings and to elucidate the complex interactions of proteolytic enzymes, their inhibitors and substrates on a system-wide level. Here, we present novel approaches that might help to achieve this ambitious goal in cutaneous wound healing research.