The efficient accumulation of cesium ions by Rhodococcus cells

Bacteria of the genus Rhodococcus were found to be able to accumulate cesium by means of active transport and nonspecific sorption on the cell surface structures. The maximum removal (up to 97%) of cesium from a medium with ammonium acetate was observed at 28 degrees C, pH 7.8-8.6, and an equimolar content (0.2 mM) of potassium and cesium ions in the medium. The most active cesium-accumulating Rhodococcus sp. strains can be used for purification of industrial wastewaters contaminated with radionuclides.     

Effect of composition of cellular lipids of formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance of alkanotrophic rhodocoocci

The antibiotic resistance and lipid composition of rhodococci grown in rich organic media with gaseous or liquid n-alkanes were studied. Hydrocarbon-grown rhodococci exhibited an increased resistance to a wide range of antibiotics (aminoglycosides, linkosamides, macrolides, beta-lactams, and aromatic compounds). The enhanced antibiotic resistance of rhodococci grown on n-alkanes correlated with an increased content of total cell lipids (up to 14-28%) and saturated straight-chain fatty acids (C16:0, C18:0, C21:0) and was accompanied by the appearance of cardiolipin and phosphatidylglycerol in cells. These lipid compounds were supposed to promote the formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance in rhodococci by decreasing the permeability of their cell envelope to antibiotics.     

Epigenetic regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in cancer

Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression that are independent of alterations in DNA sequence. It is now accepted that disruption of epigenetic mechanisms plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cancer: culminating in altered gene function and malignant cellular transformation. DNA methylation and histone modifications are the most widely studied changes but non-coding RNAs such as miRNAs are also considered part of the epigenetic machinery. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis is composed of two ligands, IGF-I and –II, their receptors and six high affinity IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs). The IGF axis plays a key role in cancer development and progression. As IGFBP genes have consistently been identified among the most common to be aberrantly altered in tumours, this review will focus on epigenetic regulation of IGFBP-3 in cancer for which the majority of evidence has been obtained.     

Effect of cell lipid composition on the formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance in alkanotrophic rhodococci

The antibiotic resistance and lipid composition of rhodococci grown in rich organic media with gaseous or liquidn-alkanes were studied. Hydrocarbon-grown rhodococci exhibited an increased resistance to a wide range of antibiotics (aminoglycosides, linkosamides, macrolides, β-lactams, and aromatic compounds). The enhanced antibiotic resistance of rhodococci grown onn-alkanes correlated with an increased content of total cell lipids (up to 14–28%) and saturated straight-chain fatty acids (C_16:0, C_18:0, C_21:0) and was accompanied by the appearance of cardiolipin and phosphatidylglycerol in cells. These lipid compounds are supposed to promote the formation of nonspecific antibiotic resistance in rhodococci by decreasing the permeability of their cell envelope to antibiotics.     

Oxidative biotransformation of thioanisole by Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 66 cells

Comparative study of sulfoxidation activity of free and immobilized Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 66 cells was performed. Free Rhodococcus cells (in the presence of 0.1 vol % n-hexadecane) displayed maximal oxidative activity towards thioanisole (0.5 g/l), a prochiral organic sulfide, added after 48-h cultivation of bacterial cells. Higher sulfide concentrations inhibited sulfoxidation activity of Rhodococcus. Use of immobilized cells allowed the 2-day preparatory stage to be omitted and a complete thioanisole bioconversion to be achieved in 24 h in the case that biocatalyst and 0.5 g/l thioanisole were added simultaneously. The biocatalyst immobilized on gel provides for complete thioanisole transformation into (S)-thioanisole sulfoxide (optical purity of 82.1%) at high (1.0-1.5 g/l) concentrations of sulfide substrate.     

The usage of marker traits in plants for evaluation of resistance of the winter wheat to pest insects

A new method of selection of the winter wheat varieties has been tested for resistance to the pest insects' complex by the traits of plants that are the markers of plant resistance. It makes it possible to use this method from year to year independently of the pests' density.     

Identification of two poorly prognosed ovarian carcinoma subtypes associated with CHEK2 germ-line mutation and non-CHEK2 somatic mutation gene signatures

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HG-SOC), a major histologic type of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), is a poorly-characterized, heterogeneous and lethal disease where somatic mutations of TP53 are common and inherited loss-of-function mutations in BRCA1/2 predispose to cancer in 9.5–13% of EOC patients. However, the overall burden of disease due to either inherited or sporadic mutations is not known.

We performed bioinformatics analyses of mutational and clinical data of 334 HG-SOC tumor samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas to identify novel tumor-driving mutations, survival-significant patient subgroups and tumor subtypes potentially driven by either hereditary or sporadic factors.

We identified a sub-cluster of high-frequency mutations in 22 patients and 58 genes associated with DNA damage repair, apoptosis and cell cycle. Mutations of CHEK2, observed with the highest intensity, were associated with poor therapy response and overall survival (OS) of these patients (P = 8.00e-05), possibly due to detrimental effect of mutations at the nuclear localization signal. A 21-gene mutational prognostic signature significantly stratifies patients into relatively low or high-risk subgroups with 5-y OS of 37% or 6%, respectively (P = 7.31e-08). Further analysis of these genes and high-risk subgroup revealed 2 distinct classes of tumors characterized by either germline mutations of genes such as CHEK2, RPS6KA2 and MLL4, or somatic mutations of other genes in the signature.

Our results could provide improvement in prediction and clinical management of HG-SOC, facilitate our understanding of this complex disease, guide the design of targeted therapeutics and improve screening efforts to identify women at high-risk of hereditary ovarian cancers distinct from those associated with BRCA1/2 mutations.