Cobalt(IV) corroles as catalysts for the electroreduction of O2: reactions of heterobimetallic dyads containing a face-to-face linked Fe(III) or Mn(III) porphyrin

A series of heterobinuclear cofacial porphyrin-corrole dyads containing a Co(IV) corrole linked by one of four different spacers in a face-to-face arrangement with an Fe(III) or Mn(III) porphyrin have been examined as catalysts for the electroreduction of O(2) to H(2)O and/or H(2)O(2) when adsorbed on the surface of a graphite electrode in air-saturated aqueous solutions containing 1M HClO(4). The examined compounds are represented as (PCY)M(III)ClCo(IV)Cl where P is a porphyrin dianion, C is a corrole trianion and Y is a biphenylene (B), 9,9-dimethylxanthene (X), dibenzofuran (O) or anthracene (A) spacer. The catalytic behavior of the seven investigated dyads in the two heterobimetallic (PCY)MClCoCl series of catalysts is compared on one hand to what was previously reported for related dyads with a single Co(III) corrole macrocycle linked to a free-base porphyrin with the same set of linking bridges, (PCY)H(2)Co, and on the other hand to dicobalt porphyrin-corrole dyads of the form (PCY)Co(2) which were shown to efficiently electrocatalyze the four electron reduction of O(2) at a graphite electrode in acid media. Comparisons between the four series of porphyrin-corrole dyads, (PCY)Co(2), (PCY)H(2)Co, (PCY)FeClCoCl and (PCY)MnClCoCl, show that in all cases the biscobalt dyads catalyze O(2) electroreduction at potentials more positive by an average 110mV as compared to the related series of compounds containing a Co(III) or Co(IV) corrole macrocycle linked to a free-base metalloporphyrin or a metalloporphyrin with an Fe(III) or Mn(III) central metal ion. The data indicates that the E(1/2) values where electrocatalysis is initiated is related to the initial site of electron transfer, which is the Co(III)/Co(II) porphyrin reduction process in the case of (PCY)Co(2) and the Co(IV)/Co(III) corrole reduction in the case of (PCY)MnClCoCl, (PCY)FeClCoCl and (PCY)H(2)Co. The overall data also suggests that the catalytically active form of the biscobalt dyad in (PCY)Co(2) contains a Co(II) porphyrin and a Co(IV) corrole.     

A solar-powered transmitting video camera for monitoring cliff-nesting raptors

ABSTRACT.   We designed a system of solar-powered video cameras that transmitted images via telemetry to a monitor. This system allowed us to study the breeding behavior of the Bearded Vulture ( Gypaetus barbatus ) in the Pyrenees (northeastern Spain). From 2000 to 2004, 12 nests in seven territories were equipped with video cameras. To avoid disturbing the birds, equipment was installed 3–8 weeks before egg-laying. The acceptance rate was 75%. No decline in productivity was observed for nests monitored with video cameras compared to control nests. The cameras enabled us to document egg-laying, hatching asynchrony, the nestlings' diet, and the parents' breeding behavior from distances of 2–3 km, although technical problems temporarily interrupted the transmission of images. Video cameras can be used successfully to study the Bearded Vultures, and probably other cliff-nesting raptors, without reducing productivity.     

Non-random, individual-specific methylation profiles are present at the sixth CTCF binding site in the human H19/IGF2 imprinting control region

Expression of imprinted genes is classically associated with differential methylation of specific CpG-rich DNA regions (DMRs). The H19/IGF2 locus is considered a paradigm for epigenetic regulation. In mice, as in humans, the essential H19 DMR--target of the CTCF insulator--is located between the two genes. Here, we performed a pyrosequencing-based quantitative analysis of its CpG methylation in normal human tissues. The quantitative analysis of the methylation level in the H19 DMR revealed three unexpected discrete, individual-specific methylation states. This epigenetic polymorphism was confined to the sixth CTCF binding site while a unique median-methylated profile was found at the third CTCF binding site as well as in the H19 promoter. Monoallelic expression of H19 and IGF2 was maintained independently of the methylation status at the sixth CTCF binding site and the IGF2 DMR2 displayed a median-methylated profile in all individuals and tissues analyzed. Interestingly, the methylation profile was genetically transmitted. Transgenerational inheritance of the H19 methylation profile was compatible with a simple model involving one gene with three alleles. The existence of three individual-specific epigenotypes in the H19 DMR in a non-pathological situation means it is important to reconsider the diagnostic value and functional importance of the sixth CTCF binding site.     

Survival of yogurt bacteria in the human gut

Whether Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus can be recovered after passage through the human gut was tested by feeding 20 healthy volunteers commercial yogurt. Yogurt bacteria were found in human feces, suggesting that they can survive transit in the gastrointestinal tract.     

Multiple GTPases participate in the assembly of the large ribosomal subunit in Bacillus subtilis

GTPases have been demonstrated to be necessary for the proper assembly of the ribosome in bacteria and eukaryotes. Here, we show that the essential GTPases YphC and YsxC are required for large ribosomal subunit biogenesis in Bacillus subtilis. Sucrose density gradient centrifugation of large ribosomal subunits isolated from YphC-depleted cells and YsxC-depleted cells indicates that they are similar to the 45S intermediate previously identified in RbgA-depleted cells. The sedimentation of the large-subunit intermediate isolated from YphC-depleted cells was identical to the intermediate found in RbgA-depleted cells, while the intermediate isolated from YsxC-depleted cells sedimented slightly slower than 45S, suggesting that it is a novel intermediate. Analysis of the protein composition of the large-subunit intermediates isolated from either YphC-depleted cells or YsxC-depleted cells indicated that L16 and L36 are missing. Purified YphC and YsxC are able to interact with the ribosome in vitro, supporting a direct role for these two proteins in the assembly of the 50S subunit. Our results indicate that, as has been demonstrated for Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosome biogenesis, bacterial 50S ribosome assembly requires the function of multiple essential GTPases.     

Role of the membrane interface on the conformation of the caveolin scaffolding domain: a CD and NMR study

Circular dichroism (CD) and NMR spectroscopy were used to study the conformational properties of two synthetic peptides, D82-R101 and D82-I109, encompassing the caveolin scaffolding domain (D82-R101), in the presence of dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. Our data show that a stable helical conformation of the caveolin scaffolding domain in a membrane mimicking system is only obtained for the peptide including the L102-I109 hydrophobic stretch, a part of the caveolin intra-membrane domain. Through chemical shift variations, an ensemble of six residues of the D82-L109 peptide, mainly located in the V(94)TKYWFYR(101) motif were found to detect the presence of phosphatidylserine solubilized in DPC micelles. Our results constitute a first step for elucidating at a residue level the conformational properties of the central region of the caveolin-1 protein.     

Survival of Yogurt Bacteria in the Human Gut

Whether Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus can be recovered after passage through the human gut was tested by feeding 20 healthy volunteers commercial yogurt. Yogurt bacteria were found in human feces, suggesting that they can survive transit in the gastrointestinal tract.     

Deficiency in OGG1 protects against inflammation and mutagenic effects associated with H. pylori infection in mouse

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with gastric cancer. Study with the Big Blue mouse model has reported a mutagenic effect associated with the H. pylori infection, as a result in part of oxidative DNA damage. The present work investigates the consequences of a deficiency in the OGG1 DNA glycosylase, responsible for the excision of 8-oxo guanine, on the inflammatory and genotoxic host response to the infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Big Blue Ogg1-/- C57BL/6 mice were orally inoculated with H. pylori strain SS1 or vehicle only, and sacrificed after 1, 3, or 6 months. The serologic response, histologic lesions, mutant frequency, and spectra of mutations were assessed in the stomach and compared to what observed in the wild-type (Wt) context. RESULTS: Inflammatory lesions induced in the gastric mucosa of H. pylori-infected mice, corresponding to a moderate gastritis, were less severe in Ogg1-/- than in Wt Big Blue mice. Analysis of antimicrobial humoral immunity exhibited a lower IgG2a serum level (Th1 response) after 6 months of infection in Ogg1-/- than in the Wt mice. In these conditions, the H. pylori-SS1 infection in the Ogg1-/- mice did not induce a mutagenic effect at the gastric epithelial cells level, either after 3 or 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The inactivation of the OGG1 DNA glycosylase in mouse leads to less severe inflammatory lesions and abolished the mutagenic effect at the gastric epithelial cells level, induced by the H. pylori infection. These data suggest for the OGG1deficiency a protective role against inflammation and genotoxicity associated to the H. pylori infection.     

Viruses take center stage in cellular evolution

The origins of viruses are shrouded in mystery, but advances in genomics and the discovery of highly complex giant DNA viruses have stimulated new hypotheses that DNA viruses were involved in the emergence of the eukaryotic cell nucleus, and that they are worthy of being considered as living organisms.