Digoxin Suppresses Pyruvate Kinase M2-Promoted HIF-1α Transactivation in Steatohepatitis

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Intrathecal administration of autologous mesenchymal stromal cells for spinal cord injury: Safety and efficacy of the 100/3 guideline

Background aims

Cell therapy with autologous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is beginning, and the search for its better clinical application is an urgent need.

Melatonin reduces the increase in 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine levels in the brain and liver of kainic acid-treated rats

In the present study, the effect of melatonin on oxidative DNA damage induced by kainic acid (KA) treatment was investigated. 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) is a main product of oxidatively damaged DNA and was used as the endpoint in these studies. The levels of 8-OH-dG were found to be elevated in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of rats treated with KA. These elevated levels were significantly reduced in animals that were co-treated with melatonin. Thus, there was no difference in 8-OH-dG levels in the brain of control rats compared to those treated with KA (10 mg/kg) plus melatonin (10 mg/kg). The levels of 8-OH-dG also increased in the liver of rats treated with KA. This rise in oxidatively damaged DNA was also prevented by melatonin administration. Melatonin's ability to reduce KA-induced increases in neural and hepatic 8-OH-dG levels presumably relates to its direct free radical scavenging ability and possibly to other antioxidative actions of melatonin.     

YphC and YsxC GTPases assist the maturation of the central protuberance,GTPase associated region and functional core of the 50S ribosomal subunit

YphC and YsxC are GTPases in Bacillus subtilis that facilitate the assembly of the 50S ribosomal subunit, however their roles in this process are still uncharacterized. To explore their function, we used strains in which the only copy of the yphC or ysxC genes were under the control of an inducible promoter. Under depletion conditions, they accumulated incomplete ribosomal subunits that we named 45S_YphC and 44.5S_YsxC particles. Quantitative mass spectrometry analysis and the 5–6 Å resolution cryo-EM maps of the 45S_YphC and 44.5S_YsxC particles revealed that the two GTPases participate in the maturation of the central protuberance, GTPase associated region and key RNA helices in the A, P and E functional sites of the 50S subunit. We observed that YphC and YsxC bind specifically to the two immature particles, suggesting that they represent either on-pathway intermediates or that their structure has not significantly diverged from that of the actual substrate. These results describe the nature of these immature particles, a widely used tool to study the assembly process of the ribosome. They also provide the first insights into the function of YphC and YsxC in 50S subunit assembly and are consistent with this process occurring through multiple parallel pathways, as it has been described for the 30S subunit.     

High-resolution, human–bovine comparative mapping based on a closed YAC contig spanning the bovine mh locus

A closed YAC contig spanning the mh locus was assembled by STS content mapping with seven microsatellite markers, eight genes or EST, and nine STS corresponding to YAC ends. The contig comprises 27 YACs, has an average depth of 4.3 YACs, and spans an estimated 1.2 Mb. A linkage map was constructed based on five of the microsatellite markers anchored to the contig and shown to span 7 cM, yielding a ratio of 160 kb/1 cM for the corresponding chromosome region. Comparative mapping data indicate that the constructed contig spans an evolutionary breakpoint connecting two chromosome segments that are syntenic but not adjacent in the human. Consolidation of human gene order by means of whole genome radiation hybrids and its comparison with the bovine order as inferred from the contig confirm conservation of gene order within segments. Received: 6 August 1998 / Accepted: 28 October 1998     

Localization by immunoelectron microscopy of antigens of Chlamydia psittaci suitable for diagnosis or vaccine development

Two different antigens of serotype 1 Chlamydia psittaci were localized using three immunoelectron microscopy techniques: non-embedding, pre-embedding and post-embedding. The antigens had previously been described as being of potential use in diagnosis (80–90 kDa protein region) and vaccine development (110 kDa protein). The results show a direct relationship between the protective capacity of the antigens and their surface localization on the elementary bodies, which are the infectious form of Chlamydia. The 80–90 kDa protein region is located on the surface of reticulate bodies but not of elementary bodies, where it was located periplasmically, while the 110 kDa protein occurs on the surface of both elementary and reticulate bodies.     

Production and purification of an untagged recombinant pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA4Pro) with high-purity and low endotoxin content

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main cause of pneumonia, meningitis, and other conditions that kill thousands of children every year worldwide. The...     

Therapeutic Targeting of MLL Degradation Pathways in MLL-Rearranged Leukemia

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