Translating chemometric analysis into physiological insights from in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy of the human stratum corneum

The superficial layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), consists of corneocytes surrounded by lipid regions and acts as a protective barrier for the body against water loss, toxic agents and microorganisms. As most substances permeate the stratum corneum through the lipid regions, lipid organization is considered crucial for the skin barrier function. Here, we investigate the potential of in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy to describe the composition and organization of the SC. Confocal Raman spectroscopy is finding increasing use in the characterization of skin in biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. In this work, we analyze the spectra using chemometric methods and obtain principal components that correspond to the primary skin constituents: protein (keratin), natural moisturizing factor (NMF), water and lipid contributions in both ordered (orthorhombic) and disordered structural organization. By identifying these important components of the SC, these results highlight the utility of this in vivo, non-invasive, and depth resolved tool at the forefront of skin research.     

Enhancement by serotonin of the growth in vitro of antennal lobe neurons of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta

Cell culture experiments have been used to examine the effects of serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] on the morphological development of antennal lobe (AL) neurons in the brain of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. The majority of cells used in this study were from animals at stage 5 of the 18 stages of metamorphic adult development. 5-HT did not affect the survival of M. sexta AL neurons in culture, but did increase the numbers of cells displaying features characteristic of certain cell types. Three morphologically distinct cell types were examined in detail. The principal effect of 5-HT on these neurons was enhancement of cell growth. The magnitude of responses to this amine was cell-type specific. Site-specific responses to 5-HT were apparent also in one cell type. Our results suggest that the effects of 5-HT can change during the course of metamorphic development. These changes coincide temporally with the development of fast, sodium-based action potentials. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Landscape of mobile genetic elements and their antibiotic resistance cargo in prokaryotic genomes

Prokaryotic Mobile Genetic Elements (MGEs) such as transposons, integrons, phages and plasmids, play important roles in prokaryotic evolution and in the dispersal of cargo functions like antibiotic resistance. However, each of these MGE types is usually annotated and analysed individually, hampering a global understanding of phylogenetic and environmental patterns of MGE dispersal. We thus developed a computational framework that captures diverse MGE types, their cargos and MGE-mediated horizontal transfer events, using recombinases as ubiquitous MGE marker genes and pangenome information for MGE boundary estimation. Applied to ∼84k genomes with habitat annotation, we mapped 2.8 million MGE-specific recombinases to six operational MGE types, which together contain on average 13% of all the genes in a genome. Transposable elements (TEs) dominated across all taxa (∼1.7 million occurrences), outnumbering phages and phage-like elements (<0.4 million). We recorded numerous MGE-mediated horizontal transfer events across diverse phyla and habitats involving all MGE types, disentangled and quantified the extent of hitchhiking of TEs (17%) and integrons (63%) with other MGE categories, and established TEs as dominant carriers of antibiotic resistance genes. We integrated all these findings into a resource (proMGE.embl.de), which should facilitate future studies on the large mobile part of genomes and its horizontal dispersal.     

Calcium-binding proteins and development

The known roles for calcium-binding proteins in developmental signaling pathways are reviewed. Current information on the calcium-binding characteristics of three classes of cell-surface developmental signaling proteins (EGF-domain proteins, cadherins and integrins) is presented together with an overview of the intra-cellular pathways downstream of these surface receptors. The developmental roles delineated to date for the universal intracellular calcium sensor, calmodulin, and its targets, and for calcium-binding regulators of the cytoskeleton are also reviewed.© Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Restoration of defective cross talk in ssi2 mutants: role of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and fatty acids in SSI2-mediated signaling

The Arabidopsis mutants ssi2 and fab2 are defective in stearoyl ACP desaturase, which causes altered salicylic acid (SA)- and jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated defense signaling. Both ssi2 and fab2 plants show spontaneous cell death, express PR genes constitutively, accumulate high levels of SA, and exhibit enhanced resistance to bacterial and oomycete pathogens. In contrast to constitutive activation of the SA pathway, ssi2 and fab2 plants are repressed in JA-mediated induction of the PDF1.2 gene, which suggests that the SSI2-mediated signaling pathway modulates cross talk between the SA and JA pathways. In this study, we have characterized two recessive nonallelic mutants in the ssi2 background, designated as rdc (restorer of defective cross talk) 2 and rdc8. Both ssi2 rdc mutants are suppressed in constitutive SA signaling, show basal level expression of PR-1 gene, and induce high levels of PDF1.2 in response to exogenous application of JA. Interestingly, while the rdc8 mutation completely abolishes spontaneous cell death in ssi2 rdc8 plants, the ssi2 rdc2 plants continue to show some albeit reduced cell death. Fatty acid (FA) analysis showed a reduction in 16:3 levels in ssi2 rdc8 plants, which suggests that this mutation may limit the flux of FAs into the prokaryotic pathway of glycerolipid biosynthesis. Both rdc2 and rdc8 continue to accumulate high levels of 18:0, which suggests that 18:0 levels were responsible for neither constitutive SA signaling nor repression of JA-induced expression of the PDF1.2 gene in ssi2 plants. We also analyzed SA and JA responses of the fab2-derived shs1 mutant, which accumulates levels of 18:0 over 50% lower than those in the fab2 plants. Even though fab2 shs1 plants were morphologically bigger than fab2 plants, they expressed PR genes constitutively, showed HR-like cell death, and accumulated elevated levels of SA. However, unlike the ssi2 rdc plants, fab2 shs1 plants were unable to induce high levels of PDF1.2 expression in response to exogenous application of JA. Together, these results show that defective cross talk in ssi2 can be restored by second site mutations and is independent of morphological size of the plants, cell death, and elevated levels of 18:0.     

Design, synthesis, and biological activity of novel factor Xa inhibitors: 4-aryloxy substituents of 2,6-diphenoxypyridines

A novel series of triaryloxypyridines have been designed to inhibit factor Xa, a serine protease strategically located in the coagulation cascade. Inhibitor 5e has a K(I) against factor Xa of 0.12nM and is greater than 8000- and 2000-fold selective over two related serine proteases, thrombin and trypsin, respectively. The 4-position of the central pyridine has been identified as a site that tolerates various substitutions without deleterious effects on potency and selectivity. This suggests that the 4-position of the pyridine ring is an ideal site for chemical modifications to identify inhibitors with improved pharmacokinetic characteristics. This investigation has resulted in inhibitor 5d, which has an oral availability of 6% in dogs. The synthesis, in vitro activity, and in vivo profile of this class of inhibitors is outlined.     

Cloning and molecular analysis of the galE gene of Neisseria meningitidls and its role in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis

The galE gene from Haemophilus influenzae was used as a hybridization probe for the galE gene of Neisseria meningitidis Group B, identifying two different homologous loci. Each of the loci was cloned and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that both loci contained sequences similar to galE. One contained a functional galE gene and mapped to the capsule biosynthetic locus. The second contained only a partial galE-coding sequence, which did not express a functional gene product. A galE mutant meningococcal strain was constructed by transformation with an inactivated galE gene. Analysis of the LPS from the galE mutant strain revealed an apparent reduction in molecular weight and a loss of reactivity with monoclonal antibodies specific for structures known to contain galactose. These results are consistent with an essential role for galE in the incorporation of galactose into meningococcal lipopolysaccharide.     

Selection of Specific Endophytic Bacterial Genotypes by Plants in Response to Soil Contamination

Plant-bacterial combinations can increase contaminant degradation in the rhizosphere, but the role played by indigenous root-associated bacteria during plant growth in contaminated soils is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine if plants had the ability to selectively enhance the prevalence of endophytes containing pollutant catabolic genes in unrelated environments contaminated with different pollutants. At petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sites, two genes encoding hydrocarbon degradation, alkane monooxygenase (alkB) and naphthalene dioxygenase (ndoB), were two and four times more prevalent in bacteria extracted from the root interior (endophytic) than from the bulk soil and sediment, respectively. In field sites contaminated with nitroaromatics, two genes encoding nitrotoluene degradation, 2-nitrotoluene reductase (ntdAa) and nitrotoluene monooxygenase (ntnM), were 7 to 14 times more prevalent in endophytic bacteria. The addition of petroleum to sediment doubled the prevalence of ndoB-positive endophytes in Scirpus pungens, indicating that the numbers of endophytes containing catabolic genotypes were dependent on the presence and concentration of contaminants. Similarly, the numbers of alkB- or ndoB-positive endophytes in Festuca arundinacea were correlated with the concentration of creosote in the soil but not with the numbers of alkB- or ndoB-positive bacteria in the bulk soil. Our results indicate that the enrichment of catabolic genotypes in the root interior is both plant and contaminant dependent.     

Acoustic identification and measurement of activity patterns of white grubs in soil

Activity patterns of Phyllophaga crinita (Burmeister), Phyllophaga congrua (LeConte), Phyllophaga crassissima (Blanchard), and Cyclocephala lurida (Bland) grubs were monitored with acoustic sensors in small pots of bluegrass, Poa arachnifera Torr, at varying and constant temperatures over multiple-day periods. Experienced listeners readily distinguished three types of sound with distinct differences in frequency and temporal patterns, intensities, and durations. Of approximately 3,000 sounds detected from P. crinita larvae, 7% were identifiable as snaps, with large amplitudes and short durations typically associated with root breakage or clipping activity. Approximately 60% were identifiable as rustles, suggestive of surfaces sliding or rubbing past each other during general movement activity. Another 2% of sounds contained patterns of repeated pulses suggestive of surfaces scraping across a pointed ridge. The remaining 31% had spectral or temporal patterns that fell outside the ranges of easily recognizable sound types. Because the behavioral significance of the different sound types has not yet been fully established, the classified and unclassified sounds were pooled together in analyses of the effects of species, temperature, weight, and time of day. Grubs of all four species produced detectable sounds at rates that increased with temperature [0.45 sounds/((min)(degrees C))] and larval weight [6.3 sounds/((min)(g))]. Mean sound rates were independent of species and time of day. At temperatures <9 degrees C, mean sound rates fell below the typical levels of background noise observed under field conditions. This reduced activity at low temperatures is likely to reduce the effectiveness of acoustic monitoring in the field in cold weather. The consistency of results obtained in these tests over multiple-day periods suggests that acoustic systems have potential as tools for nondestructive monitoring of the efficacy of insect management treatments as well as for biological and ecological studies.