Effect of the phase state of lipids on their interaction with cobra cytotoxin

Interaction between cytotoxin of the Central Asia cobra venom and dimiristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer depending on its phase state was studied by ESR with spin label. A conclusion can be drawn that the efficiency of cytotoxin effect on the membranes depends on their phase state. Cytotoxin molecules are incorporated into myophile region of the bilayer, only if the latter is in the liquid crystal state. The interaction between cytotoxins and lipids of the bilayer in a gel state is in the main conditioned by electrostatic forces.     

Evaluation of Nisin F in the Treatment of Subcutaneous Skin Infections, as Monitored by Using a Bioluminescent Strain of Staphylococcus aureus

The potential of nisin F as an antimicrobial agent in treating subcutaneous skin infections was tested in vivo by infecting C57BL/6 mice with a bioluminescent strain of Staphylococcus aureus (Xen 36). Strain Xen 36 has the luxABCDE operon located on a native plasmid. Mice were grouped into four groups: Infected with strain Xen 36 and treated with nisin F, infected with strain Xen 36 and treated with saline (placebo), not infected and treated with nisin (control) and not infected and not treated (control). The immune systems of the mice were suppressed with deksamethasone. Mice were treated with either nisin F or sterile physiological saline 24 and 48 h after infection with subcutaneously injected S. aureus Xen 36 (4 × 10⁶ CFU). Histology and bioluminescent flux measurements revealed no significant difference between infected mice treated with nisin and saline, respectively. However, infected mice treated with nisin F had an increased number of polymorphonuclear cells when compared with infected mice treated with saline. Also, not infected mice treated with nisin F had an influx of polymorphonuclear cells. Nisin F is thus ineffective in combating deep dermal staphylococcal infections. The apparent immune modulation of nisin when subcutaneously injected has to be investigated.     

Comparative evaluation of the action of prostanoid inhibitors on uterine contractile function

Indomethacin and substance BW-755C in experiments on isolated myometrium striae of pregnant white rats exert an inhibiting effect on the contractile uterus function due to inhibition of cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase ways of the arachidonic acid transformation. Prostaglandin F2 alpha is sensitive to functioning of the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase ways of the arachidonic acid transformation, while oxytocin--only lipoxygenase one. Conclusions rest on results from multiparametric analysis of the contractile uterus function suggested by authors and confirmed by the pattern recognition method--the Karunen-Loev orthogonal decomposition.     

Genome-wide analysis of the SET DOMAIN GROUP family in grapevine

The SET DOMAIN GROUP (SDG) proteins represent an evolutionarily-conserved family of epigenetic regulators present in eukaryotes and are putative candidates for the catalysis of lysine methylation in histones. Plant genomes analyses of this family have been performed in arabidopsis, maize, and rice and functional studies have shown that SDG genes are involved in the control of plant development. In this work, we describe the identification and structural characterization of SDG genes in the Vitis vinifera genome. This analysis revealed the presence of 33 putative SDG genes that can be grouped into different classes, as it has been previously described for plants. In addition to the SET domain, the proteins identified possessed other domains in the different classes. As part of our study regarding the growth and development of grapevine, we selected eight genes and their expression levels were analyzed in representative vegetative and reproductive organs of this species. The selected genes showed different patterns of expression during inflorescence and fruit development, suggesting that they participate in these processes. Furthermore, we showed that the expression of selected SDGs changes during viral infection, using as a model Grapevine Leafroll Associated Virus 3-infected symptomatic grapevine leaves and fruits. Our results suggest that developmental changes caused by this virus could be the result of alterations in SDG expression.