The Novel Approach to the Protein Design: Active Truncated Forms of Human 1-CYS Peroxiredoxin

Abstract

The object of the present study is the verification of a new approach to the design of the active truncated forms of enzymes. The method is based on a new way of investigating the protein sequences—the ANalysis of Informational Structure (ANIS). The analysis of informational structure allows to determine the hierarchically organized structures (IDIC-trees) formed by the sites with the Increased Degree of Informational Coordination between residues. The proposed approach involves the consequent removal of the fragments corresponding to the individual IDIC-trees from the wild-type enzyme sequences. The described procedure was applied to the design of the active truncated form of human 1-CYS peroxiredoxin (PrxVI). Two variants of the PrxVI truncated sequences were proposed according to ANIS method. These truncated forms of the enzyme were expressed in E. coli and purified. The respective antioxidant activities were measured. It was shown that one of the truncated recombinant proteins retains more than 90% of the wild-type PrxVI enzymatic activity. According to the results of our study we can assume that ANIS method can be an effective tool for the design of the active truncated forms of the enzymes or the chimeric proteins which combine the enzymatic activities of their wild-type prototypes.     

Prevalence of systemic diseases in patients undergoing minor oral surgeries

It is of interest to evaluate the prevalence of systemic disorders in patients undergoing minor oral surgeries at a dental hospital. This will help to take necessary precautions prior to oral surgeries. We used the digital case records of 1288 patients who underwent minor oral surgeries in a hospital. Demographic details and systemic diseases of the patients were recorded from digital case records. Data shows that 103 patients (7.9%) of the total number of patients undergoing minor oral surgeries had systemic diseases with 3.8% of patients diagnosed with diabetes. Statistically significant associations were found between type of minor oral surgery and the type of systemic disease (p<0.001); age of patients and type of minor oral surgery (p<0.001); age and type of systemic diseases (p<0.001) and gender of patient and type of minor oral surgery (p = 0.005). Thus, data shows the prevalence of systemic diseases in patients undergoing minor oral surgeries was 7.9%.     

Stimulation of the autonomic nervous system in colorectal surgery: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

In this study we describe the sociodemographic characteristics of people participating in a clinical trial on the safety and immunogenicity of a H5N1 influenza vaccine and we identify the main motivations for joining it.     

Polarized light based scheme to monitor column performance in a continuous foam fractionation column

Background  

A polarized light scattering technique was used to monitor the performance of a continuously operated foam fractionation process. The S ₁₁ and S ₁₂ parameters, elements of the light scattering matrix, combined together (S ₁₁ +S ₁₂) have been correlated with the bubble size and liquid content for the case of a freely draining foam. The performance of a foam fractionation column is known to have a strong dependence on the bubble size distribution and liquid hold up in foam. In this study the enrichment is used as a metric, representative of foam properties and column performance, and correlated to the S ₁₁ +S ₁₂ parameter.     

Courtship Behavior of Zaprionus indianus (Gupta) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Populations Colonizing South America

We describe for the first time the sexual behavior and the courtship song of males of the African fly Zaprionus indianus (Gupta), a recent invader of South America. The male courtship song is formed by monocyclic pulses and the courtship behavior is simple when compared to that of species of Drosophila. Two interpulse interval (IPI) distributions were observed: pre-mounting and mounting. No significant difference was observed between the pre-mounting IPIs of males that descended from three geographical populations from South America. We also observed the songs produced by females and the homosexual behavior exhibited by males. A sequence of bursts is produced by females as a refusal signal against males, while males emit a characteristic song that identifies sex genus, which differs from the courtship song. The short courtship and mating latencies recorded reveal vigorous males and receptive females, respectively.     

The possibilities for enhancing the immunogenicity of adenovirus hexon

Synthetic polyelectrolytes and muramyldipeptide derivatives are tested as immunostimulators. It is established that the level of antibody-forming cells and specific (virus-neutralizing and precipitating) antibodies considerably rises during the immunization of human adenovirus I hexon in the combination with N-acetylglucosaminyl-muramyldipeptide and conjugation with a copolymer including acrylic acid and N-vinylpyrrolidone. A more expressed intensification of the antibody-formation is observed with the use of polyelectrolytes.     

Effect of lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid on the surface charge of the erythrocyte membrane

The influence of metabolites of arachidonic acids on the electrophoretic mobility of the rat erythrocytes has been investigated. It is found that they can increase or decrease the surface charge of the erythrocyte membranes.     

Plastidial acyl carrier protein Δ9-desaturase modulates eicosapentaenoic acid biosynthesis and triacylglycerol accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

The unicellular marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum accumulates up to 35% eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n3) and has been used as a model organism to study long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) biosynthesis due to an excellent annotated genome sequence and established transformation system. In P. tricornutum, the majority of EPA accumulates in polar lipids, particularly in galactolipids such as mono- and di-galactosyldiacylglycerol. LC-PUFA biosynthesis is considered to start from oleic acid (18:1n9). EPA can be synthesized via a series of desaturation and elongation steps occurring at the endoplasmic reticulum and newly synthesized EPA is then imported into the plastids for incorporation into galactolipids via an unknown route. The basis for the flux of EPA is fundamental to understanding LC-PUFA biosynthesis in diatoms. We used P. tricornutum to study acyl modifying activities, upstream of 18:1n9, on subsequent LC-PUFA biosynthesis. We identified the gene coding for the plastidial acyl carrier protein Δ9-desaturase, a key enzyme in fatty acid modification and analyzed the impact of overexpression and knock out of this gene on glycerolipid metabolism. This revealed a previously unknown role of this soluble desaturase in EPA synthesis and production of triacylglycerol. This study provides further insight into the distinctive nature of lipid metabolism in the marine diatom P. tricornutum and suggests additional approaches for tailoring oil composition in microalgae.