Effects of taurine on polymorphonuclear phagocytosis activity in burned patients

Summary.  This study determines the effects of taurine (Tau) on phagocytosis of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) isolated from normal subjects (n = 41) and severely burned patients (n = 20). Phagocytosis was measured by nitroblue of tetrazolium (NBT) reduction in samples with and without latex bead stimulation. Taurine was added at doses of 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 mM to stimulated samples. In control cells there were statistically significant increases in phagocytosis after addition of Tau 0.8 mM and 1.6 mM to as compared to samples without Tau addition (295 ± 23% and 330 ± 35% vs. 248 ± 18%; mean ± S.E.; p < 0.05). A statistically significant increase in phagocytosis was observed in cells from the burned population after addition of Tau 1.6 mM (288 ± 38% vs. 198 ± 13%; mean ± S.E.; p < 0.05). No changes in phagocytosis were found in cells from a subgroup of burn patients (n = 13) followed over 7, 15 and 21 days. These results indicate that taurine supplementation in vitro at doses of 0.8 to 1.6 mM improves the phagocytic capacity of neutrophils in healthy subjects and in patients with severe burn injury, mainly when neutrophil function is unaltered. Received December 17, 2001 Accepted January 17, 2002 Published online August 30, 2002 Authors' address: Dr. Mireia Farriol, Centre d'Investigacions Bioquímicas i Biología Molecular (CIBBIM), Hospital General Vall d'Hebron Passeig Vall d'Hebron 119-129, E-08035 Barcelona, Spain, Fax: 34-93-2746831, E-mail: farriol@hg.vhebron.es     

Study of the evolutionary relationships among Limonium species (Plumbaginaceae) using nuclear and cytoplasmic molecular markers

The genus Limonium, due to the patchiness of the natural habitats of its species as well as the high frequency of hybridization and polyploidy and the possibility of reproduction by apomixis, provides an example of all the principal mechanisms of rapid speciation of plants. As an initial study of evolution in this genus, we have analyzed intra- and interspecific variability in 17 species from section Limonium, the largest in the genus, based on RFLPs of cpDNA and nuclear rDNA ITS sequences. In the cpDNA analysis, 21 restriction enzymes were used, resulting in 779 fragments, 490 of which were variable and 339 parsimony informative. L. furfuraceum exhibited two relatively divergent cpDNA haplotypes. The relationships found among the species based on cpDNA restriction fragments were coincident using different methods of phylogenetic analysis. Due to the presumed reticulate evolution in the genus Limonium, the comparison of these results with data from the nuclear DNA was necessary; ITS sequences were analyzed. The final alignment contained 488 characters, of which 198 were variable and 156 parsimony informative. Two relatively divergent ITS types were present at the intraindividual level in L. delicatulum, a triploid species. Each type was related to ITS from different groups of diploid Limonium species, one with a base haploid chromosome number n = 8 (represented by L. cossonianum) and the other with n = 9 (represented by L. minutum). The different phylogenetic inference methods used for the analysis of ITS sequences rendered very similar topologies. In general, the relationships among the species studied were coincident with those obtained with the chloroplast genome. Both nuclear and cytoplasmic markers support the polyphyly of section Limonium, with at least two species, L. narbonense and L. vulgare, clearly divergent from the rest. Moreover, the remaining subsections into which section Limonium is currently divided seem to be artificial.     

Hierarchical and metabolic regulation of glucose influx in starved Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A novel method dissecting the regulation of a cellular function into direct metabolic regulation and hierarchical (e.g., gene-expression) regulation is applied to yeast starved for nitrogen or carbon. Upon nitrogen starvation glucose influx is down-regulated hierarchically. Upon carbon starvation it is down-regulated both metabolically and hierarchically. The method is expounded in terms of its implications for diverse types of regulation. It is also fine-tuned for cases where isoenzymes catalyze the flux through a single metabolic step.     

The proanthocyanidin content as a tool to differentiate between Lotus tenuis and L. corniculatus individuals

Lotus tenuis Wald et Kit and Lotus corniculatus L. are conspicuous elements of the agricultural landscape for cattle production. In South America, commercial L. tenuis stocks usually present contaminations with L. corniculatus, what brings about an important economical injure to the forage producers. A way to reduce or avoid loses is to assess the purity degree of L. tenuis seed lots before seeding. Methods so far described for the diagnosis of Lotus species when flowers are not available are lengthy, time consuming, need the implementation of sophisticated laboratories and are relatively expensive. It has been shown that Lotus species accumulate variable proanthocyanidins amounts, which can be easily visualized by a simple and rapid staining method. In this work, we demonstrate that the leaf PA content is a specific trait of L. tenuis and L. corniculatus and hence, it allows the unambiguous differentiation between both species, even at an early phenological stage.     

Loss of fermentative capacity in baker's yeast can partly be explained by reduced glucose uptake capacity

Initial attempts to increase fermentative capacity of baker's yeast focussed on the overproduction of single enzymes, which proved to be insufficient. Nowadays many components of the system are monitored simultaneously in a search for a correlation with fermentative capacity. However, this strategy has not yet proven fruitful either. Here we investigate an element previously neglected, the glucose transporter, and find that a loss of glucose transport capacity correlates with a decrease of fermentative capacity during nutrient starvation. However the correlation is not unique, suggesting that the loss of fermentative capacity cannot be attributed to an inactivation of glucose transport alone. Our results suggest the necessity to use a detailed kinetic model as an underlying working hypothesis and to use Metabolic Control Analysis to examine the pathway's control properties.     

Efficient Reconstruction of Metabolic Pathways by Bidirectional Chemical Search

One of the main challenges in systems biology is the establishment of the metabolome: a catalogue of the metabolites and biochemical reactions present in a specific organism. Current knowledge of biochemical pathways as stored in public databases such as KEGG, is based on carefully curated genomic evidence for the presence of specific metabolites and enzymes that activate particular biochemical reactions. In this paper, we present an efficient method to build a substantial portion of the artificial chemistry defined by the metabolites and biochemical reactions in a given metabolic pathway, which is based on bidirectional chemical search. Computational results on the pathways stored in KEGG reveal novel biochemical pathways. This work has been partially supported by the Spanish CICYT project TIN2004-07925-C03-01 GRAMMARS, by Spanish DGI projects MTM2006-07773 COMGRIO and MTM2006-15038-C02-01, and by EU project INTAS IT 04-77-7178.     

Design and protocol for the Dialysis Optimal Health Program (DOHP) randomised controlled trial

BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) are serious and growing health problems with enormous impact on psychological and social functioning. Despite high rates of comorbid depression and anxiety in these patient populations, and the adverse impact these have upon treatment adherence, quality of life, social connectedness and healthcare costs there has been little attention focused on the prevention or management of these problems. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the Dialysis Optimal Health Program (DOHP) that adopts a person-centred approach and engages collaborative therapy to educate and support those diagnosed with ESKD who are commencing dialysis.MethodsThe study design is a randomised controlled trial. Ninety-six adult patients initiating haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis will be randomly allocated to either the intervention (DOHP) or usual care group. Participants receiving the intervention will receive nine (8 + 1 booster session) sequential sessions based on a structured information/workbook, psychosocial and educational supports and skills building. The primary outcome measures are depression and anxiety (assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS). Secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life (assessed by the Kidney Disease Quality of Life instrument; KDQOL), self-efficacy (assessed by General Self-Efficacy Scale) and clinical indices (e.g. albumin and haemoglobin levels). Cost-effectiveness analysis and process evaluation will also be performed to assess the economic value and efficacy of the DOHP. Primary and secondary measures will be collected at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up time points.DiscussionWe believe that this innovative trial will enhance knowledge of interventions aimed at supporting patients in the process of starting dialysis, and will broaden the focus from physical symptoms to include psychosocial factors such as depression, anxiety, self-efficacy, wellbeing and community support. The outcomes associated with this study are significant in terms of enhancing an at-risk population’s psychosocial health and reducing treatment-related costs and associated pressures on the healthcare system.

Trial registration

ANZCTR no. 12615000810516. Registered on 5 August 2015.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1558-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Chimeric tRNAs as tools to induce proteome damage and identify components of stress responses

Misfolded proteins are caused by genomic mutations, aberrant splicing events, translation errors or environmental factors. The accumulation of misfolded proteins is a phenomenon connected to several human disorders, and is managed by stress responses specific to the cellular compartments being affected. In wild-type cells these mechanisms of stress response can be experimentally induced by expressing recombinant misfolded proteins or by incubating cells with large concentrations of amino acid analogues. Here, we report a novel approach for the induction of stress responses to protein aggregation. Our method is based on engineered transfer RNAs that can be expressed in cells or tissues, where they actively integrate in the translation machinery causing general proteome substitutions. This strategy allows for the introduction of mutations of increasing severity randomly in the proteome, without exposing cells to unnatural compounds. Here, we show that this approach can be used for the differential activation of the stress response in the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER). As an example of the applications of this method, we have applied it to the identification of human microRNAs activated or repressed during unfolded protein stress.