Stepwise modification of lysine residues of glucose oxidase with citraconic anhydride

Structural properties of modified forms of glucose oxidase made by stepwise specific modification have been investigated. By a single step modification, one of the modified forms resulted in the conversion of native structure of glucose oxidase to molten globule like form [S. Hosseinkhani, B. Ranjbar, H. Naderi-Manesh, M. Nemat-Gorgani, FEBS Lett. 561 (2004) 213–216]. Chemical modification of lysine residues in glucose oxidase was carried out using different concentration of citraconic anhydride. Modification brought about changes in the tertiary structure with some degree of alteration in secondary structure. FTIR, far and near-UV CD spectropolarimetry, intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy showed structural changes of glucose oxidase in a concentration dependent manner. This was supported by comparative study of secondary and tertiary structure.     

Biochar amendment boosts photosynthesis and biomass in C3 but not C4 plants: A global synthesis

Biochar is a carbon (C)‐rich solid produced from the thermochemical pyrolysis of biomass. Its amendment to soils has been proposed as a promising mean to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and simultaneously benefit agricultural crops. However, how biochar amendment affects plant photosynthesis and growth remains unclear, especially on a global scale. In this study, we conducted a global synthesis of 74 publications with 347 paired comparisons to acquire an overall tendency of plant photosynthesis and growth following biochar amendment. Overall, we found that biochar amendment significantly increased photosynthetic rate by 27.1%, and improved stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, water use efficiency, and chlorophyll concentration by 19.6%, 26.9%, 26.8%, and 16.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, plant total biomass, shoot biomass, and root biomass increased by 25.4%, 22.1%, and 34.4%, respectively. Interestingly, plant types (C₃ and C₄ plants) showed greater control over plant photosynthesis and biomass than a broad suite of soil and biochar factors. Biochar amendment largely boosted photosynthesis and biomass on C₃ plants, but had a limited effect on C₄ plants. Our results highlight the importance of the differential response of plant types to biochar amendment with respect to plant growth and photosynthesis, providing a scientific foundation for making reasonable strategies towards an extensive application of biochar for agricultural production management.     

Neisseria meningitidis lipid A mutant LPSs function as LPS antagonists in humans by inhibiting TLR 4-dependent cytokine production

Lipopolysaccharide is a major constituent of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and important in the induction of pro-inflammatory responses. Recently, novel LPS species derived from Neisseria meningitidis H44/76 by insertional inactivation of the lpxL1 and lpxL2 genes have been created with a lipid A portion consisting of five (penta-acylated lpxL1) or four (tetra-acylated lpxL2) fatty acids connected to the glucosamine backbone instead of six fatty acids in the wild-type LPS. We show that these mutant LPS-types are poor inducers of cytokines (tumor-necrosis factor-α, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-RA) in human mononuclear cells. Both penta- and tetra-acylated meningococcal LPSs were able to inhibit cytokine production by wild-type Escherichia coli or meningococcal LPS. Binding of FITC-labelled E. coli LPS TLR4 transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was inhibited by both mutant LPS-types. Experiments with CHO fibroblasts transfected with human CD14 and TLR4 showed that the antagonizing effect was dependent on the expression of human TLR4. In contrast to the situation in humans, lpxL1 LPS has agonistic activity for cytokine production in peritoneal macrophages of DBA mice, and exacerbated arthritis in murine collagen induced arthritis model. N. meningitidis lipid A mutant LPSs lpxL1 and lpxL2 function as LPS antagonists in humans by inhibiting TLR4-dependent cytokine production but have agonistic activity in mice.     

A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess HPV Knowledge and HPV Vaccine Acceptability in Mali

Despite a high prevalence of oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer mortality, HPV vaccination is not currently available in Mali. Knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer in Mali, and thereby vaccine readiness, may be limited. Research staff visited homes in a radial pattern from a central location to recruit adolescent females and males aged 12–17 years and men and women aged ≥18 years (N = 51) in a peri-urban village of Bamako, Mali. Participants took part in structured interviews assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to HPV, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccination. We found low levels of HPV and cervical cancer knowledge. While only 2.0% of respondents knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), 100% said they would be willing to receive HPV vaccination and would like the HPV vaccine to be available in Mali. Moreover, 74.5% said they would vaccinate their child(ren) against HPV. Men were found to have significantly greater autonomy in the decision to vaccinate themselves than women and adolescents (p = 0.005), a potential barrier to be addressed by immunization campaigns. HPV vaccination would be highly acceptable if the vaccine became widely available in Bamako, Mali. This study demonstrates the need for a significant investment in health education if truly informed consent is to be obtained for HPV vaccination. Potential HPV vaccination campaigns should provide more information about HPV and the vaccine. Barriers to vaccination, including the significantly lower ability of the majority of the target population to autonomously decide to get vaccinated, must also be addressed in future HPV vaccine campaigns.     

Autophagy modulates transforming growth factor beta 1 induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Lung cancer is considered one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death worldwide and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of all lung cancer cases. Autophagy is a cellular process responsible for the recycling of damaged organelles and protein aggregates. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ₁) is involved in Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and autophagy induction in different cancer models and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of NSCLC. It is not clear how autophagy can regulate EMT in NSCLC cells. In the present study, we have investigated the regulatory role of autophagy in EMT induction in NSCLC and show that TGFβ₁ can simultaneously induce both autophagy and EMT in the NSCL lines A549 and H1975. Upon chemical inhibition of autophagy using Bafilomycin-A1, the expression of the mesenchymal marker vimentin and N-cadherin was reduced. Immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry (ICC) showed that the mesenchymal marker vimentin was significantly downregulated upon TGFβ₁ treatment in ATG7 knockdown cells when compared to corresponding cells treated with scramble shRNA (negative control), while E-cadherin was unchanged. Furthermore, autophagy inhibition (Bafilomycin A1 and ATG7 knockdown) decreased two important mesenchymal functions, migration and contraction, of NSCLC cells upon TGFβ₁ treatment. This study identified a crucial role of autophagy as a potential positive regulator of TGFβ₁-induced EMT in NSCLC cells and identifies inhibitors of autophagy as promising new drugs in antagonizing the role of EMT inducers, like TGFβ₁, in the clinical progression of NSCLC.     

Epidemiology of asthma and associated factors in an urban Pakistani population: adult asthma study-Karachi

Background

This study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence of asthma and associated risk factors in the adult population of Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods

This multi-stage, cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 2014–August 2015; comprising 1629 adults in 75 randomly selected clusters in Karachi, Pakistan. Definitions included: ‘self-reported asthma’, ‘reversibility in FEV₁^’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV₁’.

Results

Prevalence of asthma was 1.8% (self-reported) (95% CI: 1.0–2.6), 11.3% (reversibility in FEV₁) (95% CI: 9.4–13.3) and 6.6% (symptoms and reversibility in FEV₁) (95% CI: 5.1–8.1). Asthmatics were more likely to belong to the age group ≥38?years according to ‘reversibility in FEV₁’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV₁’ (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2–3.3) and (AOR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.1–4.2), respectively. Asthmatics were more likely to report history of allergies (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.2–2.9) and (AOR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.7–4.8); and were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (AOR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.5) and (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1–3.3) according to ‘reversibility in FEV₁’ and ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV₁’, respectively. Asthmatics were more likely to report pack years of smoking ≥5 (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–4.7) according to ‘respiratory symptoms and reversibility in FEV₁’.

Conclusion

This study reports a high prevalence of asthma among Pakistani adults and calls for developing appropriate public health policies for prevention and control of asthma in the country. Further studies should be conducted to determine the national prevalence as well as follow-up studies to identify preventable causes for adult asthma.

     

The involvement of Toll‐like receptor 9 in the pathogenesis of erosive autoimmune arthritis

Endogenous nucleic acids and their receptors may be involved in the initiation of systemic autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As the role of the DNA sensing Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 9 in RA is unclear, we aimed to investigate its involvement in the pathogenesis of autoimmune arthritis using three different experimental models of RA. The data obtained revealed involvement of TLR9 in the T cell‐dependent phase of inflammatory arthritis. In rats with pristane‐induced arthritis (PIA), TLR9 inhibition before disease onset reduced arthritis significantly and almost completely abolished bone erosion. Accordingly, serum levels of IL‐6, α‐1‐acid‐glycoprotein and rheumatoid factor were reduced. Moreover, in TLR9^?/? mice, streptococcal cell wall (SCW)‐induced arthritis was reduced in the T cell‐dependent phase, whereas T cell‐independent serum‐transfer arthritis was not affected. Remarkably, while TLR7 expression did not change during in vitro osteoclastogenesis, TLR9 expression was higher in precursor cells than in mature osteoclasts and partial inhibition of osteoclastogenesis was achieved only by the TLR9 antagonist. These results demonstrate a pivotal role for TLR9 in the T cell‐dependent phases of inflammatory arthritis and additionally suggest some role during osteoclastogenesis. Hence, endogenous DNA seems to be crucially involved in the pathophysiology of inflammatory autoimmune arthritis.     

Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity and Crocin Against Adolescent Stress Induced Anxiety or Depressive-Like Symptoms and Dendritic Morphology Remodeling in Prefrontal Cortex in Adult Male Rats

Neurochemical Research - Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to chronic stress during adolescent period may lead to behavioral and neuronal morphology deficits in adulthood. This study...     

Acrotrisomic analysis in linkage mapping in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Summary Three acrotrisomic lines, Triplo IL^1S, 3L^3S, and 4L^4S, each carrying an extra acrocentric chromosome, were used for cytogenetic linkage mapping of barley chromosomes. The cytological structures of the acrocentric chromosome of the three acrotrisomic lines were studied with an improved Giemsa N-banding technique. The long (1L) and short arm (1S) of chromosome 1 had deficiencies of approximately 38% and 65%, respectively. The percentages of deficiencies were 0 and 77.8% for 3L and 3S, and 31.7 and 59.3% for 4L and 4S, respectively. All three genes tested (br, f _c , gs3) in 1S and all three genes tested, f8, n and 1k2 in 1L showed a disomic ratio indicating that they are located in the deficient segments. Two genes (a _c , yst2) located in the middle segment of 3S in linkage map showed a trisomic ratio, and two others a _n , x _s showed a disomic ratio. The only gene(f9) tested in 4L showed a trisomic ratio. Two genes (1g4, g1) located in the proximal segment of 4S in the linkage map showed a trisomic ratio, whereas two genes (br2, g13) located distally in 4S showed a disomic ratio, indicating that the breakage occurred between g1 and br2. This experiment demonstrates a new method for physical localization of genes on chromosome segments in material such as barley in which pachytene analysis can not be effectively used for accurate determination of break points in structural changes. Problems associated with this new technique are discussed.Contribution from the Department of Agronomy and published with the approval of the Director of Colorado State University Experiment Station as Scientific Series Paper No. 2823. Supported by USDA/SEA Competitive Research Grant Nos. 5901-0410-9-0334-0 and 82-CRCR-1-1020 and USDA-CSU Cooperative Research Grant 58-9AHZ-2-265