Phycobilisome integrity and functionality in lipid unsaturation and xanthophyll mutants in Synechocystis

Photosynthesis Research - The major light-harvesting system in cyanobacteria, the phycobilisome, is an essential component of the photosynthetic apparatus that regulates the utilization of the...     

Parental Smoking in the Vicinity of Children and Tobacco Control Policies in the European Region

Objective

To ascertain patterns of parental smoking in the vicinity of children in Eastern and Western Europe and their relation to Tobacco Control Scale (TCS) scores.

Methods

Data on parental smoking patterns were obtained from the School Child Mental Health Europe (SCMHE), a 2010 cross-sectional survey of 5141 school children aged 6 to 11 years and their parents in six countries: Germany, Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey ranked by TCS into three level categories toward tobacco control policies.

Results

A slightly higher proportion of Eastern compared to Western European mothers (42.4 vs. 35.1%) were currently smoking in but the difference was not statistically significant after adjusting for maternal age and maternal educational attainment. About a fifth (19.3%) and a tenth (10.0%) of Eastern and Western European mothers, respectively, smoked in the vicinity of their children, and the difference was significant even after adjustment for potential confounders (p<0.001). Parents with the highest educational attainment were significantly less likely to smoke in the vicinity of their children than those with the lowest attainment. After control of these covariates lax tobacco control policies, compared to intermediate policies, were associated with a 50% increase in the likelihood of maternal smoking in the vicinity of children adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.52 and 1.64. Among fathers, however, the relationship with paternal smoking and TCS seems more complex since strict policy increases the risk as well AOR = 1,40. Only one country, however belongs to the strict group.

Significance

Tobacco control policies seem to have influenced maternal smoking behaviors overall to a limited degree and smoking in the vicinity of children to a much greater degree. Children living in European countries with lax tobacco control policies are more likely to be exposed to second hand smoking from maternal and paternal smoking.     

Yeast sphingolipid metabolism: clues and connections.

This review of sphingolipid metabolism in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains information on the enzymes and the genes that encode them, as well as connections to other metabolic pathways. Particular attention is given to yeast homologs, domains, and motifs in the sequence, cellular localization of enzymes, and possible protein-protein interactions. Also included are genetic interactions of special interest that provide clues to the cellular biological roles of particular sphingolipid metabolic pathways and specific sphingolipids.     

Evaluation of endemic goiter prevalence in Bulgarian schoolchildren

Iodine deficiency is a major health problem worldwide. The environment of the Balkan countries, including Bulgaria, is distinguished for its low iodine content. In 1994, the strategies for the prevention and control of iodine-deficiency disorders were actualized in Bulgaria and universal salt iodization and supplementation for the risk population groups (schoolchildren, pregnant women) were introduced. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the iodine prophylaxis in schoolchildren, living in an endemic for goiter area after the introduction of salt iodization in Bulgaria. For this purpose, the goiter prevalence and iodine status in 483 schoolchildren (274 boys and 209 girls) aged between 8 and 15 yr, living in an endemic for goiter area in Bulgaria were evaluated. Despite the normalization of iodine supply, mild iodine deficiency on the basis of goiter prevalence (16.15%) and urinary iodine excretion was found. These data indicate the need for reevaluation of the national strategy for prevention of iodine deficiency.     

Norepinephrine Modulates the Motility of Resting and Activated Microglia via Different Adrenergic Receptors

Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), monitor the brain for disturbances of tissue homeostasis by constantly moving their fine processes. Microglia respond to tissue damage through activation of ATP/ADP receptors followed by directional process extension to the damaged area. A common feature of several neurodegenerative diseases is the loss of norepinephrine, which might contribute to the associated neuroinflammation. We carried out a high resolution analysis of the effects of norepinephrine (NE) on microglial process dynamics in acute brain slices from mice that exhibit microglia-specific enhanced green fluorescent protein expression. Bath application of NE to the slices resulted in significant process retraction in microglia. Analysis of adrenergic receptor expression with quantitative PCR indicated that resting microglia primarily express β₂ receptors but switch expression to α_2A receptors under proinflammatory conditions modeled by LPS treatment. Despite the differential receptor expression, NE caused process retraction in both resting and LPS-activated microglia cultured in the gelatinous substrate Matrigel in vitro. The use of subtype-selective receptor agonists and antagonists confirmed the involvement of β₂ receptors in mediating microglial process dynamics in resting cells and α_2A receptors in activated cells. Co-application of NE with ATP to resting microglia blocked the ATP-induced process extension and migration in isolated microglia, and β₂ receptor antagonists prolonged ATP effects in brain slice tissues, suggesting the presence of cross-talk between adrenergic and purinergic signaling in microglia. These data show that the neurotransmitter NE can modulate microglial motility, which could affect microglial functions in pathogenic situations of either elevated or reduced NE levels.     

Recognition of nucleoplasmin by its nuclear transport receptor importin α/β: insights into a complete import complex

Nuclear import of the pentameric histone chaperone nucleoplasmin (NP) is mediated by importin α, which recognizes its nuclear localization sequence (NLS), and importin β, which interacts with α and is in charge of the translocation of the NP/α/β complex through the nuclear pore. Herein, we characterize the assembly of a functional transport complex formed by full-length NP with importin α/β. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to analyze the thermodynamics of the interactions of importin α with β, α with NP, and the α/β heterodimer with NP. Our data show that binding of both importin α and α/β to NP is governed by a favorable enthalpic contribution and that NP can accommodate up to five importin molecules per NP pentamer. Phosphomimicking mutations of NP, which render the protein active in histone chaperoning, do not modulate the interaction with importin. Using small-angle X-ray scattering, we model the α/β heterodimer, NP/α, and NP/α/β solution structures, which reveal a glimpse of a complete nuclear import complex with an oligomeric cargo protein. The set of alternative models, equally well fitting the scattering data, yields asymmetric elongated particles that might represent consecutive geometries the complex can adopt when stepping through the nuclear pore.