Monohydroxylated poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) oligomers and its functionalized derivatives used as macroinitiators in the synthesis of degradable diblock copolyesters

The presence of a hydroxyl group at the end of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) oligomers, noted PHO oligomers, is required to prepare diblock copolymers with improved properties by ring-opening polymerization of cyclic monomer as epsilon-caprolactone. Several chemical methods such as basic hydrolysis, acid-catalyzed reaction with APTS, and methanolysis were used to prepare well-defined low molar masses PHO oligomers. The methanolysis reaction was allowed to proceed for 10-60 min to produce PHO oligomers with Mn values ranging from 20,000 to 800 g mol-1 with low polydispersity index. Detailed analysis of the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the obtained oligomers has revealed the presence of linear structures bearing methyl ester on one side and hydroxyl end group on the other side. The same procedure was applied to poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyundecenoate), PHOU, a poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) containing unsaturated units in its side chains. These oligomers were further used to initiate the polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone by varying the PHO (or PHOU) and PCL lengths. By copolymerization with epsilon-caprolactone, the properties of PHO or PHOU have been improved. The crystallinity of the obtained copolymers was modified by controlling the length of the two different blocks. The unsaturations in the side chains of the PHOU block were oxidized in acid carboxylic functions to obtain a novel artificial biopolyester. Moreover, degradation was followed to study the influence of carboxylic groups on the hydrolysis of the copolymers.     

Relationship of aerobic and anaerobic parameters with 400 m front crawl swimming performance

The aims of the present study were to investigate the relationship of aerobic and anaerobic parameters with 400 m performance, and establish which variable better explains long distance performance in swimming. Twenty-two swimmers (19.1±1.5 years, height 173.9±10.0 cm, body mass 71.2±10.2 kg; 76.6±5.3% of 400 m world record) underwent a lactate minimum test to determine lactate minimum speed (LMS) (i.e., aerobic capacity index). Moreover, the swimmers performed a 400 m maximal effort to determine mean speed (S400m), peak oxygen uptake (V.O2PEAK) and total anaerobic contribution (C_ANA). The C_ANA was assumed as the sum of alactic and lactic contributions. Physiological parameters of 400 m were determined using the backward extrapolation technique (V.O2PEAK and alactic contributions of C_ANA) and blood lactate concentration analysis (lactic anaerobic contributions of C_ANA). The Pearson correlation test and backward multiple regression analysis were used to verify the possible correlations between the physiological indices (predictor factors) and S400m (independent variable) (p < 0.05). Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Significant correlations were observed between S400m (1.4±0.1 m·s^-1) and LMS (1.3±0.1 m·s^-1; r = 0.80), V.O2PEAK (4.5±3.9 L·min^-1; r = 0.72) and C_ANA (4.7±1.5 L·O₂; r= 0.44). The best model constructed using multiple regression analysis demonstrated that LMS and V.O2PEAK explained 85% of the 400 m performance variance. When backward multiple regression analysis was performed, C_ANA lost significance. Thus, the results demonstrated that both aerobic parameters (capacity and power) can be used to predict 400 m swimming performance.     

Mechanical coupling between transsynaptic N-cadherin adhesions and actin flow stabilizes dendritic spines

The morphology of neuronal dendritic spines is a critical indicator of synaptic function. It is regulated by several factors, including the intracellular actin/myosin cytoskeleton and transcellular N-cadherin adhesions. To examine the mechanical relationship between these molecular components, we performed quantitative live-imaging experiments in primary hippocampal neurons. We found that actin turnover and structural motility were lower in dendritic spines than in immature filopodia and increased upon expression of a nonadhesive N-cadherin mutant, resulting in an inverse relationship between spine motility and actin enrichment. Furthermore, the pharmacological stimulation of myosin II induced the rearward motion of actin structures in spines, showing that myosin II exerts tension on the actin network. Strikingly, the formation of stable, spine-like structures enriched in actin was induced at contacts between dendritic filopodia and N-cadherin–coated beads or micropatterns. Finally, computer simulations of actin dynamics mimicked various experimental conditions, pointing to the actin flow rate as an important parameter controlling actin enrichment in dendritic spines. Together these data demonstrate that a clutch-like mechanism between N-cadherin adhesions and the actin flow underlies the stabilization of dendritic filopodia into mature spines, a mechanism that may have important implications in synapse initiation, maturation, and plasticity in the developing brain.     

Site-specific structural analysis of a yeast prion strain with species-specific seeding activity

Prion proteins misfold and aggregate into multiple infectious strain variants that possess unique abilities to overcome prion species barriers, yet the structural basis for the species-specific infectivities of prion strains is poorly understood. Therefore, we have investigated the site-specific structural properties of a promiscuous chimeric form of the yeast prion Sup35 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans. The Sup35 chimera forms two strain variants, each of which selectively infect one species but not the other. Importantly, the N-terminal and middle domains of the Sup35 chimera (collectively referred to as Sup35NM) contain two prion recognition elements (one from each species) that regulate the nucleation of each strain. Mutations in either prion recognition element significantly bias nucleation of one strain conformation relative to the other. Here we have investigated the folding of each prion recognition element for the serine-to-arginine mutant at residue 17 of the Sup35NM chimera known to promote nucleation of C. albicans strain conformation. Using cysteine-specific labeling analysis, we find that residues in the C. albicans prion recognition element are solvent-shielded, while those outside the recognition sequence (including most of those in the S. cerevisiae recognition element) are solvent-exposed. Moreover, we find that proline mutations in the C. albicans recognition sequence disrupt the prion templating activity of this strain conformation. Our structural findings reveal that differential folding of complementary and non-complementary prion recognition elements within the prion amyloid core of the Sup35NM chimera is the structural basis for its species-specific templating activity.Key words: Sup35, amyloid, fibril, PrP, transmission barrier, species barrier     

Separation and purification of benzylpenicillin produced by fermentation using coupled ultrafiltration and nanofiltration technologies

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity of using coupled ultrafiltration-nanofiltration technologies for separation and purification of benzylpenicillin (BP). More specifically, we verified the efficiency of three ultrafiltration (UF) membranes (cut-off of 5000, 30,000 and 100,000 Da) to remove impurities that cause stable emulsion during the chemical extraction of the antibiotic. We also tested the effectiveness of a nanofiltration (NF) membrane (cut-off of 300 Da) to concentrate the benzylpenicillin recovered from permeates and to decrease the osmotic pressure by reducing the ionic charge of the broth. Results have shown that high recovery (89.0-91.0%) can be obtained in permeate generated by the 30,000 and 100,000 UF membranes, but a slight emulsion will be formed during phase separation. With the 5000 UF membrane, lower recovery is obtained (81.0%) but no emulsion is produced, leading to a high solvent extraction yield (94.6%). The nanofiltration of 30,000 and 100,000 UF permeates leads to very high recovery (98.0%), but stable emulsions are formed, reducing the chemical extraction yield (80.0-82.6%). For the nanofiltration of 5000 UF permeate, excellent recovery of the antibiotic is noted (97.4%) leading to high extraction yield (92.4%) with no emulsion formed. Diafiltration step should be applied during UF procedure in order to increase the antibiotic recovery in the generated permeates.     

The variable C-terminus of cysteine string proteins modulates exocytosis and protein-protein interactions

Cysteine string proteins (Csps) are vesicle proteins involved in neurotransmission and hormone exocytosis. They are composed of distinct domains: a variable N-terminus, a J-domain followed by a linker region, a cysteine-rich string, and a C-terminus which diverges among isoforms. Their precise function and interactions are not fully understood. Using insulin exocytosis as a model, we show that the linker region and the C-terminus, but not the variable N-terminus, regulate overall secretion. Moreover, endogenous Csp1 binds in a calcium-dependent manner to monomeric VAMP2, and this interaction requires the C-terminus of Csp. The interaction is isoform specific as recombinant Csp1 binds VAMP1 and VAMP7, but not VAMP3. Cross-linking in permeabilized clonal beta-cells revealed homodimerization of Csp which is stimulated by Ca(2+) and again modulated by the variant C-terminus. Our data suggest that both interactions of Csp occur during exocytosis and may explain the effect of the variant C-terminus of this chaperon protein on peptide hormone secretion.