Measurement of aromatase activity in the brain of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus--a comparison of two assay methods

In the brain of the African catfish aromatase activity was demonstrated with two different methods using [7-3H]androstenedione and [19-3H]androstenedione as substrates. Kinetic analysis of estrogen formation following incubations of a cell-free fraction of brain homogenates showed that the apparent Km is the same for both substrates (0.03 micro M), but the Vmax is smaller with [19-3H]androstenedione as substrate. This indicates a so-called isotope effect. A time course study showed that after an incubation of 4 hr the aromatase activity is still linearly time dependent. Comparing the amount of estrogens formed from both precursors showed that the value of the isotope effect is 3.4 Incubation of symmetric punches of telencephalon and diencephalon with the two substrates likewise showed an isotope effect of 3.4     

Combining molecular dynamics and docking simulations of the cytidine deaminase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv

Cytidine Deaminase (CD) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme that participates in the pyrimidine salvage pathway recycling cytidine and deoxycytidine into uridine and deoxyuridine, respectively. Here, our goal is to apply computational techniques in the pursuit of potential inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CD (MtCDA) enzyme activity. Molecular docking simulation was applied to find the possible hit compounds. Molecular dynamics simulations were also carried out to investigate the physically relevant motions involved in the protein-ligand recognition process, aiming at providing estimates for free energy of binding. The proposed approach was capable of identifying a potential inhibitor, which was experimentally confirmed by IC₅₀ evaluation. Our findings open up the possibility to extend this protocol to different databases in order to find new potential inhibitors for promising targets based on a rational drug design process.     

Fragmented and scrambled mitochondrial ribosomal RNA coding regions among green algae: a model for their origin and evolution

Mitochondrial ribosomal RNA coding regions in the only three green algal taxa investigated to date are fundamentally different in that they are continuous in Prototheca wickerhamii, but highly fragmented and scrambled in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlamydomonas eugametos. To gain more insight into the mode of evolution of fragmented and scrambled mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes within the green algal group, this work (1) provides additional information on fragmentation patterns of mitochondrial small- and large-subunit (SSU and LSU) rRNAs that strongly supports the concept of a gradual increase in the extent of discontinuity of mitochondrial rRNAs among chlorophycean green algae and (2) reports the first example of fragmented and scrambled mitochondrial LSU rRNA coding regions in a green algal taxon outside the Chlamydomonas group. The present study (1) suggests that the scrambling of the mitochondrial rRNA coding regions may have occurred early in the evolution of fragmented and scrambled mitochondrial rRNA genes within the chlorophycean green algal group, most likely in parallel with the fragmentation events, (2) proposes recombination as a possible mechanism involved in the evolution of these mitochondrial rRNA genes, and (3) presents a hypothetical pathway for converting continuous mitochondrial rRNA genes into the highly fragmented and scrambled rRNA coding regions of Chlamydomonas through a series of recombinatorial events between short repeated sequences.      

Large-scale identification of polymorphic microsatellites using an <Emphasis Type="Italic">in silico</Emphasis> approach

Background  

Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) or microsatellite markers are valuable for genetic research. Experimental methods to develop SSR markers are laborious, time consuming and expensive. In silico approaches have become a practicable and relatively inexpensive alternative during the last decade, although testing putative SSR markers still is time consuming and expensive. In many species only a relatively small percentage of SSR markers turn out to be polymorphic. This is particularly true for markers derived from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). In EST databases a large redundancy of sequences is present, which may contain information on length-polymorphisms in the SSR they contain, and whether they have been derived from heterozygotes or from different genotypes. Up to now, although a number of programs have been developed to identify SSRs in EST sequences, no software can detect putatively polymorphic SSRs.     

Mental practice-based rehabilitation training to improve arm function and daily activity performance in stroke patients: a randomized clinical trial

Background  

Over 50% of patients with upper limb paresis resulting from stroke face long-term impaired arm function and ensuing disability in daily life. Unfortunately, the number of effective treatments aimed at improving arm function due to stroke is still low. This study aims to evaluate a new therapy for improving arm function in sub-acute stroke patients based on mental practice theories and functional task-oriented training, and to study the predictors for a positive treatment result. It is hypothesized that a six-week, mental practice-based training program (additional to regular therapy) targeting the specific upper extremity skills important to the individual patient will significantly improve both arm function and daily activity performance, as well as being cost effective.     

Molecular modeling and dynamics simulations of PNP from Streptococcus agalactiae

This work describes for the first time a structural model of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Streptococcus agalactiae (SaPNP). PNP catalyzes the cleavage of N-ribosidic bonds of the purine ribonucleosides and 2-deoxyribonucleosides in the presence of inorganic orthophosphate as a second substrate. This enzyme is a potential target for the development of antibacterial drugs. We modeled the complexes of SaPNP with 15 different ligands in order to determine the structural basis for the specificity of these ligands against SaPNP. The application of a novel empirical scoring function to estimate the affinity of a ligand for a protein was able to identify the ligands with high affinity for PNPs. The analysis of molecular dynamics trajectory for SaPNP indicates that the functionally important motifs have a very stable structure. This new structural model together with a novel empirical scoring function opens the possibility to explorer larger library of compounds in order to identify the new inhibitors for PNPs in virtual screening projects.     

The genus Teliocrinus (Crinoidea,Echinodermata): a key taxon among pentacrinid stalked crinoids

The main characters of the stalked crinoids of the family Pentacrinitidae attributed to the genus Teliocrinus are re‐evaluated from a quantitative study of phenotype variation, new observations on arm and stalk articulations, and observation of ontogenetic trends. All of the specimens collected in the northern Indian Ocean belong to the same species, i.e. Teliocrinus springeri (Clark, 1909). However, two phenotypes living at different depths remain valid as subspecies: Teliocrinus springeri springeri (Clark, 1909) and Teliocrinus springeri liliaceus (Clark, 1909). Teliocrinus shares several ontogenetic trends with Endoxocrinus, especially in nonfunctional brachial articulations and stalk symplexies. Its assignment to the Diplocrininae is confirmed. A discussion of its affinities with pentacrinid fossil genera in which the crown is well preserved suggests that Diplocrininae could have first appeared during the Lower Cretaceous. A shortening of brachitaxes and a paedomorphic trend of stalk symplexies are the main other evolutionary traits. Nonfunctional articulations are frequently found at the paedomorphic pole of the heterochronic gradient, without clear derived characters. Classification of pentacrinids mainly based on such symplesiomorphy or paedomorphic characters must be definitively abandoned. However, in post‐Palaeozoic stalked crinoids the scarcity of well‐preserved fossils, the high frequency of paedomorphy, and convergent adaptive characters makes phylogenetic reconstruction only based on morphological characters very difficult and speculative. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 22–39.