Enhanced GABA release in cerebral cortical slices derived from rats with thioacetamide-induced hepatic encephalopathy

The release of newly loaded [³H]GABA was studied in slices of different brain regions derived from rats in which acute hepatic encephalopathy (HE) was induced with a hepatotoxin thioacetamide. HE increased both spontaneous and high (50 mM) ammonium chloride-evoked GABA release in cerebral cortical slices by 38% and 50%, respectively. No effects of HE were noted in cerebellar or striatal slices. An increased release of GABA in the cerebral cortex may contribute to the endogenous benzodiazepine-mediated enhancement of GABAergic tone, which is thought to be partly responsible for the pathophysiological mechanism of HE.     

Reaction of faba bean plants to soil and foliar N application and K nutrition

The effect of different rates and methods of fertilizer nitrogen application and potassium nutrition on the root nodule formation of faba bean plants var. Nadwiślański and on their nitrogenase activity was studied. It was found that fertilizer N depressed the nodule formation and nitrogenase activity, but inhibitory effect of N was smaller when it was supplied to the leaves instead to the soil. Plants growing at higher K level were in a position allowing on better development of nodules and consequently higher N₂- fixation.     

Thermochemistry of aqueous solutions of alkylated nucleic acid bases. I. Apparent molar heat capacities of uracil, thymine and their derivatives

Apparent molar heat capacities phiC(p(1,3)) of uracil, thymine and a series of their alkylated derivatives: m(1)Ura,m(1,3)(2) Ura, m(1,3)(2)Thy, mi(1,3,6)(3)Ura, m(1,3)(2),e(5)Ura and e(1,3)(2)Thy in dilute aqueous solutions were measured in the temperature range of 293.15-388.15 K, using a differential adiabatic scanning microcalorimeter. They were found to lie (i) much higher than the estimated heat capacities C(p)(s) of solid compounds, (ii) comparable with the respective partial molar heat capacities at infinite dilution, C(o)(p2), and (iii) linearly related to the number nH of hydrogen atoms covalenuy bound to the solute molecules. The increment thus obtained DeltaC(o)(p2)=42.8 J mole(-1) K(-1)n(-1)(H) per each hydrogen atom at 298.15 K proved (i) to coincide closely with those found previously for homologous series of aliphatic amides and hydrocarbons, and (ii) to decrease with a rise of temperature. These findings imply the involvement of hydrophobic hydration of the solutes.     

Copy number variations of genes involved in stress responses reflect the redox state and DNA damage in brewing yeasts

The yeast strains of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex involved in beer production are a heterogeneous group whose genetic and genomic features are not adequately determined. Thus, the aim of the present study was to provide a genetic characterization of selected group of commercially available brewing yeasts both ale top-fermenting and lager bottom-fermenting strains. Molecular karyotyping revealed that the diversity of chromosome patterns and four strains with the most accented genetic variabilities were selected and subjected to genome-wide array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) analysis. The differences in the gene copy number were found in five functional gene categories: (1) maltose metabolism and transport, (2) response to toxin, (3) siderophore transport, (4) cellular aldehyde metabolic process, and (5) L-iditol 2-dehydrogenase activity (p < 0.05). In the Saflager W-34/70 strain (Fermentis) with the most affected array-CGH profile, loss of aryl-alcohol dehydrogenase (AAD) gene dosage correlated with an imbalanced redox state, oxidative DNA damage and breaks, lower levels of nucleolar proteins Nop1 and Fob1, and diminished tolerance to fermentation-associated stress stimuli compared to other strains. We suggest that compromised stress response may not only promote oxidant-based changes in the nucleolus state that may affect fermentation performance but also provide novel directions for future strain improvement.     

The specific guanine binding site of the ribonuclease T1 family enzymes and of G-proteins is modeled in the cocrystal formed by 7-methylguanosine-5'-phosphate and phenylalanine

In the cocrystal formed by 7-methylguanosine-5'-phosphate.phenylalanine.6H2O, the interactions between guanine and phenylalanine are similar to those observed in the complex of ribonuclease T1 with 2'-guanylic acids, and those of the two G-proteins, Elongation Factor-Tu and ras oncogene p21, with GDP. They are similar in the following three points: (a) guanine N(1)H and N(2)H donate cyclic N-H...O hydrogen bonds to the carboxylate group of phenylalanine in the former cocrystal and to the side chain carboxylate group of Asp or Glu in the latter proteins, (b) O(6) of guanine accepts hydrogen bond(s) from main-chain NH group(s), and (c) the purine moiety is sandwiched between aromatic (or hydrophobic) amino acid side chains.     

A reductionist cell-free major histocompatibility complex class II antigen processing system identifies immunodominant epitopes

Immunodominance is defined as restricted responsiveness of T cells to a few selected epitopes from complex antigens. Strategies currently used for elucidating CD4(+) T cell epitopes are inadequate. To understand the mechanism of epitope selection for helper T cells, we established a cell-free antigen processing system composed of defined proteins: human leukocyte antigen-DR1 (HLA-DR1), HLA-DM and cathepsins. Our reductionist system successfully identified the physiologically selected immunodominant epitopes of two model antigens: hemagglutinin-1 (HA1) from influenza virus (A/Texas/1/77) and type II collagen (CII). When applied for identification of new epitopes from a recombinant liver-stage antigen of malaria falciparum (LSA-NRC) or HA1 from H5N1 influenza virus ('avian flu'), the system selected single epitopes from each protein that were confirmed to be immunodominant by their capacity to activate CD4(+) T cells from H5N1-immunized HLA-DR1-transgenic mice and LSA-NRC-vaccinated HLA-DR1-positive human volunteers. Thus, we provide a new tool for the identification of physiologically relevant helper T cell epitopes from antigens.     

Maize plasma membrane aquaporins belonging to the PIP1 and PIP2 subgroups are in vivo phosphorylated

Aquaporins are channel proteins that facilitate transmembrane water movement. In this study, we showed that plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs) from maize shoots are in vitro and in vivo phosphorylated on serine residues by a calcium-dependent kinase associated with the membrane fraction. Mass spectrometry identified phosphorylated peptides corresponding to the C-terminal region of (i) ZmPIP2;1, ZmPIP2;2 and/or ZmPIP2;7; (ii) ZmPIP2;3 and/or ZmPIP2;4; (iii) ZmPIP2;6; together with (iv) a phosphorylated peptide located in the N-terminal region of ZmPIP1;1, ZmPIP1;2, ZmPIP1;3 and/or ZmPIP1;4. The role of phosphorylation in the water channel activity of wild-type and mutant ZmPIP2;1 was studied in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Activation of endogenous protein kinase A increased the osmotic water permeability coefficient of ZmPIP2;1-expressing oocytes, suggesting that phosphorylation activates its channel activity. Mutation of S126 or S203, putative phosphorylated serine residues conserved in all plant PIPs, to alanine decreased ZmPIP2;1 activity by 30-50%, without affecting its targeting to the plasma membrane. Mutation of S285, which is phosphorylated in planta, to alanine or glutamate did not affect the water channel activity. These results indicate that, in oocytes, S126 and S203 play an important role in ZmPIP2;1 activity and that phosphorylation of S285 is not required for its activity.     

Resistance of the dopamine D4 receptor to agonist-induced internalization and degradation

Dopamine receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors involved in the control of motivation, learning, and fine-tuning of motor movement, as well as modulation of neuroendocrine signalling. Stimulation of G-protein-coupled receptors normally results in attenuation of signalling through desensitization, followed by internalization and down-regulation of the receptor. These processes allow the cell to regain homeostasis after exposure to extracellular stimuli and offer protection against excessive signalling.Here, we have investigated the agonist-mediated attenuation properties of the dopamine D4 receptor.We found that several hallmarks of signal attenuation such as receptor phosphorylation, internalization and degradation showed a blunted response to agonist treatment. Moreover, we did not observe recruitment of β-arrestins upon D4 receptor stimulation. We also provide evidence for the constitutive phosphorylation of two serine residues in the third intracellular loop of the D4 receptor.These data demonstrate that, when expressed in CHO, HeLa and HEK293 cells, the human D4 receptor shows resistance to agonist-mediated internalization and down-regulation. Data from neuronal cell lines, which have been reported to show low endogenous D4 receptor expression, such as the hippocampal cell line HT22 and primary rat hippocampal cells, further support these observations.     

Coarse-grained and atomic resolution biomolecular docking with the ATTRACT approach

The ATTRACT protein-protein docking program has been employed to predict protein-protein complex structures in CAPRI rounds 38-45. For 11 out of 16 targets acceptable or better quality solutions have been submitted (~70%). It includes also several cases of peptide-protein docking and the successful prediction of the geometry of carbohydrate-protein interactions. The option of combining rigid body minimization and simultaneous optimization in collective degrees of freedom based on elastic network modes was employed and systematically evaluated. Application to a large benchmark set indicates a modest improvement in docking performance compared to rigid docking. Possible further improvements of the docking approach in particular at the scoring and the flexible refinement steps are discussed.     

Electrostatic Potential of B-DNA: Effect of Interionic Correlations

Modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB) equations have been numerically solved to study ionic distributions and mean electrostatic potentials around a macromolecule of arbitrarily complex shape and charge distribution. Results for DNA are compared with those obtained by classical Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) calculations. The comparisons were made for 1:1 and 2:1 electrolytes at ionic strengths up to 1 M. It is found that ion-image charge interactions and interionic correlations, which are neglected by the PB equation, have relatively weak effects on the electrostatic potential at charged groups of the DNA. The PB equation predicts errors in the long-range electrostatic part of the free energy that are only ∼1.5 kJ/mol per nucleotide even in the case of an asymmetrical electrolyte. In contrast, the spatial correlations between ions drastically affect the electrostatic potential at significant separations from the macromolecule leading to a clearly predicted effect of charge overneutralization.