Correlation between protein stability and crystal properties of designed ROP variants

Six variants of the ROP protein, designed with the aim to analyze by X-ray crystallography loop formation and core packing interactions in 4-α-helical bundles- have been purified and a search of their crystallization conditions has been carried out. Five mutants yield crystals that are suitable for medium to high resolutionX-ray diffraction studies. For all mutants crystal size- sensitivity to X-irradiation and diffraction limit are correlated to their stability as determined by differential scanning calorimetry- in a manner which is not yet understood in detail. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Phytosociological studies in the Tatoi district (Attica,Greece)

Vegetation formations of Tatoi district (38°07 N–23°47 E) of Attica (Greece) are described. In this district covering an area of 60 Km² 434 taxa were recorded. We document and describe the following:a. Formations of sclerophyll evergreen vegetation (Ceratonio-Pistacietum Lentisci and Andrachno-Quercetum ilicis), b. Formations of needle-woods (Pinus halepensis and Cupressus sempervirens), c. Formations of phrygana (Cistus incanus subsp. creticus and Sarcopoterium spinosum), d. Formation of weeds and e. Formations of the deciduous trees (Platanus orientalis and oak-trees).Abbreviation ACA= Agricultural College of Athens     

Differential response of cycling and noncycling cells to inducers of DNA synthesis and mitosis

The objective of this study was to determine whether cells in G(0) phase are functionally distinct from those in G(1) with regard to their ability to respond to the inducers of DNA synthesis and to retard the cell cycle traverse of the G(2) component after fusion. Synchronized populations of HeLa cells in G(1) and human diploid fibroblasts in G(1) and G(0) phases were separately fused using UV-inactivated Sendai virus with HeLa cells prelabeled with [(3)H]ThdR and synchronized in S or G(2) phases. The kinetics of initiation of DNA synthesis in the nuclei of G(0) and G(1) cells residing in G(0)/S and G(1)/S dikaryons, respectively, were studied as a function of time after fusion. In the G(0)/G(2) and G(1)/G(2) fusions, the rate of entry into mitosis of the heterophasic binucleate cells was monitored in the presence of Colcemid. The effects of protein synthesis inhibition in the G(1) cells, and the UV irradiation of G(0) cells before fusion, on the rate of entry of the G(2) component into mitosis were also studied. The results of this study indicate that DNA synthesis can be induced in G(0)nuclei after fusion between G(0)- and S-phase cells, but G(0) nuclei are much slower than G(1) nuclei in responding to the inducers of DNA synthesis because the chromatin of G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells is more condensed than it is in G(1) cells. A more interesting observation resulting from this study is that G(0) cells differ from G(1) cells with regard to their effects on the cell cycle progression of the G(2) nucleus into mitosis. This difference between G(0) and G(1) cells appears to depend on certain factors, probably nonhistone proteins, present in G(1) cells but absent in G(0) cells. These factors can be induced in G(0) cells by UV irradiation and inhibited in G(1) cells by cycloheximide treatment.     

Importance of the methyl-citrate cycle on glycerol metabolism in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

A novel approach to trigger lipid accumulation and/or citrate production in vivo through the inactivation of the 2-methyl-citrate dehydratase in Yarrowia lipolytica was developed. In nitrogen-limited cultures with biodiesel-derived glycerol utilized as substrate, the Δphd1 mutant (JMY1203) produced 57.7 g/L of total citrate, 1.6-fold more than the wild-type strain, with a concomitant glycerol to citrate yield of 0.91 g/g. Storage lipid in cells increased at the early growth stages, suggesting that inactivation of the 2-methyl-citrate dehydratase would mimic nitrogen limitation. Thus, a trial of JMY1203 strain was performed with glycerol under nitrogen-excess conditions. Compared with the equivalent nitrogen-limited culture, significant quantities of lipid (up to ∼31% w/w in dry weight, 1.6-fold higher than the nitrogen-limited experiment) were produced. Also, non-negligible quantities of citric acid (up to ∼26 g/L, though 0.57-fold lower than the nitrogen-limited experiment) were produced, despite remarkable nitrogen presence into the medium, indicating the construction of phenotype that constitutively accumulated lipid and secreted citrate in Y. lipolytica during growth on waste glycerol utilized as substrate.     

Topographical Estimation of Visual Population Receptive Fields by fMRI

Visual cortex is retinotopically organized so that neighboring populations of cells map to neighboring parts of the visual field. Functional magnetic resonance imaging allows us to estimate voxel-based population receptive fields (pRF), i.e., the part of the visual field that activates the cells within each voxel. Prior, direct, pRF estimation methods¹ suffer from certain limitations: 1) the pRF model is chosen a-priori and may not fully capture the actual pRF shape, and 2) pRF centers are prone to mislocalization near the border of the stimulus space. Here a new topographical pRF estimation method² is proposed that largely circumvents these limitations. A linear model is used to predict the Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal by convolving the linear response of the pRF to the visual stimulus with the canonical hemodynamic response function. PRF topography is represented as a weight vector whose components represent the strength of the aggregate response of voxel neurons to stimuli presented at different visual field locations. The resulting linear equations can be solved for the pRF weight vector using ridge regression³, yielding the pRF topography. A pRF model that is matched to the estimated topography can then be chosen post-hoc, thereby improving the estimates of pRF parameters such as pRF-center location, pRF orientation, size, etc. Having the pRF topography available also allows the visual verification of pRF parameter estimates allowing the extraction of various pRF properties without having to make a-priori assumptions about the pRF structure. This approach promises to be particularly useful for investigating the pRF organization of patients with disorders of the visual system.     

Aromatase inhibitors in post-menopausal endometriosis

Background

Serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is currently considered the best marker of ovarian reserve and of ovarian responsiveness to gonadotropins in in-vitro fertilization (IVF). AMH assay, however, is not available in all IVF Units and is quite expensive, a reason that limits its use in developing countries. The aim of this study is to assess whether the "ovarian sensitivity index" precisely reflects AMH so that this index may be used as a surrogate for AMH in prediction of ovarian response during an IVF cycle.

Methods

AMH serum levels were measured in 61 patients undergoing IVF with a "long" stimulation protocol including the GnRH agonist buserelin and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (rFSH). Patients were divided into four subgroups according to the percentile of serum AMH and their ovarian stimulation was prospectively followed. Ovarian sensitivity index (OSI) was calculated dividing the total administered FSH dose by the number of retrieved oocytes.

Results

AMH and OSI show a highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.67; p = 0.0001) that is stronger than the one between AMH and the total number of retrieved oocytes and than the one between AMH and the total FSH dose.

Conclusions

OSI reflects quite satisfactory the AMH level and may be proposed as a surrogate of AMH assay in predicting ovarian responsiveness to FSH in IVF. Being very easy to calculate and costless, its use could be proposed where AMH measurement is not available or in developing countries where limiting costs is of primary importance.     

Lipid synthesized by micro‐algae grown in laboratory‐ and industrial‐scale bioreactors

Tetraselmis sp. and Nannochloropsis oculata, cultivated in industrial‐scale bioreactors, produced 2.33 and 2.44% w/w lipid (calculated as the sum of fatty acid methyl esters) in dry biomass, respectively. These lipids contained higher amounts of neutral lipids and glycolipids plus sphingolipids, than phospholipids. Lipids of Tetraselmis sp. were characterized by the presence of eicosapentaenoic acid (that was located mainly in phospholipids), and octadecatetraenoic acid (that was equally distributed among lipid fractions), while these fatty acids were completely absent in N. oculata lipids. Additionally, lipids produced by 16 newly isolated strains from Greek aquatic environments (cultivated in flask reactors) were studied. The highest percentage of lipids was found in Prorocentrum triestinum (3.69% w/w) while the lowest in Prymnesium parvum (0.47% w/w). Several strains produced lipids rich in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. For instance, docosahexaenoic acid was found in high percentages in lipids of Amphidinium sp. S1, P. parvum, Prorocentrum minimum and P. triestinum, while lipids produced by Asterionella sp. (?) S2 contained eicosapentaenoic acid in high concentration. These lipids, containing ω‐3‐long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, have important applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries and in aquaculture.     

Cholesterol-dependent lipid assemblies regulate the activity of the ecto-nucleotidase CD39

CD39 (ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1; E-NTPDase1) is a plasma membrane ecto-enzyme that regulates purinergic receptor signaling by controlling the levels of extracellular nucleotides. In blood vessels this enzyme exhibits a thromboregulatory role through the control of platelet aggregation. CD39 is localized in caveolae, which are plasma membrane invaginations with distinct lipid composition, similar to dynamic lipid microdomains, called rafts. Cholesterol is enriched together with sphingolipids in both rafts and caveolae, as well as in other specialized domains of the membrane, and plays a key role in their function. Here, we examine the potential role of cholesterol-enriched domains in CD39 function. Using polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and caveolin-1 gene-disrupted mice, we show that caveolae are not essential either for the enzymatic activity of CD39 or for its targeting to plasma membrane. On the other hand, flotation experiments using detergent-free or detergent-based approaches indicate that CD39 associates, at least in part, with distinct lipid assemblies. In the apical membrane of MDCK cells, which lacks caveolae, CD39 is localized in microvilli, which are also cholesterol and raft-dependent membrane domains. Interfering with cholesterol levels using drugs that either deplete or sequester membrane cholesterol results in a strong inhibition of the enzymatic and anti-platelet activity of CD39. The effects of cholesterol depletion are completely reversed by replenishment of membranes with pure cholesterol, but not by cholestenone. These data suggest a functional link between the localization of CD39 in cholesterol-rich domains of the membrane and its role in thromboregulation.