A retrovirus carrying the polyomavirus middle T gene induces acute thrombocythemic myeloproliferative disease in mice.

Mice inoculated with an artificially constructed retrovirus carrying the middle T gene of polyomavirus develop acute myeloproliferative disease with severe thrombotic and hemorrhagic disorder and impaired platelet function. The megakaryocytic lineage appears to be a target for polyoma-murine leukemia virus infection and middle T gene expression. This newly described disease represents a unique model system for studying disorders of the megakaryocytic lineage.     

The threat of emerging and re-emerging pathogenic Sporothrix species

Mycopathologia - Sporotrichosis is a neglected subcutaneous mycosis of humans and animals acquired by traumatic inoculation of soil and plant material (classical route) contaminated with infectious...     

Convenient conversion of wheat hemicelluloses pentoses (D-xylose and L-arabinose) into a common intermediate

The transformation of D-xylose and L-arabinose, the two major components of wheat straw and bran, into a unique multifunctional, optically pure, five-carbon synthon has been achieved. The synthetic sequence requires three steps: suitable protection of the hydroxyl groups of the pentoses, introduction of an iodide at the C-5 position and zinc-mediated opening of the furanose ring leading to the formation of a common substituted pent-4-enal.     

Effect of the period of resting in elite judo athletes

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the resting period on hematological and copper-zinc-dependent antioxidant indices in Brazilian elite judo athletes (n=7). Venous blood samples were collected after 24-h and 5-d periods of resting following a competition, with an interval of 30 d between collections. Two months prior to and during the study, each athlete received an individualized adequate diet. Body composition was determined at both study periods. The following were analyzed: in whole blood, hemoglobin, hematocrit, red cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, red cell distribution width, and white cell count; in plasma, zinc, copper, iron, ceruloplasmin, and total iron-binding capacity; in erythrocytes, metallothionein, copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, and osmotic fragility. Dietary intake and body composition did not affect the biochemical measurements. A significant reduction in ceruloplasmin and superoxide dismutase activity was found after 5 d compared to 24 h of resting. A significant correlation between erythrocyte metallothionein and red cell distribution width was observed after 24 h of resting (r=−0.83, p=0.02) whereas positive correlations of metallothionein with hemoglobin, red cell count, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were observed after 5 d of resting (r≥0.76, p≤0.05). Our results suggest that a longer resting period favors homeostatic adjustments in the erythrocyte population and in the copper/zinc-dependent antioxidant system in elite judo athletes.     

Design of Peptide-Membrane Interactions to Modulate Single-File Water Transport through Modified Gramicidin Channels

Water permeability through single-file channels is affected by intrinsic factors such as their size and polarity and by external determinants like their lipid environment in the membrane. Previous computational studies revealed that the obstruction of the channel by lipid headgroups can be long-lived, in the range of nanoseconds, and that pore-length-matching membrane mimetics could speed up water permeability. To test the hypothesis of lipid-channel interactions modulating channel permeability, we designed different gramicidin A derivatives with attached acyl chains. By combining extensive molecular-dynamics simulations and single-channel water permeation measurements, we show that by tuning lipid-channel interactions, these modifications reduce the presence of lipid headgroups in the pore, which leads to a clear and selective increase in their water permeability.     

Early Life Stress Interacts with the Diet Deficiency of Omega-3 Fatty Acids during the Life Course Increasing the Metabolic Vulnerability in Adult Rats

Early stress can cause metabolic disorders in adulthood. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) deficiency has also been linked to the development of metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to assess whether an early stressful event such as maternal separation interacts with the nutritional availability of n-3 PUFAs during the life course on metabolic aspects. Litters were randomized into: maternal separated (MS) and non-handled (NH). The MS group was removed from their dam for 3 hours per day and put in an incubator at 32°C on days 1° to 10° postnatal (PND). On PND 35, males were subdivided into diets that were adequate or deficient in n-3 PUFAs, and this intervention was applied during the subsequent 15 weeks. Animal''s body weight and food consumption were measured weekly, and at the end of the treatment tissues were collected. MS was associated with increased food intake (p = 0.047) and weight gain (p = 0.012), but no differences were found in the NPY hypothalamic content between the groups. MS rats had also increased deposition of abdominal fat (p<0.001) and plasma triglycerides (p = 0.018) when compared to the NH group. Interactions between early life stress and n-3 PUFAs deficiency were found in plasma insulin (p = 0.033), HOMA index (p = 0.049), leptin (p = 0.010) and liver PEPCK expression (p = 0.050), in which the metabolic vulnerability in the MS group was aggravated by the n-3 PUFAs deficient diet exposure. This was associated with specific alterations in the peripheral fatty acid profile. Variations in the neonatal environment interact with nutritional aspects during the life course, such as n-3 PUFAs diet content, and persistently alter the metabolic vulnerability in adulthood.