Endothelial Transient Receptor Potential Conical Channel (TRPC)-3 Activation Induces Vasogenic Edema Formation in the Rat Piriform Cortex Following Status Epilepticus

Transient receptor potential canonical channel (TRPC) is a nonselective cation channel permeable to Ca²⁺, which express in many cell types, including neurons. However the alterations in TRPC receptor expressions in response to status epilepticus (SE) have not been explored. Therefore, the present study was designated to elucidate the roles of TRPC3 in neuronal death and vasogenic edema within the rat piriform cortex (PC) following SE. In non-SE animals, TRPC3 immunoreactivity was abundantly detected in the PC. Following SE, TRPC3 immunoreactivity was increased in neurons. Furthermore, TRPC3 expression was detected in endothelial cells that did not contain it in non-SE animals. Loss of SMI-71 (a blood–brain barrier antigen) immunoreactivity was also observed in TRPC3 positive endothelial cells. In addition, FJB positive neurons and vasogenic edema were noticeably detected in the PC. To directly determine whether TRPC3 activation is correlated to SE-induced vasogenic edema formation and neuronal damages in the PC, the effect of Pyr-3 (a TRPC3 antagonist) on SE-induced insults were investigated. Pyr-3 infusion effectively attenuated vasogenic edema in the PC as compared to the vehicle. Therefore, our findings indicate that TRPC3 activation/overexpression induced by SE may involve BBB disruption and neuronal damages in the rat PC following SE. Therefore, the present study was TRPC3 may play an important role in SE-induced vasogenic edema formation through BBB disruptions in the rat PC.     

Horizontal Transfer of Archaeal Genes into the Deinococcaceae: Detection by Molecular and Computer-Based Approaches

Members of the Deinococcaceae (e.g., Thermus, Meiothermus, Deinococcus) contain A/V-ATPases typically found in Archaea or Eukaryotes which were probably acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Two methods were used to quantify the extent to which archaeal or eukaryotic genes have been acquired by this lineage. Screening of a Meiothermus ruber library with probes made against Thermoplasma acidophilum DNA yielded a number of clones which hybridized more strongly than background. One of these contained the prolyl tRNA synthetase (RS) gene. Phylogenetic analysis shows the M. ruber and D. radiodurans prolyl RS to be more closely related to archaeal and eukaryal forms of this gene than to the typical bacterial type. Using a bioinformatics approach, putative open reading frames (ORFs) from the prerelease version of the D. radiodurans genome were screened for genes more closely related to archaeal or eukaryotic genes. Putative ORFs were searched against representative genomes from each of the three domains using automated BLAST. ORFs showing the highest matches against archaeal and eukaryotic genes were collected and ranked. Among the top-ranked hits were the A/V-ATPase catalytic and noncatalytic subunits and the prolyl RS genes. Using phylogenetic methods, ORFs were analyzed and trees assessed for evidence of horizontal gene transfer. Of the 45 genes examined, 20 showed topologies in which D. radiodurans homologues clearly group with eukaryotic or archaeal homologues, and 17 additional trees were found to show probable evidence of horizontal gene transfer. Compared to the total number of ORFs in the genome, those that can be identified as having been acquired from Archaea or Eukaryotes are relatively few (approximately 1%), suggesting that interdomain transfer is rare.     

Disaccharide 1-phosphate polymers of some representatives of the Bacillus subtilis group

Disaccharide 1-phosphate polymers as well as teichoic acids of various structures have been found in the cell walls of the representatives of the Bacillus subtilis group, namely Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii VKM B-720 and VKM B-916, B. subtilis VKM B-517, and Bacillus vallismortis VKM B-2653^T. Disaccharide 1-phosphate polymers are composed of repeating units of the following structure: -P-4)-β-D-GlcpNAc-(1→6)-α-D-Galp-(1-, the N-acetylglucosamine residues are partially acetylated at positions O3 and O6 (VKM B-720 and VKM B-916); -P-4)-β-D-Glcp-(1→6)-α-D-GlcpNAc-(1-, the glucopyranose residues are partially acetylated at positions O2 or O3 (VKM B-517); -P-6)-α-D-GlcpNH ₃ ⁺ /α-D-GlcpNAc-(1→2)-α-D-Glcp-(1-, the N-acetylglucosamine residues are partially deacetylated (VKM B-2653^T). The structures of the two last disaccharide 1-phosphate polymers have not been reported so far for Gram-positive bacteria. The teichoic acids in the studied strains are O-D-alanyl-1,5-poly(ribitol phosphates) substituted with β-D-glucopyranose (VKM B-517, VKM B-720, VKM B-916) or 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranose (VKM B-2653^T). The structures of the phosphate-containing polymers have been studied by chemical methods and by NMR spectroscopy.     

Three new species of brevibacteria--Brevibacterium antiquum sp. nov., Brevibacterium aurantiacum sp. nov. and Brevibacterium permense sp. nov

This work deals with the taxonomic study of 12 orange-pigmented bacteria isolated from permafrost sediments, rice plots, and soils contaminated with wastes from the chemical and salt industries, which were assigned to the genus Brevibacterium on the basis of phenotypic characteristics, as well as of some strains described previously as Brevibacterium linens. The study revealed three genomic species, whose members and the type strains of the closest species of Brevibacterium had DNA similarity levels between 24 and 59%. The strains of the genomic species differed from each other and from the known species of Brevibacterium in some physiological and biochemical characteristics, as well as in the sugar and polyol composition of their teichoic acids. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis confirmed the assignment of the environmental isolates to the genus Brevibacterium and showed the phylogenetic distinction of the three genomic species. The results obtained in this study allow three new Brevibacterium species to be described: Brevibacterium antiquum (type strain VKM Ac-2118T = UCM Ac-411T), Brevibacterium aurantiacum (type strain VKM Ac-2111T = NCDO 739T = ATCC 9175T), and Brevibacterium permense (type strain VKM Ac-2280T = UCM Ac-413T).     

Teichoic acids of three type strains of the Bacillus subtilis group, Bacillus mojavensis VKM B-2650, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. amyloliquefaciens VKM B-2582, and Bacillus sonorensis VKM B-2652

Cell walls of three type strains of the Bacillus subtilis group, Bacillus mojavensis VKM B-2650, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. amyloliquefaciens VKM B-2582, and Bacillus sonorensis VKM B-2652, are characterized by the individual set of teichoic acids. All strains contained 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphates), unsubstituted, acylated with D-alanine, and glycosylated. The latter differ in the nature of the monosaccharide residue. Teichoic acids of B. mojavensis VKM B-2650^T and B. amyloliquefaciens subsp. amyloliquefaciens VKM B-2582^T contained α-glucopyranose, while those of B. sonorensis VKM B-2652^T contained β-glucopyranose and N-acetyl-α-D-glucosamine. Moreover, cell walls of B. mojavensis VKM B-2650^T contained a teichoic acid of poly(glycosylglycerol phosphate) nature with the following structure of the repeating unit: -4)-α-D-α-D-GlcpNAc-(1 → 3)]-Glcp-(1 → 2)-sn-Gro-(3-P-. The type strains have been characterized according to the composition of cell wall sugars and polyols. Application of teichoic acids (set and structure) as chemotaxonomic characteristics is discussed for six type strains of the Bacillus subtilis group. Polymer structures were determined by chemical and NMR spectroscopic techniques.     

Cell Wall Galactofuranan of “Paenarthrobacter pyridinovorans” VKM Ac-1098D

Microbiology - The structure of the cell wall glycopolymer and the taxonomic position of the pyridine-degrading strain VKM Ac-1098D were established. By using chemical and NMR spectroscopic...     

Cell Wall Glycopolymers as a Diagnostic Trait of Arthrobacter crystallopoietes

Microbiology - The composition and structure of the cell wall glycopolymers from Arthrobacter crystallopoietes VKM Ac-1107T (family Micrococcaceae, phylum Actinobacteria), previously assigned to...     

ESM-1 silencing decreased cell survival,migration, and invasion and modulated cell cycle progression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Amino Acids - Endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 (ESM-1) is a secretory proteoglycan comprising a mature polypeptide of 165 amino acids and a single dermatan sulfate. The aim of this study was to...     

Protein kinase A, which regulates intracellular transport, forms complexes with molecular motors on organelles

Major signaling cascades have been shown to play a role in the regulation of intracellular organelle transport . Aggregation and dispersion of pigment granules in melanophores are regulated by the second messenger cAMP through the protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway ; however, the exact mechanisms of this regulation are poorly understood. To study the role of signaling molecules in the regulation of pigment transport in melanophores, we have asked the question whether the components of the cAMP-signaling pathway are bound to pigment granules and whether they interact with molecular motors to regulate the granule movement throughout the cytoplasm. We found that purified pigment granules contain PKA and scaffolding proteins and that PKA associates with pigment granules in cells. Furthermore, we found that the PKA regulatory subunit forms two separate complexes, one with cytoplasmic dynein ("aggregation complex") and one with kinesin II and myosin V ("dispersion complex"), and that the removal of PKA from granules causes dissociation of dynein and disruption of dynein-dependent pigment aggregation. We conclude that cytoplasmic organelles contain protein complexes that include motor proteins and signaling molecules involved in different components of intracellular transport. We propose to call such complexes 'regulated motor units' (RMU).