Effects of dicyclohexane derivatives on androgen metabolism in the rat prostate

Dicyclohexane derivatives, which inhibit the binding of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to the androgen-binding protein (ABP) of rat epididymis without interfering with their binding to the androgen receptor, show a similar selectivity in their effects on androgen metabolism. Their ability to inhibit the aromatization of testosterone has been reported previously. This paper demonstrates that they are potent inhibitors of 3 alpha(beta)-hydroxysteroid:NAD(P)+ oxidoreductase activity (3-HSD) in the particulate fraction from rat prostate gland; the values of Ki for their inhibition of this enzyme are similar to that of the Km for DHT as substrate. The dicyclohexane derivatives are markedly less effective against the cytosolic NADPH-dependent 3-HSD, and they do not appear to inhibit testosterone 5 alpha-reductase activity. These characteristics are likely to complicate the proposed use of the dicyclohexane derivatives as probes for the role of ABP in vivo. However, they may be of interest in the study of structure-activity relationships in androgen-metabolizing enzymes, particularly in the examination of the different forms of 3-HSD.     

Phylogenetic diversification of immunoglobulin genes and the antibody repertoire

Immunoglobulins are encoded by a large multigene system that undergoes somatic rearrangement and additional genetic change during the development of immunoglobulin-producing cells. Inducible antibody and antibody-like responses are found in all vertebrates. However, immunoglobulin possessing disulfide-bonded heavy and light chains and domain-type organization has been described only in representatives of the jawed vertebrates. High degrees of nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequence identity are evident when the segmental elements that constitute the immunoglobulin gene loci in phylogenetically divergent vertebrates are compared. However, the organization of gene loci and the manner in which the independent elements recombine (and diversify) vary markedly among different taxa. One striking pattern of gene organization is the "cluster type" that appears to be restricted to the chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes) and limits segmental rearrangement to closely linked elements. This type of gene organization is associated with both heavy- and light-chain gene loci. In some cases, the clusters are "joined" or "partially joined" in the germ line, in effect predetermining or partially predetermining, respectively, the encoded specificities (the assumption being that these are expressed) of the individual loci. By relating the sequences of transcribed gene products to their respective germ-line genes, it is evident that, in some cases, joined-type genes are expressed. This raises a question about the existence and/or nature of allelic exclusion in these species. The extensive variation in gene organization found throughout the vertebrate species may relate directly to the role of intersegmental (V<==>D<==>J) distances in the commitment of the individual antibody-producing cell to a particular genetic specificity. Thus, the evolution of this locus, perhaps more so than that of others, may reflect the interrelationships between genetic organization and function.      

A CAF-1 dependent pool of HP1 during heterochromatin duplication

To investigate how the complex organization of heterochromatin is reproduced at each replication cycle, we examined the fate of HP1-rich pericentric domains in mouse cells. We find that replication occurs mainly at the surface of these domains where both PCNA and chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1) are located. Pulse-chase experiments combined with high-resolution analysis and 3D modeling show that within 90 min newly replicated DNA become internalized inside the domain. Remarkably, during this time period, a specific subset of HP1 molecules (alpha and gamma) coinciding with CAF-1 and replicative sites is resistant to RNase treatment. Furthermore, these replication-associated HP1 molecules are detected in Suv39 knockout cells, which otherwise lack stable HP1 staining at pericentric heterochromatin. This replicative pool of HP1 molecules disappears completely following p150CAF-1 siRNA treatment. We conclude that during replication, the interaction of HP1 with p150CAF-1 is essential to promote delivery of HP1 molecules to heterochromatic sites, where they are subsequently retained by further interactions with methylated H3-K9 and RNA.     

What can we learn from noncoding regions of similarity between genomes?

Background  

In addition to known protein-coding genes, large amounts of apparently non-coding sequence are conserved between the human and mouse genomes. It seems reasonable to assume that these conserved regions are more likely to contain functional elements than less-conserved portions of the genome.     

An interlaboratory comparison of physiological and genetic properties of four Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

To select a Saccharomyces cerevisiae reference strain amenable to experimental techniques used in (molecular) genetic, physiological and biochemical engineering research, a variety of properties were studied in four diploid, prototrophic laboratory strains. The following parameters were investigated: 1) maximum specific growth rate in shake-flask cultures; 2) biomass yields on glucose during growth on defined media in batch cultures and steady-state chemostat cultures under controlled conditions with respect to pH and dissolved oxygen concentration; 3) the critical specific growth rate above which aerobic fermentation becomes apparent in glucose-limited accelerostat cultures; 4) sporulation and mating efficiency; and 5) transformation efficiency via the lithium-acetate, bicine, and electroporation methods. On the basis of physiological as well as genetic properties, strains from the CEN.PK family were selected as a platform for cell-factory research on the stoichiometry and kinetics of growth and product formation.     

Adaptation of acidogenic sludge to increasing glycerol concentrations for biohydrogen production

Hydrogen is a promising alternative as an energetic carrier and its production by dark fermentation from wastewater has been recently proposed, with special attention to crude glycerol as potential substrate. In this study, two different feeding strategies were evaluated for replacing the glucose substrate by glycerol substrate: a one-step strategy (glucose was replaced abruptly by glycerol) and a step-by-step strategy (progressive decrease of glucose concentration and increase of glycerol concentration from 0 to 5 g L^?1), in a continuous stirred tank reactor (12 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT), pH 5.5, 35 °C). While the one-step strategy led to biomass washout and unsuccessful H₂ production, the step-by-step strategy was efficient for biomass adaptation, reaching acceptable hydrogen yields (0.4?±?0.1 mol_H2?mol^?1 _{glycerol consumed}) around 33 % of the theoretical yield independently of the glycerol concentration. Microbial community structure was investigated by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting techniques, targeting either the total community (16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene) or the functional Clostridium population involved in H₂ production (hydA gene), as well as by 454 pyrosequencing of the total community. Multivariate analysis of fingerprinting and pyrosequencing results revealed the influence of the feeding strategy on the bacterial community structure and suggested the progressive structural adaptation of the community to increasing glycerol concentrations, through the emergence and selection of specific species, highly correlated to environmental parameters. Particularly, this work highlighted an interesting shift of dominant community members (putatively responsible of hydrogen production in the continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR)) according to the gradient of glycerol proportion in the feed, from the family Veillonellaceae to the genera Prevotella and Clostridium sp., putatively responsible of hydrogen production in the CSTR.     

Isolation and characterization of novel bacterial strains exhibiting ligninolytic potential

Background

The number of biotransformations that use nicotinamide recycling systems is exponentially growing. For this reason one of the current challenges in biocatalysis is to develop and optimize more simple and efficient cofactor recycling systems. One promising approach to regenerate NAD⁺ pools is the use of NADH-oxidases that reduce oxygen to hydrogen peroxide while oxidizing NADH to NAD⁺. This class of enzymes may be applied to asymmetric reduction of prochiral substrates in order to obtain enantiopure compounds.

Results

The NADH-oxidase (NOX) presented here is a flavoenzyme which needs exogenous FAD or FMN to reach its maximum velocity. Interestingly, this enzyme is 6-fold hyperactivated by incubation at high temperatures (80°C) under limiting concentrations of flavin cofactor, a change that remains stable even at low temperatures (37°C). The hyperactivated form presented a high specific activity (37.5 U/mg) at low temperatures despite isolation from a thermophile source. Immobilization of NOX onto agarose activated with glyoxyl groups yielded the most stable enzyme preparation (6-fold more stable than the hyperactivated soluble enzyme). The immobilized derivative was able to be reactivated under physiological conditions after inactivation by high solvent concentrations. The inactivation/reactivation cycle could be repeated at least three times, recovering full NOX activity in all cases after the reactivation step. This immobilized catalyst is presented as a recycling partner for a thermophile alcohol dehydrogenase in order to perform the kinetic resolution secondary alcohols.

Conclusion

We have designed, developed and characterized a heterogeneous and robust biocatalyst which has been used as recycling partner in the kinetic resolution of rac-1-phenylethanol. The high stability along with its capability to be reactivated makes this biocatalyst highly re-useable for cofactor recycling in redox biotransformations.