The relationship between the presence of ADHD and certain candidate gene polymorphisms in a Turkish sample

Due to the high heritability of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents of children with ADHD appear to represent a good sample group for investigating the genetics of the disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ADHD and six polymorphisms in five candidate genes [5-HT2A (rs6311), NET1 (rs2242447), COMT (rs4818), NTF3 (rs6332), SNAP-25 (rs3746544) and (rs1051312)]. We included 228 parents of children diagnosed with ADHD and 109 healthy parents as the control group. The polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays and analyzed using the chi-square test and the multinomial logit model. SNAP-25 (rs3746544) polymorphism was associated with loading for ADHD, while 5-HT2A (rs6311) and NET1 (rs2242447) polymorphisms were associated with ADHD. On the other hand, there was no significant association between the SNAP-25 (rs1051312), NTF3 (rs6332), or COMT (rs4818) gene polymorphisms and ADHD.     

Effects of Synthesized 3-Cyano-N-Pyridinyl Acetamide Derivatives on Wound Healing: An Overview of Oxidative Events and Histopathological Assessment

Biology Bulletin - This work presents the positive effects of synthesized novel 3-cyano-N-pyridinyl acetamide derivatives on the wound healing process. This work also analyzes their putative action...     

A new approach to sepsis treatment by rasagiline: a molecular,biochemical and histopathological study

Molecular Biology Reports - We aimed to investigate the effects of rasagiline on acute lung injury that develops in the sepsis model induced with the cecal ligation and puncture in rats. The rats...     

Astragalus trifoliastrum (Fabaceae), a revived species for the flora of Turkey

As the result of surveying the relevant type specimens, together with macro‐ and micro‐morphological studies, chromosome counting and ITS sequencing, Astragalus trifoliastrum was found to be a species independent of A. laguriformis (with which it has peviously been synonymized). In contrast, A. wanensis, assumed to be a synonym of A. trifoliastrum, indeed appears to be identical with A. trifoliastrum. The diploid chromosome number of 2n = 16 is reported for the first time for A. trifoliastrum.     

Study of protein complexes via homology modeling,applied to cysteine proteases and their protein inhibitors

This paper develops and evaluates large-scale calculation of 3D structures of protein complexes by homology modeling as a promising new approach for protein docking. The complexes investigated were papain-like cysteine proteases and their protein inhibitors, which play numerous roles in human and parasitic metabolisms. The structural modeling was performed in two parts. For the first part (evaluation set), nine crystal structure complexes were selected, 1325 homology models of known complexes were rebuilt by various templates including hybrids, allowing an analysis of the factors influencing the accuracy of the models. The important considerations for modeling the interface were protease coverage and inhibitor sequence identity. In the second part (study set), the findings of the evaluation set were used to select appropriate templates to model novel cysteine protease-inhibitor complexes from human and malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. The energy scores, considering the evaluation set, indicate that the models are of high accuracy.     

Synthesis, structures and spectroscopic properties of palladium(II) complexes with tridentate piperidyl-containing pincer ligands

A new series of square planar palladium(II) complexes with pincer ligands, pip₂NCN⁻ (pip₂NCNH = 1,3-bis(piperidylmethyl)benzene) and pip₂NNN (2,6-bis(piperidylmethyl)pyridine), has been prepared: Pd(pip₂NCN)X (X = Cl, Br, I), [Pd(pip₂NCN)(L)](BF₄) (L = pyridine, 4-phenylpyridine), and [Pd(pip₂NNN)Cl]Cl. The X-ray crystal structures of Pd(pip₂NCN)Br, [Pd(pip₂NCN)(L)]BF₄, and [Pd(pip₂NNN)Cl]Cl confirm the tridentate coordination geometries of the pincer ligands. For the pip₂NCN⁻ complexes, each piperidyl ring adopts a chair conformation with the metal center at an equatorial position on the N(piperidyl) atom. However, one of the piperidyl groups of Pd(pip₂NNN)Cl⁺ adopts a previously unobserved coordination geometry, effectively placing the metal center at an axial position on the N(piperidyl) atom. ¹H NMR and UV-Vis absorption measurements provide additional insight into the electronic structures of these complexes. The ¹H NMR spectra of Pd(pip₂NCN)X (X = Cl, Br, I) are consistent with deshielding of the pip₂NCN⁻ ligand resonances along the Cl < Br < I series, in opposition to the relative halogen electronegativities. It is suggested that this trend is consistent with decreasing filled/filled repulsions between the dπ orbitals of the metal center and the lone pair orbitals of the halide ligands along this series. Electronic absorption spectra support the notion that ligand-to-metal charge-transfer states are stabilized in these palladium(II) complexes relative to their platinum(II) analogues.     

The Effect of Loops on the Structural Organization of α-Helical Membrane Proteins

Loops connecting the transmembrane (TM) α-helices in membrane proteins are expected to affect the structural organization of the thereby connected helices and the helical bundles as a whole. This effect, which has been largely ignored previously, is studied here by analyzing the x-ray structures of 41 α-helical membrane proteins. First we define the loop flexibility ratio, R, and find that 53% of the loops are stretched, where a stretched loop constrains the distance between the two connected helices. The significance of this constraining effect is supported by experiments carried out with bacteriorhodopsin and rhodopsin, in which cutting or eliminating their (predominately stretched) loops has led to a decrease in protein stability, and for rhodopsin, in most cases, also to the destruction of the structure. We show that for nonstretched loops in the extramembranous regions, the fraction of hydrophobic residues is comparable to that for soluble proteins; furthermore (as is also the case for soluble proteins), the hydrophobic residues in these regions are preferentially buried. This is expected to lead to the compact structural organization of the loops, which is transferred to the TM helices, causing them to assemble. We argue that a soluble protein complexed with a membrane protein similarly promotes compactness; other properties of such complexes are also studied. We calculate complementary attractive interactions between helices, including hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions of sequential motifs, such as GXXXG. The relative and combined effects of all these factors on the association of the TM helices are discussed and protein structures with only a few of these factors are analyzed. Our study emphasizes the need for classifying membrane proteins into groups according to structural organization. This classification should be considered when procedures for structural analysis or prediction are developed and applied. Detailed analysis of each structure is provided at http://flan.blm.cs.cmu.edu/memloop/     

CTP Synthase Is Required for Optic Lobe Homeostasis in Drosophila

CTP synthase(CTPsyn) is a metabolic enzyme responsible for the de novo synthesis of the nucleotide CTP. Several recent studies have shown that CTPsyn forms filamentous subcellular structures known as cytoophidia in bacteria, yeast, fruit flies and humans. However, it remains elusive whether and how CTPsyn and cytoophidia play a role during development. Here, we show that cytoophidia are abundant in the neuroepithelial stem cells in Drosophila optic lobes. Optic lobes are underdeveloped in CTPsyn mutants as well as in CTPsyn RNAi. Moreover, overexpressing CTPsyn impairs the development of optic lobes, specifically by blocking the transition from neuroepithelium to neuroblast. Taken together, our results indicate that CTPsyn is critical for optic lobe homeostasis in Drosophila.