Effect of specific antibodies on active immunity development in those inoculated with an antirabies vaccine

The study of the effect of gamma globulin introduced in different doses (0.5 and 0.25 ml/mg) in combination with Fermi rabies vaccine (observations on humans were made) and with cerebral rabies vaccine inactivated by UV irradiation (in animal experiments) demonstrated that the injection of the higher doses of gamma globulin resulted in lower geometrical mean of antibody titers. Therefore, in combined administration of rabies vaccine and gamma globulin for postexposure rabies prevention it is advisable to reduce the dose of gamma globulin by one-half.     

Feeding of Burbot Lota lota in Modern Conditions of the Kuybyshev Reservoir

Journal of Ichthyology - The feeding of burbot Lota lota was studied in the modern conditions of the Kuibyshev Reservoir. With the decrease in the abundance of ruff Gymnocephalus cernuus in the...     

Methanotrophic communities of Saanich Inlet: a microcosm perspective

Saanich Inlet (British Columbia, Canada) is a seasonally anoxic fjord characterized by high rates of both methane production and consumption. In this study, the diversity of microbial populations residing in intermediate waters, characterized by having a high methane content, was assessed using CH(4)-microcosm experiments coupled with PCR surveys of phylogenetic (16S rRNA gene) and functional gene markers (pmoA and fhcD genes). The experiments revealed that bacteria represented by sequences affiliated with Methylomicrobium within the Methylococcales, Methylophaga and Cycloclasticus within the Thiotrichales, and uncultured Planctomycetes were enriched in response to CH(4) addition.     

The study of the neuroprotective activity of the apolipoprotein E peptide mimetic Cog1410 in transgenic strains of Drosophila melanogaster

The neuroprotective activity of peptide mimetic of apolipoprotein E (apoE) Cog1410, containing the amino acid sequence of the apoE receptor-binding domain, has been investigated in transgenic Drosophila melanogaster strains expressing human APP and beta-secretase genes. Expression of double transgenes caused neuropathological processes typical for Alzheimer’s disease (AD): neurodegeneration, cognitive impairments, and amyloid deposition in the brain. It was shown that Cog1410 reduces neurodegeneration in the brain of transgenic flies and improves cognitive functions (odor recognition). These data suggest that Cog1410 is a potential neuroprotector that can be used in AD treatment.     

A gene expression system offering multiple levels of regulation: the Dual Drug Control (DDC) system

Background  

Whether for cell culture studies of protein function, construction of mouse models to enable in vivo analysis of disease epidemiology, or ultimately gene therapy of human diseases, a critical enabling step is the ability to achieve finely controlled regulation of gene expression. Previous efforts to achieve this goal have explored inducible drug regulation of gene expression, and construction of synthetic promoters based on two-hybrid paradigms, among others.     

Genetics of the glutamate‐mediated methylamine utilization pathway in the facultative methylotrophic beta‐proteobacterium Methyloversatilis universalis FAM5

The ability of some microbial species to oxidize monomethylamine via glutamate‐mediated pathways was proposed in the 1960s; however, genetic determinants of the pathways have never been described. In the present study we describe a gene cluster essential for operation of the N‐methylglutamate pathway in the methylotrophic beta‐proteobacterium Methyloversatilis universalis FAM5. Four major polypeptides from protein fractions displaying high activities of N‐methylglutamate synthetase, N‐methylglutamate dehydrogenase and γ‐glutamylmethylamide synthetase were selected for mass spectrometry‐based identification. The activities of enzymes were associated with the presence of peptides identified as ferredoxin‐dependent glutamate synthase (GltB2), large subunit of putative heterotetrameric sarcosine oxidase (SoxA) and glutamine synthetase type III (GSIII) respectively. A gene cluster (8.3 kb) harbouring gltB2, soxA and gsIII‐like genes was amplified from M. universalis FAM5, sequenced and assembled. Two partial and six complete open reading frames arranged in the order soxBDAG‐gsIII‐gltB132 were identified and subjected to mutational analysis, functional and metabolic profiling. We demonstrated that gltB‐like and sox‐like genes play a key role in methylamine utilization and encode N‐methylglutamate synthetase and N‐methylglutamate dehydrogenase respectively. Metabolic, enzymatic and mutational analyses showed that the gsIII‐like gene encodes γ‐glutamylmethylamide synthetase; however, this enzyme is not essential for oxidation of methylamine.     

A combined yeast/bacteria two-hybrid system: development and evaluation

Two-hybrid screening is a standard method used to identify and characterize protein-protein interactions and has become an integral component of many proteomic investigations. The two-hybrid system was initially developed using yeast as a host organism. However, bacterial two-hybrid systems have also become common laboratory tools and are preferred in some circumstances, although yeast and bacterial two-hybrid systems have never been directly compared. We describe here the development of a unified yeast and bacterial two-hybrid system in which a single bait expression plasmid is used in both organismal milieus. We use a series of leucine zipper fusion proteins of known affinities to compare interaction detection using both systems. Although both two-hybrid systems detected interactions within a comparable range of interaction affinities, each demonstrated unique advantages. The yeast system produced quantitative readout over a greater dynamic range than that observed with bacteria. However, the phenomenon of "autoactivation" by baits was less of a problem in the bacterial system than in the yeast. Both systems identified physiological interactors for a library screen with a cI-Ras test bait; however, non-identical interactors were obtained in yeast and bacterial screens. The ability to rapidly shift between yeast and bacterial systems provided by these new reagents should provide a marked advantage for two-hybrid investigations. In addition, the modified expression vectors we describe in this report should be useful for any application requiring facile expression of a protein of interest in both yeast and bacteria.     

Post-translational modifications of tau protein: implications for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) belongs to a group of neurodegenerative diseases collectively designated as "tauopathies", because they are characterized by the aggregation of abnormally phosphorylated tau protein. The mechanisms responsible for tau aggregation and its contribution to neurodegeneration are still unknown. Thereby, understanding the modes of regulation of tau is of high interest in the determination of the possible causes at the origin of the formation of tau aggregates and to elaborate protection strategies to cope with these pathological lesions. The regulation of tau takes place predominantly through post-translational modifications. Extensive reports have been published about tau phosphorylation; however, the other tau post-translational modifications have received much less attention. Here, we review the different types of post-translational modifications of tau including phosphorylation, glycosylation, glycation, prolyl-isomerization, cleavage or truncation, nitration, polyamination, ubiquitination, sumoylation, oxidation and aggregation, with a particular interest towards their relevance in AD.     

Allelic variation in the perennial ryegrass FLOWERING LOCUS T gene is associated with changes in flowering time across a range of populations

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene and its orthologs in other plant species (e.g. rice [Oryza sativa] OsFTL2/Hd3a) have an established role in the photoperiodic induction of flowering response. The genomic and phenotypic variations associated with the perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) ortholog of FT, designated LpFT3, was assessed in a diverse collection of nine European germplasm populations, which together constituted an association panel of 864 plants. Sequencing and genotyping of a series of amplicons derived from the nine populations, containing the complete exon and intron sequences as well as 5' and 3' noncoding sequences of LpFT3, identified a total of seven haplotypes. Genotyping assays designed to detect the genomic variation showed that three haplotypes were present in approximately equal proportions and represented 84% of the total, with a fourth representing a further 11%. Of the three major haplotypes, two were predicted to code for identical protein products and the third contained two amino acid substitutions. Association analysis using either a mixed model with a relationship matrix to correct for population structure and relatedness or structured association with further correction using genomic control indicated significant associations between LpFT3 and variation in flowering time. These associations were corroborated in a validation population segregating for the same major alleles. The most "diagnostic" region of genomic variation was situated 5' of the coding sequence. Analysis of this region identified that the interhaplotype variation was closely associated with sequence motifs that were apparently conserved in the 5' region of orthologs of LpFT3 from other plant species. These may represent cis-regulatory elements involved in influencing the expression of this gene.