Search results for " protein"

Early signaling events induced by elicitors of plant defenses

2006

International audience; Plant pathogen attacks are perceived through pathogenissued compounds or plant-derived molecules that elicit defense reactions. Despite the large variety of elicitors, general schemes for cellular elicitor signaling leading to plant resistance can be drawn. In this article, we review early signaling events that happen after elicitor perception, including reversible protein phosphorylations, changes in the activities of plasma membrane proteins, variations in free calcium concentrations in cytosol and nucleus, and production of nitric oxide and active oxygen species. These events occur within the first minutes to a few hours after elicitor perception. One specific eli…

Functionalized halloysite nanotubes: Efficient carrier systems for antifungine drugs

2018

Abstract Halloysite-cyclodextrin hybrid was employed as carrier for sustained release of clotrimazole for vaginal or buccal treatment of Candidiasis. The nanocarrier was obtained by functionalization of halloysite surface with cyclodextrin moieties by means of microwave irradiation, with the final goal to obtain a scaffold for the covalent linkage of cysteamine hydrochloride. The interaction between clotrimazole and the pristine components, namely cyclodextrin and halloysite, was thoroughly investigated by several techniques such as DSC, TGA, UV–vis spectroscopy and some adsorption studies were, also, carried out. The release of the antifungine molecule was finally investigated in a medium …

Physiopathologie de la dyslipidémie du diabète de type 2 : nouvelles perspectives

2019

Resume La dyslipidemie du diabete de type 2 (DT2) est un facteur en cause dans l’augmentation du risque cardiovasculaire au cours du DT2. La dyslipidemie du DT2 est caracterisee non seulement par des anomalies quantitatives des lipoproteines, mais aussi par des anomalies qualitatives et cinetiques a potentiel atherogene. Les anomalies quantitatives caracteristiques sont l’hypertriglyceridemie et la diminution du HDL-cholesterol. Les anomalies qualitatives comprennent une augmentation des VLDL de grande taille enrichies en cholesterol esterifie et triglycerides (VLDL1) et des LDL petites et denses, ainsi qu’une augmentation des triglycerides au sein des LDL et des HDL, une glycation des apol…

The Recent Development of a Sweet-Tasting Brazzein and its Potential Industrial Applications

2016

International audience; Brazzein is a small heat- and pH-stable sweet-tasting protein isolated from the West African plant, Pentadiplandra brazzeana. Brazzein combines a highly sweet potency, a long history of human consumption, and a remarkable stability, giving it great potential as a natural sweetener. Due to the difficulties of obtaining brazzein from its natural source, several efforts have been made to express brazzein using various heterologous expression systems. This chapter describes the biochemical, structural, sensory, and physiological properties of brazzein. We will summarize the current knowledge of the structure-activity relationship of brazzein. The biotechnological product…

2019

Integral membrane proteins of the aquaporin family facilitate rapid water flux across cellular membranes in all domains of life. Although the water-conducting pore is clearly defined in an aquaporin monomer, all aquaporins assemble into stable tetramers. In order to investigate the role of protomer–protomer interactions, we analyzed the activity of heterotetramers containing increasing fractions of mutated monomers, which have an impaired oligomerization propensity and activity. In order to enforce interaction between the protomers, we designed and analyzed a genetically fused homotetramer of GlpF, the aquaglyceroporin of the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, increasing fractio…

Assembly of Transmembrane b-Type Cytochromes and Cytochrome Complexes

2016

Cytochromes are involved in charge-transfer reactions, and many cytochromes contain a transmembrane domain and are part of membrane-localized electron transfer chains. Protoporphyrin IX (heme b) is the first heme product in the tetrapyrrole/heme biosynthesis pathway. In contrast to c-type cytochromes, there is no need for a specialized machinery catalyzing covalent attachment of the heme molecule to a b-type apo-cytochrome, nor is the cofactor further modified, as in a-, d- and o-type cytochromes. Thus, formation of a holo-cytochrome is relatively simple for b-type cytochromes, and this class of proteins probably represents the most ancient members of transmembrane cytochromes. However, ass…

2018

ABC (ATP binding cassette) transporters, ubiquitous in all kingdoms of life, carry out essential substrate transport reactions across cell membranes. Their transmembrane domains bind and translocate substrates and are connected to a pair of nucleotide binding domains, which bind and hydrolyze ATP to energize import or export of substrates. Over four decades of investigations into ABC transporters have revealed numerous details from atomic-level structural insights to their functional and physiological roles. Despite all these advances, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanistic principles of ABC transporter function remains elusive. The human multidrug resistance transporter ABCB1, al…

Generation of oxysterols formed by free radicals and enzymes by electrochemical oxidation

2016

International audience; It is commonly accepted that cholesterol oxide derivatives, also named oxysterols, are 27 carbon-atom molecules deriving either from enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxidation of cholesterol. Most of these compounds can be synthesized by more or less difficult and time consuming chemical reactions, and some of them have been discovered before the identification of the enzymes [mainly cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP enzymes)] involved in their biosynthesis. A wide range of biological activities depends on oxysterols. Some oxysterols are also involved in the synthesis of cholesterol metabolites which have various properties. The paper by Weber et al. in this issue of European …

Roles for RpoS in survival of Escherichia coli during protozoan predation and in reduced moisture conditions highlight its importance in soil environ…

2017

The soil is a complex ecosystem where interactions between biotic and abiotic factors determine the survival and fate of microbial inhabitants of the system. Having previously shown that Escherichia coli requires the general stress response regulator, RpoS, to survive long term in soil, it was important to determine what specific conditions in this environment necessitate a functional RpoS. This study investigated the susceptibility of soil-persistent E. coli to predation by the single-celled eukaryotes Acanthamoeba polyphaga and Tetrahymena pyriformis, and the role RpoS plays in resisting this predation. Strain-specific differences were observed in the predation of E. coli strains, with so…

Cellular Concentrations of the Transporters DctA and DcuB and the Sensor DcuS of Escherichia coli and the Contributions of Free and Complexed DcuS to…

2017

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli , the catabolism of C 4 -dicarboxylates is regulated by the DcuS-DcuR two-component system. The functional state of the sensor kinase DcuS is controlled by C 4 -dicarboxylates (like fumarate) and complexation with the C 4 -dicarboxylate transporters DctA and DcuB, respectively. Free DcuS (DcuS F ) is known to be constantly active even in the absence of fumarate, whereas the DcuB-DcuS and DctA-DcuS complexes require fumarate for activation. To elucidate the impact of the transporters on the functional state of DcuS and the concentrations of DcuS F and DcuB-DcuS (or DctA-DcuS), the absolute levels of DcuS, DcuB, and DctA were determined in aerobically or anaerobic…