Search results for "CAPS"

2014

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped DNA virus that replicates via reverse transcription of its pregenomic RNA (pgRNA). Budding of HBV is supposed to occur at intracellular membranes and requires scission functions of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) provided by ESCRT-III and VPS4. Here, we have investigated the impact of the upstream-acting ESCRT-I and ESCRT-II complexes in HBV morphogenesis. RNA interference knockdown of the ESCRT-I subunits TSG101 and VPS28 did not block, but rather stimulate virus release. In contrast, RNAi-mediated depletion of the ESCRT-II components EAP20, EAP30 and EAP45 greatly reduced virus egress. By analyzing different steps of…

Myristylation is involved in intracellular retention of hepatitis B virus envelope proteins

1991

The envelope of hepatitis B virus contains three related proteins, one of which is myristylated. The nonmyristylated small and middle protein are assembled into empty envelope particles which are secreted from cells, whereas the myristylated large envelope protein is mainly found in complete virions and is not secreted in the absence of the nucleocapsid. The block to secretion can be partially overcome by mutation or deletion of the myristylation site. Creation of a myristyl attachment site in the small protein impairs the secretion of empty envelope particles but not their intracellular assembly. Myristylation may therefore play a crucial role in hepatitis B virus replication by channeling…

Metal-Organic Nanocapsules with Functionalized s-Heptazine Ligands.

2020

A metalloorganic capsule was synthesized where the ligand is a derivative of heptazine with three carboxylic groups that are coordinated to CuII cations, forming paddle-wheel motifs. Each nanocapsule is neutral, with 12 CuII centers and 8 ligands adopting a rhombicuboctahedron shape. It has almost 3 nm diameter, and the main intermolecular interactions in the solid are π··· π stacking between the C6N7 heptazine moieties. The nanocapsules can form monolayers deposited on graphite as observed by atomic force microscopy, which confirms their stability in solution. peerReviewed

Immunocompetence and resource holding potential in the damselfly, Calopteryx virgo L

2004

It is generally believed that resource holding potential reliably reflects male quality, but empirical evidence showing this is scarce. Here we show that the outcome of male-male competition may predict male immunocompetence in the territorial damselfly, Calopteryx virgo (Odonata: Calopterygidae). We staged contests between 27 pairs of males and found that winners of the contests showed higher immunocompetence, measured as encapsulation response, compared with that of losers. Furthermore, the winners had larger fat reserves. We also collected 29 males that had not been used in staged contests, and found that in these males encapsulation response correlated positively with an individual’s fa…

Distribution patterns of vimentin-immunoreactive structures in the human prosencephalon during the second half of gestation.

1999

Neuronal migration is guided by long radially oriented glial fibres. During late stages of development radial glial cells are transformed into astrocytes. A predominant intermediate filament protein within radial glial cells and immature astrocytes is vimentin. In this study fetal brain sections were used to demonstrate the transient features of vimentin-positive radial glia. In the lower half of the cerebral wall of the 6th gestational month bundles, curvature, and crossing of vimentin-positive fibres are regularly seen. Moreover, fibres terminating on vessels are observed. In the upper half fibres are radially oriented; when ascending towards the pial surface the number and diameter of fi…

Improvement of the nitrogen uptake induced by Ti(IV) supply in nitrogen stressed pepper crops

1996

The beneficial effect of titanium on plant metabolism can result in a more profitable use of fertilizers on many crops. An experiment was performed in a greenhouse with Capsicum annuum L. cv. Bunejo plants cultivated under different levels of nitrogen fertilization: 100% N — 250 N fertilizer units/ha (NFU); 75% N - 187.5 NFU; 50% N - 125 NFU; 25% N - 62.5 NFU. A third of the plants in each N support remained Ti-untreated and were used as a reference. Each of the other thirds received one and two 2 mg Ti/l, pH 6, leaf spray treatments respectively (35 ml/plant). Biomass production of the Ti-untreated references was only affected by N-supplies of 25%. Ti leaf spray treatments induced a biomas…

CRYOPRESERVATION OF PEACH SHOOT TIPS BY ENCAPSULATION DEHYDRATION

2011

Cryopreservation of Italian cultivars of hazelnut

2021

The present study was performed to optimise the cryopreservation protocol in Italian cultivars of Corylus avellana L. Lateral buds excised from in vitro grown plantlets of ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’ (TGR) and ‘Montebello’ (MB) were cryopreserved by the encapsulation-dehydration technique. The effect of dehydration of beads with sucrose (0.5, 0.75 or 1 M) for 1 or 3 days, of desiccation with silica gel for 6 or 8 h and of application of two cytokinins (N6-benzyladenine or meta-Topolin) in the regrowth phase was evaluated. The highest regrowth was obtained dehydrating alginate beads with 0.75 M sucrose applied for 1 day and with desiccation for 8 h with silica gel in both cultivars. On the other …

Effects of Anandamide and Noxious Heat on Intracellular Calcium Concentration in Nociceptive DRG Neurons of Rats

2007

As an endogenous agonist at the cannabinoid receptor CB1 and the capsaicin-receptor TRPV1, anandamide may exert both anti- and pronociceptive actions. Therefore we studied the effects of anandamide and other activators of both receptors on changes in free cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) in acutely dissociated small dorsal root ganglion neurons (diameter: ≤30 μm). Anandamide (10 μM) increased [Ca2+]iin 76% of the neurons. The EC50was 7.41 μM, the Hill slope was 2.15 ± 0.43 (mean ± SE). This increase was blocked by the competitive TRPV1-antagonist capsazepine (10 μM) and in Ca2+-free extracellular solution. Neither exclusion of voltage-gated sodium channels nor additional blockade of voltage-gate…

Stabilization of a nutraceutical omega-3 fatty acid by encapsulation in ultrathin electrosprayed zein prolamine.

2010

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid of the omega-3 series (omega-3), which exerts strong positive influences on human health. The target of this study was the stabilization by encapsulation of this bioactive ingredient in zein ultrathin capsules produced by electrospraying. The zein ultrathin DHA encapsulation was observed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to be more efficient against degradation under both ambient conditions and in a confined space (so-called headspace experiment). In the latter case, that more closely simulates a sealed food packaging situation, the bioactive DHA was considerably more stable. By fitting the degradation data to a specific auto-deco…