Search results for "Mod"
showing 10 items of 39605 documents
Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation in Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA)
2020
The syndromes of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) encompass a group of invalidating and progressive rare diseases that share the abnormal accumulation of iron in the basal ganglia. The onset of NBIA disorders ranges from infancy to adulthood. Main clinical signs are related to extrapyramidal features (dystonia, parkinsonism and choreoathetosis), and neuropsychiatric abnormalities. Ten NBIA forms are widely accepted to be caused by mutations in the genes PANK2, PLA2G6, WDR45, C19ORF12, FA2H, ATP13A2, COASY, FTL1, CP, and DCAF17. Nonetheless, many patients remain without a conclusive genetic diagnosis, which shows that there must be additional as yet undiscovered NBIA gen…
9-Phenanthrol enhances the generation of an CD8 + T cell response following transcutaneous immunization with imiquimod in mice
2017
Abstract Background Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a non-invasive vaccination strategy targeting the skin-associated lymphoid tissue. Topical application of the TLR7 agonist imiquimod as adjuvant in combination with peptide antigens activates the innate immune system and mounts cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. Objective Based on the commercial 5% imiquimod-containing drug Aldara we aimed to develop an improved formulation with superior vaccination efficiencies. The primary target was the enhancement of mast cell activation as important key for the function of the innate immune system. Methods We investigated the effects of 9-phenanthrol (9-phe) on the activation of mast cells i…
The developmental proteome of Drosophila melanogaster
2017
Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used genetic model organism in developmental biology. While this model organism has been intensively studied at the RNA level, a comprehensive proteomic study covering the complete life cycle is still missing. Here, we apply label-free quantitative proteomics to explore proteome remodeling across Drosophila’s life cycle, resulting in 7952 proteins, and provide a high temporal-resolved embryogenesis proteome of 5458 proteins. Our proteome data enabled us to monitor isoform-specific expression of 34 genes during development, to identify the pseudogene Cyp9f3Ψ as a protein-coding gene, and to obtain evidence of 268 small proteins. Moreover, the comparison wi…
A Basic Architecture of an Autonomous Adaptive System With Conscious-Like Function for a Humanoid Robot.
2018
In developing a humanoid robot, there are two major objectives. One is developing a physical robot having body, hands, and feet resembling those of human beings and being able to similarly control them. The other is to develop a control system that works similarly to our brain, to feel, think, act, and learn like ours. In this article, an architecture of a control system with a brain-oriented logical structure for the second objective is proposed. The proposed system autonomously adapts to the environment and implements a clearly defined “consciousness” function, through which both habitual behavior and goal-directed behavior are realized. Consciousness is regarded as a function for effecti…
Hsp60 Post-translational Modifications: Functional and Pathological Consequences.
2020
Hsp60 is a chaperone belonging to the Chaperonins of Group I and typically functions inside mitochondria in which, together with the co-chaperonin Hsp10, maintains protein homeostasis. In addition to this canonical role, Hsp60 plays many others beyond the mitochondria, for instance in the cytosol, plasma-cell membrane, extracellular space, and body fluids. These non-canonical functions include participation in inflammation, autoimmunity, carcinogenesis, cell replication, and other cellular events in health and disease. Thus, Hsp60 is a multifaceted molecule with a wide range of cellular and tissue locations and functions, which is noteworthy because there is only one hsp60 gene. The questio…
Modern diversification of the amino acid repertoire driven by oxygen
2017
All extant life employs the same 20 amino acids for protein biosynthesis. Studies on the number of amino acids necessary to produce a foldable and catalytically active polypeptide have shown that a basis set of 7-13 amino acids is sufficient to build major structural elements of modern proteins. Hence, the reasons for the evolutionary selection of the current 20 amino acids out of a much larger available pool have remained elusive. Here, we have analyzed the quantum chemistry of all proteinogenic and various prebiotic amino acids. We find that the energetic HOMO-LUMO gap, a correlate of chemical reactivity, becomes incrementally closer in modern amino acids, reaching the level of specialize…
Evaluation of Carotenoids Protection Against Oxidative Stress in the Animal Model Caenorhabditis elegans
2019
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a versatile and powerful model organism for animal experimental research and, despite being an invertebrate, displays remarkably similar molecular bases and conserved cellular pathways to those of humans. Oxidative stress is an etiological factor that influences numerous diseases, degenerative processes and aging. C. elegans has revealed as an opportune and feasible organism to investigate the antioxidant effects of different bioactives or complex food matrices, and a number of protocols have been developed by using different oxidative stressors. Carotenoids are recognized as quenchers and scavengers of reactive oxygen species, and many of their relate…
Antimicrobial peptide–metal ion interactions – a potential way of activity enhancement
2018
Increasing bacterial and fungal drug resistance requires novel, effective antimicrobial treatments to be actively sought. Because of a general lack of resistance towards antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), they are being relied on as a novel class of therapeutics aiming to conquer drug-resistant bacteria and fungi. There are numerous ways in which AMPs might interact with pathogens, such as membrane disruption, production of ROS, inhibition of cell wall, nucleic acid and protein synthesis or by the withdrawal of essential metal ions. Biologically indispensable metal ions have a dual effect on the activity of antimicrobial peptides: (i) AMPs bind them, so that microbes cannot get enough metals es…
High-Throughput Mapping of 2′-O-Me Residues in RNA Using Next-Generation Sequencing (Illumina RiboMethSeq Protocol)
2017
Detection of RNA modifications in native RNAs is a tedious and laborious task, since the global level of these residues is low and most of the suitable physico-chemical methods require purification of the RNA of interest almost to homogeneity. To overcome these limitations, methods based on RT-driven primer extension have been developed and successfully used, sometimes in combination with a specific chemical treatment. Nowadays, some of these approaches have been coupled to high-throughput sequencing technologies, allowing the access to transcriptome-wide data. RNA 2'-O-methylation is one of the ubiquitous nucleotide modifications found in many RNA types from bacteria, archaea, and eukarya.…
Bacterial Vegetative Insecticidal Proteins (Vip) from Entomopathogenic Bacteria
2016
SUMMARY Entomopathogenic bacteria produce insecticidal proteins that accumulate in inclusion bodies or parasporal crystals (such as the Cry and Cyt proteins) as well as insecticidal proteins that are secreted into the culture medium. Among the latter are the Vip proteins, which are divided into four families according to their amino acid identity. The Vip1 and Vip2 proteins act as binary toxins and are toxic to some members of the Coleoptera and Hemiptera. The Vip1 component is thought to bind to receptors in the membrane of the insect midgut, and the Vip2 component enters the cell, where it displays its ADP-ribosyltransferase activity against actin, preventing microfilament formation. Vip3…