gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
The BclB Glycoprotein of Bacillus anthracis Is Involved in Exosporium Integrity (2007)

Anthrax is a highly fatal disease caused by the gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Spores, rather than vegetative bacterial cells, are the source of anthrax infections. Spores of B. anthracis are enclosed by a prominent loose-fitting structure called the exosporium. The exosporium is composed of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. Filaments of the hair-like nap are made up largely of a single collagen-like glycoprotein called BclA. A second glycoprotein, BclB, has been identified in the exosporium layer. The specific location of this glycoprotein within the exosporium layer and its role in the biology of the spore are unknown. We created a mutant strain of B. anthracis DeltaSterne that carries a deletion of the bclB gene. The mutant was found to possess structural defects in the exosporium layer of the spore (visualized by electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry) resulting in an exosporium that is more fragile than that of a wild-type spore and is easily lost. Immunofluorescence studies also indicated that the mutant strain produced spores with increased levels of the BclA glycoprotein accessible to the antibodies on the surface. The resistance properties of the mutant spores were unchanged from those of the wild-type spores. A bclB mutation did not affect spore germination or kinetics of spore survival within macrophages. BclB plays a key role in the formation and maintenance of the exosporium structure in B. anthracis.
Interactions between primordial germ cells play a role in their migration in mouse embryos (1994)

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the founder cell population of the gametes which form during the sexually mature stage of the life cycle. In the mouse, they arise early in embryogenesis, first becoming visible in the extraembryonic mesoderm, posterior to the primitive streak, at 7.5 days post coitum (d.p.c.). They subsequently become incorporated into the epithelium of the hind gut, from which they emigrate (9.5 d.p.c.) and move first into the dorsal mesentery (10.5 d.p.c.), and then into the genital ridges that lie on the dorsal body wall (11.5 d.p.c.). We have used confocal microscopy to study PGCs stained with an antibody that reacts with a carbohydrate antigen (Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigen-1, SSEA-1) carried on the PGC surface. This allows the study of the whole PGC surface, at different stages of their migration. The appearance of PGCs in tissue sections has given rise to the conventional view that they migrate as individuals, each arriving in turn at the genital ridge. In this paper, we show that PGCs leave the hind gut independently, but then extend long (up to 40 microns) processes, with which they link up to each other to form extensive networks. During the 10.5-11.5 d.p.c. period, these networks of PGCs aggregate into groups of tightly apposed cells in the genital ridges. As this occurs, their processes are lost, and their appearance suggests they are now non-motile. Furthermore, we find that PGCs taken from the dorsal mesentery at 10.5 d.p.c. perform the same sequence of movements in culture.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Structure and antigenicity of lipoarabinomannan from Mycobacterium bovis BCG (1993)

Lipoarabinomannan (LAM), a major lipoglycan of the mycobacterial cell envelope, was previously recognized as existing in two major forms: LAM with arabinofuranosyl (Araf)-containing termini (AraLAM) and a mannose-capped version (ManLAM) in which the majority of these termini are modified by additional mannose residues. Since ManLAM was first recognized in the virulent (Erdman) strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the noncapped version in a rapidly growing, attenuated, H37Ra strain, it was thought that mannose capping may be a key factor in virulence. In the present study, LAM from M. bovis BCG was isolated and the non-reducing termini sequenced through differential O-alkylation, partial depolymerization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analyses of fragments. LAM from M. bovis BCG contains a short mannan backbone, highly branched arabinofuranosyl-containing side chains and several mannosyl residues capping the non-reducing termini of these side chains. Thus, LAM from M. bovis BCG is of the ManLAM type, showing no major structural differences at the non-reducing ends from the M. tuberculosis Erdman product. This observation led us to examine the earlier strain and to conclude that it showed little resemblance to conventional strains of M. tuberculosis. Thus, the absence of mannose caps may be more a feature of rapid growth than of avirulence. These results demonstrate that the relationship between mannose capping and disease induction is not a simple one. However, use of a panel of LAM-specific monoclonal antibodies showed antigenic differences between the BCG and the Erdman products, suggesting the presence of features specific to the different strains and pointing to LAM as a molecule within which further species and strain variations reside.
Attenuating Regulatory T Cell Induction by TLR Agonists through Inhibition of p38 MAPK Signaling in Dendritic Cells Enhances Their Efficacy as Vaccine Adjuvants and Cancer Immunotherapeutics (2008)

TLR ligands are potent adjuvants and promote Th1 responses to coadministered Ags by inducing innate IL-12 production. We found that TLR ligands also promote the induction of IL-10-secreting regulatory T (Treg) cells through p38 MAPK-induced IL-10 production by dendritic cells (DC). Inhibition of p38 suppressed TLR-induced IL-10 and PGE(2) and enhanced IL-12 production in DC. Incubation of Ag-pulsed CpG-stimulated DC with a p38 inhibitor suppressed their ability to generate Treg cells, while enhancing induction of Th1 cells. In addition, inhibition of p38 enhanced the antitumor therapeutic efficacy of DC pulsed with Ag and CpG and this was associated with an enhanced frequency of IFN-gamma-secreting T cells and a reduction of Foxp3(+) Treg cells infiltrating the tumors. Furthermore, addition of a p38 inhibitor to a pertussis vaccine formulated with CpG enhanced its protective efficacy in a murine respiratory challenge model. These data demonstrate that the adjuvant activity of TLR agonists is compromised by coinduction of Treg cells, but this can be overcome by inhibiting p38 signaling in DC. Our findings suggest that p38 is an important therapeutic target and provides a mechanism to enhance the efficacy of TLR agonists as vaccine adjuvants and cancer immunotherapeutics.
Necrotic death of neurons following an excitotoxic insult is prevented by a peptide inhibitor of c‐jun N‐terminal kinase (2007)

Peptide inhibitors of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) have been shown to potently protect against cerebral ischemia. The protective effect has been ascribed to prevention of apoptosis, but cell death following cerebral ischemia is a consequence of both apoptotic and necrotic cell death. We evaluated whether a peptide inhibitor (TAT-TIJIP) of JNK could prevent necrotic cell death in an in vitro model of excitotoxic neuronal death. We find that TAT-TIJIP effectively prevented cell death by interfering with several processes which have been identified as leading to cell death by necrosis. In particular, reactive oxygen species production was reduced, as indicated by an 88% decrease in the rate of dihydroethidium fluorescence in the presence of TAT-TIJIP. Furthermore, TAT-TIJIP attenuated the increase in cytosolic calcium following the excitotoxic insult. The potent neuroprotective properties of JNK peptide inhibitors likely reflects their abilities to prevent cell death by necrosis as well as apoptosis.
Isolation of the outer membranes from Treponema pallidum and Treponema vincentii (1994)

The outer membranes from Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum and Treponema vincentii were isolated by a novel method. Purified outer membranes from T. pallidum and T. vincentii following sucrose gradient centrifugation banded at 7 and 31% (wt/wt) sucrose, respectively. Freeze fracture electron microscopy of purified membrane vesicles from T. pallidum and T. vincentii revealed an extremely low density of protein particles; the particle density of T. pallidum was approximately six times less than that of T. vincentii. The great majority of T. vincentii lipopolysaccharide was found in the outer membrane preparation. The T. vincentii outer membrane also contained proteins of 55 and 65 kDa. 125I-penicillin V labeling demonstrated that t. pallidum penicillin-binding proteins were found exclusively with the protoplasmic cylinders and were not detectable with purified outer membrane material, indicating the absence of inner membrane contamination. Isolated T. pallidum outer membrane was devoid of the 19-kDa 4D protein and the normally abundant 47-kDa lipoprotein known to be associated with the cytoplasmic membrane; only trace amounts of the periplasmic endoflagella were detected. Proteins associated with the T. pallidum outer membrane were identified by one- and two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis using gold staining and immunoblotting. Small amounts of strongly antigenic 17- and 45-kDa proteins were detected and shown to correspond to previously identified lipoproteins which are found principally with the cytoplasmic membrane. Less antigenic proteins of 65, 31 (acidic pI), 31 (basic pI), and 28 kDa were identified. Compared with whole-organism preparations, the 65- and the more basic 31-kDa proteins were found to be highly enriched in the outer membrane preparation, indicating that they may represent the T. pallidum rare outer membrane proteins. Reconstitution of solubilized T. pallidum outer membrane into lipid bilayer membranes revealed porin activity with two estimated channel diameters of 0.35 and 0.68 nm based on the measured single-channel conductances in 1 M KCl of 0.40 and 0.76 nS, respectively.
Cyclic changes in metabolic state during the life of a yeast cell (2007)

Budding yeast undergo robust oscillations in oxygen consumption during continuous growth in a nutrient-limited environment. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and comprehensive 2D gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling methods, we have determined that the intracellular concentrations of many metabolites change periodically as a function of these metabolic cycles. These results reveal the logic of cellular metabolism during different phases of the life of a yeast cell. They may further indicate that oscillation in the abundance of key metabolites might help control the temporal regulation of cellular processes and the establishment of a cycle. Such oscillations in metabolic state might occur during the course of other biological cycles.
Porcine zona pellucida ZP3α glycoprotein mediates binding of the biotin‐labeled Mr 55,000 family (ZP3) to boar sperm membrane vesicles (1993)

Abstract The two M r 55,000 glycoproteins, ZP3α and ZP3b̃, of porcine zona pellucida copurify as a preparation designated ZP3. Gamete binding assays have implicated ZP3α, but not ZP3b̃, as participating in sperm‐zona recognition events. We now report that boar sperm contain membrane‐associated binding sites with specificity for ZP3α. Biotin‐labeled (b‐) preparations of ZP3 bind to intact boar sperm in a saturable manner, with localization on the anterior head region. Membrane vesicles obtained from capacitated sperm by nitrogen cavitation retain b‐ZP3 binding sites as determined by an enzyme‐linked method employing alkaline phosphatase‐conjugated strepavidin. In competitive binding assays using b‐ZP3 (0.1μg/ml) as probe, heat‐solubilized zonae and ZP3 were effective competitors, whereas the nonzona molecules fetuin and fucoidin were not. Digestion of ZP3 with endo‐b̃‐galactosidase, an enzyme that trims polylactosamines, enhanced its affinity for membrane receptors. In contrast treatments such as chemical deglycosylation, pronase digestion, or disruption of disulfide bonds abolished the ligand activity of ZP3. Finally, purified ZP3α was an at least 100‐fold better antagonist than purified ZP3b̃. The results demonstrate that binding of b‐ZP3 to isolated boar sperm membranes is mediated by sperm receptors with specificity for the ZP3α macromolecular component and reveal a complex contribution of both carbohydrate and protein moieties toward the ligand activity of this sperm adhesive zona molecule. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effectiveness of Interventions Targeting Health Behaviors in University and College Staff: A Systematic Review (2014)

This appears to be the first review to examine health interventions for tertiary education staff. There is scope to enhance cross-disciplinary collaboration in the development and implementation of a "Healthy University" settings-based approach to health promotion in tertiary education workplaces. Universities or colleges could serve as a research platform to evaluate such intervention strategies.
Evaluation And Characterization of Herbicide Resistance In Italian Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) Biotypes To Diclofop-methyl And Alternative Management Options (2004)

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is a competitive weed in small grain production areas throughout the northwestern and southeastern US. In small grains, Italian ryegrass has generally been controlled with postemergence treatments of diclofop, or diclofop-methyl, a member of the subfamily of the aromatic carboxylic acid family, the aryloxyphenoxypropionates.\nThe first incidence of diclofop resistance in Italian ryegrass was reported in Virginia in 1995. Experiments to characterize diclofop resistance in several Virginia biotypes of Italian ryegrass included the following objectives: (1) evaluation of the presence of diclofop resistance in several Italian ryegrass biotypes collected across Virginia, (2) evaluation of alternative herbicide efficacy for diclofop resistant Italian ryegrass control, and (3) characterization of the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (APP) resistance mechanism in resistant Italian ryegrass biotypes.\nThe response of 32 biotypes to diclofop collected from various locations statewide with varying histories of diclofop applications confirmed diclofop resistance in Virginian Italian ryegrass populations. At 4-times the label-recommended application rate, only 50% of biotypes previously exposed to diclofop in a cropping situation were adequately controlled versus 94% of the biotypes not previously treated with diclofop. Tralkoxydim provided the most effective control of four of the biotypes. No postemergence treatment effectively controlled one biotype previously exposed to diclofop applications. Effective preemergence herbicide treatments for Italian ryegrass control in the greenhouse included acetochlor (two formulations) and flufenacet plus metribuzin. In the field, flufenacet plus metribuzin resulted in excellent Italian ryegrass control, little crop injury, and acceptable barley yields.\nAcetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) assays and herbicide absorption, translocation, and metabolism studies were conducted to investigate resistant mechanism(s) to two APP herbicides, diclofop and quizalofop. ACCase assays indicated no differences in enzyme activity between the two biotypes of Italian ryegrass evaluated. Furthermore, no significant differences in the specific activity of ACCase were detected between the two biotypes in the absence of diclofop. [14C]Quizalofop-P absorption, translocation, and metabolism did not differ between resistant and susceptible Italian ryegrass biotypes. Lack of a significant biotype effect suggests that differential metabolism does not explain the differential response to diclofop treatments observed in the herbicide dose-plant response experiment.
ChemInform Abstract: Absolute Configuration of Curacin A, a Novel Antimitotic Agent from the Tropical Marine Cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula. (1995)

Abstract ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
Volume determination of human metaphase chromosomes by scanning force microscopy. (1996)

The scanning force microscopy (SFM) yields the topography of the investigated surface. A procedure was developed which starts from this three-dimensional information to estimate the volume of a biological specimen. The volume of spread human metaphase chromosomes was determined in air and rehydrated in aqueous buffer. A difference of the determined volume of a air-dried metaphase chromosome set was found compared to values from electron microscopic investigations, and could be correlated with differences in the hydration state of the chromosomes. SFM-based relative volumes of air-dried chromosomes resembles literature data regarding volume range and distribution. Possible application of SFM-based relative volume measurements for chromosome classification purposes is discussed.
Transcription of the muscle regulatory gene Myf4 is regulated by serum components, peptide growth factors and signaling pathways involving G proteins. (1991)

The muscle regulatory protein myogenin accumulates in differentiating muscle cells when the culture medium is depleted for serum. To investigate the regulation of myogenin gene expression, we have isolated and characterized the Myf4 gene which encodes the human homologue of murine myogenin. Serum components, basic FGF (b-FGF), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), and EGF, agents which suppress differentiation of muscle cells in vitro, down-regulate the activity of the Myf4 gene, suggesting that it constitutes a nuclear target for the negative control exerted by these factors. The 5' upstream region containing the Myf4 promoter confers activity to a CAT reporter plasmid in C2C12 myotubes but not in fibroblasts and undifferentiated myoblasts. Unidirectional 5' deletions of the promoter sequence reveal that integral of 200 nucleotides upstream of the transcriptional start site are sufficient for cell type-specific expression. The forced expression of the muscle determining factors, MyoD1, Myf5, and Myf6 and to a lesser degree Myf4, results in the transactivation of the Myf4 promoter in C3H mouse 10T1/2 fibroblasts. Pathways potentially involved in conveying signals from the cell-surface receptors to the Myf4 gene were probed with pertussis- and cholera toxin, forskolin, and cAMP. Dibutyryl-cAMP and compounds that stimulate adenylate cyclase inhibit the endogenous Myf4 gene and the Myf4 promoter in CAT and LacZ reporter constructs. Conversely, pertussis toxin which modifies Gi protein stimulates Myf4 gene expression. In summary, our data provide evidence that the muscle-specific expression of the Myf4 gene is subject to negative control by serum components, growth factors and a cAMP-dependent intracellular mechanism. Positive control is exerted by a pertussis toxin-sensitive pathway that presumably involves G proteins.
Structure of rodent helix-destabilizing protein revealed by cDNA cloning. (1986)

A cDNA library of newborn rat brain poly(A+) RNA in lambda gt 11 was screened with a synthetic oligonucleotide probe corresponding to a five amino acid sequence in the N-terminal region of the calf helix-destabilizing protein, UP1. Six positive phage were isolated after testing 2 X 10(5) recombinants, and each phage was plaque purified. Four of these phage clones were positive with a second oligonucleotide probe corresponding to a 5 amino acid sequence in the C-terminal region of calf UP1; one of the clones positive with both probes was selected for detailed study. This phage, designated lambda HDP-182, contained a 1706-base pair cDNA insert corresponding to an mRNA with a poly(A) sequence at the 3' terminus and a single open reading frame starting 63 bases from the 5' terminus and extending 988 bases. The 3' untranslated region of the mRNA contained 718 bases, including an AAUAAA signal 21 bases from the poly(A) sequence and a 16-residue poly(U) sequence flanked on each side by oligonucleotide repeats. Primer extension analysis of newborn rat brain poly(A+) RNA suggested that the cDNA insert in lambda HDP-182 was full length except for about 35 nucleotide residues missing from the 5' end untranslated region, and Northern blot analysis revealed one relatively abundant mRNA species of approximately the same size as the cDNA insert. The 988-residue open reading frame in the cDNA predicted a 34,215-dalton protein of 320 amino acids. Residues 2 through 196 of this rat protein are identical to the 195-residue sequence of the calf helix-destabilizing protein, UP1. The 124-amino acid sequence in the C-terminal portion of the 34,215-dalton protein is not present in purified calf UP1. This 124-residue sequence has unusual amino acid content in that it is 11% asparagine, 15% serine, and 40% glycine and consists of 16 consecutive oligopeptide repeats. Computer-derived secondary structure predictions for the 34,215-dalton protein revealed two distinct domains consisting of residues 1 through approximately 196 and residues approximately 197 to 320, respectively.
Suppression of Autophagy by FIP200 Deletion Impairs DNA Damage Repair and Increases Cell Death upon Treatments with Anticancer Agents (2011)

Autophagy is a lysosomal bulk degradation process for intracellular protein and organelles. FIP200 (200 kDa FAK-family interacting protein) is an essential component of mammalian autophagy that is implicated in breast cancer in recent studies. Here we show that inactivation of FIP200 resulted in deficient repair of DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation and anticancer agents in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF). The persistent DNA damage correlated to increased apoptosis and reduced survival of FIP200 knockout (KO) MEFs after treatments with camptothecin (CPT), a topoisomerase I inhibitor and chemotherapeutic agent. Reexpression of FIP200 in FIP200 KO MEFs restored both efficient DNA damage repair and cell survival. Furthermore, knockdown of the increased p62 expression in FIP200 KO MEFs rescued the impaired DNA damage repair and CPT-induced cell death. In contrast, treatment of cells with N-acetyl cysteine did not affect these defects in FIP200 KO MEFs. Finally, FIP200 KO MEFs also showed deficient DNA damage repair and increased cell death compared with control MEFs, when treated with etoposide, a topoisomerase II inhibitor and another anticancer agent. Together, these results identify a new function for FIP200 in the regulation of DNA damage response and cell survival through its activity in autophagy and suggest the possibility of FIP200 or other autophagy proteins as a potential target for treatment to enhance the efficiency of cancer therapy using DNA damage-inducing agents.
The particle valve: On-demand particle trapping, filtering, and release from a microfabricated polydimethylsiloxane membrane using surface acoustic waves (2014)

We introduce a surface acoustic wave (SAW) based method for acoustically controlled concentration, capture, release, and sorting of particles in a microfluidic system. This method is power efficient by the nature of its design: the vertical direction of a traveling acoustic wave, in which the majority of the energy at the SAW-water interface is directed, is used to concentrate particles behind a microfabricated polydimethylsiloxane membrane extending partially into a channel. Sorting is also demonstrated with this concentration shown to be size-dependent. Low-power, miniature SAW devices, using methods such as the one demonstrated here, are well placed for future integration into point-of-care diagnostic systems.