Infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV2 in a super-spreading event in Germany.

A SARS-CoV2 super-spreading event occurred during carnival in a small town in Germany. Due to the rapidly imposed lockdown and its relatively closed community, this town was seen as an ideal model to investigate the infection fatality rate (IFR). Here, a 7-day seroepidemiological observational study was performed to collect information and biomaterials from a random, household-based study population.

UCP3 Regulates Single-Channel Activity of the Cardiac mCa1.

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake (mCa(2+) uptake) is thought to be mediated by the mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter (MCU). UCP2 and UCP3 belong to a superfamily of mitochondrial ion transporters. Both proteins are expressed in the inner mitochondrial membrane of the heart.

By Regulating Mitochondrial Ca2+-Uptake UCP2 Modulates Intracellular Ca2+.

Introduction: The possible role of UCP2 in modulating mitochondrial Ca2+-uptake (mCa2+-uptake) via the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is highly controversial.

Methods: Thus, we analyzed mCa2+-uptake in isolated cardiac mitochondria, MCU single-channel activity in cardiac mitoplasts, dual Ca2+-transients from mitochondrial ((Ca2+)m) and intracellular compartment ((Ca2+)c) in the whole-cell configuration in cardiomyocytes of wild-type (WT) and UCP2-/- mice.

Results: Isolated mitochondria showed a Ru360 sensitive mCa2+-uptake, which was significantly decreased in UCP2-/- (229.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β transfers cytoprotective signaling through connexin 43 onto mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ channels.

Despite compelling evidence supporting key roles for glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K(+) (mitoK(ATP)) channels, and mitochondrial connexin 43 (Cx43) in cytoprotection, it is not clear how these signaling modules are linked mechanistically. By patch-clamping the inner membrane of murine cardiac mitochondria, we found that inhibition of GSK3β activated mitoK(ATP). PKC activation and protein phosphatase 2a inhibition increased the open probability of mitoK(ATP) channels through GSK3β, and this GSK3β signal was mediated via mitochondrial Cx43.

Subcellular localization and characterization of the ParAB system from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Faithful segregation of chromosomes and plasmids is a vital prerequisite to produce viable and genetically identical progeny. Bacteria use a specialized segregation system composed of the partitioning proteins ParA and ParB to segregate certain plasmids. Strikingly, homologues of ParA and ParB are found to be encoded in many chromosomes.

Connexin 43 acts as a cytoprotective mediator of signal transduction by stimulating mitochondrial KATP channels in mouse cardiomyocytes.

Potassium (K+) channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane influence cell function and survival. Increasing evidence indicates that multiple signaling pathways and pharmacological actions converge on mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ (mitoKATP) channels and PKC to confer cytoprotection against necrotic and apoptotic cell injury. However, the molecular structure of mitoKATP channels remains unresolved, and the mitochondrial phosphoprotein(s) that mediate cytoprotection by PKC remain to be determined.

Genetic and biochemical analysis of the serine/threonine protein kinases PknA, PknB, PknG and PknL of Corynebacterium glutamicum: evidence for non-essentiality and for phosphorylation of OdhI and FtsZ by multiple kinases.

We previously showed that the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase inhibitor protein OdhI of Corynebacterium glutamicum is phosphorylated by PknG at Thr14, but that also additional serine/threonine protein kinases (STPKs) can phosphorylate OdhI. To identify these, a set of three single (DeltapknA, DeltapknB, DeltapknL), five double (DeltapknAG, DeltapknAL, DeltapknBG, DeltapknBL, DeltapknLG) and two triple deletion mutants (DeltapknALG, DeltapknBLG) were constructed. The existence of these mutants shows that PknA, PknB, PknG and PknL are not essential in C.