[Metoposcopy].

From the oracle of Delphi to magnetic resonance imaging, the anatomist's dissecting gaze has always been accompanied by a connective reading, nourishing subjectivity. The face offered to view has thus been the subject since Aristotle (and probably before without any written record of it being kept) of multiple interpretations, becoming a standard throughout the ages. A whole vocabulary emanates from it: metoposcopy, prosopology, physiognomony, phrenology, organology, morphopsychology, amphibology… which punctuated the beyond of the gaze.

Ceruloplasmin as a source of Cu for a fungal pathogen.

Copper is an essential metal for virtually all organisms, yet little is known about the extracellular sources of this micronutrient. In serum, the most abundant extracellular Cu-binding molecule is the multi‑copper oxidase ceruloplasmin (Cp). Cp levels increase during infection and inflammation, and pathogens can be exposed to high Cp at sites of infection.

Antimicrobial action of calprotectin that does not involve metal withholding.

Calprotectin is a potent antimicrobial that inhibits the growth of pathogens by tightly binding transition metals such as Mn and Zn, thereby preventing their uptake and utilization by invading microbes. At sites of infection, calprotectin is abundantly released from neutrophils, but calprotectin is also present in non-neutrophil cell types that may be relevant to infections. We show here that in patients infected with the Lyme disease pathogen Borreliella (Borrelia) burgdorferi, calprotectin is produced in neutrophil-free regions of the skin, in both epidermal keratinocytes and in immune cells infiltrating the dermis, including CD68 positive macrophages.

Intersection of phosphate transport, oxidative stress and TOR signalling in Candida albicans virulence.

Phosphate is an essential macronutrient required for cell growth and division. Pho84 is the major high-affinity cell-surface phosphate importer of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a crucial element in the phosphate homeostatic system of this model yeast. We found that loss of Candida albicans Pho84 attenuated virulence in Drosophila and murine oropharyngeal and disseminated models of invasive infection, and conferred hypersensitivity to neutrophil killing.

Revisiting and re-engineering the classical zinc finger peptide: consensus peptide-1 (CP-1).

Zinc plays key structural and catalytic roles in biology. Structural zinc sites are often referred to as zinc finger (ZF) sites, and the classical ZF contains a Cys2His2 motif that is involved in coordinating Zn(II). An optimized Cys2His2 ZF, named consensus peptide 1 (CP-1), was identified more than 20 years ago using a limited set of sequenced proteins.

The Yin and Yang of copper during infection.

Copper is an essential micronutrient for both pathogens and the animal hosts they infect. However, copper can also be toxic in cells due to its redox properties and ability to disrupt active sites of metalloproteins, such as Fe-S enzymes. Through these toxic properties, copper is an effective antimicrobial agent and an emerging concept in innate immunity is that the animal host intentionally exploits copper toxicity in antimicrobial weaponry.

Neural Zinc Finger Factor/Myelin Transcription Factor Proteins: Metal Binding, Fold, and Function.

Zinc finger (ZF) proteins make up a large family of metalloproteins that contain discrete domains with amino acid ligands (cysteine and histidine) that serve to coordinate zinc in a tetrahedral geometry. Upon zinc coordination, the domains adopt three-dimensional structure. The most well-studied ZFs are the "classical" ZFs, which use a Cys2His2 motif to bind zinc and adopt an antiparallel β sheet/α helical fold.

A role for hydrogen bonding in DNA recognition by the non-classical CCHHC type zinc finger, NZF-1.

The non-classical zinc finger protein, Neural Zinc Finger Factor-1, contains six Cys2His2Cys domains. All three cysteines and the second histidine directly bind Zn(II). Using a combination of mutagenesis, metal coordination and DNA binding studies, we report that the first histidine is involved in a functionally important hydrogen bonding interaction.

Random and site-specific mutagenesis of the Helicobacter pylori ferric uptake regulator provides insight into Fur structure-function relationships.

The ferric uptake regulator (Fur) of Helicobacter pylori is a global regulator that is important for colonization and survival within the gastric mucosa. H. pylori Fur is unique in its ability to activate and repress gene expression in both the iron-bound (Fe-Fur) and apo forms (apo-Fur).

Switching metal ion coordination and DNA Recognition in a Tandem CCHHC-type zinc finger peptide.

Neural Zinc Finger Factor-1 (NZF-1) and Myelin Transcription Factor 1 (MyT1) are two homologous nonclassical zinc finger (ZF) proteins that are involved in the development of the central nervous system (CNS). Both NZF-1 and MyT1 contain multiple ZF domains, each of which contains an absolutely conserved Cys2His2Cys motif. All three cysteines and the second histidine have been shown to coordinate Zn(II); however, the role of the first histidine remains unresolved.

Classical Cys2His2 zinc finger peptides are rapidly oxidized by either H2O2 or O2 irrespective of metal coordination.

ZIF268, a member of the classical zinc finger protein family, contains three Cys(2)His(2) zinc binding domains that together recognize the DNA sequence 5'-AGCGTGGGCGT-3'. These domains can be fused to an endonuclease to make a chimeric protein to target and cleave specific DNA sequences. A peptide corresponding to these domains, named ZIF268-3D, has been prepared to determine if the zinc finger domain itself can promote DNA cleavage when a redox active metal ion, Fe(II), is coordinated.

Functional characterization of iron-substituted neural zinc finger factor 1: metal and DNA binding.

Neural zinc finger factor 1 (NZF-1) is a nonclassical zinc finger protein involved in neuronal development. NZF-1 contains multiple copies of a unique CCHHC zinc-binding domain that recognize a promoter element in the beta-retinoic acid receptor gene termed beta-retinoic acid receptor element (beta-RARE). Previous studies have established that a two-domain fragment of NZF-1 bound with zinc is sufficient for specific DNA binding.

A proposal for an anonymous living organ donation in Germany.

In Germany, living organ donation of paired and usually not regenerating organs is restricted by law to related individuals, as well as persons who 'obviously entertain an especially intimate personal relationship'. When this law was adopted in 1997, the intention of the legislator was to guarantee the free will of the donor and to exclude any trade of organs. Since then the transplantation of cadaveric organs has not increased.