Properties of beta-propeller phytase expressed in transgenic tobacco.

Phytases are enzymes that liberate inorganic phosphates from phytate. In a previous study, a beta-propeller phytase (168phyA) from Bacillus subtilis was introduced into transgenic tobacco, which resulted in certain phenotypic changes. In the study described herein, the recombinant phytase (t168phyA) was purified from transgenic tobacco to near homogeneity by a three-step purification scheme.

[The long-term effect of phacoemulsification combined with trabeculectomy and intraoperative 5-fluorouracil in glaucoma patients].

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the long-term effect of phacoemulsification, lens implantation combined with trabeculectomy augmented with 5-Fluorouracil (phaco-trab-5-Fu) in Asian glaucoma patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG).

Methods: This retrospective study included 71 consecutive patients who underwent phaco-trab-5-Fu in Singapore National Eye Center between January 1996 and December 1998. Patients with follow-up time less than 6 months were excluded from the study.

Brugia malayi infection in Meriones unguiculatus: antibody response to recombinant BmR1.

BmR1 recombinant antigen has previously been shown to demonstrate high sensitivity and specificity in the serological diagnosis of brugian filariasis in humans. In this study, the pattern of recognition of antibody to BmR1 during Brugia malayi infection was investigated by employing Meriones unguiculatus as the experimental model. Thirty two gerbils were infected subcutaneously with 120 L(3); and two control groups each comprising 25 animals were employed.

Co-expression of a prophage system and a plasmid system in Bacillus subtilis.

A dual expression system for overexpressing two proteins by a single cell strain has been developed in Bacillus subtilis. This dual expression system combines the phi105MU331 prophage system and a plasmid system within a single cell. Protein expression by the prophage system is heat inducible, while that of the plasmid system is constitutive.

Interaction of a putative transcriptional regulatory protein and the thermo-inducible cts-52 mutant repressor in the Bacillus subtilis phage phi105 genome.

A 144 amino acid residue cts-52 mutant repressor (mtc phi 105) located in the EcoRI-F immunity region (immF) of Bacillus subtilis phage phi 105 is involved in the control mechanism of a thermo-inducible expression system. Adjacent to the repressor gene, an open-reading frame, designated ORF4, encodes a polypeptide of 90 amino acid residues, which shares a 37% homology with the amino acid sequence of the repressor. On the basis of the protein sequence alignment, a DNA-binding alpha helix-beta turn-alpha helix (HTH) motif was identified in the N-terminal region (residues 18-37) of the repressor as well as in the polypeptide of ORF4 (residues 22-41).

A dual protein expression system in Bacillus subtilis.

We have developed a dual expression system for the simultaneous overexpression of two proteins in Bacillus subtilis. Two candidate genes, xylanase (xynA) and glucanase (bglS) from B. subtilis strain 168, which were engineered with independent Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequences, were cloned in tandem into a transfer vector, which was then transformed into B.

The masquerades of female pelvic tuberculosis: case reports and review of literature on clinical presentations and diagnosis.

In this review, tuberculosis of the genital tract was diagnosed retrospectively in 11 females over 15 years. The presentations of nine cases are described. Seven of the nine cases presented with ascites, vague abdominal distension, weight loss and were misdiagnosed as ovarian carcinoma.