Modulation of fungal phosphate homeostasis by the plant hormone strigolactone.

Inter-kingdom communication through small molecules is essential to the coexistence of organisms in an ecosystem. In soil communities, the plant root is a nexus of interactions for a remarkable number of fungi and is a source of small-molecule plant hormones that shape fungal compositions. Although hormone signaling pathways are established in plants, how fungi perceive and respond to molecules is unclear because many plant-associated fungi are recalcitrant to experimentation.

Use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in patients with COVID-19: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

COVID-19 has quickly become a public health problem worldwide, and treatment for this new disease is needed. Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial that studies have shown action against SARS-CoV-2, which is why it has been the target of clinical studies with conflicting results. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the association of hydroxychloroquine use with the virological cure, clinical recovery, mortality, and development of adverse effects in patients with COVID-19.

On the outside looking in: roles of endogenous and exogenous strigolactones.

A collection of small molecules called strigolactones (SLs) act as both endogenous hormones to control plant development and as ecological communication cues between organisms. SL signalling overlaps with that of a class of smoke-derived compounds, karrikins (KARs), which have distinct yet overlapping developmental effects on plants. Although the roles of SLs in shoot and root development, in the promotion of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal branching and in parasitic plant germination have been well characterized, recent data have illustrated broader roles for these compounds in the rhizosphere.

Crystal structure of DRIK1, a stress-responsive receptor-like pseudokinase, reveals the molecular basis for the absence of ATP binding.

Background: Plants reprogram metabolism and development to rapidly adapt to biotic and abiotic stress. Protein kinases play a significant role in this process by phosphorylating protein substrates that activate or inactivate signaling cascades that regulate cellular and metabolic adaptations. Despite their importance in plant biology, a notably small fraction of the plant kinomes has been studied to date.

Reliability, validity, interpretability and responsiveness of the DEMMI mobility index for Brazilian older hospitalized patients.

Aim: To translate and adapt cross-culturally the De Morton Mobility Index from English to Brazilian Portuguese. Furthermore, to test the content validity, reliability, construct validity, interpretability and responsiveness for older hospitalized patients.

Methods: After we carried out the translation and the cross-cultural adaptation of the De Morton Mobility Index and its administration instructions according to international guidelines, the content validity of De Morton Mobility Index was tested by experienced physiotherapists.

Physiotherapist advice to older inpatients about the importance of staying physically active during hospitalisation reduces sedentary time, increases daily steps and preserves mobility: a randomised trial.

Questions: Does advice from a physiotherapist about the importance of staying physically active during hospitalisation improve activity, mobility, strength, length of stay, and complications in older inpatients? What barriers to physical activity during hospitalisation do older inpatients perceive?

Design: Randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis, and blinded assessment.

Participants: Sixty-eight people who were aged > 60 years and admitted to a university hospital ward.

Intervention: In addition to usual hospital care, the experimental group received a booklet with content about the deleterious effects of hospitalisation and the importance of staying active during hospitalisation.

Fasciculation and elongation zeta-1 protein (FEZ1) interacts with the retinoic acid receptor and participates in transcriptional regulation of the gene.

Fasciculation and elongation zeta-1 (FEZ1) protein is involved in axon outgrowth and is highly expressed in the brain. It has multiple interaction partners, with functions varying from the regulation of neuronal development and intracellular transport mechanisms to transcription regulation. One of its interactors is retinoic acid receptor (RAR), which is activated by retinoic acid and controls many target genes and physiological process.

Use of a special Brazilian red-light emitting railroad worm Luciferase in bioassays of NEK7 protein Kinase and Creatine Kinase.

Background: Luciferases, enzymes that catalyze bioluminescent reactions in different organisms, have been extensively used for bioanalytical purposes. The most well studied bioluminescent system is that of firefly and other beetles, which depends on a luciferase, a benzothiazolic luciferin and ATP, and it is being widely used as a bioanalytical reagent to quantify ATP. Protein kinases are proteins that modify other proteins by transferring phosphate groups from a nucleoside triphosphate, usually ATP.

Structural Characterization of Maize SIRK1 Kinase Domain Reveals an Unusual Architecture of the Activation Segment.

Kinases are primary regulators of plant metabolism and excellent targets for plant breeding. However, most kinases, including the abundant receptor-like kinases (RLK), have no assigned role. SIRK1 is a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK), the largest family of RLK.

CD30 on extracellular vesicles from malignant Hodgkin cells supports damaging of CD30 ligand-expressing bystander cells with Brentuximab-Vedotin, in vitro.

The goal of targeted immunotherapy in cancer is to damage both malignant and tumor-supporting cells of the microenvironment but spare unaffected tissue. The malignant cells in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) selectively express CD30. They release this receptor on extracellular vesicles (EVs) for the tumor-supporting communication with CD30 ligand (CD30L)-positive bystander cells.

Interaction of GlnK with the GAF domain of Herbaspirillum seropedicae NifA mediates NH₄⁺-regulation.

Nitrogen fixation in Herbaspirillum seropedicae is transcriptionally regulated by NifA, a σ(54) transcriptional activator with three structural domains: an N-terminal GAF domain, a catalytic AAA+ domain and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain. NifA is only active in H. seropedicae when cultures are grown in the absence of fixed nitrogen and at low oxygen tensions.

Role of conserved cysteine residues in Herbaspirillum seropedicae NifA activity.

Herbaspirillum seropedicae is an endophytic diazotrophic bacterium that associates with economically important crops. NifA protein, the transcriptional activator of nif genes in H. seropedicae, binds to nif promoters and, together with RNA polymerase-sigma(54) holoenzyme, catalyzes the formation of open complexes to allow transcription initiation.