Plant-Derivatives Small Molecules with Antibacterial Activity.

The vegetal world constitutes the main factory of chemical products, in particular secondary metabolites like phenols, phenolic acids, terpenoids, and alkaloids. Many of these compounds are small molecules with antibacterial activity, although very few are actually in the market as antibiotics for clinical practice or as food preservers. The path from the detection of antibacterial activity in a plant extract to the practical application of the active(s) compound(s) is long, and goes through their identification, purification, in vitro and in vivo analysis of their biological and pharmacological properties, and validation in clinical trials.

Cell polarity protein Spa2 coordinates Chs2 incorporation at the division site in budding yeast.

Deposition of additional plasma membrane and cargoes during cytokinesis in eukaryotic cells must be coordinated with actomyosin ring contraction, plasma membrane ingression and extracellular matrix remodelling. The process by which the secretory pathway promotes specific incorporation of key factors into the cytokinetic machinery is poorly understood. Here, we show that cell polarity protein Spa2 interacts with actomyosin ring components during cytokinesis.

[Stereology as a tool to estimate brain volume and cortical atrophy in elders with dementia].

Introduction: stereology is a body of methods that allow unbiased and efficient estimation of geometric quantities defined in arbitrary physical structures. In particular, stereology is a valuable tool to assist neuroimaging in the estimation of morphometric parameters in the brain. Therefore, stereology may confer objectivity in the complementary and diagnostic evaluation of dementia by adding disease by adding quantitative data to clinical evaluation.

Chondroitinase ABC has a long-lasting effect on chondroitin sulphate glycosaminoglycan content in the injured rat brain.

Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are axon growth inhibitory molecules present in the glial scar that play a part in regeneration failure after damage to the CNS and which restrict CNS plasticity. Removal of chondroitin sulphate glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains with chondroitinase-ABC (chABC) in models of CNS injury promotes both axon regeneration and plasticity. We have analysed the immediate and long-term effects of a single injection of chABC on CSPGs, GAGs and axon regeneration.

How does chondroitinase promote functional recovery in the damaged CNS?

A number of recent studies have established that the bacterial enzyme chondroitinase ABC promotes functional recovery in the injured CNS. The issue of how it works is rarely addressed, however. The effects of the enzyme are presumed to be due to the degradation of inhibitory chondroitin sulphate GAG chains.

The neurosecretory system is hypertrophied in senescence-accelerated mice.

The hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei form the neurosecretory system and synthesize the neurohormones oxytocin and arginine-vasopressin. The senescence-accelerated mouse is a model of rapid aging that displays senile amyloidosis and memory problems. This paper presents the characterization of the neurosecretory system and describes the presence of a bilateral constant cluster of neurosecretory neurons in these mice.