Crystal structure of the transport unit of the autotransporter adhesin involved in diffuse adherence from Escherichia coli.

Several serious gastrointestinal diseases, which are widespread all over the world, are caused by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. The monomeric autotransporter AIDA-I (adhesin involved in diffuse adherence) represents an important virulence factor of these strains and is involved in adhesion, biofilm formation, aggregation and invasion into host cells. Here, we present the crystal structure of the transport unit of AIDA-I at 3.

Cell proliferation along vascular islands during microvascular network growth.

Background: Observations in our laboratory provide evidence of vascular islands, defined as disconnected endothelial cell segments, in the adult microcirculation. The objective of this study was to determine if vascular islands are involved in angiogenesis during microvascular network growth.

Results: Mesenteric tissues, which allow visualization of entire microvascular networks at a single cell level, were harvested from unstimulated adult male Wistar rats and Wistar rats 3 and 10 days post angiogenesis stimulation by mast cell degranulation with compound 48/80.

Esterase autodisplay: enzyme engineering and whole-cell activity determination in microplates with pH sensors.

Among the GDSL family of serine esterases/lipases is a group of bacterial enzymes that posses C-terminal extensions involved in outer membrane anchoring or translocation. ApeE from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, a member of this group, has been expressed in Escherichia coli and was resistant to protease digestion when the protease was added to whole cells, indicating a periplasmic localization. The five consensus blocks conserved within all GDSL esterases were identified in ApeE by multiple sequence alignment and separated from the C-terminal extension.

Rapid formation of ontong java plateau by aptian mantle plume volcanism.

The timing of flood basalt volcanism associated with formation of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) is estimated from paleomagnetic and paleontologic data. Much of OJP formed rapidly in less than 3 million years during the early Aptian, at the beginning of the Cretaceous Normal Polarity Superchron. Crustal emplacement rates are inferred to have been several times those of the Deccan Traps.