Cellular Partners of Tobamoviral Movement Proteins.

The size of viral genomes is limited, thus the majority of encoded proteins possess multiple functions. The main function of tobamoviral movement protein (MP) is to perform plasmodesmata gating and mediate intercellular transport of the viral RNA. MP is a remarkable example of a protein that, in addition to the initially discovered and most obvious function, carries out numerous activities that are important both for the manifestation of its key function and for successful and productive infection in general.

Methanol-Inducible Gene (MIG) 21 Encodes a Nucleolus-Localized Protein That Stimulates Viral Intercellular Transport and Downregulates Nuclear Import.

The mechanical damage of plant tissues leads to the activation of methanol production and its release into the atmosphere. The gaseous methanol or vapors emitted by the damaged plant induce resistance in neighboring intact plants to bacterial pathogens but create favorable conditions for viral infection spread. Among the methanol-inducible genes (MIGs), most are associated with plant defense and intercellular transport.

Nanoplatforms for the Delivery of Nucleic Acids into Plant Cells.

Nanocarriers are widely used for efficient delivery of different cargo into mammalian cells; however, delivery into plant cells remains a challenging issue due to physical and mechanical barriers such as the cuticle and cell wall. Here, we discuss recent progress on biodegradable and biosafe nanomaterials that were demonstrated to be applicable to the delivery of nucleic acids into plant cells. This review covers studies the object of which is the plant cell and the cargo for the nanocarrier is either DNA or RNA.

Class 1 Reversibly Glycosylated Polypeptides Suppress Tobacco Mosaic Virus Infection.

Reversibly glycosylated polypeptides (RGPs) have been identified in many plant species and play an important role in cell wall formation, intercellular transport regulation, and plant-virus interactions. Most plants have several genes with different expression patterns depending on the organ and developmental stage. Here, we report on four members of the RGP family in .

A novel cellular factor of susceptibility to tobamovirus infection.

Viral infection, which entails synthesis of viral proteins and active reproduction of the viral genome, effects significant changes in the functions of many intracellular systems in plants. Along with these processes, a virus has to suppress cellular defense to create favorable conditions for its successful systemic spread in a plant. The virus exploits various cellular factors of a permissive host modulating its metabolism as well as local and systemic transport of macromolecules and photoassimilates.

Kunitz peptidase inhibitor-like protein involved in chloroplast-to-nucleus regulatory pathway in plant-virus interaction.

Plant viruses use a variety of strategies to infect their host. During infection, viruses cause symptoms of varying severity, which are often associated with altered leaf pigmentation due to structural and functional damage to chloroplasts that are affected by viral proteins. Here we demonstrate that Kunitz peptidase inhibitor-like protein (KPILP) gene is induced in response to potato virus X (PVX) infection.

Enhanced Synthesis of Foreign Nuclear Protein Stimulates Viral Reproduction via the Induction of Expression.

Plants are a promising platform for recombinant protein production. Here we propose a novel approach to increase the level of viral vector-mediated recombinant protein synthesis. This approach is based on the hypothesis that antiviral protection is weakened during the antibacterial cellular response.

The Tobamoviral Movement Protein: A "Conditioner" to Create a Favorable Environment for Intercellular Spread of Infection.

During their evolution, viruses acquired genes encoding movement protein(s) (MPs) that mediate the intracellular transport of viral genetic material to plasmodesmata (Pd) and initiate the mechanisms leading to the increase in plasmodesmal permeability. Although the current view on the role of the viral MPs was primarily formed through studies on tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), the function of its MP has not been fully elucidated. Given the intercellular movement of MPs independent of genomic viral RNA (vRNA), this characteristic may induce favorable conditions ahead of the infection front for the accelerated movement of the vRNA ( the MP plays a role as a "conditioner" of viral intercellular spread).

Plasmodesmata Conductivity Regulation: A Mechanistic Model.

Plant cells form a multicellular symplast via cytoplasmic bridges called plasmodesmata (Pd) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that crosses almost all plant tissues. The Pd proteome is mainly represented by secreted Pd-associated proteins (PdAPs), the repertoire of which quickly adapts to environmental conditions and responds to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although the important role of Pd in stress-induced reactions is universally recognized, the mechanisms of Pd control are still not fully understood.

The Expression of Matryoshka Gene Encoding a Homologue of Kunitz Peptidase Inhibitor Is Regulated Both at the Level of Transcription and Translation.

The gene for Kunitz peptidase inhibitor-like protein (KPILP) contains nested alternative open reading frame (aORF) that controls expression of the maternal mRNA. The content of NbKPILP mRNA in intact leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana plant is low but increases significantly upon extended dark exposure or when foreign nucleic acid is overexpressed in the cells. The NbKPILP gene promoter along with the expressed nested aORF are likely to play an important role in maintaining the levels of NbKPILP mRNA.

Digest: Ecological crossover effects on sexual selection.

Environmental conditions during birds' nonbreeding season can affect the manifestation of secondary sexual traits and therefore sexual selection. In pied flycatchers, the size of the wing patch is a secondary sexual trait that signals mate value and is influenced by the previous winter's conditions. Female preference changes accordingly with the conditions of the previous nonbreeding season.

An Alternative Nested Reading Frame May Participate in the Stress-Dependent Expression of a Plant Gene.

Although plants as sessile organisms are affected by a variety of stressors in the field, the stress factors for the above-ground and underground parts of the plant and their gene expression profiles are not the same. Here, we investigated , a gene encoding a new member of the ubiquitous, pathogenesis-related Kunitz peptidase inhibitor (KPI)-like protein family, that we discovered in the genome of and other representatives of the family. The gene encodes a protein that has all the structural elements characteristic of KPI but in contrast to the proven KPI (AtKPI), it does not inhibit serine peptidases.

The Antioxidant Cofactor Alpha-Lipoic Acid May Control Endogenous Formaldehyde Metabolism in Mammals.

The healthy human body contains small amounts of metabolic formaldehyde (FA) that mainly results from methanol oxidation by pectin methylesterase, which is active in a vegetable diet and in the gastrointestinal microbiome. With age, the ability to maintain a low level of FA decreases, which increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. It has been shown that 1,2-dithiolane-3-pentanoic acid or alpha lipoic acid (ALA), a naturally occurring dithiol and antioxidant cofactor of mitochondrial α-ketoacid dehydrogenases, increases glutathione (GSH) content and FA metabolism by mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) thus manifests a therapeutic potential beyond its antioxidant property.

The Intergenic Interplay between and in Abiotic and Biotic Stress Control.

The mechanical damage that often precedes the penetration of a leaf by a pathogen promotes the activation of pectin methylesterase (PME); the activation of PME leads to the emission of methanol, resulting in a "priming" effect on intact leaves, which is accompanied by an increased sensitivity to (TMV) and resistance to bacteria. In this study, we revealed that mRNA levels of the methanol-inducible gene encoding aldose 1-epimerase-like protein (NbAELP) in the leaves of intact plants are very low compared with roots. However, stress and pathogen attack increased the accumulation of the mRNA in the leaves.

Modified Cone Reconstruction of the Tricuspid Valve for Ebstein Anomaly as Performed in Siberia.

The cone reconstruction technique, first described by da Silva and modified by Dearani and by others, has become the repair method of choice in patients with Ebstein anomaly of the tricuspid valve. This report details the outcome of the modified cone reconstruction technique in 6 children who underwent surgical correction of Ebstein anomaly at the Tomsk Institute of Cardiology in Siberia. From 2012 through 2015, 4 boys and 2 girls (age range, 11 mo-12 yr) underwent surgery to correct Ebstein anomaly.

The effects of dietary nickel on the detoxification enzymes, innate immunity and resistance to the fungus Beauveria bassiana in the larvae of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.

In this study, we tested the effects of dietary nickel on the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST), esterases, phenoloxidase, and encapsulation in the haemolymph of larvae of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella. We also explored the effects of dietary nickel on larval resistance to infection by the fungus Beauveria bassiana. Larvae fed a low dose of nickel (10 μg g(-1)) had significantly higher GST, phenoloxidase activity and encapsulation responses than controls fed on a nickel-free diet.

[Estimation of the possibilities of using unified chemotherapy regimens in new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis in old-age children and adolescents].

A hundred and forty children aged 13 to 17 who had new-onset active pulmonary tuberculosis were examined. There was a predominance of infiltrative tuberculosis (63.6%) in the pattern of its clinical forms.

[Tuberculin sensitivity in children and adolescents with tuberculosis].

The specific features of tuberculin sensitivity were studied in 210 children and adolescents aged 4-17 years who had active pulmonary tuberculosis. There were more common significant and hyperergic tuberculin sensitivities, conversion of tubercular tests, and an increase in tuberculin sensitivity. Timely phthisiological examination of patients with these values of tuberculin sensitivity could promote early detection of local forms of tuberculosis in 71.

Catalytic properties of IgMs with amylolytic activity isolated from patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Recently, amylolytic activity was detected in IgMs isolated from the sera of the patients with multiple sclerosis.

Material/methods: All purified samples of IgM were electrophoretically homogenous and did not contain any co-purified a-amylase and a-glucosidase activities, in accordance with a set of criteria developed for abzymes. The amylolytic activity of abzymes was studied in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl a-D-maltooligosaccharides with different degrees of polymerization from 1 to 8 by TLC and reverse-phase HPLC techniques.

[Association between DNA antibodies levels in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis and clinical presentation of the disease].

Multiple sclerosis (MS) as an autoimmune disease is characterized by occurrence of high titres of antibodies (AB) to cell structures and autoantigens. Various AB-mediated effector mechanisms can participate directly in the pathogenesis of demyelinisation damaging myelin, oligodendrocytes and nervous fibres. Antinuclear AB, including anti-DNA AB are an example of activation of humoral immunity in MS.

Amylolytic activity of IgM and IgG antibodies from patients with multiple sclerosis.

IgG and IgM antibodies from the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were found to possess amylolytic activity hydrolyzing alpha-(1-->4)-glucosyl linkages of maltooligosaccharides, glycogen, and several artificial substrates. Individual IgM fractions isolated from 54 analyzed patients with the clinically definite diagnoses of MS had approximately three orders of magnitude higher specific amylolytic activity than that for healthy donors, whereas IgG from only a few patients had high amylolytic activity. Strict criteria were used to prove that the amylolytic activity of IgMs and IgGs is their intrinsic property and is not due to any enzyme contamination.

Direct determination of traces of beryllium with eriochrome cyanine R by diffuse reflection spectroscopy using chromaticity functions.

Chromaton-N-super and Silasorb C18 (SMT C18) were compared as solid supports for the direct determination of the immobilized beryllium complexes with eriochrome cyanine R by diffuse reflection spectroscopy. The advantage of Silasorb C18 was shown. A detection limit of 0.

Catalytic heterogeneity of polyclonal DNA-hydrolyzing antibodies from the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Various catalytic antibodies or abzymes have been detected recently in the sera of patients with several autoimmune pathologies, where their presence is most probably associated with autoimmunization. Recently we have shown that DNase activity is associated with IgGs from the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) but not with those from the sera of normal humans. Here we present evidence showing that MS IgG, its F(ab) fragments, and separated L-chains catalyze DNA hydrolysis.

Improvement of direct determination of trace nickel in environmental samples by diffuse reflection spectroscopy using chromaticity characteristics.

Cellulose and chromaton-N-super as solid supports for direct determination of the immobilized nickel complexes with dimethylglyoxime and benzyldioxime by diffuse reflection spectroscopy were compared. The advantage of chromaton-N-super with use of benzyldioxime is shown. Detection limit is 0.