Extended longevity of termite kings and queens is accompanied by extranuclear localization of telomerase in somatic organs and caste-specific expression of its isoforms.

Kings and queens of termites are endowed with an extraordinary longevity coupled with lifelong fecundity. We recently reported that termite kings and queens display a dramatically increased enzymatic activity and abundance of telomerase in their somatic organs when compared to short-lived workers and soldiers. We hypothesized that this telomerase activation may represent a noncanonical pro-longevity function, independent of its canonical role in telomere maintenance.

Modified activities of macrophages' deubiquitinating enzymes after infection.

influences several host molecular/signaling pathways during infection. Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are among the most important regulatory mechanisms and respectively occur through attachment or removal of the ubiquitin molecule. The process is necessary not only to mark molecules for degradation, but also, for example, to the activation of signaling pathways leading to pro-inflammatory host response.

Characterization of insulin crystalline form in isolated β-cell secretory granules.

Insulin is stored inside the pancreatic β-cell insulin secretory granules. studies have led to an assumption that high insulin and Zn concentrations inside the pancreatic β-cell insulin secretory granules should promote insulin crystalline state in the form of Zn-stabilized hexamers. Electron microscopic images of thin sections of the pancreatic β-cells often show a dense, regular pattern core, suggesting the presence of insulin crystals.

Non-thermal plasma causes biofilm release to planktonic form and inhibits production of Las-B elastase, protease and pyocyanin.

The increasing risk of antibiotic failure in the treatment of infections is largely related to the production of a wide range of virulence factors. The use of non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a promising alternative to antimicrobial treatment. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of knowledge about the effects of NTP on the virulence factors production.

Aggregation-aided SERS: Selective detection of arsenic by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy facilitated by colloid cross-linking.

Arsenic of natural or industrial origin often occurs in water and makes it impotable. Due to its high toxicity, very sensitive detection is required. In the present study an ultra-sensitive arsenite (As) sensing is reported, based on aggregation-aided surface-enhanced Raman scattering (AA-SERS) of modified silver colloids.

Correction: Křížová et al. Fullerene Derivatives Prevent Packaging of Viral Genomic RNA into HIV-1 Particles by Binding Nucleocapsid Protein. 2021, , 2451.

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...

Photochemical synthesis of pink silver and its use for monitoring peptide nitration via surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Oxidative stress may cause extended tyrosine posttranslational modifications of peptides and proteins. The 3-nitro-L-tyrosine (Nit), which is typically formed, affects protein behavior during neurodegenerative processes, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Such metabolic products may be conveniently detected at very low concentrations by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Cobalt Bis-Dicarbollide Enhances Antibiotics Action towards Planktonic Growth Due to Cell Envelopes Disruption.

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in opportunistic pathogens represents a huge problem, the solution for which may be a treatment with a combination of multiple antimicrobial agents. Sodium salt of cobalt bis-dicarbollide (COSAN.Na) is one of the very stable, low-toxic, amphiphilic boron-rich sandwich complex heteroboranes.

Fullerene Derivatives Prevent Packaging of Viral Genomic RNA into HIV-1 Particles by Binding Nucleocapsid Protein.

Fullerene derivatives with hydrophilic substituents have been shown to exhibit a range of biological activities, including antiviral ones. For a long time, the anti-HIV activity of fullerene derivatives was believed to be due to their binding into the hydrophobic pocket of HIV-1 protease, thereby blocking its activity. Recent work, however, brought new evidence of a novel, protease-independent mechanism of fullerene derivatives' action.

The efficiency of insulin production and its content in insulin-expressing model β-cells correlate with their Zn levels.

Insulin is produced and stored inside the pancreatic β-cell secretory granules, where it is assumed to form Zn-stabilized oligomers. However, the actual storage forms of this hormone and the impact of zinc ions on insulin production are not known. Our initial X-ray fluorescence experiment on granules from native Langerhans islets and insulinoma-derived INS-1E cells revealed a considerable difference in the zinc content.

Characterization and in vitro assembly of tick-borne encephalitis virus C protein.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of flaviviruses, represents a serious health threat by causing human encephalitis mainly in central and eastern Europe, Russia, and northeastern Asia. As no specific therapy is available, there is an urgent need to understand all steps of the TBEV replication cycle at the molecular level. One of the critical events is the packaging of flaviviral genomic RNA by TBEV C protein to form a nucleocapsid.

PF74 and Its Novel Derivatives Stabilize Hexameric Lattice of HIV-1 Mature-Like Particles.

A major structural retroviral protein, capsid protein (CA), is able to oligomerize into two different hexameric lattices, which makes this protein a key component for both the early and late stages of HIV-1 replication. During the late stage, the CA protein, as part of the Gag polyprotein precursor, facilitates protein-protein interactions that lead to the assembly of immature particles. Following protease activation and Gag polyprotein processing, CA also drives the assembly of the mature viral core.

Cellular Localization of Carbonic Anhydrase Nce103p in and .

Pathogenic yeasts and possess a ß-type carbonic anhydrase Nce103p, which is involved in CO hydration and signaling. lacking Nce103p cannot survive in low CO concentrations, e.g.

A simple, high-throughput stabilization assay to test HIV-1 uncoating inhibitors.

Shortly after entering the cell, HIV-1 copies its genomic RNA into double-stranded DNA in a process known as reverse transcription. This process starts inside a core consisting of an enclosed lattice of capsid proteins that protect the viral RNA from cytosolic sensors and degradation pathways. To accomplish reverse transcription and integrate cDNA into the host cell genome, the capsid shell needs to be disassembled, or uncoated.

Various AKIP1 expression levels affect its subcellular localization but have no effect on NF-kappaB activation.

A-kinase interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) has been shown to interact with a broad range of proteins involved in various cellular processes, including apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and oxidative stress suggesting it might have multiple cellular functions. In this study, we used an epitope-tagged AKIP1 and by combination of immunochemical approaches, microscopic methods and reporter assays we studied its properties. Here, we show that various levels of AKIP1 overexpression in HEK-293 cells affected not only its subcellular localization but also resulted in aggregation.

Antifungal activity of analogues of antimicrobial peptides isolated from bee venoms against vulvovaginal Candida spp.

Candida albicans is the main causative agent of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), a common mycosis in women, relapses of which are difficult to manage due to biofilm formation. This study aimed at developing novel non-toxic compounds active against Candida spp. biofilms.

Sex-Pairing Pheromones in Three Sympatric Neotropical Termite Species (Termitidae: Syntermitinae).

Termite colonies are almost always founded by a pair of winged dispersers, in spite of the high costs and low success rates inherent in independent colony foundation. The dispersal flights of imagoes from natal colonies are followed by mate search, mediated by sex-pairing pheromones. Here, we studied the chemistry of sex-pairing pheromones and the related aspects of mate search in winged imagoes of two facultatively parthenogenetic species, Embiratermes neotenicus and Silvestritermes minutus, and an additional species from the same subfamily, Silvestritermes heyeri.

Mutations in the Basic Region of the Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus Nucleocapsid Protein Affect Reverse Transcription, Genomic RNA Packaging, and the Virus Assembly Site.

In addition to specific RNA-binding zinc finger domains, the retroviral Gag polyprotein contains clusters of basic amino acid residues that are thought to support Gag-viral genomic RNA (gRNA) interactions. One of these clusters is the basic KNKEK region, located upstream of the first zinc finger of the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) nucleocapsid (NC) protein. To investigate the role of this basic region in the M-PMV life cycle, we used a combination of and methods to study a series of mutants in which the overall charge of this region was more positive (RNRER), more negative (AEAEA), or neutral (AAAAA).

How proteases from Enterococcus faecalis contribute to its resistance to short α-helical antimicrobial peptides.

HYL-20 (GILSSLWKKLKKIIAK-NH2) is an analogue of a natural antimicrobial peptide (AMP) previously isolated from the venom of wild bee. We examined its antimicrobial activity against three strains of Enterococcus faecalis while focusing on its susceptibility to proteolytic degradation by two known proteases-gelatinase (GelE) and serine protease (SprE)-which are secreted by these bacterial strains. We found that HYL-20 was primarily deamidated at its C-terminal which made the peptide susceptible to consecutive intramolecular cleavage by GelE.

Sensitive Versatile Fluorogenic Transmembrane Peptide Substrates for Rhomboid Intramembrane Proteases.

Rhomboid proteases are increasingly being explored as potential drug targets, but their potent and specific inhibitors are not available, and strategies for inhibitor development are hampered by the lack of widely usable and easily modifiable activity assays. Here we address this bottleneck and report on the development of new fluorogenic transmembrane peptide substrates, which are cleaved by several unrelated rhomboid proteases, can be used both in detergent micelles and in liposomes, and contain red-shifted fluorophores that are suitable for high-throughput screening of compound libraries. We show that nearly the entire transmembrane domain of the substrate is important for efficient cleavage, implying that it extensively interacts with the enzyme.

Functional and Structural Characterization of Novel Type of Linker Connecting Capsid and Nucleocapsid Protein Domains in Murine Leukemia Virus.

The assembly of immature retroviral particles is initiated in the cytoplasm by the binding of the structural polyprotein precursor Gag with viral genomic RNA. The protein interactions necessary for assembly are mediated predominantly by the capsid (CA) and nucleocapsid (NC) domains, which have conserved structures. In contrast, the structural arrangement of the CA-NC connecting region differs between retroviral species.

Antimicrobial Peptide from the Wild Bee Hylaeus signatus Venom and Its Analogues: Structure-Activity Study and Synergistic Effect with Antibiotics.

Venoms of hymenopteran insects have attracted considerable interest as a source of cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). In the venom of the solitary bee Hylaeus signatus (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), we identified a new hexadecapeptide of sequence Gly-Ile-Met-Ser-Ser-Leu-Met-Lys-Lys-Leu-Ala-Ala-His-Ile-Ala-Lys-NH2. Named HYL, it belongs to the category of α-helical amphipathic AMPs.

Nucleic Acid Binding by Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus CA Promotes Virus Assembly and Genome Packaging.

Unlabelled: The Gag polyprotein of retroviruses drives immature virus assembly by forming hexameric protein lattices. The assembly is primarily mediated by protein-protein interactions between capsid (CA) domains and by interactions between nucleocapsid (NC) domains and RNA. Specific interactions between NC and the viral RNA are required for genome packaging.

Myristoylation drives dimerization of matrix protein from mouse mammary tumor virus.

Background: Myristoylation of the matrix (MA) domain mediates the transport and binding of Gag polyproteins to the plasma membrane (PM) and is required for the assembly of most retroviruses. In betaretroviruses, which assemble immature particles in the cytoplasm, myristoylation is dispensable for assembly but is crucial for particle transport to the PM. Oligomerization of HIV-1 MA stimulates the transition of the myristoyl group from a sequestered to an exposed conformation, which is more accessible for membrane binding.

Insights into the Mechanism of Action of Bactericidal Lipophosphonoxins.

The advantages offered by established antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases are endangered due to the increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. This leads to a need for new antibacterial compounds. Recently, we discovered a series of compounds termed lipophosphonoxins (LPPOs) that exhibit selective cytotoxicity towards Gram-positive bacteria that include pathogens and resistant strains.