Publications by authors named "Lucas Bukata"

The disease named COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is currently generating a global pandemic. Vaccine development is no doubt the best long-term immunological approach, but in the current epidemiologic and health emergency there is a need for rapid and effective solutions. Convalescent plasma is the only antibody-based therapy available for COVID-19 patients to date.

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The typical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is an orphan disease caused by Shiga toxin(Stx) producing Escherichia coli strains and characterized by acute kidney damage, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and low platelet count. It is endemic in Argentina, the country with the highest incidence of HUS in the world. Stx is essential for its development and therefore, HUS is considered a toxemic non-bacteremic disorder, which could be treated with antibodies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) connect the nucleus and cytoplasm and have tissue-specific compositions that may specialize their functions.
  • Adding the Nup210 nucleoporin to NPCs during myoblast differentiation creates a transcriptional complex (Mef2C) crucial for the expression of muscle-related genes and microRNAs.
  • The study reveals that this NPC-localized complex is vital for muscle growth, fiber development, and cell survival, suggesting that changes in NPC composition can influence gene regulation and impact muscle health.
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Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a powerful method to determine localization of tissue components by the interaction of target antigens with labeled antibodies. Here we describe an IHC protocol for localizing the myosin heavy chain of zebrafish embryos at 1-2 and 3-5 days post fertilization (dpf).

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Maintaining genome integrity is crucial for successful organismal propagation and for cell and tissue homeostasis. Several processes contribute to safeguarding the genomic information of cells. These include accurate replication of genetic information, detection and repair of DNA damage, efficient segregation of chromosomes, protection of chromosome ends, and proper organization of genome architecture.

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  • Phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis in Brucella abortus, an intracellular pathogen, relies heavily on choline uptake via an unidentified system.
  • Disruption of the choX gene interrupts PC synthesis at low choline levels, indicating that ChoX is a crucial high-affinity transporter for the PC synthase pathway.
  • When exposed to higher choline concentrations, PC synthesis resumes, pointing to an alternative low-affinity choline uptake mechanism, while ChoX activity is essential for the pathogen's intracellular survival and trafficking.
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Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are multicomponent machineries involved in the translocation of effector molecules across the bacterial cell envelope. The virB operon of Brucella abortus codes for a T4SS that is essential for virulence and intracellular multiplication of the bacterium in the host. Previous studies showed that the virB operon of B.

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The Brucella cell envelope contains the zwitterionic phospholipids phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Synthesis of PC occurs exclusively via the PC synthase pathway, implying that the pathogen depends on the choline synthesized by the host cell to form PC. Notably, PC is necessary to sustain a chronic infection process, which suggests that the membrane lipid content is relevant for Brucella virulence.

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