Viral genomic features predict reservoir hosts.

Orthopoxviruses (OPVs), including the causative agents of smallpox and mpox have led to devastating outbreaks in human populations worldwide. However, the discontinuation of smallpox vaccination, which also provides cross-protection against related OPVs, has diminished global immunity to OPVs more broadly. We apply machine learning models incorporating both host ecological and viral genomic features to predict likely reservoirs of OPVs.

A Follow-Up Study of Cognitive Development in Low Risk Preterm Children.

The results of a longitudinal study on the cognitive development of one group of full-term and three groups of low risk preterm children with different gestational ages (GA) are presented. The 181 participants were divided into four GA groups of similar size. The aims were: 1) To check if there are differences in cognitive development (measured through the Batelle scale) among the GA groups.

Annexins A2 and A6 interact with the extreme N terminus of tau and thereby contribute to tau's axonal localization.

During neuronal development, the microtubule-associated protein tau becomes enriched in the axon, where it remains concentrated in the healthy brain. In tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease, tau redistributes from the axon to the somatodendritic compartment. However, the cellular mechanism that regulates tau's localization remains unclear.

Novel domain architectures and functional determinants in atypical annexins revealed by phylogenomic analysis.

The fundamental cellular role and molecular interactions of annexins in vesicle trafficking and membrane remodeling remain to be further clarified in order to better understand and exploit their contributions to health and disease. We focused on distinctive features of atypical annexins from all domains of life using phylogenomic, molecular systematic and experimental approaches, to extend the current paradigm and better account for annexin diversity of structure, function and mechanistic role in membrane homeostasis. The analysis of gene duplications, organization of domain architectures and profile hidden Markov models of subfamily orthologs defined conserved structural features relevant to molecular interactions and functional divergence of seven family clades ANXA-G.

An evolutionary roadmap to the microtubule-associated protein MAP Tau.

Background: The microtubule associated protein Tau (MAPT) promotes assembly and interaction of microtubules with the cytoskeleton, impinging on axonal transport and synaptic plasticity. Its neuronal expression and intrinsic disorder implicate it in some 30 tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. These pathophysiological studies have yet to be complemented by computational analyses of its molecular evolution and structural models of all its functional domains to explain the molecular basis for its conservation profile, its site-specific interactions and the propensity to conformational disorder and aggregate formation.

Host-feeding sources and habitats jointly affect wing developmental stability depending on sex in the major Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans.

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), a slight and random departure from bilateral symmetry that is normally distributed around a 0 mean, has been widely used to infer developmental instability. We investigated whether habitats (ecotopes) and host-feeding sources influenced wing FA of the hematophagous bug Triatoma infestans. Because bug populations occupying distinct habitats differed substantially and consistently in various aspects such as feeding rates, engorgement status and the proportion of gravid females, we predicted that bugs from more open peridomestic habitats (i.

Breakthroughs spotlighting roles for extracellular nucleotides and apyrases in stress responses and growth and development.

Animal and plant cells release nucleotides into their extracellular matrix when touched, wounded, and when their plasma membranes are stretched during delivery of secretory vesicles and growth. These released nucleotides then function as signaling agents that induce rapid increases in the concentration of cytosolic calcium, nitric oxide and superoxide. These, in turn, are transduced into downstream physiological changes.

Evolutionary adaptation of plant annexins has diversified their molecular structures, interactions and functional roles.

Annexins are an homologous, structurally related superfamily of proteins known to associate with membrane lipid and cytoskeletal components. Their involvement in membrane organization, vesicle trafficking and signaling is fundamental to cellular processes such as growth, differentiation, secretion and repair. Annexins exist in some prokaryotes and all eukaryotic phyla within which plant annexins represent a monophyletic clade of homologs descended from green algae.

Phosphorylation of CRN2 by CK2 regulates F-actin and Arp2/3 interaction and inhibits cell migration.

CRN2 (synonyms: coronin 1C, coronin 3) functions in the re-organization of the actin network and is implicated in cellular processes like protrusion formation, secretion, migration and invasion. We demonstrate that CRN2 is a binding partner and substrate of protein kinase CK2, which phosphorylates CRN2 at S463 in its C-terminal coiled coil domain. Phosphomimetic S463D CRN2 loses the wild-type CRN2 ability to inhibit actin polymerization, to bundle F-actin, and to bind to the Arp2/3 complex.

Strumpellin is a novel valosin-containing protein binding partner linking hereditary spastic paraplegia to protein aggregation diseases.

Mutations of the human valosin-containing protein gene cause autosomal-dominant inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of bone and frontotemporal dementia. We identified strumpellin as a novel valosin-containing protein binding partner. Strumpellin mutations have been shown to cause hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Structural and functional diversity of novel coronin 1C (CRN2) isoforms in muscle.

Coronin 1C (synonyms: coronin-3, CRN2), a WD40 repeat-containing protein involved in cellular actin dynamics, is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues. Here, we report on the identification and functional characterization of two novel coronin 1C isoforms, referred to as CRN2i2 and CRN2i3, which also associate with F-actin. Analyses of the coronin 1C gene disclosed a single promoter containing binding sites for myogenic regulatory factors and an alternative first exon 1b present in intron 1, which give rise to the novel isoforms.

[Larrad biliopancreatic diversion. Description of an rat experimental model].

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE.: To validate the experimental model of Larrad-biliopancreatic diversion (LBPD) and to analyze weight gain and mortality in rats fed with non- supplemented diets.

Material And Method: Control (6) and experimental (10) male Wistar rats were used.

[Annexin A2 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: Over-expression of annexin A2 (ANXA2) has been reported in various cancers. However, no data are available on the expression of this protein in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). The objective of this preliminary study is to investigate the expression of ANXA2 in these carcinomas.

Deciphering function and mechanism of calcium-binding proteins from their evolutionary imprints.

Calcium-binding proteins regulate ion metabolism and vital signalling pathways in all living organisms. Our aim is to rationalize the molecular basis of their function by studying their evolution using computational biology techniques. Phylogenetic analysis is of primary importance for classifying cognate orthologs; profile hidden Markov models (HMM) of individual subfamilies discern functionally relevant sites by conservation probability analysis; and 3-dimensional structures display the integral protein in context.

Structure-function relationship in annexin A13, the founder member of the vertebrate family of annexins.

Annexin A13 is considered the original progenitor of the 11 other members of vertebrate annexins, a superfamily of calcium/phospholipid-binding proteins. It is highly tissue-specific, being expressed only in intestinal and kidney epithelial cells. Alternative splicing generates two isoforms, both of which bind to rafts.

Expression of annexin A1 in normal and chronically inflamed nasal mucosa.

Objective: To examine the expression pattern of annexin A1 in normal and chronically inflamed nasal mucosa to investigate its possible role in nasal inflammation.

Design: Immunohistochemical analysis.

Subjects: Samples of middle turbinates from 5 healthy subjects and 5 patients with perennial rhinitis, and samples of nasal polyps from 7 patients.

Structural and functional characterization of recombinant mouse annexin A11: influence of calcium binding.

Annexin A11 is one of the 12 vertebrate subfamilies in the annexin superfamily of calcium/phospholipid-binding proteins, distinguishable by long, non-homologous N-termini rich in proline, glycine and tyrosine residues. As there is negligible structural information concerning this annexin subfamily apart from primary sequence data, we have cloned, expressed and purified recombinant mouse annexin A11 to investigate its structural and functional properties. CD spectroscopy reveals two main secondary-structure contributions, alpha-helix and random coil (approx.

Comparative genetics and evolution of annexin A13 as the founder gene of vertebrate annexins.

Annexin A13 (ANXA13) is believed to be the original founder gene of the 12-member vertebrate annexin A family, and it has acquired an intestine-specific expression associated with a highly differentiated intracellular transport function. Molecular characterization of this subfamily in a range of vertebrate species was undertaken to assess coding region conservation, gene organization, chromosomal linkage, and phylogenetic relationships relevant to its progenitor role in the structure-function evolution of the annexin gene superfamily. Protein diagnostic features peculiar to this subfamily include an alternate isoform containing a KGD motif, an elevated basic amino acid content with polyhistidine expansion in the 5'-translated region, and the conservation of 15% core tetrad residues specific to annexin A13 members.