Publications by authors named "N Komarova"

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in babies across the world. Irrespective of progress in the development of RSV vaccines, effective small molecule drugs are still not available on the market. Based on our previous data we designed and synthesized triazole-linked coumarin-monoterpene hybrids and showed that they are indeed effective in inhibiting the RSV replication.

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Biofilms are ubiquitous surface-associated bacterial communities embedded in an extracellular matrix. It is commonly assumed that biofilm cells are glued together by the matrix; however, how the specific biochemistry of matrix components affects the cell-matrix interactions and how these interactions vary during biofilm growth remain unclear. Here, we investigate cell-matrix interactions in Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera.

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Article Synopsis
  • Biofilms are communities of bacteria that attach to surfaces and are held together by a matrix, but how this matrix interacts with the cells is not fully understood.
  • The study focuses on *Vibrio cholerae*, the bacteria responsible for cholera, and reveals that the main matrix component, Vibrio polysaccharide (VPS), does not attract the cells, but a protein called Bap1 helps link the cells together.
  • As biofilms age, changes in VPS levels and a process called surface trimming lead to a shift in cell-matrix interactions from attractive to repulsive, promoting cell dispersal and potentially enriching our understanding of biofilm growth dynamics in other microorganisms.
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A major next step in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) biology is to enhance our quantitative understanding of cellular and evolutionary dynamics involved in undisturbed hematopoiesis. Mathematical models have been and continue to be key in this respect, and are most powerful when parameterized experimentally and containing sufficient biological complexity. In this paper, we use data from label propagation experiments in mice to parameterize a mathematical model of hematopoiesis that includes homeostatic control mechanisms as well as clonal evolution.

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The four-carbon non-proteinogenic amino acid γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulates to high levels in plants in response to various abiotic and biotic stress stimuli, and plays a role in C:N balance, signaling, and as a transport regulator. Expression in Xenopus oocytes and voltage-clamping allowed the characterization of Arabidopsis GAT2 (At5g41800) as a low affinity GABA transporter with a K0.5GABA ~8 mM.

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