Association of and with Periodontitis Disease Severity and Red Complex Bacteria.

Oral biofilms are considered the principal etiological agent in the development of periodontitis. Novel species that may contribute to periodontitis and dysbiosis have been identified recently. The study aims to evaluate the presence of and in healthy and diseased patients and their association with clinical parameters and with red complex bacteria.

Protein-Cadmium Interactions in Crowded Biomolecular Environments Probed by In-cell and Lysate NMR Spectroscopy.

One of the mechanisms by which toxic metal ions interfere with cellular functions is ionic mimicry, where they bind to protein sites in lieu of native metals Ca and Zn . The influence of crowded intracellular environments on these interactions is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate the application of and lysate NMR spectroscopy to obtain atomic-level information on how a potent environmental toxin cadmium interacts with its protein targets.

Mechanisms by which small molecules of diverse chemotypes arrest Sec14 lipid transfer activity.

Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) transfer proteins (PITPs) enhance the activities of PtdIns 4-OH kinases that generate signaling pools of PtdIns-4-phosphate. In that capacity, PITPs serve as key regulators of lipid signaling in eukaryotic cells. Although the PITP phospholipid exchange cycle is the engine that stimulates PtdIns 4-OH kinase activities, the underlying mechanism is not understood.

An Evaluation of the Complement-Regulating Activities of Human Complement Factor H (FH) Variants Associated With Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: Factor H (FH, encoded by CFH) prevents activation of the complement system's alternative pathway (AP) on host tissues. FH impedes C3 convertase (C3bBb) formation, accelerates C3bBb decay, and is a cofactor for factor I (FI)-catalyzed C3b cleavage. Numerous CFH variants are associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but their functional consequences frequently remain undetermined.

Systems genomics in age-related macular degeneration.

Genomic studies in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have identified genetic variants that account for the majority of AMD risk. An important next step is to understand the functional consequences and downstream effects of the identified AMD-associated genetic variants. Instrumental for this next step are 'omics' technologies, which enable high-throughput characterization and quantification of biological molecules, and subsequent integration of genomics with these omics datasets, a field referred to as systems genomics.