A family of unusual proteins is deposited in flat, structural platelets in reflective tissues of the squid Euprymna scolopes. These proteins, which we have named reflectins, are encoded by at least six genes in three subfamilies and have no reported homologs outside of squids. Reflectins possess five repeating domains, which are highly conserved among members of the family. The proteins have a very unusual composition, with four relatively rare residues (tyrosine, methionine, arginine, and tryptophan) comprising approximately 57% of a reflectin, and several common residues (alanine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine) occurring in none of the family members. These protein-based reflectors in squids provide a marked example of nanofabrication in animal systems.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1091288 | DOI Listing |
Ethiop J Health Sci
October 2024
Department of Pathology, Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, with the kidneys being the most frequently affected organ in the genitourinary system. Isolated prostate involvement by tuberculosis is rare and may mimic prostate cancer. This case report aims to highlight the diagnostic challenges and therapeutic responses associated with isolated prostate tuberculosis, particularly in the context of significantly elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in a TB-endemic region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
November 2024
Dermatology, Amiri Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, KWT.
Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by the disruption of the epidermal cell adhesion protein desmoglein 1 (DsG1). PF classically presents with superficial erosions or blisters, but can rarely mimic other dermatological conditions, which makes diagnosis challenging. We report the case of a 57-year-old Sri Lankan man with a one-month history of widespread ichthyosis-like plaques and scales which started on his scalp and progressed in a cranio-caudal fashion and were associated with pruritus and few blisters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova
December 2024
Research Institute for Complex Issues of Cardiovascular Diseases, Kemerovo, Russia.
Objective: To compare biomarkers of neurovascular unit (NVU) - S100β, NSE, BDNF and indicators of the brain electrical activity in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) depending on the use of different versions of multi-tasking cognitive training (CT).
Material And Methods: The study included 89 people, of whom 47 completed the CTI (postural and three cognitive tasks (counting backwards, verbal fluency and the open-ended task «Unusual use of an ordinary object») and 42 patients, who underwent CTII (visuomotor reaction and the same cognitive tasks) in the early postoperative CABG period. The patients of both groups underwent complex testing of psychomotor, executive functions, attention, short-term memory and EEG study in the perioperative period of CABG.
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS) can induce DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), unusually bulky DNA lesions that block replication and transcription and play a role in aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Repair of DPCs depends on the coordinated efforts of proteases and DNA repair enzymes to cleave the protein component of the lesion to smaller DNA-peptide crosslinks which can be processed by tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterases 1 and 2, nucleotide excision and homologous recombination repair pathways. DNA-dependent metalloprotease SPRTN plays a role in DPC repair, and SPRTN-deficient mice exhibit an accelerated aging phenotype and develop liver cancer early in life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc
December 2024
Institute for Theoretical and Applied Electromagnetics RAS, Moscow 125412, Russia; Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region 141700, Russia.
In this study, we have investigated the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of myoglobin on silver substrates with different morphology. The aim was to determine the optimal parameters of analyte and substrate preparation for obtaining of high-amplitude SERS spectra of proteins. It is shown that not only the morphology of the silver film, but also the method of analyte molecules deposition on the SERS substrate plays an important role.
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