Thirteen satellite 2 elements from Ambystoma talpoideum and 16 from Amphiuma tridactylum were cloned, sequenced, and compared with the satellite 2 consensus from Notophthalmus viridescens. These elements have maintained a high degree of similarity during the 65-200 Myr that the salamander families, represented by the three species, have been separated. The DNA sequences of the consensus elements from A. talpoideum and A. tridactylum are 81% similar, and both are approximately 65% similar to the N. viridescens consensus. In addition to its DNA sequence, the functional properties of satellite 2 have also been conserved. By selecting and analyzing clones that closely mimicked the consensus of each species, we were able to demonstrate that satellite 2 from each species was capable of promoting transcription after injection into Xenopus laevis oocytes and that synthetic transcripts of satellite 2 from each species were capable of catalyzing their own site-specific cleavage. These properties may be related to the process of retroposition, which was previously proposed to be responsible for the genomic proliferation of satellite 2. Each of these functional properties also has general biological interest.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040041 | DOI Listing |
Brief Bioinform
November 2024
Biotherapeutics Molecule Discovery, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical Inc., 900 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877, United States.
Antibody generation requires the use of one or more time-consuming methods, namely animal immunization, and in vitro display technologies. However, the recent availability of large amounts of antibody sequence and structural data in the public domain along with the advent of generative deep learning algorithms raises the possibility of computationally generating novel antibody sequences with desirable developability attributes. Here, we describe a deep learning model for computationally generating libraries of highly human antibody variable regions whose intrinsic physicochemical properties resemble those of the variable regions of the marketed antibody-based biotherapeutics (medicine-likeness).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Genom Precis Med
January 2025
Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. (K.H., M.A., L.R., Y.L., A.S., H.H., L.R.B., Z.W.L.).
Background: Protein-truncating mutations in the titin gene are associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation. However, little is known about the underlying pathophysiology.
Methods: We identified a heterozygous titin truncating variant (TTNtv) in a patient with unexplained early onset atrial fibrillation and normal ventricular function.
Front Immunol
January 2025
Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Introduction: The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in influencing host health, through the production of metabolites and other key signalling molecules. While the impact of specific metabolites or taxa on host cells is well-documented, the broader impact of a disrupted microbiota on immune homeostasis is less understood, which is particularly important in the context of the increasing overuse of antibiotics.
Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were gavaged twice daily for four weeks with Vancomycin, Polymyxin B, or PBS (control).
Front Immunol
January 2025
Faculty of Life and Biotechnology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
Background: Dysbiosis of the lung microbiome can contribute to the initiation and progression of lung cancer. Synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (sMPLC) is an increasingly recognized subtype of lung cancer characterized by high morbidity, difficulties in early detection, poor prognosis, and substantial clinical challenges. However, the relationship between sMPLC pathogenesis and changes in the lung microbiome remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
January 2025
Department of Hematology and Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Immune dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of cancer and plays critical roles in immunotherapy resistance, but there is no serum biomarker that can be used to evaluate immune-dysfunction status of cancer patients. Here, we identified subtype-specific human endogenous retrovirus K102 envelope (HERV-K102-Env) with immunosuppressive activity in circulating blood as a novel serum immunosuppressive biomarker of cancer. We first generated monoclonal antibodies against K102-Env with high sensitivity and specificity, and we developed an ELISA assay to detect serum K102-Env.
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