Inhibition of HMGA2 binding to AT-rich DNA by its negatively charged C-terminus.

The mammalian high mobility group protein AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) is a small DNA-binding protein that specifically targets AT-rich DNA sequences. Structurally, HMGA2 is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), comprising three positively charged 'AT-hooks' and a negatively charged C-terminus. HMGA2 can form homodimers through electrostatic interactions between its 'AT-hooks' and C-terminus.

Ring A Cleaving Beta-Diketone Hydrolase Is a Key Enzyme of Steroid Degradation in Anaerobic Bacteria.

Bacterial degradation of ubiquitous and persistent steroids such as steroid hormones is important for their removal from the environment. Initial studies of steroid degradation in anaerobic bacteria suggested that ring-cleaving hydrolases are involved in oxygen-independent sterane skeleton degradation. However, the enzymes involved in ring A cleavage of the common intermediate androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione have remained unknown.

Quinoline: A Novel Solution for Next-Generation Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fertilizers.

Quinoline is a nitrogen-containing heterocycle compound widely used in the medical industry for its pharmacological properties, such as its antimalarial, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Beyond its medical significance, quinoline shows promising applications in agriculture as a safe and effective pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer. This review explores the evolution of quinoline research, beginning with its history and synthesis and transitioning to its biological activities and their relevance in agriculture.

Linking the transcriptome to physiology: response of the proteome of Cupriavidus metallidurans to changing metal availability.

Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 is a metal-resistant bacterium. Its metal homeostasis is based on a flow equilibrium of metal ion uptake and efflux reactions, which adapts to changing metal concentrations within an hour. At high metal concentrations, upregulation of the genes for metal efflux systems occurs within minutes.

EasyFlow: An open-source, user-friendly cytometry analyzer with graphic user interface (GUI).

Flow cytometry enables quantitative measurements of fluorescence in single cells. The technique was widely used for immunology to identify populations with different surface protein markers. More recently, the usage of flow cytometry has been extended to additional readouts, including intracellular proteins and fluorescent protein transgenes, and is widely utilized to study developmental biology, systems biology, microbiology, and many other fields.

The efflux system CdfX exports zinc that cannot be transported by ZntA in .

is able to survive exposure to high concentrations of transition metals, but is also able to grow under metal starvation conditions. A prerequisite of cellular zinc homeostasis is a flow equilibrium combining zinc uptake and efflux processes. The mutant strain ∆e4 of the parental plasmid-free strain AE104 with a deletion of all four chromosomally encoded genes of previously known efflux systems ZntA, CadA, DmeF, and FieF was still able to efflux zinc in a pulse-chase experiment, indicating the existence of a fifth efflux system.

Simultaneous Imaging of Temperature and Oxygen by Utilizing Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence and Phosphorescence of a Single Indicator.

Chemical gradients are essential in biological systems, affecting processes like microbial activity in soils and nutrient cycling. Traditional tools, such as microsensors, offer high-resolution data but are limited to one-dimensional measurements. Planar optodes allow for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) chemical imaging but are often sensitive to temperature changes.

Unpacking and Utilizing Neuroscience Core Concepts.

Core concepts, or overarching principles that identify patterns in processes and phenomena, provide a framework for organizing facts and understanding. Core concepts have existed for many years in some life science disciplines, including biology, microbiology, and physiology, yet have only recently been published for neuroscience through a multi-year community-derived project which identified the following neuroscience core concepts: Communication Modalities, Emergence, Evolution, Gene-Environment Interactions, Information Processing, Nervous System Functions, Plasticity, and Structure-Function Relationship. The current phase of the core concepts work involves two arms: utilizing and "unpacking.

The Archetypal Gamma-Core Motif of Antimicrobial Cys-Rich Peptides Inhibits H-ATPases in Target Pathogens.

Human lactoferrin (hLf) is an innate host defense protein that inhibits microbial H-ATPases. This protein includes an ancestral structural motif (i.e.

Cell shape and division septa positioning in filamentous require a functional cell wall glycopolymer ligase CglA.

The cell wall of monoderm bacteria consists of peptidoglycan and glycopolymers in roughly equal proportions and is crucial for cellular integrity, cell shape, and bacterial vitality. Despite the immense value of in biotechnology and medicine as antibiotic producers, we know very little about their cell wall biogenesis, composition, and functions. Here, we have identified the LCP-LytR_C domain protein CglA (Vnz_13690) as a key glycopolymer ligase which specifically localizes in zones of cell wall biosynthesis in .

Determining expression changes of ANO7 and SLC38A4 membrane transporters in colorectal cancer.

Membrane transporters are proteins responsible for facilitating the movement of molecules within biological membranes. They play a vital role in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating the transport of nutrients, ions, and other molecules into and out of cells. Our aim is to identify biomarkers in colorectal cancer using membrane transporter proteins.

An in silico investigation on the binding site preference of PD-1 and PD-L1 for designing antibodies for targeted cancer therapy.

Cancer control and treatment remain a significant challenge in cancer therapy and recently immune checkpoints has considered as a novel treatment strategy to develop anti-cancer drugs. Many cancer types use the immune checkpoints and its ligand, PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, to evade detection and destruction by the immune system, which is associated with altered effector function of PD-1 and PD-L1 overexpression on cancer cells to deactivate T cells. In recent years, mAbs have been employed to block immune checkpoints, therefore normalization of the anti-tumor response has enabled the scientists to develop novel biopharmaceuticals.

The metal-binding GTPases CobW2 and CobW3 are at the crossroads of zinc and cobalt homeostasis in .

The metal-resistant beta-proteobacterium is also able to survive conditions of metal starvation. We show that zinc-starved cells can substitute some of the required zinc with cobalt but not with nickel ions. The zinc importer ZupT was necessary for this process but was not essential for either zinc or cobalt import.

A Sb(III)-specific efflux transporter from Ensifer adhaerens E-60.

Antimony is pervasive environmental toxic substance, and numerous genes encoding mechanisms to resist, transform and extrude the toxic metalloid antimony have been discovered in various microorganisms. Here we identified a major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporter, AntB, on the chromosome of the arsenite-oxidizing bacterium Ensifer adhaerens E-60 that confers resistance to Sb(III) and Sb(V). The antB gene is adjacent to gene encoding a LysR family transcriptional regulator termed LysR, which is an As(III)/Sb(III)-responsive transcriptional repressor that is predicted to control expression of antB.

The Antimicrobial Activity of Human Defensins at Physiological Non-Permeabilizing Concentrations Is Caused by the Inhibition of the Plasma Membrane H-ATPases.

Human defensins are cysteine-rich peptides (Cys-rich peptides) of the innate immune system. Defensins contain an ancestral structural motif (i.e.

Colorectal cancer microbiome programs DNA methylation of host cells by affecting methyl donor metabolism.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) arises from complex interactions between host and environment, which include the gut and tissue microbiome. It is hypothesized that epigenetic regulation by gut microbiota is a fundamental interface by which commensal microbes dynamically influence intestinal biology. The aim of this study is to explore the interplay between gut and tissue microbiota and host DNA methylation in CRC.

Overcoming retinoic acid resistance in HER2-enriched breast cancers: role of MYC.

HER2-enriched (HER2) breast cancers express high levels of the growth-promoting HER2 protein. Although these cancers are treated with the HER2-targeted drug, trastuzumab, resistance to treatment is common. Retinoic acid (RA) is an anti-cancer agent that has been successfully used for the treatment of leukemia and holds promise for the treatment of solid cancers, including breast cancer.

Rapid analysis and classification of blue ballpoint pen inks using high-performance thin-layer chromatography and digital color analysis.

Despite the rise of digitalization, the scrutiny of paper documents with stamps and signatures remains crucial, constituting 55-60 % of document examination court cases. Developing accessible and robust ink analysis techniques is an ongoing challenge for forensic scientists. To tackle issues related to the identification and classification of dye components in blue ballpoint pens, we have proposed an advanced approach that integrates high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), digital color analysis (DCA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) for a simplified yet effective procedure.

A flow equilibrium of zinc in cells of .

Unlabelled: The hypothesis was tested that a kinetical flow equilibrium of uptake and efflux reactions is responsible for balancing the cellular zinc content. The experiments were done with the metal-resistant bacterium . In pulse-chase experiments, the cells were loaded with radioactive Zn and chased with the 100-fold concentration of non-radioactive zinc chloride.

A gold speciation that adds a second layer to synergistic gold-copper toxicity in .

The metal-resistant bacterium occurs in metal-rich environments. In auriferous soils, the bacterium is challenged by a mixture of copper ions and gold complexes, which exert synergistic toxicity. The previously used, self-made Au(III) solution caused a synergistic toxicity of copper and gold that was based on the inhibition of the CupA-mediated efflux of cytoplasmic Cu(I) by Au(I) in this cellular compartment.

Hijacking and rewiring of host CircRNA/miRNA/mRNA competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory networks by oncoviruses during development of viral cancers.

A significant portion of human cancers are caused by oncoviruses (12%-25%). Oncoviruses employ various strategies to promote their replication and induce tumourigenesis in host cells, one of which involves modifying the gene expression patterns of the host cells, leading to the rewiring of genes and resulting in significant changes in cellular processes and signalling pathways. In recent studies, a specific mode of gene regulation known as circular RNA (circRNA)-mediated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks has emerged as a key player in this context.

Nonpathogenic leaf-colonizing bacteria elicit pathogen-like responses in a colonization density-dependent manner.

Leaves are colonized by a complex mix of microbes, termed the leaf microbiota. Even though the leaf microbiota is increasingly recognized as an integral part of plant life and health, our understanding of its interactions with the plant host is still limited. Here, mature, axenically grown plants were spray inoculated with six diverse leaf-colonizing bacteria.