Most protein domains exist as variants with distinct functions across cells, tissues and diseases.

Protein domains are the active subunits that provide proteins with specific functions through precise three-dimensional structures. Such domains facilitate most protein functions, including molecular interactions and signal transduction. Currently, these protein domains are described and analyzed as invariable molecular building blocks with fixed functions.

Unique mechanistic insights into pathways associated with the synergistic activity of polymyxin B and caspofungin against multidrug-resistant .

is an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen causing nosocomial infections. rapidly acquires antibiotic resistance and is known as a reservoir for resistance genes. Polymyxins remain effective as a last-line therapy against infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) ; however, resistance to polymyxins emerges rapidly with monotherapy.

Evaluation of Tobramycin and Ciprofloxacin as a Synergistic Combination Against Hypermutable Strains via Mechanism-Based Modelling.

Hypermutable strains have a greatly increased mutation rate and are prevalent in chronic respiratory infections. Initially, we systematically evaluated the time-course of total and resistant populations of hypermutable (PAO∆) and non-hypermutable (PAO1) strains in 48-h static concentration time-kill studies with two inocula. Both strains were exposed to clinically relevant concentrations of important antibiotics (aztreonam, ceftazidime, imipenem, meropenem, tobramycin, and ciprofloxacin) in monotherapy.

Design of enzymatic cascade processes for the production of low-priced chemicals.

While the application of enzymes to synthetic and industrial problems continues to grow, the major development today is focused on multi-enzymatic cascades. Such systems are particularly attractive, because many commercially available enzymes operate under relatively similar operating conditions. This opens the possibility of one-pot operation with multiple enzymes in a single reactor.

Development of in situ product removal strategies in biocatalysis applying scaled-down unit operations.

An experimental platform based on scaled-down unit operations combined in a plug-and-play manner enables easy and highly flexible testing of advanced biocatalytic process options such as in situ product removal (ISPR) process strategies. In such a platform, it is possible to compartmentalize different process steps while operating it as a combined system, giving the possibility to test and characterize the performance of novel process concepts and biocatalysts with minimal influence of inhibitory products. Here the capabilities of performing process development by applying scaled-down unit operations are highlighted through a case study investigating the asymmetric synthesis of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine (MPPA) using ω-transaminase, an enzyme in the sub-family of amino transferases (ATAs).

The impact of bioaugmentation on dechlorination kinetics and on microbial dechlorinating communities in subsurface clay till.

A molecular study on how the abundance of the dechlorinating culture KB-1 affects dechlorination rates in clay till is presented. DNA extracts showed changes in abundance of specific dechlorinators as well as their functional genes. Independently of the KB-1 added, the microbial dechlorinator abundance increased to the same level in all treatments.

State of the art and challenges in sequence based T-cell epitope prediction.

Sequence based T-cell epitope predictions have improved immensely in the last decade. From predictions of peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex molecules with moderate accuracy, limited allele coverage, and no good estimates of the other events in the antigen-processing pathway, the field has evolved significantly. Methods have now been developed that produce highly accurate binding predictions for many alleles and integrate both proteasomal cleavage and transport events.

Accurate approximation method for prediction of class I MHC affinities for peptides of length 8, 10 and 11 using prediction tools trained on 9mers.

Unlabelled: Several accurate prediction systems have been developed for prediction of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC):peptide binding. Most of these are trained on binding affinity data of primarily 9mer peptides. Here, we show how prediction methods trained on 9mer data can be used for accurate binding affinity prediction of peptides of length 8, 10 and 11.