20 research outputs found
Signal transduction in cells of the immune system in microgravity
Life on Earth developed in the presence and under the constant influence of gravity. Gravity has been present during the entire evolution, from the first organic molecule to mammals and humans. Modern research revealed clearly that gravity is important, probably indispensable for the function of living systems, from unicellular organisms to men. Thus, gravity research is no more or less a fundamental question about the conditions of life on Earth. Since the first space missions and supported thereafter by a multitude of space and ground-based experiments, it is well known that immune cell function is severely suppressed in microgravity, which renders the cells of the immune system an ideal model organism to investigate the influence of gravity on the cellular and molecular level. Here we review the current knowledge about the question, if and how cellular signal transduction depends on the existence of gravity, with special focus on cells of the immune system. Since immune cell function is fundamental to keep the organism under imnological surveillance during the defence against pathogens, to investigate the effects and possible molecular mechanisms of altered gravity is indispensable for long-term space flights to Earth Moon or Mars. Thus, understanding the impact of gravity on cellular functions on Earth will provide not only important informations about the development of life on Earth, but also for therapeutic and preventive strategies to cope successfully with medical problems during space exploration
Temperature- and pressure-dependent stopped-flow kinetic studies of jack bean urease. Implications for the catalytic mechanism
Importance and Determinants of Induction of Cold-Induced DEAD RNA Helicase in the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis
Thermal Versus High Hydrostatic Pressure Treatments on Calcium-added Soybean Proteins. Protein Solubility, Colloidal Stability and Cold-set Gelation
Effect of drying process assisted by high-pressure impregnation on protein quality and digestibility in red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)
Transcriptomics Reveal Several Gene Expression Patterns in the Piezophile Desulfovibrio hydrothermalis in Response to Hydrostatic Pressure
Functional Sub-states by High-pressure Macromolecular Crystallography.
International audienceAt the molecular level, high-pressure perturbation is of particular interest for biological studies as it allows trapping conformational substates. Moreover, within the context of high-pressure adaptation of deep-sea organisms, it allows to decipher the molecular determinants of piezophily. To provide an accurate description of structural changes produced by pressure in a macromolecular system, developments have been made to adapt macromolecular crystallography to high-pressure studies. The present chapter is an overview of results obtained so far using high-pressure macromolecular techniques, from nucleic acids to virus capsid through monomeric as well as multimeric proteins