11 research outputs found

    CRAFTing Delivery of Membrane Proteins into Protocells using Nanodiscs

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    For the successfulgenerativeengineeringof functionalartificialcells,a convenientandcontrollablemeansof deliveringmembraneproteinsinto membranelipidbilayersis necessary.Herewereporta deliverysystemthatachievesthis by employingmembraneprotein-carryingnanodiscsandthecalcium-dependentfusionofphosphatidylserinelipidmembranes.We showthat lipidnanodiscscanfuse a transportedlipidbilayerwith the lipidbilayersof smallunilamellarvesicles(SUVs)or giantunilamellarvesicles(GUVs)whileavoidingrecipientvesiclesaggregation.Thisis triggeredby a simple,transientincreasein calciumconcentration,whichresultsin efficientand rapidfusionin a one-potreaction.Furthermore,nanodiscscan be loadedwithmembraneproteinsthatcan be deliveredintotargetSUVor GUVmembranesin a detergent-independentfashionwhileretainingtheirfunctionality.Nanodiscshavea provenabilityto carrya widerangeof membraneproteins,controltheiroligomericstate,and arehighlyadaptable.Giventhis, our approachmay be the basisfor the developmentof usefultoolsthat will allowbespokedeliveryofmembraneproteinsto protocells,equippingthemwith the cell-likeabilityto exchangematerialacrossouter/subcellularmembranes

    Efficacy of nonsurgical periodontal treatment on the levels of serum highly sensitive capsule reactive protein, blood cell count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in patients with stage II and stage III forms of moderately progressing periodontitis: An interventional study

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    Background: Relationship between the severity of periodontitis and its treatment outcome on systemic biomarkers like highly sensitive capsule reactive protein (hsCRP), complete blood cell count (CBCC), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was dynamic and inconclusive over their impact on systemic inflammation. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of nonsurgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) in systemically healthy patients having stage II and stage III types of moderately progressive periodontitis (grade B) on the laboratory levels (LL) of serum hsCRP and blood parameter (BP) of CBCC and ESR. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fourteen patients were examined, among them 75 were recruited and divided into three groups, 25 each: Group I (Gr I): Healthy controls, Group II (Gr-II): Stage II and Grade B periodontitis, and Group III (Gr-III): Stage III and grade B periodontitis. Periodontal clinical parameters (PCP) and blood samples were obtained and examined at baseline (BL) and 30 days after NSPT. The collected data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA, t-test, and Pearson correlation. Results: Comparing BL and after 30 days of NSPT in Gr-II and Gr-III, showed significant differences in PCP, LL of hsCRP and BP such as total leukocyte count, neutrophil count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, platelet count, and ESR. When comparing Gr-II and Gr-III, no major differences were found in all PCP and LL of hsCRP and BP obtained 30 days after NSPT. Conclusion: PCP and LL of hsCRP and BP improved in Grade B periodontitis at stage II and stage III after NSPT. Clinical Significance: NSPT is efficiently reducing the levels of hsCRP, CBCC, and ESR after 30 days

    A bacteriophage mimic of the bacterial nucleoid-associated protein Fis

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    We report the identification and characterization of a bacteriophage λ-encoded protein, NinH. Sequence homology suggests similarity between NinH and Fis, a bacterial nucleoid-associated protein involved in numerous DNA topology manipulations, including chromosome condensation, transcriptional regulation and phage site-specific recombination. We find that NinH functions as a homodimer and is able to bind and bend double-stranded DNA in vitro. Furthermore, NinH shows a preference for a 15 bp signature sequence related to the degenerate consensus favored by Fis. Structural studies reinforced the proposed similarity to Fis and supported identification of residues involved in DNA binding which were demonstrated experimentally. Overexpression of NinH proved toxic and this correlated with its capacity to associate with DNA. NinH is the first example of a phage-encoded Fis-like nucleoid-associated protein that likely influences phage excision-integration reactions or bacterial gene expression
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