Palmitoylation as a Regulator of MAGUK Proteins Postsynaptic Localization

Synaptic plasticity is the ability of the brain to make changes and the changes occur at synapses. To achieve the complicated functions, a good number of proteins are present at synapse and are called synaptic proteins. To stabilize these proteins at synapses, proteins are modified through posttranslational modifications (PTMs). The most studied PTMs include phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, glycosylation, palmitoylation, etc. Palmitoylation is a type of lipid modification and has received more attention recently for its contribution to protein trafficking, localization, and interaction in various synaptic plasticity. The membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) family includes PSD-95, PSD-93 (also known as chapsyn-110), SAP102, and SAP97. They are present in the synapses and regulate the localization of synaptic proteins. Palmitoylation of PSD-95 has been demonstrated to involve in postsynaptic localization of PSD-95. SAP97 and PSD-93 contain palmitoylation sites that are very similar to PSD-95. However, the palmitoylation of SAP102 has not been fully studied. The proteomic analyses suggest the potential presence of palmitoylation of SAP102. In this study, we used human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK 293) to express SAP102. SAP102 palmitoylation was assayed using acyl-biotinyl exchange (ABE) method. The basal palmitoylation level of SAP102 and how the palmitoylation regulates SAP102 intracellular trafficking will provide a deeper understanding of SAP102 protein structure and how the protein plays a role at synpases

Analysis of mortality during the winter seasons in Mexico from 2000 to 2012

To analyze mortality from all causes in Mexico during the winter months. Methods: Data was extracted and tabulated on monthly all-cause mortality in the general population from 2000 to 2012 from the INEGI database. Coeficients of seasonal variation in mortality were calculated. Results: In Mexico there was an increase of 14 % in mortality in the general population during winter. The more susceptible age groups were older people and children, with increases of 18% and 13% respectively. The months with low levels of mortality were April, October and September for children, adolescents and older people respectively. Conclusions: Important increases in winter mortality occur in Mexico

Anti-cancer effect of Cissus quadrangularis on human glioblastoma cells

Objectives Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a common and fatal brain tumour in the central nervous system with a poor survival rate and a median survival time of 15 months only. The standard treatment is aggressive surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, effective drugs available in chemotherapy are limited. This study was designed to evaluate, for the first time, the potential therapeutic effect of Cissus quadrangularis (CQ) in human glioblastoma cells and to investigate its possible mechanisms of action. Methods In this study, we examined the anticancer activity of CQ in human glioblastoma U87 MG cells by cell viability assay, cell migration assay, immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. Results Our results demonstrated that CQ treatment induced U87 cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and cell death. The cytotoxicity of CQ mediates ER stress, autophagy and mitochondrial apoptosis by suppressing pro-survival signalling pathways (extracellular signal-regulated kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathways). Conclusions The findings of this study imply that CQ is a promising anti-cancer candidate for the treatment of GBM. Highlights The anticancer effect of Cissus quadrangularis (CQ) was studied in human glioblastoma U87 MG cells. It was demonstrated that CQ treatment induced cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and cell death in U87 MG cells. CQ may become a potential chemotherapy component for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme

Source analysis of polyspike and wave complexes in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

AbstractWe applied dipole modeling and brain distributed source analysis to find current sources comprising spikes and slow waves of polyspike and wave complexes (PSWC) in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). The dipoles were localized in frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. The frontal dipoles were clustered in the frontal medial gyrus and fronto-orbital region. A midsagittal frontal current source was observed using brain distributed source analysis in all patients. When the slow wave was analyzed, multiple sources in different cortical regions were detected using dipole modeling and brain distributed analysis. These results show pre-frontal medial current sources corresponding to spikes and many diffuse sources in cortical regions corresponding to wave components of PSWC in patients with JME

Globalization: economic development and competitiveness

From a theoretical point of view, competitiveness is raised more in terms of increase and mechanisms for obtaining it are not specified, as well as, it is continuously limited to productivity, foreign investment, training, among others. Moreover, in the last 20 years in Tamaulipas, a system of successful municipalities such as those of the border strip, the capital of the state and the southern metropolitan area has been consolidated. The relationship between the agglomeration and the NGE is good for productivity, that is, economic activity works better in this way, than when they are scattered and fragmented. Mexico’s manufacturing sector generates about 20% of GDP. Mexico as one of the countries with major investment and especially more by the United States thanks to NAFTA, that is not enough to grow and develop as there are bureaucratic problems, crime, corruption control and level of education

LOS ECOSISTEMAS FORESTALES EN EL PARQUE NACIONAL LAGUNAS DE ZEMPOALA. EVOLUCIÓN ESPACIO-TEMPORAL

RESUMEN El presente estudio tiene como objetivo realizar un análisis espacio-temporal de los cambios en los ecosistemas forestales del Área Natural Protegida (ANP) Parque Nacional Lagunas de Zempola durante los años 2010-2019, mediante la aplicación de herramientas de percepción remota en sistemas de información geográfica y clasificación de imágenes de satélite. En el parque existe un incremento en la degradación de los ecosistemas forestales derivado de la tala ilegal, que se traduce en problemáticas ambientales como alteraciones en la captura de carbono, afectando directamente la calidad de vida de las personas al reducir proporcionalmente la generación de oxígeno. Los resultados obtenidos consisten en la representación cartográfica de ambos años y la estimación de superficies de los diferentes ecosistemas; se identificó que los ecosistemas con mayor impacto son el bosque de oyamel y bosque de pino. Existe una transición marcada, ya que la pérdida de los ecosistemas forestales se derivada de la apertura de nuevas áreas agrícolas, que a su vez se desarrollan a partir de zonas deforestadas, principalmente en las zonas norte y este del área de estudio donde se presentan las menores pendientes y cuenta con mejores vías de acceso

MTT Vs WST-1, efficiency, cost, time, and waste generation: evaluating the silver nanoparticles cytotoxicity.

Los ensayos de MTT y WST-1 para determinar la viabilidad celular se utilizan con frecuencia, sin considerar una opción diferente; sin embargo, ambos métodos requieren procedimientos y materiales específicos que no son comunes entre ellos y por lo tanto implican una base teórica diferente, los cuales son aspectos importantes a señalar cuando es necesario elegir un ensayo de manera consciente

Predicting the Stability of Homologous Gene Duplications in a Plant RNA Virus

One of the striking features of many eukaryotes is the apparent amount of redundancy in coding and non-coding elements of their genomes. Despite the possible evolutionary advantages, there are fewer examples of redundant sequences in viral genomes, particularly those with RNA genomes. The factors constraining the maintenance of redundant sequences in present-day RNA virus genomes are not well known. Here, we use Tobacco etch virus, a plant RNA virus, to investigate the stability of genetically redundant sequences by generating viruses with potentially beneficial gene duplications. Subsequently, we tested the viability of these viruses and performed experimental evolution. We found that all gene duplication events resulted in a loss of viability or in a significant reduction in viralfitness. Moreover,uponanalyzing thegenomesof theevolved viruses,wealways observedthedeletionof the duplicated gene copy andmaintenance of the ancestral copy. Interestingly, there were clear differences in the deletion dynamics of the duplicated gene associated with the passage duration and the size and position of the duplicated copy. Based on the experimental data,wedeveloped a mathematical model to characterize the stability of genetically redundant sequences, and showed that fitness effects are not enough to predict genomic stability.Acontext-dependent recombination rate is also required, with the context being the duplicated gene and its position. Our results therefore demonstrate experimentally the deleterious nature of gene duplications in RNA viruses. Beside previously described constraints on genome size, we identified additional factors that reduce the likelihood of the maintenance of duplicated genes.We thank Francisca de la Iglesia and Paula Agudo for excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by the John Templeton Foundation [grant number 22371 to S.F.E.]; the European Commission 7th Framework Program EvoEvo Project [grant number ICT-610427 to S.F.E.]; the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) [grant numbers BFU2012-30805 and BFU2015-65037-P to S.F.E.]; the Botin Foundation from Banco Santander through its Santander Universities Global Division [J.S.]; the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya [J.S.]; and the European Molecular Biology Organization [grant number ASTF 625-2015 to A.W]. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Willemsen, A.; Zwart, MP.; Higueras, P.; Sardanyes Cayuela, J.; Elena Fito, SF. (2016). Predicting the Stability of Homologous Gene Duplications in a Plant RNA Virus. Genome Biology and Evolution. 8(9):3065-3082. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw219S306530828