One-pot Enzymatic Synthesis of Deoxy-thymidine-diphosphate (TDP)-2-deoxy-∝-d-glucose Using Phosphomannomutase

Production of deoxy-thymidine-diphosphate (TDP)-sugars as substrates of glycosyltransferases, has been one of main hurdles for combinatorial antibiotic biosynthesis, which combines sugar moiety with aglycon of various antibiotics. Here, we report the one-pot enzymatic synthesis of TDP-2-deoxy-glucose employing high efficient TMP kinase (TMK; E.C. 2.7.2.12), acetate kinase (ACK; E.C. 2.7.1.21), and TDP-glucose synthase (TGS; E.C. 2.7.7.24) with phosphomannomutase (PMM; E.C. 5.4.2.8). In this study, replacing phosphoglucomutase (PGM; E.C. 5.4.2) by PMM from Escherichia coli gave four times higher specific activity on 2-deoxy-6-phosphate glucose, suggesting that the activity on 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate was mainly affected by PMM activity, not PGM activity. Using an in vitro system starting from TMP and 2-deoxy-glucose-6-phosphate glucose, TDP-2-deoxy-glucose (63% yield) was successfully synthesized. Considering low productivity of NDP-sugars from cheap starting materials, this paper showed how production of NDP-sugars could be enhanced by controlling mutase activity

Transient cortical visual impairment after video-assisted thoracic surgery: a case report

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background Visual loss associated with thoracic surgery has been reported mostly after coronary angiography or bypass surgery. The position of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is usually lateral, thus not compressive to the globe. Visual loss after VATS has not been reported. Herein we report a patient without any cardiovascular risk factors who experienced transient cortical blindness after an uneventful VATS. Case presentation A 40-year-old man noticed a visual loss at the recovery room after VATS. He showed normal pupillary reflex, normal optic disc appearance, and homonymous hemianopia respecting the vertical meridian, thus was typical for cortical visual impairment. Conclusions Transient cortical visual impairment could be encountered after an uneventful VATS in a patient without any cardiovascular risk factors

Solitary Extramedullary Plasmacytoma of the Apex of Arytenoid: Endoscopic, CT, and Pathologic Findings

Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) is a rare plasma cell neoplasm that occurs mainly in the soft tissues of head and neck region, with the paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity and nasopharynx being the most common sites. Solitary EMP of the larynx is very rare but increasingly reported recently. Common sites of involvement in larynx in the order of frequency are the epiglottis, ventricles, vocal folds and ventricular folds. We report an extremely rare case of solitary EMP involving in the apex of arytenoids that was successfully treated by only surgical excision. Because solitary EMP of the apex of artytenoids is extremely rare, it should be included in the differential diagnosis for laryngeal mass. Also, solitary, small, pedunculated and localized EMP of the larynx could be completely removed by laryngeal microsurgery

Phytohormone abscisic acid control RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6 gene expression and post-transcriptional gene silencing in rice cells

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6 (RDR6) catalyses dsRNA synthesis for post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS)-associated amplification and the generation of endogeneous siRNAs involved in developmental determinations or stress responses. The functional importance of RDR6 in PTGS led us to examine its connection to the cellular regulatory network by analyzing the hormonal responses of RDR6 gene expression in a cultured cell system. Delivery of dsRNA, prepared in vitro, into cultured rice (Oryza sativa cv. Japonica Dongjin) cells successfully silenced the target isocitrate lyase (ICL) transcripts. Silencing was transient in the absence of abscisic acid (ABA), while it became persistent in the presence of ABA in growth medium. A transcription assay of the OsRDR6 promoter showed that it was positively regulated by ABA. OsRDR6-dependent siRNA(ICL) generation was also significantly up-regulated by ABA. The results showed that, among the five rice OsRDR isogenes, only OsRDR6 was responsible for the observed ABA-mediated amplification and silencing of ICL transcripts. We propose that ABA modulates PTGS through the transcriptional control of the OsRDR6 gene

Postoperative occlusion of visual axis with fibrous membrane in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome: a case report

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background To report a case of postoperative fibrous membrane formation occluding the visual axis in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Case presentation A 79-year-old Asian woman with pseudoexfoliation syndrome underwent uneventful phacoemulsification and implantation of one-piece hydrophilic acrylic square-edged intraocular lens (Cristalens) in the right eye. Two months later, she had blurred vision in the right eye with the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/40. Formation of fibrous membrane occluding the capsulorhexis opening with contraction of anterior capsule was observed, which was confirmed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Clear visual axis was achieved by lysis of the membrane using Nd:YAG laser. The BCVA improved to 20/20. Conclusions Occlusion of the visual axis with fibrous membrane can develop in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

Crystal Structures of the Tetratricopeptide Repeat Domains of Kinesin Light Chains: Insight into Cargo Recognition Mechanisms

Kinesin-1 transports various cargos along the axon by interacting with the cargos through its light chain subunit. Kinesin light chains (KLC) utilize its tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain to interact with over 10 different cargos. Despite a high sequence identity between their TPR domains (87%), KLC1 and KLC2 isoforms exhibit differential binding properties towards some cargos. We determined the structures of human KLC1 and KLC2 tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains using X-ray crystallography and investigated the different mechanisms by which KLCs interact with their cargos. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we attributed the specific interaction between KLC1 and JNK-interacting protein 1 (JIP1) cargo to residue N343 in the fourth TRP repeat. Structurally, the N343 residue is adjacent to other asparagines and lysines, creating a positively charged polar patch within the groove of the TPR domain. Whereas, KLC2 with the corresponding residue S328 did not interact with JIP1. Based on these finding, we propose that N343 of KLC1 can form “a carboxylate clamp” with its neighboring asparagine to interact with JIP1, similar to that of HSP70/HSP90 organizing protein-1's (HOP1) interaction with heat shock proteins. For the binding of cargos shared by KLC1 and KLC2, we propose a different site located within the groove but not involving N343. We further propose a third binding site on KLC1 which involves a stretch of polar residues along the inter-TPR loops that may form a network of hydrogen bonds to JIP3 and JIP4. Together, these results provide structural insights into possible mechanisms of interaction between KLC TPR domains and various cargo proteins

Ductographic Findings of Breast Cancer

Ductography has become the gold standard for the evaluation of patients exhibiting pathologic nipple discharges. In nine patients (age range, 29-67 years; median age, 51 years) with invasive (n=5) or intraductal (n=4) cancer, ductographic findings were recorded, then correlated with mammographic and sonographic findings. Common ductographic findings included complete ductal obstruction, multiple irregular filling defects in the nondilated peripheral ducts, ductal wall irregularities, periductal contrast extravasation, and ductal displacement. Faint microcalcifications or ill-defined masses, which were not opacified by contrast material, were often discovered adjacent to ductal abnormalities. Mammographically and sonographically occult diffusely spreading intraductal cancers often manifested as pathologic nipple discharge. In such cases, meticulous ductographic examinations and interpretations were crucial in order not to miss breast cancers