961 research outputs found
Establishment and characterization of new human cell lines for recombinant therapeutic protein production
Nitrogenase Fe protein-like Fe–S cluster is conserved in L-protein (BchL) of dark-operative protochlorophyllide reductase from Rhodobacter capsulatus
AbstractDark-operative protochlorophyllide reductase (DPOR) in bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis is a nitrogenase-like enzyme consisting of L-protein (BchL-dimer) as a reductase component and NB-protein (BchN–BchB-heterotetramer) as a catalytic component. Metallocenters of DPOR have not been identified. Here we report that L-protein has an oxygen-sensitive [4Fe–4S] cluster similar to nitrogenase Fe protein. Purified L-protein from Rhodobacter capsulatus showed absorption spectra and an electron paramagnetic resonance signal indicative of a [4Fe–4S] cluster. The activity quickly disappeared upon exposure to air with a half-life of 20s. These results suggest that the electron transfer mechanism is conserved in nitrogenase Fe protein and DPOR L-protein
Rotigotine suppresses sleep-related muscle activity augmented by injection of dialysis patients’ sera in a mouse model of restless legs syndrome
Idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) has a genetic basis wherein BTBD9 is associated with a higher risk of RLS. Hemodialysis patients also exhibit higher rates of RLS compared with the healthy population. However, little is known about the relationship of BTBD9 and end-stage renal disease to RLS pathophysiology. Here we evaluated sleep and leg muscle activity of Btbd9 mutant (MT) mice after administration of serum from patients with either idiopathic or RLS due to end-stage renal disease (renal RLS) and investigated the efficacy of treatment with the dopamine agonist rotigotine. At baseline, the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was decreased and leg muscle activity during non-REM (NREM) sleep was increased in MT mice compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Wake-promoting effects of rotigotine were attenuated by injection of serum from RLS patients in both WT and MT mice. Leg muscle activity during NREM sleep was increased only in MT mice injected with serum from RLS patients of ideiopatic and renal RLS. Subsequent treatment with rotigotine ameliorated this altered leg muscle activity. Together these results support previous reports showing a relationship between the Btbd9/dopamine system and RLS, and elucidate in part the pathophysiology of RLS
Cosmic Galaxy-IGM HI Relation at Probed in the COSMOS/UltraVISTA deg Field
We present spatial correlations of galaxies and IGM HI in the
COSMOS/UltraVISTA 1.62 deg field. Our data consist of 13,415 photo-
galaxies at with and the Ly forest absorptions in
the background quasar spectra selected from SDSS data with no signature of
damped Ly system contamination. We estimate a galaxy overdensity
in an impact parameter of 2.5 pMpc, and calculate the Ly
forest fluctuations whose negative values
correspond to the strong Ly forest absorptions. We identify weak
evidence of an anti-correlation between and with a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of suggesting
that the galaxy overdensities and the Ly forest absorptions positively
correlate in space at the confidence level. This positive
correlation indicates that high- galaxies exist around an excess of HI gas
in the Ly forest. We find four cosmic volumes, dubbed
-, that have extremely large (small) values of () and (), three
out of which, -, significantly depart from the correlation,
and weaken the correlation signal. We perform cosmological hydrodynamical
simulations, and compare with our observational results. Our simulations
reproduce the correlation, agreeing with the observational results. Moreover,
our simulations have model counterparts of -, and suggest
that the observations pinpoint, by chance, a galaxy overdensity like a
proto-cluster, gas filaments lying on the sightline, a large void, and
orthogonal low-density filaments. Our simulations indicate that the significant
departures of - are produced by the filamentary large-scale
structures and the observation sightline effects.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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