LEAPdb: a database for the late embryogenesis abundant proteins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins database (LEAPdb) contains resource regarding LEAP from plants and other organisms. Although LEAP are grouped into several families, there is no general consensus on their definition and on their classification. They are associated with abiotic stress tolerance, but their actual function at the molecular level is still enigmatic. The scarcity of 3-D structures for LEAP remains a handicap for their structure-function relationships analysis. Finally, the growing body of published data about LEAP represents a great amount of information that needs to be compiled, organized and classified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>LEAPdb gathers data about 8 LEAP sub-families defined by the PFAM, the Conserved Domain and the InterPro databases. Among its functionalities, LEAPdb provides a browse interface for retrieving information on the whole database. A search interface using various criteria such as sophisticated text expression, amino acids motifs and other useful parameters allows the retrieving of refined subset of entries. LEAPdb also offers sequence similarity search. Information is displayed in re-ordering tables facilitating the analysis of data. LEAP sequences can be downloaded in three formats. Finally, the user can submit his sequence(s). LEAPdb has been conceived as a user-friendly web-based database with multiple functions to search and describe the different LEAP families. It will likely be helpful for computational analyses of their structure - function relationships.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>LEAPdb contains 769 non-redundant and curated entries, from 196 organisms. All LEAP sequences are full-length. LEAPdb is publicly available at <url>http://forge.info.univ-angers.fr/~gh/Leadb/index.php</url>.</p

Marie-Élisabeth Handman & Janine Mossuz-Lavau, eds, La Prostitution à Paris

Condensé d’un important matériau ethnographique réuni entre octobre 2002 et mars 2004, à la demande de la Mairie de Paris, cet ouvrage collectif réalisé par dix anthropologues et sociologues profile les réalités quotidiennes de la prostitution parisienne, en confrontant « des données, des faits, des histoires de vie ». À l’issue de ce travail de terrain sur les lieux mêmes de la prostitution parisienne, des longs et nombreux entretiens avec des personnes prostituées, ou avec des clients, les ..

Religious significance of suffering and psychological position in faith

The psychological bond between the existencial experience of suffering and the position of the subject in relation to religious faith are studied. The investigation comprised 80 nurses, from both sexes, with various degrees of adherence to Christianism. The hypothesis was that these persons are impelled to structure for themselves a more or less stable, conscious or reflected attitude towards suffering. A questionnaire was elaborated including a question concerning suffering (dimensions, psychological aprehension, meaning), a question about the religious position (central or peripheric, certain or hesitant) and a question concerning the atribution of religious conotations to suffering. Results do not allow one to enunciate a homogeneous theory on the relation between religion and suffering, but the existence of singular configurations more or less stable and evolving, according to the religious attitude basic orientation, the merely human context of suffering and the religious contextualization of suffering.Estuda-se o vínculo psicológico entre a experiência existencial do sofrimento e a posição do sujeito em relação à fé religiosa. A investigação foi realizada com 80 enfermeiros, de ambos os sexos, com várias modalidades de adesão ao cristianismo. A hipótese foi a de que essas pessoas são obrigadas a estruturar para si mesmas uma atitude mais ou menos estável, consciente ou refletida, em relação ao sofrimento. Foi construído um questionário com uma pergunta acerca do sofrimento, (dimensões, apreensão psicológica, sentido), uma pergunta acerca da posição religiosa (central ou periférica, segura ou hesitante) e uma pergunta acerca da atribuição de conotações religiosas ao sofrimento. Os resultados não permitem enunciar uma teoria unívoca da relação entre religião e sofrimento, mas a existência de configurações singulares mais ou menos estáveis e evolutivas, segundo a orientação básica da atitude religiosa, o contexto meramente humano do sofrimento e a contextualização religiosa do sofrimento

sHSPdb: a database for the analysis of small Heat Shock Proteins

Background small Heat Shock Proteins (sHSP) is a wide proteins family. SHSP are found in all kingdoms and they play critical roles in plant stress tolerance mechanisms (as well as in pathogenic microorganisms and are implicated in human diseases). Results sHSPdb (small Heat Shock Proteins database) is an integrated resource containing non-redundant, full-length and curated sequences of sHSP, classified on the basis of amino acids motifs and physico-chemical properties. sHSPdb gathers data about sHSP defined by various databases (Uniprot, PFAM, CDD, InterPro). It provides a browser interface for retrieving information from the whole database and a search interface using various criteria for retrieving a refined subset of entries. Physicochemical properties, amino acid composition and combinations are calculated for each entry. sHSPdb provides automatic statistical analysis of all sHSP properties. Among various possibilities, sHSPdb allows BLAST searches, alignment of selected sequences and submission of sequences. Conclusions sHSPdb is a new database containing information about sHSP from all kingdoms. sHSPdb provides a classification of sHSP, as well as tools and data for the analysis of the structure - function relationships of sHSP. Data are mainly related to various physico-chemical properties of the amino acids sequences of sHSP. sHSPdb is accessible at http://forge.info.univ-angers.fr/~gh/Shspdb/index.php

Comparison of Amino Acids Physico-Chemical Properties and Usage of Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins, Hydrophilins and WHy Domain

Late Embryogenesis Abundant proteins (LEAPs) comprise several diverse protein families and are mostly involved in stress tolerance. Most of LEAPs are intrinsically disordered and thus poorly functionally characterized. LEAPs have been classified and a large number of their physico-chemical properties have been statistically analyzed. LEAPs were previously proposed to be a subset of a very wide family of proteins called hydrophilins, while a domain called WHy (Water stress and Hypersensitive response) was found in LEAP class 8 (according to our previous classification). Since little is known about hydrophilins and WHy domain, the cross-analysis of their amino acids physico-chemical properties and amino acids usage together with those of LEAPs helps to describe some of their structural features and to make hypothesis about their function. Physico-chemical properties of hydrophilins and WHy domain strongly suggest their role in dehydration tolerance, probably by interacting with water and small polar molecules. The computational analysis reveals that LEAP class 8 and hydrophilins are distinct protein families and that not all LEAPs are a protein subset of hydrophilins family as proposed earlier. Hydrophilins seem related to LEAP class 2 (also called dehydrins) and to Heat Shock Proteins 12 (HSP12). Hydrophilins are likely unstructured proteins while WHy domain is structured. LEAP class 2, hydrophilins and WHy domain are thus proposed to share a common physiological role by interacting with water or other polar/charged small molecules, hence contributing to dehydration tolerance

Na + /H + exchanger isoform 1-induced osteopontin expression facilitates cardiac hypertrophy through p90 ribosomal S6 kinase

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. One in three cases of heart failure is due to dilated cardiomyopathy. The Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), a multifunctional protein and the key pH regulator in the heart, has been demonstrated to be increased in this condition. We have previously demonstrated that elevated NHE1 activity induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. Furthermore, the overexpression of active NHE1 elicited modulation of gene expression in cardiomyocytes including an upregulation of myocardial osteopontin (OPN) expression. To determine the role of OPN in inducing NHE1-mediated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, double transgenic mice expressing active NHE1 and OPN knockout were generated and assessed by echocardiography and the cardiac phenotype. Our studies showed that hearts expressing active NHE1 exhibited cardiac remodeling indicated by increased systolic and diastolic left ventricular internal diameter and increased ventricular volume. Moreover, these hearts demonstrated impaired function with decreased fractional shortening and ejection fraction. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) mRNA was upregulated, and there was an increase in heart cell cross-sectional area confirming the cardiac hypertrophic effect. Moreover, NHE1 transgenic mice also showed increased collagen deposition, upregulation of CD44 and phosphorylation of p90 ribosomal s6 kinase (RSK), effects that were regressed in OPN knockout mice. In conclusion, we developed an interesting comparative model of active NHE1 transgenic mouse lines which express a dilated hypertrophic phenotype expressing CD44 and phosphorylated RSK, effects which were regressed in absence of OPN.Scopu

Analyse des déhydrines chez le champignon phytopathogène Alternaria brassicicola

National audienc

Angiotensin-converting enzyme defines matrikine-regulated inflammation and fibrosis

The neutrophil chemoattractant proline-glycine-proline (PGP) is generated from collagen by matrix metalloproteinase-8/9 (MMP-8/9) and prolyl endopeptidase (PE), and it is concomitantly degraded by extracellular leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) to limit neutrophilia. Components of cigarette smoke can acetylate PGP, yielding a species (AcPGP) that is resistant to LTA4H-mediated degradation and can, thus, support a sustained neutrophilia. In this study, we sought to elucidate if an antiinflammatory system existed to degrade AcPGP that is analogous to the PGP-LTA4H axis. We demonstrate that AcPGP is degraded through a previously unidentified action of the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Pulmonary ACE is elevated during episodes of acute inflammation, as a consequence of enhanced vascular permeability, to ensure the efficient degradation of AcPGP. Conversely, we suggest that this pathway is aberrant in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) enabling the accumulation of AcPGP. Consequently, we identify a potentially novel protective role for AcPGP in limiting pulmonary fibrosis and suggest the pathogenic function attributed to ACE in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to be a consequence of overzealous AcPGP degradation. Thus, AcPGP seemingly has very divergent roles: it is pathogenic in its capacity to drive neutrophilic inflammation and matrix degradation in the context of COPD, but it is protective in its capacity to limit fibrosis in IPF