Histochemical and Immunohistochemical Studies on the Relationship Between Severe Iron Accumulation and Liver Cell Injury

Histochemical and immunohistochemical analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between iron accumulation and hepatic cirrhosis, using 10 autopsy cases of. severe iron accumulation in the hepatocytes obtained from Kenya, including cases of Bantu siderosis. These severe iron accumulation specimens were divided into two groups ; one group consists of five cases with cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma, and the other five cases with non-cirrhosis. All cirrhosis cases included hepatitis B surface antigen. Chronic infection caused by hepatitis B virus may lead to necrosis of the liver cells, resulting in the formation of hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis. On the other hand, none of the non-cirrhosis cases include hepatitis B virus. This finding indicates that iron accumulation does not lead to cellular injury. Therefore, it is suggested that chronic iron toxicity is not recognized in Bantu siderosis. The reached conclusion is that there is no correlation between iron accumulation and hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis

Development of the Computer System on Data Base for the Field Management of Paddy Farm

We have been carrying out research on development of a personal computer software for rice field management in paddy farms' with the aim of supporting farm management functions in large-scale paddy farms. In this research, with the aim of strengthening the database management functions of this software, the following three types of functions were developed. 1) Functions to make blank maps, and data management functions for 6 farm management ledgers (land ledgers, cropping ledgers, production management ledgers, ledgers of partial farm work contract, etc). 2)Functions to make the software compatible with surveying and data analysis software. 3) Functions for time series analysis using yearly data from cropping ledgers, soil ledgers, rice quality ledgers, etc

X-ray structure of Galdieria Rubisco complexed with one sulfate ion per active site

AbstractRibulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) catalyzes the reactions of carboxylation and oxygenation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate. These reactions require that the active site should be closed by a flexible loop (loop 6) of the large subunit. Rubisco from a red alga, Galdieria partita, has the highest specificity for carboxylation reaction among the Rubiscos hitherto reported. The crystal structure of unactivated Galdieria Rubisco has been determined at 2.6 Å resolution. The electron density map reveals that a sulfate binds only to the P1 anion-binding site of the active site and the loop 6 is closed. Galdieria Rubisco has a unique hydrogen bond between the main chain oxygen of Val332 on the loop 6 and the ϵ-amino group of Gln386 of the same large subunit. This interaction is likely to be crucial to understanding for stabilizing the loop 6 in the closed state and to making a higher affinity for anionic ligands

Plausible phosphoenolpyruvate binding site revealed by 2.6 Å structure of Mn2+-bound phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Escherichia coli11The coordinates and structure factors have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (accession number 1QB4).

AbstractWe have determined the crystal structure of Mn2+-bound Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) using X-ray diffraction at 2.6 Å resolution, and specified the location of enzyme-bound Mn2+, which is essential for catalytic activity. The electron density map reveals that Mn2+ is bound to the side chain oxygens of Glu-506 and Asp-543, and located at the top of the α/β barrel in PEPC. The coordination sphere of Mn2+ observed in E. coli PEPC is similar to that of Mn2+ found in the pyruvate kinase structure. The model study of Mn2+-bound PEPC complexed with phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) reveals that the side chains of Arg-396, Arg-581 and Arg-713 could interact with PEP

Structure of the inhibitor complex of old yellow enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi

The structures of old yellow enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi which produces prostaglandin F2α from PGH2 have been determined in the presence or absence of menadione

Approach for growth of high-quality and large protein crystals

Three crystallization methods, including crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel, top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and a large-scale hanging-drop method, have previously been presented. In this study, crystallization has been further evaluated in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel by crystallizing additional proteins. A novel crystallization method combining TSSG and the large-scale hanging-drop method has also been developed

Mechanosensory trichome cells evoke a mechanical stimuli–induced immune response in Arabidopsis thaliana

Perception of pathogen-derived ligands by corresponding host receptors is a pivotal strategy in eukaryotic innate immunity. In plants, this is complemented by circadian anticipation of infection timing, promoting basal resistance even in the absence of pathogen threat. Here, we report that trichomes, hair-like structures on the epidermis, directly sense external mechanical forces, including raindrops, to anticipate pathogen infections in Arabidopsis thaliana. Exposure of leaf surfaces to mechanical stimuli initiates the concentric propagation of intercellular calcium waves away from trichomes to induce defence-related genes. Propagating calcium waves enable effective immunity against pathogenic microbes through the CALMODULIN-BINDING TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATOR 3 (CAMTA3) and mitogen-activated protein kinases. We propose an early layer of plant immunity in which trichomes function as mechanosensory cells that detect potential risks