Structural and biochemical characterization of the exopolysaccharide deacetylase Agd3 required for Aspergillus fumigatus biofilm formation

The exopolysaccharide galactosaminogalactan (GAG) is an important virulence factor of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Deletion of a gene encoding a putative deacetylase, Agd3, leads to defects in GAG deacetylation, biofilm formation, and virulence. Here, we show that Agd3 deacetylates GAG in a metal-dependent manner, and is the founding member of carbohydrate esterase family CE18. The active site is formed by four catalytic motifs that are essential for activity. The structure of Agd3 includes an elongated substrate-binding cleft formed by a carbohydrate binding module (CBM) that is the founding member of CBM family 87. Agd3 homologues are encoded in previously unidentified putative bacterial exopolysaccharide biosynthetic operons and in other fungal genomes. The exopolysaccharide galactosaminogalactan (GAG) is an important virulence factor of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Here, the authors study an A. fumigatus enzyme that deacetylates GAG in a metal-dependent manner and constitutes a founding member of a new carbohydrate esterase family.Bio-organic Synthesi

Toksikokinetika prometrina u mozgu miševa

Prometryne is a methylthio-s-triazine herbicide. Signifi cant trace amounts are found in the environment, mainly in water, soil, and food plants. The aim of this study was to establish brain and blood prometryne levels after single oral dose (1 g kg-1) in adult male and female mice. Prometryne was measured using the GC/MS assay at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after prometryne administration. Peak brain and blood prometryne values were observed 1 h after administration and they decreased in a time-dependent manner. Male mice had consistently higher brain and blood prometryne levels than female mice. The observed prometryne kinetics was similar to that reported for the structurally related herbicide atrazine.Prometrin je metiltio-s-triazinski herbicid. Značajne količine prometrina zaostaju u tragovima u okolišu, poglavito u vodi, tlu i biljkama koje rabimo za prehranu. Cilj je rada izmjeriti količinu prometrina koja se apsorbira u mozgu i krvi nakon primijenjene akutne oralne doze (1 g kg-1 tjelesne mase) u odraslih miševa obaju spolova. Razine prometrina u mozgu i krvi izmjerene su GC/MS-om tijekom 1., 2., 4., 8. i 24. sata nakon izlaganja. Utvrđeno je da je udio prometrina koji se zadržava u živčanom tkivu relativno nizak ali detektabilan u odnosu na koncentraciju u krvi i koncentraciju primijenjene doze. Najviše koncentracije u krvi i maseni udjeli u mozgu zabilježeni su tijekom 1. sata nakon izlaganja, a s vremenom izmjerene vrijednosti značajno opadaju. Uočena je značajna razlika između mužjaka i ženki pri čemu mužjaci imaju značajno više razine prometrina u mozgu i krvi nego ženke. Opisana toksikokinetika prometrina pokazuje sličnosti s otprije opisanom i poznatom toksikokinetikom strukturalno sličnog herbicida atrazina