Variation in Basal Body Localisation and Targeting of Trypanosome RP2 and FOR20 Proteins

TOF-LisH-PLL motifs defines FOP family proteins; some members are involved in flagellum assembly. The critical role of FOP family protein FOR20 is poorly understood. Here, we report relative localisations of the four FOP family proteins in parasitic Trypanosoma brucei: TbRP2, TbOFD1 and TbFOP/FOP1-like are mature basal body proteins whereas TbFOR20 is present on pro- and mature basal bodies – on the latter it localises distal to TbRP2. We discuss how the data, together with published work for another protist Giardia intestinalis, informs on likely FOR20 function. Moreover, our localisation study provides convincing evidence that the antigen recognised by monoclonal antibody YL1/2 at trypanosome mature basal bodies is FOP family protein TbRP2, not tyrosinated α-tubulin as widely stated in the literature. Curiously, FOR20 proteins from T. brucei and closely related African trypanosomes possess short, negatively-charged N-terminal extensions absent from FOR20 in other trypanosomatids and other eukaryotes. The extension is necessary for protein targeting, but insufficient to re-direct TbRP2 to probasal bodies. Yet, FOR20 from the American trypanosome T. cruzi, which lacks any extension, localises to pro- and mature basal bodies when expressed in T. brucei. This identifies unexpected variation in FOR20 architecture that is presently unique to one clade of trypanosomatids

The prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to cost for the elderly: Results from seven European urban communities

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to procurement costs amongst older persons from seven European urban communities. Methods: The data were collected in a cross-sectional study (“ABUEL, Elder abuse: A multinational prevalence survey”) in 2009. Randomly selected people aged 60–84 years (n = 4,467) from seven urban communities: Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden) were interviewed. Response rate - 45.2 %. Ethical permission was received in each country. Results: The results indicate that 3.6 % (n = 162) of the respondents self-reported refraining from buying prescribed medications due to cost. The highest prevalence of this problem was identified in Lithuania (15.7 %, n = 99) and Portugal (4.3 %, n = 28). Other countries reported lower percentages of refraining from buying medications (Germany – 2.0 %, Italy – 1.6 %, Sweden – 1.0 %, Greece – 0.6 %, Spain – 0.3 %). Females refrained more often from buying medications than males (2.6 % vs. 4.4 %, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of this refraining tended to increase with economic hardship. Discussion: These differences between countries can be only partly described by the financing of health-care systems. In spite of the presence of cost reimbursement mechanisms, patients need to make co-payments (or in some cases to pay the full price) for prescribed medications. This indicates that the purchasing power of people in 10.1186/s12913-015-1089-4 the particular country can play a major role and be related with the economic situation in the country. Lithuania, which has reported the highest refrain rates, had the lowest gross domestic product (at the time of conducting this study) of all participating countries in the study. Conclusions: Refraining from buying the prescribed medications due to cost is a problem for women and men in respect to ageing people in Europe. Prevalence varies by country, sex, and economic hardship.The ABUEL was supported by the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) (Grant No., A/2007123) and participating institutions

RESPONSE OF NORMAL AND ONCOGENE-TRANSFORMED HUMAN MAMMARY EPITHELIAL-CELLS TO TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA-1 (TGF-BETA-1) - LACK OF GROWTH-INHIBITORY EFFECT ON CELLS EXPRESSING THE SIMIAN-VIRUS 40 LARGE-T ANTIGEN

The relationship between the expression of selected oncogenes having different modes of action and the loss of the capacity to respond in vitro to transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) was analyzed in human mammary epithelial cells (MEC). Primary MEC cultures from healthy donors and the spontaneously immortalized MCF-10A cell line were used as normal controls. Various assays (employing both complete and chemically defined media) were used: short-term DNA synthesis, long-term cell proliferation under anchorage-dependent and -independent conditions, expression of surface-differentiation molecules. Whereas primary MEC and the MCF-10A cell line were fully responsive to the growth-inhibitory activity of TGF-beta 1 under different test conditions, MEC transformed by c-Ha-ras, c-erbB2, int-2 or SV40-large-T antigen were not inhibited by TGF-beta 1 in a short-term DNA-synthesis assay. However, in anchorage-dependent conditions TGF-beta 1 inhibited the proliferation of all lines investigated, with the exception of SV40-T-antigen-transformed MEC. The colony-formation assay in soft agar revealed that all lines, but not those expressing the int-2 or the SV40-T-antigen genes, were inhibited by TGF-beta 1. Neutralizing antibody to TGF-beta had no significant effects on oncogene-transformed lines, suggesting that the endogenous production of an active form of this growth factor is not a major determinant in MEC transformation by the oncogenes investigated. The only observed effect of TGF-beta 1 on selected surface-differentiation molecules was that normal MEC produced increased levels of the human milk fat globule antigen-1. Thus it appears that the response of MEC to TGF-beta 1 is consistently attenuated by the insertion of a variety of oncogenes and that it is abolished only by the expression of the SV40-large-T antigen. Whereas no single in vitro assay was capable of accurately reflecting the actual responsiveness of different lines, the growth-curve assay in anchorage-dependent conditions was the best single predictive test. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Ecophysiological and phytochemical response to ozone of wine grape cultivars of vitis vinifera l

Vitis vinifera sensitivity to tropospheric ozone (O3) has been evidenced in several studies. In this work, physiological and metabolic effects of O3 on two wine cultivars of V. vinifera (i.e. Maturano and San Giuseppe) have been studied. Moreover, chlorogenic acid (CGA) production, in consideration of its importance in the biosynthetic pathway of polyphenols and as antioxidant, has been investigated. Maturano cultivar resulted more sensitive to O3, as evidenced by the gas exchange reduction at the early stage of treatment, and by the increase in Ci/Ca and the decoupling of net photosynthesis and the stomatal conductance at the end of the treatment. Unexpectedly, O3 did not activate stilbene production. Ozone induced an early CGA decrease, significantly more consistent in cv. Maturano, and an increase after 8 days, more consistent in cv. S. Giuseppe. These results suggest that CGA could be considered a biochemical marker of O3-induced stress in V. vinifera

Thyroid papillary carcinoma: preliminary evidence for a germ-line single nucleotide polymorphism in the Fas gene

The expression of Fas in thyroid tumours and Graves' disease was analysed by mRNA transcript expression. As compared with unaffected thyroid tissue, Fas expression was enhanced in Graves' disease, adenomas, and papillary and follicular carcinomas. This pattern was also reflected in immunohistochemical studies. The PCR single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) method and DNA sequencing were used to analyse Fas exons 1-9. The study was carried out on five different histotypes of thyroid tumours (n = 93) and tissue from Graves' disease patients. As compared with a group of healthy blood donors (n = 64), a significant association (P = 0.006) emerged between papillary thyroid carcinoma and a silent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, 988C--&gt;T) in exon 7 of the Fas gene. Other forms of thyroid pathology were not associated with the above polymorphism. Patients with neoplasia showed the same SNP in turnout tissue, in the unaffected contralateral thyroid lobe, and in peripheral blood cells. Thus, the 988C--&gt;T polymorphism appeared to be of germ-line origin

Antifungal activity of Mongolian medicinal plant extracts

The in vitro antifungal activity of extracts obtained from 14 medicinal plants of the mongolian flora were investigated by measuring their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against fungi cause of cutaneous diseases such as Candida species, dermatophytes and Malassezia furfur. Among the species examined, Stellaria dichotoma L., Scutellaria scordifolia L. Aquilegia sibirica Fisch. Et Schrenk. and Hyoscyamus niger L. extracts demonstrated antifungal activity against all studied fungi. In particular, S. scordifolia L. methanol extract, obtained at room temperature, showed the best activity against Candida spp., Malassezia furfur and dermatophytes with GMMIC50 values of 22 µg/mL, 64 µg/mL and 32 µg/mL, respectively. The flavones, luteolin and apigenin, identified in S. scordifolia extracts, and rutin identified in S. dichotoma and Hyoscyamus niger L. extracts, could be responsible of the observed antifungal activity