Insight into the Interaction of Metal Ions with TroA from Streptococcus suis

The scavenging ability of sufficient divalent metal ions is pivotal for pathogenic bacteria to survive in the host. ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-type metal transporters provide a considerable amount of different transition metals for bacterial growth. TroA is a substrate binding protein for uptake of multiple metal ions. However, the function and structure of the TroA homologue from the epidemic Streptococcus suis isolates (SsTroA) have not been characterized.Here we determined the crystal structure of SsTroA from a highly pathogenic streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS)-causing Streptococcus suis in complex with zinc. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis revealed that apo-SsTroA binds Zn(2+) and Mn(2+). Both metals bind to SsTroA with nanomolar affinity and stabilize the protein against thermal unfolding. Zn(2+) and Mn(2+) induce distinct conformational changes in SsTroA compared with the apo form as confirmed by both circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. NMR data also revealed that Zn(2+)/Mn(2+) bind to SsTroA in either the same site or an adjacent region. Finally, we found that the folding of the metal-bound protein is more compact than the corresponding apoprotein.Our findings reveal a mechanism for uptake of metal ions in S. suis and this mechanism provides a reasonable explanation as to how SsTroA operates in metal transport

Characteristics and sources of typical pollution components in mine water in the border area of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi

The border area between Mongolia and Shaanxi is the core area for China’s energy security. However, a large number of mine water produced in the process of coal mining contains a variety of pollution components. Only by finding out the sources and characteristics of pollution components can we deal with and utilize mine water resources more scientifically and reasonably, which is also in line with the requirements of high-quality de-velopment of the Yellow River region. Based on the investigation of the geological, hydrogeological and coal mining disturbance conditions in the border area between Mongolia and Shaanxi, the hydrogeochemical charac-teristics of coal seam roof aquifer and the characteristics of typical pollution components in mine water were studied, and the sources of these typical pollution components were analyzed. The results showed that the border area between Mongolia and Shaanxi was located in the Yishan slope. According to the coal seam buried depth conditions, it could be divided into shallow buried area, medium deep buried area and deep buried area. The mine water in the shallow buried area came from all aquifer water of the coal seam roof, and the mine water in the medium deep buried area came from aquifer water of the Yan’an formation and the Zhiluo Formation (divided into complete bedrock section and weathered bedrock section) of the coal seam roof. The concentration of TDS in the Quaternary and Jurassic groundwater in the shallow buried area and the medium deep buried area was lower than 1 000 mg/L. The mine water in the deep buried area came from the aquifer water of the Jurassic Yan’an Formation and Zhiluo Formation in the roof of the coal seam. The Jurassic aquifer was relatively closed and stagnant. The long-term water rock interaction led to the concentration of TDS in groundwater upper than 1 000 mg/L, and the main exceeding standard components were Na+, Ca2+ and \begin{document}${\rm{SO}}_4^{2-}$\end{document}. The pollution components in mine water included two categories: one was from the roof aquifer water, and the long-term water rock interaction led to the entry of ion components into mine water. The other came from the underground production activities of coal mines. The release of coal cuttings, dust and oil led to the dissolution of suspended solids, nitrogen, organic matter and other pollution into mine water. The concentration of TDS in mine water in the shallow and medium deep buried areas was lower than 1 000 mg/L, which is mainly weakly alkaline HCO3-Ca water, and the main cation and anion (including Na+, Ca2+, Cl−, \begin{document}${\rm{SO}}_4^{2-}$\end{document}) basically did not exceed the standard. The TDS concentration in the mine water in the deep buried area (including the Xiaojihan coal mine) was 1 824.00−3 684.00 mg/L, which was slightly higher than that in the roof water. The increase of Na+ and \begin{document}${\rm{SO}}_4^{2-}$\end{document} ion concentration accounted for the largest proportion, which was mainly due to the further water rock interaction in the goaf. The concentration of COD in mine water of most coal mines exceeded the standard, but the TOC concentration and UV254 value were low, it showed that the organic matter in the mine water was mainly suspended. The 3DEEM spectrum detection results showed that the dissolved organic matter was mainly natural amino acids and humus, the fluorescence intensity of all kinds of organic matter was low, and there were few organic pollutants in mine water

Identification of disulfidptosis related subtypes, characterization of tumor microenvironment infiltration, and development of DRG prognostic prediction model in RCC, in which MSH3 is a key gene during disulfidptosis

Disulfidptosis is a newly discovered mode of cell death induced by disulfide stress. However, the prognostic value of disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains to be further elucidated. In this study, consistent cluster analysis was used to classify 571 RCC samples into three DRG-related subtypes based on changes in DRGs expression. Through univariate regression analysis and LASSO-Cox regression analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among three subtypes, we constructed and validated a DRG risk score to predict the prognosis of patients with RCC, while also identifying three gene subtypes. Analysis of DRG risk score, clinical characteristics, tumor microenvironment (TME), somatic cell mutations, and immunotherapy sensitivity revealed significant correlations between them. A series of studies have shown that MSH3 can be a potential biomarker of RCC, and its low expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with RCC. Last but not least, overexpression of MSH3 promotes cell death in two RCC cell lines under glucose starvation conditions, indicating that MSH3 is a key gene in the process of cell disulfidptosis. In summary, we identify potential mechanism of RCC progression through DRGs -related tumor microenvironment remodeling. In addition, this study has successfully established a new disulfidptosis-related genes prediction model and discovered a key gene MSH3. They may be new prognostic biomarkers for RCC patients, provide new insights for the treatment of RCC patients, and may inspire new methods for the diagnosis and treatment of RCC patients

Receptor-Loaded Virion Endangers GPCR Signaling: Mechanistic Exploration of SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Pharmacological Implications

SARS-CoV-2 exploits the respiratory tract epithelium including lungs as the primary entry point and reaches other organs through hematogenous expansion, consequently causing multiorgan injury. Viral E protein interacts with cell junction-associated proteins PALS1 or ZO-1 to gain massive penetration by disrupting the inter-epithelial barrier. Conversely, receptor-mediated viral invasion ensures limited but targeted infections in multiple organs. The ACE2 receptor represents the major virion loading site by virtue of its wide tissue distribution as demonstrated in highly susceptible lung, intestine, and kidney. In brain, NRP1 mediates viral endocytosis in a similar manner to ACE2. Prominently, PDZ interaction involves the entire viral loading process either outside or inside the host cells, whereas E, ACE2, and NRP1 provide the PDZ binding motif required for interacting with PDZ domain-containing proteins PALS1, ZO-1, and NHERF1, respectively. Hijacking NHERF1 and β-arrestin by virion loading may impair specific sensory GPCR signalosome assembling and cause disordered cellular responses such as loss of smell and taste. PDZ interaction enhances SARS-CoV-2 invasion by supporting viral receptor membrane residence, implying that the disruption of these interactions could diminish SARS-CoV-2 infections and be another therapeutic strategy against COVID-19 along with antibody therapy. GPCR-targeted drugs are likely to alleviate pathogenic symptoms-associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Application of High Speed Serial Data Transmission System in Remote Sensing Camera

In order to meet the system needs of miniaturization, real-time, high-speed data and high reliability transmission in remote sensing camera, a high-speed serial protocol based on high-speed serial/parallel converter SerDes is proposed. For the SerDes high-speed serial data transmission chip for the physical layer, FPGA for the link layer of the communication system, design high-speed serial transmission communication protocol. Through the development of a simplified protocol for the upper user to provide a simple data interface. The system completed the data rate of 12.5Gbps point to point high-speed transmission. Verification is done by sending a pseudo-random code between boards. System work 3 hours, the measured bit error rate is less than 10-12

Cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate (KDPG) aldolase from Streptococcus suis serotype 2

2-Keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase from pathogenic S. suis, an attractive drug target, was cloned, overexpressed, purified and crystallized

Why do platinum catalysts show diverse electrocatalytic performance?

As one of the best electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction, platinum catalysts are a benchmark for the performance evaluation of new catalysts. However, platinum catalysts reported in the literature show diverse electrocatalytic performances, resulting in the lack of a common reference standard. In this study, we investigated several factors that affect the performance of platinum catalysts by performing experimental measurements and data processing. These factors included the solution resistance, electrolyte temperature, loading quantity, catalyst microstructure, and normalization method of the current density. Finally, we recommended criteria for the performance evaluation of electrocatalysts