Transient interactions between photosynthetic proteins

The biological processes that are the basis of all life forms are mediated largely by protein-protein interactions. The protein complexes involved in these interactions can be categorised by their affinity, which results in a range from static to transient complexes. Electron transfer complexes, which have to combine high turn-over with specificity are typically transient complexes. The transient complexes under investigation in this work are all part of the photosynthetic redox chain, in which electrons are transferred from membrane bound cytochrome f (cytf) to either plastocyanin (Pc) or cytochrome c6 (cytc6). This work describes the investigation of several aspects of transient protein-protein interactions that are applicable to many other transient complexes. The use of NMR as a tool of choice for these studies has proven it an invaluable technique that provides insight in rules that govern the world of transient complex formation. New approaches such as PRE and the creation of ensembles of structures are investigated. They will hopefully lead to a full understanding of dynamics and the variety of ways that transient complexes use dynamics to perform their function in the cell.UBL - phd migration 201

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary, Hypercalcemic Type (SCCOHT):Patient Characteristics, Treatment, and Outcome—A Systematic Review

Background: Small-cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT) is a rare aggressive ovarian malignancy mainly affecting children, adolescents, and young adults. Since the discovery of mutations in the SMARCA4 gene in 2014, SCCOHT has become the subject of extensive investigation. However, international uniform treatment guidelines for SCCOHT are lacking and the outcome remains poor. The aim of this systematic review is to generate an overview of all reported patients with SCCOHT from 1990 onwards, describing the clinical presentation, genetic characteristics, treatment, and outcome. Methods: A systematic search was performed in the databases Embase, Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane for studies that focus on SCCOHT. Patient characteristics and treatment data were extracted from the included studies. Survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier’s methodology. To assess the difference between survival, the log-rank test was used. To quantify the effect of the FIGO stage, the Cox proportional hazard regression model was estimated. The chi-squared test was used to study the association between the FIGO stage and the surgical procedures. Results: Sixty-seven studies describing a total of 306 patients were included. The median patient age was 25 years (range 1–60 years). The patients mostly presented with non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain and sometimes showed hypercalcemia and elevated CA-125. A great diversity in the diagnostic work-up and therapeutic approaches was reported. The chemotherapy regimens were very diverse, all containing a platinum-based (cisplatin or carboplatin) backbone. Survival was strongly associated with the FIGO stage at diagnosis. Conclusions: SCCOHT is a rare and aggressive ovarian cancer, with a poor prognosis, and information on adequate treatment for this cancer is lacking. The testing of mutations in SMARCA4 is crucial for an accurate diagnosis and may lead to new treatment options. Harmonization and international collaboration to obtain high-quality data on diagnostic investigations, treatment, and outcome are warranted to be able to develop international treatment guidelines to improve the survival chances of young women with SCCOHT.</p

Comprehensive Gene-Expression Survey Identifies Wif1 as a Modulator of Cardiomyocyte Differentiation

During chicken cardiac development the proepicardium (PE) forms the epicardium (Epi), which contributes to several non-myocardial lineages within the heart. In contrast to Epi-explant cultures, PE explants can differentiate into a cardiomyocyte phenotype. By temporal microarray expression profiles of PE-explant cultures and maturing Epi cells, we identified genes specifically associated with differentiation towards either of these lineages and genes that are associated with the Epi-lineage restriction. We found a central role for Wnt signaling in the determination of the different cell lineages. Immunofluorescent staining after recombinant-protein incubation in PE-explant cultures indicated that the early upregulated Wnt inhibitory factor-1 (Wif1), stimulates cardiomyocyte differentiation in a similar manner as Wnt stimulation. Concordingly, in the mouse pluripotent embryogenic carcinoma cell line p19cl6, early and late Wif1 exposure enhances and attenuates differentiation, respectively. In ovo exposure of the HH12 chicken embryonic heart to Wif1 increases the Tbx18-positive cardiac progenitor pool. These data indicate that Wif1 enhances cardiomyogenesis

Transient interactions between photosynthetic proteins

The biological processes that are the basis of all life forms are mediated largely by protein-protein interactions. The protein complexes involved in these interactions can be categorised by their affinity, which results in a range from static to transient complexes. Electron transfer complexes, which have to combine high turn-over with specificity are typically transient complexes. The transient complexes under investigation in this work are all part of the photosynthetic redox chain, in which electrons are transferred from membrane bound cytochrome f (cytf) to either plastocyanin (Pc) or cytochrome c6 (cytc6). This work describes the investigation of several aspects of transient protein-protein interactions that are applicable to many other transient complexes. The use of NMR as a tool of choice for these studies has proven it an invaluable technique that provides insight in rules that govern the world of transient complex formation. New approaches such as PRE and the creation of ensembles of structures are investigated. They will hopefully lead to a full understanding of dynamics and the variety of ways that transient complexes use dynamics to perform their function in the cell

Een equilibrium in de (academische) opleidingsschool

Wie een opleiding voor leraar wil volgen, kan voor een leerroute kiezen met een sterk geprofileerde praktijkcomponent die een lerarenopleiding in samenwerking met scholen vorm geeft. De overheid moedigt deze samenwerking aan om het opleiden van aankomende leraren kwalitatief te versterken en om de toename van leraren te bevorderen (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, voortaan OCW), 2008). Deze intensieve samenwerking van scholen en lerarenopleidingen heeft effecten op het partnerschap van scholen en lerarenopleidingen. De wederzijdse belangen komen bijvoorbeeld in elkaars verlengde te liggen en de operationele samenwerking wordt hechter