1,720,963 research outputs found
Exploring the use of leucine zippers for the generation of a new class of inclusion bodies for pharma and biotechnological applications
Full text linkInclusion bodies (IBs) are biologically active protein aggregates forming natural nanoparticles with a high stability and a slow-release behavior. Because of their nature, IBs have been explored to be used as biocatalysts, in tissue engineering, and also for human and animal therapies. To improve the production and biological efficiency of this nanomaterial, a wide range of aggregation tags have been evaluated. However, so far, the presence in the IBs of bacterial impurities such as lipids and other proteins coexisting with the recombinant product has been poorly studied. These impurities could strongly limit the potential of IB applications, being necessary to control the composition of these bacterial nanoparticles. Thus, we have explored the use of leucine zippers as alternative tags to promote not only aggregation but also the generation of a new type of IB-like protein nanoparticles with improved physicochemical properties
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Estrogen Receptor Alpha Dynamics and Function in Mammalian Cells
Full text linkThe role of estrogen receptors (ER) is highly dependent on their sub-cellular localization and concentration. Here, we propose an approach to detect molecular transport, diffusion and localization of the estrogen receptor by measuring the time cross-correlation between pairs of locations and the average number of molecules by means of fluorescence fluctuations in mammalian cells. From this data we find that there is concentration dependence for the localization of the estrogen receptor and that 17--Estradiol (E2) reduces the apparent diffusion of the receptor. In addition, we use fluorescence lifetime imaging, a label-free, non-invasive imaging method to demonstrate changes in the glucose metabolic pathway in ER-positive breast cancer cells. We observe a higher free to bound NADH ratio in high glucose conditions, reflecting and increased glycolysis/oxidative phosphorylation ratio. Furthermore, E2 is able to potentiate metabolic adaptation and cell viability depending on the glucose availability. Taking advantage of a wide array of available biophysical analysis techniques may provide additional useful information for estrogen receptors and in breast cancer research
Development of a new generation of antimicrobial proteins based on a versatile nanoparticulated format and multidomain structure
Full text linkDurant la major part de la historia humana, els patògens han estat una de les principals causes de morts i malalties. Gràcies al descobriment dels antibiòtics hem aconseguit tractar aquestes malalties amb facilitat, però el seu mal ús ha accelerat l’aparició de resistències als antimicrobians (AMRs). Atès que les AMRs han provocat que la majoria de fàrmacs antimicrobians siguin ineficaços, el desenvolupament de tractaments alternatius és mes necessari que mai. Els pèptids de la defensa del hoste (HDPs) han estat proposats com a models per la generació de nous antimicrobians per lluitar contra les infeccions AMR. Tot i així, la majoria d’HDPs és produeixen mitjançant la síntesi química, un procés que és car, insostenible i difícil d’escalar. Alternativament, la producció recombinant d’HDPs és molt atractiva però complicada, ja que són pèptids altament susceptibles de ser degradats i són tòxics per l’hoste recombinant. Malgrat això, els cossos d’inclusió (IBs), que són agregats de proteïna formats durant els processos de producció recombinant, es poden utilitzar com a format alternatiu al de la proteïna soluble per permetre la producció d’HDPs dins l’hoste sense efectes tòxics. D’altra banda, la construcció de proteïnes quimèriques podria ser una estratègia per expressar pèptids petits amb èxit. En aquest context, aquesta tesi explora diverses estratègies per la producció recombinant d’HDPs. Per una banda, hem explorat l’ús de les cremalleres de leucina com a dominis potencials per fomentar la producció recombinant d’HDPs en la fracció insoluble i per augmentar la qualitat de la proteïna recombinant dels IBs. A més a més, hem desenvolupat diverses proteïnes antimicrobianes multidomini basades en la fusió de diferents pèptids HDP i proteïnes de la immunitat innata. Com que també hem utilitzat cremalleres de leucina en aquests constructes, es poden expressar de manera efectiva – sense toxicitat per la cèl·lula productora. A més, en cas de necessitat, podem recuperar antimicrobians solubles a partir dels IBs gràcies a un protocol de solubilització suau i no desnaturalitzant. En conjunt, hem demostrat que aquests constructes tenen un ampli espectre d’acció antimicrobiana contra bacteris multi resistents (MDR), tant en el format soluble com en el format d´IB. És més, els constructes també són capaços d’estimular l’alliberament de IL-8 dins d’un potencial rang de propietats immunomoduladores. Aquests resultats ens han convidat a utilitzar les nostres proteïnes en la biofuncionalització de monocapes autoacoblants per evitar la formació de biofilms, i hem observat que aquestes proteïnes poden ancorar-se a aquests materials i evitar el creixement de biofilms. En resum, aquests resultats reforcen les proteïnes antimicrobianes multidomini com a potencials alternatives antimicrobianes amb propietat immunomoduladores.Durante la mayor parte de la historia humana, los patógenos han sido una de las principales causas de muertes y enfermedades. Gracias al descubrimiento de los antibióticos hemos conseguido tratar estas enfermedades con facilidad, pero su mal uso ha acelerado la aparición de resistencias a los antimicrobianos (AMRs). Dado que las AMRs han provocado que la mayoría de fármacos antimicrobianos sean ineficaces, el desarrollo de tratamientos alternativos es más necesario que nunca. Los péptidos de la defensa del huésped (HDPs) han sido propuestos como modelos para la generación de nuevos antimicrobianos para luchar contra las infecciones AMR. Sin embargo, la mayoría de HDPs se producen mediante la síntesis química, un proceso que es caro, insostenible y difícil de escalar. Alternativamente, la producción recombinante de HDPs es muy atractiva pero complicada, ya que son péptidos altamente susceptibles de ser degradados y son tóxicos para el huésped recombinante. Sin embargo, los cuerpos de inclusión (IBs), que son agregados de proteína formados durante los procesos de producción recombinante, se pueden utilizar como formato alternativo al de la proteína soluble para permitir la producción de HDPs dentro del huésped sin efectos tóxicos. Por otra parte, la construcción de proteínas quiméricas podría ser una estrategia para expresar péptidos pequeños con éxito. En este contexto, esta tesis explora diversas estrategias para la producción recombinante de HDPs. Por un lado, hemos explorado el uso de las cremalleras de leucina como dominios potenciales para fomentar la producción recombinante de HDPs en la fracción insoluble y para aumentar la calidad de la proteína recombinante en los IBs. Además, hemos desarrollado varias proteínas antimicrobianas multidominio basadas en la fusión de diferentes péptidos HDP y proteínas de la inmunidad innata. Como también hemos utilizado cremalleras de leucina en estos constructos, se pueden expresar de manera efectiva - sin toxicidad para la célula productora. Además, en caso de necesidad, podemos recuperar antimicrobianos solubles a partir de los IBs gracias a un protocolo de solubilización suave y no desnaturalizando. En conjunto, hemos demostrado que estos constructos tienen un amplio espectro de acción antimicrobiana contra bacterias multi resistentes (MDR), tanto en el formato soluble como en el formato de IBs. Es más, los constructos también son capaces de estimular la liberación de IL-8 dentro de un potencial rango de propiedades inmunomoduladoras. Estos resultados nos han invitado a utilizar nuestras proteínas en la biofuncionalizacón de monocapas autoensamblantes para evitar la formación de biofilms, y hemos observado que estas proteínas pueden anclarse a estos materiales y evitar el crecimiento de biofilms. En resumen, estos resultados refuerzan las proteínas antimicrobianas multidominio como potenciales alternativas antimicrobianas con propiedades inmunomoduladoras.For most of human history, pathogens have been a leading cause of death and illness. Although we have attained the ability to treat them easily, thanks to the discovery of antibiotics, the widespread overuse and misuse of antimicrobial drugs have accelerated the appearance of antimicrobial resistances (AMRs). Because AMRs have rendered most antimicrobial drugs ineffective, the development of alternative approaches is more necessary than ever before. Host defense peptides (HDPs) have been proposed as blueprints for the generation of new antimicrobials to fight AMR infections. Despite this, most HDPs are produced by chemical synthesis, which is expensive, unsustainable, and difficult to scale-up. Alternatively, their recombinant production is very appealing but still challenging. HDPs are highly susceptible to degradation and are generally toxic to the recombinant host. However, inclusion bodies (IBs), which are protein aggregates that usually happen during recombinant production, can be used to allow HDP formation inside the host without being harmful. Also, the construction of chimeric proteins could be a strategy for successful recombinant expression of small peptides. In this context, this dissertation explores several new strategies for the recombinant production of HDPs. We tried leucine zippers as potential domains to drive the recombinant production of HDPs to the insoluble fraction and improve IBs protein quality. After that, we developed several antimicrobial multidomain proteins based on the fusion of different peptides and proteins from innate immunity. Because we also used leucine zippers with these constructs, they could be produced effectively – without toxicity to the microbial cell factory. Moreover, when needed, we were able to recover soluble antimicrobials from IBs using a mild, non-denaturing protocol. Overall, we demonstrated that these constructs have a broad-spectrum antimicrobial action against multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, in both the soluble and IB format, and that they could trigger the release of IL-8 within a range of potential immunomodulatory properties. These outcomes invited us to use our constructs in the biofunctionalization of self-assembled monolayers to avoid biofilm formation. We observed that the chimeric proteins could be anchored to these materials and avoid biofilm growth. In sum, these results reinforce multidomain antimicrobial proteins as potential antimicrobial alternatives with immunomodulatory properties and open up the possibility for many applications of this new generation of antimicrobial protein nanoparticles as well as their soluble analogs.Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Bioquímica, Biologia Molecular i Biomedicin
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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