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Modulation of cytokine gene expression by cathelicidin BMAP-28 in LPS-stimulated and –unstimulated macrophages
Genome-wide Transcriptional profiling of the Escherichia coli response to a Proline-rich antimicrobial peptide
Most antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) impair the viability of target bacteria by permeabilizing bacterial
membranes. However, the proline-rich AMPs have been shown to kill susceptible organisms without causing
significant membrane perturbation and may act by inhibiting the activity of bacterial targets. To gain initial
insight into the events that follow interaction of a proline-rich peptide with bacterial cells, we used DNA
macroarray technology to monitor transcriptional alterations of Escherichia coli in response to challenge with
a subinhibitory concentration of the proline-rich Bac7(1-35). Substantial changes in the expression levels of 70
bacterial genes from various functional categories were detected. Among these, 26 genes showed decreased
expression, while 44 genes, including genes that are potentially involved in bacterial resistance to antimicrobials,
showed increased expression. The generation of a transcriptional response under the experimental
conditions used is consistent with the ability of Bac7(1-35) to interact with bacterial components and affect
biological processes in this organism
Novel cathelicidins in horse leukocytes
Cathelicidins are precursors of defense peptides of the innate immunity and are widespread in mammals. Their structure comprises a conserved prepropiece and an antimicrobial domain that is structurally varied both intra- and inter-species. We investigated the complexity of the cathelicidin family in horse by a reverse transcription-PCR-based cloning strategy of myeloid mRNA and by Southern and Western analyses. Three novel cathelicidin sequences were deduced from bone marrow mRNA and designated equine cathelicidins eCATH-1, eCATH-2 and eCATH-3. Putative antimicrobial domains of 26, 27 and 40 residues with no significant sequence homology to other peptides were inferred at the C-terminus of the sequences. Southern analysis of genomic DNA using a probe based on the cathelicidin-conserved propiece revealed a polymorphic DNA region with several hybridization-positive fragments and suggested the presence of additional genes. A null eCATH-1 allele was also demonstrated with a frequency of 0.71 in the horse population analyzed and low amounts of eCATH-1-specific mRNA were found in myeloid cells of gene-positive animals. A Western analysis using antibodies to synthetic eCATH peptides revealed the presence of eCATH-2 and eCATH-3 propeptides, but not of eCATH-1-related polypeptides, in horse neutrophil granules and in the secretions of phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated neutrophils. These results thus suggest that eCATH-2 and eCATH-3 are functional genes, whereas eCATH-1 is unable to encode a polypeptide
Inducible expression of an antimicrobial peptide of the innate immunity in polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The 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
Novel cathelicidins in horse leukocytes
Cathelicidins are precursors of defense peptides of the
innate immunity and are widespread in mammals. Their structure
comprises a conserved prepropiece and an antimicrobial domain
that is structurally varied both intra- and inter-species. We
investigated the complexity of the cathelicidin family in horse by
a reverse transcription-PCR-based cloning strategy of myeloid
mRNA and by Southern and Western analyses. Three novel
cathelicidin sequences were deduced from bone marrow mRNA
and designated equine cathelicidins eCATH-1, eCATH-2 and
eCATH-3. Putative antimicrobial domains of 26, 27 and
40 residues with no significant sequence homology to other
peptides were inferred at the C-terminus of the sequences.
Southern analysis of genomic DNA using a probe based on the
cathelicidin-conserved propiece revealed a polymorphic DNA
region with several hybridization-positive fragments and suggested
the presence of additional genes. A null eCATH-1 allele
was also demonstrated with a frequency of 0.71 in the horse
population analyzed and low amounts of eCATH-1-specific
mRNA were found in myeloid cells of gene-positive animals. A
Western analysis using antibodies to synthetic eCATH peptides
revealed the presence of eCATH-2 and eCATH-3 propeptides,
but not of eCATH-1-related polypeptides, in horse neutrophil
granules and in the secretions of phorbol myristate acetatestimulated
neutrophils. These results thus suggest that eCATH-2
and eCATH-3 are functional genes, whereas eCATH-1 is unable
to encode a polypeptide
Variations on the Author
“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
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