Automating the identification and analysis of protein {beta}-barrels

ßBarrels are widespread and well-studied featuresof a great many protein structures. In this paper an unsuper-visedmethod for the detection of P-barrels is developed based ontechniques from graph theory. The hydrogen bonded connectivityof ß-sheets is derived using standard pattern recognitiontechniques and expressed as a graph. Barrels correspond to topologicalrings in these connectivity graphs and can thus be identifiedusing ring perception algorithms. Following from this, the characteristictopological structure of a barrel can be expressed using a novelform of reduced nomenclature that counts sequence separationsbetween successive members of the ring set These techniquesare tested by applying them to the detection of barrels in anon-redundant subset of the Brookhaven database. Results indicatethat topological rings do seem to correspond uniquely to ß-barrelsand that the technique, as implemented, finds the majority ofbarrels present in the dataset.     

吲哚美辛对荷瘤小鼠抗肿瘤作用机制的实验研究

用微观放射自显影技术及免疫组化法探讨了非甾体类抗炎药吲哚美辛(IN)对Lewis肺癌的生长抑制作用机制。结果显示:与对照组相比,实验组IN的抑瘤率为55.05%;IN可显著下调Bcl-2蛋白的表达(t=6.154,P<0.001),对Bax蛋白的表达没有明显影响(t=2.101,P>0.05)。放射自显影结果显示,在肿瘤细胞的细胞膜、细胞浆及细胞核中均有黑色银颗粒分布,且在用药后12 h时肿瘤组织中的平均银颗粒数高于4、7、243、6 h时。以上结果表明,IN可抑制Lewis肺癌的生长,其机制与下调抗凋亡蛋白Bcl-2的表达及降低Bcl-2/Bax的比值有关;IN可进入到肿瘤细胞内发挥抗肿瘤作用。     

Nutritional response of mature rats to kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) lectins

In a series of 10-day pair feeding experiments it was found that the nutritional value of diets containing beans was essentially the same for rats aged between 30 and 123 days. Thus net protein utilisation (NPU) values of 25–39 on diets containing Processor bean (35 g protein kg^?1) + egg albumin (65g protein kg^?1) were obtained. As food intakes were considerably reduced when rats were fed diets containing more than 35g protein kg^?1 of Processor bean, the measurement of protein utilisation became increasingly more difficult. The severe disruption of the brush borders of duodenal and jejunal enterocytes, originally observed when bean-containing diets were fed to young (30-day-old) rats was also found with rats up to the age of 120 days on similar diets. Similarly, the development of circulating anti-lectin antibodies in the animals showed no age dependence within the age limits investigated. It was also shown that oral immunisation did not protect the rats from the effects of toxicity and that the immune response was a result of continuous absorption of lectin throughout the feeding period. Thus the extent and the mechanism of toxicity of Phaseolus vulgaris bean lectins were found not to be dependent on the age or maturity of the animal.     

Effect of water deficit on yield and protein content in pearl millet grains

Seventy-two pearl millet genotypes were water stressed at panicle development and grain filling stages. Neither grain yields, yield components, protein percent nor total protein per unit area were affected by water deficit during panicle development but protein content per grain was increased. When plants were water stressed during grain filling, grain yield, grains per unit area and 1000 grain weight were reduced, but grain protein percentage increased. Total protein per unit area was reduced primarily due to lower grain yield. The protein content per grain was unaffected by stress, suggesting that the apparent increase in protein percentage is due to reduced carbohydrate accumulation under stress.     

Drying of Probiotics: Optimization of Formulation and Process to Enhance Storage Survival

This work describes how probiotic bacteria can be dried at low temperature in two steps, combining spray drying and vacuum drying, in order to enhance their survival during storage. A sufficient number of dried probiotics survived storage for more than 3 months at 30°C, if an appropriate combination of protein and carbohydrate was selected as carrier and storage conditions were maintained optimal. The use of soy protein and maltodextrin or skim milk and arabic gum resulted in the best survival rates of probiotics during storage. No evident difference was found between different spray dryer configurations, although a cocurrent flow was preferred.     

V. Yeast sequencing reports. Identification of a gene encoding a new Ypt/Rab-like monomeric G-protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A Saccharomyces cerevisiae sequence cloned by serendipity was found to encode a protein that is a new member of the Ypt/Rab monomeric G-protein family. This sequence shows high homology to the yeast genes SEC4 and YPT1 and, like SEC4 and YPT1, is essential for viability. The sequence was localized to chromosome V based upon hybridization to pulse-field gel-separated yeast chromosomes. The sequence has been deposited in the GenBank data library under Accession Number L17070.     

Properties of Edible Films from Total Milk Protein

The mechanical properties and water vapor permeability of edible films made from various total milk proteins (TMPs) were investigated. Two TMPs obtained from nonfat dry milk (NDM) by removing lactose and three TMPs obtained from a commercial source were studied. Lactose was extracted from NDM by ultrafiltration or suspension in ethanol followed by filtration. TMP concentrate obtained by ultrafiltration (UF) produced films with the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) and the highest tensile strength at break. Commercial TMP concentrates produced films more ductile than those from the UF-TMP or retentate from ethanol extraction. Further research is needed to improve mechanical properties of UF-TMP films without increasing the WVP.     

A new family of yeast genes implicated in ergosterol synthesis is related to the human oxysterol binding protein

We have identified three yeast genes, KES1, HES1 and OSH1, whose products show homology to the human oxysterol binding protein (OSBP). Mutations in these genes resulted in pleiotropic sterol-related phenotypes. These include tryptophan-transport defects and nystatin resistance, shown by double and triple mutants. In addition, mutant combinations showed small but apparently cumulative reductions in membrane ergosterol levels. The three yeast genes are also functionally related as overexpression of HES1 or KES1 alleviated the tryptophan-transport defect in kes1Δ or osh1Δ mutants, respectively. Our study implicates this new yeast gene family in ergosterol synthesis and provides comparative evidence of a role for human OSBP in cholesterol synthesis.     

XV. Yeast sequencing reports. Isolation and DNA sequence of the STE13 gene encoding dipeptidyl aminopeptidase

We have isolated a mutant which exhibits partial constitutivity for a -specific gene expression in α cells. The wild-type gene was cloned and demonstrated to be allelic to the STE13 gene, which encodes the dipeptidyl aminopeptidase involved in processing of the α-factor prepropheromone. Thus, the mating defect of the ste13 mutations in α cells may result both from the production of incompletely processed α-factor and from the increased expression of a -specific genes. The STE13 open reading frame of 931 amino acids contains a putative membrane-spanning segment near its amino terminus and is 31% identical to a second yeast dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (DAP2). A null mutant of STE13 has been constructed: it is viable and sporulation-proficient. The sequence has been deposited in the GenBank data library under Accession Number L21944.