New Paradigm in NKT Cell Antigens: MCS-0208 (2-(Hydroxymethyl)phenylthio-phytoceramide) – an Aryl-Phytoceramide Compound with a Single Hydroxyl Group Stimulates NKT Cells

Natural Killer T (NKT) cells play an important role in the immune response and can be activated by glycolipids presented by CD1d protein. We present MCS-0208, an unprecedented arylthioether-phytoceramide able to induce potent invariant NKT (iNKT) cell activation, notably when tested in human iNKT cells. This arylsphingolipid analog has a simple phenyl group containing a single hydroxyl substituent as a surrogate of the sugar ring. The phenylthioether structure contrasts with α-galactosylceramide ( 1 ), the prototypical glycolipid used to induce iNKT cell stimulation, where the galactose 2’-OH and 3’-OH substituents are accepted as the minimal footprint and considered critical for NKT T cell receptor (TCR) recognition. A computational study supports the recognition of aromatic compound by the CD1d and TCR proteins as radically new structures for NKT cell stimulation.     

Bewertung alternativer Arbeitsmittel für Wärmepumpen im Gebäudesektor

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - Das Arbeitsmittel in Wärmepumpen unterliegt einer Vielzahl von Anforderungen, welche für einen effizienten und sicheren Betrieb eingehalten werden...     

Photoswitchable Lipids

Photoswitchable lipids are emerging tools for the precise manipulation and study of lipid function. They can modulate many aspects of membrane biophysics, including permeability, fluidity, lipid mobility and domain formation. They are also very useful in lipid physiology and enable optical control of a wide array of lipid receptors, such as ion channels, G protein-coupled receptors, nuclear hormone receptors, and enzymes that translocate to membranes. Enzymes involved in lipid metabolism often process them in a light-dependent fashion. Photoswitchable lipids complement other functionalized lipids widely used in lipid chemical biology, including isotope-labeled lipids (lipidomics), fluorescent lipids (imaging), bifunctional lipids (lipid–protein crosslinking), photocaged lipids (photopharmacology), and other labeled variants.     

Rethinking the Citric Acid Cycle: Connecting Pyruvate Carboxylase and Citrate Synthase to the Flow of Energy and Material

In 1937, Sir H. A Krebs first published the Citric Acid Cycle, a unidirectional cycle with carboxylic acids. The original concept of the Citric Acid Cycle from Krebs’ 1953 Nobel Prize lecture illustrates the unidirectional degradation of lactic acid to water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Here, we add the heart lactate dehydrogenase•proton-linked monocarboxylate transporter 1 complex, connecting the original Citric Acid Cycle to the flow of energy and material. The heart lactate dehydrogenase•proton-linked monocarboxylate transporter 1 complex catalyses the first reaction of the Citric Acid Cycle, the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate, and thus secures the provision of pyruvic acid. In addition, we modify Krebs’ original concept by feeding the cycle with oxaloacetic acid. Our concept enables the integration of anabolic processes and allows adaption of the organism to recover ATP faster.     

Corrosion Behaviour of Type 316L Stainless Steel in Hot Caustic Aqueous Environments

Metals and Materials International - The corrosion behaviour of type 316L stainless steel in aqueous 30–50 wt%. NaOH at temperatures up to 90 °C has been elucidated....     

Die Baugesellschaft Gebrüder Rank und ihre spanischen Ziegelgewölbe in München

The Rank construction company and the introduction of brick vaults in Munich after 1945 The construction of vaults without scaffolding with thin bricks has a centuries‐old tradition, particularly in Spain and Italy. Since the beginning of the 19^th century, it has been successfully spread mainly on the American double continent. The Rank Brothers construction company in Munich is known to date as one of those construction companies that began building with concrete in its home city very early on. New investigations, which were made possible above all by the provision of archive material by Paul Basiner, now point to an additional focus of this company's work. The architects and engineers of the company had been also able to familiarise themselves with this traditional Spanish brick‐vaulted construction method via the branch office in Spain, which was established from 1911 on. This knowledge was particularly in demand in the years following World War II, when the destroyed vaults had to be rebuilt with simple means and low material consumption. Together with Carl Sattler, who had become acquainted with similar construction methods in Italy, brick vaults were initially used to complete the construction of the Landeszentralbank in Munich. In the following years, Rank was able to provide many buildings in and around Munich with brick vaults. It was not until the 1960s that this construction technique went out of fashion and was thus somewhat forgotten.