Aberrations in skin morphology and functionality can cause acute and chronic skin-related diseases that are the focus of dermatological research. Mechanically-induced skin suction blister fluid (SBF) may serve as a potential, alternative human body fluid for quantitative mass spectrometric-based proteomics in order to assist in the understanding of the mechanisms ...

Lympho-Epithelial Kazal-Type-related Inhibitor (LEKTI) has been demonstrated to be an inhibitor of various kallikreins and is thought to play a role in the regulation of skin desquamation. In order to identify and investigate the potential of LEKTI to interact with other proteins, a method was developed using immobilised proteins onto ...

The tensile and scaffolding properties of skin rely on the complex extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds cells, vasculature, nerves and adnexus structures and supports the epidermis. In the skin, collagen I fibrils are the major structural component of the dermal ECM, decorated by proteoglycans and by fibril-associated collagens with interrupted ...

Proline and arginine are each indispensable during parenteral feeding due to limited interconversion by an atrophied gut. Commercial amino acid parenteral products designed for neonates contain proline concentrations that differ by almost 4-fold. To assess the adequacy of the lowest concentration of proline provided in commercial total parenteral nutrition (TPN) ...

As a potential alternative to currently available skin substitutes and wound dressings, we explored the use of bioactive scaffolds made of plant-derived proteins. We hypothesized that 'green' materials, derived from renewable and biodegradable natural sources, may confer bioactive properties to enhance wound healing and tissue regeneration. We optimized and characterized ...

Collagen V is the defective product in most cases of classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder typically characterized by skin fragility and abnormal wound healing. Collagen V assembles into diverse molecular forms. The predominant α1(V)(2)α2(V) heterotrimer controls fibrillogenesis in skin and other tissues. The α1(V)(3) minor form is ...

  A proteomic analysis of stratum corneum (SC) samples of normal healthy skin revealed the presence of more than 70 proteins by 2D electrophoresis. The majority of these proteins to our knowledge have not yet been described in normal SC. We analysed by Western blot the levels of 25 proteins ...

Cathorops spixii is the most common venomous fish on the Brazilian coast. Apart from the involvement with defense against pathogens, the possible contribution of skin mucus components to the development of injuries caused by venomous fish species has not been investigated. Thus, the present study was conducted to gain a ...

Background:  Recent studies have emphasized the importance of heritable and acquired skin barrier abnormalities in common inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD). To date, no comprehensive studies on the effect of experimental barrier disruption on cornified envelope protein expression have been performed. Objectives:  To analyze the effect ...

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is a rare genetic condition typified by superficial bullous lesions following incident frictional trauma to the skin. Most cases of EBS are due to dominantly acting mutations in keratin 14 (K14) or K5, the type I and II intermediate filament (IF) proteins that copolymerize to form ...

Protein-losing enteropathy in children is caused by intestinal metabolic, inflammatory, or infectious processes, or by lymphatic obstruction (intestinal lymphangiectasia). In this report, a 17-month-old child is presented with protein-losing enteropathy due to intestinal malrotation and chronic midgut volvulus causing lymphatic obstruction and spillage of lymph in the intestine and the ...

Okadaic acid (OA) is a principal diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin produced by marine dinoflagellates. This study compared protein profiles of mice small intestines at four time points (0, 3, 6 and 24h) after a single oral administration of 750μg/kg OA, and identified the differentially expressed proteins using 2-D DIGE and ...

Understanding of the chromophore maturation in fluorescent proteins is important for the design of proteins with improved properties. Electronic structure calculations elucidated the nature of the so-called blue intermediate, a key species in the process of the red chromophore formation in DsRed, TagRFP, fluorescent timers, and PAmCherry. The blue chromophore ...

We present a novel approach for determining the strength of the electric field experienced by proteins immobilised on membrane models. It is based on the vibrational Stark effect of a nitrile label introduced at different positions on engineered proteins and monitored by surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy.

We investigate the thermal denaturation of human serum albumin and the associated solvation using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy in aqueous buffer solution. Far- and near-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectroscopy reveal that the protein undergoes a native (N) to extended (E) state transition at temperature ≤55°C with a marginal change in the secondary ...

Kindling fluorescent protein (KFP) is considered as a perspective fluorophore for high - resolution nanoscopy. Analysis of pH dependence of the absorption and fluorescence spectra of KFP in aqueous solutions prompted us to assume that a shift in conformational equilibrium is responsible for substantial enhancement of red fluorescence in KFP ...

Intestinal barrier dysfunction is implicated in the development of various clinical diseases. While the study of intestinal barrier function has traditionally emphasized the impact of intestinal microflora and bacteria, the rapid development of molecular and cellular techniques has helped the recent transition of the field to the molecular regulation of ...

Certain kinetoplastid (Leishmania spp. and Tryapnosoma cruzi) and apicomplexan parasites (Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii) are capable of invading human cells as part of their pathology. These parasites appear to have evolved a relatively expanded or diverse complement of genes encoding molecular chaperones. The gene families encoding heat shock protein ...

Threonine is the second or third limiting amino acid in swine or poultry diets. This nutrient plays a critical role in the maintenance of intestinal mucosal integrity and barrier function, which can be indicated by intestinal morphology, mucus production (number of goblet cells), transepithelial permeability, brush border enzyme activity, and ...

The baseplate subantenna in chlorosomes of green anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, belonging to the families Chloroflexaceae and Chlorobiaceae, is known to represent a complex of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a with the ~6 kDa CsmA proteins. Earlier, we showed the existence of a similar BChl a subantenna in chlorosomes of the photosynthetic green ...

The intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii divides by a unique process of internal budding that involves the assembly of two daughter cells within the mother. The cytoskeleton of Toxoplasma, which is composed of microtubules associated with an inner membrane complex (IMC), has an important role in this process. The IMC, ...

Pine wilt disease, caused by the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, has become of worldwide quarantine concern in recent years. Here, we disclosed the surface coat (SC) proteins of the PWN which are thought to be one of the key components in pine wilt development. This is the first ...

Completed genome sequences and stage-specific transcriptomes of the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle of Plasmodium vivax offers the opportunity to profile immune responses against P. vivax infection using innovative screening approaches. To detect the immune responses to blood stage-specific proteins, we applied a protein array technology to screen the sera of vivax ...

Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic used in filariasis control programs. By binding to nematode glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCls), IVM disrupts neurotransmission processes regulated by GluCl activity. IVM treatment of filarial infections is characterized by an initial dramatic drop in the levels of circulating microfilariae, followed by long-term suppression of ...

Plastids are found across the tree of life in a tremendous diversity of life forms. Surprisingly they are not limited to photosynthetic organisms but also found in numerous predators and parasites. An important reason for the pervasiveness of plastids has been their ability to move laterally and to jump from ...

The obligate intracellular parasite pathogen Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of malaria, a disease that results in nearly one million deaths per year. A key step in disease pathology in the human host is the parasite-mediated rupture of red blood cells, a process that requires extensive proteolysis of a ...

Plasmodium falciparum is predicted to transport over 300 proteins to the cytosol of its chosen host cell, the mature human erythrocyte, including 19 members of the Hsp40 family. Here, we have generated transfectant lines expressing GFP- or HA-Strep-tagged versions of these proteins, and used these to investigate both localization and ...

Transport of Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1 (PfEMP1) variants to the red blood cell (RBC) surface enables malarial parasite evasion of host immunity by modifying the antigenic and adhesive properties of infected RBCs. In this study, we applied the Bxb1 integrase system to integrate transgenes encoding truncated PfEMP1-GFP fusions ...

SUMMARYNeospora caninum is an Apicomplexan protozoan that has the dog as a definitive host and cattle (among other animals) as intermediate hosts. It causes encephalopathy in dogs and abortion in cows, with significant loss in worldwide livestock. As any Apicomplexan, the parasite invades the cells using proteins contained in the ...

The Clp chaperones and proteases play an important role in protein homeostasis in the cell. They are highly conserved across prokaryotes and found also in the mitochondria of eukaryotes and the chloroplasts of plants. They function mainly in the disaggregation, unfolding and degradation of native as well as misfolded proteins. ...

The asexually proliferating stages of apicomplexan parasites cause acute symptoms of diseases such as malaria, cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis. These stages are characterized by the presence of two independent microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs). Centrioles are found at the poles of the intranuclear spindle. The apical polar ring (APR), a MTOC unique ...

Malaria parasites live within erythrocytes in the host bloodstream and induce crucial changes to these cells. By so doing, they can obtain the nutrients that they require for growth and can effect the evasion and perturbation of host defences. In order to accomplish this extensive host cell remodelling, the intracellular ...

Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease (p100 or SND1), a member of the micronuclease family is a multifunctional protein that plays a key role(s) in transcription and splicing processes in many eukaryotic cells. PfTudor-SN, a Plasmodium homolog of the human p100 protein is a structurally conserved protein; however molecular details of its function ...

The genome revolution is providing fresh insights into host and parasite genomes, and new tools are becoming available for examining host-parasite interactions at the proteome level. Technologies such as surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) can be applied to discover biomarkers (alterations in both host and parasite proteomes) ...

The main vector for transmission of malaria in Mexico is the Anopheles albimanus mosquito. The midgut of disease-transmitting mosquitoes carries out a variety of functions that are related to blood feeding. We analyzed the midgut of A. albimanus infected with Plasmodium berghei (resistant mosquito) using a proteomic approach to identify ...

Central to the pathogenesis of many bacterial pathogens is the ability to deliver effector proteins directly into the cells of their eukaryotic host. EspF is one of many effector proteins exclusive to the attaching and effacing pathogen family that includes enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) Escherichia coli. Work in recent ...

Many bacterial pathogens translocate effector proteins into host cells to manipulate host cell functions. Here, we used a protein microarray comprising virtually all human SRC homology 2 (SH2) and phosphotyrosine binding domains to comprehensively and quantitatively assess interactions between host cell proteins and the early phase Chlamydia trachomatis effector protein ...

A library of 40,000 compounds was screened for inhibitors of 2-methylerythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase (IspF) protein from Arabidopsis thaliana using a photometric assay. A thiazolopyrimidine derivative resulting from the high-throughput screen was found to inhibit the IspF proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium falciparum, and A. thaliana with IC(50) values in the ...

The nontoxic cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) was evaluated as a potential delivery molecule for the Plasmodium vivax ookinete surface protein, Pvs25. Recombinant Pvs25 was expressed as a secreted protein in the yeast Pichia pastoris, as a mixture of isoforms including multimers and the A and B monomers. The A ...

Motility of the sleeping sickness parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, impacts disease transmission and pathogenesis. Trypanosome motility is driven by a flagellum that harbors a canonical 9+2 axoneme, together with trypanosome-specific elaborations. Trypanosome flagellum biology and motility have been the object of intense research over the last two years. These studies have ...

Trypanosoma cruzi host cell entry depends on lysosomes for the formation of the parasitophorous vacuole. Lysosome internal surface is covered by two major proteins, highly sialilated, Lysosome Associated Membrane Proteins 1 and 2. T. cruzi, on the other hand, needs to acquire sialic acid from its host cell through the ...

The parasitic protozoan, Leishmania, survives in harsh environments within its mammalian and sand fly hosts. Secreted proteins likely play critical roles in the parasite's interactions with its environment. As a preliminary identification of the spectrum of potential excreted/secreted (ES) proteins of Leishmania infantum chagasi (Lic), a causative agent of visceral ...

Plasmodium falciparum belongs to the Apicomplexan group of parasites and is characterised by presence of specialized secretory organelles at the apical end. These apical organelles, referred to as microneme and rhoptries, contain proteins that play important roles during host cell invasion by mediating specific functions such as initial attachment, apical ...

The excretory/secretory proteome of Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) adults collected from experimentally infected mice was investigated using a proteomic approach. We performed a shot-gun liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for the separation and identification of tryptic peptides from the excretory/secretory products of E. caproni adult worms. Database search was performed using ...

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne infectious disease with a wide range of pathologies depending on the species of Leishmania. Leishmania parasites are transmitted by the sand fly vector as promastigotes; within the mammalian host, Leishmania parasites differentiate into amastigotes and replicate in macrophages. The A2 protein from Leishmania donovani is expressed ...

The first interaction between the malaria merozoite and the red blood cell it will invade is mediated by molecules on the surface of the two cells. The Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein (MSP)1 complex that contains MSP1 and two other parasite proteins, MSP6 and MSP7, is likely to be an ...

BACKGROUND: In order to identify molecules necessary for the invasion of the mosquito midgut epithelium by plasmodia, interaction assays between both these structures were devised. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Enrichment of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes was first carried out using a double 5-17% gradient Nycodenz cushion, which resulted in an enrichment factor ...

Cystic hydatid disease (CHD) is caused by infection with the Echinococcus granulosus metacestode and affects both humans and livestock. In this work, we performed a proteomic analysis of the E. granulosus metacestode during infection of its intermediate bovine host. Parasite proteins were identified in different metacestode components (94 from protoscolex, ...

Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria and is unique in its ability to sequester in organ postcapillary venules. Specific host-parasite interactions mediate this phenomenon and the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 is the predominant ligand responsible for adhering to host endothelial ...

The parasite Giardia lamblia possesses PVs (peripheral vacuoles) that function as both endosomes and lysosomes and are implicated in the adaptation, differentiation and survival of the parasite in different environments. The mechanisms by which Giardia traffics essential proteins to these organelles and regulates their secretion have important implications in the ...