behavioral-assessments-spontaneous-locomotion-murine-mptp-induced

Behavioral Assessments of Spontaneous Locomotion in a Murine MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease Model

Parkinson&#8217;s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder disease, causing the phenomenon of shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and ...

Nankai University

Efficient conversion of CO into fuels and chemicals with solar energy would be promising, but also faces great challenge. In this context, we describe the photoreductive functionalization of CO to construct new C-C, C-N, and C-O bonds through the respective Pd-catalyzed Suzuki carbonylation, aminocarbonylation, and alkoxycarbonylation of aryl iodides with CO in situ generated through the photoreduction of CO . This protocol opens up an alternative avenue for CO utilization by harnessing solar energy.

Integrative Photoreduction of CO with Subsequent Carbonylation: Photocatalysis for Reductive Functionalization of CO.

Membrane-bound O-acyltransferases (MBOATs) are a superfamily of integral transmembrane enzymes that are found in all kingdoms of life. In bacteria, MBOATs modify protective cell-surface polymers. In vertebrates, some MBOAT enzymes-such as acyl-coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase and diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1-are responsible for lipid biosynthesis or phospholipid remodelling. Other MBOATs, including porcupine, hedgehog acyltransferase and ghrelin acyltransferase, catalyse essential lipid modifications of secreted proteins such as Wnt, hedgehog and ghrelin, respectively. Although many MBOAT proteins are important drug targets, little is known about their molecular architecture and functional mechanisms. Here we present crystal structures of DltB, an MBOAT responsible for the D-alanylation of cell-wall teichoic acid in Gram-positive bacteria, both alone and in complex with the D-alanyl donor protein DltC. DltB contains a ring of 11 peripheral transmembrane helices, which shield a highly conserved extracellular structural funnel extending into the middle of the lipid bilayer. The conserved catalytic histidine residue is located at the bottom of this funnel and is connected to the intracellular DltC through a narrow tunnel. Mutation of either the catalytic histidine or the DltC-binding site of DltB abolishes the D-alanylation of lipoteichoic acid and sensitizes the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis to cell-wall stress, which suggests cross-membrane catalysis involving the tunnel. Structure-guided sequence comparison among DltB and vertebrate MBOATs reveals a conserved structural core and suggests that MBOATs from different organisms have similar catalytic mechanisms. Our structures provide a template for understanding structure-function relationships in MBOATs and for developing therapeutic MBOAT inhibitors.

Crystal structure of a membrane-bound O-acyltransferase.

The linear and nonlinear rheological behavior of two rod-like particle suspensions as a function of concentration is studied using small amplitude oscillatory shear, steady shear and capillary breakup extensional rheometry. The rod-like suspensions are composed of fd virus and its mutant fdY21M, which are perfectly monodisperse, with a length on the order of 900 nm. The particles are semiflexible yet differ in their persistence length. The effect of stiffness on the rheological behavior in both, shear and extensional flow, is investigated experimentally. The linear viscoelastic shear data is compared in detail with theoretical predictions for worm-like chains. The extensional properties are compared to Batchelor's theory, generalized for the shear thinning nature of the suspensions. Theoretical predictions agree well with the measured complex moduli at low concentrations as well as the nonlinear shear and elongational viscosities at high flow rates. The results in this work provide guidelines for enhancing the elongational viscosity based on purely frictional effects in the absence of strong normal forces which are characteristic for high molecular weight polymers.

Qiu-Han Lang

State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology,
The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials,
Ministry of Education,
College of Life Science,
State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, The Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science

Nankai University

Behavioral Assessments of Spontaneous Locomotion in a Murine MPTP-induced Parkinson's Disease Model