CTP synthase: the hissing of the cellular serpent.

CTP biosynthesis is carried out by two pathways: salvage and de novo. CTPsyn catalyzes the latter. The study of CTPsyn activity in mammalian cells began in the 1970s, and various fascinating discoveries were made regarding the role of CTPsyn in cancer and development. However, its ability to fit into a cellular serpent-like structure, termed 'cytoophidia,' was only discovered a decade ago by three independent groups of scientists. Although the self-assembly of CTPsyn into a filamentous structure is evolutionarily conserved, the enzyme activity upon this self-assembly varies in different species. CTPsyn is required for cellular development and homeostasis. Changes in the expression of CTPsyn cause developmental changes in Drosophila melanogaster. A high level of CTPsyn activity and formation of cytoophidia are often observed in rapidly proliferating cells such as in stem and cancer cells. Meanwhile, the deficiency of CTPsyn causes severe immunodeficiency leading to immunocompromised diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites, making CTPsyn an attractive therapeutic target. Here, we provide an overview of the role of CTPsyn in cellular and disease perspectives along with its potential as a drug target.

Data on RNA-seq analysis of Drosophila melanogaster during ageing.

Ageing is defined as gradual decline of physiological, cellular and molecular state of an organism with time. The age-associated cell dysfunctions usually cause chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancers and other age-related diseases. Many of the genes and pathways involved in ageing are conserved in different species. These genes and pathways have been categorised into nine cellular and molecular hallmarks, namely, genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic alterations, deregulated nutrient sensing, stem cell exhaustion, cellular senescence and altered intercellular communication. Despite countless studies on ageing, the molecular mechanism of ageing is poorly understood. Here, we performed genome wide transcriptome mapping of ageing process in D. melanogaster. In which, transcriptomic analysis conducted on the 1 day and 60 days flies. Illumina Hiseq platform were used to generate raw data. Afterwards, further analysis including differential expression analysis, GO classification and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed. The raw data were uploaded to SRA database and the BioProject ID is PRJNA718442. These data provide the basis for future research in order to discover the genes and pathways involved in ageing.

Frequency of PER, VEB, SHV, TEM and CTX-M Genes in Resistant Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Producing Extended Spectrum ß-Lactamases.

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common pathogen causing nosocomial infections. Resistance of P. aeruginosa strains to broad-spectrum cephalosporins may be mediated by extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs). OBJECTIVES: We intended to investigate the prevalence of ESBLs and antimicrobial susceptibilities of P. aeruginosa isolated from patients in Zahedan, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, during 2012-2013, 116 P. aeruginosa isolates were collected from a teaching hospital in Zahedan, Iran. Susceptibility to eight antimicrobial agents was carried out by disk diffusion method. The ESBL producing strains were detected by combination disk test (CDT). ESBL positive isolates as well as other isolates showing minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ≥ 4 µg/mL for ceftazidime, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and aztreonam, were screened for the presence of the genes encoding blaTEM, blaSHV, blaPER-1 and blaVEB-1, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Ciprofloxacin and piperacillin were the most efficient antipseudomonal agents. The results disclosed that 19 (16.37%) of the isolates were multidrug resistant and 8 (6.89%) were ESBL-positive. Of the 116 isolates, 30 (25.86%) were resistant to at least one of the antibiotics ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime or aztreonam and among these 30 (100%), 4 (13.3%), 2 (6.6%) and 2 (6.6%), amplified blaTEM, blaVEB-1, blaPER-1 and blaSHV, respectively. From the 30 TEM-positive isolates, 22 were ESBL-negative. Sequencing of the ESBL genes verified the accuracy of the PCR products. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, blaTEM-116 was the most frequent isolated ESBL gene among the P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients.