Development of a chemically defined medium for Planctopirus limnophila to increase biomass production

BACKGROUND Planctomycetes is a phylum of biofilm-forming bacteria with numerous biosynthetic gene clusters, offering a promising source of new bioactive secondary metabolites. However, the current generation of chemically defined media achieves only low biomass yields, hindering research on these species. We therefore developed a chemically defined medium for the model organism Planctopirus limnophila to increase biomass production. RESULTS We found that P. limnophila grows best with a 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer. The replacement of complex nitrogen sources with defined amino acid solutions did not inhibit growth. Screening for vitamin requirements revealed that only cyanocobalamin (B12) is needed for growth. We used response surface methodology to optimize the medium, resulting in concentrations of 10 g/L glucose, 34 mL/L Hutner's basal salts, 23.18 mM KNO3, 2.318 mM NH4Cl and 0.02 mg/L cyanocobalamin. The analysis of amino acid consumption allowed us to develop a customized amino acid solution lacking six of the amino acids present in Aminoplasmal 10%. Fed-batch cultivation in a bioreactor using the optimized medium achieved a final DOD600 of 46.8 ± 0.5 after 108 h, corresponding to a cell dry weight of 13.6 ± 0.7 g/L. CONCLUSIONS The optimized chemically defined medium allowed us to produce larger amounts of biomass more quickly than reported in earlier studies. Further research should focus on triggering P. limnophila biofilm formation to activate the gene clusters responsible for secondary metabolism

Low field photo-CIDNP in the intramolecular electron transfer of naproxen-pyrrolidine dyads.

Photoinduced processes with partial (exciplex) and full charge transfer in donor-acceptor systems are of interest because they are frequently used for modeling drug-protein binding. Low field photo-CIDNP (chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization) for these processes in dyads, including the drug, (S)- and (R)-naproxen and (S)-N-methyl pyrrolidine in solutions with strong and weak permittivity have been measured. The dramatic influence of solvent permittivity on the field dependence of the N-methyl pyrrolidine (1)H CIDNP effects has been found. The field dependences of both (R,S)- and (S,S)-dyads in a polar medium are the curves with a single extremum in the area of the S-T+ terms intersection. Moreover, the CIDNP field dependences of the same protons measured in a low polar medium present curves with several extrema. The shapes of the experimental CIDNP field dependence with two extrema have been described using the Green function approach for the calculation of the CIDNP effects in the system without electron exchange interactions. The article discusses the possible causes of the differences between the CIDNP field dependence detected in a low-permittivity solvent with the strong Coulomb interactions and in a polar solvent.

Islet transplantation at the Dresden diabetes center: five years' experience.

For the majority of patients with type 1 diabetes intensive insulin therapy is effective and safe for maintaining glycemia and minimizing diabetes-associated complications. However, a rare number of patients show highly labile metabolic control and experience repeated and unpredictable hypoglycemic episodes. Such condition is often caused by defective counterregulatory mechanisms and autonomous neuropathy. Patients are at high risk for severe acute and chronic complications, and quality of life is considerably impaired. For this small subset of patients, restoration of endogenous insulin secretion can substantially improve metabolic control and quality of life. In our experience, this is irrespective of insulin independency. Here, we report on our 5 years' experience with implementing islet transplantation as a potential treatment option for type 1 diabetes. All patients were treated by long-term insulin pump therapy prior to enrolment. The main indication was severely unstable diabetes and repeated hypoglycemia. From 2008 to 2013, 10 patients have been transplanted with single islet infusion; mean follow-up time was 35 months. All patients show persistent graft function, stable glycemic control with a reduction in HbA1c in the absence of hypoglycemia. All patients are kept on minimal exogenous insulin. In conclusion, islet transplantation can be an excellent therapy for selected patients. Key prerequisite for success is a strict indication. The primary goal for islet transplantation should be stabile glycemia and prevention of hypoglycemia rather than insulin independence. In fact, maintaining minimal exogenous insulin may protect the islet graft from metabolic stress and even prolong islet graft function.

Overexpression of myosin VI in prostate cancer cells enhances PSA and VEGF secretion, but has no effect on endocytosis.

Tissue expression microarrays, employed to determine the players and mechanisms leading to prostate cancer development, have consistently shown that myosin VI, a unique actin-based motor, is upregulated in medium-grade human prostate cancers. Thus, to understand the role of myosin VI in prostate cancer development, we have characterized its intracellular localization and function in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. Using light and electron microscopy, we identified myosin VI on Rab5-positive early endosomes, as well as on recycling endosomes and the trans-Golgi network. Intracellular targeting seems to involve two myosin VI-interacting proteins, GIPC and LMTK2, both of which can be co-immunoprecipitated with myosin VI from LNCaP cells. The absence of Disabled-2 (Dab2), a tumour suppressor and myosin VI-binding partner, inhibits recruitment of myosin VI to endocytic structures at the plasma membrane in LNCaP cells, but interestingly has no effect on endocytosis. Small interfering RNA-mediated downregulation of myosin VI expression results in a significant reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion in LNCaP cells. Our results suggest that in prostate cancer cells, myosin VI regulates protein secretion, but the overexpression of myosin VI has no major impact on clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

Carotenoids as antioxidants: spin trapping EPR and optical study.

The role of several natural and synthetic carotenoids as scavengers of free radicals was studied in homogeneous solutions. A set of free radicals: *OH, *OOH, and *CH(3) were generated by using the Fenton reaction in dimethyl sulfoxide. It was shown that the spin trapping technique is more informative than optical methods for the experimental conditions under study. 5,5-Dimethyl-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) and N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) were used as spin traps for the EPR studies. The results show that the scavenging ability of the carotenoids towards radical *OOH correlates with their redox properties.

Immediate reaction to roxithromycin and prick test cross-sensitization to erythromycin and clarithromycin.

Allergic reactions to macrolides appear to be very rare. Only a few cases of fixed drug eruption or urticaria due to the administration of erythromycin have been reported. Cross-reaction between the different macrolides have not yet been published. We report a case of a 31-year-old female patient who developed generalized urticaria and tachycardia shortly after administration of roxithromycin (Rulid). Immediate-type hypersensitivity was confirmed by positive prick test reactions to roxithromycin and the chemically closely related macrolides erythromycin and clarithromycin.

NMR Study of Phase Transitions in Pure Water and Binary H(2)O/HNO(3) Films Adsorbed on Surface of Pyrogenic Silica.

Pyrogenic silica (aerosil) was employed as host within which the phase transitions in the adsorbed pure water and binary H(2)O/HNO(3) films have been studied with NMR spectroscopy. The median freezing temperature and freezing temperature region were shown to be highly sensitive both to the average thickness of the adsorbed films and to the amount of adsorbed nitric acid. The molar concentration of nitric acid in the adsorbed films was found to be very small, on the order of 10(-3)-10(-2) (M/liter). The concentration was found to be greater in the layers adjacent to the surface of silica and sharply decreases with distance from the surface. The difference between the median freezing temperatures for adsorbed pure water and for the binary system was found to be about 9 K for films of equal thickness. This is about 150 times greater than the difference between the freezing temperatures of bulk pure water and a solution with the same concentration of nitric acid.

Intracellular formation of two soluble glycoproteins in BHK cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus serotype New Jersey.

Infection of BHK 21 cells with VSV serotype New Jersey gave rise to three intracellular viral glycoproteins: the membrane-integrated G protein and the two soluble glycoproteins Gs and Gss which lacked the cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains as was deduced from limited chemical cleavage of the glycoproteins by hydroxylamine. Both soluble glycoproteins were completely protected by the microsomal membrane against proteolytic digestion. The soluble glycoproteins were formed in the endoplasmic reticulum because both were fully endo H sensitive after a 5-min pulse with [35S]methionine. Protease inhibitors and lysosomorphic agents had no effect on the yield of Gs and Gss. Tunicamycin treatment of VSV-infected cells reduced extensively viral particle maturation without affecting significantly the release of Gs and Gss. Two other glycosylation inhibitors, swainsonine and deoxynojirimycin did not decrease virus particle formation and secretion of both soluble glycoproteins. Since the glycosylation inhibitors showed a differential effect on the processing and transport of the glycoproteins a precursor-product relationship between G protein and soluble glycoproteins is highly unlikely. Both soluble glycoproteins were also synthesized in vitro in a reticulocyte lysate without microsomal membranes when primed with RNA extracted from VSV-infected cells or with newly transcribed mRNA from nucleocapsids in a coupled transcription system. Thus, proteases localized in the lumen of the ER seemed to be not essential for the generation of both soluble glycoproteins.