Ethanol Production from Wheat Straw Hydrolysate by Issatchenkia Orientalis Isolated from Waste Cooking Oil.

The interest in using non-conventional yeasts to produce value-added compounds from low cost substrates, such as lignocellulosic materials, has increased in recent years. Setting out to discover novel microbial strains that can be used in biorefineries, an Issatchenkia orientalis strain was isolated from waste cooking oil (WCO) and its capability to produce ethanol from wheat straw hydrolysate (WSHL) was analyzed. As with previously isolated I. orientalis strains, WCO-isolated I. orientalis KJ27-7 is thermotolerant. It grows well at elevated temperatures up to 42 °C. Furthermore, spot drop tests showed that it is tolerant to various chemical fermentation inhibitors that are derived from the pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials. I. orientalis KJ27-7 is particularly tolerant to acetic acid (up to 75 mM) and tolerates 10 mM formic acid, 5 mM furfural and 10 mM hydroxymethylfurfural. Important for biotechnological cellulosic ethanol production, I. orientalis KJ27-7 grows well on plates containing up to 10% ethanol and media containing up to 90% WSHL. As observed in shake flask fermentations, the specific ethanol productivity correlates with WSHL concentrations. In 90% WSHL media, I. orientalis KJ27-7 produced 10.3 g L-1 ethanol within 24 h. This corresponds to a product yield of 0.50 g g-1 glucose (97% of the theoretical maximum) and a volumetric productivity of 0.43 g L-1 h-1. Therefore, I. orientalis KJ27-7 is an efficient producer of lignocellulosic ethanol from WSHL.

Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase activity by flavonol glycosides of guava (Psidium guajava L.): a key to the beneficial effects of guava in type II diabetes mellitus.

Based on the traditional use in popular medicine, the effect of extracts from Psidium guajava L. leaves and of the main flavonol-glycoside components on dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (DP-IV), a key enzyme of blood glucose homoeostasis, has been investigated in-vitro. An ethanolic extract was prepared from dried, powdered leaves of guava and was found to contain seven main flavonol-glycosides, which were isolated by semipreparative HPLC and tested individually. The ethanolic guava leave extract was shown to exert a dose-dependent inhibition of DP-IV, with an IC50 of 380 µg/ml test assay solution. Also the individual flavonol-glycosides inhibited DP-IV dose-dependently, with variations of the effects by a factor of 10, and an overall effect accounting for 100% of that observed for the total guava extract. The recovery of individual flavonol-glycosides in CaCo-2 epithelial cells, a model of gastrointestinal tract absorption, amounted to 2.3-5.3% of the amount available for absorption over 60 min at 37°C.

Genomic suppression of murine B29/Ig-beta promoter-driven transgenes.

Immunoglobulin beta (Ig-beta) is a critical signal transducer of precursor B cell and B cell receptors. B29, the gene coding for Ig-beta, is switched on in progenitor B cells and expressed until the terminal stage of antibody-producing plasma cells. Although several cis-acting elements and transcription factors required for B29 expression have been characterized in cell lines, the in vivo significance of individual motifs located in the 1.2-kb promoter region remained unclear. To address whether this region drives B lineage-specific expression in mice as efficiently as in transfected cell lines, we established transgenic animals carrying the B29 promoter fused to either enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or the precursor B cell receptor component lambda5. Surprisingly, only minimal levels of B29-derived transcripts were produced in B lymphoid tissues of several independent transgenic lines, and the respective proteins were below the detection limit. In addition, transgenic transcripts were found in testis, kidney and brain. Hence, the 1.2-kb-sized B29 promoter does not define a strong, B lineage-restricted expression unit when randomly integrated into the genome and passed through the murine germ line. Therefore, yet unidentified genomic locus control elements are required to efficiently drive B29 expression in B lymphocytes.

Structure function relationships in the lymphatic system and implications for cancer biology.

The lymphatic system, composed of lymphatic vessels, lymph, lymph nodes, and lymphocytes, is a distinctive vasculature (discontinuous basement membrane, open endothelial junctions, anchoring filaments, valves, and intrinsic contractility), different yet similar to the blood vasculature; an integral component of the plasma-tissue fluid-lymph circulation (the "blood-lymph loop"); and the center of the immunoregulatory network. Lymphatics are involved in diverse developmental, growth, repair, and pathologic processes both analogous to and distinct from those affecting the blood vasculature. Interference with the blood-lymph loop produces swelling [an imbalance between lymph formation (regulated by Starling's law of transcapillary fluid exchange) and lymph absorption], scarring, nutritional and immunodysregulatory disorders, as well as disturbances in lymph(hem)angiogenesis (lymphedema-angiodysplasia syndromes). The lymphatic system is also the stage on which key events during cancer development and progression are played out, and historically, also forms the basis for current evaluation, prognostication, and/or both operative and non-operative treatment of most cancers. Recent advances in molecular lymphology (e.g., discovery of lymphatic growth factors, endothelial receptors, transcription factors, genes, and highly specific immunohistochemical markers) and growing interest in lymphangiogenesis, combined with fresh insights and refined tools in clinical lymphology, including non-invasive lymphatic imaging, are opening up a window for translation to the clinical arena. Therefore, in cancer biology, attention to the multifaceted structure-function relationships within this vast, relatively unexplored system is long overdue.

Expression and function of laminins in the embryonic and mature vasculature.

Endothelial cells of the blood and lymphatic vasculature are polarized cells with luminal surfaces specialized to interact with inflammatory cells upon the appropriate stimulation; they contain specialized transcellular transport systems, and their basal surfaces are attached to an extracellular basement membrane. In adult tissues the basement membrane forms a continuous sleeve around the endothelial tubes, and the interaction of endothelial cells with basement membrane components plays an important role in the maintenance of vessel wall integrity. During development, the basement membrane of endothelium provides distinct spatial and molecular information that influences endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation/maturation. Microvascular endothelium matures into phenotypically distinct types: continuous, fenestrated, and discontinuous, which also differ in their permeability properties. Development of these morphological and physiological differences is thought to be controlled by both soluble factors in the organ or tissue environment and by cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Basement membranes of endothelium, like those of other tissues, are composed of laminins, type IV collagens, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, and nidogens. However, isoforms of all four classes of molecules exist, which combine to form structurally and functionally distinct basement membranes. The endothelial cell basement membranes have been shown to be unique with respect to their laminin isoform composition. Laminins are a family of glycoprotein heterotrimers composed of an alpha, beta, and gamma chain. To date, 5alpha, 4beta, and 3gamma laminin chains have been identified that can combine to form 15 different isoforms. The laminin alpha-chains are considered to be the functionally important portion of the heterotrimers, as they exhibit tissue-specific distribution patterns and contain the major cell interaction sites. Vascular endothelium expresses only two laminin isoforms, and their expression varies depending on the developmental stage, vessel type, and the activation state of the endothelium. Laminin 8 (composed of laminin alpha4, beta1, and gamma1 chains) is expressed by all endothelial cells regardless of their stage of development, and its expression is strongly upregulated by cytokines and growth factors that play a role in inflammatory events. Laminin 10 (composed of laminin alpha5, beta1, and gamma1 chains) is detectable primarily in endothelial cell basement membranes of capillaries and venules commencing 3-4 wk after birth. In contrast to laminin 8, endothelial cell expression of laminin 10 is upregulated only by strong proinflammatory signals and, in addition, angiostatic agents such as progesterone. Other extracellular matrix molecules, such as BM40 (also known as SPARC/osteonectin), thrombospondins 1 and 2, fibronectin, nidogens 1 and 2, and collagen types VIII, XV, and XVIII, are also differentially expressed by endothelium, varying with the endothelium type and/or pathophysiological state. The data argue for a dynamic endothelial cell extracellular matrix that presents different molecular information depending on the type of endothelium and/or physiological situation. This review outlines the unique structural and functional features of vascular basement membranes, with focus on the endothelium and the laminin family of glycoproteins.

The conduit system transports soluble antigens from the afferent lymph to resident dendritic cells in the T cell area of the lymph node.

Resident dendritic cells (DC) within the T cell area of the lymph node take up soluble antigens that enter via the afferent lymphatics before antigen carrying DC arrive from the periphery. The reticular network within the lymph node is a conduit system forming the infrastructure for the fast delivery of soluble substances from the afferent lymph to the lumen of high endothelial venules (HEVs). Using high-resolution light microscopy and 3D reconstruction, we show here that these conduits are unique basement membrane-like structures ensheathed by fibroblastic reticular cells with occasional resident DC embedded within this cell layer. Conduit-associated DC are capable of taking up and processing soluble antigens transported within the conduits, whereas immigrated mature DC occur remote from the reticular fibers. The conduit system is, therefore, not a closed compartment that shuttles substances through the lymph node but represents the morphological equivalent to the filtering function of the lymph node.

Identification of delta helicase as the bovine homolog of HUPF1: demonstration of an interaction with the third subunit of DNA polymerase delta.

Delta helicase is a 5' to 3' DNA helicase that partially co-purifies with DNA polymerase delta (pol delta) from fetal bovine thymus tissue. We describe the resolution of delta helicase from pol delta on heparin-agarose chromatography and its purification to apparent homogeneity by affinity purification on single-stranded DNA-cellulose chromatography, unique-sequence RNA-agarose chromatography, and ceramic hydroxyapatite chromatography. Delta helicase isolated from fetal bovine thymus had an apparent M(r) of 115 kDa in SDS-PAGE, and photo-crosslinked to [alpha-32P]ATP. Tandem mass spectrometry peptide mass data derived from the bovine polypeptide matched to human UPF1 (HUPF1), a 5' to 3' RNA and DNA helicase, and a requisite component of the mRNA surveillance complex. Antisera against HUPF1 cross-reacted with delta helicase on western analysis, and delta helicase activity was immunoinactivated by pre-incubation with antibodies to HUPF1, suggesting that delta helicase is the bovine homolog of HUPF1. Immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that HUPF1 interacts with the 66-kDa third subunit of pol delta in vivo.