Project description:Glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2-4) from Peptoniphilus asaccharolyticus has been expressed as a selenomethionine-derivatized recombinant protein and diffraction-quality crystals have been grown that are suitable for structure determination. Preliminary structural analyses indicate that the protein assembles as a homohexameric enzyme complex in solution, similar to other bacterial and mammalian enzymes to which its sequence identity varies between 25 and 40%. The structure will provide insight into its preference for the cofactor NADH (over NADPH) by comparisons with the known structures of mammalian and bacterial enzymes.
Project description:Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus is a commensal of the human gastrointestinal tract and a pathogen of infective endocarditis and other biofilm-associated infections with exposed collagen. Therefore, this study focuses on the characterization of the biofilm formation and collagen adhesion of S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus under different conditions. It has been observed that lysozyme triggers biofilm formation divergently in the analyzed S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus strains. The transcriptome analysis was performed for two strains which form more biofilm in the presence of lysozyme. Lysozyme leads to higher expression of genes of transcription and translation, of the dlt operon (cell wall modification), of hydrogen peroxide resistance proteins and of two immunity proteins which could be involved in biofilm formation. Furthermore, the adhesion ability of 73 different S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus strains to collagen type I and IV was analyzed. High adhesion ability was observed for the strain UCN 34, whereas the strain DSM 16831 adhered only marginally to collagen. The full genome microarray analysis revealed strain-dependent gene expression due to adhesion. The expression of genes of a transposon and a phage region in strain DSM 16831 were increased, which corresponds to lateral gene transfer. Adherence to collagen leads to a change in the expression of genes of nutrients uptake in the strain UCN 34.
Project description:We have characterized miRNAs associated with equine seminal exosomes, and identified seminal exosomes eca-mir-128 to be specifically downregulated during equine arteritis virus long-term persistent infection in the reproductive tract of the stallion
Project description:The female reproductive tract is one of the major mucosal invasion site of HIV-1. This site has been neglected in previous HIV-1 vaccine studies. Immune responses in the female reproductive tract after systemic vaccination remain to be characterized. Using a modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) as a vaccine model, we characterized specific immune responses in all compartments of the female reproductive tract (FRT) of non-human primates after systemic vaccination. Memory T cells were preferentially found in the lower tract (vagina and cervix), whereas antigen-presenting cells and innate lymphoid cells were mainly located in the upper tract (uterus and fallopian tubes). This compartmentalisation of immune cells in the FRT was supported by transcriptomic analyses and correlation network. Polyfunctional MVA-specific CD8+ T cells were detected in the blood, lymph nodes, vagina, cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes. Anti-MVA IgG and IgA were detected in cervicovaginal fluid after a second vaccine dose. Systemic vaccination with an MVA vector thus elicits cellular and antibody responses in the female reproductive tract.