A process for controlling intracellular bacterial infections induced by membrane injury     

Roy D  Liston DR  Idone VJ  Di A  Nelson DJ  Pujol C  Bliska JB  Chakrabarti S  Andrews NW 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2004,304(5676):1515-1518

Strategies for inhibiting phagolysosome fusion are essential for the intracellular survival and replication of many pathogens. We found that the lysosomal synaptotagmin Syt VII is required for a mechanism that promotes phagolysosomal fusion and limits the intracellular growth of pathogenic bacteria. Syt VII was required for a form of Ca2+-dependent phagolysosome fusion that is analogous to Ca2+-regulated exocytosis of lysosomes, which can be triggered by membrane injury. Bacterial type III secretion systems, which permeabilize membranes and cause Ca2+ influx in mammalian cells, promote lysosomal exocytosis and inhibit intracellular survival in Syt VII +/+ but not -/- cells. Thus, the lysosomal repair response can also protect cells against pathogens that trigger membrane permeabilization.  相似文献   

Atom collision-induced resistivity of carbon nanotubes     

Romero HE  Bolton K  Rosén A  Eklund PC 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,307(5706):89-93

We report the observation of unusually strong and systematic changes in the electron transport in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes that are undergoing collisions with inert gas atoms or small molecules. At fixed gas temperature and pressure, changes in the resistance and thermopower of thin films are observed that scale as roughly M(1/3), where M is the mass of the colliding gas species (He, Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe, CH4, and N2). Results of molecular dynamics simulations are also presented that show that the maximum deformation of the tube wall upon collision and the total energy transfer between the colliding atom and the nanotube also exhibit a roughly M(1/3) dependence. It appears that the transient deformation (or dent) in the tube wall may provide a previously unknown scattering mechanism needed to explain the atom collision-induced changes in the electrical transport.  相似文献   

Microbial dehalorespiration with 1,1,1-trichloroethane     

Sun B  Griffin BM  Ayala-del-Río HL  Hashsham SA  Tiedje JM 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2002,298(5595):1023-1025

1,1,1-Trichloroethane (TCA) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant because of its widespread use as an industrial solvent, its improper disposal, and its substantial emission to the atmosphere. We report the isolation of an anaerobic bacterium, strain TCA1, that reductively dechlorinates TCA to 1,1-dichloroethane and chloroethane. Strain TCA1 required H2 as an electron donor and TCA as an electron acceptor for growth, indicating that dechlorination is a respiratory process. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain TCA1 is related to gram-positive bacteria with low DNA G+C content and that its closest relative is Dehalobacter restrictus, an obligate H2-oxidizing, chloroethene-respiring bacterium.  相似文献   

The needle length of bacterial injectisomes is determined by a molecular ruler     

Journet L  Agrain C  Broz P  Cornelis GR 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,302(5651):1757-1760

Size determination represents a fundamental requirement for multicomponent biological structures. Some pathogenic bacteria possess a weapon derived from the flagellum. Like the flagellum, this type-III secretion apparatus, called the injectisome, has a transmembrane basal body, but the external component is a needle-like structure instead of a hook and a filament. Here, we provide evidence that the length of this needle is determined by the size of a protein, YscP, acting as a molecular ruler.  相似文献   

Universality and critical behavior at the Mott transition     

Limelette P  Georges A  Jérome D  Wzietek P  Metcalf P  Honig JM 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,302(5642):89-92

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Laser-induced ferroelectric structural order in an organic charge-transfer crystal     

Collet E  Lemée-Cailleau MH  Buron-Le Cointe M  Cailleau H  Wulff M  Luty T  Koshihara SY  Meyer M  Toupet L  Rabiller P  Techert S 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,300(5619):612-615

We report the direct observation by x-ray diffraction of a photoinduced paraelectric-to-ferroelectric structural phase transition using monochromatic 100-picosecond synchrotron pulses. It occurs in tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil, a charge-transfer molecular material in which electronic and structural changes are strongly coupled. An optical 300-femtosecond laser pulse switches the material from a neutral to an ionic state on a 500-picosecond time scale and, by virtue of intrinsic cooperativity, generates self-organized long-range structural order. The x-ray data indicate a macroscopic ferroelectric reorganization after the laser irradiation. Refinement of the structures before and after laser irradiation indicates structural changes at the molecular level.  相似文献   

SMEDWI-2 is a PIWI-like protein that regulates planarian stem cells   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Reddien PW  Oviedo NJ  Jennings JR  Jenkin JC  Sánchez Alvarado A 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,310(5752):1327-1330

We have identified two genes, smedwi-1 and smedwi-2, expressed in the dividing adult stem cells (neoblasts) of the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Both genes encode proteins that belong to the Argonaute/PIWI protein family and that share highest homology with those proteins defined by Drosophila PIWI. RNA interference (RNAi) of smedwi-2 blocks regeneration, even though neoblasts are present, irradiation-sensitive, and capable of proliferating in response to wounding; smedwi-2(RNAi) neoblast progeny migrate to sites of cell turnover but, unlike normal cells, fail at replacing aged tissue. We suggest that SMEDWI-2 functions within dividing neoblasts to support the generation of cells that promote regeneration and homeostasis.  相似文献   

Bacterial rhodopsin: evidence for a new type of phototrophy in the sea     

Béjà O  Aravind L  Koonin EV  Suzuki MT  Hadd A  Nguyen LP  Jovanovich SB  Gates CM  Feldman RA  Spudich JL  Spudich EN  DeLong EF 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2000,289(5486):1902-1906

Extremely halophilic archaea contain retinal-binding integral membrane proteins called bacteriorhodopsins that function as light-driven proton pumps. So far, bacteriorhodopsins capable of generating a chemiosmotic membrane potential in response to light have been demonstrated only in halophilic archaea. We describe here a type of rhodopsin derived from bacteria that was discovered through genomic analyses of naturally occuring marine bacterioplankton. The bacterial rhodopsin was encoded in the genome of an uncultivated gamma-proteobacterium and shared highest amino acid sequence similarity with archaeal rhodopsins. The protein was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli and bound retinal to form an active, light-driven proton pump. The new rhodopsin exhibited a photochemical reaction cycle with intermediates and kinetics characteristic of archaeal proton-pumping rhodopsins. Our results demonstrate that archaeal-like rhodopsins are broadly distributed among different taxa, including members of the domain Bacteria. Our data also indicate that a previously unsuspected mode of bacterially mediated light-driven energy generation may commonly occur in oceanic surface waters worldwide.  相似文献   

Acetylcholine-synthesizing T cells relay neural signals in a vagus nerve circuit     

Rosas-Ballina M  Olofsson PS  Ochani M  Valdés-Ferrer SI  Levine YA  Reardon C  Tusche MW  Pavlov VA  Andersson U  Chavan S  Mak TW  Tracey KJ 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2011,334(6052):98-101

Neural circuits regulate cytokine production to prevent potentially damaging inflammation. A prototypical vagus nerve circuit, the inflammatory reflex, inhibits tumor necrosis factor-α production in spleen by a mechanism requiring acetylcholine signaling through the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expressed on cytokine-producing macrophages. Nerve fibers in spleen lack the enzymatic machinery necessary for acetylcholine production; therefore, how does this neural circuit terminate in cholinergic signaling? We identified an acetylcholine-producing, memory phenotype T cell population in mice that is integral to the inflammatory reflex. These acetylcholine-producing T cells are required for inhibition of cytokine production by vagus nerve stimulation. Thus, action potentials originating in the vagus nerve regulate T cells, which in turn produce the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, required to control innate immune responses.  相似文献   

Stable carbon cycle-climate relationship during the Late Pleistocene   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Siegenthaler U  Stocker TF  Monnin E  Lüthi D  Schwander J  Stauffer B  Raynaud D  Barnola JM  Fischer H  Masson-Delmotte V  Jouzel J 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,310(5752):1313-1317

A record of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations measured on the EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dome Concordia ice core extends the Vostok CO2 record back to 650,000 years before the present (yr B.P.). Before 430,000 yr B.P., partial pressure of atmospheric CO2 lies within the range of 260 and 180 parts per million by volume. This range is almost 30% smaller than that of the last four glacial cycles; however, the apparent sensitivity between deuterium and CO2 remains stable throughout the six glacial cycles, suggesting that the relationship between CO2 and Antarctic climate remained rather constant over this interval.  相似文献