For both the prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the disorder content is generally independent of the proteome size. However, disorder shows a sharp increase associated with the transition from prokaryotic
to eukaryotic cells. This suggests that the increased disorder content in eukaryotic proteomes might be used by nature to deal with the increased cell complexity due to the appearance of the various cellular compartments.”
“The virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis depends on the ability of the bacilli to switch between replicative (growth) buy BMS-754807 and non-replicative (dormancy) states in response to host immunity. However, the gene regulatory events associated with transition to dormancy are largely unknown. To address this question, we have assembled the largest M. tuberculosis transcriptional-regulatory network to date, and characterized the temporal response of this network during SIS3 inhibitor adaptation to stationary phase and hypoxia, using published microarray data. Distinct sets of transcriptional subnetworks (origons) were responsive at various stages of adaptation, showing a gradual progression of network response under both conditions. Most of the responsive origons were in common between the two conditions and may help define a general transcriptional signature of M. tuberculosis growth arrest. These results open the door for a systems-level understanding of transition to non-replicative
persistence, a phenotypic state that prevents sterilization of infection by the host immune response and promotes the establishment of latent M. tuberculosis infection, a condition found in two billion people worldwide.”
“Progressive
multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe disease of the central nervous system (CNS), caused by infection with the Polyomavirus JC virus (JCV). Because there are no known treatments or prognostic factors, we performed selleck kinase inhibitor a long-term study focusing mainly on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from PML patients to describe the virological features akin to the different forms of the disease. Twenty-eight PML patients were enrolled: 10 HIV-1+ patients with classical PML (CPML), 9 HIV-1+ patients with slowly progressing or stable neurological symptoms (benign PML), 3 HIV-1+ asymptomatic patients, and 6 HIV-1-negative patients. CSF, urine, and blood samples were collected at the enrollment (baseline) and every 6 months afterwards when possible. The JCV DNA and HIV-1 RNA loads were determined, and the JCV strains were characterized. At baseline, the mean CSF JCV load was log?6.0 +/- 1.2?copies/ml for CPML patients, log?4.0 +/- 1.0 copies/ml for benign PML patients, log?4.2 +/- 0.5 copies/ml for asymptomatic PML patients, and log?5.8 +/- 1.3?copies/ml for HIV-1-negative PML patients (CPML vs. benign: P?<?0.01; CPML vs. asymptomatic: P?<?0.05; HIV-1 negative vs. benign: P?<?0.01).