Modulation of inv gene expression by the OmpR two-component response regulator protein of Yersinia enterocolitica.

To elucidate the physiological meaning of OmpR-dependent expression of invasin gene (inv) inhibition in Yersinia enterocolitica, the function of the EnvZ/OmpR regulatory pathway in osmoregulation of inv expression was analyzed in detail. The osmoregulation of inv expression was found to be a multifaceted process involving both OmpR-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Analysis of inv transcription in strains lacking OmpR or EnvZ proteins indicated that kinase EnvZ is not the only regulator of OmpR phosphorylation. Using the transcriptional inv::lacZ fusion in a heterologous system (Escherichia coli) we tried to clarify the role of OmpR in the inv regulatory circuit composed of negative (H-NS) and positive (RovA) regulators of inv gene transcription. We were able to show a significant increase in inv expression in E. coli ompR background under H-NS( Ecoli )-repressed condition. Moreover, H-NS-mediated inv repression was relieved when RovA of Y. enterocolitica was expressed from a plasmid. Furthermore, we showed that RovA may activate inv expression irrespective on the presence of H-NS protein. Using this strategy we showed that OmpR of Y. enterocolitica decrease RovA-mediated inv activation.

Quality of life and activity of children suffering from bronchial asthma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to analyze the quality of life of children suffering from bronchial asthma and to analyze their everyday activity. METHODS: The research was conducted in 137 children. The following questionnaires were used in the study: Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) and a questionnaire designed by the authors specifically for the purpose of the study. RESULTS: The findings of the study show that illness duration (r = -0.2; P = 0.22) and gender (P = 0.37) do not influence the quality of life. It appears that among children ill with asthma a higher level of quality of life is typical for the children who live in the country side in comparison with those from cities (P <0.05). The comparison was also made in terms of everyday activity of children ill with asthma and non-asthmatic children. The children ill with asthma displayed less social contacts with peers/friends (P <0.05) and they performed less physical activities (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The study points to the possible beneficial effects of activating children's social interactions, creating conditions for appropriate development of their social competences, and of stress reduction connected with social interactions. Asthmatic children should also be encouraged to intensify appropriate physical activity.

Asthma, allergy, mood disorders, and nutrition.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence supports comorbidity of asthma and allergies with mood disorders and various connections between these diseases. It still remains unclear whether this comorbidity is caused by the same pathophysiological factors or whether there are other links between asthma and depression. There is no definite answer to the question of an optimal treatment to deal with both asthma and depression, when they occur simultaneously. Epidemiological and clinical trials on the influence of nutrition on certain diseases suggest the effects of omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in aiding treatment of mood disorders and inflammatory conditions. OBJECTIVE: This is an overview showing the connections between asthma, allergic disease, and mood disorders, and the influence of nutrition on these conditions. Evidence indicates positive correlations between consumption of PUFAs and mood correction. Several analyses show the connection between diet and asthma. They may form a basis for potential recommending omega3 PUFAs as an adjuvant in prevention and treatment of mental disorders, asthma, and allergy.

Thrombospondin and apoptosis: molecular mechanisms and use for design of complementation treatments.

Thrombospondin-1 is the first and most studied naturally occurring protein inhibitor of angiogenesis. Its characteristic multi-domain structure determines thrombospondin-1 divergent functions, which include but are not limited to the regulation of angiogenesis. Below we overview the structural determinants and receptors expressed on the endothelial and other cell types, that are at the root of thrombospondin-1 striking ability to block neovascularization. We specifically emphasize thrombospondin-1 direct apoptotic action on the remodeling vascular endothelium and summarize current knowledge of its pro-apoptotic signaling and transcriptional networks. Further, we provide comprehensive survey of the thrombospondin-based anti-angiogenic strategies with special focus on the combination treatments. We convincingly illustrate how precise knowledge of the pro-apoptotic events and intermediates elicited by thrombospondin in the vascular endothelial cells facilitates the design of the most effective treatment combinations, where the efficacy of thrombospondin-derived compounds is maximized by the partner drug(s) ("complementation" strategies) and provide examples of such fine-tuning of the thrombospondin-based anti-angiogenic treatments.

Bond disorders of a patient with asthma: a case study.

The issue of treatment and providing preventive activities in bronchial asthma is still not fully investigated. Besides the medical aspect, psychiatrists and psychologists point to psychosomatic aspects, since psycho-social factors can evoke intensification of asthma symptoms, and also become the consequences of that disease. Previous psychosomatic investigations show that chronic illness makes the patients reveal extended dependence on others. Patients may also tend to perceive other people as being responsible for their health problems. Such an attitude is usually caused by the disease process and the feeling of threat related to disease symptoms. In the present article I discuss the case of a patient with diagnosed bronchial asthma who was in the course of psychodynamic therapy. The aim of therapy was to help the patient in an interpersonal sphere and, when a therapeutic alliance is already established, to support individualization and separation in his previously disordered process of development, and finally to support the process of recovery. The case presented below is one of many others, when patients with chronic diseases, including bronchial asthma, apply for therapy. The adult patients usually complain about discomfort in social situations, sometimes about difficulties with keeping work that they have just got, or, like in this case, about bond disorders which reveal as intrusiveness and adhesiveness.

Psychotherapy of the unemployed: determinants of efficacy.

The unemployment in Poland has recently achieved, and stabilized at, quite a high level. Therefore, the development of psychotherapeutic tools aimed at supporting the unemployed has become an issue of great importance. The number of persons seeking professional help at outpatient mental clinics due to psychosomatic disorders linked to job loss has been sharply on the rise. These patients present with sleep disorders, dysphoric mood changes, sustained somatic pains, lack of goal and satisfaction in life, and the like. This article shows, as exemplified on individual cases and group therapies, the patient's work-up and also the types of activities from the border of medicine and psychology to support the mental state of the unemployed.

Analysis of type I restriction modification systems in the Neisseriaceae: genetic organization and properties of the gene products.

The hsd locus (host specificity of DNA) was identified in the Neisseria gonorrhoeae genome. The DNA fragment encoding this locus produced an active restriction and modification (R/M) system when cloned into Escherichia coli. This R/M system was designated NgoAV. The cloned genomic fragment (7800 bp) has the potential to encode seven open reading frames (ORFs). Several of these ORFs had significant homology with other proteins found in the databases: ORF1, the hsdM, a methylase subunit (HsdM); ORF2, a homologue of dinD; ORF3, a homologue of hsdS; ORF4, a homologue of hsdS; and ORF5, an endonuclease subunit hsdR. The endonuclease and methylase subunits possessed strongest protein sequence homology to the EcoR124II R/M system, indicating that NgoAV belongs to the type IC R/M family. Deletion analysis showed that only ORF3 imparted the sequence specificity of the RM.NgoAV system, which recognizes an interrupted palindrome sequence (GCAN(8-)TGC). The genetic structure of ORF3 (208 amino acids) is almost identical to the structure of the 5' truncated hsdS genes of EcoDXXI or EcoR124II R/M systems obtained by in vitro manipulation. Genomic sequence analysis allowed us to identify hsd loci with a very high homology to RM.NgoAV in two strains of Neisseria meningitidis. However, significant differences in the organization and structure of the hsdS genes in both these systems suggests that, if functional, they would possess recognition sites that differ from the gonococcus and from themselves.