Interaction patterns of methoprene-tolerant and germ cell-expressed Drosophila JH receptors suggest significant differences in their functioning.

Methoprene-tolerant (Met) and germ cell-expressed (Gce) proteins were shown to be juvenile hormone (JH) receptors of Drosophila melanogaster with partially redundant functions. We raised the question of where the functional differentiation of paralogs comes from. Therefore, we tested Met and Gce interaction patterns with selected partners. In this study, we showed the ability of Gce and its C-terminus (GceC) to interact with 14-3-3 in the absence of JH. In contrast, Met or Met C-terminus (MetC) interactions with 14-3-3 were not observed. We also performed a detailed structural analysis of Met/Gce interactions with the nuclear receptor fushi tarazu factor-1 (Ftz-F1) ligand-binding domain. We showed that GceC comprising an Ftz-F1-binding site and full-length protein interacts with Ftz-F1. In contrast to Gce, only MetC (not full-length Met) can interact with Ftz-F1 in the absence of JH. We propose that the described differences result from the distinct tertiary structure and accessibility of binding sites in the full-length Met/Gce. Moreover, we hypothesize that each interacting partner can force disordered MetC and GceC to change the structure in a partner-specific manner. The observed interactions seem to determine the subcellular localization of Met/Gce by forcing their translocation between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, which may affect the activity of the proteins. The presented differences between Met and Gce can be crucial for their functional differentiation during D. melanogaster development and indicate Gce as a more universal and more active paralog. It is consistent with the theory indicating gce as an ancestor gene.

The Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Motor Symptoms in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.

Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders affecting predominantly the motor cortex and pyramidal tract, which results in slowly progressing gait disorders, as well as spasticity and weakness of lower extremities. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been previously investigated as a therapeutic tool for similar motor deficits in a number of neurologic conditions. The aim of this randomized, controlled trial was to investigate the therapeutic potential of rTMS in various forms of HSP, including pure and complicated forms, as well as adrenomyeloneuropathy. Methods: We recruited 15 patients (five women and 10 men; mean age 43.7 ± 10.6 years) with the mentioned forms of HSP. The intervention included five sessions of bilateral 10 Hz rTMS over primary motor areas of the muscles of lower extremities and five sessions of similar sham stimulation. Results: One patient dropped out due to seizure, and 14 patients completed the study protocol. After real stimulation, the strength of the proximal and distal muscles of lower extremities increased, and the spasticity of the proximal muscles decreased. Change in spasticity was still present during follow-up assessment. No effect was observed regarding gait velocity. No changes were seen after sham stimulation. A post hoc analysis revealed an inverse relation between motor threshold and the change of the strength after active rTMS. Conclusions: rTMS may have potential in improving weakness and spasticity of lower extremities in HSP, especially of proximal muscles whose motor areas are located more superficially. This trial is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03627416.

J(F,H), J(C,H) and J(H,H) couplings involving the individual methyl group protons in 1,2,3,4-tetrachloro-5,6,7,8-tetrafluoro-9-methyltriptycene. Evidence of blue-shifting hydrogen bond.

1,2,3,4-tetrachloro-5,6,7,8-tetrafluoro-9-methyltriptycene was studied in NMR spectra at low temperatures where the methyl group dynamics is frozen. Values of 5J(19F,1H), 1J(13C,1H), and 2J(1H,1H) for the individual methyl protons were measured. They are in a fair agreement with the corresponding theoretical values calculated at a density functional theory (DFT) level. The 5J(19F,1H) couplings involve the peri-F nucleus and occur via the 'through space' mechanism. Both the natural bond orbital analysis (at a HF level) and the observed pattern of 1J(13C,1H) coupling values corroborate occurrence in this molecule of intramolecular, blue-shifting hydrogen bonds engaging the methyl hydrogens. The 'through space' 5J(19F,1H) couplings may indicate the routes of electron density transfers that escape detection by the natural bond analysis. A consideration of these effects can enrich the chemical intuition involving this specific sort of H-bonds.

Sensitivity improvement and new acquisition scheme of heteronuclear active-coupling-pattern-tilting spectroscopy.

A simplified phase-cycling scheme for heteronuclear active-coupling-pattern tilting (ACT) spectroscopy is presented. It is demonstrated that the theoretically expected twofold sensitivity gain over earlier implementations can be experimentally realized. A further intensity increase by a factor of 2 is obtained with standard sensitivity-enhancement pulse-sequence elements. The HSQC-HECADE sequence presented is designed for an accurate determination of heteronuclear one-bond and, with subsequent I-spin isotropic mixing, long-range coupling constants. As an exemplary application, the determination of the (3)J(N,Hbeta) coupling constants in a peptide at natural isotope abundance is demonstrated. Additionally, a new polarization-transfer step for the long-range HSQC-HECADE experiment is proposed which avoids a fixed delay tuned to a specific coupling-constant value. Thus, the long-range correlation experiment does not require prior knowledge of the coupling constants to be measured and yields more uniform cross-peak intensity for a broad range of active coupling constants.

A pure-phase homonuclear J-modulated HMQC experiment with tilted cross-peak patterns for an accurate determination of homonuclear coupling constants

A new HMQC-based experiment is presented which allows for an efficient determination of accurate homonuclear coupling-constant values. Pure absorption lineshapes with tilted cross-peak patterns are obtained by a combination of the active-coupling-pattern tilting (ACT) scheme with J-scaling. Characteristic features include separate heteronuclear echo and antiecho acquisition with a BIRD(y) pulse positioned before or after the t(1) period, respectively, to refocus I-spin homonuclear coupling evolution. Additionally, due to the incorporation of J-scaling the relative spacing of the S-spin chemical-shift differences and I-spin homonuclear coupling splittings in the F(1) domain is largely under experimental control. The most important advantage of the proposed method is that the I-spin homonuclear coupling evolution occurs simultaneously with the evolution of the heteronuclear zero and double-quantum coherences, which exhibit a slower transverse relaxation than I-spin single-quantum coherences. The effectiveness of the new sequence is demonstrated by a determination of the (3)J(HN,Halpha) couplings in a peptide sample. Additionally, the broadband property of the new sequence is verified with a sucrose sample. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Simplified multiplet pattern HSQC-TOCSY experiment for accurate determination of long-range heteronuclear coupling constants.

A new two-dimensional pulse sequence for accurately determining heteronuclear coupling constants is presented. It is derived from HSQC and HECADE techniques with B0 gradient coherence selection. The main feature of the proposed method is spectra with only one component of the IS doublet; i.e., the final result is equivalent to a selective broadband excitation of either Salpha or Sbeta spin states and a preservation of these states during the entire experiment. The effect is obtained by an appropriate combination of in- and antiphase coherences. It is demonstrated that heteronuclear single-bond as well as long-range coupling constants and their relative signs are readily evaluated. The proposed sequence is equally or less sensitive to a variation of heteronuclear one-bond couplings than previously published, closely related sequences. The new method is applied to a peptide sample for determination of 3JN, Hbeta.

The new active-coupling-pattern tilting experiment for an efficient and accurate determination of homonuclear coupling constants

A new constant-time COSY experiment which allows an efficient determination of accurate homonuclear coupling constant values is presented. Characteristic features include an improved scheme for homonuclear active-coupling-pattern tilting (ACT) and an arbitrarily scaled shift and coupling information (ASSCI) design of the F1 domain. As a result, simple and easy to interpret tilted cross-peak patterns, even for two-spin systems, are obtained with good sensitivity. The relative spacing of chemical-shift differences and coupling splittings is largely under experimental control. The effectiveness of the spectral region selective variant of the new sequence is demonstrated by a determination of the 3JHN, Halpha couplings in a peptide sample. The multiplet-selective variant is shown to produce good results with a terpene. The superiority of the new ACT scheme is additionally demonstrated by an ACT-J spectrum of the peptide. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

15N and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance study of 5-thiomethyltetrazole.

15N and 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP-MAS NMR) spectra of 5-thiomethyltetrazole have been measured. Two kinds of tetrazole molecules are found in the hydrogen bond chain system depending on the configuration of the S-CH3 group in relation to the ring hydrogen atom. The two-dimensional 15N CP-MAS experiment excludes the possibility of proton tautomeric dynamics in this system.