Native and Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Variants and Oligomers.

In this chapter, we describe a method for analyzing both recombinant and plasma-derived alpha 1 antitrypsin and its oligomers by means of native ion mobility mass spectrometry. Our experimental workflow can be applied to other variants of alpha 1 antitrypsin and its oligomers as well as being used to probe their interactions with small molecules in the gas phase.

Genome Sequences of Four Cluster P Mycobacteriophages.

Four bacteriophages infecting Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 (three belonging to subcluster P1 and one belonging to subcluster P2) were isolated from soil and sequenced. All four phages are similar in the left arm of their genomes, but the P2 phage differs in the right arm. All four genomes contain features of temperate phages.

Opaque intraocular lens implantation: a case series and lessons learnt.

PURPOSE: To report the use of opaque intraocular devices in three patients with complex neuro-ophthalmic symptoms. METHODS: A case series of three patients with neuro-ophthalmic symptoms requiring occlusion of one eye when alternative methods had failed to control symptoms. Morcher (Stuttgart, Germany) opaque intraocular implants were used in all patients. RESULTS: All three patients observed an improvement in symptoms following opaque intraocular device implantation. One patient (Case 2) required multiple devices for symptom relief. CONCLUSION: Opaque intraocular occlusive devices are an increasingly popular choice for clinicians in patients with intractable diplopia but we highlight their use in patients with other complex neuro-ophthalmic symptoms. We learned a number of useful lessons in these patients as summarized in this case series.

The maternally expressed zebrafish T-box gene eomesodermin regulates organizer formation.

Early embryonic development in many organisms relies upon maternal molecules deposited into the egg prior to fertilization. We have cloned and characterized a maternal T-box gene in the zebrafish, eomesodermin (eomes). During oogenesis, the eomes transcript becomes localized to the cortex of the oocyte. After fertilization during early cleavage stages, eomes is expressed in a vegetal to animal gradient in the embryo, whereas Eomesodermin protein (Eom) is distributed cytoplasmically throughout the blastoderm. Strikingly, following midblastula transition, nuclear-localized Eomesodermin is detected on the dorsal side of the embryo only. Overexpression of eomes results in Nodal-dependent and nieuwkoid/dharma (nwk/dhm) independent ectopic expression of the organizer markers goosecoid (gsc), chordin (chd) and floating head (flh) and in the formation of secondary axes. The same phenotypes are observed when a VP16-activator construct is injected into early embryos, indicating that eomes acts as a transcriptional activator. In addition, a dominant-negative construct and antisense morpholino oligonucleotides led to a reduction in gsc and flh expression. Together these data indicate that eomes plays a role in specifying the organizer.