Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can be divided into three main types based on the sizes of the monomers incorporated into the polymer. Short-chain-length (SCL) PHAs consist of monomer units of C3 to C5, medium-chain-length (MCL) PHAs consist of monomer units of C6 to C14, and SCL-MCL PHAs consist of monomers ranging in size from C4 to C14. Although previous studies using recombinant Escherichia co...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has been considered to be the most malignant brain tumors. Due to the existence of various barriers including the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB) greatly hinder the accumulation and deep penetration of chemotherapeutics, the treatment of glioma remains to be the most challenging task in clinic. In order to circumvent these hurdles, we...

We have confirmed that phytohemagglutinin (PHA) rapidly enhances the uptake of potassium (K+) by human blood lymphocytes. PHA, however, did not produce an increase in lymphocyte K+ concentration. The apparent steady-state of cell K+ concentration despite the marked increase in uptake of 42K+ could be explained by either an increase in K+-K+ exchange or an increase in concentrative (active) K+ a...

Microbial mats are complex but stable, multi-layered and multi-functional biofilms, which are the most frequent bacterial formations in nature. The functional strategies and physiological versatility of the bacterial populations growing in microbial mats allow bacteria to resist changing conditions within their environment. One of these strategies is the accumulation of carbon- and energy-rich ...

A functional antibody highly specific for polymerase C1 of Pseudomonas oleovorans GPo1 was raised and used to determine polymerase C1 levels in in vivo experiments. The polymerase C1 antibodies did not show a cross-reaction with polymerase C2 of P. oleovorans. In wild-type P. oleovorans GPo1 and Pseudomonas putida KT2442, amounts of 0.075 and 0.06% polymerase relative to total protein, respecti...

BACKGROUND The substitution of plastics based on fossil raw material by biodegradable plastics produced from renewable resources is of crucial importance in a context of oil scarcity and overflowing plastic landfills. One of the most promising organisms for the manufacturing of medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) is Pseudomonas putida KT2440 which can accumulate large amounts of...

Background and Aims: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is responsible for several significant human viral diseases, with severity ranging from subclinical to fatal infection. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV2) infections are more commonly seen in association with the genitalia and surrounding areas, and can be transmitted to newborns during childbirth. Generalized infections in newborns are also predo...

Pseudomonas sp. 61-3 accumulates a blend of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] homopolymer and a random copolymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyalkanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HA)], consisting of 3HA units of 4-12 carbon atoms. Pseudomonas sp. 61-3 possesses two types of PHA synthases, PHB synthase (PhbC) and PHA synthases (PhaC1 and PhaC2), encoded by the phb and pha loci, respectively. The P(94 mol...

The response of human myeloid leukemia cells to various sources of colony-stimulating activity (CSA) and media conditioned by phytohemagglutinin-stimulated mononuclear cells (PHA-LCM) was investigated in liquid and colony culture. PHA-LCM, placenta-conditioned medium, GCT cell line-conditioned medium, leukocyte-conditioned medium, and partially purified CSA for human and murine cells were teste...