The optimization of culture conditions for selenium (Se) bioaccumulation in the microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana growth in a Na2SeO4-enriched medium was explored, in order to obtain a suitable approach for the biotechnological production of a Se-enriched food. Se concentration (as Na2SeO4) in the culture medium until 100 μg ml –1 allows the growth of algae colonies during long periods of time, ...

The effect of red wine phenolic extracts on the stability of wine volatile esters and terpenes was examined. Muscat (white) and Xinomavro (red) wines were enriched with each extract at 120 or 200 mg/L, and stored in open bottles at 20 °C for 3 and 2.5 days, respectively. Moreover, a model wine medium containing isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and linalool was enriched with each extract at 100 ...

The objective of this study was to develop a short-term culture system for buffalo spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in various culture conditions. Spermatogonial stem cells as well as sertoli cells were isolated from prepubertal buffalo calf testes and enriched to culture for two weeks in a serum-free medium. The serum-free medium was supplemented with various concentrations of serum (FBS) or f...

Ecto-nucleotidase activity is involved in the infection process of Leishmania and various other parasites that enables modulation of host immune responses to promote disease progression. One of the enzymes responsible for this activity is the ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase). The enzyme hydrolyzes nucleotides tri- and/or di-phosphate into monophosphate products, which...

In the current model of medium-chain (C8-14) fatty acid biosynthesis in seeds, specialized FatB acyl-acyl-carrier-protein (ACP) thioesterases are responsible for the production of medium chains. We have isolated and characterized FatB cDNAs from the maturing seeds of elm (Ulmus americana) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), which accumulate predominantly caprate (10:0)- and myristate (14:0)-contai...

We have established two human cell lines which elaborate colony-stimulating activity (CSA) for at least four species: man, mouse, rabbit, and dog. One, GCT, was isolated from a lung metastasis of a fibrous histiocytoma; the other, RC4, from a monocyte-enriched fraction of normal blood. Medium conditioned by either GCT or RC4 cells was more potent in stimulating human marrow growth in vitro than...

The plasma membrane is a complex medium where transmembrane proteins diffuse and interact to facilitate cell function. Membrane protein mobility is affected by multiple mechanisms, including crowding, trapping, medium elasticity and structure, thus limiting our ability to distinguish them in intact cells. Here we characterize the mobility and organization of a short transmembrane protein at the...

The present study evaluated the effects of the culturing media and the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on the growth, biomass productivity and lipid production of four species of Microcystis (M. novacekii, M. aeruginosa, M panniformis and M. protocystis). The lipid extract was obtained by refluxing with dichloromethane (Soxhlet). The biomass and biomass productivity yields were maximized with...

To investigate the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca stores in plant cells, we generated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum; NT1) suspension cells and Arabidopsis plants with altered levels of calreticulin (CRT), an ER-localized Ca-binding protein. NT1 cells and Arabidopsis plants were transformed with a maize (Zea mays) CRT gene in both sense and antisense orientations under the control of an Arabidopsis ...

When human umbilical vein endothelial cultures were grown in the presence of supplemental arachidonic acid, the cell phospholipids became enriched with arachidonic acid. Prostacyclin (PGI2) accumulated in the medium during supplementation with arachidonic acid. The capacity of these enriched cultures to produce PGI2 when subsequently incubated with either arachidonic acid or thrombin was reduce...