The TB Structural Genomics Consortium: a decade of progress

The TB Structural Genomics Consortium is a worldwide organization of collaborators whose mission is the comprehensive structural determination and analyses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins to ultimately aid in tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. Congruent to the overall vision, Consortium members have additionally established an integrated facilities core to streamline M. tuberculosis structural biology and developed bioinformatics resources for data mining. This review aims to share the latest Consortium developments with the TB community, including recent structures of proteins that play significant roles within M. tuberculosis. Atomic resolution details may unravel mechanistic insights and reveal unique and novel protein features, as well as important protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, which ultimately lead to a better understanding of M. tuberculosis biology and may be exploited for rational, structure-based therapeutics design.     

Mihály (Michael von) Lenhossék (1863–1937)

Journal of Neurology -     

A comparative study of the autonomic nervous system innervation of the thymus in the mouse and chicken

It is well-established that the thymus of rats and mice are directly innervated prenatally by neurons of the central nervous system (CNS). Evidence now suggests that this innervation is involved in determining the neuroendocrine-immune functions of the gland. In this study an analysis of CNS innervation of the chicken thymus was carried out using the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) retrograde transport method to establish the phylogenetic integrity of CNS-thymic innervation and to gain insight into its function. Day-old chicks received HRP injections into upper of lower thymic lobes. Lower injections resulted in HRP-labeled neurons in the ventral horn of the cervical spinal cord and in the dorsal and ventral brainstem complex of the nucleus of X. Injections into upper thymic lobes resulted in similar spinal cord labeling and in labeling of neurons in the nuclei of both IX and X. These injections produced more labeled neurons in the ventral complex of X than did injections into lower thymic lobes. Unilateral HRP injections into upper or lower thymic lobes produced predominantly ipsilateral labeling in the appropriate areas. The results of this study indicate that chick thymuses are innervated by the CNS during embryogenesis. Furthermore, there appears to be a topographical distribution of nerve fibers suggesting discrete functions for individual lobes.     

Stress enhances electrical synapse formation between regenerating neurons

A pair of adult molluscan neurons (L5 and R5) are known to sprout and form a new electrical synapse following axotomy. Additionally, certain forms of stress can elicit restricted sprouting of neurons L5 and R5 within the intact nervous system. This study found that the strength of 5-5 electrical coupling was increased during sprouting in ganglia from previously stressed animals. The increase of electrical coupling was due to a decrease of coupling resistance without any observable change in the degree of sprouting. Thus prior stress can increase the strength of an electrical synapse formed between sprouting neurons.     

Different sensitivities of rabbit isolated blood vessels exhibiting co-transmission to the slow calcium channel blocker, nifedipine.

1. Antagonist drugs were used to separate the purinergic and adrenergic contributions as well as the adrenoceptor sub-types involved in the sympathetic vasoconstrictor responses produced by electrical field stimulation in rabbit isolated ileocolic and proximal saphenous arteries. Blocking drugs were applied either alone or in various combinations and sequences. 2. Nifedipine attenuated vasoconstrictor responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation both in the presence and in the absence of alpha-adrenoceptor blocking agents. However in the presence of alpha,beta-methylene ATP, nifedipine produces at best only a small attenuation of the vasoconstrictor response. 3. These results suggest that the purinergic component of the response to sympathetic nerve stimulation, at least in these tissues, can be antagonized by nifedipine, whereas the alpha 1-adrenoceptor-mediated response is relatively resistant.