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Artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers have been widely regarded as an effective protection for lithium (Li) metal anodes. In this work, an artificial SEI film consisting of dense Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO) nanoparticles and polymerized styrene butadiene rubber is designed, which has good mechanical and chemical stability to effectively prevent Li anode corrosion by the electrolyte. The LLZTO-based SEI film can not only guide Li to uniformly deposit at the interface but also accelerate the electrochemical reaction kinetics due to its high Li + conductivity. In particular, the high Young's modulus of the LLZTO-based SEI will regulate e - distribution in the continuous Li plating/stripping process and achieve uniform deposition of Li. As a consequence, the Li anode with LLZTO-based SEI (Li@LLZTO) enables symmetric cells to demonstrate a stable overpotential of 25 mV for 600 h at a current density of 1 mA cm -2 for 1 mA h cm -2 . The Li@LLZTO||LFP (LiFePO 4 ) full cell exhibits a capacity of 106 mA h g -1 after 800 cycles at 5 C with retention as high as 90%. Our strategy here suggests that the artificial SEI with high Young's modulus effectively inhibits the formation of Li dendrites and provides some guidance for the design of higher performance Li metal batteries.

Introduction: We present a case of a male patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 diagnosed with pancreatic divisum and several gastrointestinal tumors. A 55-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with recurrent chronic pancreatitis, indicating a large mass in the ampulla. In addition, genetic testing revealed two unique germline mutations in the neurofibromin (NF1) gene, and their potential interaction in promoting cancer was further investigated., Conclusion: The first similar case was reported in 2020. The current case was distinct from other cases since an additional two NF1 mutations were found in the patient. In conjunction with prior case reports, our findings imply that genetic testing in patients diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1 could be helpful in the development of effective treatments., (© 2023. BioMed Central.)

Leishmaniasis is one of the top neglected tropical diseases with significant morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, this disease is also spreading in the developed world. Currently, there is a lack of effective strategies to control this disease. Vaccination can be an effective measure to control leishmaniasis and has the potential to achieve disease elimination. Recently, we have generated centrin gene-deleted new world L. mexicana (LmexCen -/- ) parasites using CRISPR/Cas9 and showed that they protect mice against a homologous L. mexicana infection that causes cutaneous disease. In this study, we tested whether LmexCen -/- parasites can also protect against visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. donovani in a hamster model. We showed that immunization with LmexCen -/- parasites is safe and does not cause lesions. Furthermore, such immunization conferred protection against visceral leishmaniasis caused by a needle-initiated L. donovani challenge, as indicated by a significant reduction in the parasite burdens in the spleen and liver as well as reduced mortality. Similar control of parasite burden was also observed against a sand fly mediated L. donovani challenge. Importantly, immunization with LmexCen -/- down-regulated the disease promoting cytokines IL-10 and IL-4 and increased pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ resulting in higher IFN-γ/IL-10 and IFN-γ/IL4 ratios compared to non-immunized animals. LmexCen -/- immunization also resulted in long-lasting protection against L. donovani infection. Taken together, our study demonstrates that immunization with LmexCen -/- parasites is safe and efficacious against the Old World visceral leishmaniasis., (© 2022. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

The protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani is a causative agent of the neglected tropical disease known as visceral leishmaniasis, which can be lethal when untreated. Studying Leishmania viru-lence factors is crucial in determining how the parasite causes disease and identifying new targets for treatment. One potential virulence factor is L. donovani's abundantly secreted protein: secreted acid phosphatase (SAcP). Whole-genome analysis revealed that the sacp gene was present in three copies in wild type L. donovani . Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing; we generated a sacp gene knockout termed LdΔSAcP, which demonstrated a loss of both the SAcP protein and an associated reduction in secreted acid phosphatase activity. Genome sequencing confirmed the precise dele-tion of the sacp gene in LdΔSAcP and identified several changes in the genome. LdΔSAcP demonstrated no significant changes in promastigote proliferation or its ability to infect and survive in macrophages compared to the wildtype strain. LdΔSAcP also demonstrated no change in murine liver infection; however, survival was impaired in the spleen. Taken together these results show that SAcP is not necessary for the survival of promastigotes in culture but may support long-term survival in the spleen. These observations also show that the use of CRISPR gene editing and WGS together are effective to investigate the function and phenotype of complex potential drug targets such as multicopy genes.

In mammalian cells, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are mainly repaired by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. Ku (a heterodimer formed by Ku70 and Ku80 proteins) and DNA ligase IV are the core NHEJ factors. Ku could also be involved in other cellular processes, including telomere length regulation, DNA replication, transcription, and translation control. Leishmania , an early branching eukaryote and the causative agent of leishmaniasis, has no functional NHEJ pathway due to its lack of DNA ligase IV and other NHEJ factors but retains Ku70 and Ku80 proteins. In this study, we generated Leishmania donovani Ku70 disruption mutants and Ku70 and Ku80 double gene (Ku70/80) disruption mutants. We found that Leishmania Ku is still involved in DSB repair, possibly through its binding to DNA ends to block and slowdown 5' end resections and Ku-Ku or other protein interactions. Depending on location of a DSB between the direct repeat genomic sequences, Leishmania Ku could have an inhibiting effect, no effect or a promoting effect on the DSB repair mediated by single strand annealing (SSA), the most frequently used DSB repair pathway in Leishmania . Ku70/80 proteins are also required for the healthy proliferation of Leishmania cells. Interestingly, unlike in Trypanosoma brucei and L. mexicana, Ku70/80 proteins are dispensable for maintaining the normal lengths of telomeres in L. donovani. We also show it is possible to reconstitute the two components (Ku and Ligase D) NHEJ pathway derived from Mycobacterium marinum in Leishmania . This improved DSB repair fidelity and efficiency in Leishmania and sets up an example that the bacterial NHEJ pathway can be successfully reconstructed in an NHEJ-deficient eukaryotic parasite. IMPORTANCE Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) is the most efficient double-stranded DNA break (DSB) repair pathway in mammalian cells. In contrast, the protozoan parasite Leishmania has no functional NHEJ pathway but retains the core NHEJ factors of Ku70 and Ku80 proteins. In this study, we found that Leishmania Ku heterodimers are still participating in DSB repair possibly through blocking 5' end resections and Ku-Ku protein interactions. Depending on the DSB location, Ku could have an inhibiting or promoting effect on DSB repair mediated by the single-strand annealing repair pathway. Ku is also required for the normal growth of the parasite but surprisingly dispensable for maintaining the telomere lengths. Further, we show it is possible to introduce Mycobacterium marinum NHEJ pathway into Leishmania . Understanding DSB repair mechanisms of Leishmania may improve the CRISPR gene targeting specificity and efficiency and help identify new drug targets for this important human parasite.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected protozoan disease affecting over 12 million people globally with no approved vaccines for human use. New World cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by L. mexicana is characterized by the development of chronic non-healing skin lesions. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 technique, we have generated live attenuated centrin knockout L. mexicana (LmexCen -/- ) parasites. Centrin is a cytoskeletal protein important for cellular division in eukaryotes and, in Leishmania, is required only for intracellular amastigote replication. We have investigated the safety and immunogenicity characteristics of LmexCen -/- parasites by evaluating their survival and the cytokine production in bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and dendritic cells (BMDCs) in vitro. Our data shows that LmexCen -/- amastigotes present a growth defect, which results in significantly lower parasitic burdens and increased protective cytokine production in infected BMDMs and BMDCs, compared to the wild type (WT) parasites. We have also determined the safety and efficacy of LmexCen -/- in vivo using experimental murine models of L. mexicana. We demonstrate that LmexCen -/- parasites are safe and do not cause lesions in susceptible mouse models. Immunization with LmexCen -/- is also efficacious against challenge with WT L. mexicana parasites in genetically different BALB/c and C57BL/6 mouse models. Vaccinated mice did not develop cutaneous lesions, displayed protective immunity, and showed significantly lower parasitic burdens at the infection site and draining lymph nodes compared to the control group. Overall, we demonstrate that LmexCen -/- parasites are safe and efficacious against New World cutaneous leishmaniasis in pre-clinical models., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), a potentially fatal disease is caused by Leishmania donovani parasites with no vaccine available. Here we produced a dermotropic live attenuated centrin gene deleted Leishmania major (LmCen -/- ) vaccine under Good Laboratory Practices and demonstrated that a single intradermal injection confers robust and durable protection against lethal VL transmitted naturally via bites of L. donovani-infected sand flies and prevents mortality. Surprisingly, immunogenicity characteristics of LmCen -/- parasites revealed activation of common immune pathways like L. major wild type parasites. Spleen cells from LmCen -/- immunized and L. donovani challenged hamsters produced significantly higher Th1-associated cytokines including IFN-γ, TNF-α, and reduced expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokines like IL-10, IL-21, compared to non-immunized challenged animals. PBMCs, isolated from healthy people from non-endemic region, upon LmCen -/- infection also induced more IFN-γ compared to IL-10, consistent with our immunogenicity data in LmCen -/- immunized hamsters. This study demonstrates that the LmCen -/- parasites are safe and efficacious against VL and is a strong candidate vaccine to be tested in a human clinical trial., (© 2021. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

There is currently no effective vaccine against leishmaniasis because of the lack of sufficient knowledge about the Ags that stimulate host-protective and long-lasting T cell-mediated immunity. We previously identified Leishmania phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK, a gluconeogenic enzyme) as an immunodominant Ag that is expressed by both the insect (promastigote) and mammalian (amastigote) stages of the parasite. In this study, we investigated the role of PEPCK in metabolism, virulence, and immunopathogenicity of Leishmania major We show that targeted loss of PEPCK results in impaired proliferation of L. major in axenic culture and bone marrow-derived macrophages. Furthermore, the deficiency of PEPCK results in highly attenuated pathology in vivo. BALB/c mice infected with PEPCK-deficient parasites failed to develop any cutaneous lesions despite harboring parasites at the cutaneous site of infection. This was associated with a dramatic reduction in the frequency of cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10)-producing CD4 + T cells in spleens and lymph nodes draining the infection site. Cells from mice infected with PEPCK-deficient parasites also produced significantly low levels of these cytokines into the culture supernatant following in vitro restimulation with soluble Leishmania Ag. PEPCK-deficient parasites exhibited significantly greater extracellular acidification rate, increased proton leak, and decreased ATP-coupling efficiency and oxygen consumption rates in comparison with their wild-type and addback counterparts. Taken together, these results show that PEPCK is a critical metabolic enzyme for Leishmania , and its deletion results in altered metabolic activity and attenuation of virulence., (Copyright © 2021 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

Leishmaniasis is a widespread neglected tropical disease transmitted by infected sand flies resulting in either benign cutaneous infection or fatal visceral disease. Leishmania donovani is the principal species responsible for visceral leishmaniasis, yet an atypical L. donovani has become attenuated in several countries including Sri Lanka and causes cutaneous leishmaniasis. Previous studies have identified 91 genes altered in the atypical cutaneous L. donovani compared to typical visceral disease associated L. donovani including mutations in the RagC and Raptor genes that are part of the eukaryotic conserved TOR pathway and its upstream sensing pathway. In the present study, we investigate whether the RagC R231C mutation present in atypical cutaneous L. donovani introduced into the virulent L. donovani 1S2D chromosome by CRISPR gene editing could affect virulence for survival in visceral organs. Through bioinformatic analysis, we further investigated the presence of sensing pathway components upstream of TOR in L. donovani including RagC complexing proteins, RagA and Raptor. L. donovani 1S2D edited to express mutant RagC R231C were viable in promastigote but had reduced visceral parasitemia in infected BALB/c mice. The RagC R231C mutant retained the ability to interact with RagA and gene knockout experiments revealed that although the RagA gene was essential, the RagC gene was not essential under promastigote culture conditions but was essential for survival in the liver of experimentally infected mice. These results provide evidence that the TOR associated sensing pathway plays a prominent role in L. donovani visceral disease and the RagC R231C mutation contributed to the atypical pathology of cutaneous L. donovani in Sri Lanka., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Synthetic biology allows the re-engineering of biological systems and promotes the development of bioengineering to a whole new level, showing great potential in biomanufacturing. Here, in order to make the heterologous lycopene biosynthesis pathway compatible with the host strain YSy 200, we evolved YSy200 using a unique Synthetic Chromosome Rearrangement and Modification by LoxP-mediated Evolution (SCRaMbLE) system that is built in the Sc2.0 synthetic yeast. By inducing SCRaMbLE, we successfully identified a host strain YSy201 that can be served as a suitable host to maintain the heterologous lycopene biosynthesis pathway. Then, we optimized the lycopene biosynthesis pathway and further integrated into the rDNA arrays of YSy201 to increase its copy number. In combination with culturing condition optimization, we successfully screened out the final yeast strain YSy222, which showed a 129.5-fold increase of lycopene yield in comparison with its parental strain. Our work shows that, the strategy of combining the engineering efforts on both the lycopene biosynthesis pathway and the host strain can improve the compatibility between the heterologous pathway and the host strain, which can further effectively increase the yield of the target product.

Arginine homeostasis in lysosomes is critical for the growth and metabolism of mammalian cells. Phagolysosomes of macrophages are the niche where the parasitic protozoan Leishmania resides and causes human leishmaniasis. During infection, parasites encounter arginine deprivation, which is monitored by a sensor on the parasite cell surface. The sensor promptly activates a mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 (MAPK2)-mediated arginine deprivation response (ADR) pathway, resulting in upregulating the abundance and activity of the Leishmania arginine transporter (AAP3). Significantly, the ADR is also activated during macrophage infection, implying that arginine levels within the host phagolysosome are limiting for growth. We hypothesize that ADR-mediated upregulation of AAP3 activity is necessary to withstand arginine starvation, suggesting that the ADR is essential for parasite intracellular development. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated disruption of the AAP3 locus yielded mutants that retain a basal level of arginine transport but lack the ability to respond to arginine starvation. While these mutants grow normally in culture, they were impaired in their ability to develop inside THP-1 macrophages and were ∼70 to 80% less infective in BALB/c mice. Hence, inside the host macrophage, Leishmania must overcome the arginine "hunger games" by upregulating the transport of arginine via the ADR. We show that the ability to monitor and respond to changes in host metabolite levels is essential for pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE In this study, we report that the ability of the human pathogen Leishmania to sense and monitor the lack of arginine in the phagolysosome of the host macrophage is essential for disease development. Phagolysosomes of macrophages are the niche where Leishmania resides and causes human leishmaniasis. During infection, the arginine concentration in the phagolysosome decreases as part of the host innate immune response. An arginine sensor on the Leishmania cell surface activates an arginine deprivation response pathway that upregulates the expression of a parasite arginine transporter (AAP3). Here, we use CRISPR/Cas9-mediated disruption of the AAP3 locus to show that this response enables Leishmania parasites to successfully compete with the host macrophage in the "hunger games" for arginine., (Copyright © 2020 Goldman-Pinkovich et al.)

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa transmitted by infected sand flies. Vaccination through leishmanization with live Leishmania major has been used successfully but is no longer practiced because it resulted in occasional skin lesions. A second generation leishmanization is described here using a CRISPR genome edited L. major strain (LmCen -/- ). Notably, LmCen -/- is a genetically engineered centrin gene knock-out mutant strain that is antibiotic resistant marker free and does not have detectable off-target mutations. Mice immunized with LmCen -/- have no visible lesions following challenge with L. major-infected sand flies, while non-immunized animals develop large and progressive lesions with a 2-log fold higher parasite burden. LmCen -/- immunization results in protection and an immune response comparable to leishmanization. LmCen -/- is safe since it is unable to cause disease in immunocompromised mice, induces robust host protection against vector sand fly challenge and because it is marker free, can be advanced to human vaccine trials.

CRISPR-Cas9 is an RNA guided endonuclease derived from the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes. Due to its simplicity, versatility, and high efficiency, it has been widely used for genome editing in a variety of organisms including the protozoan parasite Leishmania, the causative agent of human leishmaniasis. Compared to the traditional homologous recombination gene targeting method, CRISPR-Cas9 has been shown to be a more efficient method to delete or disrupt Leishmania genes, generate point mutations, and add tags to endogenous genes. Notably, the stable CRISPR expression systems were shown to delete multicopy family Leishmania genes and genes present in multiploid chromosomes, identify essential Leishmania genes, and create specific chromosome translocations. In this chapter, we describe detailed procedures on using the stable CRISPR expression system for genome editing in Leishmania. These procedures include CRISPR targeting site selection, gRNA design, cloning single and double gRNA coding sequences into the Leishmania CRISPR vector pLdCN, oligonucleotide donor and drug resistance selection donor design, Leishmania cell transfection, screening, and isolation of CRISPR-edited mutants. As the principles of gene editing are generally similar, many of these procedures could also apply to the transient Leishmania CRISPR systems described by other labs.

A multifunctional material, with two or more types of functionalities in a single material, might give new phenomena and novel applications. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or porous coordination polymers (PCPs) can be utilized as a highly versatile and tunable platform for exploring multifunctional materials. In this study, an extra thermally stable indium-MOF (1) was synthesized via self-assembly of 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic acid (H 4 EBTC) with an indium salt under solvothermal conditions. MOF 1 crystallizes in a tetragonal space group P4/mmm and shows a three-dimensional (3D) anionic framework with one-dimensional (1D) channels along the c-axis direction, and charge-balancing [(CH 3 ) 2 NH 2 ] + cations together with lattice DMF and water molecules are accommodated in channels. This multifunctional MOF emits pure blue luminescence under ambient conditions, arising from the π* →π electron transition in EBTC 4- , with CIE coordinates of (0.16, 0.07), and shows the highest quantum yield of 61.4% among indium-MOFs. Alternatively, 1 features fast proton conductivity with σ = 3.49 × 10 -3 S cm -1 at 25 °C and 99% RH, attributed to the efficiently synergistic proton transfer in the H-bond networks constructed by [NH 2 (CH 3 ) 2 ] + cations, lattice water molecules in channels and carboxylate groups in the framework. The notable level of performance of 1, combined with good hydrolytic and extra thermal stability, offers great opportunities for its future applications, and it may behave as a kind of promising multifunctional MOF material.

CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing relies on an efficient double-strand DNA break (DSB) and repair. Contrary to mammalian cells, the protozoan parasite Leishmania lacks the most efficient nonhomologous end-joining pathway and uses microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) and, occasionally, homology-directed repair to repair DSBs. Here, we reveal that Leishmania predominantly uses single-strand annealing (SSA) (>90%) instead of MMEJ (<10%) for DSB repair (DSBR) following CRISPR targeting of the miltefosine transporter gene, resulting in 9-, 18-, 20-, and 29-kb sequence deletions and multiple gene codeletions. Strikingly, when targeting the Leishmania donovani LdBPK&#95;241510 gene, SSA even occurred by using direct repeats 77 kb apart, resulting in the codeletion of 15 Leishmania genes, though with a reduced frequency. These data strongly indicate that DSBR is not efficient in Leishmania , which explains why more than half of DSBs led to cell death and why the CRISPR gene-targeting efficiency is low compared with that in other organisms. Since direct repeat sequences are widely distributed in the Leishmania genome, we predict that many DSBs created by CRISPR are repaired by SSA. It is also revealed that DNA polymerase theta is involved in both MMEJ and SSA in Leishmania Collectively, this study establishes that DSBR mechanisms and their competence in an organism play an important role in determining the outcome and efficacy of CRISPR gene targeting. These observations emphasize the use of donor DNA templates to improve gene editing specificity and efficiency in Leishmania In addition, we developed a novel Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 constitutive expression vector (pLdSaCN) for gene targeting in Leishmania IMPORTANCE Due to differences in double-strand DNA break (DSB) repair mechanisms, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing efficiency can vary greatly in different organisms. In contrast to mammalian cells, the protozoan parasite Leishmania uses microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) and, occasionally, homology-directed repair (HDR) to repair DSBs but lacks the nonhomologous end-joining pathway. Here, we show that Leishmania predominantly uses single-strand annealing (SSA) instead of MMEJ for DSB repairs (DSBR), resulting in large deletions that can include multiple genes. This strongly indicates that the overall DSBR in Leishmania is inefficient and therefore can influence the outcome of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, highlighting the importance of using a donor DNA to improve gene editing fidelity and efficiency in Leishmania ., (Copyright © 2019 Zhang and Matlashewski.)

A manganese-catalyzed ring-opening coupling reaction of cyclopropanols with enones for the facile and efficient preparation of 1,6-diketones is described. A wide array of synthetically important 1,6-diketones bearing manifold functional groups are obtained with up to 93% yield. These reactions feature broad substrate scopes, environmentally benign conditions, inexpensive catalyst, and operational simplicity.

Three red cyclometalated iridium(iii) complexes (4tfmpq) 2 Ir(dipdtc), (4tfmpq) 2 Ir(dpdtc) and (4tfmpq) 2 Ir(Czdtc) (4tfmpq = 4-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)quinazoline, dipdtc = N , N -diisopropyl dithiocarbamate, dpdtc = N , N -diphenyl dithiocarbamate, and Czdtc = N -carbazolyl dithiocarbamate) containing the unique four-membered Ir-S-C-S backbone ring were synthesized in five minutes at room temperature with good yields, and the Gibbs free energy calculation results indicate that all reactions are exothermic and thermodynamically favorable processes. The emission colors ( λ peak = 641-611 nm), photoluminescence quantum efficiencies ( Φ P = 58.3-93.0%) and bipolar properties can be effectively regulated by introducing different electron-donating substituents into the dithiocarbamate ancillary ligands. Employing these emitters, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with double emissive layers exhibit excellent performances with a maximum brightness over 60 000 cd m -2 , a maximum current efficiency of 40.68 cd A -1 , a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE max ) of 30.54%, and an EQE of 26.79% at the practical luminance of 1000 cd m -2 . These results demonstrate that Ir(iii) complexes with sulfur-containing ligands can be rapidly synthesized at room temperature, which is key to the production of metal luminescent materials for large-scale application in highly efficient OLEDs.

Leishmania donovani is responsible for visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected and lethal parasitic disease with limited treatment options and no vaccine. The study of L. donovani has been hindered by the lack of a high-quality reference genome and this can impact experimental outcomes including the identification of virulence genes, drug targets and vaccine development. We therefore generated a complete genome assembly by deep sequencing using a combination of second generation (Illumina) and third generation (PacBio) sequencing technologies. Compared to the current L. donovani assembly, the genome assembly reported within resulted in the closure over 2,000 gaps, the extension of several chromosomes up to telomeric repeats and the re-annotation of close to 15% of protein coding genes and the annotation of hundreds of non-coding RNA genes. It was possible to correctly assemble the highly repetitive A2 and Amastin virulence gene clusters. A comparative sequence analysis using the improved reference genome confirmed 70 published and identified 15 novel genomic differences between closely related visceral and atypical cutaneous disease-causing L. donovani strains providing a more complete map of genes associated with virulence and visceral organ tropism. Bioinformatic tools including protein variation effect analyzer and basic local alignment search tool were used to prioritize a list of potential virulence genes based on mutation severity, gene conservation and function. This complete genome assembly and novel information on virulence factors will support the identification of new drug targets and the development of a vaccine for L. donovani.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by Leishmania donovani complex parasites, is a neglected parasitic disease that is generally fatal if untreated. Despite decades of research to develop a sensitive VL diagnostic test, definitive diagnosis of VL still mainly relies on the visualization of the parasite in aspirates from the spleen, liver or bone marrow, an invasive and dangerous process with variable sensitivity. A sensitive assay that can detect Leishmania antigen from blood samples will help confirm cause, cure or recurrence of VL., Methods: In this study, rabbit polyclonal antibodies were raised against eight recombinant Leishmania proteins that are highly abundant in Leishmania. The antibodies were purified and labeled with biotin for developing a prototype sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)., Results: The ELISA for the Leishmania 40S ribosomal protein S12 detected target antigen with the highest sensitivity and specificity and could detect 1 pg of purified protein or as few as 60 L. donovani parasites. The 40S ribosomal protein S12 sandwich ELISA could detect the target antigen from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell (PBMC) samples in 68% of VL patients and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients, providing an estimation of parasitemia ranging from 15 to 80 amastigotes per ml of blood., Conclusion: These results indicate that the 40S ribosomal protein S12 sandwich ELISA warrants further tests with more clinical samples of VL patients and other parasitic diseases. It is hopeful that this ELISA could become a useful tool for confirming VL diagnosis, monitoring treatment progress, disease recurrence and possibly detecting asymptomatic Leishmania infections with a high parasite load.

Solvothermal reactions of aromatic 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic acid (H 4 EBTC) and Mg 2+ salts in the presence of different supporting ligands afforded the coordination polymers [Mg(H 2 EBTC)(DMF) 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] (1), [Mg 3 (HEBTC) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ]·solvent (2) and [Mg 2 (EBTC)(H 2 O) 5 ]·solvent (3). The crystal structures of 1-3 were determined by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique, where CP 1 showed a one-dimensional zigzag MgO 6 coordination octahedral chain structure; 2 exhibited a two-dimensional MgO 6 coordination octahedral framework with trinuclear [Mg 3 (COO) 6 ] SBUs, and 3 featured a three-dimensional MgO 6 coordination octahedral framework with binuclear [Mg 2 O(COO) 2 ] SBUs. The various structures in CPs 1-3 of Mg 2+ ions with the H 4 EBTC ligand were ascribed to the conformational flexibility and the coordination mode diversity of the H 4 EBTC ligand. Interestingly, the zwitterionic supporting ligand 2-aminoterephthalic acid or 4-aminobenzenesulphonic acid played a vital role in the initial formation process of nuclear crystals but only as a structural induction agent, which modulated the dimensionality of these Mg 2+ -based CPs. Additionally, the three CPs emitted bright blue luminescence at ambient conditions, and the emission lifetimes and absolute quantum yields were also investigated., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A combined Lewis acid system comprising of two or more Lewis acids occasionally exhibits augmented catalytic activity in organic transformations which are otherwise unrealizable by either of the components exclusively. On the other hand, the efficient construction of multiple new C-C bonds and polycyclic structures in minimal steps remains a subject of great interest in both academia and industry. Herein we report an efficient method to assemble aryldihydronaphthalene derivatives via a cascade reaction of diarylalkynes with acrylates under the catalysis of a combined Lewis acid derived from In(III) salt and TMSBr.

Four isomorphic two-dimensional (2D) homo- and heterometallic coordination polymers (CPs), [(Cd x Mn 1- x ) 3 (HEBTC) 2 (DMSO) 6 ] with x = 1 (1), 1/3 (2), 0.5 (3), and 2/3 (4) were prepared by conventional one-pot self-assembly approach, using Cd 2+ or mixtures of Cd 2+ and Mn 2+ with 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic (H 4 EBTC) under solvothermal conditions. The crystal structures of four isomorphic CPs are composed of center-symmetric trinuclear metal clusters building units linked by HEBTC 3- ligands, extending into (3, 6)-connected topological 2D nets. Four CPs are isomorphic to the Mn-CP, [Mn 3 (HEBTC) 2 (DMSO) 6 ], we recently reported. The solid-state photoluminescence of 1-4 shows dual emissions at ambient condition, where the emission bands centered at ca. 390 and 562 nm in 1 are assigned to the fluorescence and phosphorescence within HEBTC 3- ligand, respectively; however, the emission bands centered at around 397 and 470 nm in 2-4 are attributed to fluorescence, corresponding to electron transition within HEBTC 3- ligand and MLCT transition between HEBTC 3- ligand and Mn 2+ ion. In addition, the origin of isomorphism between 1 and Mn-CP is also discussed.

A two-dimensional coordination polymer, [Mn 3 (HEBTC) 2 (DMSO) 6 ] (1), has been achieved by a solvothermal reaction of Mn 2+ with 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic acid (H 4 EBTC). The layer of a coordination polymer is composed of trinuclear Mn 2+ clusters linked by HEBTC 3- ligands to form a (3,6)-connected topological net. CP 1 with paramagnetic Mn 2+ ions shows dual emissions centered at 397 and 468 nm in the solid state under ambient conditions with respectable quantum yields of 15.3% (397 nm) and 12.3% (468 nm). The dual emissions arise from n ← π* transition in HEBTC 3- and MLCT between HEBTC 3- and Mn 2+ centers.

In this study, a new two-dimensional Pb 2+ -based coordination polymer (CP), [Pb 2 (EBTC)(DMSO) 3 ] (1), where H 4 EBTC is 1,1'-ethynebenzene 3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic acid, was synthesized under solvothermal conditions. Structural analysis reveals that 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m, where two crystallographically different Pb 2+ ions show a coordination geometry of bicapped trigonal prisms that are connected to a double-chain by the EBTC 4- ligands through carboxylate groups along the b-axis direction, and where successive double chains are held together to form a 2D layer via the Pb1 and Pb2 bicapped trigonal prisms sharing one edge or a triangle face along the c-axis direction. Interestingly, CP 1 emitted intense and long-lived greenish phosphorescence in the solid state at ambient conditions, with a quantum yield of 1.5% and a phosphorescence lifetime of 4.17 ms, and the emission mainly arose from the electron transition within the π-type orbitals of the EBTC 4- ligand. The emission bands assignment and photophysical process were further discussed according to the calculation of both the electronic band structures and density of states. This study gives a fresh impetus to achieve coordination polymer-based long-lived phosphorescence materials under ambient conditions.

CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing has recently been adapted for Leishmania spp. parasites, the causative agents of human leishmaniasis. We have optimized this genome-editing tool by selecting for cells with CRISPR-Cas9 activity through cotargeting the miltefosine transporter gene; mutation of this gene leads to miltefosine resistance. This cotargeting strategy integrated into a triple guide RNA (gRNA) expression vector was used to delete all 11 copies of the A2 multigene family; this was not previously possible with the traditional gene-targeting method. We found that the Leishmania donovani rRNA promoter is more efficient than the U6 promoter in driving gRNA expression, and sequential transfections of the oligonucleotide donor significantly eased the isolation of edited mutants. A gRNA and Cas9 coexpression vector was developed that was functional in all tested Leishmania species, including L. donovani , L. major , and L. mexicana . By simultaneously targeting sites from two different chromosomes, all four types of targeted chromosomal translocations were generated, regardless of the polycistronic transcription direction from the parent chromosomes. It was possible to use this CRISPR system to create a single conserved amino acid substitution (A189G) mutation for both alleles of RAD51 , a DNA recombinase involved in homology-directed repair. We found that RAD51 is essential for L. donovani survival based on direct observation of the death of mutants with both RAD51 alleles disrupted, further confirming that this CRISPR system can reveal gene essentiality. Evidence is also provided that microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) plays a major role in double-strand DNA break repair in L. donovani . IMPORTANCE Leishmania parasites cause human leishmaniasis. To accelerate characterization of Leishmania genes for new drug and vaccine development, we optimized and simplified the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool for Leishmania . We show that co-CRISPR targeting of the miltefosine transporter gene and serial transfections of an oligonucleotide donor significantly eased isolation of edited mutants. This cotargeting strategy was efficiently used to delete all 11 members of the A2 virulence gene family. This technical advancement is valuable, since there are many gene clusters and supernumerary chromosomes in the various Leishmania species and isolates. We simplified this CRISPR system by developing a gRNA and Cas9 coexpression vector which could be used to delete genes in various Leishmania species. This CRISPR system could also be used to generate specific chromosomal translocations, which will help in the study of Leishmania gene expression and transcription control. This study also provides new information about double-strand DNA break repair mechanisms in Leishmania .

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) controls a rate-limiting step in the starch biosynthetic pathway in higher plants. Here we isolated a shrunken rice mutant w24. Map-based cloning identified OsAGPL2, a large subunit of the cytosolic AGPase in rice endosperm, as the gene responsible for the w24 mutation. In addition to severe inhibition of starch synthesis and significant accumulation of sugar, the w24 endosperm showed obvious defects in compound granule formation and storage protein synthesis. The defect in OsAGPL2 enhanced the expression levels of the AGPase family. Meanwhile, the elevated activities of starch phosphorylase 1 and sucrose synthase in the w24 endosperm might possibly partly account for the residual starch content in the mutant seeds. Moreover, the expression of OsAGPL2 and its counterpart, OsAGPS2b, was highly coordinated in rice endosperm. Yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assays verified direct interactions between OsAGPL2 and OsAGPS2b as well as OsAGPL1 and OsAGPS1, supporting the model for spatiotemporal complex formation of AGPase isoforms in rice endosperm. Besides, our data provided no evidence for the self-binding of OsAGPS2b, implying that OsAGPS2b might not interact to form higher molecular mass aggregates in the absence of OsAGPL2. Therefore, the molecular mechanism of rice AGPase assembly might differ from that of Arabidopsis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A highly thermally stable CP/MOF, comprised of Mg(2+) and H2EBTC(2-) with the formula of [Mg(H2EBTC)(DMF)2], emits dual band luminescence centered at 376 and 555 nm. The former is assigned to the fluorescence of H2EBTC(2-) and the latter with 1.63 μs decay lifetime and large Stokes shifts corresponds to the phosphorescence of H2EBTC(2-). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the ligand-based phosphorescence in a CP/MOF without any heavy atom at room temperature has been observed.

A coordination polymer (CP) of Mg(2+) with 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC(3-)) was synthesized using a solvothermal method. The Mg-CP, with a formula of Mg3(BTC)(HCOO)3(DMF)3, crystallizes in the trigonal space group P3[combining macron], with cell parameters of a = b = 13.972(5) Å, c = 8.090(5) Å and V = 1367.6(11) Å(3), and shows a lamella structure built from planar rosette-type hexanuclear architectures. The Mg-CP emits intense blue fluorescence arising from π* → π transition of intra-ligand of BTC(3-) with 21.69% quantum yield, yet it exhibits poor stability to water. The composites of Mg-CP with hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were sequentially prepared by mechanically mixed, tableted and annealed processes, which showed good compatibility between Mg-CP and PVDF, high hydrostability, and intense blue emission. This study suggests a simple but efficient method to solve the drawbacks of some functional CPs unstable to water and to promote them as practical applications in the field of functional materials.

Two ferrocene-isocoumarin conjugated molecules, methyl 3-ferrocenyl-1-oxo-1H-isochromene-6-carboxylate () and 3,8-bisferrocenylpyrano[3,4-g]isochromene-1,6-dione (), have been synthesized through the acid-prompted regioselective oxidative cyclization from dimethyl 2-(ferrocenylethynyl)terephthalate () and dimethyl 2,5-bis(ferrocenylethynyl)terephthalate (), respectively. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction, together with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, shows that the ferrocene-isocoumarin conjugated compounds display better coplanarity than the corresponding ferrocenylethynyl terephthalates. All the compounds exhibit characteristic MLCT, ICT and π-π* transitions in the UV-visible range in solution, and and show higher oscillator strength of the absorption than and , which are verified by time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) theoretical calculations. The electrochemical properties are studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), which are also in accord with the theoretical calculations.

Unlabelled: The prokaryotic CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas9, an RNA-guided endonuclease, has been shown to mediate efficient genome editing in a wide variety of organisms. In the present study, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been adapted to Leishmania donovani, a protozoan parasite that causes fatal human visceral leishmaniasis. We introduced the Cas9 nuclease into L. donovani and generated guide RNA (gRNA) expression vectors by using the L. donovani rRNA promoter and the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme. It is demonstrated within that L. donovani mainly used homology-directed repair (HDR) and microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) to repair the Cas9 nuclease-created double-strand DNA break (DSB). The nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway appears to be absent in L. donovani. With this CRISPR-Cas9 system, it was possible to generate knockouts without selection by insertion of an oligonucleotide donor with stop codons and 25-nucleotide homology arms into the Cas9 cleavage site. Likewise, we disrupted and precisely tagged endogenous genes by inserting a bleomycin drug selection marker and GFP gene into the Cas9 cleavage site. With the use of Hammerhead and HDV ribozymes, a double-gRNA expression vector that further improved gene-targeting efficiency was developed, and it was used to make precise deletion of the 3-kb miltefosine transporter gene (LdMT). In addition, this study identified a novel single point mutation caused by CRISPR-Cas9 in LdMT (M381T) that led to miltefosine resistance, a concern for the only available oral antileishmanial drug. Together, these results demonstrate that the CRISPR-Cas9 system represents an effective genome engineering tool for L. donovani., Importance: Leishmania donovani is the causative agent of fatal visceral leishmaniasis. To understand Leishmania infection and pathogenesis and identify new drug targets for control of leishmaniasis, more-efficient ways to manipulate this parasite genome are required. In this study, we have implemented CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology in L. donovani. Both single- and dual-gRNA expression vectors were developed using a strong RNA polymerase I promoter and ribozymes. With this system, it was possible to generate loss-of-function insertion and deletion mutations and introduce drug selection markers and the GFP sequence precisely into the L. donovani genome. These methods greatly improved the ability to manipulate this parasite genome and will help pave the way for high-throughput functional analysis of Leishmania genes. This study further revealed that double-stranded DNA breaks created by CRISPR-Cas9 were repaired by the homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway and microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) in Leishmania., (Copyright © 2015 Zhang and Matlashewski.)

A family of novel lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with formula [Ln2(EBTC)1.5(CH3OH)4]·6H2O [EBTC4− = 1,1′-ethynebenzene-3,3′,5,5′-tetracarboxylate, Ln = La (1), Ce (2), Pr (3), Nd (4), Sm (5), Eu (6), Gd (7), Tb (8) and Dy (9)], have been synthesized via solvothermal reaction. All compounds are isostructural, crystallized in the monoclinic space group P21/n, and show a three-dimensional (4,6)-connected network with Schläfli symbol of {310}. Photoluminescent measurements indicated that 1 and 7 emit the luminescence originating from the intraligand π←π* transition, 2 shows the broadband emission due to allowed 4f–5d transitions, and 4–9 show the emission of typical lanthanide f–f transition via the ligand “antenna effect” in the solid state at ambient temperature. Interestingly, compounds 6 and 8 showed microsecond time-scale fluorescence lifetimes with 0.84 ms for 6 and 0.39 ms for 8, respectively. Such unique spectroscopy features may have applications in biomacromolecule research.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa. Two main forms are found in the Old World, self-limited cutaneous leishmaniasis and potentially fatal visceral leishmaniasis, with parasite dissemination to liver, bone marrow, and spleen. The Leishmania donovani species complex is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis worldwide, but atypical L. donovani strains can cause cutaneous leishmaniasis. We hypothesized that L. donovani can adapt to survive in response to restrictions imposed by the host environment. To assess this, we performed in vivo selection in BALB/c mice with a cutaneous L. donovani clinical isolate to select for parasites with increased capacity to survive in visceral organs. We then performed whole cell proteomic analysis and compared this visceral-selected strain to the original cutaneous clinical isolate and to a visceral leishmaniasis clinical isolate. Overall, there were no major shifts in proteomic profiles; however, translation, biosynthetic processes, antioxidant protection, and signaling were elevated in visceral strains. Conversely, transport and trafficking were elevated in the cutaneous strain. Overall, these results provide new insight into the adaptability of Leishmania parasites to the host environment and on the factors that mediate their ability to survive in different organs.

Leishmania protozoan parasites are the causing agent of leishmaniasis. Depending on the infecting species, Leishmania infection can causes a wide variety of diseases such as self-healing cutaneous lesions by L. major and fatal visceral leishmaniasis by L. donovani and L. infantum. Comparison of the visceral disease causing L. infantum genome with cutaneous disease causing L. major and L. braziliensis genomes has identified 25 L. infantum (L. donovani complex) species-specific genes that are absent or pseudogenes in L. major and L. braziliensis. To investigate whether these L. donovani complex species-specific genes are involved in visceral infection, we cloned these genes from L. donovani and introduced them into L. major and then determined whether the transgenic L. major had an increased ability to survive in liver and spleen of BALB/c mice. Several of these L. donovani complex specific genes were found to significantly increase L. major survival in visceral organs in BALB/c mice including the A2 and Ld2834 genes, while down regulation of these genes in L. donovani by either antisense RNA or gene knockout dramatically reduced L. donovani virulence in BALB/c mice. This demonstrated that L. donovani complex species-specific genes play important roles in visceral infection. In this chapter, we describe procedures to screen L. donovani complex specific genes required for visceral infection by cross species transgenic expression, gene deletion targeting and measuring infection levels in mice.

A central question in Leishmania research is why most species cause cutaneous infections but others cause fatal visceral disease. Interestingly, L. donovani causes both visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka. L. donovani clinical isolates were therefore obtained from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL-SL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL-SL) patients from Sri Lanka. The CL-SL isolate was severely attenuated compared to the VL-SL isolate for survival in visceral organs in BALB/c mice. Genomic and transcriptomic analysis argue that gene deletions or pseudogenes specific to CL-SL are not responsible for the difference in disease tropism and that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and/or gene copy number variations play a major role in altered pathology. This is illustrated through the observations within showing that a decreased copy number of the A2 gene family and a mutation in the ras-like RagC GTPase enzyme in the mTOR pathway contribute to the attenuation of the CL-SL strain in visceral infection. Overall, this research provides a unique perspective on genetic differences associated with diverse pathologies caused by Leishmania infection.

Objective: To explore the diagnostic value of T2-weighted gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and its clinical significance., Methods: The distribution of CMBs and follow-up observations were performed by routine T1WI, T2WI and T2-weighted gradient echo sequence in 634 patients clinically suspected for stroke., Results: In 149 patients, a total of 1140 CMBs occurred predominantly in cortex-subcortical area (n = 471, 41.31%), basal ganglia (n = 289, 25.35%), thalamus (n = 199, 17.45%), brain stem (n = 90, 7.89%) and cerebellum (n = 91, 7.98%). Among them, 137 patients had various degrees of ischemic brain changes, displayed iso-intensity or hypo-intensity on T1WI, hyper-intensity on T2WI and FLAIR in basal ganglia, white matter around sided ventricle and brain stem. There were 23 patients with cerebral infarction and 5 with CMBs after hemorrhagic brain stroke. And 12 of them had new hemorrhagic stroke in 2-6 months., Conclusion: T2-weighted gradient echo MRI has obvious advantages in the detection of CMBs. The presence of CMBs suggests a risk of cerebral hemorrhage.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa and associated with three main clinical presentations: cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniasis is the second most lethal parasitic disease after malaria and there is so far no human vaccine. Leishmania donovani is a causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis in South East Asia and Eastern Africa. However, in Sri Lanka, L. donovani causes mainly cutaneous leishmaniasis, while visceral leishmaniasis is rare. We investigate here the possibility that the cutaneous form of L. donovani can provide immunological protection against the visceral form of the disease, as a potential explanation for why visceral leishmaniasis is rare in Sri Lanka. Subcutaneous immunization with a cutaneous clinical isolate from Sri Lanka was significantly protective against visceral leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice. Protection was associated with a mixed Th1/Th2 response. These results provide a possible rationale for the scarcity of visceral leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka and could guide leishmaniasis vaccine development efforts., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The initial 7 steps of the glycolytic pathway from glucose to 3-phosphoglycerate are localized in the glycosomes in Leishmania, including step 6, catalyzed by the enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). In L. donovani and L. mexicana, there exists a second GAPDH enzyme present in the cytosol that is absent in L. braziliensis and that has become a pseudogene in L. major. To investigate the role of the cytosolic GAPDH (cGAPDH), an L. donovani cGAPDH-null mutant was generated, and conversely, the functional L. donovani cGAPDH was introduced into L. major and the resulting engineered parasites were characterized. The L. donovani cGAPDH-null mutant was able to proliferate at the same rate as the wild-type parasite in glucose-deficient medium. However, in the presence of glucose, the L. donovani cGAPDH-null mutant consumed less glucose and proliferated more slowly than the wild-type parasite and displayed reduced infectivity in visceral organs of experimentally infected mice. This demonstrates that cGAPDH is functional in L. donovani and is required for survival in visceral organs. Restoration of cGAPDH activity in L. major, in contrast, had an adverse effect on L. major proliferation in glucose-containing medium, providing a possible explanation of why it has evolved into a pseudogene in L. major. This study indicates that there is a difference in glucose metabolism between L. donovani and L. major, and this may represent an important factor in the ability of L. donovani to cause visceral disease.

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease associated with a spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from self-healing cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral infections. Among the most important questions in Leishmania research is why some species like L. donovani infect visceral organs, whereas other species like L. major remain in the skin. The determinants of visceral leishmaniasis are still poorly understood, although genomic, immunologic, and animal models are beginning to provide important insight into this disease. In this review, we discuss the vector, host, and pathogen factors that mediate the development of visceral leishmaniasis. We examine the progression of the parasite from the initial site of sand fly bite to the visceral organs and its ability to survive there. The identification of visceral disease determinants is required to understand disease evolution, to understand visceral organ survival mechanisms, and potentially to develop better interventions for this largely neglected disease.

Although the strain causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Sri Lanka was first identified in 2003, the strain causing visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has not yet been identified. We report the first isoenzyme typing of a strain causing VL in Sri Lanka at an early stage of emergence of VL in the country. The parasite was isolated from a 57-year-old civil soldier who had been in the jungle in the Vavuniya district in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka for a period of nearly 6 months immediately before the onset of symptoms. Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) revealed that the strain is Leishmania donovani zymodeme MON-37, the zymodeme which was previously identified from the CL patients in the country. The MLEE analysis was confirmed by sequencing the gene encoding the 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase isoenzyme. This is an instance of the same Leishmania zymodeme associated with both dermotropism and viscerotropism in the same geographic region. Further investigations into the genetic structure and identification of virulence factors in the parasite and immune factors in the host are required to understand the factors responsible for different tropism shown by the same zymodeme MON-37 L. donovani from Sri Lanka.

Genome comparison of Leishmania species sequenced to date has identified several hundred differentially distributed genes which are present as functional genes in some species but as pseudogenes or absent in others. It is not clear whether these differentially distributed genes are important for disease, redundant or even harmful for a particular Leishmania species though a few of these genes have been implicated in Leishmania infection tissue tropism. The L. infantum LinJ.24.1510 gene is an ATP-binding cassette transporter protein subfamily C member which is present in L. donovani complex species and L. mexicana but absent in L. major and L. braziliensis and its substrate is unknown. Experimental deletion of this gene from L. donovani has resulted in an increase in growth as axenic amastigotes and increased virulence in infecting mice. To our knowledge, this is the first gene identified in Leishmania where its deletion results in hypervirulence., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Verticillium wilt of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a widespread and destructive disease that is caused by the soil-borne fungus pathogen Verticillium dahliae (V. dahliae). To study the molecular mechanism in wilt tolerance, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and dot blot techniques were used to identify the specifically expressed genes in a superior wilt-resistant cotton cultivar (G. hirsutum cv. Zhongzhimian KV1) after inoculation with pathogen. cDNAs from the root tissues of Zhongzhimian KV1 inoculated with V. dahliae strain V991 or water mock were used to construct the libraries that contain 4800 clones. Based on the results from dot blot analysis, 147 clones were clearly induced by V. dahliae and selected from the SSH libraries for sequencing. A total of 92 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated non-redundant expressed sequences tags (ESTs) were identified as disease responsive genes and classified into 9 functional groups. Two important clues regarding wilt-resistant G. hirsutum were obtained from this study. One was Bet v 1 family; the other was UbI gene family that may play an important role in the defense reaction against Verticillium wilt. The result from real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction showed that these genes were activated quickly and transiently after inoculation with V. dahliae.

Three porous supramolecular isomers (IZE-1, IZE-2, and IZE-3) with the same framework component [Zn(2)(EBTC)(H(2)O)(2)] (EBTC = 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylate) were successfully constructed by finely tuning the reaction condition. Although both IZE-1 and IZE-2 are constructed from the linear EBTC subunits and one kind of regular [Zn(2)(CO(2))(4)] paddlewheels, their frameworks exhibit two different (3,4)-c net of fof (sqc1575) and sqc1572, respectively, resulting in cavities with different size and shape. However, as for isomer IZE-3, the EBTC ligands are bent and one-half of the [Zn(2)(CO(2))(4)] paddlewheels are distorted, leading to a novel (3,4,4)-c hyx net with point symbol (6.7(2))(4)(6(2).8(2).10(2))(7(2).8(2).11(2)) and vertex symbol (6.7.7)(4)(7(2).7(2).8.8.12.12)(6.6.8.8.10(2).10(2)). Quantum chemical calculations by DFT indicate that the three isomers have very close thermodynamic stabilities, which may explain that subtle condition change leads to variation of the frameworks. Further theoretical semiempirical investigation on the interactions between solvent molecules and compounds shows different hydrogen binding patterns in good agreement with the experimental observations. Furthermore, they exhibit good solid-state luminescence properties with long lifetime.

The polymeric title compound, {[Co(C(15)H(9)NO(4)S)(H(2)O)(3)]·H(2)O}(n), consists of chains along [001] made up from Co(2+) ions bridged by 10-methyl-phenothia-zine-3,7-dicarboxyl-ate anions. The Co(2+) ion, coordinated by three O atoms from two different carboxyl-ate groups and three water mol-ecules, displays a distorted octa-hedral environment. In the crystal, π-π inter-chain inter-actions, with centroid-centroid distances of 3.656 (2) and 3.669 (2) Å between the benzene rings of the ligands, assemble the chains into sheets parallel to (100). O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between the coordinating water mol-ecules and carboxyl-ate O atoms link the sheets into a three-dimensional network.

Leishmania donovani and Leishmaniainfantum infections cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis, and Leishmaniamajor causes self healing cutaneous lesions. It is poorly understood what genetic differences between these Leishmania species are responsible for the different pathologies of infection. To investigate whether L.donovani species-specific genes are involved in visceral Leishmania infection, we have examined a L.donovani species-specific gene Ld1590 (ortholog of LinJ15&#95;V3.0900) that is a pseudogene in L.major. We have previously shown that transgenic expression of L.donovani Ld1590 in L.major significantly increased the liver and spleen parasite burdens in infected BALB/c mice. In this study we report that Ld1590 potentially encodes a nucleotide sugar transporter (NST) which localizes in the L.donovani Golgi apparatus. Surprisingly, although transgenic expression of the Ld1590 NST increased L.major survival in visceral organs, deletion of Ld1590 NST in L.donovani had no significant effect on L.donovani survival in mice. These observations suggest that loss of the functional Ld1590 gene in L.major may have been associated with reduced virulence in visceral organs in its animal reservoir and could have contributed to L.major's tropism for cutaneous infections., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Two novel lanthanide coordination polymers, [Eu(2)(EBTC)(DMF)(5)(NO(3))(2)]·DMF (1) and [Eu(2)(BBTC)(1.5)(CH(3)OH)(2)(H(2)O)(2)]·7DMF·HNO(3) (2) (EBTC(4-) = 1,1'-ethynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylate; BBTC(4-) = 1,1'-butadiynebenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylate), were successfully synthesized from conjugated ligands of EBTC(4-) and BBTC(4-). Although the two tetracarboxylate ligands have similar structures, their different rigidity/flexibility results in quite different networks upon complexation. Complex 1 has a two-dimensional (2-D) layered structure with two crystallographically independent Eu(3+) ions, one in a distorted monocapped square-antiprism and the other in a distorted square-antiprism coordination geometry. Complex 2 exhibits a three-dimensional (3-D) porous framework, with one type of Eu(3+) in a distorted square-antiprism and the other in a trigondodecahedron environment. Both 1 and 2 emit the intensely red characteristic luminescence of Eu(3+) ion at room temperature, with a long lifetime of up to 1.3 and 0.7 ms, respectively, during which the ligand emission of EBTC(4-)/BBTC(4-) was quenched by the Eu(3+) ion, indicating the existence of efficient energy transfer between the conjugated ligand of EBTC(4-)/BBTC(4-) and the Eu(3+) ion. Thus, both EBTC(4-) and BBTC(4-) are ideal ligands with an "antenna" effect for the Eu(3+) ion. The two complexes show the single-ion magnetic behaviors of Eu(3+) with strong spin-orbit coupling interactions even if there are shorter distances (5.714 Å for 1 versus 4.275 and 5.360 Å for 2) between the neighboring Eu(3+) ions connected by oxygen atoms of the tetracarboxylates.

Comparison of the Leishmania infantum genome with Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania major genomes has identified 25 L. infantum species-specific genes that are absent or pseudogenes in L. major and L. braziliensis. To determine whether these L. infantum species-specific genes are involved in visceral Leishmania infection, we cloned the orthologues of 14 L. infantum species-specific genes from the genetically closely related Leishmania donovani and introduced them into L. major. Two of these L. donovani species-specific genes were found to significantly increase L. major survival in visceral organs in BALB/c mice. One (orthologue of LinJ28&#95;V3.0340; Ld2834) of these two genes was further investigated. The L. donovani Ld2834 null mutants displayed dramatically reduced virulence in BALB/c mice and were unable to survive in axenic amastigote culture conditions arguing that Ld2834 plays a crucial role in enabling L. donovani survive at the increased temperature typically associated with visceral organs. Ld2834 encodes a 50 kDa protein that is localized in the cytoplasma and has no significant sequence similarity with other known genes. This study validates the importance of comparative genomics for understanding Leishmania species pathology and argues that Leishmania species-specific genes play important roles in tissue tropism and virulence.

A bradykinin potentiating peptide (BPP), Thr-Pro-Pro-Ala-Gly-Pro-Asp-Val-Gly-Pro-Arg-OH, was isolated from the venoms of Crotalus viridis viridis (here named Cvv peptide). Compared with other BPP, Cvv peptide has special Thr at N-terminal and Arg at C-terminal. In order to clarify whether these two special amino acids lead to special bioactivities relative to other BPPs, we made bioassays on isolated guinea pig ileum (GPI) and rat stomach fundus. Cvv peptide can observably inhibit bradykinin's contractivity on GPI, but potentiate the bradykinin-induced contractivity on rat stomach fundus. The discrepant bioactivity of Cvv peptide may occur via binding different receptors, B2 receptor on GPI and anaphylatoxin C3a receptor on rat stomach fundus, respectively.

Weedy rice represents an important resource for rice improvement. The F(1) hybrid between the japonica wide compatibility rice cultivar 02428 and a weedy rice accession from Yunnan province (SW China) suffered from pollen sterility. Pollen abortion in the hybrid occurred at the early bicellular pollen stage, as a result of mitotic failure in the microspore, although the tapetum developed normally. Genetic mapping in a BC(1)F(1) population (02428//Yunnan weedy rice (YWR)/02428) showed that a major QTL for hybrid pollen sterility (qPS-1) was present on chromosome 1. qPS-1 was fine-mapped to a 110 kb region known to contain the hybrid pollen sterility gene Sa, making it likely that qPS-1 is either identical to, or allelic with Sa. Interestingly, F(1) hybrid indicated that Dular and IR36 were assumed to carry the sterility-neutral allele, Sa ( n ). Re-sequencing SaM and SaF, the two component genes present at Sa, suggested that variation for IR36 and Dular may be responsible for the loss of male sterility, and the qPS-1 sequence might be derived from wild rice or indica cultivars. A phylogenetic analysis based on microsatellite genotyping suggested that the YWR accession is more closely related to wild rice and indica type cultivars than to japonica types. Thus it is probable that the YWR accession evolved from a spontaneous hybrid between wild rice and an ancient cultivated strain of domesticated rice.

Two thioacetyl-terminated ferrocene-anthraquinone donor-acceptor molecules with different pi-electron conjugative units have been synthesized via a series of Stille and Sonagashira reactions. Their photochemical and electrochemical properties before and after addition of an organic acid are investigated, indicating that these complexes are sensitive to external perturbation of protonation, leading the structural change to an expansion of pi-conjugated system by cyclocondensation reaction and promoting intramolecular electron transfer from donor to acceptor. They would be good candidates for studies of novel SAMs, and the properties triggered by protonation-induced intramolecular electron transfer will make the SAMs be useful in designing new functional molecular devices.