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Background: Natural moisturizing factor (NMF) is used as genotypic and phenotypic biomarker in diagnostics. This study is a side-to-side comparison of two different methods to determine NMF in atopic dermatitis patients: Raman microspectroscopy and stratum corneum tape stripping followed by HPLC.Results: Measured NMF values were significantly correlated (R2 = .61; p

Trimeric (bT) and monomeric (bM) light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) with a chlorophyll a/b ratio of 0.03 were reconstituted from the apoprotein overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Chlorophyll/xanthophyll and chlorophyll/protein ratios of bT complexes and 'native' LHCII are rather similar, namely, 0.28 vs 0. 27 and 10.5 +/- 1.5 vs 12, respectively, indicating the replacement of most chlorophyll a molecules with chlorophyll b, leaving one chlorophyll a per trimeric complex. The LD spectrum of the bT complexes strongly suggests that the chlorophyll b molecules adopt orientations similar to those of the chlorophylls a that they replace. The circular dichroism (CD) spectra of bM and bT complexes indicate structural arrangements resembling those of 'native' LHCII. Thermolysin digestion patterns demonstrate that bT complexes are folded and organized like 'native' trimeric LHCII. Surprisingly, in the bT complexes at 77 K, half of the excitations that are created on either chlorophyll b or xanthophyll are transferred to chlorophyll a. No or very limited triplet transfer from chlorophyll b to xanthophyll appears to take place. However, the efficiency of triplet transfer from chlorophyll a to xanthophyll is close to 100%, even higher than in 'native' LHCII at 77 K. It is concluded from the triplet-minus-singlet and CD results that the single chlorophyll a molecule that on the average is present in each bT complex binds preferably next to a xanthophyll molecule at the interface between the monomers.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing profiles were identified at the ultrastructural level in rat lumbar motoneuronal cell groups by means of the postembedding immunogold technique, which is assumed to give very accurate quantitative results. It was found that 84.5% of the GABA-labeled terminals were of F-type (containing many flattened vesicles), whereas P-type terminals (presynaptic to other terminals) constituted 9.2% of the GABAergic terminal profiles. A few of the GABA-labeled terminal profiles (1.7%) were G-type (containing many granular vesicles and presumed serotonergic), possibly indicating co-existence of GABA and serotonin. It is concluded that in spinal motoneuronal cell groups the large majority of the GABAergic terminal profiles were involved in postsynaptic inhibition of motoneurons, while only a minority was engaged in presynaptic inhibition.