摘要:
The invention provides a self-cleaving protein or intein. The intein can be obtained from a wide range of Cryptococcus neoformans. Also provided are methods of using the inteins such as in protein purification and as a target in testing the efficacy of drugs to inhibit intein function.
摘要:
Disclosed is a method of diagnosing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or an autoimmune disease by sampling serum from a human subject having a suspected diagnosis of any of these conditions and analyzing the serum for the presence of ASCA, which corroborates the suspected diagnosis. A method of determining a predisposition for developing Crohn's, in a human subject who does not present a set of symptoms characteristic of the disease and who has small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, involves sampling serum from the subject and analyzing the serum for the presence of ASCA. The presence of ASCA in the serum indicates a predisposition for developing Crohn's disease. Also disclosed is a kit for diagnosing and treating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus erythematosus. The kit is useful to improve symptoms, including hyperalgesia related to SIBO and disorders caused by SIBO.
摘要:
The presently-disclosed IPC synthase-inhibitor assays comprise the steps of: (1) expression of the IPC1 gene in a cell; (2) introducing labeled starting substrates for ceramide conversion as well as potential inhibitor(s) of such conversion to the expressed gene product in an environment which allows time and conditions for conversion, and (3) identifying those potential inhibitors which actually inhibit conversion. The present invention also provides methods to determine the ability of a test compound to inhibit fungal growth, comprising the steps of (1) presenting active inositolphosophotidylceramide synthase in a manner such that synthesis of inositolphosphotidylceramide can occur; (2) introducing ceramide and phosphotylinositol, said ceramide or phosphatidylinositol carrying label for identification; (3) subjecting said active inositolphosophotidylceramide synthase, ceramide and phosphotylinositol to ordinary conditions necessary for ceramide conversion to phosphoinositol ceramide; and (4) identifying those test compounds which inhibit ceramide conversion to phosphoinositol ceramide.
摘要:
The present invention relates to novel yeast strains which produce a heterologous precursor protein having a dibasic amino acid processing site which can be processed into at least one cleavage protein by a dibasic amino acid processing endoprotease. Such novel yeast strains are useful for identifying compounds capable of inhibiting infectious agents, such as viruses, that depend upon dibasic amino acid processing endoprotease cleavage for effective propagation and/or infectivity.
摘要:
The invention relates to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a novel selection marker. Said marker is a guanidinobutyrase from Kluyveromyces lactis, which, when expressed in Saccharomyces, allows the growth of the yeast in the presence of guanidinobutyrate as the sole nitrogen source. Said marker can be used in a method for producing a microorganism having an altered genome. The invention further relates to a set of constructs, comprising a first construct comprising a recognition site for an endonuclease, a first region of homology with a target gene of a microorganism, and a first part of a nucleotide sequence encoding the selection marker, and a second construct comprising a second part of the nucleotide sequence encoding the selection marker, a second region of homology with the target gene of the microorganism, and a copy of the endonuclease recognition site. The invention further relates to methods for altering a target gene in a microorganism, to methods for producing a microorganism, and to microorganisms that are produced by the methods of the invention.
摘要:
A concentration agent for microorganisms is provided that contains both lanthanum and carbonate. Additionally, articles that include the concentration agent and methods of concentrating a microorganism using the concentration agent are provided.
摘要:
The present invention provides methods for determining whether an agent facilitates the conversion of a cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding (CPEB) protein from its non-prion form to its prion form. This invention also provides methods for determining the presence and amount of the prion form of CPEB protein in a cell. This invention also provides methods for facilitating the conversion of a non-prion CPEB protein to its prion form. This invention also provides an isolated prion form cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding (CPEB) protein and compositions comprising a therapeutically effective amount of an agent that facilitates the conversion of CPEB protein from its non-prion form to its prion form, and methods of making such compositions.
摘要:
The disclosure encompasses methods for the screening of small molecules or nucleic acids that may reverse the inhibition of growth of the unicellular yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe by rotenone. The use of a yeast as the screening target allows for the high-throughput screening of small molecule and nucleic acid libraries for candidates that may then be screened in animal models as therapeutic agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The plant-derived isoflavonoid, rotenone, while only moderately inhibitory to S. pombe cell growth on complex rich medium, is highly inhibitory to growth on synthetic minimal medium. S. pombe cells carrying a deletion in the gene pmk1 are hypersensitive to rotenone. S. pombe, therefore, provides a model for elucidating complex 1-independent targets of rotenone, and can serve as a screening tool for identifying compounds or oligonucleotides potentially able to reverse the effects of rotenone or Parkinson's disease in animal or human subjects.
摘要:
The invention includes compositions comprising a S. cerevisiae yeast library, and methods of identifying an epigenetic marker for the diagnosis of infertility or a disorder associated with gametogenesis in an individual.
摘要:
The present invention provides a method of diagnosing Crohn's disease in a subject by determining the presence or absence or IgA anti-OmpC antibodies in the subject, where the presence of the IgA anti-OmpC antibodies indicates that the subject has Crohn's disease.