ACAP protein

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics is a major concern for the aquaculture industry because of the increasing prevalence of bacterial resistance, including the emergence of multi-resistant strains of Aeromonas hydrophila. Therefore, alternative ecofriendly therapeutic or prophylactic approaches such as natural products have been suggested, including caffeine, a methylxanthine with potent bactericidal and antioxidant properties. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether dietary supplementation with caffeine exerted bactericidal effects against A...

Tissue engineering of an osteochondral interface demands for a gradual transition of chondrocyte- to osteoblast-prevailing tissue. If stem cells are used as a single cell source, an appropriate cue to trigger the desired differentiation is the use of composite materials with different amounts of calcium phosphate. Electrospun meshes of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid and amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles (PLGA/aCaP) in weight ratios of 100:0; 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30 were seeded with human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and cultured in DMEM without chemical supplementation...

This study evaluated the effects of short-term exposure to sublethal levels of nitrite on oxidative stress parameters and histology of juvenile Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus. An assessment of fish recovery was also performed. Fish were exposed to 0.08 (control), 5.72, 10.43, and 15.27 NO2 -N mg L-1 for 10 days followed by the same recovery time. Gill, liver, and muscle samples were collected after 1, 5, and 10 days of exposure and after recovery for the measurement of antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, content of non-protein (NPSH) and protein thiols (PSH), and lipid peroxidation levels by thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) content...

OBJECTIVE: Chemical supplementation of culture media to induce differentiation of adult stem cells seeded on a scaffold may mask other differentiation triggers such as scaffold stiffness, chemical composition or mechanical stimulation. However, stem cells can be differentiated towards osteoblasts without any supplementation given an appropriate osteogenic scaffold and an adequate mechanical stimulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electrospun meshes of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid and amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles (PLGA/aCaP) in a weight ratio of 60:40 were seeded with human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and cultured in DMEM...

The antioxidant defense system (ADS) protects organisms against the potential oxidative stress induced by environmental features, underlying processes of habitat diversification. The anomurans Aegla constitute the most threatened freshwater decapods of South America, occupying pristine habitats with narrow distribution. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we addressed: Is the variability of habitat physicochemical parameters and tissue ADS phylogenetically structured? How do environmental features correlate with ADS? How do they vary among species? Several physicochemical parameters of water, as well as metals in sediments, were measured in ten aeglid species' habitats...

Adaptive responses of antioxidant defense systems (ADS) to changes in increased levels of activity are critical, especially in Antarctic fishes. The benthopelagic marbled notothen (Notothenia rossii) shows higher spontaneous activity than the benthonic and sluggish rockcod (N. coriiceps). Therefore, we hypothesize that species-related responses of ADS would occur to counteract different rates of reactive oxygen species formation in these two Antarctic fish. Here we evaluated ADS and oxidative damage in tissues (brain, gills, liver and white muscle) of the two Antarctic fish...

Antioxidant defense system (ADS) and oxidative stress parameters were evaluated in the Antarctic fish Notothenia rossii and N. coriiceps exposed to increasing temperature. Acclimated fish were kept at 0°C or exposed to 4°C for 1day (N. rossii) or to 2 and 4°C for 1 and 6 days (N. coriiceps). Measurements were assessed in brain, gills, liver, white muscle and erythrocytes. Parameters analyzed included antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP); reduced glutathione (GSH) and metallothionein-like proteins (MTLP) concentration; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL) activity; lipid peroxidation (LPO) level and protein carbonyl (PC) concentration...

AGD1, a plant ACAP-type ADP-ribosylation factor-GTPase activating protein (ARF-GAP), functions in specifying root hair polarity in Arabidopsis thaliana To better understand how AGD1 modulates root hair growth, we generated full-length and domain-deleted AGD1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) constructs, and followed their localization during root hair development. AGD1-GFP localized to the cytoplasm and was recruited to specific regions of the root hair plasma membrane (PM). Distinct PM AGD1-GFP signal was first detected along the site of root hair bulge formation...

ACAP3 (ArfGAP with coiled-coil, ankyrin repeat and pleckstrin homology domains 3) belongs to the ACAP family of GAPs (GTPase-activating proteins) for the small GTPase Arf (ADP-ribosylation factor). However, its specificity to Arf isoforms and physiological functions remain unclear. In the present study, we demonstrate that ACAP3 plays an important role in neurite outgrowth of mouse hippocampal neurons through its GAP activity specific to Arf6. In primary cultured mouse hippocampal neurons, knockdown of ACAP3 abrogated neurite outgrowth, which was rescued by ectopically expressed wild-type ACAP3, but not by its GAP activity-deficient mutant...

The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of Roundup on oxidative status in adult Danio rerio liver and gills. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant capacity (ACAP) were measured in fish after exposure to Roundup (5 and 10 mg/L) for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Furthermore, gene expression related to antioxidant response was evaluated after 24 and 96 h. In gills, an increase in ACAP was observed after 96 h in the highest concentration. In the liver, a reduction in ROS and ACAP was observed after 24 h, whereas an increase in ACAP was observed after 48 h in the highest concentration...

Membrane proteins allow a cell to communicate with its environment by relaying a signal or transporting a molecule through the cell membrane. Elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of a membrane protein provides a greater understanding of its function and mechanisms. Ultimately, this knowledge will enlighten researchers on how these proteins can be regulated to elicit a desired cellular response, which could lead to novel therapeutic medicine. Unfortunately, the determination of the high-resolution crystal structures of transmembrane proteins remains a challenge due to their poor solubility and high conformational flexibility...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the combined effects of cryotherapy and pulsed ultrasound therapy (PUT) on oxidative stress parameters, tissue damage markers and systemic inflammation after musculoskeletal injury. DESIGN: Experimental animal study. SETTING: Research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: control, lesion, cryotherapy, PUT, and cryotherapy+PUT. INTERVENTIONS: The gastrocnemius muscle was injured by mechanical crushing...

Environmental contaminants have been suggested as a possible cause of fibropapillomatosis (FP) in green sea turtles. In turn, a reduced concentration of serum cholesterol has been indicated as a reliable biomarker of malignancy in vertebrates, including marine turtles. In the present study, metal (Ag, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations, oxidative stress parameters [antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP), protein carbonyls (PC), lipid peroxidation (LPO), frequency of micronucleated cells (FMC)], water content, cholesterol concentration and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) activity were analyzed in the blood/serum of juvenile (29...

The current study aimed to evaluate the influence of lipoic acid (LA) supplementation (439.84±6.71 mg LA/kg feed) on antioxidants responses throughout the time in intestine, liver and muscle of juvenile common carp Cyprinus carpio. Two experimental groups were fed during four weeks with a diet with or without LA. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, glutathione (GSH) content, antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP) and lipid peroxidation (TBARS) were evaluated in these organs. Also, a technique to measure protein disulfide bonds and sulfhydryl groups was optimized for intestine samples...

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) and clathrin-independent endocytosis (CIE) co-exist in most cells but little is known about their communication and coordination. Here we show that when CME was inhibited, endocytosis by CIE continued but endosomal trafficking of CIE cargo proteins was altered. CIE cargo proteins that normally traffic directly into Arf6-associated tubules after internalization and avoid degradation (CD44, CD98 and CD147) now trafficked to lysosomes and were degraded. The endosomal tubules were also absent and Arf6-GTP levels were elevated...

Dictyostelium discoideum ACAP-A is an Arf GTPase-activating protein (GAP) involved in cytokinesis, cell migration and actin cytoskeleton dynamics. In mammalian cells, ACAP family members regulate endocytic protein trafficking. Here, we explored the function of ACAP-A in the endocytic pathway of D. discoideum. In the absence of ACAP-A, the efficiency of fusion between post-lysosomes and the plasma membrane was reduced, resulting in the accumulation of post-lysosomes. Moreover, internalized fluid-phase markers showed extended intracellular transit times, and the transfer kinetics of phagocyted particles from lysosomes to post-lysosomes was reduced...

Subcellular biochemical biomarkers are valuable early warning indicators of environmental contaminant effects. Thus, the present study evaluated several biomarkers and the relationships among them in wild freshwater mussels (Lasmigona costata) from a gradient of metal exposure and differential levels of other urban-related influences in the Grand River (ON, Canada). The biomarkers examined are related to metal exposure [gill ion and metal concentrations (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn)], oxidative status [reactive oxygen species (ROS), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), antioxidant capacity (ACAP)], sulfhydryl (SH) metabolism [glutathione (GSH), protein sulfhydryl groups (SH protein), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR)], and lipid peroxidation...

The physiological effect of complex mixtures of anthropogenic contaminants on aquatic organisms is not well understood. This study employed a suite of sub-cellular biomarkers and general health measurements to assess the effect of urban-derived contaminants on wild freshwater mussels. Adult Lasmigona costata were collected from four sites in the Grand River (ON, Canada) that receive incremental amounts of municipal wastewater effluents and road runoff. Biomarkers of metal exposure, oxidative stress, and general health were examined in the gills of wild mussels...

The responses of a large suite of biochemical and genetic parameters were evaluated in tissues (liver, gills, muscle and erythrocytes) of the estuarine guppy Poecilia vivipara exposed to waterborne copper in salt water (salinity 24 ppt). Activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase), metallothionein-like protein concentration, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals (ACAP), and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were evaluated in liver, gills, and muscle...

ACAPs and ASAPs are Arf-GTPase-activating proteins with BAR, PH, GAP and ankyrin repeat domains and are known to regulate vesicular traffic and actin cytoskeleton dynamics in mammalian cells. The amoeba Dictyostelium has only two proteins with this domain organization, instead of the six in human, enabling a more precise functional analysis. Genetic invalidation of acapA resulted in multinucleated cells with cytokinesis defects. Mutant acapA(-) cells were hardly motile and their multicellular development was significantly delayed...