| 1. |
- Pang, Siew Siew, et al.
(författare)
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The structural basis for complement inhibition by gigastasin, a protease inhibitor from the giant Amazon leech
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - : The American Association of Immunologists. - 0022-1767 .- 1550-6606. ; 199:11, s. 3883-3891
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complement is crucial to the immune response, but dysregulation of the system causes inflammatory disease. Complement is activated by three pathways: classical, lectin, and alternative. The classical and lectin pathways are initiated by the C1r/C1s (classical) and MASP-1/MASP-2 (lectin) proteases. Given the role of complement in disease, there is a requirement for inhibitors to control the initiating proteases. In this article, we show that a novel inhibitor, gigastasin, from the giant Amazon leech, potently inhibits C1s and MASP-2, whereas it is also a good inhibitor of MASP-1. Gigastasin is a poor inhibitor of C1r. The inhibitor blocks the active sites of C1s and MASP-2, as well as the anion-binding exosites of the enzymes via sulfotyrosine residues. Complement deposition assays revealed that gigastasin is an effective inhibitor of complement activation in vivo, especially for activation via the lectin pathway. These data suggest that the cumulative effects of inhibiting both MASP-2 and MASP-1 have a greater effect on the lectin pathway than the more potent inhibition of only C1s of the classical pathway.
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| 2. |
- Wu, Yun, et al.
(författare)
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Soil water and nutrient availability interactively modify pollinator-mediated directional and correlational selection on floral display
- 2023
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : New Phytologist Foundation. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 237:2, s. 672-683
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The individual and combined effects of abiotic factors on pollinator-mediated selection on floral traits are not well documented.To examine potential interactive effects of water and nutrient availability on pollinator-mediated selection on three floral display traits of Primula tibetica, we manipulated pollination and nutrient availability in a factorial experiment, conducted at two common garden sites with different soil water content (natural vs addition).We found that both water and nutrient availability affected floral trait expression in P. tibetica and that hand pollination increased seed production most when both nutrient content and water content were high, indicating joint pollen and resource limitation. We documented selection on all floral traits, and pollinators contributed to directional and correlational selection on plant height and number of flowers. Soil water and nutrient availability interactively influenced the strength of both pollinator-mediated directional and correlational selection, with significant selection observed when nutrient or water availability was high, but not when none or both were added.The results suggest that resource limitation constrains the response of P. tibetica to among-individual variation in pollen receipt, that addition of nutrients or water leads to pollinator-mediated selection and that effects of the two abiotic factors are nonadditive.
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