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- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(author)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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In: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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3. |
- Bowman, John L, et al.
(author)
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Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome
- 2017
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In: Cell. - : Elsevier BV. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 171:2, s. 287-304.15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP.
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4. |
- Catalan-Figueroa, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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A mechanistic approach for the optimization of loperamide loaded nanocarriers characterization : Diafiltration and mathematical modeling advantages
- 2018
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In: European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. - : Elsevier. - 0928-0987 .- 1879-0720. ; 125, s. 215-222
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Oral bioavailability of loperamide is restricted by its limited absorption in the gastrointestinal tract due to its poor aqueous solubility and its P-glycoprotein (Pgp) substrate characteristic. In addition, ammonium methacrylate copolymers have shown to have mucoadhesive properties, whereas poloxamer 188, has been suggested as a Pgp inhibitor. Thus, in this work, we evaluate conditions that affect physicochemical parameters of ammonium methacrylate/poloxamer 188-based nanocarriers loaded with loperamide hydrochloride. Nanocarriers were synthesized by nanoprecipitation, enhancing loperamide encapsulation efficiency by modifying the aqueous phase to basic pH. The isolation of the non-encapsulated drug fraction from the nanocarriers-incorporated fraction was conducted by centrifugation, ultrafiltration, vacuum filtration and diafiltration. The last method was effective in providing a deeper understanding of drug-nanocarrier loading and interactions by means of modeling the data obtained by it. Through diafiltration, it was determined an encapsulation efficiency of about 93%, from which a 38% ±6 was shown to be reversibly (thermodynamic interaction) and a 62% ±6 irreversibly (kinetic interaction) bound. Finally, release profiles were assessed through empirical and semi-empirical modeling, showing a biphasic release behavior (burst effect 11.34% and total release at 6 h = 33% ±1). Thus, encapsulation efficiency and release profile were shown to have a strong mathematical modeling-based correlation, providing the mechanistic approach presented in this article a solid support for future translational investigations.
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5. |
- Tubert, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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Decrease of a Current Mediated by K(v)1.3 Channels Causes Striatal Cholinergic Interneuron Hyperexcitability in Experimental Parkinsonism
- 2016
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In: Cell Reports. - : CELL PRESS. - 2211-1247. ; 16:10, s. 2749-2762
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mechanism underlying a hypercholinergic state in Parkinsons disease (PD) remains uncertain. Here, we show that disruption of the K(v)1 channel-mediated function causes hyperexcitability of striatal cholinergic interneurons in a mouse model of PD. Specifically, our data reveal that Kv1 channels containing K(v)1.3 subunits contribute significantly to the orphan potassium current known as I-sAHP in striatal cholinergic interneurons. Typically, this Kv1 current provides negative feedback to depolarization that limits burst firing and slows the tonic activity of cholinergic interneurons. However, such inhibitory control of cholinergic interneuron excitability by K(v)1.3-mediated current is markedly diminished in the parkinsonian striatum, suggesting that targeting Kv1.3 subunits and their regulatory pathways may have therapeutic potential in PD therapy. These studies reveal unexpected roles of Kv1.3 subunit-containing channels in the regulation of firing patterns of striatal cholinergic interneurons, which were thought to be largely dependent on K-Ca channels.
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