In immunobiochemical blots, polyclonal antibodies against subunits of plant and mammalian vacuolar-type ATPases (V-ATPases) cross-react strongly with corresponding subunits of larval Manduca sexta midgut plasma membrane V-ATPase. Thus, rabbit antiserum against Kalanchoe daigremontiana tonoplast V-ATPase holoenzyme cross-reacts with the 67, 56, 40, 28 and 20 kDa subunits of midgut V-ATPase separ...

Although epidemiologic evidence shows an association between inorganic arsenic in drinking water and increased risk of skin, lung, and bladder cancers, no animal model for arsenic carcinogenesis has been successful. This lack has hindered mechanistic studies of arsenic carcinogenesis. Previously, we and others found that low concentrations (< or =5 microm) of arsenite (the likely environmental ...

background:   objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the harmful effects of sodium arsenite on sperm parameters and the antioxidant effects of vit.e on sperm anomalies in sodium arsenite treated rats.   materials and methods: adult male rats were divided into 4 groups: control, sodium arsenite (8 mg/kg/day), vit.e (100 mg/kg/day) and sodium arsenite+vit.e. oral treatments were perf...

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were successfully developed to monitor functional aoxB genes as markers of aerobic arsenite oxidizers. DGGE profiles showed a shift in the structure of the aoxB-carrying bacterial population, composed of members of the Alpha-, Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria, depending on arsenic (As) and E(h) levels in Upper Isl...

A new facultative chemolithoautotrophic arsenite (As(III))-oxidizing bacterium TCC9-4 was isolated from a hot spring microbial mat in Tengchong of Yunnan, China. This strain could grow with As(III) as an energy source, CO2-HCO3 (-) as a carbon source and oxygen as the electron acceptor in a minimal salts medium. Under chemolithoautotrophic conditions, more than 90% of 100 mg/L As(III) could be ...

ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complexes are conserved among all eukaryotes and function by altering nucleosome structure to allow cellular regulatory factors access to the DNA. Mammalian SWI-SNF complexes contain either of two highly conserved ATPase subunits: BRG1 or BRM. To identify cellular genes that require mammalian SWI-SNF complexes for the activation of gene expression, we have gen...

By combining structural and phylogenetic analyses, we have earlier clarified the evolutionary relationships among membrane enzymes that couple the transmembrane transfer of protons or sodium ions with the synthesis/hydroly-sis of ATP. A comparison of the structures of the sodium-dependent bacterial and archaeal ATPases revealed nearly identical sets of amino acids involved in sodium binding. Ph...

An anion-translocating ATPase has been identified as the product of the arsenical resistance operon of resistance plasmid R773. When expressed in Escherichia coli this ATP-driven oxyanion pump catalyzes extrusion of the oxyanions arsenite, antimonite and arsenate. Maintenance of a low intracellular concentration of oxyanion produces resistance to the toxic agents. The pump is composed of two po...

background: sodium arsenite can impair male reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress. silymarin is known as a potent antioxidant.objective: this study was performed to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effect of sodium arsenite on ram sperm viability, motility and mitochondrial membrane potential.materials and methods: epidydimal spermatozoa obtained from ram were divid...