The gelatinase, urease, lipase, phospholipase and DNase activities of 11 chromoblastomycosis agents constituted by strains of Fonsecaea pedrosoi, F. compacta, Phialophora verrucosa, Cladosporium carrionii, Cladophialophora bantiana and Exophiala jeanselmei were analyzed and compared. All strains presented urease, gelatinase and lipase activity. Phospholipase activity was detected only on five o...

For the detection of RNA transcripts by RT-PCR, prior removal of genomic DNA must be performed. To remove genomic DNA, RNA is often prepared by DNase I digestion following phenol extraction. Recently, one-tube or onebuffer systems of RT-PCR were developed to prevent loss of RNA and to reduce the risk of contamination (2,6). In these methods, DNase I is added before RT. Taq DNA polymerase prepar...

Entrapment of pBR322 DNA within liposomes was demonstrated by (i) its comigration with liposomes on Sepharose 4B columns, (ii) resistance of its biological activity to DNase digestion, and (iii) identification of plasmid DNA on agarose gels after lipid extraction. The biological activity of the liposome-entrapped plasmid was determined by transformation assays. The incubation of intact liposome...

Protein/DNA interactions in the human U2 RNA gene enhancer have been characterized by DNase I footprint and DMS methylation protection analyses. Nuclear factors present in both HeLa and B cell extracts have been shown to protect an approximately 70 bp region from DNase I digestion. DMS and DNase I footprint competition studies demonstrated that the entire footprint can be accounted for by inter...

DNA nucleases (DNases) perform a wide variety of important cellular functions and are also very useful for research and in biotechnological applications. Due to the biological and technological importance of DNases and their use in a wide range of applications, DNase activity assays are essential. Traditional DNase assays employ radiolabeled DNA substrates and require separation of the products...

Indian Echis carinatus bite causes sustained tissue destruction at the bite site. Neutrophils, the major leukocytes in the early defence process, accumulate at the bite site. Here we show that E. carinatus venom induces neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. The NETs block the blood vessels and entrap the venom toxins at the injection site, promoting tissue destruction. The stability of...

CHROMATIN ACCESSIBILITY The formation of regions of open chromatin or nucleosome loss in eukaryotic genomes is an important factor elucidating potential regulatory activity. Nucleosome packaging, which organizes the DNA structure, acts as a regulator of transcription by enabling or restricting protein binding, and therefore facilitating the replication and coordination of gene activity (Cockeri...

The deoxyribonucleases have numerous biological functions in cellular growth and development (1-3) . These include repair mechanisms for damaged DNA molecules, protective mechanisms against viral infection, promotion by viral DNases of intracellular viral growth, and intracellular digestive functions carried out by acid nucleases located in the lysosomes . Accumulating evidence indicates that a...

A direct correlation between the concentration of cell-free and cell-surface-bound circulating DNA (cfDNA and csbDNA, respectively) was demonstrated. Based on an inverse correlation between blood plasma DNase activity and the cfDNA concentration, blood DNases are supposed to regulate the cfDNA concentration. However, no correlation was found between the DNase activity in blood plasma and the cs...