Pneumolysin is the one of the major virulence factor of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. In previous report, it is shown that β-sitosterol, a natural compound without antimicrobial activity, is a potent antagonist of pneumolysin. Here, two new pneumolysin natural compound inhibitors, with differential activity, were discovered via haemolysis assay. To explore the key factor of the confor...

BACKGROUND Nutrient limitation, such as nitrogen depletion, is the most widely used method for improving microalgae fatty acid production; however, these harsh conditions also inhibit algal growth significantly and even kill cells at all. To avoid these problems, we used artificial microRNA (amiRNA) technology as a useful tool to manipulate metabolic pathways to increase fatty acid contents eff...

The biosynthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) provides an intriguing example on how multi-enzymatic cascades evolve. Essential LC-PUFA, such as arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA), can be acquired from the diet but are also endogenously retailored from C18 precursors through consecutive elongations and desaturations catalyzed, respectively, by f...

We evaluated the free fatty acids differences in plasma between hyperemesis gravidarum(HG) and healthy pregnant in first trimester pregnancy. OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare the plasma levels of DHA, AA and EPA, between HG patients and healthy pregnant women. DESIGN Fifty-two pregnants were involved in the study. Twenty-six pregnants of them were HG as study group, and twenty-six pregnants we...

The molecular-species compositions of the diacyl classes of the major phospholipids from the brain and retina of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were determined. A total of 46 possible species was identified. Didocosahexaenoyl species were major components of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylserine (PS) from retina, comprising 14.1, 41.3 and 28.3% of the r...

BACKGROUND Clara cells are the epithelial progenitor cell of the small airways, a location known to be important in many lung disorders. Although migration of alveolar type II and bronchiolar ciliated epithelial cells has been examined, the migratory response of Clara cells has received little attention. METHODS Using a modification of existing procedures for Clara cell isolation, we examined...