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UGA study reveals function of ubiquitous yet poorly understood microorganisms

05-23-2007 · EurekAlert!

A new study led by University of Georgia researchers and announced on Wednesday at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Toronto finds that crenarchaeota, one of the most common groups of archaea and a group that includes members that live in hot springs, use ammonia as their energy source. Such a metabolic mode has not been found in any of the other known high-temperature archaea.

Keywords: uga, study, reveals, function, ubiquitous, yet, poorly, understood, microorganisms, reveal, ubiquitou, microorganism

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Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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Sports concussion research using fMRI provides insight for safe return-to-play decisions
08-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
Concussions are common in young athletes but the underlying changes in brain function that occur have been poorly understood. Now, a University of Pittsburgh study is the first to link changes in brain function directly to the recovery of the athlete. The study results confirm that changes in brain function seen on fMRI may be reliably measured by neuropsychological testing, a tool commonly used nationwide by team doctors in making critical decisions about safe concussion management.
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Scientists reveal structure of gateways to gene control
03-28-2007 · EurekAlert!
The first complete high-resolution map of structures that control how genes are packaged and regulated throughout an entire genome has been compiled by Penn State scientists. The research suggests how certain nucleosomes control whether a gene's function can be turned on. The study reveals an intimate relationship between the architecture of nucleosomes and the underlying DNA sequences they regulate, including a critical gateway that must be unlocked before a gene can be transcribed.
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Fragile X syndrome -- A stimulating environment restores neuronal function in mice
05-23-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new study of the malfunctioning neuronal machinery of Fragile X syndrome reveals that it can be restored by a stimulating environment. The study found that mice genetically altered to have the same defect as humans with the disorder benefited from an environment with constantly changing toys and access to "play cages." Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited mental retardation, occurring in 1 in 3600 males and 1 in 4000 to 6000 females.
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Scripps Research study reveals new function of protein kinase pathway in tumor suppression
01-25-2007 · EurekAlert!
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprising new function of a well-known signaling pathway that, when activated, can inhibit tumor development. This finding may lead to the development of drugs that can serve as an effective cancer therapy by artificially activating this pathway in cancer cells.
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Study explores distinction between 'different' and 'uncool'
12-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Just as some products reveal our aspirations, there are other products that consumers avoid, lest we be associated with a particular group. An environmentalist would never buy an SUV. Baby boomers avoid products associated with being elderly. What's the difference between products we actively avoid and those that are simply "not us?" A new study reveals an important distinction -- and also highlights the mitigating effect of social pressure.
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Chandra data reveal rapidly whirling black holes
01-10-2008 · EurekAlert!
A new study using results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory provides one of the best pieces of evidence yet that many supermassive black holes are spinning extremely rapidly. The whirling of these giant black holes drives powerful jets that pump huge amounts of energy into their environment and affects galaxy growth.
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Which is more annoying, spam or direct mail? UGA study reveals answer
11-02-2006 · EurekAlert!
According to a new University of Georgia study, most people find spam more intrusive and irritating than direct mail. The study, published in the fall issue of the Journal of Interactive Advertising, also explores why people find spam so annoying.
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Complex carbon picture clearer
12-11-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new study looks at a poorly understood process with potentially critical consequences for climate change. Emma Sayer, postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Jennifer Powers, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and Edmund Tanner, researcher at Cambridge University, published the findings of their long-term study on the effects of increased plant litter on soil carbon and nutrient cycling in the Dec. 12 edition of PLoS ONE.
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Researchers reveal genetic secrets of devastating human parasite
09-20-2007 · EurekAlert!
An international team of researchers has revealed the genetic secrets of one of the world's most debilitating human parasites, Brugia malayi, which the World Health Organization estimates has seriously incapacitated and disfigured more than 40 million people around the globe. The study reveals dozens of potential new targets for drugs or vaccines and should provide new opportunities for understanding, treating and preventing elephantiasis, the disfiguring disease caused by the Brugia malayi parasite.
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