Thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy: practical perspective

Pregnancy is a complex endocrine and metabolic status in life of women, therefore role of the thyroid physiology during this period will be profoundly affected, this has been attributed to the complex interplay of Human chorionic gonadotrophin that acts as TSH receptors’ stimulant, more estrogen is produced by placenta will lead to rise in the serum level of Thyrogublin binding protein, change in iodine homeostasis, and hemodynamic changes. From 12th -16th week of pregnancy, the fetus is entirely dependent on the thyroid status of the mother, therefore any disruption in this metabolic milieu will lead to negative outcomes on both the fetus and the mother. Therefore, the current guidelines have stressed on appropriate management of thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy with particular interest on early pregnancy, a critical period for neurocognitive development, then throughout the pregnancy and postpartum period (Figure 1).

Do Water and Nitrogen Management Practices Impact Grain Quality in Maize?

Concomitantly pursuing superior maize (Zeamays L.) productivity with grain quality is essential for food security. Therefore, this study provides a meta-analysis of 21 studies assembled from the scientific literature to tackle the effect of the two most limiting factors for maize production, water and nitrogen (N), and their impacts on grain quality composition, herein focused on protein, oil, and starch concentrations. Water stress levels resulted in erratic responses both in direction and magnitude on all the grain quality components, plausibly linked to a different duration, timing, and intensity of water stress treatments. Nitrogen fertilization more consistently affected the grain protein concentration, with a larger effect size for protein as fertilizer N levels increased (protein change of +14% for low, ≤70 kg N ha−1; +21% for medium, >70–150 kg N ha−1; and +24% for high, >150 kg N ha−1). Both starch and oil grain concentrations presented less variation to fertilizer N levels. The positive protein–oil correlation (r = 0.49) permitted to infer that although the oil concentration may reach a plateau (8%), further increases in protein are still possible. Augmented research on grain quality is warranted to sustain food production but with both high nutritional and energetic value for the global demand.

A novel approach to the detection of unusual mitochondrial protein change suggests hypometabolism of ancestral simians

The mitochondrial genome encodes core subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation machinery, and it is expected that these mitochondria-encoded polypeptides would be shaped by bioenergetic needs corresponding to diverse diets and environments. Here, we have developed a robust and effective method for highlighting phylogenetic tree edges with unexpectedly rapid, and likely efficacious, mitochondrial protein evolution. Further, our approach allows detection of those discrete protein substitutions likely to alter enzyme performance. A survey of mammalian taxonomic groups performed using our method supports the idea that widely conserved residues in mitochondria-encoded proteins are more likely to rapidly mutate within specific clades. Intriguingly, primates share a substitution profile with a number of mammals characterized by low mass-specific rates of metabolism. Our data suggest low metabolic performance and activity of ancestral simians, as well as reduced cellular metabolism across many extant primates.

Altered conformational sampling along an evolutionary trajectory changes the catalytic activity of an enzyme

Several enzymes are known to have evolved from non-catalytic proteins such as solute-binding proteins (SBPs). Although attention has been focused on how a binding site can evolve to become catalytic, an equally important question is: how do the structural dynamics of a binding protein change as it becomes an efficient enzyme? Here we performed a variety of experiments, including propargyl-DO3A-Gd(III) tagging and double electron–electron resonance (DEER) to study the rigid body protein dynamics of reconstructed evolutionary intermediates to determine how the conformational sampling of a protein changes along an evolutionary trajectory linking an arginine SBP to a cyclohexadienyl dehydratase (CDT). We observed that primitive dehydratases predominantly populate catalytically unproductive conformations that are vestiges of their ancestral SBP function. Non-productive conformational states, including a wide-open state, are frozen out of the conformational landscape via remote mutations, eventually leading to extant CDT that exclusively samples catalytically relevant compact states. These results show that remote mutations can reshape the global conformational landscape of an enzyme as a mechanism for increasing catalytic activity.

Twelve-year changes in protein profiles in patients with and without gastric bypass surgery

Gastric bypass surgery results in long-term weight loss due to re-routing of the gastro-intestinal anatomy and dietary intake alterations. Studies have examined protein change during rapid weight loss (up to 1 year post-surgery), but whether protein changes are maintained long-term after weight stabilization is unknown. To identify proteins and pathways involved with the long-term beneficial effects of weight loss, abundances of 1297 blood-circulating proteins were measured at baseline, 2 and 12 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Protein changes were compared between 234 surgery and 144 non-surgery subjects with severe obesity, with discovery and replication subgroups. Seventy-one protein changes were associated with 12-year BMI changes and 58 (7 unique) with surgical status. Protein changes, including ApoM, were most strongly associated with long-term changes in lipids (HDL-C and triglycerides). Inflammation, adipogenesis, cellular signaling, and complement pathways were implicated. Short-term improvements in protein levels were maintained long-term, even after some weight regain.

Altered conformational sampling along an evolutionary trajectory changes the catalytic activity of an enzyme

Several enzymes are known to have evolved from non-catalytic proteins such as solute-binding proteins (SBPs). Although attention has been focused on how a binding site can evolve to become catalytic, an equally important question is: how do the structural dynamics of a binding protein change as it becomes an efficient enzyme? Here we performed a variety of experiments, including double electron-electron resonance (DEER), on reconstructed evolutionary intermediates to determine how the conformational sampling of a protein changes along an evolutionary trajectory linking an arginine SBP to a cyclohexadienyl dehydratase (CDT). We observed that primitive dehydratases predominantly populate catalytically unproductive conformations that are vestiges of their ancestral SBP function. Non-productive conformational states are frozen out of the conformational landscape via remote mutations, eventually leading to extant CDT that exclusively samples catalytically relevant compact states. These results show that remote mutations can reshape the global conformational landscape of an enzyme as a mechanism for increasing catalytic activity.

Ecological Aspects of microelements’ and Vitamins’ Salts Impact on Dairy Cows’ Productivity and Reproductive Function in Mountain Territories of KBR

The article examining the implication for the microelements’ salts – cobalt and copper – to milk production, vitamin A and trivitamin (vitamin A, D3, E) to the cows’ reproductive function in mountainous areas. The study is relevant due to the fact that when organizing cattle feeding, first of all, we care about the balance of rations for the main nutrients and only then for vitamins, minerals and micro minerals. That is why it becomes more important to provide the breeding stock with vitamins and increase the metabolism of the main substrate of life - protein, change its biological function. It is noteworthy that it is necessary to clarify the way that fat-soluble vitamins on cells act, so that their biological spectrum of action is wider than we realize. The purpose of this research is the further study of the biological role of trace elements and vitamins used in cattle breeding, considering the soil and climatic zones of mountainous areas. In our research, the mountainous farms cows’ feeding with microelements favorably affected their milk pr76nv hghhjhhnhghjuo9huyoduction. So, in animals from the second group, milk yield was higher compared to the control by 0.95 kg of milk, the third – by 1.28 kg and the fourth – by 1.45 kg. Calves from cows that received vitamin A and trivitamin developed better during the embryonic period and their birth weight was 2.8–3.0 kg more compared to the control group. Within 90 days after calving, 87.5–92 % of cows from the experimental groups became enceinte, while in the control group it was only 75 %.

Embryo polarity in moth flies and mosquitoes relies on distinct old genes with localized transcript isoforms

Unrelated genes establish head-to-tail polarity in embryos of different fly species, raising the question of how they evolve this function. We show that in moth flies (Clogmia, Lutzomyia), a maternal transcript isoform of odd-paired (Zic) is localized in the anterior egg and adopted the role of anterior determinant without essential protein change. Additionally, Clogmia lost maternal germ plasm, which contributes to embryo polarity in fruit flies (Drosophila). In culicine (Culex, Aedes) and anopheline mosquitoes (Anopheles), embryo polarity rests on a previously unnamed zinc finger gene (cucoid), or pangolin (dTcf), respectively. These genes also localize an alternative transcript isoform at the anterior egg pole. Basal-branching crane flies (Nephrotoma) also enrich maternal pangolin transcript at the anterior egg pole, suggesting that pangolin functioned as ancestral axis determinant in flies. In conclusion, flies evolved an unexpected diversity of anterior determinants, and alternative transcript isoforms with distinct expression can adopt fundamentally distinct developmental roles.