We use measurements of swimming bacteria in an optical trap to determine fundamental properties of bacterial propulsion. In particular, we directly measure the force required to hold the bacterium in the optical trap and determine the propulsion matrix, which relates the translational and angular velocity of the flagellum to the torques and forces propelling the bacterium. From the propulsion matrix, dynamical properties such as torques, swimming speed, and power can be obtained by measuring the angular velocity of the motor. We find significant heterogeneities among different individuals even though all bacteria started from a single colony. The propulsive efficiency, defined as the ratio of the propulsive power output to the rotary power input provided by the motors, is found to be Ϸ2%, which is consistent with the efficiency predicted theoretically for a rigid helical coil.bacterial flagellum ͉ bacterial propulsion ͉ propulsion matrix B acteria swim by rotating helical propellers called flagellar filaments. For Escherichia coli (E. coli), these filaments are several micrometers in length and 20 nm in diameter, organized in a bundle of four or five. Each flagellar filament is driven at its base by a reversible rotary engine, which turns at a frequency of Ϸ100 Hz (1). Many important properties of the swimming bacteria, such as their average swimming speed, the rotation rate of the flagellar bundle, and the torque generated by the molecular motor, have been determined (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)23). Other properties such as the translational and rotational drag coefficients of flagellar bundles, however, are difficult to measure, especially for intact cells. These parameters are significant for quantitative understanding of bacterial propulsion and are the subject of extensive mathematical analysis and computer simulations (6-10). In this work, we investigate the fundamental swimming properties of intact E. coli by using optical tweezers and an imposed external flow. We directly measure the force required to hold the bacterium and the angular velocities of the flagellar bundle and the cell body as a function of the flow velocity. The propulsion matrix, which relates the translational and angular velocity of the flagella to the forces and torques propelling the bacterium, can thus be determined one bacterium at a time. We find that the population-averaged matrix elements are in reasonable agreement with the resistive force theory for helical propellers (7), but there is a large variability even among bacteria of similar length grown from a single colony.The propulsion matrix also allows us to determine the propulsive efficiency , which is defined as the ratio of the propulsive power output (the part of the power used to push the cell body forward) to the rotary power input (the power used to rotate the flagellar bundle). We find the propulsive efficiency is strongly dependent on growth conditions but is not very sensitive to cell-body size. Despite the flexibility and internal friction between the filaments in the flagellar ...

The link between the size of soluble amyloid β (Aβ) oligomers and their toxicity to rat cerebellar granule cells (CGC) was investigated. Variation in conditions during in vitro oligomerization of Aβ 1-42 resulted in peptide assemblies with different particle size as measured by atomic force microscopy and confirmed by the dynamic light scattering and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Small oligomers of Aβ 1-42 with a mean particle z-height of 1-2 nm exhibited propensity to bind to the phospholipid vesicles and they were the most toxic species that induced rapid neuronal necrosis at submicromolar concentrations whereas the bigger aggregates (z-height above 4-5 nm) did not bind vesicles and did not cause detectable neuronal death. Similar neurotoxic pattern was also observed in primary cultures of cortex neurons whereas Aβ 1-42 oligomers, monomers and fibrils were nontoxic to glial cells in CGC cultures or macrophage J774 cells. However, both oligomeric forms of Aβ 1-42 induced reduction of neuronal cell densities in the CGC cultures.

Adsorption of lambda-phage on sensitive bacteria Escherichia coli is a classical problem but not all issues have been resolved. One of the outstanding problems is the rate of adsorption, which in some cases appears to exceed the theoretical limit imposed by the law of random diffusion. We revisit this problem by conducting experiments along with new theoretical analyses. Our measurements show that upon incubating lambda-phage with bacteria Ymel, the population of unbound phage in a salt buffer decreases with time and in general obeys a double-exponential function characterized by a fast (tau(1)) and a slow (tau(2)) decay time. We found that both the fast and the slow processes are specific to interactions between lambda-phage and its receptor LamB. Such specificity motivates a kinetic model that describes the interaction between the phage and the receptor as an on-and-off process followed by an irreversible binding. The latter may be a signature of the initiation of DNA translocation. The kinetic model successfully predicts the double exponential behavior seen in the experiment and allows the corresponding rate constants to be extracted from single measurements. The weak temperature dependence of the reversible and the irreversible binding rate suggests that phage retention by the receptor is entropic in nature and that a molecular key-lock interaction may be an appropriate description of the interaction between the phage tail and the receptor.

Background Changes in metabolism have been suggested to contribute to the aberrant phenotype of vascular wall cells including fibroblasts in pulmonary hypertension (PH). Herein, we test the hypothesis that metabolic reprogramming to aerobic glycolysis is a critical adaptation of fibroblasts in the hypertensive vessel wall that drives proliferative and pro-inflammatory activation through a mechanism involving increased activity of the NADH-sensitive transcriptional co-repressor C-terminal binding protein 1 (CtBP1). Methods RNA-Sequencing, qPCR, 13C-NMR, fluorescence-lifetime imaging, mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and tracing experiments with U-13C-glucose were used to assess glycolytic reprogramming and to measure NADH/NAD+ ratio in bovine and human adventitial fibroblasts, and mouse lung tissues. Immunohistochemistry was utilized to assess CtBP1 expression in the whole lung tissues. CtBP1 siRNA and the pharmacologic inhibitor 4-methylthio-2-oxobutyric acid (MTOB) were utilized to abrogate CtBP1 activity in cells and hypoxic mice. Results We found adventitial fibroblasts from calves with severe hypoxia-induced PH and humans with IPAH (PH-Fibs) displayed aerobic glycolysis when cultured under normoxia, accompanied by increased free NADH and NADH/NAD+ ratios. Expression of the NADH sensor CtBP1 was increased in vivo and in vitro in fibroblasts within the pulmonary adventitia of humans with IPAH and animals with PH and cultured PH-Fibs, respectively. Decreasing NADH pharmacologically with MTOB, or genetically blocking CtBP1 using siRNA, upregulated the cyclin-dependent genes (p15 and p21) and pro-apoptotic regulators (NOXA and PERP), attenuated proliferation, corrected the glycolytic reprogramming phenotype of PH-Fibs, and augmented transcription of the anti-inflammatory gene HMOX1. ChIP analysis demonstrated that CtBP1 directly binds the HMOX1 promoter. Treatment of hypoxic mice with MTOB decreased glycolysis and expression of inflammatory genes, attenuated proliferation, and suppressed macrophage numbers and remodeling in the distal pulmonary vasculature. Conclusions CtBP1 is a critical factor linking changes in cell metabolism to cell phenotype in hypoxic and other forms of PH and a therapeutic target.

A complex biologic network regulates kidney perfusion under physiologic conditions. This system is profoundly perturbed following renal ischemia, a leading cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) -a life-threatening condition that frequently complicates the care of hospitalized patients. Therapeutic approaches to prevent and treat AKI are extremely limited. Better understanding of the molecular pathways promoting postischemic reflow could provide new candidate targets for AKI therapeutics. Due to its role in adapting tissues to hypoxia, we hypothesized that extracellular adenosine has a regulatory function in the postischemic control of renal perfusion. Consistent with the notion that equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) terminate adenosine signaling, we observed that pharmacologic ENT inhibition in mice elevated renal adenosine levels and dampened AKI. Deletion of the ENTs resulted in selective protection in Ent1 -/-mice. Comprehensive examination of adenosine receptor-knockout mice exposed to AKI demonstrated that renal protection by ENT inhibitors involves the A2B adenosine receptor. Indeed, crosstalk between renal Ent1 and Adora2b expressed on vascular endothelia effectively prevented a postischemic no-reflow phenomenon. These studies identify ENT1 and adenosine receptors as key to the process of reestablishing renal perfusion following ischemic AKI. If translatable from mice to humans, these data have important therapeutic implications. IntroductionAcute kidney injury (AKI) is clinically defined by an abrupt reduction in kidney function (e.g., a decrease in glomerular filtration rate [GFR]), occurring over a period of minutes to days. AKI is frequently caused by an obstruction of renal blood flow (renal ischemia) and represents an important cause of morbidity and mortality of patients (1-3). Indeed, a recent study revealed that only a mild increase (0.3 mg/dl) in the serum creatinine level is associated with a 70% greater risk of death than in patients without this increase (2, 3). Particularly for surgical patients, AKI represents a significant threat. For example, surgical procedures requiring cross-clamping of the aorta and renal vessels are associated with a rate of AKI of up to 30% (4). Similarly, AKI after cardiac surgery occurs in up to 10% of patients under normal circumstances and is associated with dramatic increases in mortality (5). In addition, patients with sepsis frequently go on to develop AKI, and the combination of moder-