Protein crystal structure obtained at 2.9 ? resolution from injecting bacterial cells into an X-ray free-electron laser beam

It has long been known that toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are stored in the bacterial cells in crystalline form. Here we describe the structure determination of the Cry3A toxin found naturally crystallized within Bt cells. When whole Bt cells were streamed into an X-ray free-electron laser beam we found that scattering from other cell components did not obscure diffraction from the crystals. The resolution limits of the best diffraction images collected from cells were the same as from isolated crystals. The integrity of the cells at the moment of diffraction is unclear; however, given the short time (∼5 µs) between exiting the injector to intersecting with the X-ray beam, our result is a 2.9-Å-resolution structure of a crystalline protein as it exists in a living cell. The study suggests that authentic in vivo diffraction studies can produce atomic-level structural information.The advent of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has made it possible to obtain atomic resolution macromolecular structures from crystals with sizes approximating only 1/60th of the volume of a single red blood cell. Brief, intense pulses of coherent X-rays, focused on a spot of 3-μm diameter, have produced 1.9-Å-resolution diffraction data from a stream of lysozyme crystals, each crystal no bigger than 3 μm³ (1). A stream of crystals, not just one crystal, is required to collect the many tens of thousands of diffraction patterns that compose a complete data set. No single crystal can contribute more than one diffraction pattern because the XFEL beam is so intense and the crystals so small that the crystals are typically vaporized after a single pulse. Impressively, a photosystem I crystal no bigger than 10 unit cells (300 nm) on an edge produced observable subsidiary diffraction peaks between Bragg reflections, details which would be unobservable from conventionally sized crystals (2). With this new ability to collect diffraction patterns from crystals of unprecedentedly small dimensions, it is conceivable that high-resolution diffraction data could be collected from crystals in vivo. The structure obtained in this manner would be unaltered from that occurring naturally in a living cell, free from distortion that might otherwise potentially arise from nonphysiological conditions imposed by recrystallization. A practical advantage would also be gained by eliminating the need for a protein purification step, whether the in vivo grown crystals were naturally, or heterologously expressed (3).The nascent field of serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) has published results on nine different macromolecular systems since its inception in 2009 (3, 9). The crystals for this study were not grown in artificial crystallization chambers as has been the protocol of conventional macromolecular crystallography since the 1950s. Instead, crystals were grown in cells. Specifically, they were grown in Sf9 insect cells, heterologously expressing Trypanosoma brucei cathepsin B. These in vivo-grown crystals were used for the XFEL diffraction experiment. To this end, the cells were lysed and the crystals were extracted before injecting them in the XFEL beam for data collection. This last purification step seems to be the only major departure from our goal of obtaining high-resolution structural information from crystal inclusions in vivo, without requiring the crystal to be extracted from the cell that assembled it. Here we attempt to go one step further than previous studies—to record diffraction from crystals within living cells.

Table 1.

SFX publications from XFEL sources to date

Mechanisms of COVID-19-induced kidney injury and current pharmacotherapies

The COVID-19 pandemic created a worldwide debilitating health crisis with the entire humanity suffering from the deleterious effects associated with the high infectivity and mortality rates. While significant evidence is currently available online and targets various aspects of the disease, both inflammatory and noninflammatory kidney manifestations secondary to COVID-19 infection are still largely underrepresented. In this review, we summarized current knowledge about COVID-19-related kidney manifestations, their pathologic mechanisms as well as various pharmacotherapies used to treat patients with COVID-19. We also shed light on the effect of these medications on kidney functions that can further enhance renal damage secondary to the illness.

     

Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Antero-Medial Prefrontal Cortex Sub-Regions in Major Depression and Relationship to Emotional Intelligence

Background:

Major depressive disorder has been associated with abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (FC), especially in cognitive processing and emotional regulation networks. Although studies have found abnormal FC in regions of the default mode network (DMN), no study has investigated the FC of specific regions within the anterior DMN based on cytoarchitectonic subdivisions of the antero-medial pre-frontal cortex (PFC). Studies from different areas in the field have shown regions within the anterior DMN to be involved in emotional intelligence. Although abnormalities in this region have been observed in depression, the relationship between the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) function and emotional intelligence has yet to be investigated in depressed individuals.

Methods:

Twenty-one medication-free, non–treatment resistant, depressed patients and 21 healthy controls underwent a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging session. The participants also completed an ability-based measure of emotional intelligence: the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. FC maps of Brodmann areas (BA) 25, 10m, 10r, and 10p were created and compared between the two groups.

Results:

Mixed-effects analyses showed that the more anterior seeds encompassed larger areas of the DMN. Compared to healthy controls, depressed patients had significantly lower connectivity between BA10p and the right insula and between BA25 and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex. Exploratory analyses showed an association between vmPFC connectivity and emotional intelligence.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that individuals with depression have reduced FC between antero-medial PFC regions and regions involved in emotional regulation compared to control subjects. Moreover, vmPFC functional connectivity appears linked to emotional intelligence.     

Obstetrician-gynecologists’ beliefs on the importance of pelvic examinations in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility

Objective

To describe obstetrician-gynecologists’ beliefs regarding the importance of pelvic examination (including external genitalia inspection, speculum examination, bimanual examination) in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility.

Methods

In a national probability survey, 1020 obstetrician-gynecologists drawn from the American Medical Association’s Physician Masterfile rated importance of the examination in four categories: very, moderately, a little and not important.

Results

The response rate was 62% (n= 521). Seventy-nine percent considered at least one exam component to be of some importance (very, moderately, or a little importance). Bimanual examination was rated more often than external examination in each level of importance (p<.001). Physicians who believed no component of the examination was important were more likely to be younger, female and in practice settings other than private practice.

Conclusions

Despite guidelines stating that pelvic examinations are unnecessary in assessing hormonal contraception eligibility, most obstetrician-gynecologists believe that they are of some importance. These attitudes may pose a barrier to contraception provision.     

Early detection and prediction of cardiotoxicity in chemotherapy-treated patients

As breast cancer survival increases, cardiotoxicity associated with chemotherapeutic regimens such as anthracyclines and trastuzumab becomes a more significant issue. Assessment of the left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction fails to detect subtle alterations in LV function. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether more sensitive echocardiographic measurements and biomarkers could predict future cardiac dysfunction in chemotherapy-treated patients. Forty-three patients diagnosed with breast cancer who received anthracyclines and trastuzumab therapy underwent echocardiography and blood sampling at 3 time points (baseline and 3 and 6 months during the course of chemotherapy). The LV ejection fraction; peak systolic myocardial longitudinal, radial, and circumferential strain; echocardiographic markers of diastolic function; N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide; and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I were measured. Nine patients (21%) developed cardiotoxicity (1 at 3 months and 8 at 6 months) as defined by the Cardiac Review and Evaluation Committee reviewing trastuzumab. A decrease in longitudinal strain from baseline to 3 months and detectable high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I at 3 months were independent predictors of the development of cardiotoxicity at 6 months. The LV ejection fraction, parameters of diastolic function, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide did not predict cardiotoxicity. In conclusion, cardiac troponin plasma concentrations and longitudinal strain predict the development of cardiotoxicity in patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab. The 2 parameters may be useful to detect chemotherapy-treated patients who may benefit from alternative therapies, potentially decreasing the incidence of cardiotoxicity and its associated morbidity and mortality.