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The nucleotide sequence of the cloned DNA, 1,478 bp in length coding for glutathione synthetase (GSH-II) of E. coli B has been determined. Amino acid and nucleotide sequence analyses have assigned the open reading frame for GSH-II, starting with the ATG near its 5' terminus. The molecular weight calculated from the predicted amino acid sequence is 35,559 daltons, being in good agreement with that of a GSH-II subunit estimated by the SDS-PAGE method. Several signal sequences conserved in the promoter regions of E. coli were found in the non-coding regions of the gsh-II gene. They include the Shine-Dalgarno sequence, the Pribnow box and the sequence conserved in the "-35 region" with a preferable spacing from each other for an efficient transcription. Downstream from the termination codon, the inverted repeat sequences were present, followed by 6 successive T's. These structural features found in the non-coding regions have suggested to be involved in regulatory functions for the gsh-II gene expression.

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Previous voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies revealed that hippocampal volume loss in patients with late life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive impairment and a higher risk for dementia. However, LLD patients can experience hippocampal atrophy without cognitive impairment. Thus, while LLD and AD can show comparable hippocampal atrophy, they may encompass different neuropathological changes. Using VBM, we therefore investigated differences in regional gray matter changes in 17 late-onset LLD patients and 21 AD patients (without a history of LLD) who exhibited comparably severe atrophy of the entorhinal cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus on MRI scans for voxel-based specific regional analysis system for AD (VSRAD). Relative to the VSRAD database for healthy individuals, significant atrophy was observed in mesial temporal lobe structures and the anterior cingulate cortex in both groups. Atrophy of the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus was observed only in the AD group. Comparisons of gray matter volume by multivariate analysis of variance revealed significantly reduced volume of the right middle and inferior temporal gyrus, uncus, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus in the AD group only, suggesting impairment of different networks in AD and LLD. Indeed, structural changes in the posterior part of the default-mode network are believed to be associated with cognitive impairments specific to AD.

No abstract