Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induces a variety of neuronal cell death pathways that play a critical role in the pathophysiology of Stroke. ER stress occurs when unfolded/misfolded proteins accumulate and the folding capacity of ER chaperones exceeds the capacity of ER lumen to facilitate their disposal. As a consequence, a complex set of signaling pathways will be induced that transmit from ER to cytosol and nucleus to compensate damage and to restore the normal cellular homeostasis, collectively known as unfolded protein response (UPR). However, failure of UPR due to severe or prolonged stress leads to cell death. Following acute CNS injuries, chronic disturbances in protein folding and oxidative stress prolong ER stress leading to sustained ER dysfunction and neuronal cell death. While ER stress responses have been well studied after stroke, there is an emerging need to study the association of ER stress with other cell pathways that exacerbate neuronal death after an injury. In this review we summarize the current understanding of the role for ER stress in acute brain injuries, highlighting the diverse molecular mechanisms associated with ER stress and its relation to oxidative stress and autophagy. We also discussed the existing and developing therapeutic options aimed to reduce ER stress to protect the CNS after acute injuries.

The aim of the present work was to engineer bacteria for the removal of Co in contaminated effluents. Radioactive cobalt ((60)Co) is known as a major contributor for person-sievert budgetary because of its long half-life and high γ-energy values. Some bacterial Ni/Co transporter (NiCoT) genes were described to have preferential uptake for cobalt. In this study, the NiCoT genes nxiA and nvoA from Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 (RP) and Novosphingobium aromaticivorans F-199 (NA), respectively, were cloned under the control of the groESL promoter. These genes were expressed in Deinococcus radiodurans in reason of its high resistance to radiation as compared to other bacterial strains. Using qualitative real time-PCR, we showed that the expression of NiCoT-RP and NiCoT-NA is induced by cobalt and nickel. The functional expression of these genes in bioengineered D. radiodurans R1 strains resulted in >60 % removal of (60)Co (≥5.1 nM) within 90 min from simulated spent decontamination solution containing 8.5 nM of Co, even in the presence of >10 mM of Fe, Cr, and Ni. D. radiodurans R1 (DR-RP and DR-NA) showed superior survival to recombinant E. coli (ARY023) expressing NiCoT-RP and NA and efficiency in Co remediation up to 6.4 kGy. Thus, the present study reports a remarkable reduction in biomass requirements (2 kg) compared to previous studies using wild-type bacteria (50 kg) or ion-exchanger resins (8000 kg) for treatment of ~10(5)-l spent decontamination solutions (SDS).

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