The Sgt1 protein was discovered in yeast but later it was found in other eucaryotic organisms, including plants and mammals. It was suggested that the Sgt1 protein plays a role in the CBF3 kinetochore and the SCF ubiquitin ligase complexes. Since the distribution, properties and functions of the mammalian Sgt1 have not been extensively studied, we examined the expression of Sgt1 protein in the rat tissues and here we report the preliminary results. Using northern and western blots we found that the Sgt1 protein is expressed in various tissues and that brain, skeletal muscles and spleen contain high levels of this protein and its mRNA. Then, by western blot, we checked the localization of Sgt1 in some areas of the rat brain such as cortex, cerebellum and hippocampus and we found that cerebellum and cortex contain highest amounts of this protein. Using immunohistochemistry we found that the Sgt1 protein is present in both neurons and glial cells.
It is evident that the results of preliminary experiments with 5 different yeast killer proteins did not show emphatic cytotoxicity or any adverse effect on any mammalian and embryo-cells. Moreover, they are likely to be harmless to animals? and humans? tissue cells. Therefore, they could be used to explain the pre-therapeutic effect on mammalian cells (mostly animals) in the case of infections by strains Escherichia coli, called EHEC. It was found that the yeast killer toxin from Williopsis mrakii can protect mammalian cells such as HeLa and Vero cells against the challenge by Shiga-Like-Toxins (derived from cultures of pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli). The final activities of tested mammalian cells are better when they are pre-treated by the killer protein, i.e. before the challenge with Shiga-Like-Toxins. It appears that this prophylactic effect could be very interesting for veterinary, which has been proved on a big population (about 2000) of healthy and ill (with diarrhoea, i.e. haemorrhagic colitis) pigs (manuscript ? confidential data). We can conclude that the yeast killer strains are probiotic, i.e. could reduce or eliminate fecal shedding of EHEC strains in pigs prior treated with the developed yeast toxins.
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