Biology subjects

Riemer, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Riemer, F..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The -hydrogenase SoHydAB of Shewanella oneidensis - An Atypical M2(D)-type Enzyme that Drives Formate Oxidation

The gamma-proteobacterium Shewanella oneidensis harbours one [NiFe]- and one [FeFe]-hydrogenase. This paper presents the first biochemical characterisation of SoHydAB, a M2(D)-type [FeFe]-hydrogenase consisting of a small subunit featuring a twin-arginine-targeting motif (TAT) and a large subunit harbouring the active site cofactor and two accessory iron-sulfur clusters. There are three main reasons to investigate this enzyme. Firstly, S. oneidensis is a highly studied, metabolically complex, and widely utilised organism, especially in the context of wastewater treatment, CO2 conversion, and microbial fuel cells, including H2-producing systems. Advanced understanding of its hydrogen metabolism can improve biotechnological applications. Secondly, S. oneidensis has been a mainstay of hydrogenase research for decades as its enzymes HydE, F and G are the most widely studied and utilised maturases - enzymes assembling the active site cofactor of [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Lastly, while enzymes like NdHydAB from Nitratidesulfovibrio vulgaris (formerly DdHydAB, Desulfovibrio vulgaris) with high similarity to SoHydAB have been characterised extensively in the past, the metabolic context of the enzyme in Shewanella is different from Nitratidesulfovibrio. While NdHydAB receives electrons from ferredoxin, SoHydAB accepts electrons from the menaquinone pool of the outer membrane while being a soluble enzyme in the periplasm. This is facilitated by interaction with a membrane-integrated cytochrome b transcribed from the same operon. Oxidation of the menaquinone pool drives oxidation of formate toward CO2 via formate dehydrogenase. This study therefore lays the groundwork for understanding H2-dependent CO2 turnover, a new type of metabolic niche for [FeFe]-hydrogenases, while simultaneously improving our understanding of a widely used platform organism.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2025

Seizure-induced Transient Disruptive Changes in Brain Microstructure

A leading hypothesis for the mechanisms of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) posits an initial disruptive effect followed by enhanced neuroplasticity. However, direct evidence of the presumed early disruptive changes, potentially driven by seizures, remains limited. This study examined longitudinal changes in multishell diffusion MRI-derived metrics in 25 individuals with depression, with scans acquired two hours before and after their first ECT session. Follow-up scans were collected within 14 days and 6 months after the last ECT session. To control for potential confounding effects of anesthesia and repeated measurements, two additional groups were included: 16 individuals undergoing short-acting anesthesia and 16 healthy controls without interventions. A multicompartment model was applied to explore extracellular free water and microstructures in the intracellular/extracellular compartments. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses identified a pattern consistent with vasogenic edema (e.g., increased extracellular free water) in widespread bilateral brain regions following a single ECT session. Increases in brain tissue free water were significantly correlated with electrical stimulus charge (r=0.51, p=0.01) but not with post-ictal reorientation time (r=0.11, p=0.92). These changes were not observed in either control group. Follow-up assessments confirmed that the alterations in tissue free water resolved within 14 days. A single ECT-induced seizure induces transient, reversible changes consistent with vasogenic edema, rather than irreversible cellular injury typically associated with cytotoxic edema. These reversible changes may represent an initial disruptive phase that facilitates subsequent adaptive brain responses, including neuroplasticity and network reorganization underlying the therapeutic effects of ECT.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Sodium accumulation in breast cancer predicts malignancy and treatment response

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Development of novel noninvasive diagnostic and predictive pathophysiological biomarkers would represent a significant clinical improvement. Here, we explored the utility of non-invasive 23Na MRI to profile tumour physiology using preclinical mouse models of breast cancer. We establish that tissue Na+ concentration ([Na+]) is elevated vs non-tumour regions across multiple different tumour models. Ex vivo SBFI fluorescence imaging corroborated that this elevation in tumour [Na+] is due to increased intracellular [Na+]. Effective treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy reduced tumour tissue [Na+], but was not detected by 1H diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Moreover, combining 23Na MRI and DWI measurements enabled superior classification accuracy of tumour vs non-tumour regions compared to either parameter alone. Quantification of breast tumour tissue [Na+] using 23Na MRI thus represents a novel, accurate, non-invasive diagnostic and predictive imaging biomarker.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Dynamic switching between intrinsic and extrinsic mode networks as demands change from passive to active processing

We here report on the relationship between default and extrinsic mode networks across alternating brief periods of rest and active task processing. We used three different visual tasks: mental rotation, working memory and mental arithmetic in a classic fMRI ON-OFF block design where task (ON) blocks alternated with equal periods of rest (OFF) blocks. By analysing data in two ways, using an ON-OFF contrast, we showed the existence of a generalized task-positive network, labelled the extrinsic mode network (EMN) which was anti-correlated with the default mode network (DMN) as processing demands shifted from rest to active processing. We then identified two key regions of interest (ROIs) in the SMA and Precuneus/PCC regions as hubs for the extrinsic and intrinsic networks, and extracted the time-course from these ROIs. The results showed a close to perfect correlations for the SMA and Precuneus/PCC time-courses for ON-respective OFF-blocks. We suggest the existence of two large-scale networks, an extrinsic mode network and an intrinsic mode network, respectively, which are up- and down-regulated as environmental demands change from active to passive processing.

neuroscience↗