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In this thesis, it was the subject to build a setup to study the interaction of clusters with intense laser light. A magnetron sputter cluster ion source was built to create metal clusters for the planned investigations. Furthermore, a linear Paul trap setup was built in order to allow the investigation of the mentioned interaction at one specific cluster size. The whole apparatus was characterized and first experiments were performed.
For surgery in congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), a distinct surgical strategy and technique is required for focal, diffuse and atypical CHI. In focal CHI, a confined, localized and parenchyma-sparing resection which is guided by the PET-CT is always indicated in order to cure the patient. In diffuse CHI, however, the results of surgical therapy are unpredictable and cure is an exception. Therefore, a strong tendency exists nowadays that medical therapy should be preferred in diffuse CHI. In atypical CHI the situation is more complex: if the focal lesion or the segmental mosaic are not too extensive, cure by resection should be possible. But care must be taken in atypical cases not to resect too much of the gland in order not to induce diabetes.
Novel heterocyclic alpha-phosphinoamino acids, by structural relationship named 3-phosphaprolines, were obtained by cyclocondensation of 2-phenylphosphinoethylamines with glyoxylic, pyruvic or phenylglyoxylic acid at room temperature in diethylether. The reactions proceed via primary attack of the P-lone electron pair, as shown by the synthesis of phosphonium glycolates from tertiary phosphines and glyoxylic acid, and addition of PH at the carbonyl group. The ring closure proceeds by replacement of the hydroxy by the amino group and is kinetically controlled. NMR monitoring of the phosphaprolines in CD3OD over several days indicates changes of the diastereoisomer ratios leading to higher contents of the more stable trans-diastereoisomers. The zwitterionic compounds are soluble in part in CD3OD, DMF or DMSO, are somewhat sensitive to air in solution and may undergo hydrolysis with larger amounts of water. The structures are proved by multinuclear NMR spectra and two crystal structure analyses. Suitable phosphaprolines as well phosphonium glycolates and Ni(COD)2 allow to generate precatalysts, activated by NaH for the oligomerisation of ethylene to mainly linear products with methyl and vinyl end groups. Some additional investigations with phosphinophenolates, another type of P-C-C-O- ligands, were performed for comparison. Precatalysts prepared from 2-phosphinophenolesters and Ni(COD)2 at room temperature were characterized by multinuclear NMR but decomposed on heating to stable nickel cis-bis(P,O-chelate) complexes. Heating precatalysts generated from a phosphinophenolester or phosphinophenols and Ni(COD)2 in the presence of ethylene under pressure led to linear ethylene oligomers. These reactions are much faster than the above mentioned conversions with NaH activated P,O-Ni-catalysts. In the presence of 9-decenol with unprotected remote hydroxyl group incorporation of a small amount of isolated hydroxyoctyl side groups takes place, detected by 13C NMR spectroscopy. Finally it is stated that the development of a facile synthesis and the characterization of the properties of the phosphaprolines pave the way for derivatisation and further studies with these novel types of amino acids.
Interactive Visualization for the Exploration of Aligned Biological Networks and Their Evolution
(2011)
Network Visualization is a widely used tool in biology. The biological networks, as protein-interaction-networks are important for many aspects in life. Today biologists use the comparison of networks of different species (network alignment) to understand the networks in more detail and to understand the underlying evolution. The goal of this work is to develop a visualization software that is able to visualize network alignments and also their evolution. The presented software is the first software for such visualization tasks. It uses 3D graphics and also animations for the dynamic visualization of evolution. This work consists of a review of the Related Work, a chapter about our Graph-based Approach for Interactive Visualization of Evolving Network Alignments, an explanation of the Graph Layout Algorithm and some hints for the Software System.
Transition metal complexes play a crucial role in antitumor therapy. Complexes of platinum, ruthenium as well as lanthanum and gallium have been investigated in preclinical as well as in clinical studies. The best known platinum(II) agents approved worldwide, cisplatin or carboplatin, are used in nearly 50% of all cancer therapies. This work focused on the development of new metal-based drugs that could act against human cancer cells. It was motivated in part by previous work with Cu(II) complexes, reporting new coordination compounds of SOD mimicking and cytotoxic activities. On the basis of this work we chose several commercially available heterocyclic ligands to synthesize new metal ion complexes in search of their interesting biological activity. New as well as previously reported Cu(II), Co(II), Pt(II) and Zn(II) complexes were synthesized using various ligands (1-6). Almost all chelating 2:1 ligand-metal complexes were obtained generally in water at room temperature in the reaction of metal(II) chloride with corresponding aromatic nitrogen ligands bearing an O-carboxylate group ligand. The synthesized chelating complexes were characterized by the use of spectroscopic methods, elemental analyses and HPLC chromatography and some by X-ray crystallography. Such coordination compounds are easily formed by transition metals with free orbitals d that can accept the donor electron pairs. The coordination is through the heterocyclic nitrogen and carboxylate oxygen donor atoms, which was shown by analysis of the characteristic functional groups in the IR spectra. The d-d transitions and absorption of visible light in Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes make them highly colored, blue, green or green-blue, respectively. The configuration of the coordination center was established in some cases by X-ray crystallography. Most of the already published structures possess the trans configuration. This led to the assumption that other uncrystallized complexes were also trans configured. However, X-ray data of the Cu(II) complex of 5 showed quite unexpectedly the cis configuration. On the other hand, the LC/MS experiments with the Pt(II) complex of 5 indicated that this complex exists in two isomeric forms, i.e., cis and trans at the Pt(II) center. Through the use of density functional calculations we optimized the structures and calculated the energies and dipole moments. The differences in energy for all complexes were about 6 to 15-fold lower when compared to cis and transplatin. The DFT calculations confirmed that the trans-isomers are more stable than their cis-isomers. UV-Vis stability studies with most of the synthesized complexes as well as some other Cu(II) complexes were performed to study the spectral changes over 24 h in addition of glutathione, a tripeptide present in the cancer cells and ascorbate that were added to the incubations. The results indicated time-dependent changes and instability of the complexes in the cells and their possible decomposition to lose the ligand and release the metal ion. In the case of Cu(II) complexes, reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) may take place. New species such as GSSG could arise and the complexes may decarboxylate, but these structures were not elucidated. The synthesized coordination metal(II) complexes were tested for their potential antiproliferative activities by using the crystal violet staining method in a panel of human cancer cell lines. Out of all complexes, three Pt(II) complexes of 2, 5 and 6 showed satisfactory activity and for these complexes the IC50 values were additionally determined in new RT-4, DAN-G and MCF-7 cancer cell lines. Interestingly, the active complexes were the chelating trans complexes which is quite unexpected, based on the difference in activities between cis and transplatin. All of the complexes were tested for their potential antimicrobial activities in comparison to the standard antibiotics on such bacterial strains as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and yeast Candida maltosa. Co(II) complexes have been especially known to act against bacterial strains. The activity of the Co(II) complexes was indeed the highest of all metal(II) complexes. The ligand 2 (a nicotinic acid isomer) was also found active. This fact could explain why some antibacterial activity was found in the MIC assay. In addition to the complexes synthesized in this work, several novel heterocyclic metal(II) complexes of copper, ruthenium, platinum, gallium, osmium and lanthanum from other research groups were screened for their antiproliferative activity, some of which exhibited very potent activity in the cancer cell lines. In conclusion, Pt(II) complexes with bis-chelating heterocyclic carboxylate ligands represent a particularly interesting new class of compounds from the view point of their structural and biological properties.
Background: Therapyrelated mucositis is associated with considerable morbidity. This complication following allogeneic stem cell therapy (alloSCT) is less severe after reduced intense conditioning (RIC); however, even here it may be serious. Methods: 52 patients (male: n = 35 (67%), female: n = 17 (33%)) at a median age of 62 years (35–73 years) underwent alloSCT after RIC. Conditioning was either total body irradiation (TBI)<sub>2Gy</sub>/±fludarabine (n = 33, 63.5%) or chemotherapy based. Graftversushost disease (GvHD) prophylaxis was carried out with cyclosporine A ± mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). 45 patients (87%) received shortcourse methotrexate (MTX). Mucositis was graded according to the Bearman and the World Health Organisation (WHO) scale. A variety of parameters were correlated with mucositis. Results: The Bearman and WHO scales showed excellent correlation. Mucositis was significantly more severe after chemotherapybased conditioning compared to conditioning with TBI<sub>2Gy</sub>/±fludarabine (p < 0.002) as well as in cases with an increase in creatinine levels above the upper normal value (UNV) on day +1 after SCT (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the severity correlated with time to engraftment of leucocytes (correlation coefficient (cc) = 0.26, p < 0.02) and thrombocytes (cc = 0.38, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The conditioning regimen and increased creatinine levels at day +1 were identified as factors predicting the severity of mucositis after RICSCT. Creatinine levels on day +1 after SCT may help identify patients at risk for severe mucositis in the further course of transplantation.
In this thesis, a stereoscopic camera system is presented that is designed for the use on parabolic flights for the investigation of dusty plasmas under microgravity conditions. This camera system consists of three synchronously triggered high-speed cameras observing a common volume of approximately (15 × 15 × 15) mm³ size. In this volume, the three-dimensional trajectories of a large number of particles surrounded by a dense dust cloud were reconstructed. For this task an intricate set of reconstruction algorithms has been developed, including a four-frame linking algorithm and a complex combined 2D/3D tracking algorithm for a reliable tracking of 3D particles. Furthermore, these algorithms effectively suppress so-called ghost particles in the evaluation process which are reconstructed from falsely identified 2D particle correspondences. Dusty plasmas under microgravity conditions are of special interest due to their complex structure and the variety of observable dynamic phenomena. Under typical discharge conditions, a central dust-free void is formed, surrounded by a dense particle cloud. Since the void is inherently dust-free, particles shot into the void can be uniquely identified and used to probe plasma properties inside this region. In the dust cloud itself, processes like self-excited dust-density waves can be observed under suitable experimental conditions. Using the presented camera setup and reconstruction algorithms, two parts of a dusty plasma under microgravity on parabolic flights are investigated. Initially, the force field creating and sustaining the central void is deduced and characterized. The combination of ion drag and electric field force is measured and compared to current models of the ion drag, showing a good agreement with these models. While previous investigations on the forces were limited to two-dimensional slices through the void, our measurements represent the first three-dimensional quantitative analysis of a large fraction of the void region. From this analysis the structure of the force field is determined and separated into a radial and a non-radial (or orthogonal) contribution. It is shown that the radial contribution dominates in the central void, while non-radial forces increase in magnitude close to the void edge. The radial domination is also observed in the velocity distribution of the probe particles which is significantly shifted to radially outward directed velocities for particles leaving the void. Assuming a strictly radial force profile in the horizontal mid-plane of the void, the friction coefficient determining the interaction of the probe particles with the neutral gas background is experimentally determined and shown to match the theoretical expectation. Subsequently, particles at the outer surface of the dust cloud are reconstructed. There, the particles are found to oscillate due to dust-density waves propagating through the high-density dust cloud. For the investigation of the correlation between waves and oscillating particles, the instantaneous wave and oscillation properties are determined and the instantaneous phase difference is obtained. Modeling the probe particles as driven, damped harmonic oscillators, these phase differences between waves and particles are interpreted with respect to the resonance frequency of the oscillating particles. Spatial variations of the phase difference are observed that may be attributed to different frequencies of the dust-density waves, or to changes of the resonance frequency induced by changing local plasma parameters. From a few measurements of particles oscillating at their resonance frequency, information about the surrounding plasma or properties of the particles themselves can be deduced. However, a larger number of reconstructed trajectories is necessary in order to interpret the phase differences on a reliable data basis. The presented camera setup in combination with the evaluation algorithms is a flexible system for the investigation of three-dimensional dusty plasmas. Its robust construction allows the operation of the system in challenging environments such as on parabolic flights, where spatial limitations and vibrations produced by the aircraft make special demands on such a diagnostic tool. This versatility makes our stereoscopic camera setup and the reconstruction process a suitable standard diagnostic for the application with dusty plasmas; this system will therefore be used in future research amongst other things for the investigation of boundary layers in extended three-dimensional dust clouds under microgravity.
Three-dimensional (3D) dynamical properties of fast particles being injected into the void region of a dusty plasma under microgravity conditions have been measured. For that purpose, a stereoscopic camera setup of three cameras has been developed that is able to track and reconstruct the 3D trajectories of individual dust particles. From more than 500 particle trajectories, the force field inside the void region and its influence on particle movement are derived and analyzed in 3D. It is shown that the force field is dominated by forces pointing radially out of the void and that this radial character is reflected in the velocity distributions of particles leaving the void. Furthermore, the structure of the force field is used for measuring the neutral gas friction for the particles inside the void.
Background/Aims: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is characterized by premature zymogen activation, systemic inflammatory response resulting in inflammatory infiltrates, sustained intracellular calcium, neurogenic inflammation and pain. The inhibitory neurotransmitter and cytoprotective amino acid glycine exerts a direct inhibitory effect on inflammatory cells, inhibits calcium influx and neuronal activation and therefore represents a putative therapeutic agent in AP. Methods: To explore the impact of glycine, mild AP was induced in rats by supramaximal cerulein stimulation (10 µg/kg BW/h) and severe AP by retrograde injection of sodium taurocholate solution (3%) into the common biliopancreatic duct. 100/300 mmol glycine was administered intravenously before induction of AP. To elucidate the effect of glycine on AP, we determined pathomorphology, pancreatic cytokines as well as proteases, serum lipase and amylase, pancreatic and lung MPO activity and pain sensation. Results: Glycine administration resulted in a noticeable improvement of pathomorphological alterations in AP, such as a reduction of necrosis, inflammatory infiltrates and cytoplasmic vacuoles in cerulein pancreatitis. In taurocholate pancreatitis, glycine additionally diminished pancreatic cytokines and MPO activity, as well as serum lipase and amylase levels. Conclusions: Glycine reduced the severity of mild and much more of severe AP by attenuating the intrapancreatic and systemic inflammatory response. Therefore, glycine seems to be a promising tool for prophylactic treatment of AP.
Histopathologic and Clinical Subtypes of Autoimmune Pancreatitis: The Honolulu Consensus Document
(2011)
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) has been extensively reported from Japan, Europe and the USA. While the descriptions of AIP from Japan have predominantly been based on the presence of a distinct clinical phenotype, reports from Europe and the USA describe at least 2 histopathologic patterns in patients diagnosed with AIP, namely lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis (LPSP) and idiopathic duct-centric pancreatitis (IDCP) or granulocytic epithelial lesion- positive pancreatitis. While the 2 entities share common histopathologic features (periductal lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and peculiar periductal fibrosis), expert pathologists can accurately distinguish them on the basis of other unique histopathologic features. Clinically, the 2 entities have a similar presentation (obstructive jaundice/pancreatic mass and a dramatic response to steroids), but they differ significantly in their demography, serology, involvement of other organs and disease relapse rate. While LPSP is associated with elevation of titers of nonspecific autoantibodies and serum IgG4 levels, IDCP does not have definitive serologic autoimmune markers. All experts agreed that the clinical phenotypes associated with LPSP and IDCP should be nosologically distinguished; however, their terminology was controversial. While most experts agreed that the entities should be referred to as type 1 and type 2 AIP, respectively, others had concerns regarding use of the term ‘autoimmune’ to describe IDCP.
The exact qualitative and quantitative analysis of wound healing processes is a decisive prerequisite for optimizing wound care and for therapy control. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements are considered to be the standard procedure for assessing the progress of epidermal wound healing. The damage to the stratum corneum correlates with an increased loss of water through the skin barrier. This method is highly susceptible to failure by environmental factors, in particular by temperature and moisture. This study was aimed at comparing TEWL measurements and in vivo laser scanning microscopy (LSM) for the characterization of the epidermal wound healing process. LSM is a high-resolution in vivo method permitting to analyze the kinetics and dynamics of wound healing at a cellular level. While the TEWL values for the individual volunteers showed a wide scattering, LSM permitted the wound healing process to be clearly characterized at the cellular level. However, a comparison between the two methods was very difficult, because the results provided by LSM were images and not numerical. Therefore, a scoring system was set up which evaluates the stages of wound healing. Thus, the healing process could be numerically described. This method is independent of any environmental factors. Providing morphologically qualitative and numerically quantitative analyses of the wound healing process and being far less vulnerable to failure, LSM is advantageous over TEWL.
The effect of water-filtered infrared-A radiation (wIRA) on normal skin flora was investigated by generating experimental wounds on the forearms of volunteers utilizing the suction blister technique. Over 7 days, recolonization was monitored parallel to wound healing. Four groups of treatment were compared: no therapy (A), dexpanthenol cream once daily (B), 20 min wIRA irradiation at 30 cm distance (C), and wIRA irradiation for 30 min once daily together with dexpanthenol cream once daily (D). All treatments strongly inhibited the recolonization of the wounds. Whereas dexpanthenol completely suppressed recolonization over the test period, recolonization after wIRA without (C) and in combination with dexpanthenol (D) was suppressed, but started on day 5 with considerably higher amounts after the combination treatment (D). Whereas the consequence without treatment (A) was an increasing amount of physiological skin flora including coagulase-negative staphylococci, all treatments (B–D) led to a reduction in physiological skin flora, including coagulase-negative staphylococci. In healthy volunteers, wIRA alone and in combination with dexpanthenol strongly inhibited bacterial recolonization with physiological skin flora after artificial wound setting using a suction-blister wound model. This could support the beneficial effects of wIRA in the promotion of wound healing.
Currently, there are no generally accepted definitions for wounds at risk of infection. In clinical practice, too many chronic wounds are regarded as being at risk of infection, and therefore many topical antimicrobials – in terms of frequency and duration of use – are applied to wounds. Based on expert discussion and current knowledge, a clinical assessment score was developed. The objective of this wounds at risk (W.A.R.) score is to allow decision-making on the indication for the use of antiseptics on the basis of polihexanide. The proposed clinical classification of W.A.R. shall facilitate the decision for wound antisepsis and allow an appropriate general treatment regimen with the focus on the prevention of wound infection. The W.A.R. score is based on a clinically oriented risk assessment using concrete patient circumstances. The indication for the use of antiseptics results from the addition of differently weighted risk causes, for which points are assigned. Antimicrobial treatment is justified in the case of 3 or more points.
Chromosomal abnormalities, like deletions, amplifications, inversions or translocations, are recurrent features in haematological malignancies. However, the precise molecular breakpoints are frequently not determined. Here we describe a rapid analysis of genetic imbalances combining fine tiling comparative genomic hybridization (FT-CGH) and ligation-mediated PCR (LM-PCR). We clarified an inv(14)(q11q32) in a case of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with a breakpoint in the TRA/D in 68% of cells detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. FT-CGH showed several mono- and biallelic losses within TRA/D. LM-PCR disclosed a TRA/D rearrangement on one allele. The other allele revealed an inv(14)(q11q32), joining TRDD2 at 21,977,000 of 14q11 together with the IGH locus at 105,948,000 and 3′-sequence of TRAC at 22,092,000 joined together with IGHV4–61 at 106,166,000. This sensitive approach can unravel complex chromosomal abnormalities in patient samples with a limited amount of aberrant cells and may lead to better diagnostic and therapeutic options.
Self-similar sets are a class of fractals which can be rigorously defined and treated by mathematical methods. Their theory has been developed in n-dimensional space, but we have just a few good examples of self-similar sets in three-dimensional space. This thesis has two different aims. First, to extend fractal constructions from two-dimensional space to three-dimensional space. Second, to study some of the properties of these fractals such as finite type, disk-likeness, ball-likeness, and the Hausdorff dimension of boundaries. We will use the neighbor graph tool for creating new fractals, and studying their properties.
Aim: The efficacy of antimicrobial compounds included in wound dressings has been determined using the quantitative suspension test according to EN 13727 before. However, as suspension tests are not an accurate reflection of the conditions under which wound antiseptics are used, it was investigated if a disc carrier test would yield results simulating practical conditions on wound surfaces. A silver-leaching foam wound dressing was used for evaluation of the disc carrier test method. Method: The disc carriers consisted of circular stainless-steel discs measuring 2 cm in diameter and 1.5 mm in thickness, complying with the requirements of EN 10088-2. Carriers were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively, together with an artificial wound secretion and left to dry at room temperature for 30 min. The wound dressings being tested were placed on the discs for the length of the exposure time, and after neutralization by thioglycolate in phosphate-buffered saline the number of surviving test organisms was then counted. The logarithmic reduction factor was calculated from the difference between the initial inoculum and the number of recovered test organisms. Results: The disc carrier test allowed determination of an antimicrobial efficacy in a realistic setting. It also imposed more stringent requirements on efficacy over time than the quantitative suspension test. The silver foam wound dressing showed a time-dependent antimicrobial efficacy. After 24-hour application time, the reduction factors against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and the methicillin-resistant S. aureus were 1.9 ± 0.15, 2.1 ± 0.14 and 3.1 ± 0.18, respectively. Conclusion: The disc carrier test was a useful method for testing the antimicrobial efficacy of a foam silver dressing. The antimicrobial dressing exhibited an antimicrobial effect after 3 h and achieved a reduction >2 log against the tested bacterial strains in the presence of a simulated wound secretion after 24 h.
Triple helix-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) are one of the most specific DNA duplex binding agents and offer new perspectives towards oligonucleotide-mediated gene regulation and manipulation. However, the poor thermodynamic stability of DNA triplexes under physiological conditions limits a successful application in the antigene strategy. Thus, the conjugation of TFOs with small triplex-specific binding ligands is a promising approach to stabilize the formed complexes and to enhance their overall binding affinity. The present study focused on the synthesis of novel TFO conjugates with triplex-binding indolo[3,2-b]quinoline derivatives (PIQ) and on their ability to form and stabilize intermolecular triplexes through their recognition of a duplex target. During the course of the work the thermodynamics of conjugate binding and structural aspects of drug-DNA interactions have been characterized by a variety of spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques.
Protein quality control systems are essential for the viability and growth of all living organisms. They protect the cell from irreversible protein aggregation. Because the frequency of protein misfolding, which ultimately results in protein aggregation, varies with the environmental conditions, the amount and activity of protein quality systems have to be accurately adapted to the rate of protein misfolding. The main goal of this thesis was to gain detailed molecular insights into the transcriptional and post-translational regulation of these protein quality control networks in the ecologically, medically and industrially important phylum of low GC, Gram-positive bacteria. In these bacteria the core protein quality control systems are under the transcriptional control of the global repressor CtsR. In a first study it was demonstrated that the arginine kinase McsB is not responsible for the regulation of CtsR activity during heat stress, as was concluded by others on the basis of previous in vitro data. Rather, it was demonstrated that CtsR acts as an intrinsic thermosensor that adapts its activity to the surrounding temperature. CtsR displays a decreased DNA binding at higher temperatures, which leads to induction of transcription of the protein quality control systems under these conditions. This CtsR feature is conserved in all low GC, Gram-positive bacteria. However, the CtsR proteins of various low GC, Gram-positive species do not have the same temperature optima. CtsR responds to heat in a species-specific manner according to their corresponding growth temperature. Detailed analysis revealed that a highly conserved tetra-glycine loop within the winged helix-turn-helix domain of CtsR is responsible for thermosensing. Dual control of CtsR activity during different stresses was demonstrated for the first time in this work. In addition to heat-dependent de-repression, CtsR is inactivated by thiol-specific stress conditions. This latter de-repression depends on a molecular redox-switch that is independent of CtsR auto-regulation. In Bacillus subtilis and its closest relatives the McsA/McsB stress-sensing complex is responsible for CtsR de-repression during redox stress conditions. McsA is able to sense the redox state of the cell via its highly conserved cysteine residues. When these cysteines are reduced, McsA is able to bind and inhibit McsB. But when these cysteine residues are oxidized, McsB is released from McsA. Thereby, McsB is activated and removes CtsR from the DNA. However, the McsA/McsB complex is not present in all low GC, Gram-positive bacteria. In the species lacking this complex, ClpE is able to act as a redox-sensor probably via its highly conserved N-terminal zinc finger domain. When these cysteine residues are oxidized, ClpE is activated which results in CtsR de-repression. In addition to the transcriptional regulation of CtsR low GC, Gram-positive protein quality control systems are regulated post-transcriptionally. The expression of the McsA/McsB adaptor pair is regulated by CtsR. However, McsB activity is also tightly regulated by three different regulatory proteins (McsA/ClpC/YwlE). McsB is needed to target specific substrates to ClpC, either for refolding or degradation by the ClpCP protease. It was demonstrated that only the auto- phosphorylated form of McsB is able to bind to its substrates. This McsB function is inhibited in non-stressed cells by a direct interaction with ClpC. Consequently, McsB is activated by a release from ClpC during protein stress. In addition, McsB activation depends on the presence of its activator McsA. Accordingly, McsB cannot be activated as an adaptor protein during thiol-specific stress because McsA is no longer able to bind to McsB under these conditions. However, also active McsB is subject to post-translational control. Activated McsB is either de-phosphorylated by McaP or degraded by ClpCP ensuring an appropriate shut-down of the McsB adaptor. Both McaP and ClpC inhibit McsB activity with different intensities. ClpC possesses a stronger impact on McsB activity than McaP but both proteins are needed for an adequate silencing of McsB activity. In addition, it was shown for the first time that B. subtilis McsB is a global adaptor that influences the stability of multiple proteins. The B. subtilis ClpC protein is unlike most members of the Hsp100 family because it not only requires several adaptor proteins for substrate recognition but also for its general ATP- dependent activity. Biochemical analysis revealed how ClpC is activated by distinct adaptor proteins. McsB modulates ClpC activity by regulatory phosphorylation of arginine residues. Moreover, McaP (formerly YwlE) was identified as an arginine phosphatase that modulates the McsB mediated ClpC activity. MecA, another known adaptor protein for ClpC, activates ClpC independently of these arginine phosphorylations, which demonstrates the existence of multiple pathways for ClpC activation.