MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Biochimie' source. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:31:33 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5638462&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22273774%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Merlino A, Picone D, Ercole C, Balsamo A, Sica F Abstract 3D domain swapping is the process by which two or more protein molecules exchange part of their structure to form intertwined dimers or higher oligomers. Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease (RNase A) is able to swap the N-terminal α-helix (residues 1-13) and/or the C-terminal β-strand (residues 116-124), thus forming a variety of oligomers, including two different dimers. Cis-trans isomerization of the Asn113-Pro114 peptide group was observed when the protein formed the C-terminal swapped dimer. To study the effect of the substitution of Pro114 on the swapping process of RNase A, we have prepared and characterized the P114A monomeric and dimeric variants of the enzyme. In contrast with previous reports, the crystal str... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5638462 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5638462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5638465&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22269933%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sanina NM, Kostetsky EY, Shnyrov VL, Tsybulsky AV, Novikova OD, Portniagina OY, Vorobieva NS, Mazeika AN, Bogdanov MV Abstract The tubular immunostimulating complex (TI-complex) is a novel nanoparticulate antigen delivery system consisting of cholesterol, triterpene glycoside cucumarioside A(2)-2, and glycolipid monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) isolated from marine macrophytes. MGDG is crucial for the formation of a lipid matrix for the protein antigen incorporated in TI-complexes. Fatty acid composition and the physical state of this glycolipid depend on the taxonomic position of marine macrophytes. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to study the capacity of MGDGs, isolated from five species of marine macrophytes, to influence conformation and to enhance immuno... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5638465 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5638465 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5638464&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22269934%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Oliveira MA, Aquino B, Bonatto AC, Huergo LF, Chubatsu LS, Pedrosa FO, Souza EM, Dixon R, Monteiro RA Abstract Nitrogen fixation in Herbaspirillum seropedicae is transcriptionally regulated by NifA, a σ(54) transcriptional activator with three structural domains: an N-terminal GAF domain, a catalytic AAA + domain and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain. NifA is only active in H. seropedicae when cultures are grown in the absence of fixed nitrogen and at low oxygen tensions. There is evidence that the inactivation of NifA in response to fixed nitrogen is mediated by the regulatory GAF domain. However, the mechanism of NifA repression by the GAF domain, as well as the transduction of nitrogen status to NifA, is not understood. In order to study the regulation of NifA activit... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5638464 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5638464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5638463&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22269935%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Reyes-Prieto F, Hernández-Morales R, Jácome R, Becerra A, Lazcano A Abstract The results of a detailed bioinformatic search for ribonucleotidyl coenzyme biosynthetic sequences in DNA- and RNA viral genomes are presented. No RNA viral genome sequence available as of April 2011 appears to encode for sequences involved in coenzyme biosynthesis. In both single- and double-stranded DNA viruses a diverse array of coenzyme biosynthetic genes has been identified, but none of the viral genomes examined here encodes for a complete pathway. Although our conclusions may be constrained by the unexplored diversity of viral genomes and the biases in the construction of viral genome databases, our results do not support the possibility that RNA viruses are direct holdovers from an ancie... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5638463 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5638463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5638466&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22266024%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Graille M, Figaro S, Kervestin S, Buckingham RH, Liger D, Heurgué-Hamard V Abstract During protein synthesis, release of polypeptide from the ribosome occurs when an in frame termination codon is encountered. Contrary to sense codons, which are decoded by tRNAs, stop codons present in the A-site are recognized by proteins named class I release factors, leading to the release of newly synthesized proteins. Structures of these factors bound to termination ribosomal complexes have recently been obtained, and lead to a better understanding of stop codon recognition and its coordination with peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis in bacteria. Release factors contain a universally conserved GGQ motif which interacts with the peptidyl-transferase centre to allow peptide release. The Gln side ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5638466 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5638466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598437&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22245704%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zulato E, Curtarello M, Nardo G, Indraccolo S Abstract Anti-angiogenic therapy has recently been added to the panel of cancer therapeutics, but predictive biomarkers of response are still not available. In animal models, anti-angiogenic therapy causes tumor starvation by increasing hypoxia and impairing nutrients supply. It is thus conceivable that angiogenesis inhibition causes remarkable metabolic perturbations in tumors, although they remain largely uncharted. We review here recent acquisitions about metabolic effects of angiogenesis blockade in tumors and discuss the possibility that some metabolic features of tumor cells - i.e. their dependency from glucose as primary energy substrate - might affect tumor responses to anti-VEGF treatment. PMID: 22245704 [PubMed - ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598437 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598436&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22245705%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Balsamo A, Sannino F, Merlino A, Parrilli E, Tutino ML, Mazzarella L, Vergara A Abstract All tetrameric hemoglobins from Antarctic fish, including that from Trematomus bernacchii, HbTb form in the ferric state, promptly and distinctively from all the other tetrameric hemoglobins, a mixture of aquo-met at the α subunits and bis-histidyl adduct (hemichrome) at the β subunits. The role of the tertiary and quaternary structure in the hemichrome formation is unknown. Here we report the cloning, expression, purification, spectroscopic and computational characterization of the β-chain of HbTb (β-HbTb). Similarly to the human β-chains, β-HbTb self-assembles to form the homotetramer β(4)-HbTb; however, the latter quantitatively forms reversible ferric and ferrous bis-histidy... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598436 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598438&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22245504%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Liu H, Dai L, Hao Z, Huang W, Yang Q Abstract A variety of tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) derivatives have been bioengineered to improve antitumour activity and reduce toxicity. The expression of TNF-α in Escherichia coli usually yields a mixture of homotrimers and monomers; however, only the trimer shows antitumour activity. TNF-αD10, a bioengineered hTNF-α derivative, demonstrated 10-fold higher cytotoxicity against tumour cells compared to hTNF-α, but the trimer to monomer ratio was 58:42. In the present study, we investigated the structural differences between the trimer and the monomer of TNF-αD10. We found that the chemical shifts of the C-terminal Trp(114) in the trimer were significantly different from those in the monomer and that the replacement of Trp(1... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598438 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598439&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22245184%26dopt%3DAbstract This study presents an effective approach for designing novel chemically modified TFOs with higher binding affinity of triplex formation at physiological pH and higher nuclease resistance under physiological condition, which may eventually lead to progress in various triplex-formation-based strategies in vivo. PMID: 22245184 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598439 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598442&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22234303%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Scherrer K Abstract Post-genomic data show unexpected extent of the transcribed genome and the size of individual primary transcripts. Hence, most cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) binding transcription factors (TFs) at promotor, enhancer and other sites are actually transcribed within full domain transcripts (FDTs). The ensemble of these CRMs placed way upstream of exon clusters, downstream and in intronic or intergenic positions represent a program of gene expression which has been formally analysed within the Gene and Genon concept [1,2]. This concept has emphasised the necessity to separate product information from regulative information to allow information-theoretic analysis of gene expression. Classically, TFs have been assumed to act at DNA level exclusively but eviden... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598442 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598441&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22239950%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Maenner S, Müller M, Becker PB Abstract A large part of higher eukaryotic genomes is transcribed into RNAs lacking any significant open reading frame. This "non-coding part" has been shown to actively contribute to regulating gene expression, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. Particularly instructive examples are provided by the dosage compensation systems, which assure that the single X chromosome in male cells and the two X chromosomes in female cells give rise to similar amounts of gene product. Although this is achieved by very different strategies in mammals and fruit flies, long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in both cases. Here we summarize recent progress towards unraveling the mechanisms, by which the Xist and roX RNAs mediate the selective associa... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598441 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598441 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598440&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22239951%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, based on the network features and the biochemical/physicochemical features of the deletion network and deletion genes, as well as their functional features, a two-layer model was developed for predicting the deletion effects on yeast longevity. The first stage of our prediction approach was to identify whether the deletion of one gene would change the life span of yeast; if it did, the second stage of our procedure would automatically proceed to predict whether the deletion of one gene would increase or decrease the life span. It was observed by analyzing the predicted results that the functional features (such as mitochondrial function and chromatin silencing), the network features (such as the edge density and edge weight density of the deletion network), and the local cen... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598440 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5598443&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22234302%26dopt%3DAbstract We report here that AT3Q24, when gradually heated up to 85 °C, undergoes aggregation similar to that observed at 37 °C; in contrast, AT3Q55 only generates large, amorphous aggregates. We propose a possible interpretation of the mechanism by which temperature affects the outcome of fibrillogenesis. PMID: 22234302 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5598443 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5598443 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5577904&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22227377%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Andreev YA, Korostyleva TV, Slavokhotova AA, Rogozhin EA, Utkina LL, Vassilevski AA, Grishin EV, Egorov TA, Odintsova TI Abstract Hevein-like plant defense peptides WAMP-1a/b with a unique 10-Cys motif are found in the wheat Triticum kiharae seeds. Three different wamp genomic and cDNA sequences were derived from T. kiharae; no introns were spotted in the protein-coding regions of the genes. The deduced Wamp precursor proteins consist of a signal peptide, mature peptide (WAMP) and C-terminal prosequence. Origin of WAMPs from class I/IV chitinases via deletion of the catalytic domain is proposed based on homology between their genes. Genome screening of several cereals and goatgrasses from the genera Triticum and Aegilops was performed. No wamp homologues were identified i... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5577904 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5577904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5577905&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22227040%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dey K, Roy S, Ghosh B, Chakraborti S Abstract We have recently reported that α(2)β(1) and α(1)β(1) isozymes of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase (NKA) are localized in the caveolae whereas only the α(1)β(1) isozyme of NKA is localized in the non-caveolae fraction of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell membrane. It is well known that different isoforms of NKA are regulated differentially by PKA and PKC, but the mechanism is not known in the caveolae of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Herein, we examined whether this regulation occurs through phospholemman (PLM) in the caveolae. Our results suggest that PKC phosphorylation of PLM occurs only when it is associated with the α(2) isoform of NKA, whereas PKA phosphorylation of PLM occurs when it is associated with the α(1) isoform... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5577905 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5577905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5577903&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22227378%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kervestin S, Li C, Buckingham R, Jacobson A Abstract Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance mechanism that accelerates the degradation of mRNAs containing premature translation termination codons. This quality control pathway depends on the NMD-specific factors, Upf1p, Upf2p/Nmd2p, and Upf3p, as well as the two release factors, eRF1 and eRF3 (respectively designated Sup45p and Sup35p in yeast). NMD activation is also enabled by the absence of the poly(A)-binding protein, Pab1p, downstream of a termination event. Since Sup35p interacts with both Upf1p and Pab1p we considered the possibility that differential binding of the latter factors to Sup35p may be a critical determinant of NMD sensitivity for an mRNA. Here we describe three approaches to assess this hyp... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5577903 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100 5577903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532973&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22172217%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Forest C PMID: 22172217 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532973 Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:43:30 +0100 5532973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532967&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22182488%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tang SN, Sun JM, Xiong WW, Cong PS, Li TH Abstract Mycobacterium, the most common disease-causing genus, infects billions of people and is notoriously difficult to treat. Understanding the subcellular localization of mycobacterial proteins can provide essential clues for protein function and drug discovery. In this article, we present a novel approach that focuses on local sequence information to identify localization motifs that are generated by a merging algorithm and are selected based on a binomially distributed model. These localization motifs are employed as features for identifying the subcellular localization of mycobacterial proteins. Our approach provides more accurate results than previous methods and was tested on an independent dataset recently obtained from a... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532967 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532965&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22182490%26dopt%3DAbstract We report that AS stimulates glucose uptake with a maximum effective concentration of 5.0 mM. An initial 7.2 fold increase occurs within 2 min, which decreases and plateaus to a 4.0 fold activation after 10 min. About 60% of the four-fold activation recovers within 10 min, and 40% remains after an hour. The activation is blocked by the pretreatment of cells with thiol-reactive compounds, iodoacetamide (0.75 mM), cinnamaldehyde (2.0 mM), and phenylarsine oxide (10 μM). The effects of AS are not additive to the stimulatory effects of other acute activators of glucose uptake in L929 cells, such as, azide (5 mM), berberine (50 μM), or glucose deprivation. These data suggest that GLUT1 is acutely activated in L929 cells by the formation of a disulfide bond, likely within GLUT1 itself... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532965 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532965 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532966&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22182489%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: d'Ambrosio D, Reichenbach P, Micheli E, Alvino A, Franceschin M, Savino M, Lingner J Abstract Telomerase is responsible for the immortal phenotype of cancer cells and telomerase inhibition may specifically target cancer cell proliferation. Ligands able to selectively bind to G-quadruplex telomeric DNA have been considered as telomerase inhibitors but their mechanisms of action have often been deduced from a non-quantitative telomerase activity assay (TRAP assay) that involves a PCR step and that does not provide insight on the mechanism of inhibition. Furthermore, quadruplex ligands have also been shown to exert their effects by affecting association of telomere binding proteins with telomeres. Here, we use quantitative direct telomerase activity assays to evaluate the str... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532966 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532972&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22172596%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhang Y, Shang X, Deng A, Chai X, Lai S, Zhang G, Wen T Abstract ATP phosphoribosyltransferase (ATP-PRT) catalyzes the condensation of ATP and PRPP at the first step of histidine biosynthesis and is regulated by a feedback inhibition from product histidine. Here, we report the genetic and biochemical characterization of such an enzyme, HisG(Cg), from Corynebacterium glutamicum, including site-directed mutagenesis of the histidine-binding site for the first time. Gene disruption and complementation experiments showed that HisG(Cg) is essential for histidine biosynthesis. HisG(Cg) activity was noncompetitively inhibited by histidine and the α-amino group of histidine were found to play an important role for its binding to HisG(Cg). Homology-based modeling predicted that fou... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532972 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532970&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22177966%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Souza TA, Okamoto DN, Ruiz DM, Oliveira LC, Kondo MY, Tersario IL, Juliano L, De Castro RE, Gouvea IE, Murakami MT Abstract Nep (Natrialba magadii extracellular protease) is a halolysin-like peptidase secreted by the haloalkaliphilic archaeon N.magadii that exhibits optimal activity and stability in salt-saturated solutions. In this work, the effect of salt on the function and structure of Nep was investigated. In absence of salt, Nep became unfolded and aggregated, leading to the loss of activity. The enzyme did not recover its structural and functional properties even after restoring the ideal conditions for catalysis. At salt concentrations higher than 1 M (NaCl), Nep behaved as monomers in solution and its enzymatic activity displayed a nonlinear concave-up dependence... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532970 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532970 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532969&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22178321%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we examined the biological effect of P. gingivalis infection on EBV reactivation and found that P. gingivalis induced expression of ZEBRA. This activity was associated with supernatant from bacterial culture, but not with other bacterial components such as lipopolysaccharide or fimbriae. We demonstrated that culture supernatant from P. gingivalis, which contained high concentrations of butyric acid, inhibited HDACs, thus increasing histone acetylation and the transcriptional activity of the BZLF1 gene. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that HDACs were present in the BZLF1 promoter during latent state and that they were dissociated from the promoter concomitantly with the association of acetylated histone H3, upon stimulation by culture supernatant from P. gin... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532969 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532968&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22178322%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hölzle A, Stoll B, Schnattinger T, Schöning U, Tjaden B, Marchfelder A Abstract All functional RNAs are generated from precursor molecules by a plethora of processing steps. The generation of mature RNA molecules by processing is an important layer of gene expression regulation catalysed by ribonucleases. Here, we analysed 5S rRNA processing in the halophilic Archaeon Haloferax volcanii. Earlier experiments showed that the 5S rRNA is cleaved at its 5' end by the endonuclease tRNase Z. Interestingly, a tRNA-like structure was identified upstream of the 5S rRNA that might be used as a processing signal. Here, we show that this tRNA-like element is indeed recognised as a processing signal by tRNase Z. Substrates containing mutations in the tRNA-like sequence are no longer p... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532968 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532974&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22166834%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Han NR, Kim IK, Kim HM, Jeong HJ Abstract Isothiocyanates (ITCs) play a major role in the potential chemopreventive effect. Cruciferous vegetables are a particularly abundant source of ITCs. Methallyl ITC (MAITC) belongs to ITCs as a synthesized compound. However, the effects of MATIC have never been elucidated. The aim of this work was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of methallyl isothiocyanate (MAITC) in mast cells. MAITC suppressed the intracellular calcium levels in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore A23187 (PMACI)-stimulated human mast cell line (HMC-1) cells. MAITC significantly inhibited the production and mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1β in PMACI-stimulated HMC-1 cells. The activities of caspase-1 and receptor ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532974 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532971&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22177965%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sévajol M, Reiser JB, Chouquet A, Pérard J, Ayala I, Gans P, Kleman JP, Housset D Abstract The eukaryotic Engulfment and CellMotility (ELMO) proteins form an evolutionary conserved family of key regulators which play a central role in Rho-dependent biological processes such as engulfment and cell motility/migration. ELMO proteins interact with a subset of Downstream of Crk (DOCK) family members, a new type of guanine exchange factors (GEF) for Rac and cdc42 GTPases. The physiological function of DOCK is to facilitate actin remodeling, a process which occurs only in presence of ELMO. Several studies have determined that the last 200 C-terminal residues of ELMO1 and the first 180 N-terminal residues of DOCK180 are responsible for the ELMO-DOCK interaction. However, the p... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532971 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532975&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22155371%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Manna P, Sil PC Abstract Vascular inflammation and cardiac dysfunction are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among the diabetic patients. Type 1 diabetic mellitus (T1DM) is associated with increased cardiovascular complications at an early stage of the disease. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether arjunolic acid (AA) plays any protective role against cardiovascular complications in T1DM and if so, what molecular pathways it utilizes for the mechanism of its protective action. Streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce T1DM in experimental rats. Alteration in plasma lipid profile and release of membrane bound enzymes like LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) and CK (creatine kinase) established the association of hyperlipidemia and cell membrane disintegr... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532975 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5532976&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22155370%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, this study identified for the first time the signaling pathway by which glutamine may protect against inflammatory conditions. PMID: 22155370 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5532976 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5532976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418837&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22074897%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Haiech J, Moreau M PMID: 22074897 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418837 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:07:05 +0100 5418837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418835&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22085501%26dopt%3DAbstract In this report we use a comprehensive strategy to screen the substrate specificity of three methionyl aminopeptidases: Homo sapiens MetAP-1, H. sapiens MetAP-2 and Escherichia coli MetAP-1. By utilizing a 65-membered fluorogenic substrate library consisting of natural and unnatural amino acids we established detailed substrate preferences of each enzyme in the S1 pocket. Our results show that this pocket is highly conserved for all investigated MetAPs, very stringent for methionine, and that several unnatural amino acids with methionine-like characteristics were also well hydrolyzed by MetAPs. The substrate-derived results were verified using several phosphonate and phosphinate-based inhibitors. PMID: 22085501 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418835 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0100 5418835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418834&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22085638%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhang F, Liang X, Pu D, George KI, Holland PJ, Walsh ST, Linhardt RJ Abstract Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) interact with a number of cytokines and growth factors thereby playing an essential role in the regulation of many physiological processes. These interactions are important for both normal signal transduction and the regulation of the tissue distribution of cytokines/growth factors. In the present study, we employed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy to dissect the binding interactions between GAGs and murine and human forms of interleukin-7 (IL-7). SPR results revealed that heparin binds with higher affinity to human IL-7 than murine IL-7 through a different kinetic mechanism. The optimal oligosaccharide length of heparin for the interactions to human and muri... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418834 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5418834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418831&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22085639%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Nogueira Santos JA, Assis DM, Gouvea IE, Júdice WA, Izidoro MA, Juliano MA, Skern T, Juliano L Abstract Foot and mouth disease virus expresses its genetic information as a single polyprotein that is translated from the single-stranded RNA genome. Proteinases contained within the polyprotein then generate the mature viral proteins. The leader protease (Lb(pro)) performs the initial cleavage by freeing itself from the growing polypeptide chain; subsequently, Lb(pro) cleaves the two homologues of the host cell protein eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G). We showed that Lb(pro) possesses specific binding sites at the non prime side from S(1) down to S(7) [Santos et al. (2009) Biochemistry, 48, 7948-7958]. Here, we demonstrate that Lb(pro) has high prime side specificity ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418831 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5418831 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418809&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22085640%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, to develop such reagents for mouse ESCs (mESCs), we selected RNA aptamers against intact, live mESCs using several selection strategies. The initial selection provided us with several anti-mESC aptamers of distinct sequences, which unexpectedly react with the same molecule on mESCs. Then, to isolate aptamers against different surface markers on mESCs, one of the selected aptamers was used as a competitor in the subsequent selections. In addition, one of the selections further employed negative selection against differentiated mouse cells. Consequently, we successfully isolated three classes of anti-mESC aptamers that do not compete with one another. The isolated aptamers were shown to distinguish mESCs from differentiated mouse cell lines and trace the differentiation proces... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418809 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5418809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5418836&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D22079190%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chakraborty S, Krishna Mohan PM, Hosur RV Abstract Structural and motional features in the denatured state of a protein dictate the early folding events starting from that state and these features vary depending upon the nature of the denaturant used. Here, we have attempted to decipher the early events in the folding of Dynein Light Chain protein (DLC8), starting from DMSO-d6 denatured state. Multinuclear NMR experiments were used to obtain the full spectral assignment. The HSQC spectrum shows the presence of two sets of peaks for the residues Met 1, Ser 2, Arg 4, Ala 11, Met 17, Thr 26, Lys 44, Tyr 50, Asn 51, Trp 54, His 55, Val 58, Gly 59, Ser 64, Tyr 65, His 68, Phe 86, Lys 87 indicating the presence of slow conformational transition in the heterogeneous ensemble. Ana... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5418836 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5418836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296232&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21784124%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kloc M, Foreman V, Reddy SA Abstract Since the discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) over half a century ago, the assumption has always been that the only function of mRNA is to make a protein. However, recent studies of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms unexpectedly show that some mRNAs may be functionally binary and have additional structural functions that are unrelated to their translation product. These findings imply that some of the phenotypic features of cells and organisms can also be binary, that is, they depend both on the function of a protein and the independent structural function of its mRNA. In this review, we will discuss this concept within the framework of multifunctional RNA molecules and the RNA World Hypothesis. PMID: 21784124 [PubMed - in process]... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296232 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:33:29 +0100 5296232 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296231&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21787833%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schmitz J, Brosius J Abstract Protein-coding genes are composed of exons and introns flanked by untranslated regions. Before the mRNA of a gene can be translated into protein, the splicing machinery removes all the intronic regions and joins the protein-coding exons together. Exonization is a process, whereby genes acquire new exons from non-protein-coding, primarily intronic, DNA sequences. Genomic insertions or point mutations within DNA sequences often generate alternative splice sites, causing the splicing system to include new sequences as exons or to elongate existing exons. Because the alternative splice sites are not as efficient as the originals the new variants usually constitute a minor fraction of mature mRNAs. While the prevailing original splice variant maint... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296231 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:33:20 +0100 5296231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296230&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21802485%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, we posit that many eukaryotic loci have evolved the capacity to transact a multitude of overlapping and potentially independent functions as both regulatory and protein-coding RNAs. PMID: 21802485 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296230 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:33:10 +0100 5296230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296229&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963143%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Francastel C, Hubé F PMID: 21963143 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296229 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:31:48 +0100 5296229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296228&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963144%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mattick JS PMID: 21963144 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296228 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:31:39 +0100 5296228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296218&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21978927%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Habbout A, Delemasure S, Goirand F, Guilland JC, Chabod F, Sediki M, Rochette L, Vergely C Abstract In contrast to the masses of data on obesity, few data are available concerning the cardiometabolic and oxidative consequences of moderate overweight. The model of postnatal overfeeding (OF) induces an increase in body weight at weaning that remains during adult life. Litters of Wistar rats were either maintained at 12 pups (normal-fed group, NF), or reduced to 3 pups at birth in order to induce OF. At 6 months of age, metabolic parameters, circulating oxidative stress and aortic and coronary vasoreactivity were assessed. Cardiac susceptibility to ischemia-reperfusion injury was also evaluated ex vivo as were markers of cardiac remodeling. OF led to an increase in body weig... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296218 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296221&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21971529%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Castillo-Méndez MA, Jacinto-Loeza E, Olivares-Trejo J, Guarneros-Peña G, Hernández-Sánchez J Abstract Adenines downstream of the initiation codon promote protein synthesis; however, some adenine-containing codons (AGA, AGG and AUA) at early positions inhibit protein synthesis when cognate tRNA is exhausted. It has also been related, although not convincingly, the presence of adenines with mRNA binding to the ribosome. To understand these apparent inconsistencies we analyzed the effect of these codons in mRNA-ribosome binding strength, mRNA stability, the production of peptidyl-tRNA (pep-tRNA) and protein synthesis. Constructs harboring lacZ derivatives were obtained by site directed mutagenesis where tandems of GGG, AGG, AGA, ATA and AAA codons were inserted at codon ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296221 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296220&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21971530%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zámocký M, Droghetti E, Bellei M, Gasselhuber B, Pabst M, Furtmüller PG, Battistuzzi G, Smulevich G, Obinger C Abstract All phytopathogenic fungi have two catalase-peroxidase paralogues located either intracellularly (KatG1) or extracellularly (KatG2). Here, for the first time a secreted bifunctional, homodimeric catalase-peroxidase (KatG2 from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea) has been produced heterologously with almost 100% heme occupancy and comprehensively investigated by using a broad set of methods including UV-Vis, ECD and resonance Raman spectroscopy (RR), thin-layer spectroelectrochemistry, mass spectrometry, steady-state & presteady-state spectroscopy. RR spectroscopy reveals that MagKatG2 shows a unique mixed-spin state, non-planar heme b, and a ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296220 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296220 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296219&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21978926%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Magini A, Polchi A, Tancini B, Urbanelli L, Hasilik A, Emiliani C Abstract Growing evidence suggests the presence of active lysosomal enzymes in extra-lysosomal compartments, such as the plasma membrane. Although in the past little attention was paid to glycohydrolases acting on cellular compartments different from lysosomes, there is now increasing interest on plasma membrane-associated glycohydrolases because they should be involved, together with glycosyltransferases, in glycosphingolipids oligosaccharide modification processes regulating cell-to-cell and/or cell-environment interactions in both physiological and pathological conditions. Starting from the previous evidence of the presence of β-hexosaminidase and β-galactosidase at the plasma membrane of cultured fibro... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296219 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296222&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21967827%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Pissuti Damalio JC, Garcia W, Alves Macêdo JN, de Almeida Marques I, Andreu JM, Giraldo R, Garratt RC, Ulian Araújo AP Abstract Septins are a conserved group of GTP-binding proteins that form hetero-oligomeric complexes which assemble into filaments. These are essential for septin function, including their role in cytokinesis, cell division, exocytosis and membrane trafficking. Septin 2 (SEPT2) is a member of the septin family and has been associated with neurofibrillary tangles and other pathological features of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease. An in silico analysis of the amino acid sequence of SEPT2 identified regions with a significant tendency to aggregate and/or form amyloid. These were all observed within the GTP-binding domain. This was consistent with the ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296222 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296227&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963433%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Feng F, He W, Guang H, Li Z, Liu J, Wang Y, Yu H Abstract Genus Odorrana, among all amphibians studied, is generally reported to have the most abundant and diversified anti-microbial peptides even from a single individual frog. In our previous work, 46 cDNA sequences encoding precursors of 22 different anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) were characterized from the skin of frog, Odorranatiannanensis. In this work, we reported the purification of three AMPs from skin secretions of O. tiannanensis. Their amino acid sequences matched well with the sequences deduced from cDNAs and they were designated as Odorranain-C7HSa, Brevinin-1-OT2 and Odorranain-G-OT, respectively. Furthermore, we selected to analyze the four most structurally diversified sequences among the 22 AMPs that are... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296227 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296226&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963434%26dopt%3DAbstract This study investigates the inactivation process under low temperature conditions. Inactivation was caused by dissociation of tetrameric ASL into dimers, with increased exposure of hydrophobic areas without disturbance of the secondary structure or the microenvironment surrounding the key tryptophan residues. Most activity was retained when temperatures were changed at a rate of >1 °C/min, whilst freezing or thawing more slowly resulted in greater loss of activity. Inactivation was reduced by inclusion of α-crystallin, a structural protein found in ocular lenses and a member of the small heat-shock protein family, by stabilization of the ASL quaternary structure. In addition, α-crystallin was able to restore the function of ASL that had been inactivated by slow freezing and thawing.... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296226 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296225&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963435%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Hu W, Guan Z, Deng X, He YH Abstract Papain as a sustainable and inexpensive biocatalyst was used for the first time to catalyze the Knoevenagel reactions in DMSO/water. A wide range of aromatic, hetero-aromatic and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes could react with less active methylene compounds acetylacetone and ethyl acetoacetate. The products were obtained in moderate to excellent yields with Z/E selectivities of up to 100:0. This case of biocatalytic promiscuity not only widens the application of papain to new chemical transformations, but also could be developed into a potentially valuable method for organic synthesis. PMID: 21963435 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296225 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296224&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21963436%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, teleost-type angiotensin like-peptides were identified in the buccal gland of lampreys by immunoassays and immunohistochemistry. The possible sources of angiotensin like-peptides were investigated in lampreys by manipulating their choice of host and food. Ang II immunoreactivity (irAng II) was detected in the buccal gland and plasma of feeding phase sea lampreys exposed to Atlantic cod, but was mostly absent in fasting lamprey. Qualitatively, the HPLC profiles of irAng II observed in the plasma, when present, were highly similar to those in buccal gland, implying that the buccal gland could be a source of plasma Ang II. Japanese lampreys force-fed with dogfish blood had significantly elevated concentrations of irAng II in their buccal glands when compared to unfed individual... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296224 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5296223&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21964032%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we explored the role of extracellular Cys/CySS E(h) in metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) activation to understand the mechanism of its regulation of nerve cell growth and activation. We showed that the oxidized Cys/CySS redox state (0 mV) in C6 glial cells induced a significant increase in mGlu5-mediated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), blocked by an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK), U0126, a nonpermeant alkylating agent, 4-acetamide-4'-maleimidylstilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (AMS), and a specific mGlu5 antagonist, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (MPEP), respectively. ERK phosphorylation under oxidized extracellular Cys/CySS E(h) was confirmed in mGlu5-overexpressed hum... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5296223 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5296223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276826&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21951978%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Galea CA, Mobli M, McNeil KA, Mulhern TD, Wallace JC, King GF, Forbes BE, Norton RS Abstract The insulin-like growth factor binding proteins are a family of six proteins (IGFBP-1 to 6) that bind insulin-like growth factors-I and -II (IGF-I/II) with high affinity. In addition to regulating IGF actions, IGFBPs have IGF-independent functions. IGFBP-2, the largest member of this family, is over-expressed in many cancers and has been proposed as a possible target for the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics. The IGFBPs have a common architecture consisting of conserved N- and C-terminal domains joined by a variable linker domain. The solution structure and dynamics of the C-terminal domain of human IGFBP-2 have been reported (Kuang Z. et al. Biochemistry, 46, 13,720-1... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276826 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276821&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21958522%26dopt%3DAbstract In this report, we studied for the first time tau binding to tubulin by a direct thermodynamic method in the absence of any tubulin polymerization cofactors that could influence this process. Isothermal titration calorimetry enabled us to evidence two types of tau-tubulin binding modes: one corresponding to a high affinity binding site with a tau:tubulin stoichiometry of 0.2 and the other one to a low affinity binding site with a stoichiometry of 0.8. The same stoichiometries were obtained at all temperatures tested (10-37°C), indicating that the mechanism of interaction does not depend on the type of tubulin polymer triggered upon tau binding. These findings allowed us to get new insights into the topology of tau on microtubules. PMID: 21958522 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (So... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276821 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276825&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21951979%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gervaise C, Bonnet V, Wattraint O, Aubry F, Sarazin C, Jaffrès PA, Djedaïni-Pilard F Abstract The synthesis of lipophosphoramidyl-β-CD was obtained by an Atherton-Todd (AT) reaction that involved dioleylphosphite and either functionalized permethylated or native β-cyclodextrin. This AT reaction that produced dioleylphosphoramide by making use of the amino group grafted on cyclodextrin, was optimized for these cyclic oligosaccharides. These new amphiphilic compounds were fully characterized, and their self-assembling properties were investigated: the mean size diameter and polydispersity measured by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) were affected by the nature of the aqueous media and the temperature of storage. The encapsulation properties of these nanoparticles have been... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276825 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276823&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21945597%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Allocati N, Federici L, Masulli M, Di Ilio C Abstract Glutathione transferases (GSTs) have been widely studied in Gram-negative bacteria and the structure and function of several representatives have been elucidated. Conversely, limited information is available about the occurrence, classification and functional features of GSTs both in Gram-positive bacteria and in Archaea. An analysis of 305 fully-sequenced Gram-positive genomes highlights the presence of 49 putative GST genes in the genera of both Firmicutes and Actinobacteria phyla. We also performed an analysis on 81 complete genomes of the Archaea domain. Eleven hits were found in the Halobacteriaceae family of the Euryarchaeota phylum and only one in the Crenarchaeota phylum. A comparison of the identified sequences... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276823 Mon, 19 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276939&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21945596%26dopt%3DAbstract We present a minimal model for mGlu5 receptor-induced Ca(2+) oscillations, taking into account receptor phosphorylation by a protein kinase C isoenzyme sensitive to diacylglycerol but not to Ca(2+). Depending on the density of receptors and the level of stimulation, the model reproduces Ca(2+) oscillations based on either a 'dynamic uncoupling' mechanism or InsP(3) receptor dynamics. When based on the former mechanism, Ca(2+) oscillation frequency is insensitive to the level of stimulation, while the level of receptor expression is a determinant of oscillation frequency. When investigating the conditions for the occurrence of oscillations, the model predicts that dynamic uncoupling likely relies on a steep relationship between the activity of PKC and the amount of phosphorylated mGlu5 rece... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276939 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276935&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21945810%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schiffmann S, Hartmann D, Fuchs S, Birod K, Ferreiròs N, Schreiber Y, Zivkovic A, Geisslinger G, Grösch S, Stark H Abstract Ceramide synthases (CerSs) are key enzymes in the biosynthesis of ceramides and display a group of at least six different isoenzymes (CerS1-6). Ceramides itself are bioactive molecules. Ceramides with different N-acyl side chains (C(14:0)-Cer - C(26:0)-Cer) possess distinct roles in cell signaling. Therefore, the selective inhibition of specific CerSs which are responsible for the formation of a specific ceramide holds promise for a number of new clinical treatment strategies, e.g., cancer. Here, we identified four of hitherto unknown functional inhibitors of CerSs derived from the FTY720 (Fingolimod) lead structure and showed their inhibitory effec... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276935 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276934&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21945811%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we show that C1P stimulates myoblast proliferation, as determined by measuring the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA, and progression of the myoblasts through the cell cycle. C1P-induced phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and the product of retinoblastoma gene, and enhanced cyclin D1 protein levels. The mitogenic actions of C1P also involved activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt, ERK1/2 and the mammalian target of rapamycin. These effects of C1P were independent of interaction with a putative G(i)-coupled C1P receptor as pertussis toxin, which maintains G(i) protein in the inactive form, did not affect C1P-stimulated myoblast proliferation. By contrast, C1P was unable to inhibit serum-starvation- or staurosporine-induced apoptosis in the my... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276934 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276827&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21946232%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Martos-Maldonado MC, Casas-Solvas JM, Téllez-Sanz R, Mesa-Valle C, Quesada-Soriano I, García-Maroto F, Vargas-Berenguel A, García-Fuentes L Abstract The binding properties of two electroactive glutathione-ferrocene conjugates that consist in glutathione attached to one or both of the cyclopentadienyl rings of ferrocene (GSFc and GSFcSG), to Schistosoma japonica glutathione S-transferase (SjGST) were studied by spectroscopy fluorescence, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Such ferrocene conjugates resulted to be competitive inhibitors of glutathione S-transferase with an increased binding affinity relative to the natural substrate glutathione (GSH). We found that the conjugate having two glutathione units (GSFcSG) exhibits an... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276827 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276824&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21945595%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ha YM, Park YJ, Lee JY, Park D, Choi YJ, Lee EK, Kim JM, Kim JA, Park JY, Lee HJ, Moon HR, Chung HY Abstract Herein we describe the design, synthesis and biological activities of 2-(substituted phenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives as novel tyrosinase inhibitors. The target compounds 2a-2j were designed and synthesized from the structural characteristics of N-phenylthiourea, tyrosinase inhibitor and tyrosine, and l-DOPA, the natural substrates of tyrosinase. Among them, (2R/S,4R)-2-(2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (2g) caused the greatest inhibition 66.47% at 20 μM of l-DOPA oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. Kinetic analysis of tyrosinase inhibition revealed that 2g is a competitive inhibitor. We predicted the tertiary structure of t... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276824 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5276822&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21946233%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Melnikova NV, Kudryavtseva AV, Kudryavtsev AM Abstract Gliadins are seed storage proteins which are characterized by high intervarietal polymorphism and can be used as genetic markers. As a result of our work, a considerably extended catalogue of allelic variants of gliadin component blocks was compiled for durum wheat; 74 allelic variants for four gliadin-coding loci were identified for the first time. The extended catalogue includes a total of 131 allelic variants: 16 for locus Gli-A1(d), 19 for locus Gli-B1(d), 41 for locus Gli-A2(d), and 55 for locus Gli-B2(d). The electrophoretic pattern of the standard cultivar and a diagram are provided for every block identified. The number of alleles per family is quite small for loci Gli-A1(d) and Gli-B1(d) of durum wheat, as con... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5276822 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5276822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5246124&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21924318%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Martucci NM, Lamberti A, Arcari P, Masullo M Abstract The effect of pulvomycin on the biochemical and fluorescence spectroscopic properties of the archaeal elongation factor 1α from Sulfolobus solfataricus (SsEF-1α), the functional analog of eubacterial EF-Tu, was investigated. The antibiotic was able to reduce in vitro the rate of protein synthesis however, the concentration of pulvomycin leading to 50% inhibition (173 μM) was two order of magnitude higher but one order lower than that required in eubacteria and eukarya, respectively. The effect of the antibiotic on the partial reactions catalysed by SsEF-1α indicated that pulvomycin was able to decrease the affinity of the elongation factor toward aa-tRNA only in the presence of GTP, to an extent similar to that me... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5246124 Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5246124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5246123&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21924319%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rangel TB, Rocha BA, Bezerra GA, Assreuy AM, Pires AD, do Nascimento AS, Bezerra MJ, do Nascimento KS, Nagano CS, Sampaio AH, Gruber K, Delatorre P, Fernandes PM, Cavada BS Abstract The crystal structure and pro-inflammatory property of a lectin from the seeds of Dioclea wilsonii (DwL) were analyzed to gain a better understanding of structure/function relationships of Diocleinae lectins. Following crystallization and structural determination by standard molecular replacement techniques, DwL was found to be a tetramer based on PISA analysis, and composed by two metal-binding sites per monomer and loops which are involved in molecular oligomerization. DwL presents 96% and 99% identity with two other previously described lectins of Dioclearostrata (DRL) and Diocleagrandiflora... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5246123 Sat, 10 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5246123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218392&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21906652%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Merino F, Rivas-Pardo JA, Caniuguir A, García I, Guixé V Abstract In some archaea, glucose degradation proceeds through a modified version of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway where glucose and fructose-6-P phosphorylation is carried out by kinases that use ADP as the phosphoryl donor. Unlike their ATP-dependent counterparts these enzymes have been reported as non-regulated. Based on the three dimensional structure determination of several ADP-dependent kinases they can be classified as members of the ribokinase superfamily. In this work, we have studied the role of divalent metal cations on the catalysis and regulation of ADP-dependent glucokinases and phosphofructokinase from hyperthermophilic archaea by means of initial velocity assays as well as molecular dynamics simulati... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218392 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218391&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21906653%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Andjelković U, Theisgen S, Holger Scheidt A, Petković M, Huster D, Vujčić Z Abstract Understanding the effect of surface charge on the stability of proteins is one prerequisite for "tailoring" proteins with increased thermal stability. Here, we investigated the origin of the altered thermal stability observed between the four recently isolated isoforms (EINV1-EINV4) of external invertase. External invertase from yeast Saccharomycescerevisiae, a homodimeric glycoprotein, represents a widely used model for studying the influence of the glyco component on protein stability. The stability of the four isoforms of invertase decreases from EINV1 to EINV4, which is accompanied by an increase in negative surface charge density. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the isofo... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218391 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218394&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21896304%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Burden RE, Gormley JA, Kuehn D, Ward C, Kwok HF, Gazdoiu M, McClurg A, Jaquin TJ, Johnston JA, Scott CJ, Olwill SA Abstract Cathepsin S is a lysosomal cysteine protease implicated in tumourigenesis with key roles in invasion and angiogenesis. We have previously shown that the specific inhibition of Cathepsin S using a monoclonal antibody (Fsn0503) blocks colorectal carcinoma tumour growth and angiogenesis in vivo. We investigated whether Cathepsin S expression levels were affected by chemotherapy in human cancer cell lines by RT-PCR. Using colorectal xenograft models, we examined the therapeutic benefit of Cathepsin S inhibition using Fsn0503 in combination with a metronomic dosing regimen of CPT-11. We analysed the effects of the combination therapy on tumour progression... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218394 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218397&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21893157%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Karray A, Ben Ali Y, Boujelben J, Amara S, Carrière F, Gargouri Y, Bezzine S Abstract Infectious bronchitis is one of the most important diseases in poultry and it causes major economic losses. Infectious bronchitis is an acute, highly contagious, viral disease of chickens, characterized by rales, coughing, and sneezing. Because secreted phospholipases A2 (sPLA2) are involved in inflammatory processes, the gene expressions of sPLA2s were investigated in both healthy chickens and chickens with infectious bronchitis and lung inflammation. The draft chicken genome was first scanned using human sPLA2 sequences to identify chicken sPLA2s (ChPLA2), chicken total mRNA were isolated and RT-PCR experiments were performed to amplify and then sequence orthologous cDNAs. Full-length ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218397 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218396&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21893158%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Huang Y, Lu Z, Liu N, Chen Y Abstract Diketoreductase (DKR) from Acinetobacter baylyi exhibits a unique property of double reduction of a β, δ-diketo ester with excellent stereoselectivity, which can serve as an efficient biocatalyst for the preparation of an important chiral intermediate for cholesterol lowering statin drugs. Taken the advantage of high homology between DKR and human heart 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HAD), a molecular model was created to compare the tertiary structures of DKR and HAD. In addition to the possible participation of His-143 in the enzyme catalysis by pH profile, three key amino acid residues, Ser-122, His-143 and Glu-155, were identified and mutated to explore the possibility of involving in the catalytic process. The catalytic activi... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218396 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218395&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21893159%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Banerjee T, Dubey P, Mukhopadhyay R Abstract Cisplatin, a mononuclear platinum compound, which is known as a cancer drug for long time, can exhibit considerable side effects and is also not effective in many types of cancer. Therefore, the alternative platinum anticancer agents that can act at a much lower dose limit compared to the dose relevant for cisplatin treatment have been searched for. BBR3464, a trinuclear platinum compound, is found to exhibit cytotoxic effects at 10 to 1000 times lower dose limit, even in cisplatin-resistant cancer cells. The primary cellular target for cisplatin and BBR3464 is thought to be DNA. Herein, we report the nature of DNA structural changes that are induced by cisplatin and BBR3464, considering the same DNA sequence and similar sample ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218395 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218393&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21896305%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Baldassarre M, Scirè A, Tanfani F Abstract d-serine dehydratase from Saccharomyces cerevisae is a recently discovered dimeric enzyme catalyzing the β-elimination of d-serine to pyruvate and ammonia. The reaction is highly enantioselective and depends on cofactor pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) and Zn(2+). In our work, the aldimine linkage tethering PLP to recombinant, tagged d-serine dehydratase (Dsd) has been reduced by treatment with NaBH(4) so as to yield an inactive form of the holoenzyme (DsdR), which was further treated with a protease in order to remove the amino-terminal purification tag. Fourier Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis revealed that both the reduced form (DsdR) and the reduced/detagged form (DsdRD) maintain the overall secondary structure ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218393 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218399&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21889567%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mourier G, Hajj M, Cordier F, Zorba A, Gao X, Coskun T, Herbet A, Marcon E, Beau F, Delepierre M, Ducancel F, Servent D Abstract Long-sarafotoxins (l-SRTXs) have recently been identified in both the venom of Atractaspis microlepidota and that of Atractaspis irregularis. They are characterized by different C-terminus extensions that follow the invariant Trp21, which plays a crucial role in endothelin-receptor binding. We initially determined the toxicity and three-dimensional structures of two chemically synthesized l-SRTXs that have different C-terminus extensions, namely SRTX-m (24 aa, including extension "D-E-P") and SRTX-i3 (25 aa, including extension "V-N-R-N"). Both peptides were shown to be highly toxic in mice and displayed the cysteine-stabilized α-helical motif t... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218399 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5218398&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21889568%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wu X, García-Estrada C, Vaca I, Martín JF Abstract The first step in the penicillin biosynthetic pathway is the non-ribosomal condensation of l-α-aminoadipic acid, l-cysteine and l-valine into the tripeptide δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine (ACV). This reaction is catalysed by the multienzyme ACV synthetase (ACVS), which is encoded in the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum by the pcbAB gene. This enzyme contains at least ten catalytic domains. The precise role of the C-terminal domain of this multidomain NRPS still remains obscure. The C-terminal region of ACVS bears the epimerase and the thioesterase domains and may be involved in the epimerization of LLL-ACV to LLD-ACV and in the hydrolysis of the thioester bond. In this work, the conserved motifs (3... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5218398 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100 5218398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192496&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21884748%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kancheva VD, Saso L, Angelova SE, Foti MC, Slavova-Kasakova A, Daquino C, Enchev V, Firuzi O, Nechev J Abstract Antioxidants could be promising agents for management of oxidative stress-related diseases. New biologically active compounds, belonging to a rare class of natural lignans with antiangiogenic, antitumoral and DNA intercalating properties, have been recently synthesized. These compounds are benzo[kl]xanthene lignans (1,2) and dihydrobenzofuran neolignans (3,4). The radical scavenging and chain-breaking antioxidant activity of compounds 1-4 were studied by applying different methods: radical scavenging activity by DPPH rapid test, chain-breaking antioxidant activity and quantum chemical calculations. All studied compounds were found to be active as DPPH scavengers ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192496 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5192496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192495&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21884749%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vuong S, Stefan L, Lejault P, Rousselin Y, Denat F, Monchaud D Abstract Three-way junction DNA (TWJ-DNA, also known as 3WJ-DNA) is an alternative secondary DNA structure comprised of three duplex-DNAs that converge towards a single point, termed the branch point. This point is characterized by unique geometrical properties that make its specific targeting by synthetic small-molecules possible. Such a targeting has already been demonstrated in the solid state but not thoroughly biophysically investigated in solution. Herein, a set of simple biophysical assays has been developed to identify TWJ-specific small-molecule ligands; these assays, inspired by the considerable body of work that has been reported to characterize the interactions between small-molecules and other high... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192495 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5192495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192499&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21871524%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Herrero-Galán E, García-Ortega L, Lacadena J, Martínez-Del-Pozo A, Olmo N, Gavilanes JG, Oñaderra M Abstract Ribotoxins are fungal extracellular ribonucleases that specifically cleave ribosomes leading to cell-death via apoptosis. α-Sarcin is the ribotoxin studied in deepest detail, and therefore constitutes the referential protein for the whole family. It has been demonstrated that ribotoxin activity depends on a very precise structural microenvironment in which electrostatic interactions among residues in the active site are of the highest importance. Hirsutellin A (HtA) has been recently described as the smallest ribotoxin known to date, encompassing all the abilities of previously characterized members of this family into a shorter sequence. Comparison of HtA and... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192499 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5192499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192497&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21871946%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study, we purified, synthesized and structurally characterized temporin-1CEa from the skin secretions of R. chensinensis. The cytotoxicity and cell selectivity of temporin-1CEa were further examined on twelve human carcinoma cell lines and on normal human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs). Our results indicated that temporin-1CEa has the amino acid sequence of FVDLKKIANIINSIF-NH(2), and exhibits 50-56% identity with temporin family peptides from other frog species. The CD spectra for temporin-1CEa adopted a well-defined α-helical structure in 50% TFE/water solution. The results of MTT assay showed that temporin-1CEa exhibits cytotoxicity to all tested cancer cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner, being MCF-7 cells the most sensitive. Moreover, temporin-1CEa ha... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192497 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5192497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192498&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21871525%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, our results show that the peptides identified by mass spectrometry from purified TIIICBP correspond to the kindlin-3 protein and demonstrate biochemical and functional similarities between TIIICBP and kindlin-3, strengthening a key role for TIIICBP/kindlin-3 in platelet interactions with collagen by cooperating with glycoprotein VI activation and integrin clustering in focal adhesion complexes. PMID: 21871525 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192498 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5192498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174989&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21864646%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Schmatz R, Perreira LB, Stefanello N, Mazzanti C, Spanevello R, Gutierres J, Bagatini M, Martins CC, Abdalla FH, Daci da Silva Serres J, Zanini D, Vieira JM, Cardoso AM, Schetinger MR, Morsch VM Abstract The present study investigated the effects of resveratrol (RV), a polyphenol with potent antioxidant properties, on oxidative stress parameters in liver and kidney, as well as on serum biochemical parameters of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Animals were divided into six groups (n = 8): control/saline; control/RV 10 mg/kg; control/RV 20 mg/kg; diabetic/saline; diabetic/RV10 mg/kg; diabetic/RV 20 mg/kg. After 30 days of treatment with resveratrol the animals were sacrificed and the liver, kidney and serum were used for experimental determinations. Results... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174989 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5174989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5156626&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21856370%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wu YL, Peng XE, Wang D, Chen WN, Lin X Abstract The human liver fatty acid binding protein (hFABP1) participates in cellular long-chain fatty acid trafficking and regulation of lipid metabolism and changes in hFABP1 are associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and metabolic syndromes. Gene regulation of hFABP1 is not fully understood. Therefore, in the present study, the full length hFABP1 promoter (nucleotides -2125 to +51) and a series of truncated promoter regions were cloned. A luciferase reporter assay revealed that nucleotides -255 to +50 in the promoter region contained full of maximum hFABP1 promoter activity compared with the full length promoter. Furthermore high activity was shown when the plasmid was transfected i... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5156626 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5156626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5156621&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21856371%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tellone E, Ficarra S, Russo A, Bellocco E, Barreca D, Laganà G, Leuzzi U, Pirolli D, Cristina De Rosa M, Giardina B, Galtieri A Abstract The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of caffeine on band 3 (the anion exchanger protein), haemoglobin function, caspase 3 activation and glucose-6-phosphate metabolism during the oxygenation-deoxygenation cycle in human red blood cells. A particular attention has been given to the antioxidant activity by using in vitro antioxidant models. Caffeine crosses the erythrocyte membrane and interacts with the two extreme conformational states of haemoglobin (the T and the R-state within the framework of the simple two states allosteric model) with different binding affinities. By promoting the high affinity state (R-state), t... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5156621 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5156621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141168&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21843588%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Earl ST, Richards R, Johnson LA, Flight S, Anderson S, Liao A, de Jersey J, Masci PP, Lavin MF Abstract As part of a wider study on Australian snake venom components, we have identified and characterised Kunitz-type protease inhibitors from the venoms of Oxyuranus scutellatus and Oxyuranus microlepidotus (Australian taipans) with plasma kallikrein inhibitory activity. Each inhibitor had a mass of 7 kDa and was purified from the venom as part of a protein complex. Mass spectrometry and N-terminal sequencing was employed to obtain amino acid sequence information for each inhibitor and a recombinant form of the O. scutellatus inhibitor, termed TSPI, was subsequently expressed and purified. TSPI was investigated for inhibition against a panel of 12 enzymes involved in haemos... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141168 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141167&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21843589%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Knowling S, Morris KV Abstract Although control of cellular function has classically been considered the responsibility of proteins, research over the last decade has elucidated many roles for RNA in regulation of not only the proteins that control cellular functions but also for the cellular functions themselves. In parallel to this advancement in knowledge about the regulatory roles of RNA there has been an explosion of knowledge about the role that epigenetics plays in controlling not only long-term cellular fate but also the short-term regulatory control of genes. Of particular interest is the crossover between these two worlds, a world where RNA can act out its part and subsequently elicit chromatin modifications that alter cellular function. Two main categories of RN... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141167 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141167 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141165&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21846486%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Gouriou Y, Demaurex N, Bijlenga P, De Marchi U Abstract Mitochondria sense and shape cytosolic Ca(2+) signals by taking up and subsequently releasing Ca(2+) ions during physiological and pathological Ca(2+) elevations. Sustained elevations in the mitochondrial matrix Ca(2+) concentration are increasingly recognized as a defining feature of the intracellular cascade of lethal events that occur in neurons during cerebral ischemia. Here, we review the recently identified transport proteins that mediate the fluxes of Ca(2+) across mitochondria and discuss the implication of the permeability transition pore in decoding the abnormally sustained mitochondrial Ca(2+) elevations that occur during cerebral ischemia. PMID: 21846486 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bio... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141165 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141166&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21843590%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Röther S, Meister G Abstract Posttranscriptional gene regulation by small RNAs and its crucial impact on development, apoptosis, stem cell self-renewal and differentiation gained tremendous scientific attention since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNAs (miRNAs). However, in the last few years, many more examples for regulatory small RNAs were discovered, some of them even with miRNA-like functions. Even though these small RNA molecules were previously thought to be mere artifacts accumulating during the preparation of RNA libraries, advances in sequencing technology revealed that small RNAs derive from hairpin-fold RNA structures, for example. Mirtrons, short hairpin RNAs or small RNAs that are processed from longer non-coding RNAs such as tRNAs or snoR... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141166 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141169&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21840369%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Berchel M, Le Gall T, Couthon-Gourvès H, Haelters JP, Montier T, Midoux P, Lehn P, Jaffrès PA Abstract Lipophophoramidates constitute a class of synthetic vectors which were especially designed for gene delivery. In this family of compounds, the phosphorus functional group links two lipid chains to a spacer ended by a polar headgroup. Such vectors, which can readily be obtained, offer an alternative to the numerous examples of glycerolipid-based vectors that have been more exhaustively studied. Since the pioneering work describing this series of synthetic vectors, several chemical modifications have been proposed with the aim of correlating the molecular structure with the gene transfection efficacy. It has indeed been observed that some modifications which may be consid... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141169 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141170&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21839139%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Millard JT, McGowan EE, Bradley SQ Abstract The bifunctional alkylating agent 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB) is thought to be a major contributor to the carcinogenicity of 1,3-butadiene, from which it is derived in vivo. DEB forms DNA interstrand cross-links primarily between distal deoxyguanosine residues at the duplex sequence 5'-GNC. In order for the short butanediol tether to span this distance, distortion of the DNA target has been postulated. We determined that the electrophoretic mobility of ligated DNA oligomers containing DEB cross-links was retarded in comparison with control, uncross-linked DNA. Our data are consistent with DNA bending of ∼34° per lesion towards the major groove. PMID: 21839139 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141170 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141170 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141171&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21839138%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jespersen H, Andersen JH, Ditzel HJ, Mouritsen OG Abstract Molecular shape and its impact on bilayer curvature stress are powerful concepts for describing the effects of lipids and fatty acids on fundamental membrane properties, such as passive permeability and derived properties like drug transport across liposomal membranes. We illustrate these relationships by studying the effects of fatty acids and lysolipids on the permeation of a potent anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin, across the bilayer of a liposome in which the drug is encapsulated. Using a simple fluorescence assay, we have systematically studied the passive permeation of doxorubicin across liposomal membranes in different lipid phases: the solid-ordered phase (DPPC bilayers), the liquid-disordered phase (POPC lipi... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141171 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141171 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141174&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21824505%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bardou F, Merchan F, Ariel F, Crespi M Abstract Plants have remarkable developmental plasticity, and the same genotype can result in different phenotypes depending on environmental variation. Indeed, abiotic stresses or biotic interactions affect organogenesis and post-embryonic growth and significantly affect gene regulation. The large diversity of non-protein-coding RNAs (npcRNAs) and genes containing only short open reading frames that are expressed during plant growth and development, contribute to the regulation of gene expression. Certain npcRNAs code for oligopeptides and may possess additional biological activity linked to the RNA moiety. The ENOD40 gene is a dual RNA that is activated during a symbiotic interaction leading to root nodule organogenesis. Both the ol... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141174 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141173&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21835221%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Findeiß S, Engelhardt J, Prohaska SJ, Stadler PF Abstract Functional RNA elements can be embedded also within exonic sequences coding for functional proteins. While not uncommon in viruses, only a few examples of this type have been described in some detail for eukaryotic genomes. Here we use RNAz and RNAcode, two comparative genomics methods that measure signatures of stabilizing selection acting on RNA secondary structure and peptide sequence, resp., to survey the fruit fly genomes. We estimate that there might be on the order of 1000 loci that are subject to dual selection pressure. The used genome-wide screens also expose the limitations of the currently available methods. PMID: 21835221 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141173 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141173 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141172&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21835222%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lauricella M, Ciraolo A, Carlisi D, Vento R, Tesoriere G Abstract SAHA, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase activity, has been shown to sensitize tumor cells to apoptosis induced by TRAIL, a member of TNF-family. In this paper we investigated the effect of SAHA/TRAIL combination in two breast cancer cell lines, the ERα-positive MCF-7 and the ERα-negative MDA-MB231. Treatment of MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 cells with SAHA in combination with TRAIL caused detachment of cells followed by anoikis, a form of apoptosis which occurs after cell detachment, while treatment with SAHA or TRAIL alone did not produce these effects. The effects were more evident in MDA-MB231 cells, which were chosen for ascertaining the mechanism of SAHA/TRAIL action. Our results show that SAHA decreased the ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141172 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141172 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141178&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21816205%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Krafft MP Abstract Use of fluorinated components instead or along with standard phospholipids in film, vesicle, bubble and emulsion engineering, can cause drastic modifications of the formation processes, structure and dynamics, and functional behavior of these systems. Perfluoroalkyl chains provide a powerful driving force for self-assembly and ordering. They allow, for example, obtainment of thermally stable vesicles from single-chain phosphocholine derivatives, tubules from non-chiral amphiphiles, faceted vesicles with fluid bilayer membranes, exceptionally stable and narrowly dispersed emulsions and microbubbles. Contact of a monolayer of DPPC with a fluorocarbon gas modifies the monolayer's phase behavior, suppressing the liquid expanded/liquid condensed transition. P... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141178 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141177&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21816206%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yang X, Chen L, Liu Y, Yang Y, Chen T, Zheng W, Liu J, He QY Abstract Ruthenium(II) methylimidazole complexes, with the general formula [Ru(MeIm)(4)(N⌢N)](2+) (N⌢N = tip (RMC1), iip (RMC2), dppz (RMC3), dpq (RMC4); MeIm = 1-methylimidazole, tip = 2-(thiophene-2-yl)-1H-imidazo [4,5-f] [1,10]phenanthroline, iip = 2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-1H-imidazo [4,5-f] [1,10]phenanthroline, dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine, dpq = pyrazino [2,3-f] [1,10]phenanthroline), were synthesized and characterized. As determined by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, these complexes displayed potent anti-proliferation activity against various cancer cells. RMC1 inhibited the growth of A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) lung cells through induct... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141177 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141179&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21816204%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Muro EM, Mah N, Andrade-Navarro MA Abstract Pseudogenes have been mainly considered as functionless evolutionary relics since their discovery in 1977. However, multiple mechanisms of pseudogene functionality have been proposed both at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. This review focuses on the role of pseudogenes as post-transcriptional regulators. Two research lines have recently presented strong evidence of their potential function as post-transcriptional regulators of the corresponding parental genes from which they originate. First, pseudogene genomic sequences can encode siRNAs. Second, pseudogene transcripts can act as indirect post-transcriptional regulators decoying ncRNA, in particular miRNAs that target the parental gene. This has been demonstr... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141179 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141176&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21820031%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prasanna Kumari NK, Jagannadham MV Abstract Solvent composition plays a major role in stabilizing/destabilizing the forces that are responsible for the native structure of a protein. Often, the solvent composition drives the protein into non-native conformations. Elucidation of such non-native structures provides valuable information about the molecular structure of the protein, which is unavailable otherwise. Inclusion of methanol (non-fluorinated alcohol) or TFE (fluorinated alcohol) in the solvent composition drove cryptolepain, a serine protease and an all-β-protein, into a non-native structure with an enhanced β-sheet or induction of α-helix. These solvents did not much affect cryptolepain under neutral conditions, even at higher concentrations, but the effects wer... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141176 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141175&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21820484%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Romito A, Rougeulle C Abstract Random X chromosome inactivation (XCI), the eutherian mechanism of X-linked gene dosage compensation, is controlled by a cis-acting locus termed the X-inactivation center (Xic). One of the striking features that characterize the Xic landscape is the abundance of loci transcribing non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including Xist, the master regulator of the inactivation process. Recent comparative genomic analyses have depicted the evolutionary scenario behind the origin of the X-inactivation center, revealing that this locus evolved from a region harboring protein-coding genes. During mammalian radiation, this ancestral protein-coding region was disrupted in the marsupial group, whilst it provided in eutherian lineage the starting material for the no... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141175 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097619&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21807064%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Colley SM, Leedman PJ Steroid Receptor RNA Activator (SRA) occupies a unique and enigmatic position within the nuclear receptor (NR) field and more broadly in transcriptional regulation. This is as a result of its transcripts having both coding and non-coding coactivator activities along with its protein product SRAP performing mixed coactivator/repressor functions. Recent publications have provided greater understanding of SRA gene product activities and how they affect not only NR function, but now more broadly, signalling pathways involved in differentiation and metabolism. This review will discuss the isolation of SRA, its gene products, regulation of transcription along with its in vitro and in vivo activities with a particular focus on its actions as an RNA and its bin... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097619 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5097619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141181&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21816202%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen Z, Yang X, Liu Z, Zeng L, Lee W, Zhang Y Abstract The characterization of new natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can help to solve the serious problem of bacterial resistance to currently used antibiotics. In the current study, we analyzed two families of AMPs from the Chinese torrent frog Amolops jingdongensis with a range of bioactivities. The first family of peptides, named jindongenin-1a, is 24 amino acids in length; a BLAST search of jindongenin-1a revealed no sequence similarity with other AMPs. The second family consists of two peptides containing 29 amino acid residues each. These peptides have high sequence similarity with the AMPs of palustrin-2 and are therefore designated palustrin-2AJ1 and palustrin-2AJ2. The cDNA sequences encoding these AMPs have bee... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141181 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5141180&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21816203%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vanderpool CK, Balasubramanian D, Lloyd CR Abstract The importance of small RNA (sRNA) regulators has been recognized across all domains of life. In bacteria, sRNAs typically control the expression of virulence and stress response genes via antisense base pairing with mRNA targets. Originally dubbed "non-coding RNAs," a number of bacterial antisense sRNAs have been found to encode functional proteins. Although very few of these dual-function sRNAs have been characterized, they have been found in both gram-negative and gram-positive organisms. Among the few known examples, the functions and mechanisms of regulation by dual-function sRNAs are variable. Some dual-function sRNAs depend on the RNA chaperone Hfq for base pairing-dependent regulation (riboregulation); this featur... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5141180 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5141180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097629&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21802487%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Chen HS, Wang YM, Huang WT, Huang KF, Tsai IH To investigate the structure-function relationships and geographic variations of l-amino acid oxidase (LAAO) from Daboia venoms, a single LAAO (designated as DrLAO) was purified from eastern Indian Daboia russelii venom and characterized. The purified DrLAO showed subunit molecular mass of 60-64kDa; its N-terminal sequence (1-20) was identical to those of several true viper LAAOs. Its preferred substrates were hydrophobic l-amino acids and the kinetic specificities were ordered as follows: Phe, Tyr, Met, Leu, and Trp. Enzyme assay and Western blotting showed that the venom LAAO contents of D. russelii were higher than those of Daboia siamensis. DrLAO dose-dependently inhibited ADP- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation with IC... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097629 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5097629 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051556&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21771635%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vottariello F, Giacomelli E, Frasson R, Pozzi N, De Filippis V, Gotte G Bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A forms 3D domain-swapped oligomers by lyophilization from 40% acetic acid solutions or if subjected to various thermally-induced denaturation procedures. Considering that the intrinsic swapping propensity of bovine seminal RNase, the only member of the pancreatic-type RNase super-family that is dimeric in nature, is decreased from 70 to 30% if Arg80 is substituted by Ser (the corresponding residue in native RNase A), we introduced the opposite mutation in position 80 of the pancreatic enzyme. Our aim was to detect if the RNase A tendency to aggregate through domain swapping could increase. Aggregation of the S80R-RNase A mutant was induced either through the 'classic' acetic... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051556 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051559&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21763392%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Klein AF, Gasnier E, Furling D Expansion of repeated sequences in non-coding regions of different genes causes a number of inherited diseases including myotonic dystrophies, Huntington disease-like 2, Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome and spinocerebellar ataxia 8, 10, 12, 31. Involvement of an RNA gain-of-function mechanism in pathological case has been described and studied in-depth in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). This inherited neuromuscular disorder is caused by a (CTG)n >50 expansion in the 3' non-coding region of the dystrophia myotonica-protein kinase (DMPK) gene. Expanded CUG transcripts (CUGexp-RNAs) are sequestered in the nucleus within small aggregates and interfere with the regulatory splicing activities of MBNL1 and CELF1 RNA-binding proteins, leading to the ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051559 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051558&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21771633%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cooper C, Vincett D, Yan Y, Hamedani MK, Myal Y, Leygue E The Steroid Receptor RNA Activator (SRA) was first identified by Lanz et al. in 1999 as a functional non-coding RNA able to co-activate steroid nuclear receptors. Since this incipient study, our understanding of SRA as a broader co-regulator of nuclear receptors as well as other transcription factors has greatly expanded. Accumulated data has now revealed the diverse roles played by this transcript in both normal biological processes such as myogenesis and adipogenesis, as well as in mechanisms underlying diseases including cardio-myopathies and cancers. Remarkably, as early as 2000, SRA isoforms were identified that were also able to code for a protein now referred to as the Steroid Receptor RNA Activator Protein (SRA... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051558 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051557&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21771634%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Tisseur M, Kwapisz M, Morillon A Pervasive transcription is now accepted to be a general feature of eukaryotic genomes, generating short and long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Growing number of examples have shown that regulatory ncRNAs can control gene expression and chromatin domain formation. In this review, we discuss recent reports that show that Saccharomycescerevisiae's genome also supports pervasive transcription, which is strongly controlled by RNA decay pathways and nucleosome positioning. We therefore propose that S. cerevisiae is an excellent model for studying large ncRNAs, which has already provided important examples of antisense-mediated transcriptional silencing. PMID: 21771634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051557 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051557 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051560&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21762758%26dopt%3DAbstract This study has revealed a preference for the aromatic residues tyrosine and tryptophan in P(1)(') and aliphatic residues in P(2)('). From this library, six compounds were identified which exhibited sub- to low-micromolar K(i) values. The most potent inactivator, SH-CO(2)-Y-V-NH(2) was capable of preventing ZapA-mediated hydrolysis of heat-denatured IgA, indicating that these inhibitors may be capable of protecting host proteins against ZapA during colonisation and infection. PMID: 21762758 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051560 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051561&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21756965%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, increased fatty acid uptake driven by endogenous PPARα activation and reduced fatty acid secretion cause hepatosteatosis in peroxisome deficient livers. PMID: 21756965 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051561 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051564&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21742010%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Galassi L, Di Stefano M, Brunetti L, Orsomando G, Amici A, Ruggieri S, Magni G Nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase (NaPRT, EC 2.4.2.11) catalyzes the conversion of nicotinate (Na) to nicotinate mononucleotide, the first reaction of the Preiss-Handler pathway for the biosynthesis of NAD(+). Even though NaPRT activity has been described to be responsible for the ability of Na to increase NAD(+) levels in human cells more effectively than nicotinamide (Nam), so far a limited number of studies on the human NaPRT have appeared. Here, extensive characterization of a recombinant human NaPRT is reported. We determined its major kinetic parameters and assayed the influence of different compounds on its enzymatic activity. In particular, ATP showed an apparent dual stimulation/inhibiti... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051564 Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051564 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051563&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21742011%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Leclerc C, Néant I, Moreau M The calcium (Ca(2+)) signaling pathways have crucial roles in development from fertilization through differentiation to organogenesis. In the nervous system, Ca(2+) signals are important regulators for various neuronal functions, including formation and maturation of neuronal circuits and long-term memory. However, Ca(2+) signals are mainly involved in the earliest steps of nervous system development including neural induction, differentiation of neural progenitors into neurons, and the neuro-glial switch. This review examines when and how Ca(2+) signals are generated during each of these steps with examples taken from in vivo studies in vertebrate embryos and from in vitro assays using embryonic and neural stem cells. Also discussed is the high... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051563 Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051563 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051566&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21741429%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Figueroa CM, Esper MC, Bertolo A, Demonte AM, Aleanzi M, Iglesias AA, Ballicora MA ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is the enzyme responsible for the regulation of glycogen synthesis in bacteria. The enzyme N-terminal domain has a Rossmann-like fold with three neighbor loops facing the substrate ATP. In the Escherichia coli enzyme, one of those loops also faces the regulatory site containing Lys(39), a residue involved in binding of the allosteric activator fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and its analog pyridoxal-phosphate. The other two loops contain Trp(113) and Gln(74), respectively, which are highly conserved among all the ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases. Molecular modeling of the E. coli enzyme showed that binding of ATP correlates with conformational changes of the latter two loo... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051566 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051565&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21741430%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kil IS, Jung KH, Nam WS, Park JW (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a well-known chemopreventive factor, induces cancer cells undergoing apoptosis. Over the last several years, we have shown that the mitochondrial NADP(+)-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDPm) functions as an antioxidant and anti-apoptotic protein by supplying NADPH to antioxidant systems. Here, we show that EGCG induced the inactivation of IDPm as a purified enzyme and in cultured cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Loss of enzyme activity was associated with the depletion of the thiol groups in protein. In addition, transfection of HeLa cells with an IDPm small interfering RNA (siRNA) markedly attenuated the activity of IDPm and substantially enhanced EGCG-induced apoptosis as indicated... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051565 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051565 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051562&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21745531%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Cummings S, Enick R, Rogers S, Heenan R, Eastoe J A semi-fluorinated hybrid amphiphile, pentadecafluoro-5-dodecyl (F7H4) sulfate, has been shown to form reversed micelles in dense CO(2); the aggregates evolve to form water-in-CO(2) (w/c) microemulsion droplets on addition of water. Aggregation structures in these w/c phases have been characterised by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), showing the presence of cylindrical droplets, which change into dispersed lamellar phases at even higher water loadings. Other systems are also introduced, being high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) with brine, and liquid and supercritical CO(2), stabilized by certain commercially available nonylphenol ethoxylates (Dow Tergitol NP-, and Huntsman Surfonic N- amphiphiles). These dispersions ha... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051562 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051562 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051570&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21740952%26dopt%3DAbstract In this study we have detected that leptin-mediated STAT3 phosphorylation appears to be preserved in cardiac tissue even in 10-month old animals but not in adipose tissue and liver of five- and ten-month old mice, respectively. Nevertheless, leptin increased pAkt content in the liver of these mice. In a parallel study we have analyzed the functionality of leptin signalling pathways in 10-month old obese mice and we have observed that the STAT3 pathway appears to be only operative in the heart whereas the Akt pathway remains functional both in heart and liver. Nevertheless, hepatic lipids increased almost 300% compared to age-matched lean controls. Our data demonstrate that during adult life there is a lost of leptin receptor functionality which is tissue-dependent and mainly affects the ST... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051570 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051569&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21740953%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Jurkiewicz P, Cwiklik L, Jungwirth P, Hof M Fluorescence solvent relaxation experiments are based on the characterization of time-dependent shifts in the fluorescence emission of a chromophore, yielding polarity and viscosity information about the chromophore's immediate environment. A chromophore applied to a phospholipid bilayer at a well-defined location (with respect to the z-axis of the bilayer) allows monitoring of the hydration and mobility of the probed segment of the lipid molecules. Specifically, time-resolved fluorescence experiments, fluorescence quenching data and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations show that 6-lauroyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Laurdan) probes the hydration and mobility of the sn-1 acyl groups in a phosphatidylcholine bilayer. The time-dependent ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051569 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051568&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21740954%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Talini G, Branciamore S, Gallori E The discovery of ribozymes, RNAs with catalytic activity, revealed the extraordinary characteristic of this molecule, and corroborated the idea that RNA was the first informative polymer. The "RNA world" hypothesis asserts that the DNA/RNA/PROTEIN world arose from an earlier RNA world in which were present only RNA molecules able to perform both of the two functions performed separately by DNA and proteins in the present-day cells: the ability to transfer genetic information and to carry out catalytic activity. The catalytic properties of ribozymes are exclusively due to the capacity of RNA molecules to assume particular structures. Moreover, the structural versatility of RNA can allow to a single RNA sequence to fold in more than one structu... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051568 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051567&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21740955%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sinko G, Kovarik Z, Reiner E, Simeon-Rudolf V, Stojan J Stereoselectivity of reversible inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) by optically pure ethopropazine [10-(2-diethylaminopropyl)phenothiazine hydrochloride] enantiomers and racemate was studied with acetylthiocholine (0.002-250 mM) as substrate. Molecular modelling resulted in the reaction between BChE and ethopropazine starting with the binding of ethopropazine to the enzyme peripheral anionic site. In the next step ethopropazine 'slides down' the enzyme gorge, resulting in interaction of the three rings of ethopropazine through π-π interactions with W82 in BChE. Inhibition mechanism was interpreted according to three kinetic models: A, B and C. The models differ in the type and number of enzyme-subst... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051567 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5051567 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001039&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21729734%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Yeom SJ, Kim YS, Lim YR, Jeong KW, Lee JY, Kim Y, Oh DK Mannose-6-phosphate isomerase catalyzes the interconversion of mannose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate. The gene encoding a putative mannose-6-phosphate isomerase from Thermus thermophilus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The native enzyme was a 29 kDa monomer with activity maxima for mannose 6-phosphate at pH 7.0 and 80 °C in the presence of 0.5 mM Zn(2+) that was present at one molecule per monomer. The half-lives of the enzyme at 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 °C were 13, 6.5, 3.7, 1.8, and 0.2 h, respectively. The 15 putative active-site residues within 4.5 Å of the substrate mannose 6-phosphate in the homology model were individually replaced with other amino acids. The sequence alignments, activit... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001039 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001039 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001038&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21729735%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kageyama Y, Kondo T, Hashimoto Y Genome analysis has identified a number of putative non-protein-coding transcripts that do not contain ORFs longer than 100 codons. Although evidence strongly suggests that non-coding RNAs are important in a variety of biological phenomena, the discovery of small peptide-coding mRNAs confirms that some transcripts that have been assumed to be non-coding actually have coding potential. Their abundance and importance in biological phenomena makes the sorting of non-coding RNAs from small peptide-coding mRNAs a key issue in functional genomics. However, validating the coding potential of small peptide-coding RNAs is complicated, because their ORF sequences are usually too short for computational analysis. In this review, we discuss computational ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001038 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001037&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21729736%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Ulveling D, Francastel C, Hubé F It is now evident that the transcriptional output of the genome is much more complex than estimates based on the number of protein-coding genes, and that non-coding RNA widely increase the source of regulatory molecules, a role previously ascribed to proteins. Furthermore, the recent characterization of bifunctional RNA, i.e. RNA for which both coding capacity and activity as functional RNA have been reported, adds an additional degree of complexity. Based on the SRA (Steroid Receptor RNA Activator) model, where bifunctionality is regulated by alternative splicing, we hypothesized that similar cases, not yet formally tested experimentally, might exist. Using freely available data from high-throughput sequencing projects, we propose here a bioi... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001037 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001046&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21708218%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Webb SE, Fluck RA, Miller AL The ex-utero fertilization and development of the optically clear embryos of teleost fish have long been favorites of developmental biologists. They have, therefore, provided considerable insight with regards to our understanding of embryonic pattern formation and the early development of vertebrates. These attributes have also been most helpful in the visualization of Ca(2+) signaling events that have been reported to accompany many of the fundamental steps and processes that constitute early embryonic development. These include egg activation; segregation of the cytoplasm from the yolk; cytokinesis; axis determination; cellular rearrangement and germ layer establishment; as well as the formation of the first tissue domains. The developing eggs an... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001046 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001041&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21722701%26dopt%3DAbstract This study also presents evidences to indicate that PPZ-dependent augmentation of myelopoiesis in the tumor-bearing host is dependent on an enhanced expression of M-CSF and receptors for M-CSF, GM-CSF in BMC, along with a modulation in the expression of cell survival regulatory molecules PUMA, Bcl2, p53 and caspase-activated DNase (CAD). BMDM obtained from PPZ-administered tumor-bearing mice also showed an augmented expression of TLR-2, tumoricidal activity, production of NO and monokines: IL-1, IL-6 & TNF-α. The study discusses the possible mechanisms underlying PPZ-dependent augmentation of myelopoiesis. Taken together, the present study proposes that a PPZ-dependent alleviation of tumor-induced myelosuppression could contribute to an augmented myelopoiesis. PMID: 21722701 [PubM... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001041 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001048&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21704114%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhao C, Liu ZQ The antioxidant properties of magnolol and honokiol were evaluated in the experimental systems of reducing ONOO(-) and (1)O(2), bleaching β-carotene in linoleic acid (LH) emulsion, and trapping 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) cationic radical (ABTS(+)) and 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and then were applied to inhibit the oxidation of DNA induced by Cu(2+)/glutathione (GSH) and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride) (AAPH). Magnolol and honokiol were active to reduce ONOO(-) and (1)O(2). Honokiol showed a little higher activity to protect LH and to inhibit Cu(2+)/GSH-induced oxidation of DNA than magnolol. In addition, honokiol exhibited higher activities to trap ABTS(+) and DPPH than magnolol. In particular, honokiol t... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001048 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001047&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21704670%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dulic M, Pozar J, Bilokapic S, Weygand-Durasevic I, Gruic-Sovulj I Seryl-tRNA synthetases (SerRS) covalently attach serine to cognate tRNA(Ser). Atypical SerRSs, considerably different from canonical enzymes, have been found in methanogenic archaea. A crystal structure of methanogenic-type SerRS revealed a motif within the active site (serine ordering loop; SOL), which undergoes a notable induced-fit rearrangement during serine binding. The loop rearranges from a disordered conformation in the unliganded enzyme, to an ordered structure comprising an α-helix followed by a loop. We performed kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of SerRS variants to establish the role of the SOL in serylation. Thermodynamic data confirmed a linkage between binding of serine and α-helix formation,... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001047 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001040&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21722702%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Candeias MM The p53 protein, like any other protein, cannot be made in the cell without RNA. And even once made, the p53 protein will be more rapidly degraded without the p53 RNA. Furthermore, the p53 RNA helps deciding which p53 isoform should be produced and under which cell conditions. Mutant p53 mRNA codes for an unstable and inactive protein. These matters are discussed in this article as well as the recent reports on p53 RNA mutations, interacting-proteins, 3' processing and 5'-3' loop. PMID: 21722702 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001040 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001049&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21704113%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Greiner VJ, Shvadchak V, Fritz J, Arntz Y, Didier P, Frisch B, Boudier C, Mély Y, de Rocquigny H Addition of Vpr C-terminus to various cell types provokes cell apoptosis. This property was recently shown useful to develop inhibitors of cell proliferation. In that context, we investigated the cellular uptake of rhodamine- and fluorescein-labeled Vpr(52-96) peptides to understand the mechanism of Vpr C-terminus entry into cells. Dynamic light scattering data indicated that this peptide spontaneously formed polydispersed aggregates in cell culture medium. The fluorescently labeled Vpr(52-96) peptide were efficiently internalized, appearing either as large fluorescent patches in the cytoplasm or in a more diffuse form throughout the cell. Using isothermal titration calorimetry,... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001049 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001045&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21712066%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Westholm JO, Lai EC A well-defined mechanism governs the maturation of most microRNAs (miRNAs) in animals, via stepwise cleavage of precursor hairpin transcripts by the Drosha and Dicer RNase III enzymes. Recently, several alternative miRNA biogenesis pathways were elucidated, the most prominent of which substitutes Drosha cleavage with splicing. Such short hairpin introns are known as mirtrons, and their study has uncovered related pathways that combine splicing with other ribonucleolytic machinery to yield Dicer substrates for miRNA biogenesis. In this review, we consider the mechanisms of splicing-mediated miRNA biogenesis, computational strategies for mirtron discovery, and the evolutionary implications of the existence of multiple miRNA biogenesis pathways. Altogether, th... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001045 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001044&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21712067%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Robert V, Triffaux E, Savignac M, Pelletier L Calcium signalling is essential for most of the biological T-cell activities, including in Th2 lymphocytes, a T-cell subset that produce interleukin 4, 5 and 13 and which is involved in allergic diseases. T-cell receptor engagement induces the production of inositol trisphosphate that binds to its receptor, releasing intracellular Ca(2+) stores. STIM in the endo (sarco) plasmic reticulum (ER/SR) is a Ca(2+) sensor that perceives the depletion of intracellular Ca(2+) stores, localizes near the cell membrane and allows the activation of ORAI, the main calcium channels at the cell membrane. However, other calcium channels at the membrane of intracellular compartments and at the cell membrane can also contribute to the TCR-driven intra... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001044 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001043&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21712068%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Makarova SS, Minina EA, Makarov VV, Semenyuk PI, Kopertekh L, Schiemann J, Serebryakova MV, Erokhina TN, Solovyev AG, Morozov SY Arabidopsis thaliana At-4/1 is the protein of unknown function capable of polar localization in plant cells and intercellular trafficking. In this work, we cloned cDNAs and chromosomal genes of At-4/1 orthologues from several Nicotiana species. Similarly to the 4/1 genes of A. thaliana and Oryza sativa, Nicotiana 4/1 genes have eight exons and seven introns but are considerably longer due to their larger introns. The allotetraploid genome of Nicotiana tabacum, which is known to consist of the 'S genome' originated from Nicotiana sylvestris and the 'T genome' derived from Nicotiana tomentosiformis, encodes two 4/1 genes. The T genome-encoded 4/1 gene... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001043 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001042&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21718749%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Agarwal T, Kumar S, Maiti S G-quadruplexes are common structural motifs in aptamers. UNA or unlocked nucleic acid is the latest nucleic acid modification. We have attempted to evaluate the impact of UNA modification on the structure and stability of G-quadruplex oligonucleotides for application in aptamer design. We show using CD spectroscopy that UNA modifications can cause structural transitions in some cases although they retain the inherent G- quadruplex signature. From UV melting studies we showed a position dependent effect of UNA modifications such that quadruplexes with UNA modified loops are further stabilized whereas UNA modifications in stem of the G-quadruplex significantly destabilize the structure. The impact of UNA modification on different nucleobases is also i... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001042 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001051&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21693166%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sun H, Xiang J, Liu Y, Li L, Li Q, Xu G, Tang Y Both G-quadruplexes and natural polyamines are intimately associated with tumor growth and proliferation. The effect of the natural polyamines on telomeric and some oncogenic G-quadruplexes including bcl-2, c-kit, and c-myc G-quadruplexes has been studied by using absorption, fluorescence, CD, and NMR methods. The results exhibited an interesting dual-effect depending on polyamineś concentration. Polyamines promote and stabilize G-quadruplexes under a lower concentration (less than 1mM) but denature G-quadruplexes under a higher concentration (more than 1mM). Probably the electrostatic and hydrophobic effect of polyamines and the hydrogen-bonding interaction between guanines and polyamines were respectively responsible for the s... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001051 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5001050&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21703329%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: McCorvie TJ, Wasilenko J, Liu Y, Fridovich-Keil JL, Timson DJ Type III galactosemia results from reduced activity of the enzyme UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase. Five disease-associated alleles (G90E, V94M, D103G, N34S and L183P) and three artificial alleles (Y105C, N268D, and M284K) were tested for their ability to alleviate galactose-induced growth arrest in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain which lacks endogenous UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase. For all of these alleles, except M284K, the ability to alleviate galactose sensitivity was correlated with the UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase activity detected in cell extracts. The M284K allele, however, was able to substantially alleviate galactose sensitivity, but demonstrated near-zero activity in cell extracts. Recombinant expression of the c... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5001050 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5001050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956495&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689723%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Romera C, Bombarde O, Bonnet R, Gomez D, Dumy P, Calsou P, Gwan JF, Lin JH, Defrancq E, Pratviel G G-quadruplex nucleic acids are emerging as therapeutic targets for small molecules referred to as small-molecule G-quadruplex ligands. The porphyrin H(2)-TMPyP4 was early reported to be a suitable motif for G-quadruplex DNA recognition. It probably binds to G-quadruplex nucleic acid through π-π stacking with the external G-quartets. We explored chemical modifications of this porphyrin such as insertion of various metal ions in the centre of the aromatic core and addition of bulky substituents that may improve the specificity of the compound toward G-quadruplex DNA. Porphyrin metallation, affording a G4-ligand with two symmetric faces, allowed the conclusion that the presence of... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956495 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956501&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689717%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Lamberti A, Sanges C, Chambery A, Migliaccio N, Rosso F, Di Maro A, Papale F, Marra M, Parente A, Caraglia M, Abbruzzese A, Arcari P The eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A (eEF1A), besides to its canonical role in protein synthesis, is also involved in several other cellular processes, depending on changes in cellular location, cell type, concentration of ligands, substrates or cofactors. Therefore eEF1A is a moonlighting protein that participates to a network of molecular interactions involving its structural domains. Since the identification of novel protein-protein interactions represents important tasks in post-genomic era, the interactome of eEF1A1 M-domain was investigated by using a proteomic approach. To this purpose, the eEF1A1 M-domain was fused with glutath... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956501 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956501 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956497&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689721%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Moison C, Arimondo PB, Guieysse-Peugeot AL Recently, an increasing number of studies describe the existence of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) involved in gene expression modulation. Since the observation that antisense ncRNAs are implicated in human disorders, there is more and more interest in ncRNAs. A commonly used technique to investigate the expression of an antisense ncRNAs is strand-specific reverse transcription coupled with polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The advantage of this accurate technique is that it does not require any special equipment or expertise. The disadvantage is that it can lead easily to false-positive results. We applied strand-specific RT-PCR to investigate the presence of antisense ncRNA associated to Retinoic Acid Receptor Beta 2 (RARβ2) in differe... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956497 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956505&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21683117%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Panfoli I, Calzia D, Ravera S, Bruschi M, Tacchetti C, Candiani S, Morelli A, Candiano G Vertebrate retinal rod Outer Segments (OS) are the site of visual transduction, an energy demanding process for which mechanisms of ATP supply are still poorly known. Glycolysis or diffusion of either ATP or phosphocreatine from the Inner Segment (IS) does not seem to display adequate timing to supply ATP for phototransduction. We have previously reported data suggesting an aerobic metabolism in OS, which would largely account for the light-stimulated ATP need of the photoreceptor. Here, by oxymetry and biochemical analyses we show that: (i) disks isolated by Ficoll flotation consume O(2) in the presence of physiological respiring substrates either in coupled or uncoupled conditions; (ii) ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956505 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956510&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21672601%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Sabotič J, Kilaru S, Budič M, Gašparič MB, Gruden K, Bailey AM, Foster GD, Kos J Clitocypin and macrocypin are cysteine protease inhibitors of the mycocypin family which is unique to basidiomycetes. We have established that Clitocybe nebularis and Macrolepiota procera each contain genes for both macrocypin and clitocypin. Both are expressed in M. procera but only clitocypin in C. nebularis. Further analysis of mycocypin expression at the mRNA and protein levels in mature fruiting bodies of M. procera revealed that clitocypin is expressed evenly throughout the fruiting body, while the level of expression of macrocypins varies, and, at the protein level, is much higher in the veil fragments and the ring. The expression patterns of various mycocypins were determined in Cop... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956510 Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956506&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21679743%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Bhattacharjee AJ, Ahluwalia K, Taylor S, Jin O, Nicoludis JM, Buscaglia R, Brad Chaires J, Kornfilt D, Marquardt DG, Yatsunyk LA G-quadruplexes (GQ) are formed by the association of guanine-rich stretches of DNA. Certain small molecules can influence kinetics and thermodynamics of this association. Understanding the mechanism of ligand-assisted GQ folding is necessary for the design of more efficient cancer therapeutics. The oligonucleotide d(TAGGG)(2) forms parallel bimolecular GQ in the presence of ≥66 mM K(+); GQs are not formed under Na(+), Li(+) or low K(+) conditions. The thermodynamic parameters for GQ folding at 60 μM oligonucleotide and 100 mM KCl are ΔH = -35 ± 2 kcal mol(-1) and ΔG(310) = -1.4 kcal mol(-1). Quadruplex [d(TAGGG)(2)](2) binds 2-3 K(... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956506 Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956504&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21683118%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mazars C, Brière C, Bourque S, Thuleau P The calcium ion is probably one of the most studied second messenger both in plant and animal fields. A large number of reviews have browsed the diversity of cytosolic calcium signatures and evaluated their pleiotropic roles in plant and animal cells. In the recent years, an increasing number of reviews has focused on nuclear calcium, especially on the possible roles of nuclear calcium concentration variations on nuclear activities. Experiments initially performed on animal cells gave conflicting results that brought about a controversy about the ability of the nucleus to generate its own calcium signals and to regulate its calcium level. But in plant cells, several converging scientific pieces of evidence support the hypothesis of nuc... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956504 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956503&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21684318%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Prislan I, Khutsishvili I, Marky LA In the presence of specific metal ions, DNA oligonucleotides containing guanine repeat sequences can adopt G-quadruplex structures. In this work, we used a combination of spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques to investigate the conformation and unfolding thermodynamics of the K(+)-form of five G-quadruplexes with sequences: d(G(2)T(2)G(2)TGTG(2)T(2)G(2)), G2, d(G(3)T(2)G(3)TGTG(3)T(2)G(3)), G3, their analogs where T is replaced with U, G2-U and G3-U, and r(G(2)U(2)G(2)UGUG(2)U(2)G(2)), rG2. These G-quadruplexes show CD spectra characteristic of the "chair" conformation (G2 and G2-U), or "basket" conformation (rG2); or a mixture of these two conformers (G3 and G3-U). Thermodynamic profiles show that the favorable folding of each G-quadrup... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956503 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956502&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689716%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Fange D, Lovmar M, Pavlov MY, Ehrenberg M Enzyme inhibitors are used in many areas of the life sciences, ranging from basic research to the combat of disease in the clinic. Inhibitors are traditionally characterized by how they affect the steady-state kinetics of enzymes, commonly analyzed on the assumption that enzyme-bound and free substrate molecules are in equilibrium. This assumption, implying that an enzyme-bound substrate molecule has near zero probability to form a product rather than dissociate, is valid only for very inefficient enzymes. When it is relaxed, more complex but also more information-rich steady-state kinetics emerges. Although solutions to the general steady-state kinetics problem exist, they are opaque and have been of limited help to experimentalists. ... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956502 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956500&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689718%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Rahman MM, Inoue A, Tanaka H, Ojima T Herbivorous marine gastropods such as abalone and sea hare ingest brown algae as a major diet and degrade the dietary alginate with alginate lyase (EC 4.2.2.3) in their digestive fluid. To date alginate lyases from Haliotidae species such as abalone have been well characterized and the primary structure analyses have classified abalone enzymes into polysaccharide-lyase-family 14 (PL-14). However, other gastropod enzymes have not been so well investigated and only partial amino-acid sequences are currently available. To improve the knowledge for primary structure and catalytic residues of gastropod alginate lyases, we cloned the cDNA encoding an alginate lyase, AkAly30, from an Aplysiidae species Aplysia kurodai and assessed its catalytical... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956500 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956499&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689719%26dopt%3DAbstract In conclusion, the observed hydrolytic activities of KLK13 and its co-localization with its activators, glycosaminoglycans in the salivary gland and high concentration of sodium citrate in male reproductive tissues, indicates that KLK13 may play a role in the defense of the upper digestive apparatus and in male reproductive organs. PMID: 21689719 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biochimie) Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956499 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956498&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689720%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Wickramasinghe S, Medrano JF Sialic acid, a nine-carbon sugar acid usually is present in the non-reducing terminal position of free oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. Sialylated conjugates in mammals perform important roles in cellular recognition, signaling, host-pathogen interaction and neuronal development. Metabolism of sialylated conjugates involves a complex pathway consisting of enzymes distributed among the different compartments in the cell. These enzymes are encoded by 32 genes diversely distributed throughout the mammalian genome. Genetic variants in some of these genes are associated with embryonic lethality and abnormal phenotypes in mice and neuromuscular diseases, carcinomas and immune-mediated diseases in humans. In humans, the CMP-NeuAc-hydroxylase (CMAH) e... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956498 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956496&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21689722%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Zhang J, Yang L, Anand GS, Ho B, Ding JL Although homeostatic disturbance of the blood pH and calcium in the vicinity of tissue injury/malignancy/local infection seems subtle, it can cause substantial pathophysiological consequences, a phenomenon which has remained largely unexplored. The fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs) containing fibrinogen-like domain (FBG) represent a conserved protein family with a common calcium-binding region, implying the presence of elements responsive to physiological perturbation. Here, we studied the molecular interaction between a representative FREP, the M-ficolin, and an acute phase blood protein, the C-reactive protein (CRP), both of which are known to trigger and control seminal pathways in infection and injury. Using hydrogen-deuterium exc... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956496 Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956508&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21672603%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Mikleušević G, Stefanić Z, Narczyk M, Wielgus-Kutrowska B, Bzowska A, Luić M The catalytic mechanism of Escherichia coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is revised using site-directed mutagenesis, kinetic studies and structure determinations. The experimental evidence on the role of the particular catalytic amino acid during catalysis has not been available. Therefore, the active site mutants Arg24Ala, Asp204Ala, Asp204Asn, Arg217Ala and Asp204Ala/Arg217Ala were prepared and their kinetics and thermodynamic studies were carried out. The activity tests with natural substrates and 7-methylguanosine confirmed the earlier hypothesis, that catalysis involves protonation of the purine base at position N7 by Asp204, which is triggered by Arg217. The crystal structures of th... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956508 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956507&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21672604%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Dumat B, Bordeau G, Faurel-Paul E, Mahuteau-Betzer F, Saettel N, Bombled M, Metgé G, Charra F, Fiorini-Debuisschert C, Teulade-Fichou MP Herein we report on the synthesis and DNA recognition properties of a series of three N-phenyl carbazole-based light-up probes initially designed for two-photon absorption. The vinylic derivatives (Cbz-2Py, Cbz-3Py) display strong fluorescence enhancement when bound to various duplex- and quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides whereas the oxazole derivative is not fluorescent in DNA. Determination of affinity constants by fluorimetric titrations evidenced that Cbz-2Py has a clear preference for AT-rich duplex structures. Circular Dichroism (CD) measurements confirmed the sequence-dependent binding of this compound and suggest insertion in the m... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956507 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956509&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21672602%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Narahari A, Nareddy PK, Swamy MJ A new lectin has been purified to homogeneity from the phloem exudate of snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina) by affinity chromatography on chitin. The snake gourd phloem lectin (SGPL) specifically binds chitooligosaccharides and their inhibitory potency increased with increase in size. PAGE and SDS-PAGE studies indicate that SGPL is a heterodimer, in which the two subunits (48 and 53kDa) are joined by disulfide bonds. Consistent with this, electrospray-ionization mass spectrum yielded the exact mass of the protein as 104,621.8 Daltons. CD studies showed that SGPL contains about 9% α-helix, 39% β-sheet, 20% β-turns and 32% unordered structures and that saccharide binding does not significantly affect its secondary and tertiary structures. Tit... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956509 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956509 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956513&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664409%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Scott MS, Ono M Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are an ancient class of small non-coding RNAs present in all eukaryotes and a subset of archaea that carry out a fundamental role in the modification and processing of ribosomal RNA. In recent years, however, a large proportion of snoRNAs have been found to be further processed into smaller molecules, some of which display different functionality. In parallel, several studies have uncovered extensive similarities between snoRNAs and other types of small non-coding RNAs, and in particular microRNAs. Here, we explore the extent of the relationship between these types of non-coding RNA and the possible underlying evolutionary forces that shaped this subset of the current non-coding RNA landscape. PMID: 21664409 [PubMed - as suppl... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956513 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956515&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664407%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Peng L, Xu X, Shen D, Zhang Y, Song J, Yan X, Guo M The phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are a superfamily of enzymes that have multiple roles in extracellular nucleotide metabolism and in the regulation of nucleotide-based intercellular signaling. Here we describe for the first time the isolation and partial characterization of a novel phosphodiesterase from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom, named TS-PDE, using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The purified TS-PDE is shown to be homogeneous as judged by SDS-PAGE and capillary isoelectric focusing. TS-PDE is a glycoprotein which contains 2.48% carbohydrate. Unlike other PDEs which are usually single polypeptide chain proteins with isoelectric points between 7.5 and 10.5, TS-PDE is a disulfide-linked heterodimer with an iso... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956515 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956515 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956514&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664408%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Keiler KC, Ramadoss NS Transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) is a bifunctional RNA that has properties of a tRNA and an mRNA. tmRNA uses these two functions to release ribosomes stalled during translation and target the nascent polypeptides for degradation. This concerted reaction, known as trans-translation, contributes to translational quality control and regulation of gene expression in bacteria. tmRNA is conserved throughout bacteria, and is one of the most abundant RNAs in the cell, suggesting that trans-translation is of fundamental importance for bacterial fitness. Mutants lacking tmRNA activity typically have severe phenotypes, including defects in viability, virulence, and responses to environmental stresses. PMID: 21664408 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Bi... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956514 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956514 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956512&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664410%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Kizawa K, Takahara H, Unno M, Heizmann CW Epithelial Ca(2+)-regulation, which governs cornified envelope formation in the skin epidermis and hair follicles, closely coincides with the expression of S100A3, filaggrin and trichohyalin, and the post-translational modification of these proteins by Ca(2+)-dependent peptidylarginine deiminases. This review summarizes the current nomenclature and evolutional aspects of S100 Ca(2+)-binding proteins and S100 fused-type proteins (SFTPs) classified as a separate protein family with special reference to the molecular structure and function of S100A3 dominantly expressed in hair cuticular cells. Both S100 and SFTP family members are identified by two distinct types of Ca(2+)-binding loops in an N-terminal pseudo EF-hand motif followed by a... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956512 Tue, 31 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956520&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664223%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Romani R, Galeazzi R, Rosi G, Fiorini R, Pirisinu I, Ambrosini A, Zolese G Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), a serine hydrolase biochemically related to the cholinergic enzyme Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), is found in many mammalian tissues, such as serum and central nervous system, but its physiological role is still unclear. BChE is an important human plasma esterase, where it has detoxifying roles. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that brain BChE can have a role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The endocannabinoid arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide) and other acylethanolamides (NAEs) are almost ubiquitary molecules and are physiologically present in many tissues, including blood and brain, where they show neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. This paper demonstrates... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956520 Mon, 30 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956519&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664224%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Renaud de la Faverie A, Hamon F, Di Primo C, Largy E, Dausse E, Delaurière L, Landras-Guetta C, Toulmé JJ, Teulade-Fichou MP, Mergny JL A number of small molecules demonstrate selective recognition of G-quadruplexes and are able to stabilize their formation. In this work, we performed the synthesis of two biotin-tagged G4 ligands and analyzed their interactions with DNA by two complementary techniques, FRET and FID. The compound that exhibited the best characteristics (a biotin pyridocarboxamide derivative with high stabilization of an intramolecular quadruplex and excellent duplex-quadruplex specificity) was used as bait for in vitro selection (SELEX). Among 80 DNA aptamer sequences selected, only a small minority (5/80) exhibited G4-prone motifs. Binding of consensus cand... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956519 Mon, 30 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4956518&cid=s_34544_60_f&fid=34544&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fentrez%2Fquery.fcgi%3Ftmpl%3DNoSidebarfile%26db%3DPubMed%26cmd%3DRetrieve%26list_uids%3D21664225%26dopt%3DAbstract Authors: Vitagliano L, Fiume G, Scognamiglio PL, Doti N, Cannavò R, Puca A, Pedone C, Scala G, Quinto I, Marasco D Protein-protein interactions play fundamental roles in physiological and pathological biological processes. The characterization of the structural determinants of protein-protein recognition represents an important step for the development of molecular entities able to modulate these interactions. We have recently found that IκB-α (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha) blocks the HIV-1 expression and replication in a NF-κB-independent manner by directly binding to the virus-encoded Tat transactivator. Here, we report the evaluation of the entity of binding of IκB-α to Tat through in vitro Surface Plasmon Resonance assay... Biochimie journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4956518 Mon, 30 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4956518