Search results for " enzyme"
showing 10 items of 791 documents
Blue Biotechnology and Cultural Heritage: case studies
2015
In order to promote innovative methodologies for conservation and restoration of historic-artistic manufacts, the efforts are focalized on the development of “sustainable” applications as alternatives to traditional restoration procedures, which can sometimes be detrimental for the artworks, humans and environment [1]. The role of Biotechnology in this field showed very useful applications for diagnosis of bio-deterioration of cultural assets, by an integrated methodology based on molecular and microbiological skills, and in bio-cleaning / bio-removing of organic/inorganic layers from artwork surfaces by enzymes or viable bacteria cells [2, 3]. In this work, bioactive molecules isolated fro…
Enzymatic biodiesel: Challenges and opportunities
2014
The chemical-catalyzed transesterification of vegetable oils to biodiesel has been industrially adopted due to its high conversion rates and low production time. However, this process suffers from several inherent drawbacks related to energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly processing steps such as catalyst and product recovery, and waste water treatment. This has led to the development of the immobilized enzyme catalyzed process for biodiesel production which is characterized by certain environmental and economical advantages over the conventional chemical method. These include room-temperature reaction conditions, elimination of treatment costs associated with recovery of chemical…
Phosphorylation of cytochromes P450: First discovery of a posttranslational modification of a drug-metabolizing enzyme
2005
Cytochromes P450 (CYP) are important components of xenobiotic-metabolizing monooxygenases (CYP-dependent monooxygenases). Their regulation by induction, most commonly by transcriptional activation, mediated by xenobiotics, normally substrates of the corresponding CYP, is well known and has been widely studied. Our team has discovered an additional important regulation of xenobiotic-metabolizing CYPs pertaining to posttranslational modification by phosphorylation. Individual CYPs are phosphorylated by different protein kinases, leading to CYP isoenzyme-selective changes in the metabolism of individual substrates and consequent drastic changes in the control of genotoxic metabolites. Best stu…
Bis(hydroxyphenyl)methane-bisphenol F-metabolism by the HepG2 human hepatoma cell line and cryopreserved human hepatocytes
2011
author cannot archive publisher's version/PDF; International audience; Bisphenol F (BPF) is present in the environment and as a contaminant of food. Humans may, therefore, be exposed to BPF, and an assessment of this risk is required. BPF has been shown to have genotoxic and endocrine-disruptor properties in a human hepatoma cell line (HepG2), which is a model system for studies of xenobiotic toxicity. In this study, we investigated the ability of HepG2 cells to biotransform BPF, because metabolism may affect the observed effects of BPF, and we compared this metabolic capacity with that of human hepatocytes. Cells were incubated for 24 hours with [(3)H]-BPF. The culture medium was then conc…
Profiling the physiological and molecular response to sulfonamidic drag in Procambarus clarkii
2014
Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is one of the most widely employed sulfonamides. Because of the widespread use of SMZ, a considerable amount is indeed expected to be introduced into the environment. The cytotoxicity of SMZ relies mainly on arylhydroxylamine metabolites (S-NOH) of SMZ and it is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is limited information about the toxic potential of SMZ at the cellular and molecular levels, especially in aquatic and/or non-target organisms. In the present study, the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), being tolerant to extreme environmental conditions and resistant to disease, was used as a model organism to profile the molecula…
POSTPRANDIAL HYPERGLYCEMIA IS A DETERMINANT OF PLATELET ACTIVATION IN EARLY 2 DIABETES MELLITUS
2010
BACKGROUND: Chronic hyperglycemia is a major contributor to in vivo platelet activation in diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, on platelet activation and its determinants in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Forty-eight subjects (26 males, aged 61 +/- 8 years) with early type 2 diabetes (baseline hemoglobin A(1c) < or = 7% and no previous hypoglycemic treatment) were randomly assigned to acarbose up to 100 mg three times a day or placebo, and evaluated every 4 weeks for 20 weeks. The main outcome measures were urinary 11-dehydro-thromboxane (TX)B(2) (marker of in vivo platelet activation) and 8-iso-prostaglandi…
Cathepsin L in metastatic bone disease: therapeutic implications
2010
AbstractCathepsin L is a lysosomal cysteine proteinase primarily devoted to the metabolic turnover of intracellular proteins. However, accumulating evidence suggests that this endopeptidase might also be implicated in the regulation of other important biological functions, including bone resorption in normal and pathological conditions. These findings support the concept that cathepsin L, in concert with other proteolytic enzymes involved in bone remodeling processes, could contribute to facilitate bone metastasis formation. In support of this hypothesis, recent studies indicate that cathepsin L can foster this process by triggering multiple mechanisms which, in part, differ from those of t…
Cylindromatosis (Cyld) gene mutation in T cells promotes the development of an IL-9-dependent allergic phenotype in experimental asthma
2016
Cylindromatosis (CYLD) is a ubiquitously expressed deubiquitinating enzyme which removes activating ubiquitin residues from important signaling molecules of the NF-κB pathway. In CYLDex7/8 transgenic mice, a naturally occurring short isoform (sCYLD) is overexpressed in the absence of full length CYLD, leading to excessive NF-κB activity. Herein, we investigated the impact of the CYLDex7/8 mutation selectively in T cells on the development of experimental allergic airway disease induced by sensitization and challenge with ovalbumin. Compared with their wildtype littermates, mice bearing the T cell-specific mutation (CD4+CYLDex7/8) display stronger eosinophilia and mucus production in the lun…