Search results for "Cattle"
showing 10 items of 608 documents
Evidence for Water-Tuned Structural Differences in Proteins: An Approach Emphasizing Variations in Local Hydrophilicity
2012
We present experimental evidence for the significant effect that water can have on the functional structure of proteins in solution. Human (HSA) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) have an amino acid sequence identity of 75.52% and are chosen as model proteins. We employ EPR-based nanoscale distance measurements using double electron-electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopy and both albumins loaded with long chain fatty acids (FAs) in solution to globally (yet indirectly) characterize the tertiary protein structures from the bound ligands' points of view. The complete primary structures and crystal structures of HSA and as of recently also BSA are available. We complement the picture as we have re…
Mechanisms of DNA damage by photoexcited 9-methyl-β-carbolines
2013
It has been well documented that β-carboline alkaloids, particularly the 9-methyl derivatives, are efficient photosensitizers. However, structure–activity relationships are missing and the photochemical mechanisms involved in the DNA photodamage still remain unknown. In the present work, we examined the capability of three 9-methyl-β-carbolines (9-methyl-norharmane, 9-methyl-harmane and 9-methylharmine) to induce DNA damage upon UVA excitation at physiological pH. The type and extent of the damage was analyzed together with the photophysical and binding properties of the β-carboline derivatives investigated. The results indicate that even at neutral pH most of the DNA damage is generated fr…
Spectroscopic studies of the interaction of 3-(2-thienyl)-[1,2,3]triazolo[1,5-a]pyridine with 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin and ctDNA
2016
The inclusion complexation behavior of 3-(2-thienyl)-[1,2,3]triazolo[1,5-a] pyridine (TTP) with native β-cyclodextrin and derivatized cyclodextrins was investigated. Stability constants for complexes with 1 : 1 molar ratios were calculated from phase solubility diagrams. The solubilizing efficiency of the TTP inclusion complex is enhanced in the order of DMβCD > HPβCD > βCD. The TTP-DMβCD inclusion complex was further characterized in solution by means of absorption, fluorescence, 2D NMR and molecular modeling methods. The thermodynamic studies indicate that the inclusion of TTP into the cyclodextrin cavity is mainly an enthalpy-driven process. The 2D NMR studies revealed that the thienyl m…
Structural requirements for V2 vasopressin receptor proteolytic cleavage.
1999
The ligand-induced proteolytic cleavage of the V2 vasopressin receptor transiently expressed in COS cells was investigated. After incubation of the cell membranes with a photoreactive ligand possessing full agonistic properties for V2 receptors, approximately 90% of the porcine and bovine V2 vasopressin receptors were cleaved in the upper part of transmembrane helix 2 at a heptapeptide sequence conserved in both vasopressin and oxytocin receptors. The oxytocin receptor was completely resistant to proteolysis after binding the same photoreactive ligand, which is only a partial agonist for this receptor. Chimeric V2/oxytocin receptors obtained by transfer of extracellular domains of the oxyto…
Electrostatic control of the photoisomerization efficiency and optical properties in visual pigments: on the role of counterion quenching.
2009
Hybrid QM(CASPT2//CASSCF/6-31G*)/MM(Amber) computations have been used to map the photoisomerization path of the retinal chromophore in Rhodopsin and explore the reasons behind the photoactivity efficiency and spectral control in the visual pigments. It is shown that while the electrostatic environment plays a central role in properly tuning the optical properties of the chromophore, it is also critical in biasing the ultrafast photochemical event: it controls the slope of the photoisomerization channel as well as the accessibility of the S(1)/S(0) crossing space triggering the ultrafast decay. The roles of the E113 counterion, the E181 residue, and the other amino acids of the protein pock…
Atomic structure of the major capsid protein of rotavirus: implications for the architecture of the virion
2001
The structural protein VP6 of rotavirus, an important pathogen responsible for severe gastroenteritis in children, forms the middle layer in the triple-layered viral capsid. Here we present the crystal structure of VP6 determined to 2 A resolution and describe its interactions with other capsid proteins by fitting the atomic model into electron cryomicroscopic reconstructions of viral particles. VP6, which forms a tight trimer, has two distinct domains: a distal beta-barrel domain and a proximal alpha-helical domain, which interact with the outer and inner layer of the virion, respectively. The overall fold is similar to that of protein VP7 from bluetongue virus, with the subunits wrapping …
3-acetylaltholactone and related styryl-lactones, mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitors.
2000
A novel furano-pyrone, 3-acetylaltholactone, and two other known styryl-lactones, altholactone and 5-acetoxyisogoniothalamin oxide, have been isolated from Goniothalamus arvensis (Annonaceae) stem bark. We report here the isolation and structural elucidation of these compounds with furane-pyrone and styryl-pyrone skeletons, postulating also for the first time their mechanism of cytotoxicity based on inhibition on mammalian mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Enantiospecific semisynthesis of (+)-almuheptolide-A, a novel natural heptolide inhibitor of the mammalian mitochondrial respiratory chain.
1998
The development of novel styryl lactone derivatives as bioactive compounds and the semisynthesis of both 4,5-dialkoxylated eight-membered-ring lactones with a heptolide skeleton (almuheptolide-A (1) type) and 7-alkoxylated delta-lactones with a saturated furanopyrone skeleton (etharvensin (8) type) have been successfully achieved from the chiral unsaturated alpha-pyrone altholactone (7). This new method is a direct and one-step enantiospecific alkoxylation of altholactone (7) in concentrated acid medium, followed by formation of the eight-membered-ring zeta-lactone. The reaction mechanism operating in the synthesis of the heptolide skeleton is postulated to be a direct Michael-type addition…
Development of Bimetallic Titanocene−Ruthenium−Arene Complexes As Anticancer Agents: Relationships between Structural and Biological Properties
2010
A series of bimetallic titanium-ruthenium complexes of general formula [(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(μ-η(5):κ(1)-C(5)H(4)(CR(2))(n)PR'R'')TiCl(2)](η(6)-p-cymene)RuCl(2) (n = 0, 1, 2 or 4; R = H or Me; R' = H, Ph, or Cy; R'' = Ph or Cy) have been synthesized, including two novel compounds as well as two cationic derivatives of formula [(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(μ-η(5):κ(1)-C(5)H(4)(CH(2))(n)PPh(2))TiCl(2)] [(η(6)-p-cymene)RuCl](BF(4)) (n = 0 or 2). The solid state structure of two of these compounds was also established by X-ray crystallography. The complexes showed a cytotoxic effect on human ovarian cancer cells and were markedly more active than their Ti or Ru monometallic analogues titanocene dichloride and RA…
Modeling of the role of conformational dynamics in kinetics of the antigen-antibody interaction in heterogeneous phase.
2012
[EN] A novel approach that may potentially be used to study biomolecular interactions including the simultaneous determination of structural and kinetic binding parameters is described in this Article for the first time. It allows a rigid distinction between the possible reaction mechanisms of biomolecular recognition, induced fit and conformational selection. The relative importance of the two pathways is determined not by comparing rate constants but the structural aspects of the interaction instead. So the exact location of antigen molecules with respect to the capture antibody is depicted experimentally, avoiding the use of X-ray crystallography. The proposed pattern is applied to study…