Search results for "Epsin"
showing 10 items of 218 documents
Cathepsin D: A possible biochemical marker for anthracycline cardiomyopathy
1987
This study was carried out in an attempt to assess the pattern of cathepsin D variations induced by Doxorubicin (DXR) and to clarify the role possibly played by this endopeptidase in the onset of anthracyclines-induced cardiotoxicity. We evaluated the variations in both total and 'sedimentable' enzyme activity of cathepsin D in the heart of mice treated once a week for up to 8 weeks with DXR (4 mg/kg i.v.b.wt.) and sacrificed 12h, 3 and 6 days after 1, 4, 5 and 8 administrations. Our results show that significant but transitory changes in both total and sedimentable activity of cathepsin D occur after each administration and decline after prolonged treatments. These data do not suggest, but…
From In Silico to Experimental Validation: Tailoring Peptide Substrates for a Serine Protease.
2020
Smart nanocarriers for the transport of drugs to tumor cells are nowadays of great interest for treating cancer. The use of enzymatic stimuli to cleave peptide-based drug nanocapsules for the selective release of nanocapsule cargo in close proximity to tumor cells opens new possibilities in cancer research. In the present work, we demonstrate a methodology for finding and optimizing cleavable substrate sequences by the type II transmembrane serine protease hepsin, which is highly overexpressed in prostate cancer. The design and screening of combinatorial libraries in silico against the binding cavity of hepsin allow the identification of a panel of promising substrates with high-calculated …
Loss of endocytic clathrin-coated pits upon acute depletion of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate.
2007
Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5) P 2 ], a phosphoinositide concentrated predominantly in the plasma membrane, binds endocytic clathrin adaptors, many of their accessory factors, and a variety of actin-regulatory proteins. Here we have used fluorescent fusion proteins and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy to investigate the effect of acute PI(4,5) P 2 breakdown on the dynamics of endocytic clathrin-coated pit components and of the actin regulatory complex, Arp2/3. PI(4,5) P 2 breakdown was achieved by the inducible recruitment to the plasma membrane of an inositol 5-phosphatase module through the rapamycin/FRB/FKBP system or by treatment with ionomycin. PI(4,5)…
Siliceous spicules in marine demosponges (example Suberites domuncula)
2005
All metazoan animals comprise a body plan of different complexity. Since-especially based on molecular and cell biological data-it is well established that all metazoan phyla, including the Porifera (sponges), evolved from a common ancestor the search for common, basic principles of pattern formation (body plan) in all phyla began. Common to all metazoan body plans is the formation of at least one axis that runs from the apical to the basal region; examples for this type of organization are the Porifera and the Cnidaria (diploblastic animals). It seems conceivable that the basis for the formation of the Bauplan in sponges is the construction of their skeleton by spicules. In Demospongiae (w…
Self-healing, an intrinsic property of biomineralization processes
2013
The sponge siliceous spicules are formed enzymatically via silicatein, in contrast to other siliceous biominerals. Originally, silicatein had been described as a major structural protein of the spicules that has the property to allow a specific deposition of silica onto their surface. More recently, it had been unequivocally demonstrated that silicatein displays a genuine enzyme activity, initiating and maintaining silica biopolycondensation at low precursor concentrations (<2 mM). Even more, as silicatein becomes embedded into the biosilica polymer, formed by the enzyme, it retains its functionality to enable a controlled biosilica deposition. The protection of silicatein through the biosi…
Marine Anticancer Agents: An Overview with a Particular Focus on Their Chemical Classes
2020
The marine environment is a rich source of biologically active molecules for the treatment of human diseases, especially cancer. The adaptation to unique environmental conditions led marine organisms to evolve di erent pathways than their terrestrial counterparts, thus producing unique chemicals with a broad diversity and complexity. So far, more than 36,000 compounds have been isolated from marine micro- and macro-organisms including but not limited to fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, corals, mollusks and tunicates, with hundreds of new marine natural products (MNPs) being discovered every year.Marine-based pharmaceuticals have started to impactmodern pharmacology and diff…
Evanescent wave-initiated photopolymerisation as a new way to create monolithic open-tubular capillary columns: use as enzymatic microreactor for on-…
2010
Evanescent wave-initiated photopolymerisation in an optically wave guiding PTFE-coated fused silica capillary using light-emitting diode as a light source, is established here as a way to fabricate monolithic porous layer open-tubular capillary columns with a potential in capillary separation methods; application of the obtained open-tubular columns as enzymatic microreactors for on-line protein digestion is demonstrated.
Microarray mRNA expression analysis of Fanconi anemia fibroblasts.
2007
Fanconi anemia (FA) cells are generally hypersensitive to DNA cross-linking agents, implying that mutations in the different <i>FANC</i> genes cause a similar DNA repair defect(s). By using a customized cDNA microarray chip for DNA repair- and cell cycle-associated genes, we identified three genes, cathepsin B (<i>CTSB</i>), glutaredoxin (<i>GLRX</i>), and polo-like kinase 2 (<i>PLK2</i>), that were misregulated in untreated primary fibroblasts from three unrelated FA-D2 patients, compared to six controls. Quantitative real-time RT PCR was used to validate these results and to study possible molecular links between FA-D2 and other FA subtypes.…
Analysis of the axial filament in spicules of the demosponge Geodia cydonium: different silicatein composition in microscleres (asters) and megascler…
2007
The skeleton of the siliceous sponges (Porifera: Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) is supported by spicules composed of bio-silica. In the axial canals of megascleres, harboring the axial filaments, three isoforms of the enzyme silicatein (-alpha, -beta and -gamma) have been identified until now, using the demosponges Tethya aurantium and Suberites domuncula. Here we describe the composition of the proteinaceous components of the axial filament from small spicules, the microscleres, in the demosponge Geodia cydonium that possesses megascleres and microscleres. The morphology of the different spicule types is described. Also in G. cydonium the synthesis of the spicules starts intracellularly …
Synthesis of phosphono dipeptides, inhibitors of cathepsin C
1998
Abstract Phosphono dipeptides containing glycine, glycylglycine or L-alanine at N-termini and racemic phosphonic acid analogues of aromatic amino acids, as well as racemic alicyclic aminophosphonates, exhibit moderate inhibitory activity towards cathepsin C. This activity is probably due to the binding of the phosphonate moiety by a positively charged part of the enzyme which is complementary to the carboxylate part of the synthetic dipeptide products of the enzymatic reaction.