Search results for "PROTEASES"

Taspase1: a 'misunderstood' protease with translational cancer relevance

2015

Proteolysis is not only a critical requirement for life, but the executing enzymes also play important roles in numerous pathological conditions, including cancer. Therefore, targeting proteases is clearly relevant for improving cancer patient care. However, to effectively control proteases, a profound knowledge of their mechanistic function as well as their regulation and downstream signalling in health and disease is required. The highly conserved protease Threonine Aspartase1 (Taspase1) is overexpressed in numerous liquid and solid malignancies and was characterized as a 'non-oncogene addiction' protease. Although Taspase1 was shown to cleave various regulatory proteins in humans as well…

Optimization Strategy of Novel Peptide-Based Michael Acceptors for the Treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis

2019

This paper describes an optimization strategy of the highly active vinyl ketone 3 which was recognized as a strong inhibitor of rhodesain of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, endowed with a ksecond v...

In Vivo Modulation of Angiogenesis and Immune Response on a Collagen Matrix via Extracorporeal Shockwaves

2020

The effective management of tissue integration and immunological responses to transplants decisively co-determines the success of soft and hard tissue reconstruction. The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate the eligibility of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) with respect to its ability to modulate angiogenesis and immune response to a collagen matrix (CM) for tissue engineering in the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay, which is performed with fertilized chicken eggs. CM were placed on the CAM on embryonic development day (EDD) 7

Screening of Hanseniaspora Strains for the Production of Enzymes with Potential Interest for Winemaking

2015

Some non-Saccharomyces yeasts, including Hanseniaspora, participate in the first stages of wine fermentation. Besides their importance in the wine production process some of these yeasts have been described to be potential producers of hydrolytic enzymes to industrial level. In this work, we pretend to evaluate the technological abilities of the Hanseniaspora strains deposited in the Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT). First of all, we considered verification of the correct identification of the strains using several miniaturized biochemical systems and molecular techniques (PCR, RFLP and sequencing of the ribosomal D1/D2 region). The results allowed us to verify the correct adscription…

2020

The facile synthesis and detailed investigation of a class of highly potent protease inhibitors based on 1,4-naphthoquinones with a dipeptidic recognition motif (HN-l-Phe-l-Leu-OR) in the 2-position and an electron-withdrawing group (EWG) in the 3-position is presented. One of the compound representatives, namely the acid with EWG = CN and with R = H proved to be a highly potent rhodesain inhibitor with nanomolar affinity. The respective benzyl ester (R = Bn) was found to be hydrolyzed by the target enzyme itself yielding the free acid. Detailed kinetic and mass spectrometry studies revealed a reversible covalent binding mode. Theoretical calculations with different density functionals (DFT…

Two proteases from nuclei of rat testis cells. I. Isolation

1987

Abstract Two proteases, assayed with fluorogenic peptides and tentatively designated Rc and Kc, have been isolated from nuclei of rat testis cells by differential extraction with acetic acid, removal of some proteins at pH 4.5, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by electroblotting onto nitrocellulose paper. Protease R hydrolyzes t‐Butyl‐oxycarbonyl‐Val‐Pro‐Arg‐7‐amino‐4‐methyl‐coumarin and other peptides in which arginine is joined to 7‐amino‐4‐methyl‐coumarin by amide linkage. Protease Kc has a preference for peptides terminating in lysine‐7‐amino‐4‐methylcoumarin amide. Neither of these proteases is active against Glu‐Phe‐7‐amino‐4‐methyl‐coumarin amide or Carbobenzoxy‐Arg‐7‐…

Identification, Characterization and Synthesis of Natural Parasitic Cysteine Protease Inhibitors – More Potent Falcitidin Analogs

2021

ABSTRACTProtease inhibitors represent a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of parasitic diseases such as malaria and human African trypanosomiasis. Falcitidin was the first member of a new class of inhibitors of falcipain-2, a cysteine protease of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Using a metabolomics dataset of 25 Chitinophaga strains for molecular networking enabled identification of over 30 natural analogs of falcitidin. Based on MS/MS spectra, they vary in their amino acid chain length, sequence, acyl residue, and C-terminal functionalization; therefore, they were grouped into the four falcitidin peptide families A-D. The isolation, characterization and absolute st…

Biotechnological characterisation of exocellular proteases produced by enologicalHanseniasporaisolates

2014

Summary Twenty-six enological Hanseniaspora isolates were identified by ITS PCR-RFLP and D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA sequencing and assayed for exocellular protease production. Based on qualitative data, six isolates, belonging to H. guilliermondii, H. valbyensis and H. occidentalis species, were selected to continue the study. Analytical procedure was optimised, and protease activities were quantified and characterised on the basis of different biotechnological factors. Protease activity was quite glucose, fructose and ethanol content independent, but divalent cation affects activity; these data support that they were aspartic proteases. The effect of 2-mercaptoethanol suggests the importance…

Two proteases from nuclei of rat testis cells. II. Inhibitors

1987

Abstract Proteases Rc and Kc of the nuclei of rat testis cells exhibit considerable differences in susceptibility to various protease inhibitors. Protease Rc is inhibited by D‐phenylalanyl‐L‐propyl‐L‐arginine chlormethylketone and p‐nitrophenyl‐p1‐guanidino ben‐zoate. Protease Kc is inhibited by Nα‐p‐tosyl‐L‐lysine chlormethylketone, N‐p‐tosyl‐phenylalanine chlormethylketone, N‐carbobenzoxy‐L‐phenylalanine chloromethylketone and p‐nitrophenyl‐p'‐guanidino‐benzoate. Neither protease is inhibited by 10 mM phenylmethanesulphonyl‐fluoride or p‐chloromercuri‐benzoate. p‐nitrophenyl‐p1‐guanidino‐benzoate is a substrate for protease Rc with release of p‐nitrophenol, however the protease activity i…

Melatonin stimulates the nonamyloidogenic processing ofβAPP through the positive transcriptional regulation of ADAM10 and ADAM17

2014

Melatonin controls many physiological functions including regulation of the circadian rhythm and clearance of free radicals and neuroprotection. Importantly, melatonin levels strongly decrease as we age and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) display lower melatonin than age-matched controls. Several studies have reported that melatonin can reduce aggregation and toxicity of amyloid-β peptides that are produced from the β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP). However, whether melatonin can directly regulate the βAPP-cleaving proteases ('secretases') has not been investigated so far. In this study, we establish that melatonin stimulates the α-secretase cleavage of βAPP in cultured neuronal an…