Search results for "PROTEASES"
showing 6 items of 196 documents
A new method to value efficiency of enzyme blends for pancreatic tissue digestion.
2010
Islet transplantation, since the 90’s, has been resulting to be one of the best successful example of human cell therapy. Nevertheless, islet isolation procedure is not completely standardized; in fact, more than fifty percent of islets procedures don’t arrive to their transplantation. This is due both to the variability of donor’s pancreas and to an unpredictable enzymatic blend efficiency. Enzymes used in pancreas digestion are extracted from Clostridium histolyticum bacteria and digest several substrates. In particular they have strong collagenolytic activity compared to vertebrate collagenases. However, several impediments persist in human islet isolation success probably due to the var…
Human Enterovirus Group B Viruses Rely on Vimentin Dynamics for Efficient Processing of Viral Nonstructural Proteins.
2019
A virus needs the host cell in order to replicate and produce new progeny viruses. For this, the virus takes over the host cell and modifies it to become a factory for viral proteins. Irrespective of the specific virus family, these proteins can be divided into structural and nonstructural proteins. Structural proteins are the building blocks for the new progeny virions, whereas the nonstructural proteins orchestrate the takeover of the host cell and its functions. Here, we have shown a mechanism that viruses exploit in order to regulate the host cell. We show that viral protein synthesis induces vimentin cages, which promote production of specific viral proteins that eventually control apo…
Proteolytic capacity in mouse cardiac muscle following strenuous exercise
1981
Proteolytic capacity in mouse cardiac muscle was analyzed 1, 3, and 6 days after exhaustive intermittent or submaximal prolonged running. No significant changes were recorded in the activities of acid or alkaline proteases, β-glucuronidase or trypsin inhibitor. Similarly, no changes were found in the rates of acid or neutral autolysis.
Matrix metalloproteinases in metabolic syndrome.
2011
Metabolic syndrome is commonly accompanied by an elevated cardiovascular risk with high morbidity and mortality. The alterations of the arterial vasculature begin with endothelial dysfunction and lead to micro- and macrovascular complications. The remodeling of the endothelial basal membrane, that promotes erosion and thrombosis, has a multifactorial pathogenesis that includes leukocyte activation, increased oxidative stress and also an altered matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression. MMPs are endopeptidases which degrade extracellular matrix proteins, such as collagen, gelatins, fibronectin and laminin. They can be secreted by several cells within the vascular wall, but macrophages are…
IAPs: more than just inhibitors of apoptosis proteins.
2008
Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are a conserved family of proteins identified in species ranging from virus, yeasts, nematodes, fishes, flies and mammals. The common structural feature is the presence of at least one Baculovirus IAP Repeat (BIR) domain. Hence, IAPs are also known as BIR-containing proteins (BIRCs). Most of them display anti-apoptotic properties when overexpressed. In drosophila, IAPs are sufficient and necessary to promote cell survival through a direct regulation of apoptotic proteases called caspases. In mammals, BIRC4/XIAP, the most studied IAP member can directly inhibit the activity of caspase-3, 7 and 9. However, this activity is not conserved in other IAPs an…
Synthesis and Molecular Modeling Studies of Derivatives of a Highly Potent Peptidomimetic Vinyl Ester as Falcipain-2 Inhibitors
2012
Herein we report the synthesis of a set of constrained peptidomimetics endowed with an electrophilic vinyl ester warhead and structurally related to a previously identified lead compound, a potent and irreversible inhibitor of falcipain-2 (FP-2). FP-2 is the main hemoglobinase of the malaria parasite P. falciparum. The new compounds were evaluated for their inhibition against FP-2, and the results were rationalized on the basis of docking experiments. These studies underscore the pivotal role of both the ester function at the P1' site and the trifluoromethyl group of the P3 side chain in determining the correct orientation of the Michael acceptor warhead in the catalytic site, and as a cons…