Small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) ADP-ribosylation factors (Arfs) regulate membrane traffic and actin reorganization under the strict control of GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). ARAP1 (Arf GAP with Rho GAP domain, ankyrin repeat and PH domain 1) is an Arf GAP molecule with multiple PH domains that recognize PI(3,4,5)P(3). We found that growth ...

In the Escherichia coli ClpXP protease, a hexameric ClpX ring couples ATP binding and hydrolysis to mechanical protein unfolding and translocation into the ClpP degradation chamber. Rigid-body packing between the small AAA+ domain of each ClpX subunit and the large AAA+ domain of its neighbor stabilizes the hexamer. By connecting ...

Purine-beta-lactam chimera were prepared as a novel class of hybrid systems through N-alkylation of 6-benzylamino- or 6-benzyloxypurine with (omega-haloalkyl)-beta-lactams, followed by reductive ring opening of the beta-lactam ring by LiEt3BH to provide an entry into the class of purine-aminopropanol hybrids. Both new types of hybrid systems were assessed in terms ...

The proton pore of the F(1)F(o) ATP synthase consists of a ring of c subunits, which rotates, driven by downhill proton diffusion across the membrane. An essential carboxylate side chain in each subunit provides a proton-binding site. In all the structures of c-rings reported to date, these sites are in ...

The RING-finger peroxins Pex2p, Pex10p and Pex12p are central components of the peroxisomal matrix protein import machinery. The RING-domain enables each of these proteins to exhibit ubiquitin-protein-ligase (E3) activity, which has been linked to ubiquitin-dependent regulation of the peroxisomal import receptor Pex5p. The RING-peroxins are thought to form a heteromeric ...

A series of new photochromic fused-naphthopyrans with an alkyl bridge between the pyran ring and the naphthalenic core was synthesized in several steps from 4-(bromomethyl)benzocoumarin. The presence of the alkyl bridge in these new fused-naphthopyrans prevents the formation of one long-lived photoisomer and therefore has a dramatic effect on their ...

RING E3 ligases are proteins that must selectively recruit an E2 conjugating enzyme and facilitate ubiquitin transfer to a substrate. It is not clear how a RING E3 ligase differentiates a naked E2 enzyme from the E2~ubiquitin conjugated form or how this is altered upon ubiquitin transfer. RING-box protein 1 ...

In this study, we obtained over 4,000 transposon mutants of Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 and analyzed one of the mutants, 8F7, which appeared to lose its ability to degrade pyrene while still being able to degrade fluoranthene. This mutant was identified defective in nidA, encoding an aromatic ring hydroxylating oxygenase (RHO), ...

Wild-type naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 transforms relatively planar flavone and isoflavone to cis-dihydrodiols. However, this enzyme cannot catalyze the transformation of flavanone and isoflavanone in which a phenyl group bonds to the stereogenic C2 or C3 of the C-ring. Protein modeling suggested that Phe224 in ...

Mdm2 can mediate p53 ubiquitylation and degradation either in the form of the Mdm2 homodimer or Mdm2/MdmX heterodimer. The ubiquitin ligase activity of these complexes resides mainly in their respective RING finger domains and also requires adjacent C-terminal tails. So far, structural studies have failed to show significant differences between ...

ABSTRACT: Ubiquitin signaling pathways rely on E3 ligases for effecting the final transfer of ubiquitin from E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzymes to a protein target. Here we re-evaluate the hybrid RING/HECT mechanism used by the E3 family RING-between-RINGs (RBRs) to transfer ubiquitin to substrates. We place RBRs into the context of ...

The goal of this study was to examine fibril formation by the heterodimeric eukaryotic histones (H2A-H2B and H3-H4) and homodimeric archaeal histones (hMfB and hPyA1). The histone fold dimerization motif is an obligatorily domain-swapped structure comprised of two fused helix:β-loop:helix motifs. Domain swapping has been proposed as a mechanism for ...

Serpins are protease inhibitors that play essential roles in the down-regulation of extracellular proteolytic cascades. The core serpin domain is highly conserved, and typical serpins are encoded with a molecular size of 35 kDa to 50 kDa. Here, we describe a novel 93 kDa protein that contains two complete, tandemly ...

The myriad pathologies leading to and resulting from atrial fibrillation (AF) have led to many theories regarding how substrate should be defined and how to reconcile substrate ablation with trigger ablation. The identification of spatiotemporally stable areas of very low amplitude short cycle length CFAE in a sea of otherwise ...

In Escherichia coli, each subunit of the trimeric channel protein AmtB carries a hydrophobic pore for transport of NH(4)(+) across the cytoplasmic membrane. Positioned along this substrate conduction pathway are two conserved elements--a pair of hydrogen-bonded histidines (H168/H318) located within the pore itself and a set of aromatic residues (F107/W148/F215) ...

Peptidoglycan was previously thought to be predominantly cross-linked by serine D,D-transpeptidases that are the target of β-lactam antibiotics. However, unrelated cysteine L,D-transpeptidases have been recently recognized as a predominant mode of peptidoglycan cross-linking in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and as a by-pass mechanism conferring resistance to all β-lactams, except carbapenems such as ...

Organogenesis involves a series of dynamic morphogenesis and remodeling processes. Since feathers exhibit complex forms, we have been using the feather as a model to analyze how molecular pathways and cellular events are used. While several major molecular pathways have been studied, the roles of matrix degrading proteases and inhibitors ...

Ibudilast [1-(2-isopropylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridin-3-yl)-2-methylpropan-1-one] is a nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor used clinically to treat asthma. Efforts to selectively develop the PDE3- and PDE4-inhibitory activity of ibudilast led to replacement of the isopropyl ketone by a pyridazinone heterocycle. Structure-activity relationship exploration in the resulting 6-(pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridin-3-yl)pyridazin-3(2H)-ones revealed that the pyridazinone lactam functionality is a critical ...

Our current study reports the first K(M) optimization of a library of nitrophenylphosphate-containing substrates for generating an inhibitor lead against the Yersinia pestis outer protein phosphatase (YopH). A high activity substrate identified by this method (K(M) = 80 μM) was converted from a substrate into an inhibitor by replacement of ...

Cathepsin X is a lysosomal cysteine protease that functions as a carboxypeptidase with broad substrate specificity. Cathepsin X was discovered only recently, and its physiological roles are still not well understood. A number of studies suggest that cathepsin X may be involved in a variety of biological processes, including cancer, ...

A 3-amino-4-substituted pyrrolidine series of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors was rapidly developed into a candidate series by identification of a polar valerolactam replacement for the lipophilic 2,4,5-trifluorophenyl pharmacophore. The addition of a gem-difluoro substituent to the lactam improved overall DPP-4 inhibition and an efficient asymmetric route to 3,4-diaminopyrrolidines was ...

Hydrolysis of biologically inactive steroid sulfates to unconjugated steroids by steroid sulfatase (STS) is strongly implicated in rendering estrogenic stimulation to hormone-dependent cancers such as those of the breast. Considerable progress has been made in the past two decades with regard to the discovery, design and development of STS inhibitors. ...

A novel series of trisubstituted ureas has been identified as potent and selective mPGES-1 inhibitors. These compounds are selective over other prostanoid enzymes such as PGF synthase and TX synthase. This series of inhibitors was developed by lead optimization of a hit from an internal HTS campaign. Lead compound 42 ...

There has been considerable interest in the development of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) inhibitors since many of the PTP members are tightly associated with major human diseases including autoimmune disorders, diabetes and cancer. We report here a unique and rapid approach toward the development of novel PTP inhibitor entities based ...

More than 50 years after the introduction of the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, methotrexate, new antifolates have emerged and have been incorporated into the chemotherapeutic armamentarium. These include pralatrexate, with the same target as methotrexate, but with enhanced properties, and pemetrexed, with different enzyme targets and properties. Current synthetic efforts are ...

Bifunctional organocatalysts bearing an ammonium betaine framework have been developed as a new catalytic motif for the activation of carbon dioxide and epoxides to produce cyclic carbonates.

β-N-acetyl-D-hexosaminidase has been postulated to have a specialized function. However, the structural basis of this specialization is not yet established. OfHex1, the enzyme from the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis (one of the most destructive pests) has previously been reported to function merely in chitin degradation. Here the vital role ...

S6K1 (p70 S6 kinase-1) is thought to play a critical role in the development of obesity and insulin resistance, thus making it an attractive target in developing medicines for the treatment of these disorders. We describe a novel thiophene urea class of S6K inhibitors. The lead matter for the development ...

FR901464, a natural product isolated from a bacterium source, activates a reporter gene, inhibits pre-mRNA splicing, and shows antitumor activity. We previously reported the development of a more potent analogue, meayamycin, through the total synthesis of FR901464. Herein, we report detailed structure-activity relationships of FR901464 that revealed the significance of ...

FR901464, a natural product isolated from a bacterium source, activates a reporter gene, inhibits pre-mRNA splicing, and shows antitumor activity. We previously reported the development of a more potent analogue, meayamycin, through the total synthesis of FR901464. Herein, we report detailed structure-activity relationships of FR901464 that revealed the significance of ...

The insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) localized in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning is emerging as a new promising therapeutic target for the treatment of memory dysfunctions. The angiotensin II metabolite angiotensin IV (Ang IV, Val(1)-Tyr(2)-Ile(3)-His(4)-Pro(5)-Phe(6)) binds with high affinity to IRAP and inhibits this aminopeptidase (K(i) = ...

Previous efforts by our group have established pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine as a viable core for the development of potent and selective CDK inhibitors. As part of an effort to utilize the pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine core as a template for the design and synthesis of potent and selective kinase inhibitors, we focused on a key ...

Candida albicans exo-β-1,3-glucanase (Exg; EC 3.2.1.58) is implicated in cell wall β-D-glucan remodelling through its glucosyl hydrolase and/or transglucosylase activities. A pair of antiparallel phenylalanyl residues (F144 and F258) flank the entrance to the active site pocket. Various Exg mutants were studied using steady-state kinetics and crystallography aiming to understand ...

A proline-rich cytokine from neurosecretory granules of bovine neurohypophysis, 15 amino acids containing PRP-1 (Ala-Gly-Ala-Pro-Glu-Pro-Ala-Glu-Pro-Ala-Gln-Pro-Gly-Val-Tyr), had been demonstrated as a unique regulator of activity of neurons, strong antibacterial agent, and mediator of the hypothalamus-neurohypophysis-bone marrow-thymus axis, which participates in hematopoietic stem cells differentiation. In the present work it was shown ...

Acute ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) induces protection against cardiac ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) via post-translational modification of key proteins. Lysine (Lys) acetylation is an important regulator of protein function, but this type of modification has not been studied in the context of IPC. We investigated Lys acetylation in IPC and its upstream regulation ...

Two uncharacterized enzymes from the amidohydrolase superfamily belonging to cog1228 were cloned, expressed, and purified to homogeneity. The two proteins, Sgx9260c ( gi|44242006 ) and Sgx9260b ( gi|44479596 ), were derived from environmental DNA samples originating from the Sargasso Sea. The catalytic function and substrate profiles for Sgx9260c and Sgx9260b ...

Although early studies of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) suggested that cIAP1 directly binds and inhibits caspases similarly to X-linked IAP (XIAP), a recent one found that micromolar concentrations of cIAP1 only weakly inhibit caspase-3, -7, or -9. Here, we show that cIAP1 specifically and cooperatively blocks the cytochrome c-dependent ...

The shikimate pathway, responsible for aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, is required for the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a potential drug target. The first reaction is catalyzed by 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase (DAH7PS). Feedback regulation of DAH7PS activity by aromatic amino acids controls shikimate pathway flux. Whereas Mycobacterium tuberculosis DAH7PS ...

HIV-1 integrase (IN) is indispensable for HIV-1 replication and has become a validated target for developing anti-AIDS agents. In two decades of development of IN inhibition-based anti-HIV therapeutics, a significant number of compounds were identified as IN inhibitors, but only some of them showed antiviral activity. This article reviews a ...

Human airway trypsin-like protease (HAT), also referred to as TMPRSS11D, is an important physiological enzyme with the main activity pronounced in an airway. In this work we have described the substrate specificity and selectivity study of the protease, performed by the combinatorial approach. Fluorogenic/chromogenic tetrapeptide library was used for this ...

Aspartic proteases Cathepsin (Cath) E and D are two different proteases, but they share many common characteristics, including molecular weight, catalytic mechanism, substrate preferences, proteolytic conditions and inhibition susceptibility. To define the biological roles of these proteases, it is necessary to elucidate their substrate specificity. In the present study, we ...

New endomorphin-2 (EM-2) analogues incorporating (Z)-alpha,beta-didehydrophenylalanine (Delta(Z)Phe) in place of the native phenylalanine in EM-2 are reported. Tyr-Pro-Delta(Z)Phe-Phe-NH(2) {[Delta(Z)Phe(3)]EM-2} (1), Tyr-Pro-Phe-Delta(Z)Phe-NH(2) {[Delta(Z)Phe(4)]EM-2} (2), and Tyr-Pro-Delta(Z)Phe-Delta(Z)Phe-NH(2) {[Delta(Z)Phe(3,4)]EM-2}(3) have been synthesized, their opioid receptor binding affinities and tissue bioassay activities were determined, and their conformational properties were examined. Compound 2 shows high ...

Histo-aspartic protease (HAP) from Plasmodium falciparum is an intriguing aspartic protease due to its unique structure. Our previous study reported the first recombinant expression of soluble HAP, in its truncated form (lys77p-Leu328) (p denotes prosegment), as a thioredoxin (Trx) fusion protein Trx-tHAP. The present study found that the recombinant Trx-tHAP ...

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer substrates were designed and tested as substrates for ADAM9. The donor/quencher pair used were 5-carboxy fluorescein (Fam) and 4-(4-dimethyl-aminophenylazo)benzoyl (Dabcyl) since they have been well studied sensitive fluorescent probes. The peptides based on precursor TNF-alpha, Dabcyl-Ser-Pro-Leu-Ala-Gln-Ala-Val-Arg-Ser-Ser-Lys(Fam)- NH2 and Dabcyl-Leu-Ala-Gln-Ala-HomoPhe-Arg-Ser-Lys(Fam)- NH2, and C-terminal TGF-alpha, Dabcyl-Glu-His-Ala-Asp-Leu-Leu-Ala-Val-Val-Ala-Ala-Lys(Fam)- NH2 cleavage ...

Synthesis of beta-alanine (beta-Ala) containing dipeptide using S9 aminopeptidase from Streptomyces thermocyaneoviolaceus NBRC14271 (S9AP-St) was demonstrated with beta-Ala-benzyl ester (-OBzl) and various L-aminoacyl derivatives. For synthesis of beta-Ala-containing dipeptide, beta-Ala-OBzl was used preferentially as the acyl donor for S9AP-St, producing synthesized dipeptides having beta-Ala-Xaa structure. In contrast, engineering of S9AP-St ...

New peptidic Michael acceptor based cysteine protease inhibitors displaying antiparasitic activity were identified by testing a broad series of 45 compounds in total, containing Asn, Gln, or Phe. As target enzymes, falcipain-2 and -3 from P. falciparum and rhodesain from T. b. rhodesiense were used. In the case of the ...

The rennet of glutinous rice wine (wine rennet) is an exclusive clotting agent for Chinese Royal cheese production. Some characterizations are reported herein in an attempt to provide evidence about the use of the protease as either a rennet substitute or an accelerator in cheese making and ripening. The results ...

BACKGROUND: Chitinase inhibitors have chemotherapeutic potential as fungicides, pesticides and antiasthmatics. The majority of chitinase inhibitors reported are natural products like argifin, argifin linear fragments, argadin, allosamidin and disulfide-cyclized peptides. Here, we report a novel peptidic inhibitor API (Aspartic Protease Inhibitor), isolated from Bacillus licheniformis that inhibits chitinase A (ChiA) ...

The role of the distal histidine in regulating ligand binding to adult human hemoglobin (HbA) was re-examined systematically by preparing His(E7) to Gly, Ala, Leu, Gln, Phe, and Trp mutants of both Hb subunits. Rate constants for O(2), CO, and NO binding were measured using rapid mixing and laser photolysis ...

An extracellular keratinase from Bacillus pumilus KS12 was purified by DEAE ion exchange chromatography. It was a 45 kDa monomer as determined by SDS PAGE analysis. It was found to be an alkaline, serine protease with pH and temperature optima of 10 and 60°C, respectively. It was thiol activated with two- ...