Purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) are metalloenzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of phosphate esters under acidic conditions. Their active site contains a Fe(III)Fe(II) metal centre in mammals and a Fe(III)Zn(II) or Fe(III)Mn(II) metal centre in plants. In humans, elevated PAP levels in serum str...

A benzyloxycarbonyl protected glycine equivalent 2 has been prepared in enantiopure form and has been used in the synthesis of both α-substituted amino acids and α,α-disubstituted amino acids. The process involved deprotonation to form the corresponding enolates which underwent stereoselectiv...

(E)-β-Arylvinyl bromides were stereoselectively prepared in high yields by microwave irradiation of the corresponding anti-3-aryl-2,3-dibromopropanoic acids in AcOH in the presence of AgOAc for 0.5–3.0 min.

The formation and disappearance of acrylamide in binary and ternary mixtures of asparagine (or acrylamide), carbonyl compounds and amino acid derivatives was studied in an attempt to understand the different reactions produced in mixtures of carbonyl compounds and amino acids. The carbonyl compo...

The decarboxylative carbon-carbon bond formation reaction of β-ketoacid derivatives with isatylidene malononitrile derivatives catalyzed by DBU afford adducts in excellent yield. The desired product can be easily isolated using simple filtration method without performing any column chromatograp...

Ethyl (S)-3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropionate (S)-2 was obtained by the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 3-phenyl-3-oxopropionate 1 with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ATCC 9080). The kinetic resolution of racemic ethyl 2-acetoxy-3-phenyl-propionate rac-3 with the same microorganism, gave after hydro...

The present study evaluated four laticifer fluids as a novel source of peptidases capable of hydrolyzing proteins in cow’s milk. The latex peptidases from Calotropis procera (CpLP), Cryptostegia grandiflora (CgLP), and Carica papaya (CapLP) were able to perform total hydrolysis of caseins after...

The Ubx and abd-A gene products are required for proper development of thoracic and abdominal structures in Drosophila. We expressed LexA-Ubx and LexA-abdA fusion proteins in yeast. These proteins activated expression of target genes that carried either upstream LexA operators or upstream Ubx bi...

Recombinant antibody fragments belong to the promising class of biopharmaceuticals with high potential for future therapeutic applications. However, due to their small size they are rapidly cleared from circulation. Binding to serum proteins can be an effective approach to improve pharmacokineti...

The etiology of Adynamic Bone Disease (ABD) is poorly understood but the hallmark of ABD is a lack of bone turnover. ABD occurs in renal osteodystrophy (ROD) and is suspected to occur in elderly patients on long-term anti-resorptive therapy. A major clinical concern of ABD is diminished bone qua...

SummaryTranscription activation domains (ADs) are inherently disordered proteins that often target multiple coactivator complexes, but the specificity of these interactions is not understood. Efficient transcription activation by yeast Gcn4 requires its tandem ADs and four activator-binding doma...

Recent developments in molecular evolution technologies have led to novel types of high-affinity recombinant protein binders (PB) able to substitute antibodies in many diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Despite almost a decade of research, they have so far only been sporadically used for b...

Bombesin, a pan agonist of the bombesin-like peptide receptor family, elicits potent hypothermia when applied centrally. The signaling mechanisms involved are not known. Here we report that GABAergic preoptic neurons express gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) receptors and are directly excited by G...

Genes of the diffuse neuroendocrine system are often widely expressed. We are studying a newly discovered peptide gene, preoptic regulatory factor 1 (porf-1). In the rat, porf-1 has been shown to be a unique, single-copy gene. Although its exact function remains unknown, porf-1 encodes a gonadot...

Preoptic regulatory factor-1 (porf-1) and preoptic regulatory factor-2 (porf-2) are two novel neuropeptide genes expressed in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues. Other studies have shown that these genes may play a role in steroid-dependent brain development and functions. In this...

The preoptic regulatory factors, PORF-1 and PORF-2, were originally detected as cDNAs from the rat preoptic area of the hypothalamus. Expression of the messenger RNAs is dependent on age, gender and hormonal status. PORF-1 is a putative transcription factor while PORF-2 affects cell growth. Howe...

The FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of 5-amino-2-nitrobenzoic acid (ANB) have been recorded in the region 400–4000 cm−1. The observed frequencies were assigned to different modes of vibrations on the basis of fundamental, combination and overtones. The geometry has been optimized with complete relaxa...

An antibiotic lissoclinolide has been synthesized from propargyl alcohol in 9 steps and in 32% overall yieldvia (i) hydrogen transfer hydrozirconation of TBS-protected propargyl alcohol withi-BuZrCp2Cl, (ii) Pd-catalyzedtrans-selective cross coupling of the hydrozirconation product with a key 1,...

Lissoclinolide, 1, which is an antibiotic butenolide isolated from a Tuncate, has been synthesized stereoselectively by a reaction sequence in which the Ag(I)-catalyzed lactonization of (2E,6E)-2-bromo-8-hydroxy-2,6-octadien-4-ynoic acid, (E,E)-13, and the Pd/Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction...

Lissoclinolide is a small non-nitrogenous lactone isolated from the marine ascidian Lissoclinum patella. Previous studies of lissoclinolide (isolated from a fungus and an actinomycete) have identified varying activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. In this study, lissocli...