Structures of an active-site mutant of a plant 1,3-β-glucanase in complex with oligosaccharide products of hydrolysis.

Plant endo-1,3-β-glucanases are involved in important physiological processes such as defence mechanisms, cell division and flowering. They hydrolyze (1→3)-β-glucans, with very limited activity towards mixed (1→3,1→4)-β-glucans and branched (1→3,1→6)-β-glucans. Here, crystal structures of the potato (Solanum tuberosum) endo-1,3-β-glucanase GLUB20-2 with the nucleophilic Glu259 residue substituted by alanine (E259A) are reported.

Two high-resolution structures of potato endo-1,3-β-glucanase reveal subdomain flexibility with implications for substrate binding.

Endo-1,3-β-glucanases are widely distributed among bacteria, fungi and higher plants. They are responsible for hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond in specific polysaccharides with tracts of unsubstituted β-1,3-linked glucosyl residues. The plant enzymes belong to glycoside hydrolase family 17 (GH17) and are also members of class 2 of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins.

[The investigations of the role of toll-like receptors (TLR) in host response to parasitic infection on the current background regarding TLR in mammals and the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans].

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are amongst the most highly conserved in the evolution of receptor family, being found in both immune and other cells. TLRs were observed in vascular endothelial cells, epithelial cells, microglia cells, adipocytes, and intestinal and renal cells. TLRs plays a key role in the innate immune response to a variety of pathogens.

[Effect in vitro of albendazole on the kinetics of cytosolic glutathione transferase from the rat liver].

Introduction: Since the idea of multifunctional mode of action of anthelmintics is considered and in experimental trichinellosis in vivo albendazole seems to act as an allosteric activator of cytosolic GST from mice muscles, in this study a termosensitivity after in vitro incubation with albendazole of purified commercial cytosolic glutathione transferase (GST) from the rat liver was investigated.

Methods: Two extremal temperatures: -80 degrees C and +30 degrees C were used to destroy the dimer in quaternary structure of this enzyme.

Results: In control preparations both extremal temperatures destroy this structure, so the Michaelis-Menten kinetic curves of substrate saturation show the typical hyperbolic shape.

Evaluation of effects of albendazole on the kinetics of cytosolic glutathione transferase in skeletal muscles during experimental trichinellosis in mice.

In this study, the effect of trichinellosis as well as the effect of albendazole treatment on the kinetics of substrate saturation of cytosolic glutathione transferase (GST) in the skeletal muscles from infected mice was examined because the idea of multifunctional mode of action of anthelmintic drugs was considered. Our results pointed out to the influence of trichinellosis and albendazole treatment on the quaternary structure of GST in mouse muscles. A double reciprocal plot of GST saturation in control mice was biphasic with apparent low and high K (m) values equal to 0.

[The intriguing influence of albendazole on glutathione reductase activity in the muscles from Trichinella spiralis infected mice].

A clear stimulation of the activity of glutathione reductase (RG, EC 1.6.4.

RNAi and viral vectors as useful tools in the functional genomics of plants. Construction of BMV-based vectors for RNA delivery into plant cells.

The sequencing of several complete genomes and the development of a DNA microarray technology are among the most important achievements of molecular biology. They gave the proper grounds for the development of modern functional genomics. However, there is one additional condition which needs to be satisfied to truely enable the study of how a genome works: a suitable method of selectively inducing and silencing the expression of each individual gene.