Cytosolic peroxidases protect the lysosome of bloodstream African trypanosomes from iron-mediated membrane damage.

African trypanosomes express three virtually identical non-selenium glutathione peroxidase (Px)-type enzymes which preferably detoxify lipid-derived hydroperoxides. As shown previously, bloodstream Trypanosoma brucei lacking the mitochondrial Px III display only a weak and transient proliferation defect whereas parasites that lack the cytosolic Px I and Px II undergo extremely fast lipid peroxidation and cell lysis. The phenotype can completely be rescued by supplementing the medium with the α-tocopherol derivative Trolox.

Identification by high-throughput in silico screening of radio-protecting compounds targeting the DNA-binding domain of the tumor suppressor p53.

Therapies targeting p53 mostly concentrate on (re)activation of the p53 protein, to further induce apoptosis in cancer cells. In the present investigations, the focus was on the identification of small molecules that block the DNA-binding domain of p53 and thus inhibit its function. Using high-throughput in silico screening of approximately 300,000 compounds, we identified eight putatively interacting with the DNA-binding domain of p53.