Isolation, Identification, and Characterization of L-asparaginase-Producing Human Commensal Bacterial Strains: A Promising Next-Gen Probiotics.

L-asparaginase is an FDA-approved drug for treating blood cancer, but its inherent antigenicity and L-glutaminase activity are associated with hypersensitivity and organ toxicity. Extracellularly produced glutaminase-free L-asparaginase from human commensal bacteria may be a good alternative to reduce the side effects of therapeutic L-asparaginase. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of fourteen L-asparaginase-producing bacterial strains belonging to the genera Acinetobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas from human stool and saliva samples.

Characterization of a novel 4-guanidinobutyrase from Candida parapsilosis.

Enzymes of the ureohydrolase superfamily are specific in recognizing their substrates. While looking to broaden the substrate specificity of 4-guanidinobutyrase (GBase), we isolated a yeast, typed as Candida parapsilosis (NCIM 3689), that efficiently utilized both 4-guanidinobutyrate (GB) and 3-guanidinopropionate (GP) as a sole source of nitrogen. A putative GBase sequence was identified from its genome upon pBLAST query using the GBase sequence from Aspergillus niger (AnGBase).

Structure-guided approach to modify the substrate specificity of the protein human deglycase-1 (hDJ-1).

Glycation is a non-enzymatic reaction wherein sugars or dicarbonyls such as methylglyoxal (MGO) and glyoxal (GO) react with proteins, leading to protein inactivation. The hydrolysing enzyme human deglycase-1 (hDJ-1) is reported to decrease glycative stress by deglycating the modified proteins, specifically at cysteine, lysine, and arginine sites. This specificity of hDJ-1 is thought to be regulated by its active site cysteine residue (Cys106).

Generating EQ-5D-5L health utility scores from BASDAI and BASFI: a mapping study in patients with axial spondyloarthritis using longitudinal UK registry data.

Background: Preference-based health-state utility values (HSUVs), such as the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), are needed to calculate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for cost-effectiveness analyses. However, these are rarely used in clinical trials of interventions in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). In these cases, mapping can be used to predict HSUVs.