Cooperative binding of bivalent ligands yields new insights into the guanidine-II riboswitch.

Riboswitches are involved in regulating the gene expression in bacteria. They are located within the untranslated regions of bacterial messenger RNA and function as switches by adjusting their shape, depending on the presence or absence of specific ligands. To decipher the fundamental aspects of bacterial gene control, it is therefore important to understand the mechanisms that underlie these conformational switches.

NAD Acts as a Protective Factor in Cellular Stress Response to DNA Alkylating Agents.

Sulfur mustard (SM) and its derivatives are potent genotoxic agents, which have been shown to trigger the activation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) and the depletion of their substrate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential molecule involved in numerous cellular pathways, including genome integrity and DNA repair, and thus, NAD supplementation might be beneficial for mitigating mustard-induced (geno)toxicity. In this study, the role of NAD depletion and elevation in the genotoxic stress response to SM derivatives, i.