Four of the most common mutations in primary hyperoxaluria type 1 unmask the cryptic mitochondrial targeting sequence of alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase encoded by the polymorphic minor allele.

The gene encoding the liver-specific peroxisomal enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT, EC. 2.6.

The N-terminal extension is essential for the formation of the active dimeric structure of liver peroxisomal alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase.

Alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) is a pyridoxal-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme. Its deficiency causes the hereditary kidney stone disease primary hyperoxaluria type 1. AGT is a highly stable compact dimer and the first 21 residues of each subunit form an extension which wraps over the surface of the neighboring subunit.

d-Serine modulates neurogenic relaxation in rat corpus cavernosum.

d-Serine, an endogenous co-agonist for the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in mammals, is synthesized from l-serine by serine racemase. Although much attention has been focused on the role of d-serine within the central nervous system, the physiological role of d-serine in peripheral nerves such as corpus cavernosal nerves has not been investigated. The present study was aimed to study the expression, cellular localization and function of serine racemase/d-serine system in isolated rat corpus cavernosum.

Transgenic human CRP is not pro-atherogenic, pro-atherothrombotic or pro-inflammatory in apoE-/- mice.

The pathogenic significance, if any, of the epidemiological association between baseline C-reactive protein (CRP) values and future atherothrombotic events is not known. We therefore investigated spontaneous atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis, and systemic markers of inflammation (acute phase proteins), in aged, normal diet-fed, male apolipoprotein E deficient (apoE(-/-)) mice with and without transgenic expression of human CRP. At 18 months of age, aortic atherosclerosis was extensive but with no significant difference in plaque size between C57BL/6apoE(-/-) mice with (apoE(-/-)-hCRP(+)) and without transgenic human CRP (apoE(-/-)).

Tir phosphorylation and Nck/N-WASP recruitment by enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli during ex vivo colonization of human intestinal mucosa is different to cell culture models.

Tir, the translocated intimin receptor of enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC) and Citrobacter rodentium, is translocated into the host cell by a filamentous type III secretion system. Epithelial cell culture has demonstrated that Tir tyrosine phosphorylation is necessary for attaching effacing (A/E) lesion formation by EPEC and C. rodentium, but is not required by EHEC O157:H7.

A comparative analysis of the evolutionary relationship between diet and enzyme targeting in bats, marsupials and other mammals.

The subcellular distribution of the enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) in the livers of different mammals appears to be related to their natural diets. Thus, AGT tends to be mitochondrial in carnivores, peroxisomal in herbivores, and both mitochondrial and peroxisomal in omnivores. To what extent this relationship is an incidental consequence of phylogenetic structure or an evolutionarily meaningful adaptive response to changes in dietary selection pressure is unknown.

Differential enzyme targeting as an evolutionary adaptation to herbivory in carnivora.

Not all members of the order Carnivora are carnivorous. Some are omnivorous, and a few, such as the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, are almost exclusively herbivorous. Although a number of adaptations to increased plant-eating are recognized within Carnivora, few have been studied at the molecular level.