Publications by authors named "Laura M Lopez-Castillo"

Phlebia genus is a relevant group of fungi with a crucial role in numerous ecosystems. In tropical and subtropical areas this genus allows the efficient degradation of lignin and carbon recovery; however, the majority of these fungal species remain undiscovered. The main purpose of this work was to determine the enzymatic activity of extracellular proteins of a novel Phlebia floridensis strain isolated in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

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The development of novel cancer therapeutic strategies has garnered increasing interest in cancer research. Among the therapeutic choices, chemosensitizers have shown exciting prospects. Peptides are an attractive alternative among the molecules that may be used as chemosensitizers.

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Reactive oxidative species (ROS) and S-glutathionylation modulate the activity of plant cytosolic triosephosphate isomerases (cTPI). Arabidopsis thaliana cTPI (AtcTPI) is subject of redox regulation at two reactive cysteines that function as thiol switches. Here we investigate the role of these residues, AtcTPI-Cys13 and At-Cys218, by substituting them with aspartic acid that mimics the irreversible oxidation of cysteine to sulfinic acid and with amino acids that mimic thiol conjugation.

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In plants triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) interconverts glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) during glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the Calvin-Benson cycle. The nuclear genome of land plants encodes two genes, one gene product is located in the cytoplasm and the other is imported into the chloroplast. Herein we report the crystal structures of the TPIs from the vascular plant (AtTPIs) and address their enzymatic modulation by redox agents.

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The number of protein folds in nature is limited, thus is not surprising that proteins with the same fold are able to exert different functions. The cysteine protease inhibitors that adopt an immunoglobulin- like fold (Ig-ICPs) are inhibitors encoded in bacteria and protozoan parasites. Structural studies indicate that these inhibitors resemble the structure of archetypical proteins with an Ig fold, like antibodies, cadherins or cell receptors.

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7,8-Dihydro-8-deoxyguanine (8oG) is one of the most common oxidative lesions in DNA. DNA polymerases misincorporate an adenine across from this lesion. Thus, 8oG is a highly mutagenic lesion responsible for G:C→T:A transversions.

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Plant peroxidases (PODs) are involved in diverse physiological processes, including defense against pathogens and insects. Contrary to their biological importance, only very few plant PODs have been proven on protein level, because their low abundance makes them difficult to detect in standard proteomics work-flows. A statistically significant positive correlation between POD activity and post-harvest insect resistance has been found for maize (Zea mays, p84C3) kernels.

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