Sunflower Trypsin Monocyclic Inhibitor Selected for the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 by Phage Display.

Main protease (Mpro), also known as 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), is a nonstructural protein (NSP5) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the cleavage of virus polyproteins during viral replication at 11 sites, which generates 12 functional proteins. Mpro is a cysteine protease that presents specificity for the amino acid residue glutamine (Gln) at the P1 position of the substrate. Due to its essential role in processing the viral polyprotein for viral particle formation (assembly), Mpro inhibition has become an important tool to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), since Mpro inhibitors act as antivirals.

The protein map of the protozoan parasite Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum during growth phase transition and temperature stress.

Leishmania parasites cause a spectrum of diseases termed leishmaniasis, which manifests in two main clinical forms, cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Leishmania promastigotes transit from proliferative exponential to quiescent stationary phases inside the insect vector, a relevant step that recapitulates early molecular events of metacyclogenesis. During the insect blood meal of the mammalian hosts, the released parasites interact initially with the skin, an event marked by temperature changes.

The inflammatory response of the supraspinatus muscle in rotator cuff tear conditions.

Background: Rotator cuff (RC) disorders involve a spectrum of shoulder conditions from early tendinopathy to full-thickness tears leading to impaired shoulder function and pain. The pathology of RC disorder is, nonetheless, still largely unknown. Our hypothesis is that a supraspinatus (SS) tendon tear leads to sustained inflammatory changes of the SS muscle along with fatty infiltration and muscle degeneration, which are threshold markers for poor RC muscle function.

Protein glycosylation in spp.

Protein glycosylation is a co- and post-translational modification that, in Leishmania parasites, plays key roles in vector-parasite-vertebrate host interaction. In the mammalian host, Leishmania protein glycosylation is involved in virulence, host cell invasion, and immune evasion and modulation. The Leishmania glycocalyx is composed by a dense array of glycoconjugates including lipophosphoglycan, glycoinositolphospholipids, glycoproteins and proteophosphoglycans which varies in composition between Leishmania species and developmental stages.

Influence of estrogen and variations at the BRCA1 promoter region on transcription and translation.

We analyzed wild-type (WT) and four sequence variants of the BRCA1 promoter region-found in patients selected for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome-in respect to their influence on transcription and translation efficiencies in transient transfection assays in the presence or absence of estrogen. Five types of plasmids containing the EGFP reporter gene proceeded by WT 5'UTR-a, WT 5'UTR-b, and the three 5'UTR-b variants were constructed to evaluate their influence on translation. Plasmids containing the firefly luciferase reporter gene were constructed with the WT BRCA1 promoter region (containing promoter α, 5'UTR-a, promoter β, and 5'UTR-b) and with the four promoter variants for evaluating their influence on transcription and translation.

Interrelationship between ATP-binding cassette transporters and oxysterols.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters constitute a ubiquitous superfamily of membrane proteins responsible for the translocation of several substances across membranes using the chemical energy provided by ATP hydrolysis. ABC transporters participate in many physiological and pathophysiological processes, including cholesterol and lipid transportation and multidrug resistance. Oxysterols are the products of cholesterol oxidation, formed by both enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms.