Molecular association of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase and pyruvate kinase M2 with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in cancer cells.

Background: For a long time cancer cells are known for increased uptake of glucose and its metabolization through glycolysis. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a key regulatory enzyme of this pathway and can produce ATP through oxidative level of phosphorylation. Previously, we reported that GAPDH purified from a variety of malignant tissues, but not from normal tissues, was strongly inactivated by a normal metabolite, methylglyoxal (MG).

Phosphorylation of Nonmuscle myosin II-A regulatory light chain resists Sendai virus fusion with host cells.

Enveloped viruses enter host cells through membrane fusion and the cells in turn alter their shape to accommodate components of the virus. However, the role of nonmuscle myosin II of the actomyosin complex of host cells in membrane fusion is yet to be understood. Herein, we show that both (-) blebbistatin, a specific inhibitor of nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) and small interfering RNA markedly augment fusion of Sendai virus (SeV), with chinese hamster ovary cells and human hepatocarcinoma cells.

Regulation of nonmuscle myosin II during 3-methylcholanthrene induced dedifferentiation of C2C12 myotubes.

3-Methylcholanthrene (3MC) induces tumor formation at the site of injection in the hind leg of mice within 110 days. Recent reports reveal that the transformation of normal muscle cells to atypical cells is one of the causes for tumor formation, however the molecular mechanism behind this process is not well understood. Here, we show in an in vitro study that 3MC induces fragmentation of multinucleate myotubes into viable mononucleates.

Modulation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity by surface functionalized quantum dots.

Enzymatic regulation is a fast and reliable diagnosis tool via identification and design of inhibitors for modulation of enzyme function. Previous reports on quantum dots (QDs)-enzyme interactions reveal a protein-surface recognition ability leading to promising applications in protein stabilization, protein delivery, bio-sensing and detection. However, the direct use of QDs to control enzyme inhibition has never been revealed to date.

Designing a simple organic salt-based supramolecular topical gel capable of displaying in vivo self-delivery application.

The supramolecular synthon approach has been exploited to design simple salt-based supramolecular gelators derived from a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) - naproxen; one such biocompatible anti-inflammatory gelator salt was converted into a topical gel that showed excellent in vivo self-delivery application in treating imiquimod (IMQ)-induced skin inflammation in mice.

Amphiphilic random copolymer vesicle induces differentiation of mouse C2C12 myoblasts.

Herein we report that vesicular assembly from a simple non-ionic amphiphilic random copolymer initiates extremely efficient myotube formation from C2C12 myoblast cells in standard growth media lacking horse serum. Control experiments with structurally related polymers and a small molecule suggest the absolute necessity of the vesicular assembly as well as the particular hydrophilic functionality in mediating such high yielding muscle cell generation. The LDH assay indicates that the membrane integrity is retained during cell-cell fusion.

β-Amino acid and amino-alcohol conjugation of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) imparts hydrogelation displaying remarkable biostability, biocompatibility, and anti-inflammatory properties.

A well-known nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), namely, naproxen (Np), was conjugated with β-alanine and various combinations of amino alcohols and l-alanine. Quite a few bioconjugates, thus synthesized, were capable of gelling pure water, NaCl solution (0.9 wt %), and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.

The effect of including the C2 insert of nonmuscle myosin II-C on neuritogenesis.

The functional role of the C2 insert of nonmuscle myosin II-C (NM II-C) is poorly understood. Here, we report for the first time that the expression of the C2 insert-containing isoform, NM II-C1C2, is inducible in Neuro-2a cells during differentiation both at mRNA and protein levels. Immunoblot and RT-PCR analysis reveal that expression of NM II-C1C2 peaks between days 3 and 6 of differentiation.

Site-specific covalent attachment of heme proteins on self-assembled monolayers.

Naturally occurring hemin cofactor has been functionalized to introduce two terminal alkyne groups. This modified hemin has been successfully covalently attached to mixed self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols and azide-terminated alkanethiols on gold electrodes using a Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-cycloaddition reaction. However these hemin-modified electrodes could not be used to reconstitute apomyoglobin on gold electrodes owing to the hydrophobicity of the alkane thiol self-assembled monolayer.