Publications by authors named "Mariadasse Richard"

is a major human pathogen responsible for a variety of clinical infections, becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. To address this challenge, there is a need to identify new cellular targets and innovative approaches to expand treatment options. One such target is thymidine kinase (TK), a crucial enzyme in the pyrimidine salvage pathway, which plays a key role in the phosphorylation of thymidine, an essential component in DNA synthesis and repair.

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  • - Enolase is an enzyme that helps convert 2-phosphoglycerate (2PG) to phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in glycolysis, but the reverse reaction (PEP to 2PG) hasn't been fully understood until now.
  • - This research provides structural insights into Mycobacterium tuberculosis enolase, revealing how 2PG can exist in both a common and an alternate conformation during the conversion process.
  • - Key findings suggest that, unlike in the forward reaction, magnesium is not essential for the reverse reaction, and the alternate conformation of 2PG enhances its release from the enzyme's active site, indicating a new mechanism for this conversion.
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Since the rapid spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a global pandemic, healthcare ministries around the world have recommended specific control methods such as quarantining infected peoples, identifying infections, wearing mask, and practicing hand hygiene. Since no effective treatment for COVID-19 has yet been discovered, a variety of drugs approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been suggested for repurposing strategy. In the current study, we predicted that doxycycline could interact with the nucleotide triphosphate (NTP) entry channel, and is therefore expected to hinder the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) through docking analysis.

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Apart from the canonical fingers, palm and thumb domains, the RNA dependent RNA polymerases (RdRp) from the viral order Nidovirales possess two additional domains. Of these, the function of the Nidovirus RdRp associated nucleotidyl transferase domain (NiRAN) remains unanswered. The elucidation of the 3D structure of RdRp from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), provided the first ever insights into the domain organisation and possible functional characteristics of the NiRAN domain.

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  • A phylogenetic tree was created using 1854 sequences of Lrp/AnsC (FFRPs) and ArsR proteins to study the differences in their functions as transcriptional regulators and de-repressors in response to amino acids and metal ions.
  • Structural modeling of 134 sequences revealed high similarity between some ArsR and FFRP proteins, with common Helix-turn-Helix domains, but distinct ligand-binding domains suggesting different binding preferences.
  • The study included molecular modeling and functional tests, revealing how PH0140 and TtArsR proteins can be potential bio-sensors for Tryptophan and Cu ions, highlighting their structural evolution and distinct functions.
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Isatin (1H-indole-2,3-dione)-containing compounds have been shown to possess several remarkable biological activities. We had previously explored a few isatin-based imidazole derivatives for their predicted dual activity against both inflammation and cancer. We explored 47 different isatin-based derivatives (IBDs) for other potential biological activities using tools and found them to possess anti-viral activity.

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Aspartate Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase (ASDH) is an important enzyme essential for the viability of pathogenic microorganisms. ASDH is mainly involved in amino acid and cell wall biosynthesis of microorganisms, hence it is considered to be a promising target for drug design. This enzyme depicts similar mechanistic function in all microorganisms; although, the kinetic efficiency of an enzyme differs according to their active site residual composition.

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  • The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for new treatments, particularly targeting the virus's RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp).
  • Using bioinformatics and computational modeling, researchers identified the 3D structure of RdRp and its GTP binding pocket, which is essential for RNA replication.
  • By testing small molecule inhibitors designed for hepatitis C, they've refined their search and found a promising lead molecule that could serve as a strong candidate for combating SARS-CoV2.
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Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by Dengue virus (DENV) and is an emerging concern in public health affecting billions of people worldwide annually with no effective drugs available till now. Immunogenic and highly conserved properties of Non-Structural Protein 5(NS5) in DENV makes it a potent marker to identify DENV infection. DENV interfere in the innate immune signaling and thereby decreases antiviral responses and favors viral replication.

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  • The study explores how tryptophan-responsive regulatory protein (TRP) interacts with DNA and exogenous tryptophan (Trp) through various molecular analysis techniques, revealing the allosteric mechanisms involved in transcription regulation.
  • The TRP protein features specific active site pockets (Act1 to Act4) that bind to Trp, which influences DNA-binding energy and affects protein structure, particularly the domain transition necessary for regulatory functions.
  • Key interactions, such as those between certain arginine residues and DNA, as well as their impacts on helical orientation, are essential for understanding how Trp modulates DNA recognition and transcription processes.
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Analysis of honeybee PBPs is of interest in the development of Biosensor applications. We described the predicted binding of 19 such compounds with 43-honey bee OBPs using molecular modeling, docking and phylogenetic analysis. Therefore, training the honeybees using preferred compounds formulate the bees to identify the illicit drugs and bomb compounds.

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Biosynthesis pathways of pyrimidine and purine are shown to play an important role in regular cellular activities. The biosynthesis can occur either through de novo or salvage pathways based on the requirement of the cell. The pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway has been linked to several disorders and various autoimmune diseases.

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Transketolase is a connecting link between glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathway, which is considered as the rate-limiting step due to synthesis of large number of ATP molecule and it can be proposed as a plausible target facilitating the growth of cancerous cells suggesting its potential role in cancer. Oxythiamine, an antimetabolite has been proved to be an efficient anticancerous compound in vitro, but its structural elucidation of the inhibitory mechanism has not yet been done against the human transketolase-like 1 protein (TKTL1). The three-dimensional (3D) structure of TKTL1 protein was modeled and subjected for refinement, stability and validation.

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