Predictors of postpartum diabetes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to stratify risk for postpartum diabetes in women who have gestational diabetes. Women with gestational diabetes were recruited between 1989 and 1999, and 302 were followed with oral glucose tolerance tests at 9 months and 2, 5, 8, and 11 years postpregnancy. The 8-year postpartum diabetes risk was 52.

Interactions of LY333531 and other bisindolyl maleimide inhibitors with PDK1.

LY333531, BIM-1, BIM-2, BIM-3, and BIM-8 are bisindolyl maleimide-based, nanomolar protein kinase C inhibitors. LY333531, a PKCbeta-specific inhibitor, is in clinical trials against diabetes and cardiac ventricular hypertrophy complications. Specificity analysis with a panel of 29 protein kinases reveals that these bisindolyl maleimide inhibitors also inhibit PDK1, a key kinase from the insulin signaling pathway, albeit in the lower microM range.

Pyridoxine 5'-phosphate synthase: de novo synthesis of vitamin B6 and beyond.

Vitamin B(6) is an essential component in human diet. However, some organisms have the required machinery for its synthesis. There are two independent and autoexclusive groups of genes, pdx and SOR1.

Enzyme-ligand complexes of pyridoxine 5'-phosphate synthase: implications for substrate binding and catalysis.

Pyridoxine 5'-phosphate (PNP) synthase is the last enzyme in the de novo biosynthesis of vitamin B(6) catalyzing the complicated ring-closure reaction between 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate and 1-amino-acetone-3-phosphate. Here we present the crystal structures of four PNP synthase complexes with substrates and substrate analogs. While the overall fold of the enzyme is conserved in all complexes, characteristic readjustments were observed in the active site.

Crystal structure of DegP (HtrA) reveals a new protease-chaperone machine.

Molecular chaperones and proteases monitor the folded state of other proteins. In addition to recognizing non-native conformations, these quality control factors distinguish substrates that can be refolded from those that need to be degraded. To investigate the molecular basis of this process, we have solved the crystal structure of DegP (also known as HtrA), a widely conserved heat shock protein that combines refolding and proteolytic activities.

Structure and function of threonine synthase from yeast.

Threonine synthase catalyzes the final step of threonine biosynthesis, the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent conversion of O-phosphohomoserine into threonine and inorganic phosphate. Threonine is an essential nutrient for mammals, and its biosynthetic machinery is restricted to bacteria, plants, and fungi; therefore, threonine synthase represents an interesting pharmaceutical target. The crystal structure of threonine synthase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been solved at 2.