Conjugation to gold nanoparticles of methionine gamma-lyase, a cancer-starving enzyme. Physicochemical characterization of the nanocomplex for prospective nanomedicine applications.

The pyridoxal 5'-dependent enzyme methionine γ-lyase (MGL) catalyzes the degradation of methionine. This activity has been profitable to develop an antitumor agent exploiting the strict dependence of most malignant cells on the availability of methionine. Indeed, methionine depletion blocks tumor proliferation and leads to an increased susceptibility to anticancer drugs.

Essential Oil Biodiversity of All. Obtained from Mainland and Island Populations.

Background: The genus is rich in essential oil (EO) with high chemical diversity. In this study, eight EO samples obtained from flowers and leaves of All. collected on the Mediterranean mainland and island locations were analyzed to evaluate their possible chemical diversity.

Heat and cold denaturation of yeast frataxin: The effect of pressure.

Yfh1 is a yeast protein with the peculiar characteristic to undergo, in the absence of salt, cold denaturation at temperatures above the water freezing point. This feature makes the protein particularly interesting for studies aiming at understanding the rules that determine protein fold stability. Here, we present the phase diagram of Yfh1 unfolding as a function of pressure (0.

A novel hotspot of gelsolin instability triggers an alternative mechanism of amyloid aggregation.

Gelsolin comprises six homologous domains, named G1 to G6. Single point substitutions in this protein are responsible for AGel amyloidosis, a hereditary disease causing progressive corneal lattice dystrophy, cutis laxa, and polyneuropathy. Although several different amyloidogenic variants of gelsolin have been identified, only the most common mutants present in the G2 domain have been thoroughly characterized, leading to clarification of the functional mechanism.

Use of Exogenous Enzymes in Human Therapy: Approved Drugs and Potential Applications.

The development of safe and efficacious enzyme-based human therapies has increased greatly in the last decades, thanks to remarkable advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for different diseases, and the characterization of the catalytic activity of relevant exogenous enzymes that may play a remedial effect in the treatment of such pathologies. Several enzyme-based biotherapeutics have been approved by FDA (the U.S.