UDP-Gal: GlcNAc-R beta1,4-galactosyltransferase--a target enzyme for drug design. Acceptor specificity and inhibition of the enzyme.

Galactosyltransferases are important enzymes for the extension of the glycan chains of glycoproteins and glycolipids, and play critical roles in cell surface functions and in the immune system. In this work, the acceptor specificity and several inhibitors of bovine beta1,4-Gal-transferase T1 (beta4GalT, EC 2.4.

A spontaneous recurrent seizure bioassay for anti-epileptogenic molecules.

Drug design in epilepsy is now tackling a new target--epileptogenesis. This is the process whereby a normal brain becomes susceptible to recurrent seizures. One of the stumbling blocks in the design and discovery of new chemical entities as antiepileptogenics is the implementation of an appropriate biological model.

Novel glycosaminoglycan precursors as antiamyloid agents: Part IV.

In vivo amyloids consist of two classes of constituents. The first is the disease-defining protein, beta-amyloid (Abeta), in Alzheimer's disease. The second is a set of common structural components that usually are the building blocks of basement membrane (BM), a tissue structure that serves as a scaffold onto which cells normally adhere.

Inhibition of amyloid A amyloidogenesis in vivo and in tissue culture by 4-deoxy analogues of peracetylated 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha- and beta-d-glucose: implications for the treatment of various amyloidoses.

Two novel sugars, 2-acetamido-1,3,6-tri-O-acetyl-2,4-dideoxy-alpha- and beta-D-xylo-hexopyranoses, have been synthesized and their effects on heparan sulfate biosynthesis using primary mouse hepatocytes in tissue culture have been assessed. At concentrations of 0.1 and 1.

Implementing a bioassay to screen molecules for antiepileptogenic activity: chronic pilocarpine versus subdudral haematoma models.

Background: There is a need to discover novel chemical compounds that will inhibit the pathological process of epileptogenesis (i.e. agents that will prevent the long-term formation of an active seizure focus following a brain insult).

Novel glycosaminoglycan precursors as anti-amyloid agents, part III.

In vivo amyloids consist of two classes of constituents. The first is the disease-defining protein, e.g.