Rapid kinetics of H transport by membrane pyrophosphatase: Evidence for a "direct-coupling" mechanism.

Stress resistance-conferring membrane pyrophosphatase (mPPase) found in microbes and plants couples pyrophosphate hydrolysis with H transport out of the cytoplasm. There are two opposing views on the energy-coupling mechanism in this transporter: the pumping is associated with either pyrophosphate binding to mPPase or the hydrolysis step. We used our recently developed stopped-flow pyranine assay to measure H transport into mPPase-containing inverted membrane vesicles on the timescale of a single turnover.

Reconstruction of the Reaction of Andalusicin Lantibiotic Modification by Lanthionine Synthetase AncKC in a Heterologous Escherichia coli System.

The increasing resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics makes it a necessity that we search for new antimicrobial agents. Due to their genetically encoded nature, peptides are promising candidates for new antimicrobial drugs. Lantipeptide andalusicin exhibits significant antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, making it a promising scaffold for the development of DNA-encoded libraries of lantibiotics.

Binding of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase to G-actin promotes the transnitrosylation reaction.

In this study, we investigated formation of the complex between glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and actin and the possibility of nitrosyl group transfer between GAPDH and actin. A complex of GAPDH with beta-actin was isolated from lysates of HEK293T cells using immunoprecipitation with antibodies against GAPDH or against beta-actin. The treatment of the cells with HO or NO donor did not affect the formation of the complex.

Differential effects of angiotensin II and aldosterone on human neutrophil adhesion and concomitant secretion of proteins, free amino acids and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.

Invasion and adhesion of neutrophils into tissues and their concomitant secretion play an important role in the development of vascular pathologies, including abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Chronic administration of angiotensin II is used to initiate AAA formation in mice. The role of aldosterone in this process is being studied.

Acrylate Reductase of an Anaerobic Electron Transport Chain of the Marine Bacterium Shewanella woodyi.

Many microorganisms are capable of anaerobic respiration in the absence of oxygen, by using different organic compounds as terminal acceptors in electron transport chain. We identify here an anaerobic respiratory chain protein responsible for acrylate reduction in the marine bacterium Shewanella woodyi. When the periplasmic proteins of S.

A Redox-Regulated, Heterodimeric NADH:cinnamate Reductase in Vibrio ruber.

Genes of putative reductases of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids are abundant among anaerobic and facultatively anaerobic microorganisms, yet substrate specificity has been experimentally verified for few encoded proteins. Here, we co-produced in Escherichia coli a heterodimeric protein of the facultatively anaerobic marine bacterium Vibrio ruber (GenBank SJN56019 and SJN56021; annotated as NADPH azoreductase and urocanate reductase, respectively) with Vibrio cholerae flavin transferase. The isolated protein (named Crd) consists of the sjn56021-encoded subunit CrdB (NADH:flavin, FAD binding 2, and FMN bind domains) and an additional subunit CrdA (SJN56019, a single NADH:flavin domain) that interact via their NADH:flavin domains (Alphafold2 prediction).

Effect of Dexamethasone on Adhesion of Human Neutrophils and Concomitant Secretion.

Neutrophils play a dual role in protecting the body. They are able to penetrate infected tissues and destroy pathogens there by releasing aggressive bactericidal substances. While into the surrounding tissues, the aggressive products secreted by neutrophils initiate development of inflammatory processes.

Immunological Profile and Markers of Endothelial Dysfunction in Elderly Patients with Cognitive Impairments.

The process of aging is accompanied by a dynamic restructuring of the immune response, a phenomenon known as immunosenescence. Further, damage to the endothelium can be both a cause and a consequence of many diseases, especially in elderly people. The purpose of this study was to carry out immunological and biochemical profiling of elderly people with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), chronic cerebral circulation insufficiency (CCCI), prediabetes or newly diagnosed type II diabetes mellitus (DM), and subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD).

Testing a Hypothesis of 12S rRNA Methylation by Putative METTL17 Methyltransferase.

Mitochondrial ribosome assembly is a complex multi-step process involving many additional factors. Ribosome formation differs in various groups of organisms. However, there are universal steps of assembly and conservative factors that have been retained in evolutionarily distant taxa.

Phytaspase Is Capable of Detaching the Endoplasmic Reticulum Retrieval Signal from Tobacco Calreticulin-3.

Soluble chaperones residing in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) play vitally important roles in folding and quality control of newly synthesized proteins that transiently pass through the ER en route to their final destinations. These soluble residents of the ER are themselves endowed with an ER retrieval signal that enables the cell to bring the escaped residents back from the Golgi. Here, by using purified proteins, we showed that phytaspase, a plant aspartate-specific protease, introduces two breaks at the C-terminus of the ER resident calreticulin-3.

Mitochondrial ATP Synthase and Mild Uncoupling by Butyl Ester of Rhodamine 19, C4R1.

The homeostasis of the transmembrane potential of hydrogen ions in mitochondria is a prerequisite for the normal mitochondrial functioning. However, in different pathological conditions it is advisable to slightly reduce the membrane potential, while maintaining it at levels sufficient to produce ATP that will ensure the normal functioning of the cell. A number of chemical agents have been found to provide mild uncoupling; however, natural proteins residing in mitochondrial membrane can carry this mission, such as proteins from the UCP family, an adenine nucleotide translocator and a dicarboxylate carrier.

Structural and Immunoreactivity Properties of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein upon the Development of an Inactivated Vaccine.

Inactivated vaccines are promising tools for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied several protocols for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation (by β-propiolactone, formaldehyde, and UV radiation) and examined the morphology of viral spikes, protein composition of the preparations, and their immunoreactivity in ELISA using two panels of sera collected from convalescents and people vaccinated by Sputnik V. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allowed us to distinguish wider flail-like spikes (supposedly the S-protein's pre-fusion conformation) from narrower needle-like ones (the post-fusion state).

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel -Indolinones with Anticancer Activity.

Novel variously substituted thiohydantoin-based -indolinones were prepared using a regio- and diastereoselective synthetic route from 5-arylidene-2-thiohydantoins, isatines, and sarcosine. The obtained molecules were subsequently evaluated in vitro against the cancer cell lines LNCaP, PC3, HCT, and HCT. Several compounds demonstrated a relatively high cytotoxic activity vs.

Ivermectin Affects Neutrophil-Induced Inflammation through Inhibition of Hydroxylysine but Stimulation of Cathepsin G and Phenylalanine Secretion.

The invasion and integrin-dependent adhesion of neutrophils to lung tissues and their secretion lead to the development of pneumonia in various pulmonary pathologies, including acute respiratory distress syndrome in coronavirus disease. We studied the effect of ivermectin, a possible therapeutic agent for inflammation and cancer, on integrin-dependent neutrophil adhesion to fibronectin and the concomitant secretion. Ivermectin did not affect the attachment of neutrophils to the substrate and the reactive oxygen species production but sharply inhibited the adhesion-induced release of hydroxylysine and stimulated the release of phenylalanine and cathepsin G.

Mechanism of inactivation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the presence of methylglyoxal.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is known to be one of the targets of methylglyoxal (MGO), a metabolite of glycolysis that increased in diabetes. However, the mechanism of GAPDH inactivation in the presence of MGO is unclear. The purpose of the work was to study the reaction of GAPDH with MGO and to identify the products of the reaction.

Kunitz peptidase inhibitor-like protein involved in chloroplast-to-nucleus regulatory pathway in plant-virus interaction.

Plant viruses use a variety of strategies to infect their host. During infection, viruses cause symptoms of varying severity, which are often associated with altered leaf pigmentation due to structural and functional damage to chloroplasts that are affected by viral proteins. Here we demonstrate that Kunitz peptidase inhibitor-like protein (KPILP) gene is induced in response to potato virus X (PVX) infection.

Cognitive Requirements of the Phonological Tests Affect Their Ability to Discriminate Children With and Without Developmental Dyslexia.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether the performance on each of seven phonological processing (PP) tests from the Russian Test of Phonological Processing (RuToPP), with their varying levels of linguistic complexity and composite phonological indices, are significant predictors of developmental dyslexia (DD) and can reliably differentiate children with and without reading impairment. Additionally, we examined the general contribution of phonological skills to text reading fluency in children with various levels of reading performance.

Method: A total of 173 Russian-speaking 7- to 11-year-old children participated in this study: 124 who were typically developing (TD) and 49 who had been diagnosed with DD.

Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Hydrophobin, Sa-HFB1, with Antifungal Activity from an Alkaliphilic Fungus, .

The adaptations that alkaliphilic microorganisms have developed due to their extreme habitats promote the production of active natural compounds with the potential to control microorganisms, causing infections associated with healthcare. The primary purpose of this study was to isolate and identify a hydrophobin, Sa-HFB1, from an alkaliphilic fungus, . A potential antifungal effect against pathogenic and opportunistic fungi strains was determined.

Recombinant Cathepsin L of and Its Potential in the Hydrolysis of Immunogenic Gliadin Peptides.

Wheat gliadins contain a large amount of glutamine- and proline-rich peptides which are not hydrolyzed by human digestive peptidases and can cause autoimmune celiac disease and other forms of gluten intolerance in predisposed people. Peptidases that efficiently cleave such immunogenic peptides can be used in enzyme therapy. The stored product insect pest efficiently hydrolyzes gliadins.

A Novel, NADH-Dependent Acrylate Reductase in Vibrio harveyi.

Bacteria coping with oxygen deficiency use alternative terminal electron acceptors for NADH regeneration, particularly fumarate. Fumarate is reduced by the domain of cytoplasmic fumarate reductase in many bacteria. The variability of the primary structure of this domain in homologous proteins suggests the existence of reducing activities with different specificities.

S51 Family Peptidases Provide Resistance to Peptidyl-Nucleotide Antibiotic McC.

Microcin C (McC)-like compounds are natural Trojan horse peptide-nucleotide antibiotics produced by diverse bacteria. The ribosomally synthesized peptide parts of these antibiotics are responsible for their facilitated transport into susceptible cells. Once inside the cell, the peptide part is degraded, releasing the toxic payload, an isoaspartyl-nucleotide that inhibits aspartyl-tRNA synthetase, an enzyme essential for protein synthesis.

Ribosomal protein S18 acetyltransferase RimI is responsible for the acetylation of elongation factor Tu.

N-terminal acetylation is widespread in the eukaryotic proteome but in bacteria is restricted to a small number of proteins mainly involved in translation. It was long known that elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) is N-terminally acetylated, whereas the enzyme responsible for this process was unclear. Here, we report that RimI acetyltransferase, known to modify ribosomal protein S18, is likewise responsible for N-acetylation of the EF-Tu.

Complex of HIV-1 Integrase with Cellular Ku Protein: Interaction Interface and Search for Inhibitors.

The interaction of HIV-1 integrase and the cellular Ku70 protein is necessary for HIV replication due to its positive effect on post-integration DNA repair. We have previously described in detail the Ku70 binding site within integrase. However, the integrase binding site in Ku70 remained poorly characterized.