Publications by authors named "Walczak Maciej"

In recent years, significant resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics has been observed. A biofilm is a structure that significantly aids the survival of the microbial population and also significantly affects its resistance. Thyme and clove essential oils (EOs) were subjected to chemical analysis using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers synthesized a Tau segment with various PTMs and observed that these modifications generally hinder Tau's assembly into PHFs, with acetylation showing variable effects, and phosphorylation consistently reducing aggregation.
  • * The findings emphasize that PTMs located outside the rigid core of Tau filaments are crucial for initiating PHF formation, illustrating the complex role of these modifications in influencing Tau aggregation dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nonclassical -glycosides, distinguished by their unique glycosidic bond connection mode, represent a promising avenue for the development of carbohydrate-based drugs. However, the accessibility of nonclassical -glycosides hinders broader investigations into their structural features and modes of action. Herein, we present the first example of Pd-catalyzed stereospecific glycosylation of nonclassical anomeric stannanes with aryl or vinyl halides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report a synthesis of silicon-linked glycomimetics, demonstrating unique structural properties and metabolic stability due to the inertness of the C-Si bond. Our method focuses on the stereoselective transfer of silicon and anion addition, revealing that chirality at the silicon atom can be controlled through kinetic resolution. This approach allows for the selective generation of 1,2- and 1,2- isomers via the manipulation of C2-protected silicon ethers and nucleophilic opening of glycal epoxides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We discuss 1D, 2D and 3D bifurcation diagrams of two nonlinear dynamical systems: an electric arc system having both chaotic and periodic steady-state responses and a cytosolic calcium system with both periodic/chaotic and constant steady-state outputs. The diagrams are mostly obtained by using the 0-1 test for chaos, but other types of diagrams are also mentioned; for example, typical 1D diagrams with local maxiumum values of oscillatory responses (periodic and chaotic), the entropy method and the largest Lyapunov exponent approach. Important features and properties of each of the three classes of diagrams with one, two and three varying parameters in the 1D, 2D and 3D cases, respectively, are presented and illustrated via certain diagrams of the values, -1≤K≤1, from the 0-1 test and the sample entropy values SaEn>0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The self-assembly of Tau(297-391) into filaments, which mirror the structures observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, raises questions about the role of AD-specific post-translational modifications (PTMs) in the formation of paired helical filaments (PHFs). To investigate this, we developed a synthetic approach to produce Tau(291-391) featuring N-acetyllysine, phosphoserine, phosphotyrosine, and N-glycosylation at positions commonly modified in post-mortem AD brains, thus facilitating the study of their roles in Tau pathology. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and a range of optical microscopy techniques, we discovered that these modifications generally hinder the assembly of Tau into PHFs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this Letter, we report a direct and robust desulfurization method employing water-soluble phosphine, specifically tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP), and tetrahydroxydiboron (B(OH)), which serves as a radical initiator. This innovative reaction exhibits compatibility with a diverse array of substrates, including cysteine residues in chemically synthesized oligopeptides and cyclic peptides, alkyl thiols in bioactive molecules, disulfides in commercial proteins, and selenocysteine. We optimized the reaction conditions to minimize the formation of undesired oxidized and borylated byproducts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The normal healthy valve is devoid of inflammatory cells, however background of aortic stenosis (AS) may include inflammatory processes. Moreover, the link between hyperparathyroidism and heart failure is postulated. Simple whole blood analysis with indices is a beneficial tool in cardiovascular diseases' assessment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We introduce a direct conversion of alkyl thiols into boronic acids, facilitated by a water-soluble phosphine, 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA), in conjunction with tetrahydroxydiboron (B(OH)), acting as both a radical initiator and a boron source. This desulfurative borylation reaction has been successfully applied to various substrates, including cysteine residues in oligopeptides and small proteins, primary alkyl thiols found in pharmaceutical compounds, disulfides, and selenocysteine. Optimization of reaction conditions was undertaken to reduce the formation of unwanted reactions, such as the reduction of alanyl or other primary radicals, and to prevent deleterious reactions between the phosphine and N-terminal amine that lead to methylene adducts by utilizing a buffer containing glycine-glycine (GG) dipeptide.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The article discusses the significance of Tau protein deposits in neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies, especially Alzheimer's disease, highlighting how Tau undergoes modifications that relate to disease symptoms.
  • It presents the first chemical synthesis of the longest isoform of Tau (2N4R), detailing the methods used to create its fragments via solid-phase peptide synthesis and specific chemical ligations.
  • This achievement provides a reliable way to produce this Tau isoform in large quantities, paving the way for further studies on its function in both healthy and diseased states, and potentially aiding research into tauopathies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent studies involving four research teams have revealed that amyloid fibrils in FTLD-TDP patients and cognitively healthy individuals primarily consist of TMEM106B, a protein previously identified as a risk factor for FTLD-TDP. Through cryogenic electron microscopy, the studies identified various protofilament structures of TMEM106B fibrils from individuals with several neurodegenerative diseases. These findings raise new questions and opportunities for future research, as they suggest that TMEM106B plays a central role in FTLD pathology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

-Glycosyl peptides possess excellent metabolic stability and therapeutic properties and thus play critical roles in biological studies as well as drug discoveries. However, the limited accessibility of -glycosyl amino acids has significantly hindered the broader research of their structural features and mode of action. Herein, for the first time we disclose a novel visible-light-driven radical conjugate addition of 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP)-derived glycosyl esters with dehydroalanine derivatives, generating -glycosyl amino acids and -glycosyl peptides in good yields with excellent stereoselectivities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Direct peptide and protein activation is difficult due to the stabilizing amide group, and while enzymes work well, small-molecule catalysts for this purpose are limited.
  • Researchers designed an artificial cyclodehydratase featuring a molybdenum(VI) center with a tripod ligand to modify peptides and natural products by adding heterocycles like azolines efficiently and with minimal waste.
  • This new catalytic system allows for selective modification of amide groups, even in the presence of similar chemical positions, potentially filling a significant gap in sustainable functionalization methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Oxazolines and thiazolines are important constituents of bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals. Here, we report the development of an effective and practical method of oxazoline and thiazoline formation, which can facilitate the synthesis of natural products, chiral ligands, and pharmaceutical intermediates. This method capitalized on a Mo(VI) dioxide catalyst stabilized by substituted picolinic acid ligands, which is tolerant to many functional groups that would otherwise be sensitive to highly electrophilic alternative reagents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Maize (s L.) is an economically important source of food and feed. This species is highly sensitive to drought, which is the most limiting factor for the biomass yield of a crop.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Non-proteogenic amino acids and functionalized peptides are important motifs in modern drug discovery. Here we report that Ala can serve as universal building blocks in the synthesis of a diverse collection of modified amino acids, peptides, and proteins. First, we develop the synthesis of Ala from redox-active esters of aspartic acid resulting in a series of β-boronoalanine derivatives.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley fever, is an endemic fungal infection commonly found in the southwestern parts of the United States. However, the disease has seen an increase in both in its area of residency and its prevalence. This review compiles some of the latest information on the epidemiology, current and in-development pharmaceutical approaches to treat the disease, trends and projections, diagnostic concerns, and the overlapping dynamics of coccidioidomycosis and COVID-19, including in special populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Picking vegetables is, along with salting and drying, one of the oldest ways to preserve food in the world. This is the process of decomposition of simple sugars into lactic acid with the participation of lactic bacteria. The aim of the study was to obtain powders from fermented red beet juice with the highest possible amount of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and active ingredients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This paper examines the oscillatory responses (periodic and chaotic) of a biosystem store model for bursting and complex Ca oscillations in which three compartments have been taken into consideration: the cytosol, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. The oscillatory model is used to examine the reliability of the 0-1 test for chaos in the bifurcation analysis of continuous signals obtained when the frequencies of oscillatory responses vary significantly with a relatively small changes of the bifurcation parameters. The illustrative examples in both the one- and two-parameter cases are designed to show that for a periodic time-series the test's reliability may be questioned when a periodic series is classified as a chaotic one - the 'false-positive' case.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Selective modifications of peptides and proteins have emerged as a promising strategy to develop novel mechanistic probes and prepare compounds with translational potentials. Here, we report alanine carbastannatranes Ala as a universal synthon in various C-C and C-heteroatom bond-forming reactions. These reagents are compatible with peptide manipulation techniques and can undergo chemoselective conjugation in minutes when promoted by Pd(0).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hydrogels based on collagen/β-glucan crosslinked with tannic acid were obtained by neutralization using dialysis. The presence of tannic acid allowed obtaining stable hydrogel materials with better mechanical properties. Tannic acid was released from matrices gradually and not rapidly.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this article is to discuss in detail the physicochemical properties of polylactide (PLA) reinforced by cortex fibers, which may cause bacterial mortality and increased biodegradation rates. PLA biocomposites containing cortex Lapacho fibers from Tabebuia (1-10 wt%) were prepared by extrusion and injection moulding processes. The effects of Lapacho on the mechanical and biocidal properties of the biocomposites were studied using tensile and impact tests, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), and the method of evaluating the antibacterial activity of antibacterial treated according to the standard ISO 22196:2011.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two types of bifurcation diagrams of cytosolic calcium nonlinear oscillatory systems are presented in rectangular areas determined by two slowly varying parameters. Verification of the periodic dynamics in the two-parameter areas requires solving the underlying model a few hundred thousand or a few million times, depending on the assumed resolution of the desired diagrams (color bifurcation figures). One type of diagram shows oscillations, that is, periodic oscillations having maximum values in one period.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF