Beta-secretase 1 (BACE1) is an aspartic protease believed to play a critical role in Alzheimer's disease. Inhibitors of this enzyme have been designed by incorporating the non-cleavable hydroxyethylene and statine isosteres into peptides corresponding to BACE1 substrate sequences. We sought to develop new methods to quickly characterize and optimize inhibitors based on the statine core. Minimal sequence requirements for binding were first established using both crystallography and peptide spot synthesis. These shortened peptide inhibitors were then optimized by using spot synthesis to perform iterative cycles of substitution and deletion. The present study resulted in the identification of novel "bis-statine" inhibitors shown by crystallography to have a unique binding mode. Our results demonstrate the application of peptide spot synthesis as an effective method for enhancing peptidomimetic drug discovery.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.peptides.2006.02.003 | DOI Listing |
Cells Dev
January 2025
Tunicate Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
Butterfly wing eyespots are developmentally determined at the early pupal stage, when prospective eyespot focal cells underneath the pupal cuticle focal spot function as eyespot organizers in the pupal wing tissue. Here, we performed light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to describe cellular structures of pupal wing tissue with an eyespot organizer immediately after pupation using the Blue Pansy butterfly Junonia orithya. The pupal forewing dorsal epidermis was a pseudostratified monolayer of vertically elongated epidermal cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aggregation of α-synuclein protein, encoded by the SNCA gene, forms Lewy bodies (LBs) in neurons and is a key pathological feature of Lewy body dementia (LBD). Interestingly, the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE), primarily expressed in glial cells, is the strongest genetic modifier for LBD. The ε4 allele of this gene (APOE4) notably increases the risk of LBD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) through a single blood test significantly advances cancer diagnosis. However, most MCED tests rely on a single type of biomarkers, leading to limited sensitivity, particularly for early-stage cancers. We previously developed SPOT-MAS, a multimodal ctDNA-based assay analyzing methylation and fragmentomic profiles to detect five common cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, 07030, USA.
Two-Dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides have been the subject of extensive attention thanks to their unique properties and atomically thin structure. Because of its unprecedented room-temperature magnetic properties, iron-doped MoS (Fe:MoS) is considered the next-generation quantum and magnetic material. It is essential to understand Fe:MoS's thermal behavior since temperature and thermal load/activation are crucial for their magnetic properties and the current nano and quantum devices have been severely limited by thermal management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
January 2025
Life Science Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Cell lineage analysis is primarily undertaken to understand cell fate specification and diversification along a cell lineage tree. Built with dual repressible markers, twin-spot mosaic analysis with repressible cell markers (MARCM) labels the two daughter cells made by a common precursor in distinct colors. The power of twin-spot MARCM to systematically subdivide complex lineages is exemplified in studies of Drosophila neural stem-cell lineages.
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