Argonaute proteins bind small RNAs and mediate cleavage of complementary target RNAs. The human Argonaute protein Ago4 is catalytically inactive, although it is highly similar to catalytic Ago2. Here, we have generated Ago2-Ago4 chimeras and analyzed their cleavage activity in vitro. We identify several specific features that inactivate Ago4: the catalytic center, short sequence elements in the N-terminal domain, and an Ago4-specific insertion in the catalytic domain. In addition, we show that Ago2-mediated cleavage of the noncanonical miR-451 precursor can be carried out by any catalytic human Ago protein. Finally, phylogenetic analyses establish evolutionary distances between the Ago proteins. Interestingly, these distances do not fully correlate with the structural changes inactivating them, suggesting functional adaptations of individual human Ago proteins.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174435 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1261/rna.045203.114 | DOI Listing |
Mikrochim Acta
January 2025
Department of General Surgery, Hui Ya Hospital of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Huizhou, 516081, Guangdong, China.
Self-supported ultrathin PtRuMoCoNi high-entropy alloy nanowires (HEANWs) were synthesized by a one-pot co-reduction method, whose peroxidase (POD)-like activity and catalytic mechanism were elaborated in detail. As expected, the PtRuMoCoNi HEANWs showed excellent POD-like activity. It can quickly catalyze the oxidization of colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to blue TMB through decomposition of HO to superoxide radicals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Chem
January 2025
Laboratory of Artificial Chemical Intelligence, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is an emerging field in AI that aims to address the opaque nature of machine learning models. Furthermore, it has been shown that XAI can be used to extract input-output relationships, making them a useful tool in chemistry to understand structure-property relationships. However, one of the main limitations of XAI methods is that they are developed for technically oriented users.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan. Electronic address:
Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) play pivotal roles in detoxification, catabolism, and signaling by converting epoxides into diols and have been implicated in several diseases, such as cancers and diabetes. EH homologs in insects are designated as Juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolases (JHEHs) due to their catalytic activity toward Juvenile hormone (JH). However, the biological function of JHEHs has been controversial in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Chem
January 2025
Laboratory for Drug Design and Synthesis, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda 151 401, India.
The multifactorial nature of cancer requires treatment that involves simultaneous targeting of associated overexpressed proteins and cell signaling pathways, possibly leading to synergistic effects. Herein, we present a systematic study that involves the simultaneous inhibition of human topoisomerases (hTopos) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) by multitargeted quinoline-bridged hydroxamic acid derivatives. These compounds were rationally designed considering pharmacophoric features and catalytic sites of the cross-talk proteins, synthesized, and assessed for their anticancer potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States.
Lysine demethylases (KDMs) catalyze the oxidative removal of the methyl group from histones using earth-abundant iron and the metabolite 2-oxoglutarate (2OG). KDMs have emerged as master regulators of eukaryotic gene expression and are novel drug targets; small-molecule inhibitors of KDMs are in the clinical pipeline for the treatment of human cancer. Yet, mechanistic insights into the functional heterogeneity of human KDMs are limited, necessitating the development of chemical probes for precision targeting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!