Extracellular proteases and laccases produced by Pleurotus ostreatus PoB: the effects of proteases on laccase activity

International Microbiology - Laccases are enzymes produced by plants and white rot fungi, such as Pleurotus ostreatus, with industrial applications. Fungal laccases have been widely studied, and...     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of esters of 16-formyl-17-methoxy-dehydroepiandrosterone derivatives as inhibitors of 5α-reductase type 2

In this study, we investigated the in vitro effect of 16-formyl-17-methoxy dehydroepiandrosterone derivatives on the activity of 5α-reductase type 2 (5α-R2) obtained from human prostate. The activity of different concentrations of these derivatives was determined for the conversion of labelled testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. The results indicated that an aliphatic ester moiety at the C-3 position of these derivatives increases their in vitro potency as inhibitors of 5α-R2 activity compared to finasteride®, which is considered to be a potent inhibitor of 5α-R2. In this case, the augmentation of the lipophilicity of these dehydroepiandrosterone derivatives increased their potency as inhibitors of 5α-R2. However, the presence of cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl or cycloheptyl rings as the cycloaliphatic ester moiety at C-3 of the formyl methoxy dehydroepiandrosterone scaffold did not inhibit the activity of this enzyme. This may be due to the presence of steric factors between the enzyme and the spatial structure of these derivatives.     

Erratum to: Proof-of Concept that an Acute Trophic Factors Intervention After Spinal Cord Injury Provides an Adequate Niche for Neuroprotection,Recruitment of Nestin-Expressing Progenitors and Regeneration

Neurochemical Research -     

Housekeeping genes essential for pantothenate biosynthesis are plasmid-encoded in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizobium etli</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizobium leguminosarum</Emphasis>

Background  

A traditional concept in bacterial genetics states that housekeeping genes, those involved in basic metabolic functions needed for maintenance of the cell, are encoded in the chromosome, whereas genes required for dealing with challenging environmental conditions are located in plasmids. Exceptions to this rule have emerged from genomic sequence data of bacteria with multipartite genomes. The genome sequence of R. etli CFN42 predicts the presence of panC and panB genes clustered together on the 642 kb plasmid p42f and a second copy of panB on plasmid p42e. They encode putative pantothenate biosynthesis enzymes (pantoate-β-alanine ligase and 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoate hydroxymethyltransferase, respectively). Due to their ubiquitous distribution and relevance in the central metabolism of the cell, these genes are considered part of the core genome; thus, their occurrence in a plasmid is noteworthy. In this study we investigate the contribution of these genes to pantothenate biosynthesis, examine whether their presence in plasmids is a prevalent characteristic of the Rhizobiales with multipartite genomes, and assess the possibility that the panCB genes may have reached plasmids by horizontal gene transfer.