Molecular processes in the streptokinase thrombolytic therapy

The aim of this research is to evaluate the current streptokinase thrombolytic treatment and to identify or improve new techniques that will base new approaches with a higher efficiency in this area of expertise. In order to be as realistic as possible a new method was set up using magnetic vectorized nanoparticles streptokinase and human blood thrombus. The experimental data confirm the maximum 83% thrombus lyses whenever increase streptokinase concentration. It is very probable to happen because of the presence of high concentration of antiplasmin in the blood that neutralizes around half of the thrombolytic potential of the sanguine plasminogen. The experiment shows also that only free serum plasminogen are available for streptokinase action in order to generate plasmin.     

CAPACITIES FOR BINDING AMINO ACIDS BY tRNAs FROM RAT BRAIN AND THEIR CHANGES DURING DEVELOPMENT

–The total tRNA and some specific tRNAs from the 100,000g soluble fraction of rat brain were measured during development (postnatal ages 4–55 days). For determination of specific tRNAs we developed a method that measured their capacities to bind specific amino acids. Levels of total tRNA were decreased in the soluble fraction from the brains of 55-day-old rats in comparison to those for the 4-day-old rats. The aminoacylation capacities of tRNAs for phenylalanine, lysine, proline, valine, leucine, alanine and isoleucine were diminished in the 55-day-old rats in comparison to those for 4-day-old rats when expressed per unit wet weight of brain. When the 4- to 55-day changes in aminoacylation capacity of each specific tRNA was expressed relative to that of the total tRNA, tRNA^Phe and tRNALys^Lys were diminished; tRNA^Pro, tRNA^Vel, tRNA^GIY and tRNA^Leu showed no significant changes; and tRNA^A1a and tRNA^Ile were increased. Incorporation of amino acids into a material insoluble in hot TCA (probably proteins) in a ribosome-free system occurred in the brain preparations. Out of ten different amino acids studied, arginine and tyrosine exhibited the highest values for this type of transfer.     

Histamine H3 and H4 receptor affinity of branched 3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propyl N-alkylcarbamates

A series of imidazole-containing (non-)chiral carbamates were tested at human histamine H₃ receptor (H₃R). All compounds displayed K_i values below 100 nM. A trend for a stereoselectivity at human H₃R was observed for the chiral α-branched ligands. Selected compounds were also tested at human histamine H₄ receptor and showed moderate to weak affinities (118–1460 nM).     

A GDPase/UDPase bifunctional enzyme from Candida albicans: purification and biochemical characterization

The most frequently isolated human fungal pathogen is Candida albicans which is responsible for about 50% of all Candida infections. In healthy individuals, this organism resides as a part of the normal microbiota in equilibrium with the host. However, under certain conditions, particularly in immunocompromised patients, this opportunistic pathogen adheres to host cells causing serious systemic infections. Thus, much effort has been dedicated to the study of its physiology with emphasis on factors associated to pathogenicity. A representative analysis deals with the mechanisms of glycoprotein assembly as many cell surface antigens and other macromolecules that modulate the immune system fall within this chemical category. In this regard, studies of the terminal protein glycosylation stage which occurs in Golgi vesicles has led to the identification of nucleotidases that convert glycosyltransferase-generated dinucleotides into the corresponding mononucleotides, thus playing a double function: their activity prevent inhibition of further glycosyl transfer by the accumulation of dinucleotides and the resulting mononucleotides are exchanged by specific membrane transporters for equimolecular amounts of sugar donors from the cytosol. Here, using a simple protocol for protein separation we isolated a bifunctional nucleotidase from C. albicans active on GDP and UDP that was characterized in terms of its molecular mass, response to bivalent ions and other factors, substrate specificity and affinity. Results are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences of this nucleotidase with similar counterparts from other organisms thus contributing to the knowledge of a bifunctional diphosphatase not described before in C. albicans.

     

Cell size at S phase initiation: an emergent property of the G1/S network

The eukaryotic cell cycle is the repeated sequence of events that enable the division of a cell into two daughter cells. It is divided into four phases: G₁, S, G₂, and M. Passage through the cell cycle is strictly regulated by a molecular interaction network, which involves the periodic synthesis and destruction of cyclins that bind and activate cyclin-dependent kinases that are present in nonlimiting amounts. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors contribute to cell cycle control. Budding yeast is an established model organism for cell cycle studies, and several mathematical models have been proposed for its cell cycle. An area of major relevance in cell cycle control is the G₁ to S transition. In any given growth condition, it is characterized by the requirement of a specific, critical cell size, P_S, to enter S phase. The molecular basis of this control is still under discussion. The authors report a mathematical model of the G₁ to S network that newly takes into account nucleo/cytoplasmic localization, the role of the cyclin-dependent kinase Sic1 in facilitating nuclear import of its cognate Cdk1-Clb5, Whi5 control, and carbon source regulation of Sic1 and Sic1-containing complexes. The model was implemented by a set of ordinary differential equations that describe the temporal change of the concentration of the involved proteins and protein complexes. The model was tested by simulation in several genetic and nutritional setups and was found to be neatly consistent with experimental data. To estimate P_S, the authors developed a hybrid model including a probabilistic component for firing of DNA replication origins. Sensitivity analysis of P_S provides a novel relevant conclusion: P_S is an emergent property of the G₁ to S network that strongly depends on growth rate.