Sepiapterin reductase: Characteristics and role in diseases

Sepiapterin reductase, a homodimer composed of two subunits, plays an important role in the biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin. Furthermore, sepiapterin reductase exhibits a wide distribution in different tissues and is associated with many diseases, including brain dysfunction, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease and cancer. With regard to drugs targeting sepiapterin reductase, many compounds have been identified and provide potential methods to treat various diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of sepiapterin reductase in many biological processes is unclear. Therefore, this article summarized the structure, distribution and function of sepiapterin reductase, as well as the relationship between sepiapterin reductase and different diseases, with the aim of finding evidence to guide further studies on the molecular mechanisms and the potential clinical value of sepiapterin reductase. In particular, the different effects induced by the depletion of sepiapterin reductase or the inhibition of the enzyme suggest that the non‐enzymatic activity of sepiapterin reductase could function in certain biological processes, which also provides a possible direction for sepiapterin reductase research.     

Antibody response and therapy in COVID-19 patients: what can be learned for vaccine development?

Science China Life Sciences - The newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people and caused tremendous morbidity and mortality worldwide....     

低温几丁质酶基因在乳酸克鲁维酵母中的重组表达及酶学性质表征

【目的】通过构建假交替单胞菌(Pseudoalteromonassp.DL-6)低温几丁质酶(chitinaseA,chi A;chitinase C,chi C)的重组乳酸克鲁维酵母菌株、纯化重组蛋白并对其进行酶学性质表征,为低温几丁质酶潜在工业化生产几丁寡糖奠定理论基础。【方法】人工合成密码子优化的几丁质酶基因,构建重组乳酸克鲁维酵母表达质粒(p KLAC1-chi A、p KLAC1-chi C)并用电脉冲法转化到乳酸克鲁维酵母中,实现低温几丁质酶的可溶表达。利用镍柱亲和层析纯化得到高纯度的重组几丁质酶。【结果】成功构建产低温几丁质酶的重组乳酸克鲁维酵母并纯化获得高纯度的重组几丁质酶。经SDS-PAGE分析在110 k Da与90 k Da附近出现符合预期大小的蛋白条带。铁氰化钾法测得Chi A和Chi C的酶活分别为51.45 U/mg与108.56 U/mg。最适反应温度分别为20°C和30°C,最适p H分别为8.0和9.0。在低于40°C,p H 8.0–12.0时,Chi A和Chi C重组酶较稳定。Chi A和Chi C对胶体几丁质以及粉状底物α-几丁质与β-几丁质具有明显的降解活性,且具有一定协同降解能力。【结论】首次实现假交替单胞菌来源的低温几丁质酶在乳酸克鲁维酵母中的重组表达、纯化、酶学性质及其降解产物分析,为其他低温几丁质酶的研究提供借鉴意义。     

Use of sulfated linked cyclitols as heparan sulfate mimetics to probe the heparin/heparan sulfate binding specificity of proteins

Heparin and heparan sulfate (HS) are structurally diverse glycosaminoglycans (GAG) that are known to interact, via unique structural motifs, with a wide range of functionally distinct proteins and modulate their biological activity. To define the GAG motifs that interact with proteins, we assessed the ability of 15 totally synthetic HS mimetics to interact with 10 functionally diverse proteins that bind heparin/HS. The HS mimetics consisted of cyclitol-based pseudo-sugars coupled by linkers of variable chain length, flexibility, orientation, and hydrophobicity, with variations in sulfation also being introduced into some molecules. Three of the proteins tested, namely hepatocyte growth factor, eotaxin, and elastase, failed to interact with any of the sulfated linked cyclitols. In contrast, each of the remaining seven proteins tested exhibited a unique reactivity pattern with the panel of HS mimetics, with tetrameric cyclitols linked by different length alkyl chains being particularly informative. Thus, compounds with short alkyl spacers (2-3 carbon atoms) effectively blocked the interaction of fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) and lipoprotein lipase with heparin/HS, whereas longer chain spacers (7-10 carbon atoms) were required for optimal inhibition of FGF-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor binding. This effect was most pronounced with the chemokine, interleukin-8, where alkyl-linked tetrameric cyclitols were essentially inactive unless a spacer of >7 carbon atoms was used. The heparin-inhibitable enzymes heparanase and cathepsin G also displayed characteristic inhibition patterns, cathepsin G interacting promiscuously with most of the sulfated cyclitols but heparanase activity being inhibited most effectively by HS mimetics that structurally resemble a sulfated pentasaccharide. These data indicate that a simple panel of HS mimetics can be used to probe the HS binding specificity of proteins, with the position of anionic groups in the HS mimetics being critical.     

The physiological role of drug transporters

Transporters comprise the largest family of membrane proteins in human organism, including members of solute carrier transporter and ATP-binding cassette transporter families. They play pivotal roles in the absorption, distribution and excretion of xenobiotic and endogenous molecules. Transporters are widely expressed in various human tissues and are routinely evaluated during the process of drug development and approval. Over the past decade, increasing evidence shows that drug transporters are important in both normal physiology and disease. Currently, transporters are utilized as therapeutic targets to treat numerous diseases such as diabetes, major depression, hypertension and constipation. Despite the steady growth of the field of transporter biology, more than half of the members in transporter superfamily have little information available about their endogenous substrate(s) or physiological functions. This review outlines current research methods in transporter studies, and summarizes the drug-transporter interactions including drug-drug and drug-endogenous substrate interactions. In the end, we also discuss the therapeutic perspective of transporters based on their physiological and pathophysiological roles.     

一株产葡萄糖氧化酶菌株的筛选、鉴定及酶学性质表征

[背景]海洋中蕴藏着大量未被开发利用的微生物种质资源,而且海洋微生物产的酶类因其具有耐低温、耐高压和耐高盐等明显区别于陆地微生物所产酶类的特点而备受关注.[目的]从渤海海域海泥样品中分离筛选产葡萄糖氧化酶的菌株,并研究其酶学性质.[方法]通过平板初筛和酶活复筛,确定产葡萄糖氧化酶的菌株;通过形态学鉴定和构建系统发育树分...     

Study on the Effect of Kidney Transplantation on the Health of the Patients’ Offspring: A Report on 252 Chinese Children

Even though the incidence of pregnancies in the female recipients is lower and also chronic renal disease in male patients is associated with impaired spermatogenesis, the health of the children born to these patients was not studied. In this report, we discuss information on the growth and development of offspring of 248 male and female kidney recipient patients. Physical and routine clinical measurements of the 252 offspring (129 male and 123 female) born to these transplantation patients were made along with the intelligence tests. In some of these children chest X-ray and immune indices were assessed. Among the recipients, 219 males fathered 223 children with an average birth weight of 3,255 ± 374 g and 29 female recipients gave birth to 29 children with an average birth weight of 2,923 ± 551. While most of these children were normal, we noticed a case of soft double toe, a case of short tongue tie, five cases of marginal mental retardation, three cases of proteinuria, six cases of microscopic hematuria, 15 cases of low hemoglobin, and 21 cases with recurrent respiratory tract infections. We conclude that kidney transplantation has no significant impact on the growth, development, health, and intelligence of the offspring born to recipients.     

Pre-steady state kinetic analysis of cyclobutyl derivatives of 2'-deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate as inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase

Pre-steady state kinetic analysis was utilized for biochemical evaluation of a series of cyclobutyl adenosine nucleotide analogs with HIV-1 RT(WT). The phosphonyl-diphosphate form of the cyclobutyl nucleotide, 5, was the most efficiently incorporated of the series. Nucleotide 5 was fourfold more efficiently incorporated than the FDA approved TFV-DP by RT(WT). The kinetics of incorporation for 5 using the drug resistant mutant enzyme K65R was also determined. Compound 5 was threefold more efficiently incorporated compared to TFV-DP with RT(K65R). These results demonstrate cyclobutyl adenosine analogs can act as substrates for incorporation by HIV-1 RT and be a potential scaffold for HIV inhibitors.