Auxin and Cytokinin Alleviate Chromium-Induced Oxidative Stress in Nostoc muscorum and Anabaena sp. by Modulating Ascorbate–Glutathione Cycle

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Numerous advances have been made to mitigate the repercussion of toxic metals on photosynthetic prokaryotes, i.e. cyanobacteria. One strategy is exogenous...     

H NMR spectroscopic studies establish that heparanase is a retaining glycosidase

Heparanase is an endo-β-glucuronidase that cleaves heparan sulfate side chains of proteoglycans in basement membranes and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Heparanase is implicated in several diverse pathological processes associated with ECM degradation such as metastasis, inflammation and angiogenesis and is thus an important target for anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drug discovery. Heparanase has been classed as belonging to the clan A glycoside hydrolase family 79 based on sequence analysis, secondary structure predictions and mutagenic analysis, and thus it has been inferred that it is a retaining glycosidase. However, there has been no direct experimental evidence to support this conclusion. Herein we describe ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies of the hydrolysis of the pentasaccharide substrate fondaparinux by heparanase, and provide conclusive evidence that heparanase hydrolyses its substrate with retention of configuration and is thus established as a retaining glycosidase. Knowledge of the mechanism of hydrolysis may have implications for future design of inhibitors for this important drug target.     

Synthesis, characterization and crystal structure of manganese (IV) complex derived from salicylic acid

The binuclear manganese (IV) [Mn₂(Hsal)₄(OH)₄] (H₂sal = salicylic acid) complex has been obtained from a complex reaction mixture in methanol consisting of Mn(II)(OAc)₂ · 4H₂O, GS ( a reagent obtained by refluxing glycine and salicylaldehyde in 1:1 molar ratio in methanol), monosodium salicylate and pyridine. The compound contains a distorted octahedral MnO₆ coordination unit of potential importance to high oxidation state manganese bimolecules.