Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels (CaCCs) are key regulators of numerous physiological functions, ranging from electrolyte secretion in airway epithelia to cellular excitability in sensory neurons and muscle fibers. Recently, TMEM16A (ANO1) and -B were shown to be critical components of CaCCs. It is still unknown whether they are also sufficient to form functional CaCCs, or whether association wi...

When grown under phosphate-limiting conditions Pseudomonas aeruginosa expresses the phosphate-specific porin OprP. In order to determine whether any of the lysine residues located in the amino-terminal half of the protein play a role in the transport of anions through the channels, the first nine amino-terminal lysine residues of OprP were substituted with glutamates. The mutant proteins were p...

Previous gene-centric analysis of a cow rumen metagenome revealed the first potentially cellulolytic polysaccharide utilization locus, of which the main catalytic enzyme (AC2aCel5A) was identified as a glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 5 endo-cellulase. Here we present the 1.8 Å three-dimensional structure of AC2aCel5A, and characterization of its enzymatic activities. The enzyme possesses the ar...

1. Measurements were made of the rate of incorporation of (14)C from uniformly (14)C-labelled glucose into individual amino acids of rat brain and liver. 2. At 2.5 min. after intravenous injection of uniformly (14)C-labelled glucose, about 30% of the total radioactivity in the brain was present in the five amino acids studied. At 30 min. after subcutaneous injection the distribution of (14)C in...

Peptide-analogues of the A and B families of silkmoth chorion proteins form amyloid fibrils under a variety of conditions [Iconomidou, V.A., Vriend, G. Hamodrakas, S.J. 2000. Amyloids protect the silkmoth oocyte and embryo. FEBS Lett. 479, 141-145; Iconomidou,V.A., Chryssikos, G.D.,Gionis, V., Vriend, G., Hoenger, A., Hamodrakas, S.J., 2001. Amyloid-like fibrils from an 18-residue peptide-analo...

A novel active site has been identified in a family of zinc-dependent metalloendopeptidases that includes bacterial proteinase III, the human and Drosophila insulin-degrading enzymes, and the processing-enhancing protein subunit of the mitochondrial processing proteinase. None of these enzymes contains the conserved active site described in most other metalloendopeptidases, HEXXH; instead, all ...

Polyunsaturated fatty acids modulate the voltage dependence of several voltage-gated ion channels, thereby being potent modifiers of cellular excitability. Detailed knowledge of this molecular mechanism can be used in designing a new class of small-molecule compounds against hyperexcitability diseases. Here, we show that arginines on one side of the helical K-channel voltage sensor S4 increased...

Paramecia are ciliated single-cell eukaryotic organisms that can respond to chemical cues in their environment. Glutamate is among those cues, which attract cells. We describe briefly here the following attributes of glutamate chemoresponse: 1) Cells are attracted to L-glutamate relative to KCl at high concentrations of glutamate. 2) There are at least two specific, relatively low affinity glut...