The procedure for the purification of renal dipeptidase from particulate kidney cortex fractions has been modified to eliminate a time-consuming washing process and a chromatographic step which frequently led to loss in activity. The over-all purification resulted in the isolation of 5.8 mg of purified peptidase from 1.5 kg of kidney cortex and produced an enzyme approximately 500 times more ac...

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a membrane-bound peptidyl dipeptidase known to act on a variety of peptide substrates in the extracellular space. Its most notable functions are the formation of angiotensin II and the degradation of bradykinin. In the current experiments, we found that exogenous ACE added to vascular smooth muscle cell culture strongly induces and upregulates the gene...

Murine L1210 leukemia cells resistant to the antineoplastic agent L-phenylalanine mustard have a 1.52.0-fold elevation in their cellular GSH and GSSG content as compared to drug-sensitive cells. Cellular uptake of ~-[U-'~C]cystine and its incorporation into GSH of the resistant tumor are correspondingly elevated. Synthesis of y-glutamylcysteine, GSH, and GSSG is elevated 1.5-2.0-fold in cell-f...

We found human renin inhibitory activity in soybean and isolated the active compound, soybean renin inhibitor (SRI). The physico-chemical data on the isolated SRI were identical with those of soyasaponin I. SRI showed significant inhibition against recombinant human renin, with an IC(50) value of 30 microg/ml. Kinetic studies with SRI indicated partial noncompetitive inhibition, with a K(i) val...

General practice characteristics are important for healthcare providers to maximise outcomes. Although different aspects of general practice characteristics have been studied previously, the impact of practice size on the delivery of care has been sparsely studied, particularly in relation to diabetes care. This brief report presents a longitudinal study in Shropshire (66 practices, 16,858 pati...