background: we studied the role of maternal folic acid supplementation in modifying the effects of  methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (mthfr c677t and a1298c) gene polymorphisms in iranian children with oral clefts. materials and methods: forty?seven newborn infants with orofacial cleft and their mothers were selected randomly. mothers were matched regarding dietary folate intake.the genotypi...

background: exercise can change the release of numerous cytokines and modulate their receptor systems. dietary ω-3 lipids may decrease the levels of inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins (pgs). therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of exercise and eicosapentaenoic acid (epa) supplementation, with or without vitamin e, on the blood levels of il-2, tnf-α, catalase, glutathione...

The partial purification of the enzyme, aromatic aldehydeketone reductase (aromatic A-K reductase), from rabbit kidney cortex is described. Aromatic A-K reductase utilizes TPNH but not DPNH as a cosubstrate. Substituted benzaldehydes and acetophenones are readily reduced to carbinols. Aromatic A-K reductase does not, however, catalyze the reverse reaction, the dehydrogenation of carbinols under...

The rpoN region of Pseudomonas stutzeri was cloned, and an rpoN null mutant was constructed. RpoN was not essential for denitrification in this bacterium but affected the expression levels and enzymatic activities of cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase and nitric oxide reductase, whereas those of respiratory nitrate reductase and nitrous oxide reductase were comparable to wild-type levels. Since t...

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) is a cofactor for aromatic amino acid hydroxylases and nitric oxide synthase. The biosynthesis includes two reduction steps catalyzed by sepiapterin reductase. An intermediate, 6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin (PPH(4)) is reduced to 1(')-oxo-2(')-hydroxypropyl-tetrahydropterin (1(')-OXPH(4)) or 1(')-hydroxy-2(')-oxopropyl-tetrahydropterin (2(')-OXPH(4)), which is further c...

A cDNA clone was isolated from a maize (Zea mays L. cv W64AxW183E) scutellum lambdagt11 library using maize leaf NADH:nitrate reductase Zmnr1 cDNA clone as a hybridization probe; it was designated Zmnr1S. Zmnr1S was shown to be an NADH:nitrate reductase clone by nucleotide sequencing and comparison of its deduced amino acid sequence to Zmnr1. Zmnr1S, which is 1.8 kilobases in length and contain...

Regulation of the expression of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase by the major end product of the biosynthetic pathway, cholesterol, and by various hormones is critical to maintaining constant serum and tissue cholesterol levels in the face of an ever-changing external environment. The ability to downregulate this enzyme provides a means to buffer the body agains...

The rate of dihydrofolate reductase synthesis in the AT3000 line of methotrexate-resistant murine Sarcoma 180 cells is approximately 200to 250-fold greater than that of the sensitive, parental line. We have purified cDNA sequences complementary to dihydrofolate reductase mRNA and subsequently used this probe to quantitate dihydrofolate reductase mRNA and gene copies in each of these lines. Anal...

In cells that had been physically enucleated after treatment with cytochalasin B (cytoplasts) levels of cholesterol synthesis and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity were nearly constant over a 6-h period of time. The ratio of the inactive to the active form of the reductase was unaltered by enucleation and did not change when the cytoplasts were incubated at 37%. The addit...