Cholesterol esters, which can comprise over 75% of total cholesterol in diets rich in organ meats, must first be hydrolyzed by pancreatic cholesterol esterase (EC 3.1.1.13) before being absorbed (1). In its hydrolytic mode, catalysis by the enzyme involves a classical serine esterase mechanism in which the seroxide anion displaces the sterol moiety to give an acyl-enzyme intermediate, followed ...

Studies of the prothrombin time (PT) have revealed that contact with borosilicate or commercial siliconized borosilicate markedly shortens the PT. This shortening is related to the activation of the contact phase of blood coagulation. This shortening of the PT occurs in both normal whole blood and plasma when stored in borosilicate or siliconized borosilicate tubes at 4 degree C and to a lesser...

In order to elucidate the elementary mechanism of the promiscuous esterase activity of human carbonic anhydrase (h-CA), we present an accurate theoretical investigation on the hydrolysis of fully-acetylated d-glucose functionalized as sulfamate. This h-CA's inhibitor is of potential relevance in cancer therapy. The study has been performed within the framework of three-layer ONIOM (QM-high:QM'-...

CI-980 is a chemotherapeutic agent currently in Phase II trials that arrests cellular division by binding to tubulin. It is structurally and functionally similar to colchicine, a potent nonreversible neurotoxin, and is able to cross the blood-brain barrier. In Phase I studies, neurotoxicity was noted. The neurotoxicity of CI-980 was prospectively evaluated in two Phase II studies by neurologica...

Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8N 3Z5 We report a 64 year-old woman with longstanding hereditary angioedema who previously required a tracheotomy. In September 2005, while receiving prophylactic Danazol she noticed a left sided swelling involving her throat and uvula that was of moderate intensity by 1110h. S...