Geranylgeranoic acid, a 20-carbon polyprenoic acid (all-trans 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2,4,6,10,14-hexadecatetraenoic acid) and its derivatives were previously developed as synthetic "acyclic retinoids" for cancer chemoprevention. Recently, we demonstrated the natural occurrence of geranylgeranoic acid in various medicinal herbs (Shidoji and Ogawa, 2004). In this present study, we present several ...

Treatment of mouse-spleen cells with galactose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.9) after incubation with neuraminidase (EC 3.2.1.18) induced extensive blastogenesis. Treatment of the cells with galactose oxidase before incubation with neuraminidase had very little stimulatory effect. Either of these enzymes alone had practically no effect on the cells. The lymphocyte transformation induced by galactose oxidas...

BACKGROUND Molybdenum cofactor deficiency (resulting in combined deficiencies of the enzymes sulphite oxidase, xanthine dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase) and isolated sulphite oxidase deficiency are inherited metabolic diseases which follow an autosomal recessive trait of inheritance. Detection of these diseases in selective screening for inborn errors of metabolism is not easy because ...

A universal molybdenum-containing cofactor is necessary for the activity of all eukaryotic molybdoenzymes. In humans four such enzymes are known: Sulfite oxidase, xanthine oxidoreductase, aldehyde oxidase and a mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component. Of these, sulfite oxidase is the most important and clinically relevant one. Mutations in the genes MOCS1, MOCS2 or GPHN all encoding cofactor...

Tritiated uridine-5'-diphosphogalactose (UDP-[3H]Gal) has been widely used to study oligosaccharide biosynthesis and structure. It can be synthesized either chemically or enzymatically using galactose oxidase to oxidize the hydroxyl moiety at C-6 to an aldehyde (6-aldo-UDP-Gal), which is then reduced back to the alcohol with tritiated sodium borohydride. Although the enzymatic approach is simpl...

Two brothers with classical xanthinuria who lacked xanthine dehydrogenase activity were encountered. Their hypouricemia was caused by underproduction of uric acid. In their duodenal mucosa, no xanthine dehydrogenase (oxidase) activity was detected. The patients had no symptoms except for duodenal ulcer in one case. The conversion of allopurinol to oxipurinol during an allopurinol loading test f...

Studies in this laboratory (l-3) have dealt with the metabolism of amines derived from tryptophan, such as tryptamine and serotonin. Tryptophan may give rise to additional amines through decarboxylation of kynurenine and 3-hydroxykynurenine. Makino and Arai (4) were the first to suggest this pathway and later showed (5) that m&se liver homogenates convert kynuramine, the decarboxylation product...

Thiazoles and benzothiazoles form part of the molecular structure of many drugs, biocides and industrial chemicals. Examples include 2-mercaptobenzothiazole which is widely used as a rubber accelerator in the manufacture of tyres and which as a consequence occurs in street runoff and esturine sediments [ l ] and which may have ecotoxicological importance. In spite of this widespread occurrence ...

Lysyl oxidase catalyzes the formation of crosslinking aldehydes in collagen and elastin. This report demonstrates that the enzyme has high activity with collagen precipitated as native fibrils, an apparent K(m) of 0.95 muM, and low activity toward either soluble forms such as denatured collagen, isolated alpha chain, or isolated alpha1-CBl peptide, or precipitated collagen fibrils after pepsin ...

To develop a new more accurate spectrophotometric method for detecting monoamine oxidase inhibitors from plant extracts, a series of amine substrates were selected and their ability to be oxidized by monoamine oxidase was evaluated by the HPLC method and a new substrate was used to develop a peroxidase-linked spectrophotometric assay. 4-(Trifluoromethyl) benzylamine (11) was proved to be an exc...