Oral candidosis is a common problem in immunocompromised patients, and whilst Candida albicans is regarded as the principal cause of infection, other non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species are increasingly being recognized as human pathogens. Relatively little is known about the virulence factors associated with NCAC species, and the aim of this study was to use a reconstituted human oral ...

Candida virulence attributes include the ability to colonize and invade host tissues, and the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes. Although Candida albicans is regarded as the principal fungi causing infections in humans, other species, particularly Candida tropicalis, are increasingly being recognized as human pathogens. Relatively little is known, however, about the virulence attributes associate...

Freely occurring alpha-l-aspartyl-l-histidine, beta-alanyl-l-histidine (carnosine), alpha-l-aspartyl-alpha-l-lysine, l-asparaginyl-alpha-l-lysine, alpha-l-glutamyl-alpha-l-lysine, l-isoleucyl-alpha-l-lysine, l-seryl-alpha-l-lysine, l-valyl-alpha-l-lysine and glycyl-alpha-l-lysyl-alpha-l-lysine were identified in young larvae (second and third instars) of the blowfly (Phormia regina).

Protein ageing is often mediated by the formation of succinimide intermediates. These short-lived intermediates derive from asparaginyl deamidation and aspartyl dehydration and are rapidly converted into β-aspartyl or D-aspartyl residues. Here we report the presence of a highly stable succinimide intermediate in the glutaminase subunit of GMP synthetase from the hyperthermophile Methanocaldocco...

To screen chaperone proteins from Schizosaccharomyce pombe (S. pombe), we prepared recombinant citrate synthase of the fission yeast as a substrate of anti-aggregation assay. Purified recombinant citrate synthase showed citrate synthase activity and was suitable for the substrate of chaperone assay. Several heat stable proteins including aspartyl aminopeptidase (AAP) for candidates of chaperone...

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is one of the important opportunistic fungal pathogens that is closely associated with disseminated or chronic infections. The objective of this study is to evaluate the synergistic antifungal effect of licofelone, which is dual microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase/lipoxygenase (mPGES-1/LOX) inhibitor in combination with fluconazole against C. albicans. Here our r...

Two water-soluble glycoasparagine storage products were isolated from the liver of a patient with inherited deficiency of lysosomal N-aspartyl-beta-glucosaminidase (aspartylglycosaminuria). The compounds were characterized using gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses of intact and specifically degraded derivatives. The storage compounds were identified as 2-acetamido-1-N-(4'-L-aspartyl...

Proteinase A and proteinase B, two vacuolar enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are synthesized as larger precursors with apparent molecular weights of approximately 52,000 and 42,000, respectively. These precursor molecules are processed to their mature forms of 42,000 molecular weight for proteinase A and 33,000 molecular weight for proteinase B. In the presence of tunicamycin, an inhibitor ...

Protein-L-isoaspartyl (D-aspartyl) O-methyltransferase (E.C. 2.1.1.77) is a well-conserved and widely distributed protein repair enzyme that methylates isomerized or racemized aspartyl residues in age-damaged proteins. We exploited the availability of protein sequences from 10 diverse animal, plant and bacterial taxa to construct a phylogenetic tree and determine the rates of amino acid substit...

Cerebral deposition of amyloid beta-protein (A beta) is believed to play a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Because A beta is produced from the processing of amyloid beta-protein precursor (APP) by beta- and gamma-secretases, these enzymes are considered important therapeutic targets for identification of drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease. Unlike beta-secretase, which is a ...