EcoDam is an adenine-N6 DNA methyltransferase that methylates the GATC sites in the Escherichia coli genome. DNA-adenine methylation is not present in higher eukaryotes including humans. These observations raise the possibility that dam inhibitors may be used as anti-microbial agents. Polyphosphate (Poly(P)) is an important metabolite and signaling molecule in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here, ...

We studied physiological roles of the yeast vacuole in the phosphate metabolism using 31P-in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Under phosphate starvation wild-type yeast cells continued to grow for two to three generations, implying that wild-type cells contain large phosphate pool to sustain the growth. During the first four hours under the phosphate starved condition, the cy...

Inositol polyphosphates, in their water-soluble or lipid-bound forms, represent a large and multifaceted family of signalling molecules. Some inositol polyphosphates are well recognised as defining important signal transduction pathways, as in the case of the calcium release factor Ins(1,4,5)P3, generated by receptor activation-induced hydrolysis of the lipid PtdIns(4,5)P2 by phospholipase C. T...

Cancer is a leading cause of thrombosis. We identify a new procoagulant mechanism that contributes to thromboembolism in prostate cancer and allows for safe anticoagulation therapy development. Prostate cancer-mediated procoagulant activity was reduced in plasma in the absence of factor XII or its substrate of the intrinsic coagulation pathway factor XI. Prostate cancer cells and secreted prost...

Polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1), the principal enzyme responsible for reversible synthesis of polyphosphate (poly P) from the terminal phosphate of ATP, is highly conserved in bacteria and archaea. Dictyostelium discoideum, a social slime mold, is one of a few eukaryotes known to possess a PPK1 homolog (DdPPK1). Compared with PPK1 of Escherichia coli, DdPPK1 contains the conserved residues for AT...

A biodegradable polyphosphate polymer (Mn = 18,000, Mw/Mn = 3.2) matrix system was developed as a potential delivery vehicle for growth factors. As a model system, release of recombinant human osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) from this polymer was evaluated. The polyphosphate was synthesized using a triethylamine catalyst in an argon environment, and characterized using elemental analysis, gel perme...

In comparison with the previous structure determination of the β-modification of barium catena-polyphosphate that was based on Weissenberg film data [Grenier et al. (1967 ▶). Bull. Soc. Fr. Minéral. Cristallogr. 90, 24-31], the current CCD-data-based redetermination reveals all atoms with anisotropic displacement parameters, standard uncertainties for the atomic coordinates, and the determinati...

Polyphosphate grafted Fe 3 O 4 nanomagnets for pH-responsive drug delivery and their in vivo tracking by 64 Cu 177 Lu radiolabeling.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was applied for the characterization of inorganic polyphosphates [orthophosphate, pyrophosphate, tripolyphosphate, trimetaphosphate, and tetrapolyphosphatel. The high selectivity of ESI-MS allows the detection of different polyphosphate species without preseparation by ion chromatography or capillary electrophoresis. Furthermore, ESI-MS does no...