A method is described for the isolation of a phytohemagglutinin from the meadow mushroom, Agaricus campestris. This protein was homogeneous by ultracentrifugation, cellulose acetate electrophoresis, and immunoelectrophoresis. The molecular weight as measured by sedimentation equilibrium was 64,000 and the sedimentation constant, szo,W = 4.8, was independent of protein concentration. There were ...

Ocular mucin, the major product of conjunctival goblet cells, constitutes the innermost layer of preocular tear film. Ocular mucin is known for its limited amount and inaccessibility. Using impression cytology, mucus strands collected from the inferior fornix of either rabbit or human eyes were found to contain inflammatory cellular debris. In order to circumvent these difficulties and to isola...

Arginine kinase (AK) is a key enzyme for energetic balance in invertebrates. Although AK is a well-studied system that provides fast energy to invertebrates using the phosphagen phospho-arginine, the structural details on the AK-arginine binary complex interaction remain unclear. Herein, we determined two crystal structures of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) arginine kinase, ...

Lysostaphin is a zinc-metalloenzyme which has a molecular weight of 25,000 when determined by sedimentation equilibrium in dilute aqueous salt solutions. Combination of the sedimentation coefficient, sZO,lo = 2.32, and diffusion coefficient, DBo,w = 7.83, gave a native molecular weight of 25,800. Sedimentation equilibrium of the protein in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, with and without 2-mercapt...

A new type of nucleic acid analogues with a phosphoryl guanidine group is described. Oxidation of polymer-supported dinucleoside 2-cyanoethyl phosphite by iodine in the presence of 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl guanidine yields a dinucleotide with an internucleoside tetramethyl phosphoryl guanidine (Tmg) group as the main product. The Tmg group is stable under conditions of solid-phase DNA synthesis and ...

The Na+ content of poliovirus-infected HeLa S3 cells increased during the late phase of virus replication, after virus inhibition of host cell protein synthesis and in coincidence with late viral functions. Guanidine hydrochloride blocked the rise in Na+ content, whereas the antiguanidine agent choline fully reversed the guanidine block. Expression of one or more late viral functions was essent...

Guanidine compounds have important biochemical properties. Aminoguanidine, as an example, is an anti-oxidant, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (NOS) which prevents nitric oxide formation, and an inhibitor of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs). As an anti-oxidant, aminoguanidine may affect the formation of atherosclerotic lesions through protection from LDL oxidation. Inhibition of AGEs...

Due to their remarkably high structural stability, proteins from extremophiles are particularly useful in numerous biological applications. Their utility as alternative protein scaffolds could be especially valuable in small antibody mimetic engineering. These artificial binding proteins occupy a specific niche between antibodies and low molecular weight substances, paving the way for developme...

l-Arginine (l-Arg) affects various parameters that modulate the progression of renal disease. These same factors [e.g., glomerular filtration rate, changes in mesangial cell (MC) tension, and production of NO] are all controlled at least in part by changes in MC intracellular Ca2+concentration ([Ca2+]i). We therefore evaluated the effect of l-Arg on MC [Ca2+]i. We found thatl-Arg inhibits the v...