The leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) is a bifunctional enzyme with epoxy hydrolase and aminopeptidase activities. We hypothesize that the LTA4H aminopeptidase activity alleviates neutrophilic inflammation, which contributes to cigarette smoke (CS)-induced emphysema by clearing proline-glycine-proline (PGP), a triamino acid chemokine known to induce chemotaxis of neutrophils. To investigate the ...

Endocytosed protein antigens are believed to be fragmented in what appears to be a balance between proteolysis and MHC-mediated epitope protection, and the resulting peptide-MHC complexes are transported to the surface of the antigen-presenting cells (APC) and presented to T cells. The events that lead to antigenic peptide generation and the compartments where antigen processing takes place rem...

Study and research of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) transgenic plants have opened new ways to combat insect pests. Over the decades, however, insect pests, especially the Lepidopteran, have developed tolerance against Bt delta-endotoxins. Such issues can be addressed through the development of novel toxins with greater toxicity and affinity against a broad range of insect receptors. In this compu...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gastrointestinal stability of exenatide to determine the key factor(s) contributing to peptide degradation during the oral delivery process. The effects of pH and various digestive enzymes on the degradation kinetics of exenatide were determined. Moreover, the degradation clearances of peptide were also examined using rat everted intestinal rings...

The amino acid compositions of the radioactive peptides obtained from trypsin digestion of [14C]benzylpenicillin-labeled penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) 1A, 1B, and 3 of Escherichia coli have been obtained. Complete digestion of these peptides with a combination of aminopeptidase M and carboxypeptidase Y showed that benzylpenicillin was bound to a serine residue in each of these proteins. Co...

Transgenic expression of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystalline (Cry) toxins by crop plants result in reduced insect feeding damage, but sustainability is threatened by the development of resistance traits in target insect populations. We investigated Bt toxin resistance trait in a laboratory colony of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, selected for increased survival when exposed to...

Insect midgut membrane-anchored aminopeptidases N (APNs) are Zn(++) dependent metalloproteases. Their primary role in dietary protein digestion and also as receptors in Cry toxin-induced pathogenesis is well documented. APN expression in few non-gut hemocoelic tissues of lepidopteran insects has also been reported but their functions are widely unknown. In the present study, we observed specifi...

Angiogenesis is fundamental to tumorigenesis and an attractive target for therapeutic intervention against cancer. We have recently demonstrated that CD13 (aminopeptidase N) expressed by nonmalignant host cells of unspecified types regulate tumor blood vessel development. Here, we compare CD13 wild-type and null bone marrow-transplanted tumor-bearing mice to show that host CD13(+) bone marrow-d...

Aminopeptidase N (CD13) is a widely expressed cell surface metallopeptidase involved in the migration of cancer and endothelial cells. Apart from our demonstration that CD13 modulates the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis in neutrophils, no other function for CD13 has been ascribed in this cell. We hypothesized that CD13 may be involved in neutrophil migration and/or homotyp...

The post-translational processing of pig small-intestinal aminopeptidase N (EC 3.4.11.2) was studied in organ-cultured mucosal explants. Exposure of the explants to swainsonine, an inhibitor of Golgi mannosidase II, resulted in the formation of a M,-160000 polypeptide, still sensitive to endo-ffi-N-acetylglucosaminidase H. Swainsonine caused only a moderate inhibition of transport of the enzyme...