Enzymatic methyl transfer, catalyzed by catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), is investigated using binding isotope effects (BIEs), time-resolved fluorescence lifetimes, Stokes shifts, and extended graphics processing unit (GPU)-based quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approaches. The WT enzyme is compared with mutants at Tyr68, a conserved residue that is located behind the reactive ...

Lignin is a complex polymer derived from the oxidative coupling of three classical monolignols. Lignin precursors are methylated exclusively at the meta-positions (i.e. 3/5-OH) of their phenyl rings by native O-methyltransferases, and are precluded from substitution of the para-hydroxyl (4-OH) position. Ostensibly, the para-hydroxyls of phenolics are critically important for oxidative coupling ...

Lactoferrin (LF) is a well-known multifunctional protein. In this study, we report the inhibitory potency of bovine LF (bLF) on catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes methylation of catechol substrates. We found that bLF binds to and inhibits COMT using its N-terminal region. An N-terminal peptide fragment obtained from bLF by trypsin digestion showed a higher inhibitory activity ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between functional haplotypes in the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene and ADHD diagnosis, and executive function (EF) in children with ADHD. METHOD COMT single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs; rs6269, rs4633, rs4818, and rs4680) were genotyped in 445 ADHD children. EF was assessed using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Tower of London, and self-or...

Dengue virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and infects at least 100 million people every year. Progressive urbanization in Asia and South-Central America and the geographic expansion of Aedes mosquito habitats have accelerated the global spread of dengue, resulting in a continuously increasing number of cases. A cost-effective, safe vaccine conferring protection with ideally a single injec...

Purpose: To address the association between sequence variants within the MGMT (O-methylguanineDNA methyltransferase) promoter–enhancer region and methylation of MGMT in premalignant lesions from smokers and lung adenocarcinomas, their biological effects on gene regulation, and targetingMGMT

A foundational study assessed effects of biochemical pathway introduction into poplar to produce eugenol, chavicol, p-anol, isoeugenol and their sequestered storage products, from potentially available substrates, coniferyl and p-coumaryl alcohols. At the onset, it was unknown whether significant carbon flux to monolignols vs. other phenylpropanoid (acetate) pathway metabolites would be kinetic...