Several congeners of methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) were tested for their ability to inhibit eukaryotic putrescine-activated S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.50) and intestinal diamine oxidase (EC 1.4.3.6). All the compounds tested, namely methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), ethylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone), dimethylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) and the di-N"-methyl derivative o...

A young woman sits in your exam room complaining of chronic headaches and sleep disturbances. She is clearly depressed, but when you raise the possibility of an antidepressant she shudders. " A chemical like that in my body? Never. " And therein lies the source of the multimillion dollar nutritional supplement industry aimed at people suffering from depression. The most recent addition to the g...

Rickettsia prowazekii, the causative agent of epidemic typhus, is an obligate, intracellular, parasitic bacterium that grows within the cytoplasm of eucaryotic host cells. Rickettsiae exploit this intracellular environment by using transport systems for the compounds available in the host cell's cytoplasm. Analysis of the R. prowazekii Madrid E genome sequence revealed the presence of a mutatio...

Four hitherto undescribed endodeoxyribonucleases, temporarily designated A(1), A(2), A(3), and B, have been isolated from E. coli K-12. Each requires Mg(++) and is not stimulated by ATP or S-adenosylmethionine. A(3) is strongly inhibited by Fe(+++) and weakly inhibited by ATP, S-adenosylmethionine, and DPN, whereas B is inhibited by caffeine. Each can be purified free of exonuclease or DNA-3'-p...

Adenosine is undoubtedly an ancient biological molecule that is a component of many enzyme cofactors: ATP, FADH, NAD(P)H, and coenzyme A, to name but a few, and, of course, of RNA. Here we present an overview of the role of adenosine in its most reactive form: as an organic radical formed either by homolytic cleavage of adenosylcobalamin (coenzyme B(12), AdoCbl) or by single-electron reduction ...

The Geobacillus stearothermophilus splG gene encodes a thermophilic spore photoproduct lyase (SplG) that belongs to the family of radical S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) enzymes. The aerobically purified apo-SplG forms a homodimer, which contains one [4Fe-4S] cluster per monomer unit after reconstitution to the holoform. Formation of the [4Fe-4S] cluster was proven by quantification of the amount...