This story begins at a social affair in New York for a group of haematologists. At that time I was an Assistant Professor at the Rockefeller University trying without success to isolate erythropoietin from theurine of patients with aplastic anaemia. One of the participants, Alan Schecter, mentioned that there had been a recent report of the successful treatment for sickle cell anaemia crisis in...

The effects of increased blood-oxygen affinity, due to carbamylation of hemoglobin in vivo, on aerobic metabolism in the heart were studied in rats. Adult male rats were injected intraperitoneally 3 times weekly for 10 wk with sodium cyanate (60 mg/kg). Significant derangement of blood-oxygen interaction was observed. Oxygen-dissociation curves were left shifted by 13 mmHg (35.1-21.8), and the ...

Oxidative modification of HDLs (high-density lipoproteins) by MPO (myeloperoxidase) compromises its anti-atherogenic properties, which may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Although it has been established that HOCl (hypochlorous acid) produced by MPO targets apoA-I (apolipoprotein A-I), the major apolipoprotein of HDLs, the role of the other major oxidant generated by MPO, HOSC...

Human iron-saturated Lf (FeLf), which was labeled with 125I or 50Fe, was found to combine with the membrane of mouse peritoneal cells (MPC) which consisted of 70% macrophages. The following experimental data suggested the involvement of a specific receptor. (a) The binding of FeLf to MPC reached a saturation point. (b) The binding of radioactive FeLf was inhibited by preincubating the cells wit...

The role of the functional architecture of the HuAChE (human acetylcholinesterase) in reactivity toward the carbamates pyridostigmine, rivastigmine and several analogues of physostigmine, that are currently used or considered for use as drugs for Alzheimer's disease, was analysed using over 20 mutants of residues that constitute the interaction subsites in the active centre. Both steps of the H...

A cDNA of pea (Pisum sativum L.) RbcS 3A, encoding a small subunit protein (S) of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), has been expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana under control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, and the transcript and mature S protein were detected. Specific antibodies revealed two protein spots for the four Arabidopsis S and one additional spot ...

We have studied the interaction of the reversible acetylcholine esterase inhibitor (-)physostigmine (D-eserine) with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) from Torpedo marmorata electric tissue by means of ligand-induced ion flux into nAChR-rich membrane vesicles and of equilibrium binding. We find that (-) physostigmine induces cation flux (and also binds to the receptor) even in the pr...

Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is routinely used in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) and for monitoring the long-term glycemic control in patients already diagnosed with DM. HbA1c is measured in the clinical laboratory based either on the charge of the glycated molecule by cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography (CE-HPLC) or electrophoresis, or on the physical structure o...