We have begun to identify and characterize genes that are differentially expressed with low magnesium. One of these sequences conformed to the ancient conserved domain protein, ACDP2. Real-time RT-PCR of mRNA isolated from distal epithelial cells cultured in low-magnesium media relative to normal media and in kidney cortex of mice maintained on low-magnesium diets compared with those animals co...

Phytases catalyze the release of phosphate from phytic acid. In this study, a phytase producing bacterial strain Shigella sp. CD2 was isolated from the wheat rhizosphere. Phytase production started from the exponential phase of bacterial growth, showing the highest activity during the stationary phase. The enzyme activity was detected in both periplasmic and intracellular fractions. The enzyme ...

Zinc and Cu metabolism in crustacea changes dramatically during the molt cycle. Metallothionein (MT) and MT-like proteins are implicated in the handling of both metal ions as well as in the detoxification of Cd. Distribution of Cd2 / Cu / and Zn2 / in cytosol and among MT-like species has been determined. Lobsters were treated to induce MT as in mammals with dexamethasone (dex) or stress from t...

We identified a novel member of the metallothionein (MT) family, Cucumis sativus metallothionein-like 2 (CsMTL2), by screening a young cucumber fruit complementary DNA (cDNA) library. The CsMTL2 encodes a putative 77-amino acid Class II MT protein that contains two cysteine (Cys)-rich domains separated by a Cys-free spacer region. We found that CsMTL2 expression was regulated by metal stress an...

The deposits of clinoptilolite (CLI) in Iran after activation with sodium chloride or sodium hydroxide solution was subjected to ion exchange with some heavy and toxic cations. The results showed that the absorption for Ca2+ (7.5 ppm), Cu2+ (50 ppm), Zn2+ (40 ppm), Cd2+ (40 ppm), Pb2+ (500 ppm) and Al3+ (5 ppm) were 95.2, 96.70, 93.30,99.12, 99.2 and 90.0 percents, respectively. The noteworth...

NMDA receptors are allosterically inhibited by Zn2+ ions in a voltage-independent manner. The apparent affinity for Zn2+ of the heteromeric NMDA receptors is determined by the subtype of NR2 subunit expressed, with NR2A-containing receptors being the most sensitive (IC50, approximately 20 nM) and NR2C-containing receptors being the least sensitive (IC50, approximately 30 microM). Using chimeras...

NADP+-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase (E.C.1.1.1.42) has been purified to homogeneity from germinating pea seeds. The enzyme is a tetrameric protein (mol wt, about 146,000) made up of apparently identical monomers (subunit mol wt, about 36,000). Thermal inactivation of purified enzyme at 45 degrees and 50 degrees C shows simple first order kinetics. The enzyme shows optimum activity at pH range...