BACKGROUND The most important receptor for nitric oxide is the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), a heme containing heterodimer. Recently, a pyrazolopyridine derivative BAY 41-2272, structurally related to YC-1, was identified stimulating soluble guanylate cyclase in an NO-independent manner, which results in vasodilatation and antiplatelet activity. The study described here addresses the identif...

We have previously identified the Legionella 19-kDa peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL) as a species-common immunodominant antigen. We describe here for the first time the excretion and detection of the PAL antigen in infected urine specimens, which is useful for the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease. Rabbit anti-PAL immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody was produced by immunization with the ...

OBJECTIVE to compare the activities of antioxidative enzymes in erythrocytes between centenarians and a younger group of elderly subjects. DESIGN cross-sectional study. SETTING county of Funen, Denmark. SUBJECTS 41 centenarians aged between 100 and 105 years and 52 community control subjects aged between 60 and 79 years. MEASUREMENTS enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD),...

Manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) from Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) hepatopancreas has been purified with high purification (781-fold) and recovery (10.8%). The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 26kDa by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. In activity staining by native-PAGE, the Japanese flounder Mn-SOD gave three active bands and exhibited KCN-insen...

INTRODUCTION Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is one of the most important antioxidant enzymes present in all oxygen-metabolizing cells. This enzyme eliminates toxins from our body, so it is vital to understand its action and activity under the influence of different wavelengths. The effects of different wavelengths of light in the visible range on SOD activity were investigated. METHODS Enzyme sam...

The protein-bound polysaccharide of Coriolus versicolor QUEL (PS-K) expresses superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimicking activity. Examination was made of the suppressive effects of PS-K on cancer cell lines cultured in vitro. SOD activity of incorporated PS-K was 5.88 u/mg in LLC-WRC-256 (Walker 256 fibrosarcoma) cells and 4.73 u/mg in NRK-49F (rat normal kidney fibroblast) cells. SOD activity in bo...

PAL (EC 4.3.1.5) plays a key role in linking primary metabolism to phenylpropanoid metabolism by catalyzing the deamination of L-Phe to produce trans-cinnamic acid. This reaction is considered a key step in phenylpropanoid metabolism. In bean (Edwards et al., 1985) and parsley (Lois et al., 1989), PAL genes are transcriptionally activated by elicitor treatment, UV light, and wounding. We report...

PAL (L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase), the first enzyme of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, is often encoded by multigene families in plants. A PCR-based approach was used to isolate cDNA clones corresponding to the four PAL genes of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). By careful comparison of cDNA and genomic clones, a new PAL gene (PAL4) was defined. PCR amplification of PAL sequences from cDNA led to th...

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), which scavenges extracellular superoxide (O.), is highly regulated in the developing lung. In the prenatal rabbit, EC-SOD is predominantly intracellular and inactive, and postnatally, active EC-SOD is secreted. We hypothesized that prenatal hypoxia would delay the normal postnatal secretion of active EC-SOD in the lung. Pregnant New Zealand White rab...