It has been widely postulated that the central mechanism of hepatic reperfusion injury involves the conversion, during ischemia, of the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) to its free radical-producing form, xanthine oxidase (XOD). However, this theory has been questioned because (a) XDH to XOD conversion in whole liver occurs very slowly; (b) the cellular distribution of XDH/XOD is unclear; an...

BACKGROUND Xanthine oxidoreductase has been proposed to play a role in the development of local and systemic effects of acute pancreatitis. Under physiologic conditions, the enzyme exists mainly as xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) but can be converted by proteolytic cleavage to its superoxide-generating form xanthine oxidase (XOD). In addition to its intracellular location XDH/XOD is also associate...

sequence suggested that the enzyme belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenase!reductase family. Expression plasmids for the xith gene were constructed and used to produce recombinant strains of G. orvdans that had up to 11-fold greater XDH actiyity than the wildtype strain. When used in the pToduction of xylitol from D-arabitol under controlled aeration and pH conditions, the strain harboring the...

BACKGROUND Two heterologous pathways have been used to construct recombinant xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains: i) the xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) pathway and ii) the xylose isomerase (XI) pathway. In the present study, the Pichia stipitis XR-XDH pathway and the Piromyces XI pathway were compared in an isogenic strain background, using a laboratory hos...

The nucleotide sequence of the Xdh region of Drosophila pseudoobscura is presented. The Xdh gene structure and organization are compared with the homologous region in D. melanogaster. This locus is shown to have similar organization in the two species, although an additional intron and three insertion/deletion events are described for the D. pseudoobscura coding region. The encoded proteins are...

During arousal from estivation in land snails, Otala lactea, active metabolic functions are restored within minutes and oxygen consumption increases dramatically. During the transition from the hypoxic conditions of estivation to normoxia it is possible that xanthine oxidase (XO) in hepatopancreas contributes to the observed lipid peroxidation. Using a fluorometric assay that is based on the ox...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by renal fibrosis that can lead to end-stage renal failure, and studies have supported a strong genetic influence on the risk of developing CKD. However, investigations of the underlying molecular mechanisms are hampered by the lack of suitable hereditary models in animals. We therefore sought to establish hereditary mouse models for CKD and renal f...

Experiments are described that provide an opportunity to estimate the genetic limits of the structural (amino acid coding) portion of the rosy locus (3:52.0) in Drosophila melanogaster, which controls the enzyme, xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH). This is accomplished by mapping experiments which localize sites responsible for electrophoretic variation in the enzyme on the known genetic map of null-...

Prior reports from this laboratory have described the experimental basis for our understanding of the genetic organization of the rosy locus (ry:3-52.0) of Drosophila melanogaster, as a bipartite genetic entity consisting of a structural element that codes for the xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) peptide and a contiguous, cis-acting control element. The present report describes our progress in the ...

Gene duplication is a primary source of molecular substrate for the emergence of evolutionary novelties. The chances for redundant gene sequences to evolve new functions are small compared with the probability that the copies become disabled by deleterious mutations. Functional divergence after gene duplication can result in two alternative evolutionary fates: one copy acquires a novel function...