Cisplatin and carboplatin are platinum anticancer agents that are used to treat a variety of cancers. Previous X-ray crystallographic studies of carboplatin binding to histidine in hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) showed a partial chemical conversion of carboplatin to cisplatin owing to the high sodium chloride concentration used in the crystallization conditions. Also, the co-crystallization of H...

Immunoglobulin (Ig) function varies by isotype and antibody activity is best mediated by isotypes most able to control the inciting infection. In pigs, a high ratio of IgG1:IgG2 is associated with resistance to disease caused by the extra-cellular bacterium Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. This ratio is controlled by type 1/type 2 cytokines in vitro, reflecting cell- (CMI) or antibody-mediated ...

The reformation of secondary structure for unfolded, disulfide reduced hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) upon interaction with surfactants was studied using CD, fluorescence and IR (infrared) techniques. Equilibrium CD studies showed that reduced HEWL when mixed with negatively charged surfactants, such as SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate), gradually regains average helical structure to a level equivale...

Many diseases, including diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease, are related to accumulation of aggregated (poly)peptides in tissues. These aggregates called amyloids are insoluble and up till now no adequate treatment of amyloid-related diseases is available. One of the most promising therapeutic agents is the polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). It has been shown that EGCG inhibit...

44 samples of tetragonal hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) were obtained as a series of polycrystalline precipitates at 277 K and room temperature in the pH range between 6.56 and 3.33. The precipitates were investigated by the collection of high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction data at 295 K, which reveal the tetragonal or orthorhombic forms of lysozyme depending on the temperature and pH of cr...

Protein folding, natural conformational changes, or interaction between partners involved in recognition phenomena brings about differences in the solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) of the polypeptide chain. This primary event can be monitored by the differential chemical reactivity of functional groups along the protein sequence. Diazirine (DZN), a photoreactive gas similar in size to wate...

On the basis of elastic light scattering, we have compared the capacity of the multi-block, surfactant copolymers Poloxamer 108 (P108), Poloxamer 188 (P188), and Tetronic 1107 (T1107), of average molecular weight 4700, 8400, and 15,000, respectively, with that of polyethylene glycol (PEG, molecular weight 8000) to suppress aggregation of heat-denatured hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) and bovine s...

Background & Aims: Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the abnormal aggregation of amyloid-β plaques in the brain. Although several studies have been done for finding effective medicines in the treatment of this disease, a drug that inhibits amyloid β aggregation and ameliorates the disorder has not been approved so far. One important therapeutic approach is use...

The structure and stability of the adduct formed in the reaction between Auoxo3, a dinuclear gold(iii) compound, and the model protein hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) are investigated by X-ray crystallography, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD). It is found that Auoxo3 breaks down completely, undergoes reduction and produces reactive gold(i) species able to bind the protei...