Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is renoprotective during acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by ischemia and cisplatin nephrotoxicity; however, the underlying mechanism is not entirely clear. Rhabdomyolysis is another important clinical cause of AKI, due to the release of nephrotoxins (e.g., heme) from disrupted muscles. The current study has determined the effects of G-CSF on rhabd...

The heme-copper oxidase (HCO) superfamily includes HCOs in aerobic respiratory chains and nitric oxide reductases (NORs) in the denitrification pathway. The HCO/NOR catalytic subunit has a core structure consisting of 12 transmembrane helices (TMHs) arranged in three-fold rotational pseudosymmetry, with six conserved histidines for heme and metal binding. Using sensitive sequence similarity sea...

A half century ago, Max Perutz and John Kendrew determined the crystal structure of two heme-containing proteins: hemoglobin and myoglobin, respectively.1,2 These landmark discoveries created the foundation for a detailed biochemical understanding of how protein structure influences and affects its ability to bind and carry oxygen. Perutz and Kendrew were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. Since ...

Copper (Cu) is a potent antimicrobial agent. Its use as a disinfectant goes back to antiquity, but this metal ion has recently emerged to have a physiological role in the host innate immune response. Recent studies have identified iron-sulfur containing proteins as key targets for inhibition by Cu. However, the way in these effects at the molecular level translate into a global effect on cell p...

The current theories of antimalarial mechanism of artemisinin are inadequate to fully explain the observed effects. In our study, "organism-like" formation of Schistosoma hemozoin granules by attaching to and utilizing erythrocytes to form new ones was observed. This indicates that heme iron is transferred from erythrocytes to hemozoin granules during their formation. However, as a disposal pro...

The interaction of heme with blood serum proteins plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes involving enzyme activity, gene expression cell proliferation. mechanisms underlying these interactions are; however, not yet fully understood. New analytical methods able to investigate protein-heme binding native, biologically representative conditions are thus required. ...

Bacterial peroxidases are responsible for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide to water. Found in periplasm gram-negative bacteria, they one defense mechanisms against endogenous and exogenous stress under low oxygen tensions. Besides being involved detoxification, bacterial have been proposed constitute an alternative pathway respiratory chain anoxic conditions, as demonstrated E. coli that can ...