Although O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status is an important marker for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), there is considerable variability in the clinical outcome of patients with similar methylation profiles. The present study aimed to refine the prognostic and predictive value of MGMT promoter status in GBM by identifying a micro (mi)RNA risk signature. D...

Anaerobic O-demethylases are inducible multicomponent enzymes which mediate the cleavage of the ether bond of phenyl methyl ethers and the transfer of the methyl group to tetrahydrofolate. The genes of all components (methyltransferases I and II, CP, and activating enzyme [AE]) of the vanillate- and veratrol-O-demethylases of Acetobacterium dehalogenans were sequenced and analyzed. In A. dehalo...

The imidazotetrazine ring is an acid-stable precursor and prodrug of highly reactive alkyl diazonium ions. We have shown that this reactivity can be managed productively in an aqueous system for the generation of aziridinium ions with 96% efficiency. The new compounds are potent DNA alkylators and have antitumor activity independent of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase and DNA mismatch...

Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) methylates N-acetylserotonin into melatonin; that is, it has N-acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase (ASMT) activity. The ASMT activity of COMT was first detected in Arabidopsis thaliana COMT (AtCOMT). To confirm the involvement of COMT on melatonin synthesis in other plant species, the ASMT activity of a COMT from rice (Oryza sativa) (OsCOMT) was evaluated...

Authors' A University Manches 3Neurosug NHS Trus Developme Urology, N

The present study investigated the possibility that different aspects of performance monitoring share a common dopaminergic foundation. For this purpose we analyzed the influence of the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism on electrophysiological markers of conflict and error monitoring, respectively. An EEG was recorded while 65 healthy subjects completed a response-conflict evoking task. In the even...

Treatment of chloroethylnitrosourea-resistant cells with streptozotocin (STZ) prior to bis-chloroethylnitrosourea (BCNU) exposure has been shown to result in a depletion of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) activity, increased BCNU-induced interstrand cross-linking, and a 2-3 log enhancement of BCNU cytotoxicity in vitro. The current study was undertaken to define the kinetics of re...

Sampling of structures from QM/MM molecular dynamics reveals distinct families of reactant-state conformers and yields kinetic isotope effects for reactions in enzyme active sites and in solution, averaged over thermal fluctuations of the environment, that allows meaningful comparison of computed with experimental values.

Abstract ,. . . . . . ,, :!. ,., ” ., :. !!:!. .;:::. .... .. The possibility of using a series of magneticdipoles to produce a composite m~getic .! ;!.. f. ;? :,: in-’moment has been established. A concept is proposed of exciting a set of magDe[]L~ipoles, compnsin~ loops with prescribed electrical properties, by means of an electricalnetwork which they form part. A network model b developed fo...