Kalata B1 has been demonstrated to have bioactivity relating to membrane disruption. In this study, we conducted coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to gain further insight into kB1 bioactivity. The simulations were performed at various concentrations of kB1 to capture the overall progression of its activity. Two configurations of kB1 oligomers, termed tower-like and wall-like cluster...

Kalata B1 (kB1), a cyclotide that has been used in medical applications, displays cytotoxicity related to membrane binding and oligomerization. Our molecular dynamics simulation results demonstrate that Trp19 in loop 5 of both monomeric and tetrameric kB1 is a key residue for initial anchoring in the membrane binding process. This residue also facilitates the formation of kB1 tetramers. Additio...

Cyclotides, a large family of cyclic peptides from plants, have a broad range of biological activities, including insecticidal, cytotoxic, and anti-HIV activities. In all of these activities, cell membranes seem likely to be the primary target for cyclotides. However, the mechanistic role of lipid membranes in the activity of cyclotides remains unclear. To determine the role of lipid organizati...

Deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basins and other hypersaline environments contain abundant and diverse microbial life that has adapted to these extreme conditions. The bacterial Candidate Division KB1 represents one of several uncultured groups that have been consistently observed in hypersaline microbial diversity studies. Here we report the phylogeography of KB1, its phylogenetic relationships to...

Silencing of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) in tumors, mainly through promoter methylation, correlates with a better therapeutic response and with increased survival. Therefore, it is conceivable to consider MGMT as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cancers. Our previous results demonstrated the pivotal role of NF-kappaB in MGMT expression, mediated mainly thr...

Gordonia westfalica Kb1 and Gordonia polyisoprenivorans VH2 induce the formation of an extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) during poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) degradation. To investigate the function of this enzyme in G. polyisoprenivorans VH2, the sodA gene was disrupted. The mutants exhibited reduced growth in liquid mineral salt media containing poly(cis-1,4-isoprene) as the sole carbon and e...

ASSESSMENT OF FRACTIONAL EXPIRED GASES AND AIR FLOW BY AN AMBULATORY METABOLIC ANALYZER. PATRICK L. JACOBS, MARK S. NASH AND C. DAVID MINTZ. JEPONLINE, 1999, 2(4):2028. Fractional expired oxygen (FEO2) and carbon dioxide (FECO2), and air volume flow were compared using an ambulatory metabolic analyzer (KB1-C, Aerosport, Inc.) and a laboratory metabolic analyzer (Horizon MMC, Sensormedics, Inc.)...

Four bacteriophages, P22, P27, 9NA, and KB1, active on smooth Salmonella strains belonging to serogroups A, B, and D1 were investigated for endoglycosidase activity and specificity in enzyme hydrolysis assays. Purified phage was incubated with phenol-water-extracted lipopolysaccharide preparations which had been partially delipidated. Dialyzable oligosaccharides, released by phage glycosidase a...

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) makes the treatment of infectious diseases in hospitals more difficult and increases the mortality of the patients. In this study, we attempted to identify novel potent antibiotic candidate compounds against S. aureus dihydrofolate reductase (saDHFR). We performed three-step in silico structure-based drug screening (SBDS) ba...