Current Chemical Biology - Volume 1, Issue 2, 2007

Translational initiation sites in eukaryotic mRNAs are reached via a scanning mechanism which predicts that translation should start at the AUG codon nearest the 5' end of the mRNA. During the translational initiation in eukaryotic cell, the small (40S) ribosomal subunit binds to the 5' end of the mRNA. The 40S ribosomal subunit, carrying MettRNAi* eIF2*GTP complex and other factors, then migrates through the 5' UTR until it Read More

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a promising treatment for malignant brain tumors as well as other cancers. Current research centers on both the design and synthesis of high boron containing compounds as BNCT agents, and the search for more effective delivery vehicles. This review discusses recent work on the development of nanomaterial based BNCT agents.

Xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) and replication protein A (RPA) are two essential proteins for nucleotide excision repair (NER), a DNA repair pathway that removes a large variety of bulky DNA lesions in cells. In addition to its role in NER, RPA also is required for almost all other cellular DNA metabolic pathways, such as DNA replication, recombination, and other repair pathways. Although both proteins have been extensi Read More

Cells have evolved specific intracellular compartments that permit local concentration of macromolecules. These macromolecules are transported from one part of the cell to another and eventually released into the extracellular space to participate in cell-to-cell communication. Neurons and neuroendocrine cells secrete neurotransmitters and hormones by exocytosis, a highly regulated process in which secretory vesicles fuse Read More

Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) plays an important role, both scientifically and commercially, in diagnostics and high throughput screening. For qualitative and quantitative analysis, RET systems are usually assembled through molecular recognition of biomolecules labeled with donor and acceptor luminophores. Lanthanide complexes, as well as quantum dot nanocrystals (QD), possess unique photophysical properties that Read More

Carbohydrates in living cells and organisms are involved in various physiological and pathogenic processes through specific interactions with proteins. As a result, studies of carbohydrate-protein interactions not only provide valuable information for the understanding of biological phenomena but they also have the potential of leading to the development of novel carbohydrate-based pharmaceutical agents. The sig Read More

The completion of whole human genome sequencing encourages the development of a powerful gene delivery technology for elucidating structure, regulation and function of genes and proteins in addition to the emerging biomedical applications, such as industry-based productions of therapeutic proteins and ‘gene therapy’. Due to some major limitations of viral-mediated delivery, non-viral synthetic systems have bec Read More

Ras proteins belong to the superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins which have the ability to recognize and bind to several sets of effector proteins, thereby communicating signals into different pathways. Although the Ras proteins have almost identical amino acid residues in the effector binding region, and the Ras binding domains have a similar ubiquitin-like topology, the affinity constants span three orders of m Read More

The Wnt signaling pathway regulates embryonic development, cell proliferation and cellular morphology. Deregulation and inappropriate activation of the pathway are associated with several diseases including cancer as well as bone and cartilage diseases such as arthritis. The high medical relevance of the Wnt pathway turns it into a tempting target for drug intervention. In this review we will summarize the major functions Read More