Current Chemical Biology - Volume 7, Issue 3, 2013

We have used the Smoldyn software to create spatially detailed models of the Escherichia coli chemotaxis pathway. With it we can follow signalling reactions at high spatio-temporal resolution, observe the formation of gradients of phospho-proteins as well as total protein and analyse the effects of macromolecular crowding on signalling. It has enabled us to propose new regulatory elements of the signalling pathway, which are m Read More

In this review we discuss the interaction between experiments and theory in understanding regulatory systems in bacterial cells, using the galactose network of E. coli as a model system to illustrate this. Initially, experiments led to a coarse-grained network view of this system, which revealed the structure of entangled negative and positive feedback loops that regulates galactose metabolism. A dynamical model, bas Read More

Proteins interact with each other to perform an array of cellular functions. A systems-level knowledge of protein interaction networks, as well as the underlying domain-domain interactions, constitutes a major goal in systems biology. In this mini-review, we discuss some background to the problem of inference of domain-domain interactions and briefly discuss some relevant computational and statistical approaches. Specifi Read More

Snake venom contains a number of different, pharmacologically-active proteins and peptides. Most of the haemorrhagic proteins of snake venoms are metalloproteinases. Agkistrodon halys metalloproteinase (AHM) was isolated from the snake venom of Pallas (Mol wt. 23145). In vitro toxicological effects of AHM (0.1-2 mM) on human macrophages (THP-1 and U-937), lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) and murine lung epithelial ( Read More

Mainly synthesized in the stomach, ghrelin is a peptide hormone which stimulates growth hormone secretion and appetite, thus promoting food intake and body-weight gain. Historically, researchers started to work on the discovery of ghrelin receptor ligands several years before the discovery of the ghrelin receptor and the hormone itself. Indeed peptides able to stimulate growth hormone secretion (growth hormone Read More

There is a vast literature dealing with various aspects of the circadian clock. This review provides examples of the multifaceted nature, of namely redox, oxidative stress, melatonin, antioxidants, nitric oxide, hypoxia, anesthetics, cortisol and cocaine. The redox and oxidative stress features reflect the involvement of electron transfer and radical species, which can exert either beneficial or deleterious effects. The harmful asp Read More

Sertoli cells (SCs) are essential for the testis functional development and hence for the expression of male phenotype. They provide a unique and protected environment in testis, within the seminiferous tubules, necessary for the successful progression of germ cells into fully competent spermatozoa. SC has the ability to metabolize various substrates, but preferentially uses glucose that is converted to pyruvate and lacta Read More