Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 8, Issue 5, 2007

The structure of Escherichia coli chaperonin GroEL was studied using various experimental tools. Such studies produced information about its structure with increasing details. Moreover, remarkable advances in experimental methods provided a step forward in understanding the reaction cycle involved in GroEL-mediated protein folding. In the current review we summarize recent progress, focus on the structure of GroEL Read More

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are both of endosymbiotic origin. Upon symbiosis the ancestral bacteria had to be incorporated into the regulatory cellular network. A long known phenomenon is thereby the alteration of the positioning of the organelles in response to extra- and intracellular stimuli. For chloroplasts, the repositioning is a response to light intensity changes in order to optimize the photosynthetic process. Mitoch Read More

Structure-based drug design (SBDD) has played an integral role in the development of highly specific, potent protease inhibitors resulting in a number of drugs in clinical trials and on the market. Possessing biochemical assays and structural information on both the target protease and homologous family members helps ensure compound selectivity. We have redesigned the path from clone to protein eliminating many o Read More

Defensins are a family of peptides with potent antimicrobial activity. They are found in various organisms. The intent of this article is to review the structures and mechanisms of antimicrobial actions of defensins produced by different organisms including humans, other mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, mollusks, arthropods, plants and fungi. The evolution and possible applications of these defensins are discussed.

Biological systems are organized in intricate and highly structured networks with hierarchies and multiple scales. Cells can be considered as “meso-scale level” systems placed between the “macro-scale level” (systems of cellular networks) and the “micro-scale level” (systems of molecular networks). In fact, cells represent complex biochemical machineries made by networks of molecules connected by biochemical reaction Read More

The 9-aminoacridines play an important role in medicine. They were applied first in a treatment of protozoal infections in the beginning of the last century. Recently, it has been shown that the 9-aminoacridines are successful candidates for treatment of cancer, viral and prion diseases. Their conjugation with biomolecules such as peptides and proteins may modulate their activity, bioavailability and applicability. This review de Read More

Seminal studies by Richardson [1] and Thornton [2] defined the constraints imposed by protein structure on disulfide formation and flagged forbidden regions of primary or secondary structure seemingly incapable of forming disulfide bonds between resident cysteine pairs. With respect to secondary structure, disulfide bonds were not found between cysteine pairs: A. on adjacent β-stands [1]; B. in a single helix or strand Read More

Knowledge regarding the regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 (P450) is crucial to the fields of drug therapy and drug development, as well as to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the metabolic activation of toxic and carcinogenic compounds. P450 is a membrane-anchored protein that shows a variety of interaction with membrane phospholipids, which affect the membrane topology and catalytic activities of Read More

Burn-induced immunosuppression not only increases susceptibility to infection, but also predisposes burn patients to related adverse sequelae, including systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis. Although burn-related immunosuppression is not fully understood, it is characterized by decreased T- and B-lymphocyte function and by impaired functions of circulating leukocytes and complement. Alteratio Read More