Protein and Peptide Letters - Volume 30, Issue 3, 2023

Background: The DNA polymerase of Thermus thermophilus (Tth pol) presents reverse transcriptase activity with Mn2+, and can be used for one-step RT-qPCR. However, Mn2+ would reduce amplification fidelity and cause nonspecific products. Objective: Eliminating the Mn2+ dependence of the reverse transcriptase activity of Tth pol by point mutations. Methods: We constructed three variants I640F, I709K, and I640F/I709K, Read More

Chemotherapy is one of the most important treatment modalities for liver cancer, especially for those who are judged as being unsuitable for surgical resection, local ablative therapy, or transarterial chemoembolization. However, the efficacy of chemotherapy is still unsatisfactory due to the long duration, side effects and the tendency to develop drug resistance. The development of novel anti-liver cancer drugs remains i Read More

Background: Colon cancer has the second highest incidence rate of digestive system tumors. It relies on surgical treatment, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and targeted drug therapy. Objective: To study the mechanism of GSN in the proliferation of colon cancer cells. Materials and Methods: The expression of gelsolin (GSN) was analyzed with the data of colon cancer patients in the TCGA database. SW620 cells were Read More

Background: Several reports have indicated that ultrasonication can change the solubility of muscle proteins and improves the functional properties of meat and isolated muscle proteins. Moreover, available literature suggests that ultrasonication can significantly improve the gelling properties of muscle proteins. Objectives: The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of low-frequency ultrasonication on the seconda Read More

Background: The CRISPR-Cas system is an adaptive immune mechanism for bacteria and archaea to resist foreign invasion. Currently, Cas9 and Cpf1 have been widely studied and applied in gene editing. C2c1 is a newly discovered CRISPR-Cas system endonuclease. It has broad application prospects due to its small molecular weight and high substrate recognition specificity. Objectives: Bacillus thermoamylovorans C2c1(Bth Read More

Aims: Further investigation on the mechanism of action of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in NSCLC would shed light on the understanding of TRAIL resistance and provide new clues for the counter-strategy. Background: Cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP) is a critical inhibitor of TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Our previous study suggested that glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) positively regulate Read More

Background: Aloperine (ALO) is an important active component of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora flavescens A and Sophora alopecuroides L, and has effective anticancer activity against multiple cancers. However, the influence and mechanism of ALO on migration, invasion, and adhesion in bladder cancer cells remain unclear. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the anticancer effect of ALO on migration, invasion, Read More

Background: Protease inhibitors (PIs) have attracted attention due to their important roles in plant defense. Objective: The objective of this work was to characterize and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the peptides of a family of serine PIs from Capsicum chinense Jacq. seeds. Methods: Initially, PIs were extracted from the seeds and subjected to purification by chromatography, resulting in three different peptide enriche Read More