Cellular enzymes

Polypeptide hormones are synthesized as part of a larger precursor molecule or prohormone. Cleavage of the prohormone by specific cellular enzymes, ie, peptidases, produces the secreted form of the hormone. In some cases, multiple bioactive hormones are produced from a single prohormone. 

Substances that do not target the active site but display inhibition by allosteric mechanisms are associated with a lower risk of unwanted interference with related cellular enzymes. Allosteric inhibition of the viral polymerase is employed in the case of HIV-1 nonnucleosidic RT inhibitors (NNRTl, see chapter by Zimmermann et al., this volume) bind outside the RT active site and act by blocking a conformational change of the enzyme essential for catalysis. A potential disadvantage of targeting regions distant from the active site is that these may be subject to a lower selective pressure for sequence conservation than the active site itself, which can lower the threshold for escape of the virus by mutation. 

All NRTIs, as exemplified for AZT (Fig. 7), act in a similar fashion following their uptake by the cells, they are phosphorylated successively to their 5 -monophosphate, 5 -diphosphate, and 5 -triphosphate form (De Clercq 2002). Unlike the first phosphorylation step in the metabolic pathway of the acyclic guanosine analogues (see above), which is carried out by a virus-encoded enzyme (thymidine kinase), the first as well as the subsequent phosphorylations of the 2, 3 -dideoxynucleosides are carried out by cellular enzymes, that is, a 2 -deoxynucleoside (e.g., dThd) kinase, a 2 -deoxynucleotide (e.g., dTMP) kinase, and a (2 -deoxy)nucleoside 5 -diphosphate (NDP) kinase. 

Terminase inhibition is an antiviral approach that may also be of consequence for other members of the herpesvirus group. In addition, since a similar DNA maturation process does not occur in higher cells, this principle offers the potential for high selectivity, in contrast to many of the viral DNA polymerase inhibitors, which also interact with cellular enzymes and hence can have severe side effects. 

Cell Walls (CW). After the extraction of the cellular enzymes from the biomass, the residue of homogenized cells was repeatedly washed with water and finally with 96 % ethanol, dried and the dry weight of cell walls was determined (10). 

Acid-base balance involves chemical and physiological processes responsible for the maintenance of the pH of body fluids at levels that allow optimal function of the whole individual. The ability for the body to regulate pH is critically important in maintaining the operation of many cellular enzymes and the function of vital organs, such as the brain and the heart [143],... 

The antioxidant system in humans is a complex network composed by several enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants. In addition to being an antioxidant, lycopene also exerts indirect antioxidant properties by inducing the production of cellular enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, and quinone reductase that also protect cells from reactive oxygen species and other electrophilic molecules (Goo and others 2007). 

The efficiency of superoxide assays strongly depend on the nature of superoxide producers. Significant difficulties arise in the detection of superoxide in cells and tissue. Cytochrome c is unable to penetrate cell membranes and therefore, can be used only for the measurement of extracellular superoxide. Furthermore, SOD-inhibitable cytochrome c reduction is difficult to apply in nonphagocytic cells and tissue due to the complications of measuring low rates of superoxide release, direct reduction of cytochrome c by cellular enzymes, the reoxidation of reduced cytochrome by hydrogen peroxide, etc. [8], Moreover, in nonphagocytic cells superoxide is formed exclusively inside the cells and is not released outside as in phagocytes. These circumstances severely limit the number of analytical methods, which can be used for superoxide detection in vasculature. 

The answer is d. (Katzung, pp 831-832.) Zidovudine competitively inhibits HIV-1 nucleoside reverse transcriptase. It is also incorporated in the growing viral DNA chain to cause termination. Each action requires activation via phosphorylation of cellular enzymes. Zidovudine decreases the rate of clinical disease progression and prolongs survival in HIV-infected patients. 

When the receptor interacts with its associated G protein, the conformation of the guanine-nucleotide-binding site is altered. The subunits then dissociate, and a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) is activated [5]. The subsequent hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate then produces inositol triphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG), which are known to be secondary messengers. For example, the water soluble IP3 is released into the cell where its ultimate targets are the calcium storage organelles from which Ca2+ is released [3]. The presence of DAG in cells is known to activate the cellular enzyme protein kinase C (PKC) [6, 7], which phosphorylates a number of cellular... 

Every single-stranded DNA molecule has two ends (5 and 3 ) whose chemical and biological properties differ. In double-stranded DNA, the two strands are always antiparallel, i.e., their 3 and 5 ends are in opposite orientation to one another. Cellular enzymes known as DNA polymerases, which elongate these... 

XTT assay is suitable for measuring cell proliferation, cell viability or cytotoxicity. The tetrazolium salts are converted into a coloured formazan product by cellular enzymes present in the mitochondria of a metabolically active cell. These enzymes are rapidly inactivated when a cell dies, and hence the activity of these enzymes can be used to monitor the viability of a cell. 

AZT is phosphorylated by cellular enzymes to the triphosphate, which competes with normal substrates for formation of DNA by reverse transcriptase, and blocks viral DNA synthesis. Mammalian DNA polymerase is relatively unaffected, but there can be some toxic effects. AZT is used in AIDS treatment along with other antiretroviral drugs. 

For many years, I have been interested in the problem of how proteins are degraded in cells. The dynamic state of cellular proteins (Schoenheimer, 1942) and the important roles of protein degradation in the control of cellular enzyme levels (Schimke Doyle, 1970) have been recognized for a long time, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remained unknown. A clue to an unusual mechanism was provided by observations indicating that the... 

Zidovudine is an antiretroviral drug that is clinically active against HIV-1 and is intended to treat HIV-infected patients. Zidovudine is an analog of thymidine that inhibits replication of the AIDS virus. It also turned into mono-, di-, and triphosphates by the same cellular enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation of thymidine and thymidine nucleosides. Zidovudine-triphosphate is then included in the terminal fragment of the growing chain of viral DNA by viral reverse transcriptase, thus causing the viral DNA chain to break apart in cells infected with the virus. 

Pharmacology Zalcitabine, active against HIV, is a synthetic pyrimidine nucleoside analog of the naturally occurring nucleoside deoxycytidine in which the 3 -hydroxyl group is replaced by hydrogen. Within cells, zalcitabine is converted to the active metabolite, dideoxycytidine 5 -triphosphate (ddCTP), by cellular enzymes. ddCTP inhibits the activity of the HIV-reverse transcriptase both by competing for utilization of the natural substrate, deoxycytidine 5 -triphosphate (dCTP), and by its incorporation into viral DMA. 

Figure 1.1. Opposite) Sulpha drugs and their mode of action. The first sulpha drug to be used medically was the red dye prontosil rubrum (a). In the early 1930s, experiments illustrated that the administration of this dye to mice infected with haemolytic streptococci prevented the death of the mice. This drug, while effective in vivo, was devoid of in vitro antibacterial activity. It was first used clinically in 1935 under the name Streptozon. It was subsequently shown that prontosil rubrum was enzymatically reduced by the liver, forming sulphanilamide, the actual active antimicrobial agent (b). Sulphanilamide induces its effect by acting as an anti-metabolite with respect to /iflra-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) (c). PABA is an essential component of tetrahydrofolic acid (THF) (d). THF serves as an essential co-factor for several cellular enzymes. Sulphanilamide (at sufficiently high concentrations) inhibits manufacture of THF by competing with PABA. This effectively inhibits essential THF-dependent enzyme reactions within the cell. Unlike humans, who can derive folates from their diets, most bacteria must synthesize it de novo, as they cannot absorb it intact from their surroundings...

This rational approach to drug design has been adopted in developing a specific inhibitor of the human cellular enzyme, purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP). PNP functions in the purine salvage pathway, catalysing the reversible reaction shown below ... 

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