30 research outputs found

    Pocitacove modelovani struktury potencialnich chemoterapeutik a jejich komplexu s nukleovymi kyselinami.

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    Summary in EnglishAvailable from STL, Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi

    RNA-directed off/on switch of RNase H activity using boronic ester formation

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    International audienceRNase H is a non-specific endonuclease which degrades selectively the RNA strand in DNA/RNA duplexes. We demonstrate in the present study that 5'-boronic acid modified oligonucleotides hybridized to a RNA target sequence converts RNase H to an inactivated enzyme complex. The dynamic formation of a boronate ester upon addition of a diol moiety disrupts the enzyme-inhibitor complex and reactivates RNase H. Moreover, we show that reactivation of RNase H function can also be engineered through short RNA trimers inputs that fashion RNase H from a non-specific DNA-guided enzyme into an informational and programmable RNA-guided one. Examples of programmable RNA recognition and cleavage illustrate the potential of this new stimuli-responsive system

    Genetic Predispositions of Glucocorticoid Resistance and Therapeutic Outcomes in Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis

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    Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are closely related chronic inflammatory diseases. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are first-choice drugs for PMR and GCA, although some patients show poor responsiveness to the initial GC regimen or experience flares after GC tapering. To date, no valid biomarkers have been found to predict which patients are at most risk for developing GC resistance. In this review, we summarize PMR- and GCA-related gene polymorphisms and we associate these gene variants with GC resistance and therapeutic outcomes. A limited number of GC resistance associated-polymorphisms have been published so far, mostly related to HLA-DRB1*04 allele. Other genes such ICAM-1, TLR4 and 9, VEGF, and INFG may play a role, although discrepancies are often found among different populations. We conclude that more studies are required to identify reliable biomarkers of GC resistance. Such biomarkers could help distinguish non-responders from responders to GC treatment, with concomitant consequences for therapeutic strategy

    Cytoplasmic Inter-Subunit Interface Controls Use-Dependence of Thermal Activation of TRPV3 Channel

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    The vanilloid transient receptor potential channel TRPV3 is a putative molecular thermosensor widely considered to be involved in cutaneous sensation, skin homeostasis, nociception, and pruritus. Repeated stimulation of TRPV3 by high temperatures above 50 °C progressively increases its responses and shifts the activation threshold to physiological temperatures. This use-dependence does not occur in the related heat-sensitive TRPV1 channel in which responses decrease, and the activation threshold is retained above 40 °C during activations. By combining structure-based mutagenesis, electrophysiology, and molecular modeling, we showed that chimeric replacement of the residues from the TRPV3 cytoplasmic inter-subunit interface (N251–E257) with the homologous residues of TRPV1 resulted in channels that, similarly to TRPV1, exhibited a lowered thermal threshold, were sensitized, and failed to close completely after intense stimulation. Crosslinking of this interface by the engineered disulfide bridge between substituted cysteines F259C and V385C (or, to a lesser extent, Y382C) locked the channel in an open state. On the other hand, mutation of a single residue within this region (E736) resulted in heat resistant channels. We propose that alterations in the cytoplasmic inter-subunit interface produce shifts in the channel gating equilibrium and that this domain is critical for the use-dependence of the heat sensitivity of TRPV3

    Human and Mouse TRPA1 Are Heat and Cold Sensors Differentially Tuned by Voltage

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    Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 channel (TRPA1) serves as a key sensor for reactive electrophilic compounds across all species. Its sensitivity to temperature, however, differs among species, a variability that has been attributed to an evolutionary divergence. Mouse TRPA1 was implicated in noxious cold detection but was later also identified as one of the prime noxious heat sensors. Moreover, human TRPA1, originally considered to be temperature-insensitive, turned out to act as an intrinsic bidirectional thermosensor that is capable of sensing both cold and heat. Using electrophysiology and modeling, we compare the properties of human and mouse TRPA1, and we demonstrate that both orthologues are activated by heat, and their kinetically distinct components of voltage-dependent gating are differentially modulated by heat and cold. Furthermore, we show that both orthologues can be strongly activated by cold after the concurrent application of voltage and heat. We propose an allosteric mechanism that could account for the variability in TRPA1 temperature responsiveness
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