Cathelicidins are a class of small cationic peptide antibiotics that are expressed in skin and in other epithelial cells and are an active component of mammalian innate immunity. Human cathelicidin (hCAP18/LL-37) consists of a conserved prosequence called the cathelin-like domain and a C-terminal peptide named LL-37. To date, our understanding of the cathelin-like domain was very limited. To br...

  Abstract   Background: The interest in using bacteria as anti- cancer therapeutic agents dates back to the end of the19th century. Some bacteria like Salmonella and Listeria replicate effectively inside malignant cell lines and suppress their growth. The bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes has become medically famous as a flesh-eating pathogen since mid-1980s. It is the causative agent of a life...

Abstract Protease is a type of enzyme that hydrolyzes proteins into peptides and amino acids. The demand for protease green technology in some industries like detergent, food, leather increasing nowadays. Some soil bacteria, especially the Bacillus strains, are known to have ability produce protease. Compared other sources plant animal origin, microbial has more advantages as it can be produced...

Papain-like cysteine proteases (PLCPs) play crucial roles in plant-pathogen/pest interactions. During these parasitic interactions, PLCPs act on non-self substrates, provoking the selection of counteracting inhibitors and other means to evade proteolysis. We review examples of PLCPs acting on molecular battlefields in the extracellular space, plant cytoplasm and herbivore gut. Examples are maiz...

To analyse the activity of the putative 3C-like serine protease encoded in open reading frame (ORF)-1a of human astrovirus serotype 1 (HAstV-1), ORF-1a was transcribed and translated in vitro. Translation products, identified by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies against recombinant C-terminal ORF-1a fragments, include the full-length 101 kDa (p101) protein and a 38 kDa band (p38). In...

the snake venom´s thrombin-like enzymes comprise a number of serine proteases, which are functionally and structurally related to thrombin. purification and partial characterization of a thrombin-like enzyme from the venom of the iranian snake, agkistrodon halys, was the aim of this study. purification was carried out by a combination of variety of chromatographic methods that included: gel fil...

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei has tremendous capability to secrete proteins. Therefore, it would be an excellent host for producing high levels of therapeutic proteins at low cost. Developing a filamentous fungus to produce sensitive therapeutic proteins requires that protease secretion is drastically reduced. We have identified 13 major secreted proteases that are related to degrad...

Roles of salivary proteases in the extra-oral digestion of the predatory bug, Andrallus spinidens Fabricius (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) were studied by using 2% azocasein as a general substrate and specific protease substrates, as well as synthetic and endogenous inhibitors. It was found that salivary glands of A. spinidens have two anterior, two lateral, and two posterior lobes. Azocasein was us...

Mitochondria have been implicated in apoptosis, however, the precise mechanisms whereby mitochondria exert their effect are not clear. To gain further insights, we generated a panel of cells from ML-1a cells that were rendered respiration deficient by ethidium bromide treatment. Two respiration-deficient clones were subsequently reconstituted by fusion with platelets. Respiration-deficient clon...

objective: the use of antiretroviral drugs has proven remarkably effective in controlling the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) disease, but these benefits can be compromised by the development of drug resistance. this study aims to assess the drug resistance profile of the pr gene in highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart)-treated and naïve hiv-1 infected patients. metho...