A toxin from a marine gastropod's defensive mucus, a disulfide-linked dimer of 6-bromo-2-mercaptotryptamine (BrMT), was found to inhibit voltage-gated potassium channels by a novel mechanism. Voltage-clamp experiments with Shaker K channels reveal that externally applied BrMT slows channel opening but not closing. BrMT slows K channel activation in a graded fashion: channels activate progressiv...

Theiler's virus causes a persistent infection and a demyelinating disease of mice which is a model for multiple sclerosis. Susceptibility to viral persistence maps to several loci, including the interferon gamma locus. Inactivating the gene coding for the interferon gamma receptor makes 129/Sv mice susceptible to persistent infection and clinical disease, whereas inactivating the interferon gam...

Lipases offer interesting perspectives as biocatalysts for the biodiesel synthesis, though their application is still limited by the poor stability of the enzyme at the operating conditions of industrial interest. In order to overcome this bottleneck, the inactivating effect of specific components of the methanolysis reacting system has been characterised, to develop a rational stabilization st...

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) is an ultrarare genetic condition of progressive ectopic ossification. Most cases of POH are caused by heterozygous inactivating mutations of GNAS, the gene encoding the alpha subunit of the G-stimulatory protein of adenylyl cyclase. POH is part of a spectrum of related genetic disorders, including Albright hereditary osteodystrophy, pseudohypoparathyroidi...