Neuromedin U receptors (provisional nomenclature as recommended by NC-IUPHAR [30]) are activated the endogenous 25 amino acid peptide neuromedin (neuromedin U-25, NmU-25), a originally isolated from pig spinal cord [92]. In humans, NmU-25 appears to be sole product of precursor gene (NMU, P48645) showing broad tissue distribution, but which is expressed at highest levels in upper gastrointestin...

Chloroplast transit peptides from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been analyzed and compared with chloroplast transit peptides from higher plants and mitochondrial targeting peptides from yeast, Neurospora and higher eukaryotes. In terms of length and amino acid composition, chloroplast transit peptides from C. reinhardtii are more similar to mitochondrial targetting peptides than...

This communication reports the structural and functional characterization of urotoxin, the first K(+) channel toxin isolated from the venom of the Australian scorpion Urodacus yaschenkoi. It is a basic peptide consisting of 37 amino acids with an amidated C-terminal residue. Urotoxin contains eight cysteines forming four disulfide bridges with sequence similarities resembling the α-potassium ch...

Peptides are in great demand the pharmaceutical arena and a majority of these peptides contain 20 or more amino acids. They infrequently synthesised using fragment condensation approach. A key limitation adopting this approach commonly is that protected peptide fragments with high purity often required prior to final steps. It hypothesized understanding hydrophobic nature acids will assist desi...

Recent studies show that nonamidated gastrins (Gly-gastrin and progastrin) stimulate colonic proliferation. However, the role of nonamidated vs. amidated gastrins in colon carcinogenesis has not been defined. We measured intermediate markers of carcinogenesis in transgenic mice overexpressing either progastrin (hGAS) or amidated gastrin (INS-GAS) in response to azoxymethane (AOM). The hGAS mice...

BACKGROUND The relationship between plasma gastrin levels and colorectal cancer is controversial. When confounding factors which increase plasma gastrin levels are taken into account, it has been shown that gastrin levels are not elevated in patients with colorectal cancer. However, these studies only measured amidated gastrin. Total gastrin (which includes unprocessed, partially processed, and...

From the culture broth of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma parceramosum, strain CBS 936.69, a mixture of polypeptide antibiotics (pepaibiotics), named trichobrachin (TB), was isolated. Three major groups designated TB I, TB II, and TB III could be separated and isolated by preparative TLC on silica gel. Individual peptides of these three groups were sequenced by on-line LC/ESI-MS(n). The mixt...

The biosynthetic enzyme peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase catalyzes the formation of a variety of biologically active alpha-amidated peptides from respective COOH-terminal glycine-extended peptide precursors. Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase activity is dependent on copper, ascorbate, and molecular oxygen and is inhibited by the relatively selective copper chelator N,N-...

Staphylococcus aureus has long been recognized as a major cause of hospital-acquired infection. Over the last decade, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains have become endemic in hospitals worldwide, including in the UK. Accordingly, the frequency of MRSA isolation has increased dramatically. Glycopeptides, such as vancomycin, are often the therapeutic drugs of choice for serious MRSA ...