The basic claims of this application involve methods that use a polymer to deliver therapeutic molecules in a targeted fashion using a polymeric carrier, drug and a biologically degradable linker. The release of therapeutic molecule is in response to digestive enzymes that are overexpressed in diseased tissues in the body. Further claims, of the sixteen included, define the digestive enzymes an...

Fungi have the ability to degrade vegetal cell wall carbohydrates, and their presence in the digestive tract of ruminants can minimize the effects of lignified forage on ruminal fermentation. Here, we evaluated enzyme production by Aspergillus spp. isolates from the digestive tracts of cattle grazed in tropical pastures during the dry season. Filamentous fungi were isolated from rumen and feces...

Human digestive carboxypeptidases CPA1, CPA2, and CPB1 are secreted by the pancreas as inactive proenzymes containing a 94-96-amino acid-long propeptide. Activation of procarboxypeptidases is initiated by proteolytic cleavage at the C-terminal end of the propeptide by trypsin. Here, we demonstrate that subsequent cleavage of the propeptide by chymotrypsin C (CTRC) induces a nearly 10-fold incre...

Calanus finmarchicus C5 copepodites may be found in a range of body morphologies from small, lipid-poor (‘‘thin’’) individuals to larger, lipid-rich (‘‘fat’’) individuals, which are often differentiated by depth. In order to assess the physiological status of these animals, C5s collected from nearshore Gulf of Maine were visually sorted by these criteria and assayed for activity of four enzymes...

A protein showing strong antiviral activity against Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) was purified from the digestive juice of B. mori larvae. A homology search of the deduced amino acid sequence of the protein cDNA revealed 56% homology with Drosophila melanogaster lipase and 21% homology with human lipase. As lipase activity of the protein was confirmed in vitro, this protein was desig...