Scorpion venoms contain of variety of peptides toxic to mammals ، insects and crustaceans. Toxic peptides are the main factors in scorpion venom causing toxicity, (their amount being 1-3%of total venom.). Most of the scorpion toxins have been isolated from the venoms of scorpions in the family Buthidae. The scorpion Buthotus Schach belonging to the Buthidae family is widely found in the weste...

The goal of this study is to use the model system described earlier to make direct measurements of the enthalpy of helix formation at different temperatures. For this we studied model alanine peptides in which helix formation can be triggered by metal (La(3+)) binding. The heat of La(3+) interaction with the peptides at different temperatures is measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. Cir...

Background and objectives: Tyrosinase is a copper containing oxidase which is crucial for controlling the production of melanin in creatures such as bacteria, fungi, plants and mammals. It is involved in the first two steps of melanin biosynthesis and leads to pigmentation and different types of cancer such as melanoma. Also, it is responsible for browning of fruits and vegetab...

We have previously described a mouse monoclonal anti-human IgE antibody (BSW17) capable of recognizing receptor-bound IgE without inducing mediator release from human basophils or mast cells. Moreover, immune complexes of IgE and BSW17 are not able to bind to the IgE receptor. An initial attempt to map the precise epitope recognized by this mAb by using Fc epsilon-derived peptides of variable l...

We present an in silico, structure-based approach for design and evaluation of conformationally restricted peptide-vaccines. In particular, we designed four cyclic peptides of ten or 11 residues mimicking the crystallographically observed beta-turn conformation of a predicted immunodominant loop of PorA from Neisseria meningitidis. Conformational correctness and stability of the peptide designs...

The primary nucleation step in amyloid fibril formation can, depending on the nature of peptide sequence, occur in one step, straight from a dilute solution, or in multiple steps, via oligomers or disordered aggregates. The precise kinetic pathways of these processes are poorly understood. Employing forward flux sampling and a midresolution coarse-grained force field, we analyzed the reactive p...