Risk of insulin resistance, impaired glycemic control, and cardiovascular disease is excessive in overweight and obese populations. We hypothesized that increasing expression of glyoxalase 1 (Glo1)-an enzyme that catalyzes the metabolism of reactive metabolite and glycating agent methylglyoxal-may improve metabolic and vascular health. Dietary bioactive compounds were screened for Glo1 inducer ...

It is presumed that proteins encoded by viral oncogenes interact with proteins encoded by cellular genes to bring about the transformed phenotype. To demonstrate the existence of such cellular genes we attempted to isolate mutants with a nontransformed phenotype from an adenovirus-transformed rat cell line (F4) which contains multiple copies of the transforming E1 region. F4 cells were mutageni...

1. The metabolism of methylglyoxal by the glyoxalase system may be linked to the development of diabetic complications. The glyoxalase system was characterized in blood samples from patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (n = 43), patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (n = 107) and 21 normal healthy control subjects. 2. The concentrations of glyoxalase metabolites, me...

INTRODUCTION. THE keystone of a theory of intermediary carbohydrate metabolism, put forward by Dakin and Dudley [1913, 3; 1914] is the ketonic aldehyde, methylglyoxal. The postulation of this substance as the catabolic precursor and anabolic successor of lactic acid (CH3. CO.CO = CH3.CHOH.COOH) correlates in an intelligible scheme many of the known metabolic changes of carbohydrates. The discov...

D-Lactate is oxidized by two classes of D-lactate dehydrogenase (D-LDH), namely, NAD-dependent and NAD-independent D-LDHs. Little is known about the characteristics and biological functions of D-LDHs in rice. In this study, a functional NAD-independent D-LDH (LOC_Os07g06890) was identified in rice, as a result of alternative splicing events. Characterization of the expression profile, subcellul...

Protein glycation caused by sugars and reactive carbonyls is a contributing factor to diabetic complications, aging, and other chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of cranberry phytochemicals on protein glycation. Cranberries, purified to yield sugar-free phytochemical powder, were fractionated into ethyl acetate and water fractions. Water frac...

BACKGROUND With the increasing consumption of fossil fuels, the question of meeting the global energy demand is of great importance in the near future. As an effective solution, production of higher alcohols from renewable sources by microorganisms has been proposed to address both energy crisis and environmental concerns. Higher alcohols contain more than two carbon atoms and have better physi...

Monofloral Iranian honeys from eight floral sources were analyzed to determine their anti-HIV-1 activities as well as their effects on lymphocyte proliferation. The Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) used in this study were prepared from five healthy volunteers who were seronegative for HIV, HCV, HBV and TB. The anti-HIV-1 activity of eight different honeys was performed by quantitative...

BACKGROUND Enhanced glycolysis leads to elevated levels of the toxic metabolite methylglyoxal which contributes to loss of protein-function, metabolic imbalance and cell death. Neurons were shown being highly susceptible to methylglyoxal toxicity. Glyoxalase 1 as an ubiquitous enzyme reflects the main detoxifying enzyme of methylglyoxal and underlies changes during aging and neurodegeneration. ...