Background and objectives: Coumarins have potential anticancer effects. Ferulago macrocarpa (Fenzl) Boiss, is a perennial herb which has shown to have several dihydropyranocoumarins like grandivittin (GRA) and dihydrofuranocoumarins such as prantschimgin (PRA). Previously the antibacterial, cytotoxic and antioxidant effect of GRA and PRA have been reported. Understandi...

The base dependent binding of the cytotoxic alkaloid palmatine to four synthetic polynucleotides, poly(dA).poly(dT), poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT), poly(dG).poly(dC) and poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) was examined by competition dialysis, spectrophotometric, spectrofluorimetric, thermal melting, circular dichroic, viscometric and isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) studies. Binding of the alkaloid to va...

DNA threading intercalators are a unique class of intercalating agents, albeit little biophysical information is available on their intercalative actions. Herein, the intercalative effects of nogalamycin, which is a naturally-occurring DNA threading intercalator, have been investigated by high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectroscopy (AFS). The results have been compared with t...

The kinetic properties of two classical inhibitors of aspartic proteases (PRs), pepstatin A and acetyl-pepstatin, were compared in their interactions with HIV-1 and xenotropic murine leukemia virus related virus (XMRV) PRs. Both compounds are substantially weaker inhibitors of XMRV PR than of HIV-1 PR. Previous kinetic and structural studies characterized HIV-1 PR-acetyl-pepstatin and XMRV PR-p...

In the absence of cyclic AMP, the Escherichia coli cyclic AMP receptor protein (CAP) binds without detectable sequence specificity to restriction fragments containing lac and crp promoter sequences. Under standard conditions (10 mM Tris, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0), our estimates of the equilibrium constant and cooperativity parameter for complex formation are 114,000 +/- 1400 M-1 and 1.3 +/- 0.8, respe...

2-Amino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole (Glu-P-1) binds covalently to DNA after metabolic activation to give 2-(C8-guanyl)amino-6-methyldipyrido[1,2-a:3',2'-d]imidazole (Gua-Glu-P-1). The importance of the intercalative ability of the Glu-P-1 skeleton into DNA base pairs for this reaction is emphasized. The reactive form of Glu-P-1, N-acetoxy-Glu-P-1 (N-OAc-Glu-P-1), reacts preferentia...