Comparison of the conformational stability of an O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakaraensis strain KOD1 (Tk-MGMT), and its mesophilic counterpart C-terminal Ada protein from Escherichia coli (Ec-AdaC) was performed in order to obtain information about the relationship between thermal stability and other factors, such as thermod...

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the differences in plasma 17beta-estradiol concentration in early and late follicular phases of the menstrual cycle can affect the level of endogenous DNA damage in lymphocytes assessed by comet assay, and whether the extent of this damage in the follicular phase is associated with the genotype of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). The level of DN...

Four synthetic peptides from the sequence of human O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), three corresponding to different hydrophilic regions and one corresponding to the sequence containing the alkyl acceptor residue cysteine 145, were used to immunize rabbits. The antibody against Peptide III (residues 171-184) was highly specific, and MGMT protein could be detected on Western blots ...

Papaverine, a major benzylisoquinoline alkaloid in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), is used as a vasodilator and antispasmodic. Conversion of the initial intermediate (S)-norcoclaurine to papaverine involves 3'-hydroxylation, four O-methylations and dehydrogenation. However, our understanding of papaverine biosynthesis remains controversial more than a century after an initial scheme was propo...

Eugenol has been widely used in medicine due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and analgesic properties. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of eugenol on the cariogenic properties of Streptococcus mutans and dental caries development in rats. Eugenol demonstrated significant inhibitory effects against acid production by S. mutans. The synthe...

In this study, the in vitro anticholinesterase activity of the volatile oils of both O. basilicum and O. africanum was investigated and both samples showed significant activity. The major constituents of the two oils were isolated using several column chromatographies. Linalool, 1,8-cineol and eugenol were isolated from the volatile oil of O. basilicum and camphor was isolated from the volatile...

In the title compound, [Pt(C11H13O2)Cl(C5H11N)]·C2H5OH, the Pt(II) cation is penta-coordinated in a distorted square-planar geometry. In the crystal, inversion dimers showing C-H⋯Cl and C-H⋯π inter-actions are further stacked in columns along the a axis via C-H⋯π inter-actions. The ethanol solvate mol-ecule inter-acts with neighbouring meth-oxy groups of methyl-eugenol through O-H⋯O hydrogen bo...

Unfolding intermediates have been found only rarely in earlier studies, and how a protein unfolds is therefore poorly understood. In this paper, we show experimental evidence for multiple pathways and multiple intermediates during unfolding reaction of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase from hyperthermophile Thermococcus kodakaraensis (Tk-MGMT). The unfolding profiles monitored by far-UV ...

In recent years there has been an increasing search for new antifungal compounds due to the side effects of conventional antifungal drugs and fungal resistance. The aims of this study were to test in vitro the activity of thymol, eugenol, estragole and anethole and some O-methyl-derivatives (methylthymol and methyleugenol) against Candida spp. and Microsporum canis. The broth microdilution meth...

The biosynthetic gene clusters for the Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GDM, 1) have been cloned previously from three different Streptomyces strains, but the gene encoding the C-17 O-methyltransferase remains unknown. The cloning and sequencing of a new GDM biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces autolyticus CGMCC 0516 was reported, identifying the gdmMT gene that encodes the missing C-17 O-m...