Voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv) are involved in various cellular signalling processes by governing the membrane potential of excitable cells. The cytosolic face of these α subunit-containing channels is associated with β subunits that can modulate channel responses. Surprisingly, the β subunit of the mammalian Kv1 channels, Kvβ2, has a high level of sequence homology with the aldo-ket...

Voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv) are involved in various cellular signalling processes by governing the membrane potential of excitable cells. The cytosolic face of these α subunit-containing channels is associated with β subunits that can modulate channel responses. Surprisingly, the β subunit of the mammalian Kv1 channels, Kvβ2, has a high level of sequence homology with the aldo-ket...

The use of CO2 as a chemical building block is considerable interest. To achieve carbon fixation at ambient conditions, (de)carboxylase enzymes offer an attractive route but frequently require elevated [CO2] levels to yield the acid product. However, it has recently been shown that coupling UbiD-type decarboxylase with carboxylic reductase yields corresponding aldehyde product near [CO2]. Here,...

PURPOSE Recent studies have indicated that certain aldose reductase inhibitors prevent the formation of cataracts in naphthalene-fed rats. The study was designed to investigate whether aldose reductase itself is involved in the metabolism of naphthalene in the lens and the mechanism of this cataract formation. METHODS Aldose reductase was purified from whole rat lens using a series of chromat...

Carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) catalyzes the ATP- and NADPH-dependent reduction of carboxylic acids to the corresponding aldehydes. The enzyme is related to the nonribosomal peptide synthetases, consisting of an adenylation domain fused via a peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) to a reductase termination domain. Crystal structures of the CAR adenylation-PCP didomain demonstrate that large-scale dom...

Aldose reductase was purified from human skeletal and heart muscle by a rapid and efficient scheme involving Red Sepharose chromatography, chromatofocusing on Pharmacia PBE 94, and hydroxylapatite high pressure liquid chromatography. The scheme afforded homogeneous enzyme, 65% recovery, in 2 days. All muscle samples express aldose reductase but not the closely related aldehyde reductase. Aldose...