Cisplatin is a potent anticancer drug, which functions by cross-linking adjacent DNA guanine residues. However within 1 day of injection, 65-98% of the platinum in the blood plasma is protein-bound. It is generally accepted that cisplatin binds to methionine and histidine residues, but what is often underappreciated is that platinum from cisplatin has a 2+ charge and can form up to four bonds. ...

Several clinical laboratory methods using enzymes as reagents now may utilize immobilized enzymes. These are enzymes attached to solid surfaces by adsorption, covalent binding, cross linking or similar means. Immobilized enzymes are widely used presently in convenient tests for urine glucose and galactose or blood glucose and urea, and in serum glucose or urea determinations by automated method...

Site-selective functionalizations of complex small molecules can generate targeted derivatives with exceptional step efficiency, but general strategies for maximizing selectivity in this context are rare. Here, we report that site-selectivity can be tuned by simply modifying the electronic nature of the reagents. A Hammett analysis is consistent with linking this phenomenon to the Hammond postu...

BACKGROUND T-cells are activated by engagement of their clonotypic cell surface receptors with peptide complexes of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, in a poorly understood process that involves receptor clustering on the membrane surface. Few tools are available to study the molecular mechanisms responsible for initiation of activation processes in T-cells. RESULTS A topologic...

X-ray crystal structures of lactose permease (LacY) reveal pseudosymmetrically arranged N- and C-terminal six-transmembrane helix bundles surrounding a deep internal cavity open on the cytoplasmic side and completely closed on the periplasmic side. The residues essential for sugar recognition and H(+) translocation are located at the apex of the cavity and are inaccessible from the outside. On ...