BACKGROUND AND AIMS Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis. The parasite manifests a nutritional requirement for heme compounds because of its biosynthesis deficiency. The aim of this study has been to investigate the presence of metabolites and enzymes of porphyrin pathway, as well as ALA formation in epimastigotes of T. cruzi, Tulahuén strain, T...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Nephrotoxicity is a frequent and major limitation in cisplatin (CDDP)-based chemotherapy. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is widely distributed in animal cells, and it is a precursor of tetrapyrole compounds such as heme that is fundamentally important in aerobic energy metabolism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective role of ALA in CDDP-induced acute kidney injury (A...

Incubation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain JR153 with either [3H]myristate or [3H]palmitate demonstrates the synthesis of proteins that contain covalently bound fatty acids. A unique set of proteins is labeled by each fatty acid. Detailed analysis of a 20-kDa protein labeled with myristic acid demonstrates that myristate is linked to the amino-terminal glycine. We describe an enzymatic activ...

Incorporation of glycine-2-14C and A-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-4-14C into heme was studied in normal and leukemic leukocytes. Activities of ALA synthetase, ALA dehydrase, and heme synthetase in these cells were also measured. ALA synthetase activity and/or incorporation of labeled glycine into heme were demonstrated in leukocytes from patients with acute and chronic myelogenous leukemias. Norma...

The long-chain PUFA, docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3), DHA], a major component of neuronal membrane phospholipids, accumulates in brain during late prenatal and early neonatal development and is essential for optimal attentional and cognitive function. Because all nutrition is supplied to the developing fetus/neonate by the mother and maternal DHA status is affected by parity, this study examine...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using topical 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a water-soluble precursor of the potent endogenous photosensitiser, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), is a treatment and diagnostic tool for premalignant and malignant skin cancers. However, to improve drug delivery to deeper skin lesions, more lipophilic ALA esters have been investigated. Owing to the necessity in drug delivery rese...

The primary structure of cholera toxin B subunit, responsible for the binding of the toxin to cell surface ganglioside Gm1, has been determined as: Thr-Pro-Gln-Asn-Ile-Thr-Asp-Leu-Cys-Ala-Glu-Tyr-His-Asn-Thr-Gln-Ile-His-Thr-Leu-Asn-Asn-Lys-Ile-Phe-Ser-Tyr-Thr-Glu-Ser-Leu-Ala-Gly-Lys-Arg-Glu-Met-Ala-Ile-Ile-Thr-Phe-Lys-Asn-Gly-Ala-Thr-Phe-Glu-Val-Glu-Val-Pro-Gly-Ser-Gln-His-Ile-Asp-Ser-Gln-Lys-L...