Enzymes as a Reservoir of Host Defence Peptides

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 1310-1323
Author(s):  
Andrea Bosso ◽  
Antimo Di Maro ◽  
Valeria Cafaro ◽  
Alberto Di Donato ◽  
Eugenio Notomista ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
Catalytic Properties ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Host Defence ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Active Peptides ◽  
Wide Range

Host defence peptides (HDPs) are powerful modulators of cellular responses to various types of insults caused by pathogen agents. To date, a wide range of HDPs, from species of different kingdoms including bacteria, plant and animal with extreme diversity in structure and biological activity, have been described. Apart from a limited number of peptides ribosomally synthesized, a large number of promising and multifunctional HDPs have been identified within protein precursors, with properties not necessarily related to innate immunity, consolidating the fascinating hypothesis that proteins have a second or even multiple biological mission in the form of one or more bio-active peptides. Among these precursors, enzymes constitute certainly an interesting group, because most of them are mainly globular and characterized by a fine specific internal structure closely related to their catalytic properties and also because they are yet little considered as potential HDP releasing proteins. In this regard, the main aim of the present review is to describe a panel of HDPs, identified in all canonical classes of enzymes, and to provide a detailed description on hydrolases and their corresponding HDPs, as there seems to exist a striking link between these structurally sophisticated catalysts and their high content in cationic and amphipathic cryptic peptides.

scholarly journals Update on Monoterpenes from Red Macroalgae: Isolation, Analysis, and Bioactivity

Marine Drugs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 537
Author(s):  
Ana-Marija Cikoš ◽  
Mladenka Jurin ◽  
Rozelindra Čož-Rakovac ◽  
Stela Jokić ◽  
Igor Jerković
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Anticancer Activity ◽  
Structure Elucidation ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Red Macroalgae ◽  
Methylerythritol Phosphate ◽  
Halogenated Monoterpenes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Halogen Content

Macroalgae produce a wide range of monoterpenes as secondary metabolites of mevalonate (MVA) and/or methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway (often including haloperoxidase action). Great biodiversity of macroalgal monoterpenes was reported including acyclic, monocyclic, and bicyclic structures. Halogenated monoterpenes exhibited significant biological activity (e.g., anticancer, antiplasmodial, and insecticidal) that is influenced by the number of present halogens (higher halogen content is preferable, especially bromine) and their position within the monoterpene skeleton. In distinction from the existing reviews, the present review provides novelty with respect to: (a) exclusively monoterpenes from red macroalgae are targeted; (b) biosynthesis, isolation, and analysis, as well as bioactivity of monoterpenes are represented; (c) the methods of their isolation, analysis, and structure elucidation are summarized; (d) the bioactivity of macroalgal monoterpenes is systematically presented with emphasis on anticancer activity; (e) the literature references were updated.

scholarly journals The synthesis of angular heteroarenochromones based on 7-hydroxy-8-carbonylchromones

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Shokol ◽  
Oleg Lozinski ◽  
Natalia Gorbulenko ◽  
Volodymyr Khilya
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
The Other ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Synthetic Analogues ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Wide Range

The present review highlights advanced strategies to the synthesis of the chromones annulated with O- and N-containing heterocycles at C(7)-C(8) bond. Due to the prevalence of such motives in different kinds of natural flavonoids and some alkaloids, fused chromones have attracted a great deal of attention so far. On the other hand a wide range of biological activities is displayed by the compounds of this type both among naturally occurring flavonoids and their synthetic analogues. 8-Carbonyl-7-hydroxychromones proved to be versatile synthones for the synthesis of angular hetarenochromones via approach of annulation of a heterocycle to the chromone core. It also addresses the question of the biological activity of naturally occurring and fused synthetic hetarenochromones.

scholarly journals Occurrence and Biosynthesis of Melatonin and Its Exogenous Effect on Plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anayat Rasool Mir ◽  
Mohammad Faizan ◽  
Andrzej Bajguz ◽  
Fareen Sami ◽  
Husna Siddiqui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Activity ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Environmental Stresses ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Stress Conditions ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Wide Range

Melatonin is an endogenous indolamine found in many plants. It has been shown to generate a wide range of metabolic, physiological, and cellular responses, thus affecting growth and development, particularly under different environmental stresses. In the present review, we focus on its role in germination, growth and development, photosynthesis, senescence, and antioxidant activity in plants. Further, an effort has been made to discuss its occurrence, biosynthesis, and relationship with other phytohormones in plants. Moreover, melatonin-mediated signaling and its mechanisms of action under stress conditions in plants have been comprehensively discussed. Finally, its role under various abiotic stress conditions has also been discussed in this review.

It is better an approximate answer to the right question than the exact answer to the wrong question : the case of the psychometric analysis of the ASQ:SE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Anunciacao ◽  
janet squires ◽  
J. Landeira-Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Exact Answer ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ages And Stages Questionnaire ◽  
The Right

One of the main activities in psychometrics is to analyze the internal structure of a test. Multivariate statistical methods, including Exploratory Factor analysis (EFA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are frequently used to do this, but the growth of Network Analysis (NA) places this method as a promising candidate. The results obtained by these methods are of valuable interest, as they not only produce evidence to explore if the test is measuring its intended construct, but also to deal with the substantive theory that motivated the test development. However, these different statistical methods come up with different answers, providing the basis for different analytical and theoretical strategies when one needs to choose a solution. In this study, we took advantage of a large volume of published data (n = 22,331) obtained by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE), and formed a subset of 500 children to present and discuss alternative psychometric solutions to its internal structure, and also to its subjacent theory. The analyses were based on a polychoric matrix, the number of factors to retain followed several well-known rules of thumb, and a wide range of exploratory methods was fitted to the data, including EFA, PCA, and NA. The statistical outcomes were divergent, varying from 1 to 6 domains, allowing a flexible interpretation of the results. We argue that the use of statistical methods in the absence of a well-grounded psychological theory has limited applications, despite its appeal. All data and codes are available at https://osf.io/z6gwv/.

A Brief Review on the Development of Novel Potentially Active Azetidin-2-ones Against Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 473-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligia S. da Silveira Pinto ◽  
Thatyana R. Alves Vasconcelos ◽  
Claudia Regina B. Gomes ◽  
Marcus Vinícius N. de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Heterocyclic Compounds ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Pharmacological Properties ◽  
Important Group ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

Azetidin-2-ones (β-lactams) and its derivatives are an important group of heterocyclic compounds that exhibit a wide range of pharmacological properties such as antibacterial, anticancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant. Efforts have been made over the years to develop novel congeners with superior biological activities and minimal potential for undesirable side effects. The present review aimed to highlight some recent discoveries (2013-2019) on the development of novel azetidin-2-one-based compounds as potential anticancer agents.

Studies on the EC50 of Natural Monoterpenes as Fungal Inhibitors with Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-60
Author(s):  
Mohamed E.I. Badawy ◽  
Entsar I. Rabea ◽  
Samir A.M. Abdelgaleil
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Molecular Descriptors ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Quantitative Structure ◽  
Qsar Study ◽  
Qsar Analysis ◽  
Pharmacophore Modelling ◽  
Structure Activity ◽  
Wide Range

Background:Monoterpenes are the main constituents of the essential oils obtained from plants. These natural products offered wide spectra of biological activity and extensively tested against microbial pathogens and other agricultural pests.Methods:Antifungal activity of 10 monoterpenes, including two hydrocarbons (camphene and (S)- limonene) and eight oxygenated hydrocarbons ((R)-camphor, (R)-carvone, (S)-fenchone, geraniol, (R)-linalool, (+)-menthol, menthone, and thymol), was determined against fungi of Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium graminearum, Phoma exigua, Phytophthora infestans, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum by the mycelia radial growth technique. Subsequently, Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) analysis using different molecular descriptors with multiple regression analysis based on systematic search and LOOCV technique was performed. Moreover, pharmacophore modelling was carried out using LigandScout software to evaluate the common features essential for the activity and the hypothetical geometries adopted by these ligands in their most active forms.Results:The results showed that the antifungal activities were high, but depended on the chemical structure and the type of microorganism. Thymol showed the highest effect against all fungi tested with respective EC50 in the range of 10-86 mg/L. The QSAR study proved that the molecular descriptors HBA, MR, Pz, tPSA, and Vp were correlated positively with the biological activity in all of the best models with a correlation coefficient (r) ≥ 0.98 and cross-validated values (Q2) ≥ 0.77.Conclusion:The results of this work offer the opportunity to choose monoterpenes with preferential antimicrobial activity against a wide range of plant pathogens.

“In vivo” amplification of biological activity of tetragastrin by amino acid hydroxamates

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 1009-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Bali ◽  
H. Mattras ◽  
A. Previero ◽  
M. A. Coletti-Previero
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Aromatic Amino Acid ◽  
Aminopeptidase Activity ◽  
Proteolytic Degradation ◽  
Short Peptides ◽  
Rat Blood ◽  
Active Peptides

Rat blood was shown to contain an aminopeptidase which rapidly hydrolyses short peptides containing an aromatic amino acid as N-terminal residue. Using tetragastrin (Trp-Met-Asp-PheNH 2) as substrate, we showed that some amino acid hydroxamates inhibit rat aminopeptidase activity ‘in vitro’ in the following order: HTrpNHOH > HPheNHOH ≫ HAIaNHOH. The same hydroxamates markedly enhanced the biological activity of tetragastrin ‘in vivo’. The amplification of the secretory effect, correlated with the amount of the hydroxamate used, strongly suggests that these compounds can stabilize a number of active peptides in vivo by inhibiting their proteolytic degradation.

The Structure of the Column in Stylidium

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Findlay ◽  
GP Findlay
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Central Layer ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Single Column ◽  
Cellulose Fibrils ◽  
Shape And Size ◽  
Fast Firing

In the genus Stylidium, the style and filaments of the flower are fused into a single column. In most species the column, when stimulated mechanically, undergoes a fast firing movement followed by a slow resetting movement. This movement is produced by changes in shape of a normally curved region of the column, the bend. In a wide range of species, the bend has a specialised anatomy and consists essentially of a longitudinal central layer of cells with two distinctive multi-celled layers of thick-walled cells on either side. The thick-walled cells are rich in cytoplasm with amyloplasts and vacuoles of varying sizes, and have non-lignified walls whose cellulose fibrils are arranged approximately transversely. Within the bend, the phloem occurs as discrete small groups of cells separated by some distance from the xylem. In species from the subgenus Centridium both the morphology and the internal structure of the bend differ somewhat from those in most species of Stylidium, and in two species of Stylidium with nonmoving columns, the characteristic cellular anatomy of the bend is entirely absent. The specialised anatomy of the cells and tissues in the bend are clearly associated with the movement of the column. Changes of shape and size of these cells are almost certainly responsible for the change in shape of the bend.

Review on pharmacological and phytochemical prospects of traditional medicinal plant: Persicaria hydropiper (Smartweed)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Nasir ◽  
Atif Ali Khan Khalil ◽  
Muhammad Zeeshan Bhatti ◽  
Ashfaq Ur Rehman ◽  
Jiayi Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Polygonum Hydropiper ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pharmacological Data ◽  
Different Parts

: Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Delarbre (family Polygonacea), commonly known as Polygonum hydropiper, is a popular medicinal plant used in traditional medicine. The plant is indigenous to the tropical northern hemisphere and temperate zone including China, Bangladesh, India, and Japan. The plant is used in folk medicine for numerous ailments such as hemorrhoids, antifertility, diarrhea, and dyspepsia. Its medicinal usage in Unani, Ayurveda, Siddha, and other traditional medicine is well-recognized. So far, a wide range of active phytochemicals of this plant has been identified, such as flavonoids, sulphated flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, steroids, coumarin, simple phenolics, and others. Pharmacological data reported in the literature suggest that various parts of P. hydropiper exhibit antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, antidepressant, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, anticancer, and antifertility effects. The present review aim is to compile the coherently document research on the phytochemical, pharmacological, and biological activities of P. hydropiper from different parts of the globe.

Dihydroquercetin as potential immunonutrient in treatment of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
V. V. Tatarinov ◽  
S. V. Orlova ◽  
E. A. Nikitina ◽  
E. V. Prokopenko ◽  
A. N. Vodolazkaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Enzymatic Reactions ◽  
Target Organs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complex Therapy ◽  
Main Target ◽  
Low Toxicity ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

The main aspects of the antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties of dihydroquercetin (DHQ), which may affect the course of COVID-19, are considered. Given the low toxicity and a wide range of biological activity, aimed not only at suppressing enzymatic reactions with the participation of coronavirus, but also at eliminating the lesions caused by it in all the main target organs, dihydroquercetin can be recommended for inclusion in the complex therapy of the disease and during the recovery period of COVID-19.

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