Previous studies using citrin/mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) dehydrogenase (mGPD) double-knockout mice have demonstrated that increased dietary protein reduces the extent of carbohydrate-induced hyperammonemia observed in these mice. This study aimed to further elucidate the mechanisms of this effect. Specific amino acids were initially f...
Published in Asian Social Science
Published in Nature
The tools of chemical biology, genomics and data mining can yield insights into the metabolites of the microbiome. Blue, pink, green and brown coloured SEM of mixed oral bacteria.
Nucleic acid editing enzymes are essential components of the human immune system that lethally mutate viral pathogens and somatically mutate immunoglobulins. Among these enzymes are cytidine deaminases of the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) super family, each with unique target sequence specificity and subc...
A structure-guided design strategy was used to improve the resistance profile of HIV-1 protease inhibitors by optimizing hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions with the protease while staying within the substrate envelope. Stereoisomers of 4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzene and 4-(1,2-dihydroxyethyl)benzene moieties were explored as P2' ligands pro...
Protease inhibitors have the highest potency among antiviral therapies against HIV-1 infections, yet the virus can evolve resistance. Darunavir (DRV), currently the most potent Food and Drug Administration-approved protease inhibitor, retains potency against single-site mutations. However, complex combinations of mutations can confer resistance to ...
Discovery and optimization of small molecule inhibitors as therapeutic drugs have immensely benefited from rational structure-based drug design. With recent advances in high-resolution structure determination, computational power, and machine learning methodology, it is becoming more tractable to elucidate the structural basis of drug potency. Howe...
Protein arginine deiminase (PAD) enzymes catalyze the conversion of protein-bound arginine into citrulline, an irreversible posttranslational modification with loss of a positive charge that can influence protein-protein interactions and protein structure. Protein arginine deiminase activity depends on high intracellular calcium concentrations occu...
Drug resistance continues to be a growing global problem. The efficacy of small molecule inhibitors is threatened by pools of genetic diversity in all systems, including antibacterials, antifungals, cancer therapeutics, and antivirals. Resistant variants often include combinations of active site mutations and distal "secondary" mutations, which are...
Published in BMC Veterinary Research
BackgroundAcross China and Southeast Asia, an estimated 17,000 bears are currently farmed for bile, primarily for traditional medicines. Depending on country, bile is extracted daily via transabdominal gallbladder fistulas, indwelling catheters, or needle aspiration. Despite claims that bears do not develop adverse effects from bile extraction, hea...
