Interaction of Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ counter cations with RNA

10.1039/C8MT00043C

2018-04-11

Alkaline and alkaline earth ions, namely Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+, are critical for the stability, proper folding and functioning of RNA. Moreover, those metal ions help to facilitate macromolecular interactions as well as the formation of supramolecular struct...

Exposure of Bacillus subtilis to silver inhibits activity of cytochrome c oxidase in vivo via interaction with SCO, the CuA assembly protein

10.1039/C7MT00343A

2018-04-06

Silver has long been used as an antimicrobial agent in general and medicinal use. Here, we observe that exposure of the Gram-positive, endospore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis to Ag(I) effects growth in a biphasic manner. In the first phase at Ag(I) conc...

The iron regulatory proteins are defective in repressing translation via exogenous 5′ iron responsive elements despite their relative abundance in leukemic cellular models

10.1039/C8MT00006A

2018-04-06

In animal cells the specific translational control of proteins contributing to iron homeostasis is mediated by the interaction between the Iron Regulatory Proteins (IRP1 and IRP2) and the Iron Responsive Elements (IRE) located in the untranslated regions (UTR...

Exploring the alternatives of biological nitrogen fixation

10.1039/C8MT00038G

2018-03-28

Most biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) results from the activity of the molybdenum nitrogenase (Mo-nitrogenase, Nif), an oxygen-sensitive metalloenzyme complex found in all known diazotrophs. Two alternative forms of nitrogenase, the vanadium nitrogenase (V-...

Crosstalk of the structural and zinc buffering properties of mammalian metallothionein-2

10.1039/C7MT00332C

2018-03-21

Metallothioneins (MTs), small cysteine-rich proteins, present in four major isoforms, are key proteins involved in zinc and copper homeostasis in mammals. To date, only one X-ray crystal structure of a MT has been solved. It demonstrates seven bivalent metal ...

Antibacterial mechanism of silver nanoparticles in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: proteomics approach

10.1039/C7MT00328E

2018-03-20

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are the nanomaterials most widely used as antimicrobial agents in a range of consumer products, due to the environmental release of either the AgNPs themselves or silver ions. Although AgNPs appear to be more potent than silver io...

Biochemical and biophysical insights into the metal binding spectrum and bioactivity of arginase of Entamoeba histolytica

10.1039/C8MT00002F

2018-03-15

The human protozoan pathogens possess the essential metalloenzyme arginase (Arg) which catalyses the catabolism of L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea. This being the first committed step in polyamine biosynthesis is a potential drug target for protozoan disea...

Cardiac myoglobin participates in the metabolic pathway of selenium in rats

10.1039/C8MT00011E

2018-03-09

As an essential micronutrient, selenium deficiency is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases. The heart is continuously beating to deliver blood to the entire body, and this requires a high amount of energy. An adult heart normally obtains 50–70% of its a...

Multimodal LA-ICP-MS and nanoSIMS imaging enables copper mapping within photoreceptor megamitochondria in a zebrafish model of Menkes disease

10.1039/C7MT00349H

2018-03-06

Copper is essential for eukaryotic life, and animals must acquire this nutrient through the diet and distribute it to cells and organelles for proper function of biological targets. Indeed, mutations in the central copper exporter ATP7A contribute to a spectr...

Nickel(II) inhibits the oxidation of DNA 5-methylcytosine in mammalian somatic cells and embryonic stem cells

10.1039/C7MT00346C

2018-03-02

Nickel is found widely in the environment. It is an essential microelement but also toxic. However, nickel displays only weak genotoxicity and mutagenicity. Exploration of the epigenetic toxicity of nickel is extremely interesting. Iron(II)- and 2-oxoglutarat...