scholarly journals Nature's inordinate fondness for metabolic enzymes: why metabolic enzyme loci are so frequently targets of selection

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 5743-5764 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Marden
Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (21) ◽  
pp. 3880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nidal Jaradat ◽  
Nawaf Al-Maharik

The present study aimed to identify the chemical constituents and to assess the in-vitro, antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, metabolic enzymes and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitory properties of essential oil (EO) of Stachys viticina Boiss. leaves. The S. viticina EO was isolated and identified using microwave-ultrasonic and GC-MS techniques, respectively. Fifty-two compounds were identified, of which endo-borneol was the major component, followed by eucalyptol and epizonarene. The EO was evaluated against a panel of in-vitro bioassays. The EO displayed antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli and Epidermophyton floccosum, with MIC values of 0.039, 0.078 and 0.78 mg/mL, respectively. The EO exhibited cytotoxicity against HeLa (cervical adenocarcinoma) and Colo-205 (colon) cancer cell lines with percentages of inhibition of 95% and 90%, for EO concentrations of 1.25 and 0.5 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, it showed metabolic enzyme (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and lipase) inhibitory (IC50 = 45.22 ± 1.1, 63.09 ± 0.26, 501.18 ± 0.38 µg/mL, respectively) and antioxidant activity, with an IC50 value of 19.95 ± 2.08 µg/mL. Moreover, the S. viticina EO showed high cyclooxygenase inhibitory activity against COX-1 and COX-2 with IC50 values of 0.25 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively, similar to those of the positive control (the NSAID etodolac). Outcomes amassed from this investigation illustrate that S. viticina EO represents a rich source of pharmacologically active molecules which can be further validated and explored clinically for its therapeutic potential and for the development and design of new natural therapeutic preparations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Cieśla

Several enzymes that were originally characterized to have one defined function in intermediatory metabolism are now shown to participate in a number of other cellular processes. Multifunctional proteins may be crucial for building of the highly complex networks that maintain the function and structure in the eukaryotic cell possessing a relatively low number of protein-encoding genes. One facet of this phenomenon, on which I will focus in this review, is the interaction of metabolic enzymes with RNA. The list of such enzymes known to be associated with RNA is constantly expanding, but the most intriguing question remains unanswered: are the metabolic enzyme-RNA interactions relevant in the regulation of cell metabolism? It has been proposed that metabolic RNA-binding enzymes participate in general regulatory circuits linking a metabolic function to a regulatory mechanism, similar to the situation of the metabolic enzyme aconitase, which also functions as iron-responsive RNA-binding regulatory element. However, some authors have cautioned that some of such enzymes may merely represent "molecular fossils" of the transition from an RNA to a protein world and that the RNA-binding properties may not have a functional significance. Here I will describe enzymes that have been shown to interact with RNA (in several cases a newly discovered RNA-binding protein has been identified as a well-known metabolic enzyme) and particularly point out those whose ability to interact with RNA seems to have a proven physiological significance. I will also try to depict the molecular switch between an enzyme's metabolic and regulatory functions in cases where such a mechanism has been elucidated. For most of these enzymes relations between their enzymatic functions and RNA metabolism are unclear or seem not to exist. All these enzymes are ancient, as judged by their wide distribution, and participate in fundamental biochemical pathways.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-261
Author(s):  
Yang Lu ◽  
Xiaoli Wang

ABSTRACT Introduction Study the relationship between the metabolic enzyme and the biological image, filtered by an adaptive filtering algorithm. Objective The research aims to In this study, human metabolic enzymes were evaluated by electrocardiogram and electromyogram images, and an adaptive filtering algorithm removed the noises in the images. Methods The electrocardiogram and electromyogram images at different periods were obtained, and the calculation method and application scope of the adaptive filtering algorithm were analysed. Results Adaptive filter was designed by the combination of adaptive filtering algorithm and dynamic information. Therefore, the artefact of the image was removed. Conclusions The adaptive filtering algorithm can effectively remove the noise or artefact in electrocardiogram and electromyogram signals. The optimal image information can be obtained. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.


2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (3) ◽  
pp. F533-F542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Callan C. Corcoran ◽  
Cameron R. Grady ◽  
Trairak Pisitkun ◽  
Jaya Parulekar ◽  
Mark A. Knepper

The organization of the mammalian genome into gene subsets corresponding to specific functional classes has provided key tools for systems biology research. Here, we have created a web-accessible resource called the Mammalian Metabolic Enzyme Database ( https://hpcwebapps.cit.nih.gov/ESBL/Database/MetabolicEnzymes/MetabolicEnzymeDatabase.html ) keyed to the biochemical reactions represented on iconic metabolic pathway wall charts created in the previous century. Overall, we have mapped 1,647 genes to these pathways, representing ~7 percent of the protein-coding genome. To illustrate the use of the database, we apply it to the area of kidney physiology. In so doing, we have created an additional database ( Database of Metabolic Enzymes in Kidney Tubule Segments: https://hpcwebapps.cit.nih.gov/ESBL/Database/MetabolicEnzymes/ ), mapping mRNA abundance measurements (mined from RNA-Seq studies) for all metabolic enzymes to each of 14 renal tubule segments. We carry out bioinformatics analysis of the enzyme expression pattern among renal tubule segments and mine various data sources to identify vasopressin-regulated metabolic enzymes in the renal collecting duct.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (660) ◽  
pp. eaaz1236
Author(s):  
Toshiya Kokaji ◽  
Atsushi Hatano ◽  
Yuki Ito ◽  
Katsuyuki Yugi ◽  
Miki Eto ◽  
...  

Impaired glucose tolerance associated with obesity causes postprandial hyperglycemia and can lead to type 2 diabetes. To study the differences in liver metabolism in healthy and obese states, we constructed and analyzed transomics glucose-responsive metabolic networks with layers for metabolites, expression data for metabolic enzyme genes, transcription factors, and insulin signaling proteins from the livers of healthy and obese mice. We integrated multiomics time course data from wild-type and leptin-deficient obese (ob/ob) mice after orally administered glucose. In wild-type mice, metabolic reactions were rapidly regulated within 10 min of oral glucose administration by glucose-responsive metabolites, which functioned as allosteric regulators and substrates of metabolic enzymes, and by Akt-induced changes in the expression of glucose-responsive genes encoding metabolic enzymes. In ob/ob mice, the majority of rapid regulation by glucose-responsive metabolites was absent. Instead, glucose administration produced slow changes in the expression of carbohydrate, lipid, and amino acid metabolic enzyme–encoding genes to alter metabolic reactions on a time scale of hours. Few regulatory events occurred in both healthy and obese mice. Thus, our transomics network analysis revealed that regulation of glucose-responsive liver metabolism is mediated through different mechanisms in healthy and obese states. Rapid changes in allosteric regulators and substrates and in gene expression dominate the healthy state, whereas slow changes in gene expression dominate the obese state.


Author(s):  
Kuixiong Gao ◽  
Randal E. Morris ◽  
Bruce F. Giffin ◽  
Robert R. Cardell

Several enzymes are involved in the regulation of anabolic and catabolic pathways of carbohydrate metabolism in liver parenchymal cells. The lobular distribution of glycogen synthase (GS), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) was studied by immunocytochemistry using cryosections of normal fed and fasted rat liver. Since sections of tissue embedded in polyethylene glycol (PEG) show good morphological preservation and increased detectability for immunocytochemical localization of antigenic sites, and semithin sections of Visio-Bond (VB) embedded tissue provide higher resolution of cellular structure, we applied these techniques and immunogold-silver stain (IGSS) for a more accurate localization of hepatic carbohydrate metabolic enzymes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dun-Xian Tan ◽  
Russel. J. Reiter

     It was a surprising discovery when mitochondria, as the power houses of cells, were also found to synthesize the potent mitochondrial targeted antioxidant, melatonin. The melatonin synthetic enzyme serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) was found in matrix and also in the intermembrane space of mitochondria. We hypothesize that the melatonin synthesis occurs in the matrix due to substrate (N-acetyl co-enzyme A) availability while the intermembrane space may serve as the recycling pool of SNAT to regulate the melatonin circadian rhythm. Another surprise was that the melatonin membrane receptors, including MT1 and MT2, were also present in mitochondria. The protective effects of melatonin against neuronal injury induced by brain ischemia/reperfusion were proven to be mainly mediated by mitochondrial melatonin receptors rather than the cell surface membrane receptors which is contrary to the classical principle. In addition, melatonin metabolic enzyme has also been identified in the mitochondria. This enzyme can convert melatonin to N-acetylserotonin to strengthen the antitumor effects of melatonin. Thus, mitochondria are the generator, battle ground and metabolic sites of melatonin. The biological significance of the strong association between mitochondria and melatonin should be intensively investigated. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dun-Xian Tan ◽  
Russel. J. Reiter

     It was a surprising discovery when mitochondria, as the power houses of cells, were also found to synthesize the potent mitochondrial targeted antioxidant, melatonin. The melatonin synthetic enzyme serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) was found in matrix and also in the intermembrane space of mitochondria. We hypothesize that the melatonin synthesis occurs in the matrix due to substrate (N-acetyl co-enzyme A) availability while the intermembrane space may serve as the recycling pool of SNAT to regulate the melatonin circadian rhythm. Another surprise was that the melatonin membrane receptors, including MT1 and MT2, were also present in mitochondria. The protective effects of melatonin against neuronal injury induced by brain ischemia/reperfusion were proven to be mainly mediated by mitochondrial melatonin receptors rather than the cell surface membrane receptors which is contrary to the classical principle. In addition, melatonin metabolic enzyme has also been identified in the mitochondria. This enzyme can convert melatonin to N-acetylserotonin to strengthen the antitumor effects of melatonin. Thus, mitochondria are the generator, battle ground and metabolic sites of melatonin. The biological significance of the strong association between mitochondria and melatonin should be intensively investigated. 


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