Themed collection Chemical Biology in Molecular BioSystems

The reactivity of amino acid residues in proteins is context-dependent and difficult to predict.

Peptide-tag based labelling can be achieved by (i) enzymes (ii) recognition of metal ions or small molecules and (iii) peptide–peptide interactions and enables site-specific protein visualization to investigate protein localization and trafficking.

Arrhythmia, the basis of which is cardiomyocyte ion channel abnormalities, poses a serious threat to human health.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) represent a major class of RNA molecules for which primary, secondary, and tertiary structures are known.

This review article summarizes known knowledge about both small molecule persulfides and protein persulfides, including their preparation/detection methods, reactions, and biological implications.

This work explored the membrane activity of filamentous supramolecular peptides and their great potential as a supramolecular peptide-based chemotherapeutic enhancer.

Localisation of a neutral rhenium(I) tricarbonyl phenanthroline species to regions of high polar lipid concentrations is demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy.

Glutathione S-transferase Pi (GSTP1) mediates cellular defense against reactive electrophiles.

SUMO-fused and intein-fused protein expression systems have been combined to prepare a dual-color labeled ubiquitin sensor for detecting UCH-L3's activity.

Lipid nanodiscs have broad applications in membrane protein assays, biotechnology and materials science.

Unconditional deletion of RF1 in a genomically recoded E. coli enables multisite noncanonical amino acid incorporation by UAG suppression.

Erythropoietin (EPO) with single small branched PEG chains installed by the Staudinger-phosphite reaction leads to enhanced solubility, stability and intact in vitro bioactivity.

We report for the first time that 5-hydroxytryptophan can be synthesized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by heterologously expressing prokaryotic phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase or eukaryotic tryptophan 3/5-hydroxylase, together with enhanced synthesis of MH4 or BH4 cofactors.

We describe a NIR-fluorescent marker which is efficiently internalized by live cells in the presence exogenous zinc(II) whereas only negligible staining was detected in the absence of zinc(II).

Theoretical and experimental studies of the deazaflavin dependent nitroreductase (Ddn) enzyme bound cofactor F₄₂₀ demonstrate that the reduced cofactor is deprotonated in the holoenzyme form.

Lasso peptides are fascinating natural products with a unique structural fold that can exhibit tremendous thermal stability.

Fluorogenic substrates incorporating the sequence Asp-Glu-Pro-Asp-Ser were able to quantify caspase-3 activity without notable caspase-7 and cathepsin B cross-reactivity.

One major regulatory mechanism in cell signalling is the spatio-temporal control of the localization of signalling molecules. We synthetically designed an entire cell signalling pathway, which allows controlling the transport of signalling molecules from the plasma membrane to the nucleus, by using light and small molecules.

Cisplatin binds to N7 of guanine in a reverse Watson–Crick G–G pair.

High-order oligomers increased whereas N-terminal domain swapping and C-terminal domain swapping were elucidated by the insertion of Gly residues at the major hinge loop of cytochrome c₅₅₂.

Direct visualization of bioorthogonal alkyne or azide handles using fluorogenic azide–alkyne cycloaddition conducted on the surface of a blot membrane.

A photoaffinity library expedited the discovery of a site-specific DcpS probe.

PQ–MB may affect the behavior and cognitive function of rat offspring through the cAMP–PKA–CREB signaling pathway.

In this paper, we describe the biochemical properties and biological activity of a series of cholinesterase reactivators (symmetrical bisquaternary xylene-linked compounds, K106–K114) with ctDNA.

Knots in proteins have been proposed to resist proteasomal degradation, thought in turn to be related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington.

The trans-cyclooctenol/tetrazine click reaction was used for in-gel ABPP to determine the proteome-wide selectivity profile of a covalent ERK1/2 inhibitor.

The transparency of the human eye lens depends on the solubility and stability of the structural proteins of the eye lens, the crystallins.

Small drug molecules and other important metabolites are delivered via a suitable carrier protein-mediated transport through a specific receptor.

SOHPRED is a new and competitive bioinformatics tool for characterizing and predicting human S-sulfenylation sites.

Analogs of the Soluble NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor) Attachment Protein Receptor proteins (SNAREs) for mediation of vesicle fusion.

Oxidative DNA damage is confirmed by the morin–Cu(II) complex and it is also able to inhibit the growth of human HeLa cells. The binding of the morin–Cu(II) complex with HSA and BSA occurs mainly through hydrophobic forces.

We revealed that human α- and β-defensins have strong anti-HCV activity in experiments on cellular protection, neutralization, and treatment at low concentrations, whereas synthetic linear avian defensins could reach similar anti-HCV potential only at noticeably higher concentrations.

Enzymatic assays based on Fructosyl Amino Acid Oxidases (FAOX) represent a potential, rapid and economical strategy to measure glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which is in turn a reliable method to monitor the insurgence and the development of diabetes mellitus.

Reversible protonation of histidine at the dimer interface of HucR controls interconversion between molten globule and compact folded state.

The ERK cascade (e.g. Raf-1) protects the heart from cell death and ischemic injury but can also turn maladaptive.

Cyclooxygenase (COX; EC: 1.14.99.1), the key enzyme in prostaglandin production in the human body, is a major pharmacological target for developing anti-inflammatory agents.

The long noncoding RNA HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) has been reported to be an oncogene that influences tumor cell development and that correlates with prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The use of small molecules to arrest G-quadruplex structure has become a potential strategy for the development and design of a new class of anticancer therapeutics.

Unique C–H⋯S hydrogen bonding interactions allow nature to attain recognition specificity between molecular interfaces where there is no apparent scope for classical hydrogen bonding or polar interactions.

Clickable glutathione was used for analyzing the reversible change of protein glutathionylation in response to glucose metabolism and mitochondrial ROS.

P-Glycoprotein (P-gp) serves as a therapeutic target for the development of inhibitors to overcome multidrug resistance in cancer cells.

We have characterized the profile of several key base excision repair activities in the developing embryo of the grey sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus intermedius, at several stages of development.

Arginine to histidine mutation at position 132 (R132H) in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) led to reduced affinity of the respective enzymes for isocitrate and increased affinity for α-ketoglutarate (AKG) and NADPH.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health threat despite chemotherapy and Bacilli Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination.

Structural knowledge of substrate recognition by SKP1–CUL1–βTrCP1 complex for targeted cancer therapeutic strategy.

Recently, accumulating studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in exploring the pathogenesis of various human diseases at the molecular level and may result in the design of specific tools for diagnosis, treatment evaluation and prevention.

Family with sequence similarity 20, member C (Fam20C) is a physiological Golgi casein kinase that phosphorylates multiple secreted proteins.

Podocytes are the major sites of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production in kidneys.

Silencing of TMEM45B induces apoptosis and suppresses invasion and migration in pancreatic cancer cells.

H89-derived photo-affinity probes can be used to label clinically relevant kinases as well as to screen known and identify novel kinase inhibitors.

Oleic acid (OA) complexes of human alpha-lactalbumin (α-LA) and several other proteins are effective in the killing of a variety of tumor cells.

Computational analyses revealed correlations between the intrinsic disorder propensity of shell proteins and case fatality rates (CFRs) among Flaviviruses and within at least two Flavivirus species, such as tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and dengue virus (DENV).

In the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis, oxidative stress (OS) enhances the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to sustained cell growth, inflammation, excessive tissue remodelling and accumulation, which results in the development and acceleration of renal damage.

Guanine(C8)–thymine(N3) intrastrand cross-links are bypassed with varying efficiencies by Y-family polymerases, but the A-family polymerase BF is strongly blocked.

Validation of novel chemical probes containing photoreactive crosslinking groups and biotin or click reporters is reported for the proteomic study of HDAC complexes.

Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) are oncogenes, which regulate the expression of genes in various pathways, allowing cells to grow and divide.

Over-expression of the mesenchymal transcription factor Snail alters expression of many proteins. These changes are largely correlated with changes in S-palmitoylation, but in some cases are uncoupled.

Synthesis and use of benzimidazole activity-based probes to validate target labeling and identify novel binding partners.

We report a simplified immunochemical approach to directly detect and quantify oxidized protein tyrosine phosphatases modified with dimedone.

Here, we used stopped-flow fluorescence techniques to conduct a comparative kinetic analysis of the conformational transitions in human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) and in DNA containing an abasic site in the course of their interaction.

The rutin–Cu(II) complex causes DNA damage and is also able to inhibit the growth of human HeLa cells. This complex binds with serum albumins via hydrophobic forces.

Ru1 and Ru2 not only can stabilize the triplex, but also can serve as molecular “light switches” for the triplex. In addition, the two complexes stabilizing third-strand is weaker, reflecting the binding of Ru1 and Ru2 with the triplex is favored by the Watson–Crick base-paired duplex.

Furanodiene is a bioactive sesquiterpene isolated from the spice-producing Curcuma wenyujin plant (Y. H. Chen and C. Ling) (C. wenyujin), which is a commonly prescribed herb used in clinical cancer therapy by modern practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.

Silencing of USP22 suppresses high glucose-induced podocyte injury.

The pH gating of human AQP3 and its effects on both water and glycerol permeabilities have been fully characterized for the first time using a human red blood cell model (hRBC).

Plasmepsin V belongs to the plasmepsin family of aspartic proteases.

This study reveals DDR1 plays an important role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and identifies a DDR1 inhibitor for possible future therapy.

Modified split-inteins are fused to the photosensitive LOV2 domain to enable photoactivated cis intein splicing.

R = H, acyl; X = H, D; Y = H, phosphate, phosphocholine, glucose, or lactose.

In both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, fatty acid synthases are responsible for the biosynthesis of fatty acids in an iterative process, extending the fatty acid by two carbon units every cycle.