Journal of Amino Acids

Several evidences support the hypothesis that glutamatergic dysfunction may be implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and in the last few years great interest has been focused on the role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in human CNS and it plays a prominent role in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory and other cognitive functions. Increasing interest in memantine add-on therapy in schizophrenic patients with negative and cognitive symptoms may suggest that memantine could be a new promising treatment in schizophrenia...

Amino acid analysis is considered to be the gold standard for quantitative peptide and protein analysis. Here, we would like to propose a simple HPLC/UV method based on a reversed-phase separation of the aromatic amino acids tyrosine (Tyr), phenylalanine (Phe), and optionally tryptophan (Trp) without any derivatization. The hydrolysis of the proteins and peptides was performed by an accelerated microwave technique, which needs only 30 minutes. Two internal standard compounds, homotyrosine (HTyr) and 4-fluorophenylalanine (FPhe) were used for calibration...

High fasting plasma concentrations of isoleucine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine have been associated with increased risk of hyperglycaemia and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Whether these associations are diet or metabolism driven is unknown. We examined how the dietary protein source affects the postprandial circulating profile of these three diabetes associated amino acids (DMAAs) and tested whether the postprandial DMAA profiles are associated with fasting glycaemia. We used a crossover design with twenty-one healthy individuals and four different isocaloric test meals, containing proteins from different dietary sources (dairy, fish, meat, and plants)...

L-Tryptophan is the unique protein amino acid (AA) bearing an indole ring: its biotransformation in living organisms contributes either to keeping this chemical group in cells and tissues or to breaking it, by generating in both cases a variety of bioactive molecules. Investigations on the biology of Trp highlight the pleiotropic effects of its small derivatives on homeostasis processes. In addition to protein turn-over, in humans the pathways of Trp indole derivatives cover the synthesis of the neurotransmitter/hormone serotonin (5-HT), the pineal gland melatonin (MLT), and the trace amine tryptamine...

The degradation of tryptophan (TRP) along the kynurenine pathway plays a crucial role as a neuro- and immunomodulatory mechanism in response to inflammatory stimuli, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS). In endotoxemia or sepsis, an enhanced activation of the rate-limiting enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is associated with a higher mortality risk. It is assumed that IDO induced immunosuppressive effects provoke the development of a protracted compensatory hypoinflammatory phase up to a complete paralysis of the immune system, which is characterized by an endotoxin tolerance...

Background. Limited data exist regarding endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoactive contributor in vascular tone, in a population subjected to early vascular deterioration. We compared ET-1 levels and explored its association with markers of arterial stiffness in black and white South Africans. Methodology. This cross-sectional substudy included 195 black (men: n = 99; women: n = 95) and 197 white (men: n = 99; women: n = 98) South Africans. Serum ET-1 levels were measured as well as markers of arterial stiffness (blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, and arterial compliance)...

E. coli alanyl-tRNA exists as a dimer in its native form and the C-terminal coiled-coil part plays an important role in the dimerization process. The truncated N-terminal containing the first 700 amino acids (1-700) forms a monomeric variant possessing similar aminoacylation activity like wild type. A point mutation in the C-terminal domain (G674D) also produces a monomeric variant with a fivefold reduced aminoacylation activity compared to the wild type enzyme. Urea induced denaturation of these monomeric mutants along with another alaRS variant (N461 alaRS) was studied together with the full-length enzyme using various spectroscopic techniques such as intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, 1-anilino-8-naphthalene-sulfonic acid binding, near- and far-UV circular dichroism, and analytical ultracentrifugation...

Yeast can use a wide variety of nitrogen compounds. However, the ability to synthesize enzymes and permeases for catabolism of poor nitrogen sources is limited in the presence of a rich one. This general mechanism of transcriptional control is called nitrogen catabolite repression. Poor nitrogen sources, such as leucine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and allantoin, enable growth after the synthesis of pathway-specific catabolic enzymes and permeases. This synthesis occurs only under conditions of nitrogen limitation and in the presence of a pathway-specific signal...

The catabolism of the 20 amino acids by Thermoanaerobacter strain AK90 (KR007667) was investigated under three different conditions: as single amino acids without an electron-scavenging system, in the presence of thiosulfate, and in coculture with a hydrogenotrophic methanogen. The strain degraded only serine without an alternative electron acceptor but degraded 11 amino acids (alanine, cysteine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, and valine) under both of the electron-scavenging systems investigated...

The release of preloaded [(3)H]taurine from hippocampal slices from developing 7-day-old and young adult 3-month-old mice was studied in a superfusion system in the absence of glucose. These hypoglycemic conditions enhanced the release at both ages, the effect being markedly greater in developing mice. A depolarizing K(+) concentration accentuated the release, which indicates that it was partially mediated by exocytosis. The anion channel blockers were inhibitory, witnessing the contribution of ion channels...

The addition of carbohydrate (CHO) in the form of simple sugars to creatine (Cr) supplements is central. The study aimed to determine whether ingestion of glucose (Glu) simultaneously with Cr and glycerol (Cr/Gly) supplement is detrimental to plasma lipids of endurance-trained individuals and find out whether modification arising can be attenuated by replacing part of the Glu with alpha lipoic acid (Ala). Twenty-two endurance-trained cyclists were randomized to receive Cr/Gly/Glu (11.4 g Cr-H2O, 1 g Gly/kg BM, and 150 g Glu) or Cr/Gly/Glu/Ala (11...

A new series of isoxazole tethered quinone-amino acid hybrids has been designed and synthesized involving 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction followed by an oxidation reaction using cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN). Using this method, for the first time various isoxazole tethered quinone-phenyl alanine and quinone-alanine hybrids were synthesized from simple commercially available 4-bromobenzyl bromide, propargyl bromide, and 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde in good yield.

The total mass attenuation coefficients (μ t ) (cm(2)/g) and atomic, molecular, and electronic effective cross sections have been calculated for nonessential amino acids that contain H, C, N, and O such as tyrosine, aspartate, glutamine, alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, and glycine in the wide energy region 0.015-15 MeV. The variations with energy of total mass attenuation coefficients and atomic, molecular, and electronic cross sections are shown for all photon interactions.

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid found in very high concentration in skeletal muscle. Taurine deficient mice engineered by knocking out the taurine transporter gene exhibit skeletal muscle wasting, structural defects, and exercise intolerance. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism underlying the development of metabolic abnormalities and exercise intolerance in muscle of the TauTKO phenotype. Running speed and endurance time of TauTKO mice were lower than those of control mice. Blood lactate level was elevated by >3-fold during treadmill running in TauTKO mice but remained largely unaltered by exercise in WT mice...

Proteins and amino acids are important biomolecules which regulate key metabolic pathways and serve as precursors for synthesis of biologically important substances; moreover, amino acids are building blocks of proteins. Fish is an important dietary source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and play important role in human nutrition. In the present investigation, crude protein content and amino acid compositions of important food fishes from different habitats have been studied. Crude protein content was determined by Kjeldahl method and amino acid composition was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and information on 27 food fishes was generated...

Thin layers of pyroglutamic acid (Pygl) have been deposited by thermal evaporation of the molten L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) through intramolecular lactamization. This deposition was carried out with the versatile handmade low-vacuum coater, which was simply composed of a soldering iron placed in a vacuum degassing resin chamber evacuated by an oil-free diaphragm pump. Molecular structural analyses have revealed that thin solid film evaporated from the molten L-Glu is mainly composed of L-Pygl due to intramolecular lactamization...

The majority of individual amino acids increase insulin and attenuate the plasma glucose response when ingested with glucose. Objective. To determine whether ingestion of two amino acids simultaneously, with glucose, would result in an additive effect. Leucine (Leu) and glycine (Gly) were chosen because they were two of the most potent glucose-lowering amino acids when given individually. Materials and Methods. Nine subjects received test items on four separate days. The first was a water control, then 25 g glucose, or Leu + Gly (1 mmol/kg fat-free mass each) ±25 g glucose, in random order...

β -D-Galactosidases (EC 3.2.1.23) hydrolyze the terminal nonreducing β -D-galactose residues in β -D-galactosides and are ubiquitously present in all life forms including extremophiles. Eighteen microbial β -galactosidase protein sequences, six each from psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic microbes, were analyzed. Primary structure reveals alanine, glycine, serine, and arginine to be higher in psychrophilic β -galactosidases whereas valine, glutamine, glutamic acid, phenylalanine, threonine, and tyrosine are found to be statistically preferred by thermophilic β -galactosidases...

We focused on the participation of GAP1, BAP2, and AGP1 in L-phenylalanine transport in yeast. In order to study the physiological functions of GAP1, BAP2, and AGP1 in L-phenylalanine transport, we examined the kinetics, substrate specificity, and regulation of these systems, employing isogenic haploid strains with the respective genes disrupted individually and in combination. During the characterization of phenylalanine transport, we noted important regulatory phenomena associated with these systems. Our results show that Agp1p is the major transporter of the phenylalanine in a gap1 strain growing in synthetic media with leucine present as an inducer...

Higher serum neopterin is associated with increased mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Preferentially Th1-type cytokine interferon- γ stimulates neopterin production by GTP cychlohydrolase I (GCH-I) in parallel in monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells. In other cells, activation of GCH-I leads to the formation of 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), the necessary cofactor of amino acid hydroxylases like phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase (PAH). Serum concentrations of phenylalanine, tyrosine, neopterin, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were measured in 1196 patients derived from the LUdwigshafen RIsk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study, a cohort study among patients referred for coronary angiography...