Takashi Yazawa, Yoshitaka Imamichi, Toshio Sekiguchi, Kaoru Miyamoto et al.
Ovaries represent one of the primary steroidogenic organs, producing estrogen and progesterone under the regulation of gonadotropins during the estrous cycle. Gonadotropins fluctuate the expression of various steroidogenesis-related genes, such as those encoding steroidogenic enzymes, cholesterol de...
Yoshitaka Imamichi, Toshio Sekiguchi, Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Kajitani et al.
Diethylstilbestrol (DES), a strong estrogenic compound, is well-known to affect the reproductive system. In this study, we investigated the effects of DES administration on gonadotropin levels and ovarian steroidogenesis in prepubertal rats. DES treatment acutely reduced serum LH levels, followed by...
Kaoru Suzuki, Shi-Yuan Yang, Satoru Shimizu, Ella Czarina Morishita et al.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii α-type carbonic anhydrase (Cr-αCA1) is a dimeric enzyme that catalyses the interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid. The precursor form of Cr-αCA1 undergoes post-translational cleavage and N-glycosylation. Comparison of the genomic sequences of precursor Cr-αCA1 ...
Fang Zhang, Mominul M. Hoque, Jian‐Dong Jiang, Kaoru Suzuki et al.
The anti-HIV lectin actinohivin (AH) specifically interacts with HMTG (high-mannose-type glycan), which is attached to the glycoprotein gp120 of HIV-1 in a process in which the three branched mannotriose chains (D1, D2, and D3) of HMTG exhibit different binding affinities, it being estimated that th...
M.M. Hoque, Satoru Shimizu, E.C.M. Juan, Yoshiteru Sato et al.
D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from Alcaligenes faecalis catalyzes the reversible conversion between D-3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate. The enzyme was crystallized in the presence of the substrate D-3-hydroxybutyrate and the cofactor NAD(+) at the optimum pH for the catalytic reaction. The str...
M.M. Hoque, Kaoru Suzuki, M. Tsunoda, Jian‐Dong Jiang et al.
Actinohivin (AH) is an actinomycete lectin with a potent specific anti-HIV activity. In order to clarify the structural evidence for its specific binding to the α(1-2)mannobiose (MB) moiety of the D1 chains of high-mannose-type glycans (HMTGs) attached to HIV-1 gp120, the crystal structure of AH in ...
M.M. Hoque, Satoru Shimizu, Md. Tofazzal Hossain, Tamotsu Yamamoto et al.
D-3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the reversible reaction between D-3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, has been classified into the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family and is a useful marker in the assay of diabetes mellitus and/or ketoacidosis. The enzyme from Alcaligenes f...
Takashi Yazawa, Yoshitaka Imamichi, Koh‐ichi Yuhki, Junsuke Uwada et al.
Abstract Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX‐2) is an inducible rate‐limiting enzyme for prostanoid production. Because COX‐2 represents one of the inducible genes in mouse mesenchymal stem cells upon differentiation into Leydig cells, we investigated COX‐2 expression and production of prostaglandin (PG) in Leydi...
Hiroki Kanazawa, M.M. Hoque, M. Tsunoda, Kaoru Suzuki et al.
D-3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase catalyzes the reversible conversion of acetoacetate and D-3-hydroxybutyrate. These ketone bodies are both energy-storage forms of acetyl-CoA. In order to clarify the structural mechanisms of the catalytic reaction with the cognate substrate D-3-hydroxybutyrate and o...
Shinji Yamashita, Naoya Shibata, Akiyoshi Boku-Ikeda, Erika Abe et al.
BACKGROUND: Angiotensinogen (ANG) is a macromolecular precursor of angiotensin, which regulates blood pressure and electrolyte balance. ANG is specifically cleaved by renin, an aspartic protease, to initiate the angiotensin-processing cascade. Ovine ANG (oANG) from sheep plasma has been shown to be ...
Kaoru Suzuki, Naomi Ohbayashi, Jian‐Dong Jiang, Xiaoxue Zhang et al.
Actinohivin (AH) is a new potent anti-HIV lectin of microbial origin. In order to modify it to produce a more efficient drug, its three-dimensional structure has previously been determined with and without the target α(1-2)mannobiose moiety of the high-mannose-type glycan (HMTG) attached to HIV-1 gp...
Kaoru Suzuki, M. Tsunoda, M.M. Hoque, Fang Zhang et al.
Previously, the anti-HIV lectin actinohivin (AH) was cocrystallized with the target α(1-2)mannobiose (MB) in the apparent space group P213. However, three MB-bound AH rotamers generated by ±120° rotations around the molecular pseudo-threefold rotation axis are packed randomly in the unit cell accord...
Tomoyoshi Ohno, Masashi Mizokami, C. J. Tibbs, Kayhan T. Nouri‐Aria et al.
A large number of complete and partial hepatitis C virus (HCV) sequences have been reported and classified into several genotypes, although none have been reported from South Asia. We have determined and evaluated partial sequences in the core region of HCV obtained from patients with chronic hepati...
Kaoru Suzuki, Satoru Shimizu, E.C.M. Juan, Takahiro Miyamoto et al.
Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are ubiquitously distributed and are grouped into three structurally independent classes (alphaCA, betaCA and gammaCA). Most alphaCA enzymes are monomeric, but alphaCA1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a dimer that is uniquely stabilized by disulfide bonds. In addition, du...
Hiroki Kanazawa, M.M. Hoque, M. Tsunoda, Kaoru Suzuki et al.
d-3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase catalyzes the reversible conversion of acetoacetate and d-3-hydroxybutyrate. These ketone bodies are both energy-storage forms of acetyl-CoA. In order to clarify the structural mechanisms of the catalytic reaction with the cognate substrate d-3-hydroxybutyrate and o...