38 documents found, page 1 of 4
Abieta-7,13-Diene in Nematode-Infected Pinewood Pinus pinaster Branch Extracts:...
Gaspar, Marisa C.; Cruz, Pedro F.; Brito, Rui M. M.; Sousa, Hermínio C. de; Braga, Mara E. M.The oleoresin and volatile fraction produced by conifers, such as Pinus pinaster, play a crucial role in plant defence, acting as precursors to resin acids and adapting in response to environmental stress or pathogen attacks. Abietadiene (abieta-7,13-diene), the biosynthetic precursor to abietic acid, has been identified as the most abundant compound in extracts from pinewood nematode (PWN)-infected P. pinaster...
Preserving and hydrogel-matrixing the bioactive properties of aromatic medicina...
Parracho, Tiago; Cruz, Pedro F.; Peralta, Claúdia C.; Silva, Cândida G.; Campos, Maria Jorge; Neves, Marta; Cordeiro, Rachel; Trindade, DanielaEdible wild plants are part of the ethnobotanic heritage of a certain geographical area and are important sources of essential oils, antioxidants, minerals, and special flavours. Corema album (Portuguese crowberry), Crithmum maritimum (sea fennel), Eryngium maritimum (sea holly), Helichrysum italicum (curry plant) and Otanthus maritimus (cottonweed) wildly flourish along the sandy dunes of the coast of the Iber...
Morphological and Molecular Profiling of Amyloid-β Species in Alzheimer’s Patho...
Almeida, Zaida L.; Vaz, Daniela C.; Brito, Rui M. M.Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia around the world (~ 65%). Here, we portray the neuropathology of AD, biomarkers, and classifcation of amyloid plaques (difuse, non-cored, dense core, compact). Tau pathology and its involvement with Aβ plaques and cell death are discussed. Amyloid cascade hypotheses, aggregation mechanisms, and molecular species formed in vitro and in vivo (on- and of...
Transthyretin mutagenesis: impact on amyloidogenesis and disease
Almeida, Zaida L.; Vaz, Daniela C.; Brito, Rui M. M.Transthyretin (TTR), a homotetrameric protein found in plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and the eye, plays a pivotal role in the onset of several amyloid diseases with high morbidity and mortality. Protein aggregation and fibril formation by wild-type TTR and its natural more amyloidogenic variants are hallmarks of ATTRwt and ATTRv amyloidosis, respectively. The formation of soluble amyloid aggregates and the accum...
Nutritive Value and Bioactivities of a Halophyte Edible Plant: Crithmum maritim...
Correia, Iris; Antunes, Madalena; Tecelão, Carla; Neves, Marta; Pires, Cristiana L.; Cruz, Pedro F.; Peralta, Claúdia C.; Pereira, Cidália D.Crithmum maritimum L. (sea fennel), an edible xerophyte of coastal habitats, is considered an emerging cash crop for biosaline agriculture due to its salt-tolerance ability and potential applications in the agri-food sector. Here, the nutritional value and bioactive properties of sea fennel are described. Sea fennel leaves, flowers, and schizocarps are composed of carbohydrates (>65%) followed by ash, proteins,...
Unveiling New Druggable Pockets in Influenza Non-Structural Protein 1: NS1-Host...
Cunha, Andreia E. S.; Loureiro, Rui J. S.; Simões, Carlos J. V.; Brito, Rui M. M.Influenza viruses are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide in winter seasonal outbreaks and in flu pandemics. Influenza viruses have a high rate of evolution, requiring annual vaccine updates and severely diminishing the effectiveness of the available antivirals. Identifying novel viral targets and developing new effective antivirals is an urgent need. One of the most promising new targ...
Lessons on protein structure from interleukin‐4: All disulfides are not created...
Vaz, Daniela C.; Rodrigues, J. Rui; Loureiro‐Ferreira, Nuno; Müller, Thomas D.; Sebald, Walter; Redfield, Christina; Brito, Rui M. M.Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is a hematopoietic cytokine composed by a four-helix bundle stabilized by an antiparallel beta-sheet and three disulfide bonds: Cys3-Cys127, Cys24-Cys65, and Cys46-Cys99. IL-4 is involved in several immune responses associated to infection, allergy, autoimmunity, and cancer. Besides its physiological relevance, IL-4 is often used as a “model” for protein design and engineering. Hence, to un...
Alchemical Design of Pharmacological Chaperones with Higher Affinity for Phenyl...
Conde-Giménez, María; Galano-Frutos, Juan José; Galiana-Cameo, María; Mahía, Alejandro; Victor, Bruno L.; Salillas, Sandra; Velázquez-Campoy, AdriánPhenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disease caused by variations in a human gene, PAH, encoding phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), and the enzyme converting the essential amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. Many PKU-causing variations compromise the conformational stability of the encoded enzyme, decreasing or abolishing its catalytic activity, and leading to an elevated concentration of phenylalanine i...
Conformational Dynamics of the Soluble and Membrane-Bound Forms of Interleukin-...
Luís, João P.; Mata, Ana I.; Simões, Carlos J. V.; Brito, Rui M. M.Interleukin-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) is a key player in inflammation and immune responses. This receptor regulates IL-1 activity in two forms: as a membrane-bound form and as a soluble ectodomain. The details and differences between the conformational dynamics of the membrane-bound and the soluble IL-1R1 ectodomains (ECDs) remain largely elusive. Here, we study and compare the structural dynamics of the solub...
The Therapeutic Prospects of Targeting IL-1R1 for the Modulation of Neuroinflam...
Luís, João P.; Simões, Carlos J. V.; Brito, Rui M. M.The interleukin-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1) holds pivotal roles in the immune system, as it is positioned at the "epicenter" of the inflammatory signaling networks. Increased levels of the cytokine IL-1 are a recognized feature of the immune response in the central nervous system (CNS) during injury and disease, i.e., neuroinflammation. Despite IL-1/IL-1R1 signaling within the CNS having been the subject of seve...