Structurally different ferrocene peptides I-VI exhibit considerable conformational differences. This study has explored the structural properties of VII [Y-AA-Fca-OMe; Y = di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc), acetyl (Ac); AA = L-Ala, D-Ala; Fca = 1Ј-aminoferrocene-1-carboxylic acid] with an exchanged sequence of constituent amino acids relative to VI (Y-Fca-AA-OMe; Y = Boc, Ac; AA = L-Ala, D-Ala). The ferrocene peptides VII were obtained by coupling C-protected Fca with Boc-L-Ala-OH and Boc-D-Ala-OH, respectively. The Boc protecting groups of the obtained conjugates Boc-AA-Fca-OMe (2a, AA = L-Ala; 2b, AA = D-Ala) were converted to sterically less demanding Ac groups to give Ac-AA-Fca-1820 Avance 300 MHz spectrometer in CDCl 3 solutions with Me 4 Si as the internal standard. Double resonance experiments (COSY, NOESY, and HMBC) were performed in order to assist in signal assignment. CD spectra were recorded using a Jasco-810 spectropolarimeter in CH 3 CN. Molar ellipticity coefficients, [θ], are in degrees, concentration, c, is given in molL -1 , and path length, l, is given in cm, to give units for [θ] of deg cm 2 dmol -1 . Computational Details:The starting geometries of 2a and 3a were generated by the MacroModel v9.8 [26] molecular modeling program using several different search methods and force fields. The conformers were fully optimized at the B3LYP/LanL2DZ level of theory. [23] The most stable were reoptimized in chloroform (using IEF-PCM to describe implicit solvent effects) with the B3LYP method and 6-311+G(d,p) basis set. [24] Iron was modeled using the ECP set LanL2DZ. Quantum mechanical calculations were performed with Gaussian 09, v.A.02. [27] Molecules were visualized using GaussView [28] and Chem 3D (CambridgeSoft, Cambridge, MA) programs. The topological analysis of the selected compounds was performed with the AIM2000 program. [29] Boc-AA-Fca-OMe (2a/2b): The syntheses of 2a and 2b were performed according to our recent paper: [9] the fully protected ferrocene amino acid Boc-Fca-OMe [5] (1) was N-deprotected by gaseous HCl in EtOAc to give the hydrochloride salt, which was treated with NEt 3 and coupled with Boc-AA-OH (AA = l-, d-Ala, previously activated by using EDC and HOBt). After standard workup and TLC-purification, Boc-l-Ala-Fca-OMe (2a) and Boc-d-Ala-Fca-OMe (2b) were obtained as orange resins.

Taspase 1 is an N-terminal threonine protease implicated in leukemia and other cancers. Despite intensive efforts in recent years, only a limited number of Taspase 1 inhibitors are currently available, and they lack general applicability. Here we present a novel class of Taspase 1 inhibitors based on a peptidyl succinimidyl peptide motif. These inhibitors were obtained from the substrate cleavage sequence and mechanistic considerations involving the previously proposed asparaginase-type cleavage mechanism. We anticipate that this class of Taspase 1 inhibitor will find wide application in further biochemical and structural studies, for example for better investigating the molecular details of the unusual enzymatic cleavage mechanism of Taspase 1.

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Bolest međukralježničnog diska čest je uzrok ozljede leđne moždine i motorne disfunkcije te se najčešće javlja u grudno-slabinskom segmentu kralježnice. Retrospektivnim istraživanjem u razdoblju od sedam godina obuhvaćena su 104 slučaja pasa s grudno-slabinskim (GS) sindromom liječenih na Klinici za kirurgiju, ortopediju i oftalmologiju Veterinarskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Većina pasa imala je akutnu kliničku sliku s visokim stupnjem neurološkog deficita. Francuski buldog bio je najčešći hondrodistrofični tip pasmine u koje se javljao GS sindrom dok je njemački ovčar bio najbrojniji u nehondrodistrofičnom tipu pasmine. GS sindrom u većem broju javljao se u muških jedinki. Ekstruzija diska u oba tipa pasmine javljala se u području T12-T13 i T13-L1 međukralježničnog prostora. Podatci o oporavku poznati su za 61,53 % pacijenata od čega je 70,44 % pacijenata postiglo zadovoljavajući oporavak. Nad svim pacijentima u provedenom istraživanju kao operacijska tehnika koristila se bilateralna mini hemilaminektomija izvedena od strane istog operatera. U 30 % pacijenata neovisno o nalazu mijelografije, materijal diska uočen je s obje strane međukralježničnog prostora zbog čega je opravdano razmotriti primjenu bilateralne mini-hemilaminektomije kao metodu izbora pri liječenju pasa s GS sindromom. Ovi rezultati će koristiti u budućim istraživanjima GS sindroma te će doprinijeti u njegovoj dijagnostici i liječenju.

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