Carnivorous plants are known to secrete acid proteinases to digest prey, mainly insects, for nitrogen uptake. In the present study, we have purified, for the first time, to homogeneity two acid proteinases (nepenthesins I and II) from the pitcher fluid of Nepenthes distillatoria (a pitcher-plant known locally as badura) and investigated their enzymic and structural characteristics. Both enzymes were optimally active at pH approx. 2.6 towards acid-denatured haemoglobin; the specificity of nepenthesin I towards oxidized insulin B chain appears to be similar, but slightly wider than those of other APs (aspartic proteinases). Among the enzymic properties, however, the most notable is their unusual stability: both enzymes were remarkably stable at or below 50 degrees C, especially nepenthesin I was extremely stable over a wide range of pH from 3 to 10 for over 30 days. This suggests an evolutionary adaptation of the enzymes to their specific habitat. We have also cloned the cDNAs and deduced the complete amino acid sequences of the precursors of nepenthesins I and II (437 and 438 residues respectively) from the pitcher tissue of N. gracilis. Although the corresponding mature enzymes (each 359 residues) are homologous with ordinary pepsin-type APs, both enzymes had a high content of cysteine residues (12 residues/molecule), which are assumed to form six unique disulphide bonds as suggested by computer modelling and are supposed to contribute towards the remarkable stability of nepenthesins. Moreover, the amino acid sequence identity of nepenthesins with ordinary APs, including plant vacuolar APs, is remarkably low (approx. 20%), and phylogenetic comparison shows that nepenthesins are distantly related to them to form a novel subfamily of APs with a high content of cysteine residues and a characteristic insertion, named 'the nepenthesin-type AP-specific insertion', that includes a large number of novel, orthologous plant APs emerging in the gene/protein databases.

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been identified as the causative agent for the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 3CL protease (3CL pro ) plays a pivotal role in the processing of viral polyproteins. We report peptidomimetic compounds with a unique benzothiazolyl ketone as a warhead group, which display potent activity against SARS-CoV-2 3CL pro . The most potent inhibitor YH-53 can strongly block the SARS-CoV-2 replication. X-ray structural analysis revealed that YH-53 establishes multiple hydrogen bond interactions with backbone amino acids and a covalent bond with the active site of 3CL pro . Further results from computational and experimental studies, including an in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion profile, in vivo pharmacokinetics, and metabolic analysis of YH-53 suggest that it has a high potential as a lead candidate to compete with COVID-19.

hosphorus homeostasis at the organismal level is maintained by balancing phosphate intake and excretion. Specifically, the amount of phosphate excreted into urine is regulated so as to become equal to the amount of phosphate absorbed from the digestive tract. 1 The amount of urinary phosphate excretion is primarily regulated by the endocrine axis consisting of fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) and its obligate coreceptor klotho. FGF23 is a hormone secreted from osteoblasts and osteocytes in response to phosphate intake. FGF23 binds to the binary complex of FGF receptor and klotho expressed in renal tubules and suppresses phosphate reabsorption, thereby promoting urinary

Polyglutamine diseases are inherited neurodegenerative diseases caused by the expanded polyglutamine proteins (polyQs). We have identified a novel guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) named CRAG that contains a nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequence and forms nuclear inclusions in response to stress. After ultraviolet irradiation, CRAG interacted with and induced an enlarged ring-like structure of promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) body in a GTPase-dependent manner. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by polyQ accumulation triggered the association of CRAG with polyQ and the nuclear translocation of the CRAG–polyQ complex. Furthermore, CRAG promoted the degradation of polyQ at PML/CRAG bodies through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. CRAG knockdown by small interfering RNA in neuronal cells consistently blocked the nuclear translocation of polyQ and enhanced polyQ-mediated cell death. We propose that CRAG is a modulator of PML function and dynamics in ROS signaling and is protectively involved in the pathogenesis of polyglutamine diseases.

Carnivorous plants are known to secrete acid proteinases to digest prey, mainly insects, for nitrogen uptake. In our recent study, we have purified, for the first time, to homogeneity two acid proteinases, nepenthesin I (Nep I) and nepenthesin II (Nep II) from the pitcher fluid of Nepenthes distillatoria and investigated their enzymatic and structural characteristics. Both enzymes were optimally active at pH approx. 2.6 toward acid-denatured hemoglobin; the specificity of Nep I toward oxidized insulin B chain appears to be similar, but slightly wider than those of other aspartic proteinases (APs). At or below 50 degrees C both enzymes were remarkably stable; especially Nep I was extremely stable over a wide range of pH from 3 to 10 for over 30 days. This suggests an evolutionary adaptation of the enzymes to their specific habitat. We have also cloned the cDNAs and deduced the complete amino acid sequences of the precursors of Nep I and Nep II from the pitcher tissue of Nepenthes gracilis. Although the corresponding mature enzymes are homologous with ordinary pepsin-type APs, both enzymes had a high content of cysteine residues (12 residues per molecule), which are assumed to form six unique disulfide bonds as suggested by computer modeling and are thought to contribute toward the remarkable stability of Neps. Moreover, the amino acid sequence identity of Neps with ordinary APs, including plant vacuolar APs, are remarkably low (approx. 20%), and phylogenetic comparison shows that Neps are distantly related to them to form a novel subfamily of APs with a high content of cysteine residues and a characteristic insertion, named 'the Nep-type AP (NAP)-specific insertion', including a large number of novel, orthologous plant APs emerging in the gene/protein databases.