Isatin (indole-2,3-dione) is an endogenous indole that has a distinct and discontinuous distribution in the brain and in other mammalian tissues and body fluids. Its output is increased under conditions of stress and anxiety. Isatin itself and its analogues exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities but its specific biological targets still are not well characterized. Affinity chromatography of Triton X-100 lysates of soluble and particulate fractions of mouse and rat whole brain homogenates on 5-aminocaproyl-isatin-Sepharose followed by subsequent proteomic analysis resulted in identification of 65 and 64 individual proteins, respectively. Isatin-binding capacity of some of the identified proteins has been validated in an optical biosensor study using a Biacore 3000 optical biosensor, 5-aminocarproyl-isatin, and 5-aminoisatin as the affinity ligands. The K(d) values (of 0.1-20 microM) obtained during the optical biosensor experiments were consistent with the range of K(d) values recently reported for [(3)H]isatin binding to brain sections. Although the number of isatin-binding proteins identified in the mouse and rat brain was similar, only 21 proteins (about one-third) were identical in the two species. This may be one reason for the differences in isatin effects in rats and mice reported in the literature.
Sea anemones are a rich source of Kunitz-type polypeptides that possess not only protease inhibitor activity, but also Kv channels toxicity, analgesic, antihistamine, and anti-inflammatory activities. Two Kunitz-type inhibitors belonging to a new Heteractis crispa RG (HCRG) polypeptide subfamily have been isolated from the sea anemone Heteractis crispa. The amino acid sequences of HCRG1 and HCRG2 identified using the Edman degradation method share up to 95% of their identity with the representatives of the HCGS polypeptide multigene subfamily derived from H. crispa cDNA. Polypeptides are characterized by positively charged Arg at the N-terminus as well as P1 Lys residue at their canonical binding loop, identical to those of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI). These polypeptides are shown by our current evidence to be more potent inhibitors of trypsin than the known representatives of the HCGS subfamily with P1Thr. The kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of the intermolecular interactions between inhibitors and serine proteases were determined by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) method. Residues functionally important for polypeptide binding to trypsin were revealed using molecular modeling methods. Furthermore, HCRG1 and HCRG2 possess anti-inflammatory activity, reducing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) secretions, as well as proIL-1β expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages. However, there was no effect on nitric oxide (NO) generation.
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