Electrical signalling and systemic proteinase inhibitor induction in the wounded plant

Article Abstract:

Tomato plants rely on internal electrical signalling to spread the proteinase inhibitor that serves as a defense when leaves have been attacked. Although the wounding of a leaf was known to trigger the release of proteinase, exactly how the inhibitor was propagated was not known. Experiments involving the tomato plants' proteinase inhibitor genes and proteins establish that the propagation is carried out by electrical conduction rather than by chemical signalling. Electrical conduction in plants may resemble the epithelial conduction system found in animals.

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Inhibition of furin-mediated cleavage activation of HIV-1 glycoprotein gp160

Article Abstract:

Furin, a eukaryotic endoprotease enzyme that resembles subtilisin, enables the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to infect cells by helping the viral glycoprotein envelope to attach to the cell membrane. The additional finding that peptidyl-chloromethylketones with the amino acid sequence Arg-X-Lys/Arg-Arg can prevent HIV infection by blocking furin's effect may lead to new anti-HIV drugs.

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Docking of components in a bacterial complex

Article Abstract:

In contrast to research into ATP-dependent proteases by Bochtler et al, which claims to show the crystal structure for HslVU, a new study reveals a different structure for the protease, which has implications for the architecture of the complex.

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