| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Dias-Lopes, Camila
[1]
;
Neshich, Izabella A. P.
[2]
;
Neshich, Goran
[3]
;
Ortega, Jose Miguel
[1]
;
Granier, Claude
[4]
;
Chavez-Olortegui, Carlos
[1]
;
Molina, Franck
[4]
;
Felicori, Liza
[1]
Total Authors: 8
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Bioquim Imunol, Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Campinas UNICAMP, Ctr Biol Mol & Engn Genet, Campinas, SP - Brazil
[3] Embrapa Informat Technol, Campinas, SP - Brazil
[4] BioRad, CNRS, SysDiag UMR 3145, Montpellier - France
Total Affiliations: 4
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | PLoS One; v. 8, n. 11 NOV 1 2013. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 11 |
| Abstract | |
Sphingomyelinases D (SMases D) or dermonecrotic toxins are well characterized in Loxosceles spider venoms and have been described in some strains of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Corynebacterium sp. After spider bites, the SMase D molecules cause skin necrosis and occasional severe systemic manifestations, such as acute renal failure. In this paper, we identified new SMase D amino acid sequences from various organisms belonging to 24 distinct genera, of which, 19 are new. These SMases D share a conserved active site and a C-terminal motif. We suggest that the C-terminal tail is responsible for stabilizing the entire internal structure of the SMase D Tim barrel and that it can be considered an SMase D hallmark in combination with the amino acid residues from the active site. Most of these enzyme sequences were discovered from fungi and the SMase D activity was experimentally confirmed in the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Because most of these novel SMases D are from organisms that are endowed with pathogenic properties similar to those evoked by these enzymes alone, they might be associated with their pathogenic mechanisms. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/00235-5 - Mechanisms of saccharopine pathway induction in human cells |
| Grantee: | Izabella Agostinho Pena |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct) |
| FAPESP's process: | 09/16376-4 - Prediction of catalytic site residues (CSR) for enzymes by applying pattern recognition on protein structural descriptors found in STING database |
| Grantee: | Goran Nesic |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |