Volume 2 Issue 7, July 2006

Nitrosoperoxycarbonate anion, a reactive species generated in inflammation processes, is able to specifically oxidize guanine bases with a sequence selectivity that is almost opposite from that usually observed for one-electron oxidants.

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates a broad range of biological processes, yet many intracellular details of NO-mediated processes remain hidden. A new fluorescein derivative capable of direct detection provides a key advance in determining NO function in vivo.

One-bead-one-compound combinatorial peptidomimetic libraries, in conjunction with a high-stringency screening method, are a powerful tool for screening peptide and peptidomimetic ligands for target proteins. Picomolar-affinity peptidomimetics for the integrin α₄β₁ have now been developed and have been successfully used to image α₄β₁-expressing tumors in living mice.

Copper is a requisite cofactor in myriad cellular enzymes and is shuttled to different cellular sites for the assembly of copper-containing enzymes by Cu(I)-binding metallochaperones. NMR structural studies now reveal a key step in copper ion trafficking to sites of use.

DNA-binding proteins accomplish the remarkable feat of finding their correct target sequences within a sea of genomic DNA. A new study uses NMR spectroscopy to show the mechanism by which proteins may hop between and slide along DNA as they search for their target binding sites.

Dynamin is a large GTPase that participates in the severing of membrane-bound vesicles. A small-molecule inhibitor specific for the dynamin family of GTPases has been identified and reveals new aspects of membrane dynamics.