The cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria is composed of proteins and peptidoglycan with the protruding secondary polysaccharides, which differ in the chemical composition and structure among various species. The cell wall secondary polysaccharides are covalently attached to the peptidoglycan and can account for more than a half of the total cell wall mass. They form […]
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Proteolysis and its regulation in health and disease
Proteolytic processing is one of the most important irreversible posttranslational protein modifications, since it affects a great variety of physiological processes critical for life, including the immune response, cell cycle, cell death, and protein and organelle recycling. Proteases are strictly controlled and imbalances in their activities have been found to be critical in a number […]
Structural biology
The proposed “Structural biology” program follows the premise that physiological processes can be reproduced in vitro once we know all molecular components and understand their properties and interactions. Such understanding requires insight in the molecular mechanisms from the points of view of structural, molecular, and computational biology. It is the atomic 3-dimensional structures of macromolecules […]
Role of legumain in infection and inflammation
Legumain or asparaginyl endopeptidase (AEP) is a member of the CD clan of cysteine proteases and cleaves protein substrates exclusively after asparagine or (to a minor extent) aspartic acid residues. It is a highly conserved protein which is present in a large variety of animal species. It was shown that legumain has possible roles in […]