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Article
Open AccessRobust chitinolytic activity of crab-eating monkey (Macaca fascicularis) acidic chitinase under a broad pH and temperature range
Diet of the crab-eating monkey (Macaca fascicularis) consists of both plants and animals, including chitin-containing organisms such as crabs and insects. This omnivorous monkey has a high expression of acidic ch...
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Article
Open AccessResidues of acidic chitinase cause chitinolytic activity degrading chitosan in porcine pepsin preparations
Commercially available porcine pepsin preparations have been used for the production of chitooligosaccharides with various biomedical activities. However, the origin of this activity is not well understood. He...
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Article
The Listeria innocua chitinase LinChi78 has a unique region that is necessary for hydrolytic activity
Chitinases are generally composed of multiple domains; a catalytic domain and one or more additional domains that are not absolutely required but may modify the chitinolytic activity. The LinChi78 chitinase from
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Article
Open AccessHigh expression of acidic chitinase and chitin digestibility in the stomach of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), an insectivorous nonhuman primate
Chitin is a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and a main constituent of insects’ exoskeleton. Insects are rich in protein with high energy conversion efficiency. Recently, we have reported that acidic ch...
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Article
Two trehalose-hydrolyzing enzymes from Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius exhibit distinct activities and affinities toward trehalose
Two archaeal trehalase-like genes, Saci1250 and Saci1816, belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 15 (GH15) from the acidophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius were expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene...
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Article
Open AccessChitin digestibility is dependent on feeding behaviors, which determine acidic chitinase mRNA levels in mammalian and poultry stomachs
Chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), functions as a major structural component in chitin-containing organism including crustaceans, insects and fungi. Recently, we reported that acidic chitinase ...
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Article
Open AccessProtease resistance of porcine acidic mammalian chitinase under gastrointestinal conditions implies that chitin-containing organisms can be sustainable dietary resources
Chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), is a major structural component in chitin-containing organism including crustaceans, insects and fungi. Mammals express two chitinases, chitotriosidase (Chit1...
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Article
Open AccessGastric and intestinal proteases resistance of chicken acidic chitinase nominates chitin-containing organisms for alternative whole edible diets for poultry
Chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), functions as a major structural component in crustaceans, insects and fungi and is the second most abundant polysaccharide in the nature. Although these chiti...
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Article
Functional dissection of the N-terminal sequence of Clostridium sp. G0005 glucoamylase: identification of components critical for folding the catalytic domain and for constructing the active site structure
Clostridium sp. G0005 glucoamylase (CGA) is composed of a β-sandwich domain (BD), a linker, and a catalytic domain (CD). In the present study, CGA was expressed in Escherichia coli as inc...
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Article
Open AccessCharacterization of a Bacillus thuringiensis chitinase that binds to cellulose and chitin
Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive soil bacterium that is known to be a bacterial biopesticide that produces insecticidal proteins called crystal proteins (Cry). In the insecticida...
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Article
Open AccessAcidic mammalian chitinase is a proteases-resistant glycosidase in mouse digestive system
Chitinases are enzymes that hydrolyze chitin, a polymer of β-1, 4-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitin has long been considered as a source of dietary fiber that is not digested in the mammalian digesti...
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Article
Characterization of two Listeria innocua chitinases of different sizes that were expressed in Escherichia coli
Two putative chitinase genes, lin0153 and lin1996, from the nonpathogenic bacterium Listeria innocua were expressed in Escherichia coli, and the gene products were characterized. The genes were close homologs of ...
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Article
Open AccessStructure-based site-directed photo-crosslinking analyses of multimeric cell-adhesive interactions of voltage-gated sodium channel β subunits
The β1, β2 and β4 subunits of voltage-gated sodium channels reportedly function as cell adhesion molecules. The present crystallographic analysis of the β4 extracellular domain revealed an antiparallel arrange...
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Article
Singular localization of sodium channel β4 subunit in unmyelinated fibres and its role in the striatum
Voltage-gated Na+ channel β-subunits are multifunctional molecules that modulate Na+ channel activity and regulate cell adhesion, migration and neurite outgrowth. β-subunits including β4 are known to be highly co...
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Article
Open AccessEstablishment of a quantitative PCR system for discriminating chitinase-like proteins: catalytically inactive breast regression protein-39 and Ym1 are constitutive genes in mouse lung
Mice and humans produce chitinase-like proteins (CLPs), which are highly homologous to chitinases but lack chitinolytic activity. Mice express primarily three CLPs, including breast regression protein-39 (BRP-...
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Article
Open AccessHighly conserved salt bridge stabilizes a proteinase K subfamily enzyme, Aqualysin I, from Thermus aquaticus YT-1
The proteinase K subfamily enzymes, thermophilic Aqualysin I (AQN) from Thermus aquaticus YT-1 and psychrophilic serine protease (VPR) from Vibrio sp. PA-44, have six and seven salt bridges, respectively. To unde...
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Article
Open AccessGlucoamylase of Caulobacter crescentus CB15: cloning and expression in Escherichia coli and functional identification
The biochemical properties of the maltodextrin-hydrolyzing enzymes of cold-tolerant proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus CB15 remain to be elucidated, although whose maltodextrin transport systems were well inv...
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Article
Association of transferrin C2 allele with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Transferrin (Tf), an iron-transporting protein, has many variants, but C1 and C2 variants account for the majority of the population in all races. Since Tf is reported to be immunocytochemically detectable in...
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Article
Human transferrin (Tf): a single mutation at codon 570 determines Tf C1 or Tf C2 variant
Transferrin (Tf) has many variants, as revealed by isoelectric focusing (IEF). Although these Tf variants have long been thought to arise from the multiple alleles at single Tf locus, amino acid substitution ...
