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C Di Bello

Publications and source records attributed to C Di Bello.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Stimulation of dopamine synthesis in caudate nucleus by intrastriatal enkephalins and antagonism by naloxone.

The intraventricular injection of methionine-enkephalin (50 to 100 micrograms) or [d-Ala2]-methionine-enkephalinamide (1.5 to 12 micrograms), a synthetic enkephalin analog resistant to enzyme degradation, caused a marked dose-dependent increase in dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid concentrations in the rat striatum. The [d-Ala2] analog increased the accumulation of dopa in the striatum after aromatic amino acid decarboxylase inhibition, indicating that it increased dopamine synthesis. At the highest doses used both enkephalins failed to modify brain serotonin metabolism. The monolateral microinjection of the [d-Ala2]] analog (3 to 6 micrograms) into the caudate nucleus increased the concentration of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the injected side, whereas bilateral injection increased the concentration of this compound in both caudate nuclei and caused catalepsy. The stimulant effect of the [d-Ala2] analog on dopamine synthesis in the striatum persisted after destruction of striatal postsynaptic dopamine receptors with kainic acid. The biochemical and behavioral effects of enkephalins were prevented by naloxone, a specific narcotic antagonist. The results indicate that enkephalins stimulate dopamine synthesis by an action on opioid receptors localized on dopaminergic nerve terminals.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1975

Circular dichroism and absorbance properties of nitrotyrosyl chromophores in staphylococcal nuclease and in a model diketopiperazine.

An active derivative of staphylococcal nuclease, in which only tyrosine residue 115 has been nitrated with use of tetranitromethane, has been characterized using absorbance, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The results show that nitrotyrosine-115 nuclease is indistinguishable from native nuclease with regard to the average secondary structure of the folded polypeptide chain, the susceptibility of the enzyme to heat denaturation, and the local tertiary structure around tryptophan residue 140. Inasmuch as optical properties of nitrotyrosine-115 nuclease from 300 to 500 nm can be unambiguously assigned to nitrotyrosine residue 115 in the active site region, this modified enzyme presents a good model system for studying the circular dichroism properties of this aromatic amino acid in a protein. The spectral properties of nitrotyrosine-115 nuclease have been compared to those of the model compounds, cyclo-(-Gly-Tyr(3NO2)-) and Tyr(3NO2). Circular dichroism spectral changes in nitrotyrosine-115 nuclease due to the binding of deoxythymidine 3',5'-diphosphate and Ca-2+ have been compared to the corresponding nitrotyrosyl-115 absorption spectral changes. This comparison shows that the circular dichroism difference spectrum exhibits an over-all change in the intensity of the observed Cotton effects, whereas the absorption difference spectrum exhibits a blue shift. This finding supports the suggestion that perturbations of aromatic amino acid chromophores in proteins due to ligand binding result in red or blue shifts in absorption difference spectra, but in over-all changes of intensity in circular dichroism difference spectra.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Synthesis, characterization and conformational analysis of gp 120-derived synthetic peptides that specifically enhance HIV-1 infectivity.

A series of peptides patterned on the principal neutralizing domain of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp 120 have been synthesized by solid-phase techniques. Interestingly, in vitro experiments have shown that some of these peptides specifically interact with CD4 and, in particular, that the peptide corresponding to the sequence 307-330 of the HIV-1 MN isolate was able to enhance infection in a dose-specific and not a strain-restricted way. To bypass problems observed in preliminary runs, peptides were synthesized by both Fmoc and Boc chemistry. Comparison of the two strategies has allowed the set up of convenient protocols for the preparation of the target peptides in good yield, and with the high-purity grade needed for biological and physiochemical studies. Since the biological effects were present in the carboxyl-free C-terminal linear peptide but not in the amidated C-terminal analogue, preliminary conformational studies by circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were also performed in an attempt to correlate these effects with possible contributions of structured conformations as predicted by theoretical calculations. The possibility of a beta-turn structure for the crucial Gly-Pro-Gly-Arg sequence has been confirmed by 2D NMR experiments. Ongoing studies suggest the exploitation of the activating properties of the MN-derived peptides to design a more sensitive and innovative serological test based on the virus itself and not on anti-HIV antibodies, as is the case for the large majority of tests currently in use.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Conformational studies on synthetic peptides reproducing the dibasic processing site of pro-ocytocin-neurophysin.

Synthetic peptides reproducing the proteolytic processing site of pro-ocytocin were studied by different spectroscopic techniques, including circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared absorption, and mono and bidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, in order to ascertain the possible role of three-dimensional structure in the recognition process by maturation enzymes. Experimental results were compared with energy minimization calculations and suggest that: (i) the region situated on the N-terminus of the Lys-Arg doublet may form a beta-turn; (ii) the sequential organization of the residues participating in the beta-turn determines the privileged relative orientation of the basic amino acid sidechains and the subtype of turn; and (iii) the peptide segment situated on the C-terminal side of the dibasic doublet may assume a helix arrangement. These findings, in spite of the limitations connected to the flexibility of linear peptides, seem to substantiate the hypothesis that structural motifs around the cleavage site could be important for recognition and processing. however, a straightforward correlation between details of the secondary structure and the in vitro reactivity toward a putative convertase is not yet possible.

Amino Acid Sequence↗