Alcohol dehydrogenase 2 is a major hepatic enzyme for human retinol metabolism

The metabolism of all-trans- and 9-cis-retinol/ retinaldehyde has been investigated with focus on the activities of human, mouse and rat alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), an intriguing enzyme with apparently different functions in human and rodents. Kinetic constants were determined with an HPLC method and a structural approach was implemented by in silico substrate dockings. For human ADH2, the determined K_m values ranged from 0.05 to 0.3 μM and k_cat values from 2.3 to 17.6 min⁻¹, while the catalytic efficiency for 9-cis-retinol showed the highest value for any substrate. In contrast, poor activities were detected for the rodent enzymes. A mouse ADH2 mutant (ADH2Pro47His) was studied that resembles the human ADH2 setup. This mutation increased the retinoid activity up to 100-fold. The K_m values of human ADH2 are the lowest among all known human retinol dehydrogenases, which clearly support a role in hepatic retinol oxidation at physiological concentrations. Received 12 October 2006; received after revision 6 December 2006; accepted 8 January 2007     

Transthyretin: a review from a structural perspective

Transthyretin (formerly called prealbumin) plays important physiological roles as a transporter of thyroxine and retinol-binding protein. X-ray structural studies have provided information on the active conformation of the protein and the site of binding of both ligands. Transthyretin is also one of the precursor proteins commonly found in amyloid deposits. Both wild-type and single-amino-acid-substituted variants have been identified in amyloid deposits, the variants being more amyloidogenic. Sequencing of the gene and the resulting production of a transgenic mouse model have resulted in progress toward solving the mechanism of amyloid formation and detecting the variant gene in individuals at risk. Received 23 January 2001; received after revision 4 April 2001; accepted 30 April 2001     

血清胱抑素C和视黄醇结合蛋白联合检测对慢性肾小球肾炎诊断价值的研究

目的探讨联合检测血清胱抑素C(Cys C)和视黄醇结合蛋白(RBP)在慢性肾小球肾炎诊断中的应用价值.方法选取50名慢性肾小球肾炎患者为观察组,50名健康体检者为对照组,分别对观察组和对照组血清Cys C以及RBP的含量进行测定,并分析其与慢性肾小球肾炎之间的关系.结果观察组和对照组Cys C的含量分别为(2.97±1.06),(0.95±0.62)mg/L,观察组明显高于对照组;RBP的含量观察组为(105±30.5)mg/L,相比于对照组的(38±10.3)mg/L明显升高;单项指标阳性率分别为Cys C 84%、RBP 76%,联合检测阳性检出率为90%,和单项指标相比阳性检出率明显提高,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05).对慢性肾小球肾炎患者的两项指标研究发现:血清Cys C和尿RBP的含量呈正相关(r=0.921,P0.05).结论慢性肾小球肾炎血清Cys C和RBP明显高于健康对照组,对慢性肾小球肾炎的诊断具有重要的临床价值.联合检测血清Cys C和RBP对慢性肾小球肾炎检出率和敏感性均明显高于单指标检测.     

猪视黄醇及视黄酸结合蛋白基因的几个内含子的克隆测序

视黄醇及其具生理活性的代谢产物在动物的视觉、生长、繁殖、细胞的分化及胚胎发育等方面起重要作用.本研究对猪细胞视黄醇结合蛋白基因2（CRBP2）的内含子3,猪细胞视黄醇结合蛋白基因7（CRBP7）的内含子2,猪血浆视黄醇结合蛋白基因4（RBP4）的内含子2、3,猪细胞视黄酸结合蛋白基因2（CRABP2）的内含子2进行了克隆测序,为这些基因的结构及其功能的深入研究奠定了一定的基础.