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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Cryptococcus Neoformans Melanization Incorporates Multiple Catecholamines To Produce Polytypic Melanin, Rosanna P. Baker, Christine Chrissian, Ruth E. Stark, Arturo Casadevall
Cryptococcus Neoformans Melanization Incorporates Multiple Catecholamines To Produce Polytypic Melanin, Rosanna P. Baker, Christine Chrissian, Ruth E. Stark, Arturo Casadevall
Publications and Research
Melanin is a major virulence factor in pathogenic fungi that enhances the ability of fungal cells to resist immune clearance. Cryptococcus neoformans is an important human pathogenic fungus that synthesizes melanin from exogenous tissue catecholamine precursors during infection, but the type of melanin made in cryptococcal meningoencephalitis is unknown. We analyzed the efficacy of various catecholamines found in brain tissue in supporting melanization using animal brain tissue and synthetic catecholamine mixtures reflecting brain tissue proportions. Solid-state NMR spectra of the melanin pigment produced from such mixtures yielded more melanin than expected if only the preferred constituent dopamine had been incorporated, …
Synthesis And Evaluation Of C-10 Nitrogenated Aporphine Alkaloids At Serotonin And Dopamine Receptors, Anupam Karki
Synthesis And Evaluation Of C-10 Nitrogenated Aporphine Alkaloids At Serotonin And Dopamine Receptors, Anupam Karki
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Aporphine alkaloids, belonging to the isoquinoline class of compounds, have been investigated as a potential source of ligands for Central Nervous System (CNS) receptors. Previous research indicates that the aporphine scaffold may be manipulated to synthesize selective ligands for serotonin and dopamine receptors. Novel aporphine alkaloids containing C10 nitrogen substitutions were synthesized, and their affinities were evaluated at serotonin (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, 5-HT7A) receptors and dopamine (D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5) receptors. Two series of racemic aporphine compounds with C10 nitrogenous functionalities were synthesized and analyzed at the aforementioned receptors. The first series of aporphine alkaloids contain C10 nitro, …