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Full-Text Articles in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

The Mechanism Of Β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine Inhibition Of Trna Aminoacylation And Its Impact On Misincorporation, Nien-Ching Han, Tammy J. Bullwinkle, Kaeli F. Loeb, Kym F. Faull, Kyle Mohler, Jesse Rinehart, Michael Ibba Jan 2021

The Mechanism Of Β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine Inhibition Of Trna Aminoacylation And Its Impact On Misincorporation, Nien-Ching Han, Tammy J. Bullwinkle, Kaeli F. Loeb, Kym F. Faull, Kyle Mohler, Jesse Rinehart, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) is a nonproteinogenic amino acid that has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). BMAA has been found in human protein extracts; however, the mechanism by which it enters the proteome is still unclear. It has been suggested that BMAA is misincorporated at serine codons during protein synthesis, but direct evidence of its cotranslational incorporation is currently lacking. Here, using LC-MS–purified BMAA and several biochemical assays, we sought to determine whether any aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) utilizes BMAA as a substrate for aminoacylation. Despite BMAA's previously predicted misincorporation at serine …


Development Of Cytarabine Prodrugs And Delivery Systems For Leukemia Treatment, Bhupender S. Chhikara, Keykavous Parang Jan 2010

Development Of Cytarabine Prodrugs And Delivery Systems For Leukemia Treatment, Bhupender S. Chhikara, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Importance of the field: Cytarabine is a polar nucleoside drug used for the treatment of myeloid leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The drug has a short plasma half-life, low stability, and limited bioavailability. Overdosing of patients with continuous infusions may lead to side effects. Thus, various prodrug strategies and delivery systems have been extensively explored to enhance the half-life, stability, and delivery of cytarabine. Among the recent cytarabine prodrugs, amino acid conjugate ValCytarabine and fatty acid derivative CP-4055 (in phase 3 trials) have been investigated for the treatment of leukemia and solid tumors, respectively. Alternatively, delivery systems of cytarabine have …