An analyte monitor includes a sensor, a sensor control unit, and a display unit. The sensor has, for example, a substrate, a recessed channel formed in the substrate, and conductive material disposed in the recessed channel to form a working electrode. The sensor control unit typically has a housing adapted for placement on skin and is adapted to receive a portion of an electrochemical sensor. The sensor control unit also includes two or more conductive contacts disposed on the housing and configured for coupling to two or more contact pads on the sensor. A transmitter is disposed in the housing and coupled to the plurality of conductive contacts for transmitting data obtained using the sensor. The display unit has a receiver for receiving data transmitted by the transmitter of the sensor control unit and a display coupled to the receiver for displaying an indication of a level of an analyte. The analyte monitor may also be part of a drug delivery system to alter the level of the analyte based on the data obtained using the sensor.

Analyte Monitoring Device And Methods Of Use

Xylanases are hydrolytic enzymes which randomly cleave the β 1,4 backbone of the complex plant cell wall polysaccharide xylan. Diverse forms of these enzymes exist, displaying varying folds, mechanisms of action, substrate specificities, hydrolytic activities (yields, rates and products) and physicochemical characteristics. Research has mainly focused on only two of the xylanase containing glycoside hydrolase families, namely families 10 and 11, yet enzymes with xylanase activity belonging to families 5, 7, 8 and 43 have also been identified and studied, albeit to a lesser extent. Driven by industrial demands for enzymes that can operate under process conditions, a number of extremophilic xylanases have been isolated, in particular those from thermophiles, alkaliphiles and acidiphiles, while little attention has been paid to cold-adapted xylanases. Here, the diverse physicochemical and functional characteristics, as well as the folds and mechanisms of action of all six xylanase containing families will be discussed. The adaptation strategies of the extremophilic xylanases isolated to date and the potential industrial applications of these enzymes will also be presented.

Xylanases, xylanase families and extremophilic xylanases

https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/14695142/2002JBiotechnolvdMaarel.pdf

Properties and applications of starch-converting enzymes of the α-amylase family

The glycome describes the complete repertoire of glycoconjugates composed of carbohydrate chains, or glycans, that are covalently linked to lipid or protein molecules. Glycoconjugates are formed through a process called glycosylation and can differ in their glycan sequences, the connections between them and their length. Glycoconjugate synthesis is a dynamic process that depends on the local milieu of enzymes, sugar precursors and organelle structures as well as the cell types involved and cellular signals. Studies of rare genetic disorders that affect glycosylation first highlighted the biological importance of the glycome, and technological advances have improved our understanding of its heterogeneity and complexity. Researchers can now routinely assess how the secreted and cell-surface glycomes reflect overall cellular status in health and disease. In fact, changes in glycosylation can modulate inflammatory responses, enable viral immune escape, promote cancer cell metastasis or regulate apoptosis; the composition of the glycome also affects kidney function in health and disease. New insights into the structure and function of the glycome can now be applied to therapy development and could improve our ability to fine-tune immunological responses and inflammation, optimize the performance of therapeutic antibodies and boost immune responses to cancer. These examples illustrate the potential of the emerging field of ‘glycomedicine’. Glycosylation refers to the addition of carbohydrate chains to proteins and lipids. In this Review, the authors discuss the broad role of glycans in immunity, cancer, xenotransplantation and glomerular filtration and the potential of ‘glycomedicine’.

/pdf/glycosylation-in-health-and-disease-1lndi9kn50.pdf

Glycosylation in health and disease.

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for measuring an analyte in a host. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for transcutaneous measurement of glucose in a host.

Transcutaneous analyte sensor

Enzymes synthesized by hyperthermophiles (bacteria and archaea with optimal growth temperatures of >80°C), also called hyperthermophilic enzymes, are typically thermostable (i.e., resistant to irreversible inactivation at high temperatures) and are optimally active at high temperatures. These enzymes share the same catalytic mechanisms with their mesophilic counterparts. When cloned and expressed in mesophilic hosts, hyperthermophilic enzymes usually retain their thermal properties, indicating that these properties are genetically encoded. Sequence alignments, amino acid content comparisons, crystal structure comparisons, and mutagenesis experiments indicate that hyperthermophilic enzymes are, indeed, very similar to their mesophilic homologues. No single mechanism is responsible for the remarkable stability of hyperthermophilic enzymes. Increased thermostability must be found, instead, in a small number of highly specific alterations that often do not obey any obvious traffic rules. After briefly discussing the diversity of hyperthermophilic organisms, this review concentrates on the remarkable thermostability of their enzymes. The biochemical and molecular properties of hyperthermophilic enzymes are described. Mechanisms responsible for protein inactivation are reviewed. The molecular mechanisms involved in protein thermostabilization are discussed, including ion pairs, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions, disulfide bridges, packing, decrease of the entropy of unfolding, and intersubunit interactions. Finally, current uses and potential applications of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic enzymes as research reagents and as catalysts for industrial processes are described.

Hyperthermophilic Enzymes: Sources, Uses, and Molecular Mechanisms for Thermostability

Disclosed are methods using neutral red to mediate the interconversion of chemical and electrical energy. Electrically reduced neutral red has been found to promote cell growth and formation of reduced products by reversibly increasing the ratio of the reduced:oxidized forms of NAD(H) or NADP(H). Electrically reduced neutral red is able to serve as the sole source of reducing power for microbial cell growth. Neutral red is also able to promote conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy by facilitating the transfer of electrons from microbial reducing power to a fuel cell cathode.

Electrochemical methods for generation of a biological proton motive force and pyridine nucleotide cofactor regeneration

Crystal structure of beta-D-xylosidase from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum, a family 39 glycoside hydrolase.

Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum beta-xylosidase is a member of family 39 of the glycosyl hydrolases. This grouping comprises both retaining beta-d-xylosidases and alpha-l-iduronidases. T. saccharolyticum beta-xylosidase catalyses the hydrolysis of short xylo-oligosaccharides into free xylose via a covalent xylosyl-enzyme intermediate. Incubation of T. saccharolyticum beta-xylosidase with 2,4-dinitrophenyl 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-d-xyloside resulted in time-dependent inactivation of the enzyme (inactivation rate constant ki=0.089 min-1, dissociation constant for the inactivator Ki=65 microM) through the accumulation of a covalent 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-alpha-d-xylosyl-enzyme, as observed by electrospray MS. Removal of excess inactivator and regeneration of the free enzyme through transglycosylation with either xylobiose or thiobenzyl xyloside demonstrated that the covalent intermediate was kinetically competent. Peptic digestion of the 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-alpha-d-xylosyl-enzyme intermediate and subsequent analysis by electrospray ionization triple-quadrupole MS in the neutral-loss mode indicated the presence of a 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-alpha-d-xylosyl peptide. Sequence determination of the labelled peptide by tandem MS in the daughter-ion scan mode permitted the identification of Glu-277 (bold and underlined) as the catalytic nucleophile within the sequence IILNSHFPNLPFHITEY.

/pdf/identification-of-glu-277-as-the-catalytic-nucleophile-of-3p5me8tmld.pdf

Identification of glu-277 as the catalytic nucleophile of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum beta-xylosidase using electrospray MS.

Acetate-grown cells of Methanosarcina barkeri MS were found to form methane from H2:CO2 at the same rate as hydrogen-grown cells. Cells grown on acetate had similar levels of soluble F420-reactive hydrogenase I, and higher levels of cytochrome-linked hydrogenase II compared to hydrogen-grown cells. The hydrogenase I and II activities in the crude extract of acetate-grown cells were separated by differential binding properties to an immobilized Cu2+ column. Hydrogenase II did not react with ferredoxin or F420, whereas hydrogenase I coupled to both ferredoxin and F420. A reconstituted soluble protein system composed of purified CO dehydrogenase, F420-reactive hydrogenase I fraction, and ferredoxin produced H2 from CO oxidation at a rate of 2.5 nmol/min · mg protein. Membrane-bound hydrogenase II coupled H2 consumption to the reduction of CoM-S-S-HTP and the synthesis of ATP. The differential function of hydrogenase I and II is ascribed to ferredoxin-linked hydrogen production from CO and cytochrome b-linked H2 consumption coupled to methanogenesis and ATP synthesis, respectively.

Regulation and function of ferredoxin-linked versus cytochrome b-linked hydrogenase in electron transfer and energy metabolism of Methanosarcina barkeri MS

Gregory J. Zeikus

Papers

Hyperthermophilic Enzymes: Sources, Uses, and Molecular Mechanisms for Thermostability

Electrochemical methods for generation of a biological proton motive force and pyridine nucleotide cofactor regeneration

Crystal structure of beta-D-xylosidase from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum, a family 39 glycoside hydrolase.

Identification of glu-277 as the catalytic nucleophile of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum beta-xylosidase using electrospray MS.

Regulation and function of ferredoxin-linked versus cytochrome b-linked hydrogenase in electron transfer and energy metabolism of Methanosarcina barkeri MS