Phosphofructokinase-2 (Pfk-2) from Escherichia coli belongs to the ribokinase family of sugar kinases. One of the signatures observed in amino acid sequences from the ribokinase familiy members is the NXXE motif, which ...

The mechanisms involved in the regulation of mammalian sperm motility are not well understood. Calcium ions (Ca(2+)) have been suggested to play a key role in the maintenance of motility; nevertheless, how Ca(2+) modulates ...

The final number of Sertoli cells reached during the proliferative periods determines sperm production capacity in adulthood. It is well known that FSH is the major Sertoli cell mitogen; however, little is known about the ...

The immune system plays a key role in controlling infections, repairing injuries, and restoring homeostasis. Immune cells are bioenergetically expensive during activation, which requires a tightly regulated control of the ...

At the mouse neuromuscular junction, activation of adenosine A1 and P2Y receptors inhibits acetylcholine release by an effect on voltage dependent calcium channels related to spontaneous and evoked secretion. However, an ...

At the neuromuscular junction, ATP is co-released with the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) and once in the synaptic space, it is degraded to the presynaptically active metabolite adenosine. Intracellular recordings ...

Fludarabine (FLU), an analogue of adenosine, interferes with DNA synthesis and inhibits the chain elongation leading to replication arrest and DNA double strand break (DSB) formation. Mammalian cells use two main pathways ...

Insulin resistance is characteristic of pregnancies where the mother shows metabolic alterations, such as preeclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), or abnormal maternal conditions such as pregestational ...

Although vertebrates cannot synthesize the natural disaccharide trehalose, exogenous administration of trehalose to mammalian cells may be beneficial for protein misfolding disorders. In this issue, DeBosch et al. show ...