Crystallographic analysis of human hemoglobin elucidates the structural basis of the potent and dual antisickling activity of pyridyl derivatives of vanillin
Vanillin has previously been studied clinically as an antisickling agent to treat sickle-cell disease. In vitro investigations with pyridyl derivatives of vanillin, including INN-312 and INN-298, showed as much as a 90-fold increase in antisickling activity compared with vanillin. The compounds preferentially bind to and modify sickle hemoglobin (Hb S) to increase the affinity of Hb for oxygen. INN-312 also led to a considerable increase in the solubility of deoxygenated Hb S under completely deoxygenated conditions. Crystallographic studies of normal human Hb with INN-312 and INN-298 showed that the compounds form Schiff-base adducts with the N-terminus of the α-subunits to constrain the liganded (or relaxed-state) Hb conformation relative to the unliganded (or tense-state) Hb conforma...div id=medwormpbiMedWorm Message:/i/b Please support the a href=http://www.doctorsinchains.org/ target=_blankDoctors In Chains/a campaign for the a href=http://www.doctorsinchains.org/medics/a tortured and sentenced for up to 15 years in a href=http://www.doctorsinchains.org/Bahrain/a. a href=https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23FreeDoctors#FreeDoctors/a/p/div
Teen pregnancy, abortion rates at record low, study says
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Birth and abortion rates among U.S. teens fell to record lows in 2008 as increased use of contraceptives sent the overall teen pregnancy rate to its lowest level since at least 1972, a study showed on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters: Health)
