PGE2 Prostaglandin E2
15-PGDH
Quinoxaline Amide
PGE2's Role: Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a crucial lipid mediator that supports tissue repair, stem cell proliferation, and wound healing.
15-PGDH as the Regulator: The enzyme 15-PGDH inactivates PGE2 by degrading it.
Inhibition: Quinoxaline amide inhibitors block 15-PGDH, preventing PGE2 breakdown, which elevates local PGE2 concentrations.
Therapeutic Effect: Higher PGE2 levels accelerate healing in various tissues, acting as a protective and regenerative signal.
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PGE2 (Prostaglandin E2) is a crucial lipid mediator in inflammation, derived from arachidonic acid via cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, with its activity dependent on its carboxylic acid group interacting with receptors.
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Taurine Chloramine (TauCl)
Taurine, particularly its derivative taurine chloramine (TauCl), acts as an anti-inflammatory agent by inhibiting the production of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a key pro-inflammatory mediator, by downregulating cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and activity, often via effects on NF-κB signaling, thereby reducing inflammation in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and macrophage activation.
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The Glutamine-Glutamate/GABA Cycle is a vital brain process where neurons release glutamate (excitatory) and GABA (inhibitory), which astrocytes then take up, convert to glutamine, and return to neurons, maintaining neurotransmitter balance and energy. Gluconate, a sugar acid, isn't directly part of this cycle but relates to energy (glucose metabolism) that fuels it. The cycle involves ions like Potassium (K+) released during neuronal firing, which astrocytes clear, influencing energy demands, while Magnesium (Mg2+) blocks NMDA receptors, regulating glutamate's excitatory power.
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Glutamine
Connective Tissues
Connective Tissue Synthesis: Glutamine is essential for the health and repair of connective tissues because it is a critical precursor for collagen synthesis and the formation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). These are the primary structural components of skin, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage in joints.
Tissue Repair and Recovery: During stress, injury, or intense exercise, the demand for glutamine in these tissues increases significantly, making it a "conditionally essential" amino acid. Supplementation has been shown to support soft tissue recovery, enhance wound healing, and reduce inflammation, helping to restore tissue integrity and strength.
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ammonium to help maintain acid-base balance
Production: In the kidneys, primarily in the proximal tubules, glutamine is metabolized to produce ammonia (𝑁𝐻3) and equimolar bicarbonate (𝐻𝐶𝑂−3).
Transport: The ammonia then binds with a proton (H+) to form ammonium (𝑁𝐻+4).
Secretion: This ammonium is selectively transported into the urine for excretion, carrying the excess acid out of the body.
Bicarbonate Generation: The bicarbonate produced during ammonia metabolism is released into the bloodstream, replenishing the body's bicarbonate buffer system.
Metabolic Acidosis: When the body becomes too acidic (e.g., from diabetic ketoacidosis or diarrhea), the kidneys increase ammonium production and excretion to get rid of acid and create bicarbonate.
Medical Use: Ammonium chloride (a salt) can be given to treat conditions like metabolic alkalosis (too alkaline) because it provides ammonium, which is metabolized to generate acid and lower pH.
Excreting ammonium is the kidneys' main way to excrete fixed acid and generate new bicarbonate, making it essential for long-term acid-base balance, especially when the body needs to actively neutralize excess acid.
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Ammonium (𝑁𝐻+4) is a critical component of the renal (kidney) system for maintaining acid-base balance in the body. It serves as the primary mechanism for net acid excretion, allowing the body to eliminate excess hydrogen ions (𝐻+) while simultaneously generating "new" bicarbonate (𝐻𝐶𝑂−3) to replenish blood buffers.
Urinary Buffering: Free hydrogen ions cannot be excreted in large quantities on their own because they would make the urine too acidic for the urinary tract. Ammonia (NH3) acts as a buffer by combining with secreted (H+) in the kidney tubules to form ammonium (NH+4), which is then safely excreted in the urine.
Scalability During Acidosis: Ammonium excretion is the body's most scalable response to metabolic acidosis (excess acid). While other buffers like phosphate are limited by dietary intake, the kidneys can increase ammonium production more than tenfold to compensate for high acid loads.
Elimination of Chloride: To maintain electrical neutrality in urine while getting rid of excess acid, the body often pairs the excretion of the positively charged ammonium ion with the negatively charged chloride ion (Cl-).
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Nitrogen Assimilation: Plants and microorganisms convert inorganic nitrogen forms like nitrates (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) into organic molecules.
Nitrification: Specific bacteria in the soil convert ammonium ions into nitrites, and then into nitrates.
Nitrate Reduction: Plants absorb nitrates and reduce them to ammonium. This energy-intensive process uses energy generated from carbohydrate respiration to produce organic nitrogen compounds.
Amino Acid Synthesis: Ammonium is combined with carbon skeletons (derived from carbohydrate metabolism, such as (alpha)-ketoglutarate from the citric acid cycle) to synthesize amino acids, with glutamic acid often being the first one formed.
Collagen Synthesis: Glycine is the smallest and most simple amino acid and is a critical component of collagen. The unique structure of collagen, which gives connective tissues like skin, tendons, and ligaments their strength, requires glycine at every third position in its triple helix chains.
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Tinea pedis (athlete's foot) thrives in more alkaline environments, so maintaining the skin's natural acid mantle (pH 4.5-5.5) inhibits fungal growth, while alkaline soaps raise skin pH, promoting fungal spread.
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Ph & Quantity of Nitrogen bound to acidic H2+ Hydrogen Ions.
Types of Nitrogen Sources
Fungi and yeast exhibit great versatility in the types of nitrogen they can utilize.
Fungi have sophisticated regulatory mechanisms, such as nitrogen metabolite repression and the TOR pathway.
Preferred Sources: Most fungi and yeasts preferentially use simple, easily assimilable sources like ammonium ions and glutamine.
Organic Sources: They readily use a wide variety of organic nitrogen, primarily in the form of Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN).
Carbon Source: Higher sugar content (carbon source) often necessitates higher nitrogen supplementation.
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Nitrogen Regulation
Nitrogen Catabolite Repression (NCR)
TOR Pathway
Central Nutrient Sensor
Target of Rapamycin (TOR)
TORC1 (TOR Complex 1)
TOR Controls NCR: The TOR pathway directly regulates NCR by controlling the nuclear access of NCR-activating transcription factors (Gln3p/Gat1p).
TOR also links nitrogen sensing to other pathways, influencing TCA cycle intermediates (like (\alpha )-ketoglutarate) and global gene expression through chromatin modifications (histone acetylation).
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Macrolide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolide
Rapamycin
Sirolimus
Macrolide
Rapamycin (Sirolimus) originates from a natural source: the soil bacterium Streptomyces hygroscopicus, discovered in a soil sample from Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
Structure: Features a very large macrolactone ring, derived from acetate, propionate, and other building blocks.
Longevity and Anti-Aging Research
Rapamycin has become a prominent subject in aging research.
Mechanism: By inhibiting the mTOR pathway, rapamycin triggers cellular "housekeeping" processes like autophagy (the breakdown and recycling of damaged cell parts), which is associated with healthy cellular function and stress resilience.
Cancer Treatment: Rapamycin analogs like everolimus and temsirolimus are used to treat certain types of cancers.
mTOR inhibitors are a class of drugs used to treat several human diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegeneration.
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Rapamycin (sirolimus) an inhibitor of the mTOR protein, primarily targeting mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) by binding to FKBP12, forming a complex that blocks mTOR's kinase activity, thereby controlling cell growth, metabolism, and protein synthesis, with effects extending to autophagy, immune responses, and aging.
Therapeutic Uses: Used in cancer (renal cell carcinoma), organ transplantation, and being studied for age-related diseases and conditions like polycystic kidney disease and arthritis due to its control over growth and metabolism.
Rapamycin (Sirolimus) synthesis involves polyketide synthase (PKS) machinery using precursors like 4,5-dihydrocyclohex-1-ene-carboxylic acid and pipecolate (derived from lysine), building a large macrolactone ring, with sugars (like glucose/dextrose in fermentation media) providing energy/carbon, while its cellular action involves inhibiting mTOR to regulate nutrient/growth pathways, affecting protein/lipid synthesis, mimicking amino acid starvation, and its formulation often uses sugars (like in overcoats) or requires careful pH/nutrient control (avoiding excess acid) for production.
Enzymatic Pathway: Uses a PKS/Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase (NRPS) system.
Sugar: Glucose, fructose, etc., used as nutrients for production and in formulations.
Carboxylic Acid: A functional group present in the molecule and its precursors, influencing its synthesis and chemical modification.
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Fungicides like rapamycin (sirolimus) target the fungal and mammalian cell growth pathway by inhibiting the mTOR protein (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) within the mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1); they do this by first binding to the intracellular receptor FKBP12, forming a complex that then blocks mTORC1's kinase activity, shutting down protein synthesis and cell proliferation, explaining its antifungal, immunosuppressant, and potential anti-cancer roles.
Rapamycin-FKBP12 complex acts as a "gain-of-function" inhibitor by binding to the FKBP12.
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Macrolides
vs
Microtubule-Destabilizing Agent
Macrolides: A broader class of antibiotics; some, like certain toxins, can prevent tubulin polymerization, but this isn't the defining feature of therapeutic rapamycin.
Serotonergic System
Serotonin Agonists
Tryptamine
Indole Alkaloid
Lysergic Acid
Tryptamine
Strychnine
Scopolamine
Atropine
Serotonin Agonists
Receptors
5-HT / 5-HT2A
Tryptophan is the biogenetic precursor for most indole alkaloids, with decarboxylation often forming tryptamine.
Tryptamine synthesis involves building its core indole ring with an ethylamine side chain.
Attaching the aminoethyl group via nitrile reduction, amide conversion, or direct alkylation, leading to various natural/synthetic psychoactive compounds like DMT, psilocybin, serotonin, and drugs like sumatriptan.
tryptamine and many related compounds, are known to have a very bitter taste.
Catalase, an iron-containing antioxidant enzyme, uses NADPH as a crucial protecting cofactor, preventing its inactivation by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through electron donation, thus maintaining its ability to break down (H2O2) into water and oxygen, a vital process for cellular defense against oxidative stress.
Boosting catalase function often involves enhancing its iron center or modifying its NADPH binding site.
Catalase & NADPH Interaction Protection Mechanism: NADPH binds to catalase and donates electrons to prevent the enzyme from forming an inactive intermediate (Compound II) when it reacts with (H2O2).
Redox Cycling: This protection involves NADPH being oxidized to NADP+, with another NADPH molecule then replacing it, creating a cycle that preserves catalase's activity.
Broader Role: This protective action extends beyond just preventing Compound II, suggesting broader roles for NADPH in protecting catalase from oxidative damage. Iron's Role in Catalase Essential Cofactor: Iron is a critical component (cofactor) within the heme group of the catalase enzyme, essential for its catalytic activity.
Catalytic Cycle: The iron center cycles through different states, forming high-valent intermediates (like Compound I) to facilitate the breakdown of (H2O2).
Boosting Catalase Activity & Iron Nanozymes: Researchers design iron-containing nanozymes (SAzymes) where tuning the distance between iron atoms enhances catalase-like activity or selectivity for ROS scavenging.
NADPH Mimics/Inhibitors: Developing specific molecules (like BT-Br) that bind to the NADPH site can either inhibit catalase (for cancer therapy, inducing ferroptosis) or, conversely, stabilize it for therapeutic use.
Structural Modification: Modifying the enzyme's structure to create functional dimers or "wired" systems can improve electron transfer and overall performance, sometimes using iron-containing compounds.
Why it Matters Oxidative Stress: Catalase is a primary antioxidant, and its malfunction is linked to diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's, and cancer.
Therapeutic Potential: Understanding these interactions allows for strategies to boost catalase for neurodegenerative diseases or inhibit it to fight cancer, often by targeting the iron center or NADPH binding.