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Iowa State researcher studies how enzymes break down cellulose

Iowa State University's Peter Reilly is working to understand how the structures of enzymes influence their mechanism and activity in breaking down cellulose. His work is opening doors for new and better applications of enzymes. Better enzymes, for example, could be a key to making the production of cellulosic ethanol more efficient and more economical.

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Keywords: iowa, state, researcher, studies, enzymes, break, down, cellulose, study, enzyme

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1. Iowa State researcher studies the sustainability of the bioeconomy
   08-30-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Will a bioeconomy that produces fuel and chemicals from biorenewable resources be sustainable? Robert Anex, an Iowa State associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is leading several studies looking for some answers. One study found an integrated process for producing ethanol from plant fiber could recycle plant nutrients back to the soil. Another project has developed a Web tool that helps farmers simulate how biomass production could affect their operations.
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2. Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
   02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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3. Enzyme synergy shown to perpetuate sleeping sickness
   10-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
   The pathogenesis of the parasite African trypanosome (T. brucei) has been linked to a key protein switch, detailed in a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Iowa City, led by Dr. John Donelson. The study, published in PLoS Pathogens, explains how two enzymes enable the cell's surface to remodel itself in order to thwart the immune system of carrier tsetse flies.
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4. Study urges compensation-based approach to drug patent compulsory licensing
   07-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
   A Penn State researcher argues that ambiguous international rules outlining when and how governments may "break" pharmaceutical patents may end up significantly reducing incentives for innovation while at the same time failing to increase access to medicines.
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5. Study finds wives have greater power in marriage problem-solving behavior
   07-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Men may still have more power in the workplace, but apparently women really are "the boss" at home. That's according to a new study by a team of Iowa State University researchers.
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6. Study: weight-loss tips differ in African-American, mainstream magazines
   01-14-2008 · EurekAlert!
   Magazines catering to African-Americans may be falling short in their efforts to educate readers about weight loss, a new University of Iowa study suggests.African-American women's magazines are more likely to encourage fad diets and rely on faith to lose weight, while mainstream women's magazines focus more on evidence-based diet strategies, according to the study by UI researcher Shelly Campo, published in a recent issue of the journal Health Communication.
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7. Geologists make better estimates of rock ages, study global climate change
   10-23-2006 · EurekAlert!
   Ohio State University geologists have found that important rocks from Niagara Gorge -- rock formations that are used to judge the ages of rocks and fossils around North America -- formed five times faster than previously thought. The finding means that scientists will have to re-examine studies of sedimentary rock deposited across North America during the Silurian period, from 416 to 443 million years ago.
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8. Does treating worms in people with HIV slow progression to AIDS?
   12-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
   There is evidence that co-infection of Helminth worms may result in a more rapid progression of HIV infection to AIDS. Does treating these worms ("de-worming") slow down this progression? In a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, researchers set out to answer this question. Their study found that there were simply not enough data to make any firm conclusions, and they call for larger, well-designed studies to help come to a definitive answer.
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9. Study says normal but out-of-control enzyme may be culprit that signals some cells to become cancer
   07-31-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Working with human colorectal cancer cells, a University of Minnesota team, led by cancer biologists Zigang Dong and Ann Bode, has found the potential culprit among a network of enzymes that relay signals inside cells to regulate such functions as cell growth, cancer development and programmed cell death. The work suggests that drugs designed to disable the enzyme, known as TOPK, could have anticancer benefits. The study appears in the July issue of the journal Gastroenterology.
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10. Ladybugs may be cute, but watch out when they get near wine
    03-25-2007 · EurekAlert!
    Ladybugs produce a foul-smelling liquid that can be inadvertently processed along with grapes and taint the aroma and flavor of wine. Researchers at Iowa State University say they have identified several compounds that are responsible for the noxious odor, a finding that could lead to new strategies to eliminate the offensive compounds and improve wine quality. The study will be presented in March at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Chicago.
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