• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.225-229
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• 1996

Effects on thrombin by an amphipathic cation, dequalinium, which has been recognized as an anticarcinoma agent were investigated with small chromogenic substrates such as Na-benzoyl-DL-argininep-nitroanilide (BApNA), H-D-phenylalanyl-L-pipecoyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (S-2238), and Na-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester (TAME). Among them, only TAME hydrolysis due to an esterase activity of the enzyme was significantly activated to 81% at 20 ${\mu}M$ dequalinium in the absence of NaCl. This stimulation became even higher in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl to 3.5-fold at 60 ${\mu}M$ dequalinium. This specific activation of thrombin was well correlated with the results of in vitro coagulation tests measuring the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and the prothrombin time (PT) It is pertinent. therefore, to suggest that the esterase activity should be examined in addition to the effects on 5-2238 hydrolysis when especially any regulators not directed to an active site of thrombin need to be studied. We also expect that dequalinium could be a useful tool for studying structure-function relationship of thrombin and blood coagulation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.2283-2287
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• 2007

Amyloid fibril formation of amyloid β/A4 protein (Aβ) is critical to understand the pathological mechanism of Alzheimer's disease and develop controlling strategy toward the neurodegenerative disease. For this purpose, dequalinium (DQ) has been employed as a specific modifier for Aβ aggregation and its subsequent cytotoxicity. In the presence of DQ, the final thioflavin-T binding fluorescence of Aβ aggregates decreased significantly. It was the altered morphology of Aβ aggregates in a form of the bundles of the fibrils, distinctive from normal single-stranded amyloid fibrils, and the resulting reduced β-sheet content that were responsible for the decreased fluorescence. The morphological transition of Aβ aggregates assessed with atomic force microscope indicated that the bundle structure observed with DQ appeared to be resulted from the initial multimeric seed structure rather than lateral association of preformed single-stranded fibrils. Investigation of the seeding effect of the DQ-induced Aβ aggregates clearly demonstrated that the seed structure has determined the final morphology of Aβ aggregates as well as the aggregative kinetics by shortening the lag phase. In addition, the cytotoxicity was also varied depending on the final morphology of the aggregates. Taken together, DQ has been considered to be a useful chemical probe to control the cytotoxicity of the amyloid fibrils by influencing the seed structures which turned out to be central to develop therapeutic strategy by inducing the amyloid fibrils in different shapes with varied toxicities.