June 2008

New targets for antibacterial agents

The alarming increase and spread of resistance among emerging and re-emerging bacterial pathogens to all clinically useful antibiotics is one of the most serious public health problems of the last decade. Thus, the search for new antibacterials directed toward new targets is not only a continuous process but also, at this time, an urgent necessity. Recent advances in molecular biological technologies have significantly...

Author(s): Fatma Abdelaziz Amer, Eman Mohamed El-Behedy and Heba Ali Mohtady

June 2008

Urokinase - A strong plasminogen activator

Urokinase (UK) is a serine protease, which specifically cleaves the proenzyme/zymogen plasminogen to form the active enzyme plasmin. It specifically catalyzes the cleavage of the Arg-Val bond in plasminogen. The active plasmin is then able to break down the fibrin polymers of blood clots. Clinically, UK is given to patients suffering from thrombolytic disorders. Among the plasminogen activators, UK provides a...

Author(s): Adinarayana Kunamneni, , Bhavani Devi Ravuri, Poluri Ellaiah, Taadimalla Prabhakhar and Vinjamuri Saisha