The effect of Recreational Sport (RS) used as an adjunct to standard balneotherapeutic treatment was studied in 159 patients with back pain. The RS programme led to a significant improvement of the ...patients’ level of physical fitness without aggravating their back pain. These results suggest that RS has a therapeutic value. Therefore it should be made an integral part of rehabilitation programmes for patients suffering from back pain. All the study participants showed a positive altitude to RS. This indicates that RS has a motivational value for physical exercise, which should be exploited also after the end of rehabilitation treatment in spas under the supervision of sports experts and medical doctors.
A high molecular mass metalloproteinase with α-fibrinogenolytic activity, termed VaF1, was purified from nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes ammodytes) venom. Subcutaneous injection of 9 μg of VaF1 ...did not induce bleeding in rats. Nevertheless, in vitro it degraded collagen IV, nidogen and fibronectin, components of the extracellular matrix, although with low efficacy and narrow specificity. VaF1 would be expected to exert anti-coagulant action, due to its hydrolysis of fibrinogen, factor X, prothrombin and plasminogen, plasma proteins involved in blood coagulation. The enzyme is a single-chain glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 49.7 kDa, as determined by mass spectrometry, and multiple isoelectric points centred at pH 5.8. The complete amino acid sequence of the precursor of VaF1 was deduced by cloning and sequencing its cDNA. Composed of metalloproteinase, disintegrin-like and cysteine-rich domains, VaF1 is a typical P-IIIa subclass snake venom metalloproteinase. Although it possesses a collagen-binding sequence in its disintegrin-like domain, VaF1 displayed no effect on collagen-induced platelet aggregation in vitro. Two consensus N-glycosylation sites are present in the sequence of VaF1, however, the extent of its glycosylation is low, only 5.2% of the total molecular mass. Interestingly, in standard experimental conditions VaF1 is not recognised by antiserum against the whole venom, so it can contribute to post-serotherapy complications, such as ineffective blood coagulation, in the envenomed patient.
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•We purified one of the principal α-fibrinogenases, VaF1, from Vaa venom.•We cloned and sequenced a cDNA encoding the VaF1 precursor.•VaF1 hydrolyses plasma proteins involved in blood coagulation.•VaF1 is not recognised by antiserum against the whole Vaa venom.•VaF1 is a candidate venom component contributing to post-serotherapy complications.
13C, 14C, and 18O kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) in the reduction of CO2 on a Mg surface were estimated employing the Bigeleisen formalism within the framework of conventional transition-state ...theory. Linear and three bent four-atom configurations were considered for the transition state of the isotope-fractionation governing step of the reaction mechanism. We investigated several different decomposition modes of the transition states and the influence of diagonal force constant variations and geometry of the presumed transition state on the calculated KIEs. A comparison of the calculated results with the experimental data indicated two possible structures of the transition state. The terminal oxygen atom and the magnesium atom are in trans and cis positions, respectively, regarding the central C−O bond. The reaction coordinate motion is described by a symmetric stretching vibration in the terminal C−O and Mg−O bonds and an asymmetric stretching vibration in the central C−O bond.
