Search results for "Conserved sequence"
showing 10 items of 103 documents
Identification of a Conserved HLA-A2-Restricted Decapeptide from the IE1 Protein (pUL123) of Human Cytomegalovirus
2002
Abstract Control of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is predominantly mediated by cytolytic CD8 + T lymphocytes (CTL). Among the roughly 200 HCMV-encoded polypeptides, the tegument protein pp65 (ppUL83) and the nonstructural IE1 protein are considered to be dominant CTL targets. Yet the importance of CTL against IE1 for protective immunity against HCMV reactivation and disease has remained elusive. Analyses have been difficult, as all MHC class I presented peptides of IE1 defined so far are located in parts of the protein that are variable between viral strains. In this study a conserved decameric peptide from IE1 (P6, IE1 354–363 ) that bound to HLA-A2 was identified. Using peptide-p…
A fundamental catalytic difference between zinc and manganese dependent enzymes revealed in a bacterial isatin hydrolase
2018
Scientific reports 8(1), 13104 (2018). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31259-y
A conserved role for the mitochondrial citrate transporter Sea/SLC25A1 in the maintenance of chromosome integrity.
2009
Histone acetylation plays essential roles in cell cycle progression, DNA repair, gene expression and silencing. Although the knowledge regarding the roles of acetylation of histone lysine residues is rapidly growing, very little is known about the biochemical pathways providing the nucleus with metabolites necessary for physiological chromatin acetylation. Here, we show that mutations in the scheggia (sea)-encoded Sea protein, the Drosophila ortholog of the human mitochondrial citrate carrier Solute carrier 25 A1 (SLC25A1), impair citrate transport from mitochondria to the cytosol. Interestingly, inhibition of sea expression results in extensive chromosome breakage in mitotic cells and indu…
The new gene DmX from Drosophila melanogaster encodes a novel WD-repeat protein
1998
DmX is a novel gene from Drosophila melanogaster located on the X chromosome in region 5D5/6-E1. The molecular analysis of the genomic and cDNA sequences of DmX shows that the gene spans appr. 16kb and displays a mosaic structure with 15 exons. The 12kb long DmX transcript is present in Drosophila embryos, larvae and adults of both sexes. The open reading frame of DmX encodes a novel WD-repeat protein, containing at least 30 WD-repeat units. WD-repeat proteins contain a conserved motif of approximately 40 amino acids (aa), usually ending with the dipeptide Trp-Asp (WD). Homologues of the DmX gene exist in other dipteran species, in Caenorhabditis elegans and human, revealing that DmX is an …
Sequence variation in couch potato and its effects on life-history traits in a northern malt fly, Drosophila montana
2011
Abstract Couch potato ( cpo ) has previously been connected to reproductive diapause in several insect species including Drosophila melanogaster , where it has been suggested to provide a link between the insulin signalling pathway and the hormonal control of diapause. In the first part of the study we sequenced nearly 3.6 kb of this gene in a northern Drosophila species ( Drosophila montana ) with a robust photoperiodically determined diapause and found several types of polymorphisms along the sequenced area. We also found variation among five Drosophila virilis group species in the length of the 5th exon of cpo and in the site of the stop codon at the end of this exon. The second part of …
A new heterozygous mutation (D196N) in the Gs alpha gene as a cause for pseudohypoparathyroidism type IA in a boy who had gallstones
2011
Background Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is characterized by hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia in association with an increased secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) due to decreased target tissue responsiveness to PTH. Patients with PHP type Ia are not only resistant to PTH, but also to other hormones that bind to receptors coupled to stimulatory G protein (Gsalpha). PHP Ia and Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) are caused by a reduced activity of the Gsalpha protein. Heterozygous inactivating Gs alpha (GNAS) gene mutations have been identified in these patients. Methods We studied a boy with PHP Ia. During follow-up the patient developed elevated liver enzyme serum levels and abd…
Evolutionary conservation of the structural, pharmacological, and genomic characteristics of the melanocortin receptor subtypes
2005
We have cloned melanocortin receptors (MCRs) from several species of fish. The MC4R and MC5R subtypes arose early in vertebrate evolution and their primary structure is remarkably conserved. Expression and pharmacological characterization of the MCRs in fish has revealed that they bind and respond to melanocortin peptides with high potency. Detailed characterization of the binding properties of the different subtypes suggests that MCRs in early vertebrates had preference for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) peptides, while the high sensitivity for the shorter proopiomelanocortin (POMC) products, such as the alpha-, beta-, and gamma-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), has appeared later,…
Characterization of the length polymorphism in the A + T-rich region of the Drosophila obscura group species
1993
In the twelve Drosophila obscura group species studied, belonging to the affinis, obscura, and pseudoobscura subgroups, the mitochondrial DNA length ranges from 15.8 to 17.2 kb. This length polymorphism is mainly due to insertions/deletions in the variable region of the A + T-rich region. In addition, one species (D. tristis) possess a tandem duplication of a 470-bp fragment that contains the replication origin. The same duplication has occurred at least twice in the Drosophila evolutionary history due to the fact that the repetition is analogous to repetitions found in the four species of the D. melanogaster complex. By comparing the nucleotide sequence of the conserved region in D. ambigu…
Maintenance of a Protein Structure in the Dynamic Evolution of TIMPs over 600 Million Years
2016
Deciphering the events leading to protein evolution represents a challenge, especially for protein families showing complex evolutionary history. Among them, TIMPs represent an ancient eukaryotic protein family widely distributed in the animal kingdom. They are known to control the turnover of the extracellular matrix and are considered to arise early during metazoan evolution, arguably tuning essential features of tissue and epithelial organization. To probe the structure and molecular evolution of TIMPs within metazoans, we report the mining and structural characterization of a large data set of TIMPs over approximately 600 Myr. The TIMPs repertoire was explored starting from the Cnidaria…
The death-domain fold of the ASC PYRIN domain, presenting a basis for PYRIN/PYRIN recognition.
2003
The PYRIN domain is a conserved sequence motif identified in more than 20 human proteins with putative functions in apoptotic and inflammatory signalling pathways. The three-dimensional structure of the PYRIN domain from human ASC was determined by NMR spectroscopy. The structure determination reveals close structural similarity to death domains, death effector domains, and caspase activation and recruitment domains, although the structural alignment with these other members of the death-domain superfamily differs from previously predicted amino acid sequence alignments. Two highly positively and negatively charged surfaces in the PYRIN domain of ASC result in a strong electrostatic dipole …