Search results for "Helix"

Orientation and Dynamics of Peptides in Membranes Calculated from 2H-NMR Data

2009

Solid-state (2)H-NMR is routinely used to determine the alignment of membrane-bound peptides. Here we demonstrate that it can also provide a quantitative measure of the fluctuations around the distinct molecular axes. Using several dynamic models with increasing complexity, we reanalyzed published (2)H-NMR data on two representative alpha-helical peptides: 1), the amphiphilic antimicrobial peptide PGLa, which permeabilizes membranes by going from a monomeric surface-bound to a dimeric tilted state and finally inserting as an oligomeric pore; and 2), the hydrophobic WALP23, which is a typical transmembrane segment, although previous analysis had yielded helix tilt angles much smaller than ex…

Parity violation energy of biomolecules - III: RNA

2006

The energy of parity-violation associated with a typical DNA double helix is estimated with ab initio techniques. It is shown that weak-nuclear interactions do not favor the formation of the double helices found in nature. Possible implications regarding the potential effect of parity-violation interactions on the evolution of biological homochirality are discussed.

Surfactant-Induced Helix Formation of Cylindrical Brush Polymers with Poly(L-lysine) Side Chains

2008

The complex formation of oppositely charged surfactants with some polypeptides is known to induce β-sheet or helix formation. Here, we report on the complex formation of cylindrical brush polymers with poly(L-lysine) side chains and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). With increasing amount of added surfactant the cylindrical polymers first adopt a helical conformation with a pitch of approximately 14-24 nm followed by a spherically collapsed structure before eventually precipitation occurs. CD measurements suggest that the helix formation of the cylindrical brush polymers is driven by the hydrophobicity of the ,8-sheets formed by the PLL side chain-SDS complexes.

Time-Resolved study of network self-organization from a biopolymeric solution

1991

Time-resolved studies of network self-organization from homogeneous solutions of the representative biostructural polymer agarose are presented. Solutions are temperature quenched and observed by several techniques. Consistent with previous suggestions by the authors, experiments at concentrations up to about 1.75% w/v provide direct kinetic evidence for the occurrence of at least two distinct processes, leading, in sequence, to self-assembly. These are as follows: (a) a liquid–liquid phase separation of the solution occurring via spinodal demixing and resulting in two sets of regions that have, respectively, higher and lower than average concentrations of random-coiled polymers; and (b) th…

Decoding the Consequences of Increasing the Size of Self-Assembling Tricarboxamides on Chiral Amplification

2019

A complete series of experimental and theoretical investigations on the supramolecular polymerization of chiral (1 and 2) and achiral (3) oligo(phenylene ethynylene) tricarboxamides (OPE-TAs) is reported. The performance of seargents-and-soldiers (SaS) and majority rules (MR) experiments has allowed deriving a full set of thermodynamic parameters, including the helix reversal penalty (HRP) and the mismatch penalty (MMP). The results described illustrate the influence exerted by the number of stereogenic centers per monomeric unit and the temperature on the chiral amplification phenomenon. While the HRP decreases upon decreasing the number of chiral side chains, the MMP follows an opposite t…

Frontispiece: Hierarchy of Asymmetry at Work: Chain-Dependent Helix-to-Helix Interactions in Supramolecular Polymers

2018

A three-dimensional model of mammalian tyrosinase active site accounting for loss of function mutations

2007

Tyrosinases are the first and rate-limiting enzymes in the synthesis of melanin pigments responsible for colouring hair, skin and eyes. Mutation of tyrosinases often decreases melanin production resulting in albinism, but the effects are not always understood at the molecular level. Homology modelling of mouse tyrosinase based on recently published crystal structures of non-mammalian tyrosinases provides an active site model accounting for loss-of-function mutations. According to the model, the copper-binding histidines are located in a helix bundle comprising four densely packed helices. A loop containing residues M374, S375 and V377 connects the CuA and CuB centres, with the peptide oxyge…

Oligonucleotides-decorated-poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) nanogels for gene delivery

2013

Pulsed electron-beam irradiation of a semi-dilute poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) aqueous solution in the presence of acrylic acid has led to a carboxyl functionalized nanogel system. Nanoparticles hydrodynamic size and surface charge density, in water and as a function of pH, were investigated by dynamic light scattering and laser doppler velocimetry, respectively. Nanogels (NGs) were proved not to be cytotoxic at the cellular level. Indeed, they rapidly bypass the cellular membrane to accumulate in specific cell portions of the cytoplasm, in the perinuclear area. The availability of pendant carboxyl groups on the crosslinked PVP NGs core prompted us to attempt their decoration with a sing…

Viroporins, Examples of the Two-Stage Membrane Protein Folding Model

2015

Viroporins are small, α-helical, hydrophobic virus encoded proteins, engineered to form homo-oligomeric hydrophilic pores in the host membrane. Viroporins participate in multiple steps of the viral life cycle, from entry to budding. As any other membrane protein, viroporins have to find the way to bury their hydrophobic regions into the lipid bilayer. Once within the membrane, the hydrophobic helices of viroporins interact with each other to form higher ordered structures required to correctly perform their porating activities. This two-step process resembles the two-stage model proposed for membrane protein folding by Engelman and Poppot. In this review we use the membrane protein folding …

Triple Helix modeļa pielietojuma iespējas starta uzņēmējdarbības vides veidošanā: Latvijas, Somijas un Igaunijas situāciju analīzes.

2016

Maģistra darba tēma ir Triple Helix modeļa pielietojuma iespējas starta uzņēmējdarbības vides veidošanā: Latvijas, Somijas un Igaunijas situāciju analīzes. Starta uzņēmējdarbība strauji attīstās visā pasaulē un aizvien pieaug to popularitāte un palielinās to nozīme valstu ekonomiku attīstībā. Šajā maģistra darbā tiek padziļināti pētītas un iepazītas trīs valstu starta uzņēmējdarbības vides, lai spētu izprast, kas starta uzņēmējdarbības vides padara veiksmīgas un efektīvas. Šī darba mērķis ir izveidot Latvijas Triple Helix modeli un to salīdzināt ar Igaunijas un Somijas Triple Helix modeļiem, lai varētu noteikt iemeslus kādēļ Latvijas starta uzņēmējdarbības vide atpaliek no iepriekšminēto va…