Search results for "MBL"
showing 10 items of 1636 documents
Unlocked Concanavalin A Forms Amyloid-like Fibrils from Coagulation of Long-lived "Crinkled'' Intermediates
2013
Understanding the early events during amyloid aggregation processes is crucial to single out the involved molecular mechanisms and for designing ad hoc strategies to prevent and reverse amyloidogenic disorders. Here, we show that, in conditions in which the protein is positively charged and its conformational flexibility is enhanced, Concanavalin A leads to fibril formation via a non-conventional aggregation pathway. Using a combination of light scattering, circular dichroism, small angle X-ray scattering, intrinsic (Tryptophan) and extrinsic (ANS) fluorescence and confocal and 2-photon fluorescence microscopy we characterize the aggregation process as a function of the temperature. We high…
Aminopropyltransferases involved in polyamine biosynthesis localize preferentially in the nucleus of plant cells
2012
Plant aminopropyltransferases consist of a group of enzymes that transfer aminopropyl groups derived from decarboxylated S-adenosyl-methionine (dcAdoMet or dcSAM) to propylamine acceptors to produce polyamines, ubiquitous metabolites with positive charge at physiological pH. Spermidine synthase (SPDS) uses putrescine as amino acceptor to form spermidine, whereas spermine synthase (SPMS) and thermospermine synthase (TSPMS) use spermidine as acceptor to synthesize the isomers spermine and thermospermine respectively. In previous work it was shown that both SPDS1 and SPDS2 can physically interact with SPMS although no data concerning the subcellular localization was reported. Here we study the…
Construction of Chimeric Dual-Chain Avidin by Tandem Fusion of the Related Avidins
2011
BackgroundAvidin is a chicken egg-white protein with high affinity to vitamin H, also known as D-biotin. Many applications in life science research are based on this strong interaction. Avidin is a homotetrameric protein, which promotes its modification to symmetrical entities. Dual-chain avidin, a genetically engineered avidin form, has two circularly permuted chicken avidin monomers that are tandem-fused into one polypeptide chain. This form of avidin enables independent modification of the two domains, including the two biotin-binding pockets; however, decreased yields in protein production, compared to wt avidin, and complicated genetic manipulation of two highly similar DNA sequences i…
A Functionalized Noncovalent Macrocyclic Multiporphyrin Assembly from a Dizinc(II) Bis-Porphyrin Receptor and a Free-Base Dipyridylporphyrin
2003
The bis-porphyrin system ZnP 2 , in which two zinc porphyrins are connected by a phenanthroline linker in an oblique fashion, acts as a bifunctional receptor towards the complexation of free-base meso-5,10-bis(4'-pyridyl)-15,20-diphenylporphyrin (4'-cisDPyP). In solution, NMR spectroscopy evidenced quantitative formation of the tris-porphyrin macrocyclic assembly ZnP 2 (4'-cisDPyP), in which the two fragments are held together by two axial 4'-N(pyridyl)-Zn interactions. The remarkable stability of the edifice (an association constant of about 6 x 10 8 M - 1 was determined by UV/Vis absorption and emission titration experiments in toluene) is due to the almost perfect geometrical match betwe…
Supramolecular assembly of functional peptide-polymer conjugates.
2019
The following review gives an overview about synthetic peptide-polymer conjugates as macromolecular building blocks and their self-assembly into a variety of supramolecular architectures, from supramolecular polymer chains, to anisotropic 1D arrays, 2D layers, and more complex 3D networks. A selection of recent literature examples using linear, coiled-coil and cyclic peptide motifs is provided. The reversible nature of the unimer-to-supramolecular polymer transition provides unique opportunities to investigate mechanistic aspects of the supramolecular assembly, with respect to the thermodynamic or kinetic parameters and furthermore provides exciting opportunities for non-equilibrium assembl…
Synergistic assembly of hyperbranched polyethylenimine and fatty acids leading to unusual supramolecular nanocapsules
2005
Self-assembly of hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEI) and fatty acids leads to supramolecular inverted micellar structures that are able to irreversibly transfer water-soluble guest molecules into organic solvents. Perez Prieto, Julia, Julia.Perez@uv.es ; Stiriba, Salah Eddine, Salah.Stiriba@uv.es
NEW SELF-ASSEMBLING POLYASPARTYLHYDRAZIDE COPOLYMER MICELLES FOR ANTICANCER DRUG DELIVERY.
2010
A new amphiphilic copolymer have been synthesized starting from the hydrosoluble polyaspartylhydrazide (PAHy) polymer, by grafting both hydrophilic PEG(2000) chains and hydrophobic palmitic acid (C(16)) moieties on polymer backbone, and the structure of obtained PAHy-PEG(2000)-C(16) copolymer have been characterized by 2D (1)H/(13)C NMR experiments. PAHy-PEG(2000)-C(16) copolymer showed the ability of self-assembling in aqueous media giving a core-shell structure and resulted potentially useful for encapsulating and dissolving hydrophobic drug. The formation of micellar core-shell structure has been investigated by 2D (1)H NMR NOESY experiments. The presence of cross-peaks for protons of C(…
SELF-ASSEMBLED AMPHIPHILIC HYALURONIC ACID GRAFT COPOLYMERS FOR TARGETED RELEASE OF ANTITUMORAL DRUG
2009
Polymeric micelles obtained by self-assembling of amphiphilic hyaluronic acid (HA) graft copolymers have been prepared and characterized. In particular, hyaluronic acid (HA) has been grafted to polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylenglycol chains (PEG), then the copolymers able to form micelles in aqueous medium have been chosen to entrap the antitumoral drug Doxorubicin. The critical aggregation concentration of HA-g-PLA or HA-g-PLA-g-PEG micelles has been determined by using pyrene as a fluorescent probe, whereas their shape and size have been evaluated by light scattering measurements, scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The selective cytotoxicity of drug loaded micelles towar…
Self-assembling and auto-crosslinkable hyaluronic acid hydrogels with a fibrillar structure
2008
Abstract A hyaluronic acid derivative bearing pendant l -benzoyl-cysteine portions (with a derivatization degree equal to 10 mol.%) was synthesized by linking N,N′-dibenzoyl- l -cystine to the polysaccharide and then reducing its disulfide bridge to thiol groups. The formation of π–π stacking interactions between the benzoyl moieties was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy as a function of polymer concentration and oxidation time. The efficiency of oxidation of thiol groups to disulfide bridges occurring in phosphate buffer pH 7.4, was determined by colorimetric assays. The hydrogel formed by means of oxidative crosslinking has shown the presence of fibrillar aggregates as detected by ligh…
Self-assembly and alterable relaxivity of an organic cation-encapsulated gadolinium-containing polyoxometalate
2012
A new amphiphilic molecule bearing poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and quaternary ammonium group, was designed and synthesized to encapsulate paramagnetic Gd(III)-containing polyoxometalate (Gd-POM) through electrostatic interaction for obtaining a water-soluble organic-inorganic hybrid building block based on POM. The yielding organic cation-encapsulated Gd-POM (OCEP-Gd) complex exhibited water-solubility and amphiphility, leading to the spontaneous self-assembly into a regular vesicular structure with PEO chains towards water phase and POM units locating at the middle. The vesicular aggregate which has a regular monolayer structure, was further studied by means of dynamic light scattering, tra…