Search results for "Metalloproteins"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Drosophila melanogaster Models of Metal-Related Human Diseases and Metal Toxicity
2017
Iron, copper and zinc are transition metals essential for life because they are required in a multitude of biological processes. Organisms have evolved to acquire metals from nutrition and to maintain adequate levels of each metal to avoid damaging effects associated with its deficiency, excess or misplacement. Interestingly, the main components of metal homeostatic pathways are conserved, with many orthologues of the human metal-related genes having been identified and characterized in Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila has gained appreciation as a useful model for studying human diseases, including those caused by mutations in pathways controlling cellular metal homeostasis. Flies have m…
The role of post-transcriptional modulators of metalloproteins in response to metal deficiencies
2021
Copper and iron proteins play a wide range of functions in living organisms. Metal assembly into metalloproteins is a complex process, where mismetalation is detrimental and energy-consuming to cells. Under metal deficiency, metal distribution is expected to reach a metalation ranking, prioritizing essential versus dispensable metalloproteins, while avoiding interferences with other metals and protecting metal-sensitive processes. In this review, we propose that posttranscriptional Modulators of Metalloprotein messenger RNA (ModMeR) are good candidates in metal prioritization under metal-limited conditions. ModMeR target high quota or redundant metalloproteins and, by adjusting their synthe…
Computational strategies for the design of new enzymatic functions
2015
In this contribution, recent developments in the design of biocatalysts are reviewed with particular emphasis in the de novo strategy. Studies based on three different reactions, Kemp elimination, Diels–Alder and Retro-Aldolase, are used to illustrate different success achieved during the last years. Finally, a section is devoted to the particular case of designed metalloenzymes. As a general conclusion, the interplay between new and more sophisticated engineering protocols and computational methods, based on molecular dynamics simulations with Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics potentials and fully flexible models, seems to constitute the bed rock for present and future successful desig…
Cryogenic 35GHz pulse ENDOR probehead accommodating large sample sizes: Performance and applications.
2009
The construction and performance of a cryogenic 35GHz pulse electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) probehead for large samples is presented. The resonator is based on a rectangular TE(102) cavity in which the radio frequency (rf) B(2)-field is generated by a two turn saddle ENDOR coil crossing the resonator along the sample axis with minimal distance to the sample tube. An rf power efficiency factor is used to define the B(2)-field strength per square-root of the transmitted rf power over the frequency range 2-180MHz. The distributions of the microwave B(1)- and E(1)-field, and the rf B(2)-field are investigated by electromagnetic field calculations. All dielectrics, the sample tube, and…
Peptides as Versatile Platforms for Quantum Computing
2018
The pursuit of novel functional building blocks for the emerging field of quantum computing is one of the most appealing topics in the context of quantum technologies. Herein we showcase the urgency of introducing peptides as versatile platforms for quantum computing. In particular, we focus on lanthanide-binding tags, originally developed for the study of protein structure. We use pulsed electronic paramagnetic resonance to demonstrate quantum coherent oscillations in both neodymium and gadolinium peptidic qubits. Calculations based on density functional theory followed by a ligand field analysis indicate the possibility of influencing the nature of the spin qubit states by means of contro…
Comparative architectural aspects of regions of conserved synteny on human chromosome 11p15.3 and mouse chromosome 7 (including genes WEE1 and LMO1)
2001
Human chromosome 11p15.3 is associated with chromosome aberrations in the Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome and implicated in the pathogenesis of different tumor types including lung cancer and leukemias. To date, only single tumor-relevant genes with linkage to this region (e.g. LMO1) have been found suggesting that this region may harbor additional potential disease associated genes. Although this genomic area has been studied for years, the exact order of genes/chromosome markers between D11S572 and the WEE1 gene locus remained unclear. Using the FISH technique and PAC clones of the flanking markers we determined the order of the genomic markers. Based on these clones we established a PAC cont…
Electronic characterisation of the oxidized state of the blue copper protein Rusticyanin by 1 H NMR: Is the axial methionine the dominant influence f…
2001
The oxidized state of rusticyanin, the blue copper protein with the highest redox potential in its class, has been investigated through (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance applied to its cobalt(II) derivative. The assignment of the protons belonging to the coordinated residues has been performed. Many other amino acids situated in the vicinity of the metal ion, including six hydrophobic residues (isoleucine140 and five phenylalanines) have also been identified. The orientation of the main axes of the magnetic susceptibility tensor for the cobalt(II)-rusticyanin as well as its axial, Deltachi(ax), and rhombic, Deltachi(rh), magnetic susceptibility anisotropy components have been determined. A co…
Paramagnetic Cobalt and Nickel Derivatives of Alcaligenes denitrificans Azurin and Its M121Q Mutant. A 1H NMR Study
1996
Using cobalt or nickel to replace copper in native azurin allows one to fingerprint the metal coordination site of the protein. The metal sites of wild type Alcaligenes denitrificans azurin and its M121Q mutant are clearly distinguishable through the paramagnetic 1H NMR spectra of the Ni(II) and Co(II) derivatives. In the wild type azurin, Gly45 coordinates to nickel or cobalt, while Met121 appears as a weak metal ligand. On the contrary, in the M121Q azurin mutant, the metal exhibits a clear preference for the Gln121, which coordinates through the side chain carbonyl oxygen, and Gly45 is not a ligand. Changes in the isotropic shifts and relaxation properties of signals from the Cys112, His…
A first peek into sub-picosecond dynamics of spin energy levels in magnetic biomolecules
2019
We estimate the time- and temperature-evolution of spin energy levels in a metallopeptide by combining molecular dynamics with crystal field analysis. Fluctuations of tens of cm-1 for spin energy levels at fs times gradually average out at longer times. We confirm that local vibrations are key in spin dynamics.