Search results for "Models"

Bortezomib Partially Improves Laminin α2 Chain–Deficient Muscular Dystrophy

2014

Congenital muscular dystrophy, caused by mutations in LAMA2 (the gene encoding laminin α2 chain), is a severe and incapacitating disease for which no therapy is yet available. We have recently demonstrated that proteasome activity is increased in laminin α2 chain-deficient muscle and that treatment with the nonpharmaceutical proteasome inhibitor MG-132 reduces muscle pathology in laminin α2 chain-deficient dy(3K)/dy(3K) mice. Here, we explore the use of the selective and therapeutic proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (currently used for treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma) in dy(3K)/dy(3K) mice and in congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A muscle cells. Outcome measu…

Heat Shock Proteins: Cell Protection through Protein Triage

2010

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are chaperones that catalyze the proper folding of nascent proteins and the refolding of denatured proteins. The ubiquitin-proteasome system is an error-checking system that directs improperly folded proteins for destruction. A coordinated interaction between the HSPs (renaturation) and the proteasome (degradation) must exist to assure protein quality control mechanisms. Although it still remains unknown how the decision of folding vs. degradation is taken, many pieces of evidence demonstrate that HSPs interact directly or indirectly with the proteasome, assuring quite selectively the proteasomal degradation of certain proteins under stress conditions. In this rev…

Priming of Leishmania-Reactive CD8+ T cells In Vivo Does Not Require LMP7-Containing Immunoproteasomes

2012

Microbiological control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi with special emphasis on wilt-inducing Fusarium oxysporum

2009

Contents   Summary  529 I. Biological control of plant diseases: state of the art  530 II. Main modes of action of biological control agents  530 III. The protective strains of F. oxysporum: an unexplored model  532 IV. Future directions for the study of the protective capacity of strains of F. oxysporum  539 V. How to make biological control successful in the field?  540   References  541 Summary Plant diseases induced by soil-borne plant pathogens are among the most difficult to control. In the absence of effective chemical control methods, there is renewed interest in biological control based on application of populations of antagonistic micro-organisms. In addition to Pseudomonas spp. a…

The Transporter Associated With Antigen Processing (TAP): Structural Integrity, Expression, Function, and Its Clinical Relevance

2001

BACKGROUND: The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP), a member of the family of ABC transporters, plays a crucial role in the processing and presentation of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I restricted antigens. TAP transports peptides from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum, thereby selecting peptides matching in length and sequence to respective MHC class I molecules. Upon loading on MHC class I molecules, the trimeric MHC class I/beta2-microglobulin/ peptide complex is then transported to the cell surface and presented to CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. Abnormalities in MHC class I surface expression have been found in a number of different malignancies, …

Sequence Determines Degree of Knottedness in a Coarse-Grained Protein Model

2015

Knots are abundant in globular homopolymers but rare in globular proteins. To shed new light on this long-standing conundrum, we study the influence of sequence on the formation of knots in proteins under native conditions within the framework of the hydrophobic-polar (HP) lattice protein model. By employing large scale Wang-Landau simulations combined with suitable Monte Carlo trial moves we show that, even though knots are still abundant on average, sequence introduces large variability in the degree of self-entanglements. Moreover, we are able to design sequences which are either almost always or almost never knotted. Our findings serve as proof of concept that the introduction of just o…

Valence Topological Charge-Transfer Indices for Dipole Moments

2003

Valence topological charge-transfer (CT) indices are applied to the calculation of dipole moments. The dipole moments calculated by algebraic and vector semisums of the CT indices are defined. The combination of the CT indices allows the estimation of the dipole moments. The model is generalized for molecules with heteroatoms. The ability of the indices for the description of the molecular charge distribution is established by comparing them with the dipole moment of the valence-isoelectronic series of benzene and styrene. Two CT indices, μ v e c (vector semisum of vertex-pair dipole moments) and μ V v e c (valence μ v e c ) are proposed. μ v e c and μ V v e c are important for the predicti…

Co-regulator recruitment and the mechanism of retinoic acid receptor synergy.

2002

Crystal structure and co-regulator interaction studies have led to a general mechanistic view of the initial steps of nuclear receptor (NR) action. Agonist-induced transconformation of the ligand-binding domain (holo-LBD) leads to the formation of co-activator complexes, and destabilizes the co-repressor complexes bound to the ligand-free (apo) LBD. However, the molecular basis of retinoid-X receptor (RXR) 'subordination' in heterodimers, an essential mechanism to avoid signalling pathway promiscuity, has remained elusive. RXR, in contrast to its heterodimer partner, cannot autonomously induce transcription on binding of cognate agonists. Here we show that RXR can bind ligand and recruit co…

The Closed/Open Model for Lipase Activation. Addressing Intermediate Active Forms of Fungal Enzymes by Trapping of Conformers in Water-Restricted Env…

2001

The behavior of prototypic fungal lipases in a water-restricted environment has been investigated by exploiting the reported experimental strategy that allows the trapping (freeze-drying) of the enzyme in the conformation present in aqueous solution and to subsequently assay it in nonaqueous media [Mingarro, I., Abad, C., and Braco, L. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92, 3308-3312]. We now report, using simple esterification as well as acidolysis (triglycerides as substrates) as nonaqueous model reactions, that the presence of a detergent (n-octyl-beta-glucopyranoside) in the freeze-drying buffer, at concentrations below the critical micellar concentration, generates different catalyti…

Allosteric Models for Multimeric Proteins:  Oxygen-Linked Effector Binding in Hemocyanin

2005

In many crustaceans, changing concentrations of several low molecular weight compounds modulates hemocyanin oxygen binding, resulting in lower or higher oxygen affinities of the pigment. The nonphysiological effector caffeine and the physiological modulator urate, the latter accumulating in the hemolymph of the lobster Homarus vulgaris during hypoxia, increase hemocyanin oxygen affinity and decrease cooperativity of oxygen binding. To derive a model that describes the mechanism of allosteric interaction between hemocyanin and oxygen in the presence of urate or caffeine, studies of oxygen, urate, and caffeine binding to hemocyanin were performed. Exposure of lobster hemocyanin to various pH …