Search results for "Tetramer"

A family of heterotetrameric clusters of chloride species and halomethanes held by two halogen and two hydrogen bonds

2016

Two previously reported 1,3,5,7,9-pentaazanona-1,3,6,8-tetraenate (PANT) chloride platinum(II) complexes [PtCl{HNC(R)NCN[C(Ph)C(Ph)]CNC(R)NH}] (R = tBu 1, Ph 2) form solvates with halomethanes 1·1¼CH2Cl2, 1·1⅖CH2Br2, and 2·CHCl3. All these species feature novel complex-solvent heterotetrameric clusters, where the structural units are linked simultaneously by two C–X⋯Cl–Pt (X = Cl, Br) halogen and two C–H⋯Cl–Pt hydrogen bonds. The geometric parameters of these weak interactions were determined using single-crystal XRD, and the natures of the XBs and HBs in the clusters were studied for the isolated model systems (1)2·(CH2Cl2)2, (1)2·(CH2Br2)2, and (2)2·(CHCl3)2 using DFT calculations and Bad…

Synthesis, Structural and Spectroscopic Characterization of Cr III , Fe III , Co III , Ni II and Cu II Complexes with an Asymmetric 1,3,4‐Thiadiazole…

2016

The reaction of the new asymmetric 1,3,4-thiadiazole-based ligand 2-[(5-ethylthio-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)hydrazonomethyl]phenol (H1ETHP) with various third-row transition metal salts resulted in the formation of six new mononuclear complexes [Cr(ETHP)2]ClO4 (1), [Fe(ETHP)2][FeCl4] (2), [Co(ETHP)(ETHP–H)] (3), [Ni(ETHP)(H1ETHP)]Cl (4), [Ni(ETHP)(H1ETHP)](ClO4) (5), [Ni(ETHP)(H1ETHP)]Br (6), and one tetranuclear complex [Cu2Cl3(ETHP)(H1ETHP)]2 (7). H1ETHP and all complexes have been analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural analysis of 1–6 reveals complexes of the [ML2]n+-type (n = 0,1), in which the mono anionic ligand ETHP coordinates in a tridentate NNO fashion via its imine,…

2019

Integral membrane proteins of the aquaporin family facilitate rapid water flux across cellular membranes in all domains of life. Although the water-conducting pore is clearly defined in an aquaporin monomer, all aquaporins assemble into stable tetramers. In order to investigate the role of protomer–protomer interactions, we analyzed the activity of heterotetramers containing increasing fractions of mutated monomers, which have an impaired oligomerization propensity and activity. In order to enforce interaction between the protomers, we designed and analyzed a genetically fused homotetramer of GlpF, the aquaglyceroporin of the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, increasing fractio…

HLA-E-Restricted CD8+ T Lymphocytes Efficiently Control Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV-1 Co-Infection

2020

We investigated the contribution of human leukocyte antigen A2 (HLA-A2) and HLA-E-restricted CD8+ T cells in patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) coinfection. HIV-1 downregulates HLA-A, -B, and -C molecules in infected cells, thus influencing recognition by HLA class I-restricted CD8+ T cells but not by HLA-E-restricted CD8+ T cells, owing to the inability of the virus to downmodulate their expression. Therefore, antigen-specific HLA-E-restricted CD8+ T cells could play a protective role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV-1 coinfection. HLA-E- and HLA-A2-restricted Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD8+ T cells were tested in vitro for cyt…

A rhamnose-binding lectin from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) plasma agglutinates and opsonizes pathogenic bacteria

2014

Abstract The discovery of rhamnose-binding lectins (RBLs) in teleost fish eggs led to the identification of a novel lectin family characterized by a unique sequence motif and a structural fold, and initially proposed to modulate fertilization. Further studies of the RBL tissue localization and gene organization were also suggestive of role(s) in innate immunity. Here we describe the purification, and biochemical and functional characterization of a novel RBL (DlRBL) from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) serum. The purified DlRBL had electrophoretic mobilities corresponding to 24 kDa and 100 kDa under reducing and non-reducing conditions, respectively, suggesting that in plasma the DlRBL is p…

Structural Domains of the <em>Bacillus thuringiensis</em> Vip3Af Protein Unraveled by Tryptic Digestion of Alanine Mutants

2019

Vip3 proteins are increasingly used in insect control in transgenic crops. To shed light on the structure of these proteins, we used the approach of trypsin fragmentation of mutants altering the conformation of the Vip3Af protein. From an alanine scanning on Vip3Af, we selected mutants with an altered proteolytic pattern. Based on the protease digestion patterns, their effect on oligomer formation, and theoretical cleavage sites, we generated a map of the Vip3Af protein with five domains, which match some of the domains proposed independently by two in silico models. Domain I ranges from aa12-198, domain II from aa199-313, domain III from aa314-526, domain IV from aa527-668 and domain V fro…

Detection of antigen-specific T-cells with MHC/peptide-tetramer-complexes

2002

Abstract Tetramer analysis is a novel technique in immunological research that has dramatically changed our knowledge of the immune response to viral and bacterial pathogens, to tumors and in autoimmune disease. Through the formation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)/peptide-tetrameric complexes it can provide accurate counts of antigen-specific T-cells and it allows their phenotypical and functional analysis. We review the strengths of this method and use the analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a patient with melanoma as a paradigm for the detection of tetramer-binding T-cells. The implementation of tetramer-guided analysis in immunomonitoring allows the ex vivo tes…

Nested allosteric interactions in extracellular hemoglobin of the leech Macrobdella decora

2003

Hemoglobin from the leech Macrobdella decora belongs to the class of giant extracellular hexagonal bilayer globin structures found in annelid and vestimentiferan worms. These complexes consist of 144 heme-bearing subunits, exhibit a characteristic quaternary structure (2 × (6 × (3 × 4))), and contain tetramers as basic substructures that express cooperative oxygen binding and thus provide a structural basis for a hierarchy in allosteric interactions. A thorough analysis of the isolated tetramer indicates that it functions as a trimer of cooperatively interacting subunits and a non-cooperative monomer rather than as four interacting subunits. A thermodynamic analysis of the whole molecule fa…

Biotin Induces Tetramerization of a Recombinant Monomeric Avidin

2001

Chicken avidin, a homotetramer that binds four molecules of biotin was converted to a monomeric form by successive mutations of interface residues to alanine. The major contribution to monomer formation was the mutation of two aspartic acid residues, which together account for ten hydrogen bonding interactions at the 1-4 interface. Mutation of these residues, together with the three hydrophobic residues at the 1-3 interface, led to stable monomer formation in the absence of biotin. Upon addition of biotin, the monomeric avidin reassociated to the tetramer, which exhibited properties similar to those of native avidin, with respect to biotin binding, thermostability, and protease resistance. …

Increasing functional avidity of TCR-redirected T cells by removing defined N-glycosylation sites in the TCR constant domain

2009

Adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes transduced with a T cell receptor (TCR) to impart tumor reactivity has been reported as a potential strategy to redirect immune responses to target cancer cells (Schumacher, T.N. 2002. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 2:512-519). However, the affinity of most TCRs specific for shared tumor antigens that can be isolated is usually low. Thus, strategies to increase the affinity of TCRs or the functional avidity of TCR-transduced T cells might be therapeutically beneficial. Because glycosylation affects the flexibility, movement, and interactions of surface molecules, we tested if selectively removing conserved N-glycoslyation sites in the constant regions of TCR alpha or …