Search results for "binding"
showing 10 items of 3896 documents
Aβ Oligomers and Fibrillar Aggregates Induce Different Apoptotic Pathways in LAN5 Neuroblastoma Cell Cultures
2009
Fibril deposit formation of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Increasing evidence suggests that toxicity is linked to diffusible Abeta oligomers, which have been found in soluble brain extracts of AD patients, rather than to insoluble fibers. Here we report a study of the toxicity of two distinct forms of recombinant Abeta small oligomers and fibrillar aggregates to simulate the action of diffusible Abeta oligomers and amyloid plaques on neuronal cells. Different techniques, including dynamic light scattering, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy, have been used to characterize the two forms of Abeta. Under similar conditions and …
Differential effects of cysteine and methionine residues in the antioxidant activity of human serum albumin
2005
Antioxidant properties of human serum albumin (HSA) may explain part of its beneficial role in various diseases related to free radical attack. In the present study, the antioxidant role of Cys and Met was studied by copper-mediated oxidation of human low density lipoproteins and by free radical-induced blood hemolysis which essentially assessed metal-chelating and free radical scavenging activities, respectively. Mild conditions were set up to specifically modify Cys and Met residues by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and chloramine T treatments, respectively. We found that Met and Cys accounted for 40-80% of total antioxidant activity of HSA. Copper binding to HSA was decreased by about 50% with c…
The actin-based motility of intracellularListeria monocytogenesis not controlled by small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho- and Ras-subfamilies
1999
In this study, we analyzed whether the actin-based motility of intracellular Listeria monocytogenes is controlled by the small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho- and Ras-subfamilies. These signalling proteins are key regulatory elements in the control of actin dynamics and their activity is essential for the maintenance of most cellular microfilament structures. We used the Clostridium difficile toxins TcdB-10463 and TcdB-1470 to specifically inactivate these GTP-binding proteins. Treatment of eukaryotic cells with either of these toxins led to a dramatic breakdown of the normal actin cytoskeleton, but did not abrogate the invasion of epithelial cells by L. monocytogenes and had no effect on …
A new biodegradable and biocompatible hydrogel with polyaminoacid structure
2007
The preparation and physicochemical and biological characterization of a novel polyaminoacid hydrogel have been reported. The ,-poly(N-2- hydroxyethyl)-dl-aspartamide (PHEA) has been used as a starting polymer for a derivatization reaction with methacrylic anhydride (MA) to give rise to the methacrylate derivative named PHM. Photocrosslinking of PHM has been performed in aqueous solution at 313 nm and in the absence of toxic initiators. PHM-based hydrogel has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, swelling measurements in aqueous media; the degradation of PHM-based hydrogel has been evaluated as a function of time in the absence or in the presence of ester…
Promotion of osteogenic cell response using quasicovalent immobilized fibronectin on titanium surfaces: introduction of a novel biomimetic layer syst…
2012
Purpose Despite the undeniable potential of cell adhesion molecules such as fibronectin to support osteogenic cell responses and consecutive dental implant healing, the most beneficial mode of application onto titanium implant surfaces still requires investigation. Unspecific fibronectin adsorption on titanium dioxide (TiO2) surfaces can result in low-loading, high-desorption rates and protein–metal interactions with impaired biologic activity. The aim of the present study was to monitor the osteogenic cell responses (cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation) specifically to fibronectin biofunctionalized TiO2. Materials and Methods An innovative biomimetic streptavidin-biotin layer…
Quaternary structure dependence of kinetic hole burning and conformational substates interconversion in hemoglobin.
2003
Using a sol-gel encapsulation technique, we have prepared samples of CO saturated human adult hemoglobin locked in the R or T quaternary conformation. We report time-resolved spectra of these samples in the Soret region following flash photolysis, in the time interval ranging from 250 ns to 200 ms and in the temperature interval of 100-170 K. A suitable analysis of the measured difference spectra enables us to obtain the spectral contribution of deoxyHb and HbCO molecules as a function of time and/or of the fraction N(t) of deoxyHb molecules. In our experimental time window geminate CO rebinding to hemoglobin in the T quaternary conformation is about 2 orders of magnitude slower than to hem…
Inhibition of giant cell formation by compound 48/80 after infection with herpesvirus hominis
1974
Choline kinase has been found to be a soluble enzyme with a molecular weight of 105,000 in the cytoplasm of primary rabbit kidney cells. It has been purified 150-fold. It was investigated whether the inhibiting effect of Cpd 48/80 on virus-induced giant cell formation is due to interference with this enzyme. Cpd 48/80-dimer was shown to inhibit the choline kinase activityin vitro without a concomitant inhibition of giant cell formation. Likewise, another competitive inhibitor of choline kinase, purinyl-6-histamine, does not prevent giant cell formation. This finding suggests that there is no correlation between choline kinase activity and giant cell formation.
Fluorescence Properties of the Chromophore-Binding Domain of Bacteriophytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans
2013
Fluorescent proteins are versatile tools for molecular imaging. In this study, we report a detailed analysis of the absorption and fluorescence properties of the chromophore-binding domain from Deinococcus radiodurans and its D207H mutant. Using single photon counting and transient absorption techniques, the average excited state lifetime of both studied systems was about 370 ps. The D207H mutation slightly changed the excited state decay profile but did not have a considerable effect on the average decay time of the system or the shape of the absorption and emission spectra of the biliverdin chromophore. We confirmed that the fluorescence properties of both samples are very similar in vivo…
Truncated TrkB receptor-induced outgrowth of dendritic filopodia involves the p75 neurotrophin receptor.
2004
The Trk family of receptor tyrosine kinases and the p75 receptor (p75NTR) mediate the effects of neurotrophins on neuronal survival, differentiation and synaptic plasticity. The neurotrophin BDNF and its cognate receptor tyrosine kinase, TrkB.FL, are highly expressed in neurons of the central nervous system. At later stages in postnatal development the truncated TrkB splice variants (TrkB.T1, TrkB.T2) become abundant. However, the signalling and function of these truncated receptors remained largely elusive.We show that overexpression of TrkB.T1 in hippocampal neurons induces the formation of dendritic filopodia, which are known precursors of synaptic spines. The induction of filopodia by T…
Function of DcuS from Escherichia coli as a Fumarate-stimulated Histidine Protein Kinase in Vitro
2002
The two-component regulatory system DcuSR of Escherichia coli controls the expression of genes of C(4)-dicarboxylate metabolism in response to extracellular C(4)- dicarboxylates such as fumarate or succinate. DcuS is a membrane-integral sensor kinase, and the sensory and kinase domains are located on opposite sides of the cytoplasmic membrane. The intact DcuS protein (His(6)-DcuS) was overproduced and isolated in detergent containing buffer. His(6)-DcuS was reconstituted into liposomes made from E. coli phospholipids. Reconstituted His(6)-DcuS catalyzed, in contrast to the detergent-solubilized sensor, autophosphorylation by [gamma-(33)P]ATP with an approximate K(D) of 0.16 mm for ATP. Up t…