| 1. |
- Friedman, Ran
(författare)
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Aggregation of amyloids in a cellular context : modelling and experiment
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 438, s. 415-426
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amyloid-related diseases are a group of illnesses in which an abnormal accumulation of proteins into fibrillar structures is evident. Results from a wide range of studies, ranging from identification of amyloid-β dimers in the brain to biophysical characterization of the interactions between amyloidogenic peptides and lipid membranes during fibril growth shed light on the initial events which take place during amyloid aggregation. Accounts of fibril disaggregation and formation of globular aggregates due to interactions with lipids or fatty acids further demonstrate the complexity of the aggregation process and the difficulty to treat amyloid-related diseases. There is an inherent difficulty in generalizing from studies of aggregation in vitro, but the involvement of too many cellular components limits the ability to follow amyloid aggregation in a cellular (or extracellular) context. Fortunately, the development of experimental methods to generate stable globular aggregates suggests new means of studying the molecular events associated with amyloid aggregation. Furthermore, simulation studies enable deeper understanding of the experimental results and provide useful predictions that can be tested in the laboratory. Computer simulations can nowadays provide molecular or even atomistic details that are experimentally not available or very difficult to obtain. In the present review, recent developments on modelling and experiments of amyloid aggregation are reviewed, and an integrative account on how isolated interactions (as observed in vitro and in silico) combine during the course of amyloid-related diseases is presented. Finally, it is argued that an integrative approach is necessary to get a better understanding of the protein aggregation process.
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| 2. |
- Gierow, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Heterogeneity of smooth endoplasmic reticulum from rat liver studied by two-phase partitioning
- 1989
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 262:1, s. 55-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Smooth microsomal membranes, prepared from rat liver by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation, were subfractionated by counter-current distribution in an aqueous two-phase system consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) and Dextran T500. A comparison of the distribution curves of marker enzymes, together with theoretically calculated curves, indicated the presence of at least five membrane subfractions, differing in the ratios of the marker enzymes. Glucose-6-phosphatase and arylesterase distributed in one manner, and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and NADH-ferricyanide reductase in another. Evidence for further heterogeneities in the distribution of marker enzymes in smooth microsomes was obtained by analysing the membrane domain structure using a recently described method [Albertsson (1988) Q. Rev. Biophys. 21, 61-98]. Phenobarbital treatment did not influence the behaviour of the marker enzymes.
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| 3. |
- Gierow, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Lateral heterogeneity of rat liver plasma membranes analysed by counter-current distribution
- 1988
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 249, s. 369-375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The lateral heterogeneity of rat liver plasma membranes was examined by fragmentation and fractionation by counter-current distribution in an aqueous two-phase polymer system. The distribution pattern was analysed by plotting the relative specific activities of marker components against each other. By this analysis asialo-orosomucoid receptors were found in a domain separated from domains containing 5'-nucleotidase and leucine aminopeptidase by another domain devoid of these markers. 5'Nucleotidase and leucine aminopeptidase resided in adjacent but separate domains. The experimental data were compared with corresponding plots of markers in model membranes. The model membranes yielded plots of different shapes depending on marker distribution and fragment size. This method of analysis should be useful for examining the lateral heterogeneity also of other membranes.
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| 4. |
- Haugaard-Kedström (published under the name Haugaard-Jönsson), Linda M., et al.
(författare)
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Structure of the human insulin-like peptide 5 and characterization of conserved hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions within the relaxin framework
- 2009
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 419, s. 619-627
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INSL5 (insulin-like peptide 5) is a two-chain peptide hormone related to insulin and relaxin. It was recently discovered through searches of expressed sequence tag databases and, although the fulfil biological significance of INSL5 is still being elucidated, high expression in peripheral tissues such as the colon, as well as in the brain and hypothalamus, suggests roles in gut contractility and neuroendocrine signalling. INSL5 activates the relaxin family peptide receptor 4 with high potency and appears to be the endogenous ligand for this receptor, on the basis of overlapping expression profiles and their apparent co-evolution. In the present Study, we have used solution-state NMR to characterize the three-dimensional structure of synthetic human INSL5. The structure reveals an insulin/relaxin-like fold with three helical segments that are braced by three disulfide bonds and enclose a hydrophobic core. Furthermore, we characterized in detail the hydrogen-bond network and electrostatic interactions between charged groups in INSL5 by NMR-monitored temperature and pH titrations and Undertook a comprehensive structural comparison with other members of the relaxin family, thus identifying the conserved structural features of the relaxin fold. The B-chain helix, which is the primary receptor-binding site of the relaxins, is longer in INSL5 than in its close relative relaxin-3. As this feature results in a different positioning of the receptor-activation domain Arg(B23) and Trp(B24), it may be an important contributor to the difference in biological activity observed for these two peptides. Overall, the structural Studies provide mechanistic insights into the receptor selectivity of this important family of hormones.
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| 5. |
- Nilsson, Bo, et al.
(författare)
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Neoantigens in complement component C3 as detected by monoclonal antibodies. Mapping of the recognized epitopes by synthetic peptides
- 1990
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 268:1, s. 55-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The different fragments of the third complement component, C3, generated upon complement activation/inactivation have the ability to bind to several other complement components and receptors as well as to proteins of foreign origin. These multiple reactivities of C3 fragments are associated with a series of conformational changes occurring in the C3 molecule during its degradation. The conformations acquired by the different C3 fragments are also associated with the exposure of neoantigenic epitopes that are specific for (a) particular fragment(s). In order to study these epitopes and thus the conformational changes occurring in C3, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) recognizing such epitopes were produced in Balb/c mice after immunization with denatured human C3. Two of the three antibodies (7D84.1 and 7D264.6) presented in this study recognized predominantly surface-bound iC3b, and one mAb (7D323.1) recognized both surface-bound and fluid-phase iC3b. Although none of the mAbs recognized any other fluid-phase C3 fragment, all three antibodies detected micro-titre-plate-fixed C3b and iC3b, but not C3c or C3d. In addition to the reaction with human C3, mAb 7D323.1 also bound to micro-titre-plate-fixed rabbit C3. The epitopes recognized by the three mAbs were further localized by using synthetic peptides that were designed on the basis of the differential binding of the mAbs to the C3 fragments. All three antibodies reacted with C3-(924-965)-peptide, which represents the region of C3 between the kallikrein-cleavage site (923-924) and the elastase-cleavage site (965-966). On the basis of the binding of the mAbs to five different overlapping peptides spanning the region between residues 924 and 965 of the human C3 sequence, and the sequence similarity between human C3 and rabbit C3 within this area, the epitopes recognized by these antibodies are mapped. The contribution of the individual amino acid residues in the formation of the epitopes is discussed.
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| 6. |
- Samyn, Dieter R., et al.
(författare)
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Mutational analysis of putative phosphate- and proton-binding sites in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pho84 phosphate:H+ transceptor and its effect on signalling to the PKA and PHO pathways
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biochemical Journal. - : Portland Press. - 0264-6021 .- 1470-8728. ; 445, s. 413-422
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Pho84 phosphate transporter acts as the main provider of phosphate to the cell using a proton symport mechanism, but also mediates rapid activation of the PKA (protein kinase A) pathway. These two features led to recognition of Pho84 as a transceptor. Although the physiological role of Pho84 has been studied in depth, the mechanisms underlying the transport and sensor functions are unclear. To obtain more insight into the structure–function relationships of Pho84, we have rationally designed and analysed site-directed mutants. Using a three-dimensional model of Pho84 created on the basis of the GlpT permease, complemented with multiple sequence alignments, we selected Arg168 and Lys492, and Asp178, Asp358 and Glu473 as residues potentially involved in phosphate or proton binding respectively, during transport. We found that Asp358 (helix 7) and Lys492 (helix 11) are critical for the transport function, and might be part of the putative substrate-binding pocket of Pho84. Moreover, we show that alleles mutated in the putative proton-binding site Asp358 are still capable of strongly activating PKA pathway targets, despite their severely reduced transport activity. This indicates that signalling does not require transport and suggests that mutagenesis of amino acid residues involved in binding of the co-transported ion may constitute a promising general approach to separate the transport and signalling functions in transceptors.
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