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| 2. |
- Lill, Christina M., et al.
(author)
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The role of TREM2 R47H as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease
- 2015
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In: Alzheimer's & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 11:12, s. 1407-1416
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A rare variant in TREM2 (p.R47H, rs75932628) was recently reported to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and, subsequently, other neurodegenerative diseases, i.e. frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we comprehensively assessed TREM2 rs75932628 for association with these diseases in a total of 19,940 previously untyped subjects of European descent. These data were combined with those from 28 published data sets by meta-analysis. Furthermore, we tested whether rs75932628 shows association with amyloid beta (Ab42) and total-tau protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 828 individuals with AD or mild cognitive impairment. Our data show that rs75932628 is highly significantly associated with the risk of AD across 24,086 AD cases and 148,993 controls of European descent (odds ratio or OR = 2.71, P = 4.67 x 10(-25)). No consistent evidence for association was found between this marker and the risk of FTLD (OR = 2.24, P = .0113 across 2673 cases/9283 controls), PD (OR 5 1.36, P = .0767 across 8311 cases/79,938 controls) and ALS (OR 5 1.41, P = .198 across 5544 cases/7072 controls). Furthermore, carriers of the rs75932628 risk allele showed significantly increased levels of CSF-total-tau (P = .0110) but not Ab42 suggesting that TREM2's role in AD may involve tau dysfunction. (C) 2015 The Alzheimer's Association.
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- Adler, Marlen, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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High Fitness Costs and Instability of Gene Duplications Reduce Rates of Evolution of New Genes by Duplication-Divergence Mechanisms
- 2014
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In: Molecular biology and evolution. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0737-4038 .- 1537-1719. ; 31:6, s. 1526-1535
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An important mechanism for generation of new genes is by duplication-divergence of existing genes. Duplication-divergence includes several different sub-models, such as subfunctionalization where after accumulation of neutral mutations the original function is distributed between two partially functional and complementary genes, and neofunctionalization where a new function evolves in one of the duplicated copies while the old function is maintained in another copy. The likelihood of these mechanisms depends on the longevity of the duplicated state, which in turn depends on the fitness cost and genetic stability of the duplications. Here, we determined the fitness cost and stability of defined gene duplications/amplifications on a low copy number plasmid. Our experimental results show that the costs of carrying extra gene copies are substantial and that each additional kbp of DNA reduces fitness by approximately 0.15%. Furthermore, gene amplifications are highly unstable and rapidly segregate to lower copy numbers in absence of selection. Mathematical modelling shows that the fitness costs and instability strongly reduces the likelihood of both sub- and neofunctionalization, but that these effects can be off-set by positive selection for novel beneficial functions.
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| 4. |
- Bai, Shi, et al.
(author)
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Contiguous binding of decylsulfate on the interface-binding surface of pancreatic phospholipase A2
- 2008
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In: Biochemistry. - : ACS. - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 47:9, s. 2899-2907
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pig pancreatic IB phospholipase A(2) (PLA2) forms three distinguishable premicellar E-i(#) (i = 1, 2, and 3) complexes at successively higher decylsulfate concentrations. The Hill coefficient for E-1(#) is n(1) = 1.6, and n(2) and n(3) for E-2(#) and E-3(#) are about 8 each. Saturation-transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and other complementary results with PLA2 show that decylsulfate molecules in E-2(#) and E-3(#) are contiguously and cooperatively clustered on the interface-binding surface or i-face that makes contact with the substrate interface. In these complexes, the saturation-transfer difference NMR signatures of H-1 in decylsulfate are different. The decylsulfate epitope for the successive E, complexes increasingly resembles the micellar complex formed by the binding of PLA2 to preformed micelles. Contiguous cooperative amphiphile binding is predominantly driven by the hydrophobic effect with a modest electrostatic shielding of the sulfate head group in contact with PLA2. The formation of the complexes is also associated with structural change in the enzyme. Calcium affinity of E-2(#) appears to be modestly lower than that of the free enzyme and Ell. Binding of decylsulfate to the i-face does not require the catalytic calcium required for the substrate binding to the active site and for the chemical step. These results show that E-i(#) complexes are useful to structurally characterize the cooperative sequential and contiguous binding of amphiphiles on the i-face. We suggest that the allosteric changes associated with the formation of discrete E-i(#) complexes are surrogates for the catalytic and allosteric states of the interface activated PLA2.
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| 5. |
- Belikov, Sergey, et al.
(author)
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Quantification of transcription factor-DNA binding affinity in a living cell
- 2016
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 44:7, s. 3045-3058
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The apparent dissociation constant (K-d) for specific binding of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and androgen receptor (AR) to DNA was determined in vivo in Xenopus oocytes. The total nuclear receptor concentration was quantified as specifically retained [H-3]-hormone in manually isolated oocyte nuclei. DNA was introduced by nuclear microinjection of single stranded phagemid DNA, chromatin is then formed during second strand synthesis. The fraction of DNA sites occupied by the expressed receptor was determined by dimethylsulphate in vivo footprinting and used for calculation of the receptor-DNA binding affinity. The forkhead transcription factor FoxA1 enhanced the DNA binding by GR with an apparent K-d of similar to 1 mu M and dramatically stimulated DNA binding by AR with an apparent K-d of similar to 0.13 mu M at a composite androgen responsive DNA element containing one FoxA1 binding site and one palindromic hormone receptor binding site known to bind one receptor homodimer. FoxA1 exerted a weak constitutive- and strongly cooperative DNA binding together with AR but had a less prominent effect with GR, the difference reflecting the licensing function of FoxA1 at this androgen responsive DNA element.
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| 9. |
- Berg, Otto, et al.
(author)
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Cooperative binding of monodisperse anionic amphiphiles to the i-Face : Phospholipase A2-paradigm for interfacial binding
- 2004
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In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 43:25, s. 7999-8013
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Equilibrium parameters for the binding of monodisperse alkyl sulfate along the i-face (the interface binding surface) of pig pancreatic IB phospholipase A2 (PLA2) to form the premicellar complexes (Ei#) are characterized to discern the short-range specific interactions. Typically, Ei# complexes are reversible on dilution. The triphasic binding isotherm, monitored as the fluorescence emission from the single tryptophan of PLA2, is interpreted as a cooperative equilibrium for the sequential formation of three premicellar complexes (Ei#, i = 1, 2, 3). In the presence of calcium, the dissociation constant K1 for the E1# complex of PLA2 with decyl sulfate (CMC = 4500 μM) is 70 μM with a Hill coefficient n1 = 2.1 ± 0.2; K2 for E2# is 750 μM with n2 = 8 ± 1, and K3 for E3# is 4000 μM with an n3 value of about 12. Controls show that (a) self-aggregation of decyl sulfate alone is not significant below the CMC; (b) occupancy of the active site is not necessary for the formation of Ei#; (c) Ki and ni do not change significantly due to the absence of calcium, possibly because alkyl sulfate does not bind to the active site of PLA2; (d) the Ei# complexes show a significant propensity for aggregation; and (e) PLA2 is not denatured in Ei#. The results are interpreted to elaborate the model for atomic level interactions along the i-face: The chain length dependence of the fit parameters suggests that short-range specific anion binding of the headgroup is accompanied by desolvation of the i-face of Ei#. We suggest that allosteric activation of PLA2 results from such specific interactions of the amphiplies and the desolvation of the i-face. The significance of these primary interfacial binding events and the coexistence of the E* and Ei# aggregates is discussed.
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| 10. |
- Berg, Otto G., et al.
(author)
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The helical structure of DNA facilitates binding
- 2016
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In: Journal of Physics A. - : IOP Publishing. - 1751-8113 .- 1751-8121. ; 9:36
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The helical structure of DNA imposes constraints on the rate of diffusion-limited protein binding. Here we solve the reaction-diffusion equations for DNA-like geometries and extend with simulations when necessary. We find that the helical structure can make binding to the DNA more than twice as fast compared to a case where DNA would be reactive only along one side. We also find that this rate advantage remains when the contributions from steric constraints and rotational diffusion of the DNA-binding protein are included. Furthermore, we find that the association rate is insensitive to changes in the steric constraints on the DNA in the helix geometry, while it is much more dependent on the steric constraints on the DNA-binding protein. We conclude that the helical structure of DNA facilitates the nonspecific binding of transcription factors and structural DNA-binding proteins in general.
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