| 1. |
- Frohm, Birgitta, et al.
(author)
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A peptide from human semenogelin I self-assembles into a pH-responsive hydrogel.
- 2015
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In: Soft Matter. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1744-6848 .- 1744-683X. ; 11:2, s. 414-421
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The peptide GSFSIQYTYHV derived from human semenogelin I forms a transparent hydrogel through spontaneous self-assembly in water at neutral pH. Linear rheology measurements demonstrate that the gel shows a dominating elastic response over a large frequency interval. CD, fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy and cryo-TEM studies imply long fibrillar aggregates of extended β-sheet. Dynamic light scattering data indicate that the fibril lengths are of the order of micrometers. Time-dependent thioflavin T fluorescence shows that fibril formation by GSFSIQYTYHV is a nucleated reaction. The peptide may serve as basis for development of smart biomaterials of low immunogenicity suitable for biomedical applications, including drug delivery and wound healing.
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| 2. |
- Braun, Gabriel A., et al.
(author)
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On the Mechanism of Self-Assembly by a Hydrogel-Forming Peptide
- 2020
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In: Biomacromolecules. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1525-7797 .- 1526-4602. ; 21:12, s. 4781-4794
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Self-assembling peptide-based hydrogels are a class of tunable soft materials that have been shown to be highly useful for a number of biomedical applications. The dynamic formation of the supramolecular fibrils that compose these materials has heretofore remained poorly characterized. A better understanding of this process would provide important insights into the behavior of these systems and could aid in the rational design of new peptide hydrogels. Here, we report the determination of the microscopic steps that underpin the self-assembly of a hydrogel-forming peptide, SgI37-49. Using theoretical models of linear polymerization to analyze the kinetic self-assembly data, we show that SgI37-49 fibril formation is driven by fibril-catalyzed secondary nucleation and that all the microscopic processes involved in SgI37-49 self-assembly display an enzyme-like saturation behavior. Moreover, this analysis allows us to quantify the rates of the underlying processes at different peptide concentrations and to calculate the time evolution of these reaction rates over the time course of self-assembly. We demonstrate here a new mechanistic approach for the study of self-assembling hydrogel-forming peptides, which is complementary to commonly used materials science characterization techniques.
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| 3. |
- Båth, Petra, 1988, et al.
(author)
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Lipidic cubic phase serial femtosecond crystallography structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre
- 2022
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In: Acta Crystallographica Section D-Structural Biology. - : International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). - 2059-7983. ; 78, s. 698-708
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serial crystallography is a rapidly growing method that can yield structural insights from microcrystals that were previously considered to be too small to be useful in conventional X-ray crystallography. Here, conditions for growing microcrystals of the photosynthetic reaction centre of Blastochloris viridis within a lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization matrix that employ a seeding protocol utilizing detergent-grown crystals with a different crystal packing are described. LCP microcrystals diffracted to 2.25 angstrom resolution when exposed to XFEL radiation, which is an improvement of 0.15 angstrom over previous microcrystal forms. Ubiquinone was incorporated into the LCP crystallization media and the resulting electron density within the mobile Q(B) pocket is comparable to that of other cofactors within the structure. As such, LCP microcrystallization conditions will facilitate time-resolved diffraction studies of electron-transfer reactions to the mobile quinone, potentially allowing the observation of structural changes associated with the two electron-transfer reactions leading to complete reduction of the ubiquinone ligand.
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| 4. |
- Cabaleiro-Lago, Celia, et al.
(author)
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Inhibition of IAPP and IAPP(20-29) fibrillation by polymeric nanoparticles
- 2010
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In: Langmuir. - : The American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 26:5, s. 3453-3461
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fibrillation process of the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and its fragment (IAPP(20-29)) was studied by means of Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy in the absence and presence of N-isopropylacrylamide:N-tert-butylacrylamide (NiPAM:BAM) copolymeric nanoparticles. The process was found to be strongly affected by the presence of the nanoparticles, which retard protein fibrillation as a function of the chemical surface properties of the nanoparticles. The NiPAM:BAM ratio was varied from 50:50 to 100:0. The nanoparticles with higher fraction of NiPAM imposed the strongest retardation of IAPP and IAPP(20-29) fibrillation. These particles have the strongest hydrogen bonding capacity due to the less bulky N-isopropyl group and thus less steric hindrance of the hydrogen-bonding groups of the nanoparticle polymer backbone. Kinetic fibrillation data, as monitored by ThT fluorescence and supported by surface plasmon resonance experiments, suggest that the peptide is strongly absorbed onto the surface of the nanoparticles. This interaction reduces the concentration of peptide free in solution available to proceed to fibrillation which results in an increased lag time of fibrillation, observed as a delayed onset of ThT fluorescence increase, plus a reduction of the amount of fibrils formed as indicated by the equilibrium values at the end of the fibrillation reaction. For the fragment (IAPP(20-29)), the presence of nanoparticles changes the mechanism of association from monomers to fibrils, by interfering with early oligomeric species along the fibrillation pathway.
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| 5. |
- Nilsson, K, et al.
(author)
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A General Method for the Immobilization of Cells with Preserved Viability
- 1983
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In: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. ; 17, s. 319-326
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microbial, algal, plant and animal cells have been immobilized, with preserved viability, by entrapment in various matrices according to a new bead polymerization technique. The cell polymer/monomer mixture is kept suspended in a hydrophobic phase such as soy, paraffin, or silicon oil, tri-n-butylphosphate, or dibutyphtalate, which is compatible with the cells. The various monomers or polymers tested include agarose, agar, carrageenan, alginate, fibrin, and polyacrylamide. Furthermore, by adjustment of the stirring speed of the suspension, beads of desired diameter can easily be obtained. The entrapped cells are fully viable and biosynthetically active.
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| 6. |
- Abou-Hachem, Maher, et al.
(author)
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The modular organisation and stability of a thermostable family 10 xylanase
- 2003
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In: Biocatalysis and Biotransformation. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1024-2422 .- 1029-2446. ; 21:5-6, s. 253-260
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The thermophilic marine bacterium Rhodothermus marinus produces a modular family 10 xylanase (Xyn10A). It consists of two N-terminal family 4 carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) followed by a domain of unknown function (D3), and a catalytic module (CM) flanked by a small fifth domain (D5) at its C-terminus. Several truncated mutants of the enzyme have been produced and characterised with respect to biochemical properties and stability. Multiple calcium binding sites are shown to be present in the two N-terminal CBMs and recent evidence suggests that the third domain of the enzyme also has the ability to bind the same metal ligand. The specific binding of Ca2+ was demonstrated to have a pronounced effect on thermostability as shown by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal inactivation studies. Furthermore, deletion mutants of the enzyme were less stable than the full-length enzyme suggesting that module interactions contributed to the stability of the enzyme. Finally, recent evidence indicates that the fifth domain of Xyn10A is a novel type of module mediating cell-attachment.
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| 7. |
- Behnen, Petra, et al.
(author)
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Calcium-Dependent Interaction of Calmodulin with Human 80S Ribosomes and Polyribosomes.
- 2012
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In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 51:34, s. 6718-6727
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ribosomes are the protein factories of every living cell. The process of protein translation is highly complex and tightly regulated by a large number of diverse RNAs and proteins. Earlier studies indicate that Ca(2+) plays a role in protein translation. Calmodulin (CaM), a ubiquitous Ca(2+)-binding protein, regulates a large number of proteins participating in many signaling pathways. Several 40S and 60S ribosomal proteins have been identified to interact with CaM, and here, we report that CaM binds with high affinity to 80S ribosomes and polyribosomes in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. No binding is observed in buffer with 6 mM Mg(2+) and 1 mM EGTA that chelates Ca(2+), suggesting high specificity of the CaM-ribosome interaction dependent on the Ca(2+) induced conformational change of CaM. The interactions between CaM and ribosomes are inhibited by synthetic peptides comprising putative CaM-binding sites in ribosomal proteins S2 and L14. Using a cell-free in vitro translation system, we further found that these synthetic peptides are potent inhibitors of protein synthesis. Our results identify an involvement of CaM in the translational activity of ribosomes.
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| 8. |
- Berggård, Tord, et al.
(author)
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Calbindin D28k exhibits properties characteristic of a Ca2+ sensor.
- 2002
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 277:19, s. 16662-16672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calbindin D28k is a member of the calmodulin super-family of Ca2+ -binding proteins and contains six EF-hands. The protein is generally believed to function as a Ca2+ buffer, but the studies presented in this work indicate that it may also act as a Ca2+ sensor. The results show that Mg2+ binds to the same sites as Ca2+ with an association constant of approximately 1.4 x 10(3) M-1 in 0.15 M KCl. The four high-affinity sites in calbindin D28k bind Ca2+ in a non-sequential, parallel manner. In the presence of physiological concentrations of Mg2+, the Ca2+ -affinity is reduced by a factor of two and the cooperativity, which otherwise is modest, increases. Based on the binding constants determined in the presence of physiological salt concentrations, we estimate that at the Ca2+ concentration in a resting cell calbindin D28k is saturated to 40-75% with Mg2+, but to less than 9 % with Ca2+. In contrast, the protein is expected to be nearly fully saturated with Ca2+ at the Ca2+ level of an activated cell. A substantial conformational change is observed upon Ca2+ binding, but only minor structural changes take place upon Mg2+-binding. This suggests that calbindin D28k undergoes Ca2+ -induced structural changes upon Ca2+ activation of a cell. Thus, calbindin D28k displays several properties that would be expected for a protein involved in Ca2+ -induced signal transmission and hence may function not only as a Ca2+ buffer, but also as a Ca2+ sensor. Digestion patterns resulting from limited proteolysis of the protein suggest that the loop of EF-hand 2, a variant site that does not bind Ca2+, becomes exposed upon Ca2+ binding.
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| 9. |
- Cataldi, Rodrigo, et al.
(author)
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A dopamine metabolite stabilizes neurotoxic amyloid-β oligomers
- 2021
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 4:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aberrant soluble oligomers formed by the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) are major pathogenic agents in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. A variety of biomolecules can influence the formation of these oligomers in the brain, although their mechanisms of action are still largely unknown. Here, we studied the effects on Aβ aggregation of DOPAL, a reactive catecholaldehyde intermediate of dopamine metabolism. We found that DOPAL is able to stabilize Aβ oligomeric species, including dimers and trimers, that exert toxic effects on human neuroblastoma cells, in particular increasing cytosolic calcium levels and promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species. These results reveal an interplay between Aβ aggregation and key biochemical processes regulating cellular homeostasis in the brain.
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| 10. |
- Cedervall, Tommy, et al.
(author)
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Calbindin D-28k EF-hand ligand binding and oligomerization: Four high-affinity sites-three modes of action
- 2005
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In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 44:41, s. 13522-13532
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Calbindin D-28k, a highly conserved protein with Ca2+-sensing and Ca2+-buffering capabilities, is abundant in brain and sensory neurons. This protein contains six EF-hand subdomains, four of which bind Call with high affinity. Calbindin D28k can be reconstituted from six synthetic peptides corresponding to the six EF-hands, indicating a single-domain structure with multiple interactions between the EF-hand subdomains. In this study, we have undertaken a detailed characterization of the Ca2+-binding and oligomerization properties of each individual EF-hand peptide using CD spectroscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation. Under the conditions tested, EF2 is monomeric and does not bind Ca2+, whereas EF6, which binds Call weakly, aggregates severely. We have therefore focused this study on the high-affinity binding sites, EF-hands 1, 3, 4, and 5. Our sedimentation equilibrium data show that, in the presence of Call, EF-hands 1, 3, 4, and 5 all form dimers in solution in which the distribution between the monomer, dimer, and higher order oligomers differs. The processes of Call binding and oligomerization are linked to different degrees, and three main mechanisms emerge. For EF-hands 1 and 5, the dimer binds Ca2+ more strongly than the monomer and Call binding drives dimerization. For EF-hand 4, dimer formation requires only one of the monomers to be Ca2+-bound. In this case, the Call affinity is independent of dimerization. For EF-hand 3, dimerization occurs both in the absence and presence of Call, while oligomerization increases in the presence of Ca2+.
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