In contrast to B-DNA that has a right-handed double helical structure with Watson–Crick base pairing under the ordinary physiological conditions, repetitive DNA sequences under certain conditions have the potential to fold into non-B DNA structures such as hairpin, triplex, cruciform, left-handed Z-form, tetraplex, A-motif, etc. Since the non-B DNA-forming sequences induce the genetic instabili...

We report a comprehensive electron crystallographic analysis of conformational changes in the photocycle of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin and in a variety of mutant proteins with kinetic defects in the photocycle. Specific intermediates that accumulate in the late stages of the photocycle of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin, the single mutants D38R, D96N, D96G, T46V, L93A and F219L, and the triple mut...

Osteocalcin (OCN) is a small noncollagenous protein mainly produced by osteoblasts and is highly represented in bones of most vertebrates. Human OCN contains up to three gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla-OCN) residues at positions 17, 21 and 24 which are thought to increase calcium binding strength, improving mechanical properties of the bone matrix. Recent studies revealed that OCN exerts also i...

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest and most diverse group of membrane receptors in eukaryotes and are targets of more than 25% of the medications currently on the market. Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), family C GPCRs, modulate synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability throughout the central nervous system and thus are promising targets for the treatment of var...

Hydrodynamic studies on monomer chromatin subunits (v1) as a function of ionic strength (0.7 mM to 100 mM KCl) indicate two salt-dependent conformational transitions. An abrupt transition occurs at about 7.5 mM ionic strength. Decreasing the ionic strength from 10 to 5 mM results in a decrease in s20,w of the v1 from 11.1 to 9.9 S. The diffusion coefficient D20,w decreases from 3.3 to 2.7 X 10(...

Motions related to protein-protein binding events can be surveyed from the perspective of the Database of Macromolecular Movements. There are a number of alternative conceptual models that describe these events, particularly induced fit and pre-existing equilibrium. There is evidence for both alternatives from recent studies of conformational change. However, there is increasing support for the...

BACKGROUND Oligomerization and aggregation of alpha-synuclein molecules play a major role in neuronal dysfunction and loss in Parkinson's disease [1]. However, alpha-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation have mostly been detected indirectly in cells using detergent extraction methods [2], [3], [4]. A number of in vitro studies showed that dopamine can modulate the aggregation of alpha-synuc...

The rate of formation of ribonuclease-S from ribonuclease A by the action of subtilisin was measured at pH 5.5 in the presence and absence of the strongly bound ribonuclease inhibitor, 2’-cytidylate. Presence of the inhibitor in the active center significantly reduced the rate of formation of ribonuclease-S. Since bond 20-21 (and, to a lesser extent, 21-22), the cleavage of which is responsible...

We study the effect of chargeable monomers on the conformation of dendrimers of low generation by computer simulations, employing bare Coulomb interactions. The presence of the latter leads to an increase in size of the dendrimer due to a combined effect of electrostatic repulsion and the presence of counterions within the dendrimer and also enhances a shell-like structure for the monomers of d...