Protein misfolding and conformational changes are common hallmarks in many neurodegenerative diseases involving formation and deposition of toxic protein aggregates. Although many players are involved in the in vivo protein aggregation, physiological factors such as labile metal ions within the cellular environment are likely to play a key role. In this review, we elucidate the role of metal bi...

An extracellular nuclease from Streptomyces thermonitrificans (designated as nuclease Stn alpha) was purified to homogeneity with an overall yield of 2.8%. The Mr of the purified enzyme was 39.6 kDa. The purified enzyme showed an exclusive requirement of Mn2+ for its activity but is not a metalloprotein. The optimum pH for ds- and ssDNA hydrolysis were 7.0 and 7.5 whereas, the optimum temperatu...

Trace elements are required for a variety of normal biological functions. As our understanding of neurodegenerative disease advances we are identifying a number of metalloenzymes involved in disease process. Thus, the future of metals in neurobiology will rely more on detailed information regarding what metalloenzymes are present and how they are involved in the pathophysiology of disease. To g...

We propose a mechanism for binding of diatomic ligands to heme based on a dynamical orbital selection process. This scenario may be described as bonding determined by local valence fluctuations. We support this model using linear-scaling first-principles calculations, in combination with dynamical mean-field theory, applied to heme, the kernel of the hemoglobin metalloprotein central to human r...

The cellular prion protein has been identified as a metalloprotein that binds copper. There have been some suggestions that prion protein also influences zinc and manganese homeostasis. In this study we used a series of cell lines to study the levels of zinc and manganese under different conditions. We overexpressed either the prion protein or known transporters for zinc and manganese to determ...

Metalloproteins constitute a significant fraction of the proteome all organisms and their characterization is critical for both basic sciences biomedical applications. A large portion metalloproteins bind paramagnetic metal ions, NMR spectroscopy has been widely used in structural characterization. However, signals nuclei immediate vicinity center are often broadened beyond detection. In this w...