Extracellular SH3 domain containing proteins--features of a new protein family

In the year 1994, the protein MIA (melanoma inhibitory activity) was found to be strongly expressed and secreted by malignant melanomas and subsequent studies revealed that MIA has an important function in melanoma development and invasion. Multidimensional NMR-spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography revealed that recombinant human MIA adopts a Src homology 3 (SH3) domain-like fold in solution, a structure with two perpendicular antiparallel three- and five-stranded beta-sheets. SH3 domains are protein modules that are found in many intracellular signalling proteins and mediate protein-protein interactions by binding to proline-rich peptide sequences. Unlike previously described protein structures with SH3 domain folds, MIA is a secreted single-domain protein of 12 kDa that contains an additional antiparallel beta-sheet and two disulfide bonds. Furthermore, the charge surrounding the canonical binding site differs from that of classical SH3 domains. The two disulfide bonds are crucial for correct folding and function as revealed by mutation analysis. Therefore, MIA appears to be the first extracellular protein adopting an SH3 domain-like fold. MIA was shown to interact with fibronectin, and MIA-interacting peptide ligands identified by phage display screening are similar to the consensus sequence of type III human fibronectin repeats, especially FN14. Interestingly, recent data revealed that MIA can also directly bind to integrin alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta1 and that it modulates integrin activity negatively. These findings suggest an interesting role of the SH3-domain proteins in the extracellular compartment. Recently, MIA homologous proteins with a sequence identity of 44% and a sequence homology of approximately 80% were determined (TANGO, MIA-2, OTOR). This clearly suggests that this structural device is used more frequently, in processes ranging from developmental changes to the interference of cell attachment in the extracellular matrix. Detailed studies are necessary to determine the exact function of the MIA homologous proteins. It will be interesting to know whether additional protein families can be identified which are secreted and carry SH3 domain-like modules, in addition to elucidate what the specific physiological targets of this protein family are.     

Luminescence of LnIII dithiocarbamate complexes (Ln = La, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy)

We have discovered room temperature photoluminescence in Sm3+ and Pr3+ dithiocarbamate complexes. Surprisingly, these complexes exhibit more intense emission than those of the Eu3+, Tb3+, and Dy3+ analogues. The electronic absorption, excitation, and emission spectra are reported for the complexes [Ln(S2CNR2)3L] and NH2Et2[Ln(S2CNEt2)4], where Ln = Sm, Pr; R = ethyl, ibutyl, benzyl; and L = 1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2'-bipyridine, and 5-chloro-1,10-phenanthroline. The lowest ligand-localized triplet energy level (T1) of the complexes are determined from the phosphorescence spectra of analogous La3+ and Gd3+ chelates. The luminescence decay curves were measured to determine the excited-state lifetimes for the Pr3+ and Sm3+ complexes. X-ray crystal structures of Sm(S2CNiBu2)3phen, Pr(S2CNEt2)3phen, and Pr(S2CNiBu2)3phen are also reported.     

Energy-consistent relativistic pseudopotentials for the 4d elements: atomic and molecular applications

Recently reported energy-consistent relativistic pseudopotentials have been used with series of matching correlation consistent basis sets in benchmark calculations of various atomic and molecular properties. The basis set convergence of the 4d metal electron affinities and 5s2-->5s0 excitation energies are reported at the CCSD(T) level of theory, and the effects of valence and 4s4p correlation are investigated. In addition the impact of correlating the low-lying 3d electrons was also studied in all-electron Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH) calculations, which also included the ionization potentials and 5s2-->5s1 excitation energies. For all four atomic properties, higher order coupled cluster calculations through CCSDTQ are reported. The final calculated values are generally all within 1 kcal/mol of experiment. A notable exception is the ionization potential of Tc, the currently accepted experimental value of which is suggested to be too high by about 3 kcal/mol. Molecular calculations are also reported for the low-lying electronic states of ZrO and RuF, as well as the ground electronic state of Pd2. The effects of spin-orbit coupling are investigated for these cases in pseudopotential calculations. Wherever possible, the pseudopotential results have been calibrated against DKH calculations with correlation consistent basis sets of triple-zeta quality. In all cases the calculated data for these species are in very good agreement with experiment. In particular, the correct electronic ground state for the RuF molecule (4Phi92) was obtained, which was made possible by utilizing systematic sequences of correlation consistent basis sets.     

A cell filtration of mixed tensor space

We construct a cellular basis of the walled Brauer algebra which has similar properties as the Murphy basis of the group algebra of the symmetric group. In particular, the restriction of a cell module to a certain subalgebra can be easily described via this basis. Furthermore, the mixed tensor space possesses a filtration by cell modules—although not by cell modules of the walled Brauer algebra itself, but by cell modules of its image in the algebra of endomorphisms of mixed tensor space.     

MIC-SSMS analyses of eight new geological standard glasses

To obtain suitable geological reference materials for microanalytical purposes, a set of eight natural glasses was prepared by direct fusion of rock chips. Multi-ion counting spark source mass spectrometry (MIC-SSMS) has been applied for trace element analysis of these reference materials. The overall analytical uncertainty of the MIC-SSMS results was determined by considering 14 possible sources of errors. It generally ranges between < 2–7% depending on the element and its concentration. Nearly all MIC-SSMS data agree with the reference values within 0–10%, indicating that the estimate of the overall analytical uncertainty is reasonable. Received: 21 December 1998 / Revised: 2 March 1999 / Accepted: 3 March 1999     

Cluster calculations of the hyperfine properties of copper compounds

Spin-polarized ab-initio cluster procedures are used to investigate the electronic structure of CuO₂-planes in the La₂CuO₄ and YBa₂Cu₃O₇ compounds. In particular, electric field gradients (EFGs) and magnetic hyperfine interaction parameters for the Cu sites were calculated with various theoretical methods. Calculations with density functional theory reproduce the experimentally determined EFGs fairly well while those at the Hartree-Fock level generally yield values which are too large by about 40%. The anisotropic magnetic hyperfine coupling can also be calculated with reasonable accuracy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Investigations on the Reactivity of Fascaplysin,Part I,Aromatic Electrophilic Substitutions Occur at Position 9

Electrophilic aromatic substitutions, such as halogenation and sulfonation, occur primarily para to the indole N‐atom at C(9) of the unique 12H‐pyrido[1,2‐a:3,4‐b′]diindole ring system of fascaplysin.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of KCuGd2S4: A Threedimensional Framework with Isolated Channels

The reaction of K₂S₅, Cu, Gd, and S in a 2 : 1 : 2 : 4 molar ratio at 450 °C yields yellow-orange needle-like cuboids of the new quaternary compound KCuGd₂S₄. The crystal structure represents a novel three-dimensional structure type of quaternary rare earth chalcogenides with alkali metal. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Cmcm (No. 63) with a = 3.9921(1) Å, b = 13.523(3) Å, c = 13.802(3) Å, V = 745.1(3) ų, Z = 4. In the structure GdS₆ octahedra and CuS₄ tetrahedra are joined by common edges and corners forming corrugated layers parallel to (010). The GdS₆ octahedra are connected via common edges in the third dimension thus leading to the formation of a three-dimensional tunnel structure. The potassium cations are confined within the pentagonal shaped channels and are surrounded by eight sulfide anions each.