Design of a calcium-binding protein with desired structure in a cell adhesion molecule

Ca2+, "a signal of life and death", controls numerous cellular processes through interactions with proteins. An effective approach to understanding the role of Ca2+ is the design of a Ca2+-binding protein with predicted structural and functional properties. To design de novo Ca2+-binding sites in proteins is challenging due to the high coordination numbers and the incorporation of charged ligand residues, in addition to Ca2+-induced conformational change. Here, we demonstrate the successful design of a Ca2+-binding site in the non-Ca2+-binding cell adhesion protein CD2. This designed protein, Ca.CD2, exhibits selectivity for Ca2+ versus other di- and monovalent cations. In addition, La3+ (Kd 5.0 microM) and Tb3+ (Kd 6.6 microM) bind to the designed protein somewhat more tightly than does Ca2+ (Kd 1.4 mM). More interestingly, Ca.CD2 retains the native ability to associate with the natural target molecule. The solution structure reveals that Ca.CD2 binds Ca2+ at the intended site with the designed arrangement, which validates our general strategy for designing de novo Ca2+-binding proteins. The structural information also provides a close view of structural determinants that are necessary for a functional protein to accommodate the metal-binding site. This first success in designing Ca2+-binding proteins with desired structural and functional properties opens a new avenue in unveiling key determinants to Ca2+ binding, the mechanism of Ca2+ signaling, and Ca2+-dependent cell adhesion, while avoiding the complexities of the global conformational changes and cooperativity in natural Ca2+-binding proteins. It also represents a major achievement toward designing functional proteins controlled by Ca2+ binding.     

Delta-secretase cleavage of Tau mediates its pathology and propagation in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with age as a major risk factor. AD is the most common dementia with abnormal structures, including extracellular senile plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles, as key neuropathologic hallmarks. The early feature of AD pathology is degeneration of the locus coeruleus (LC), which is the main source of norepinephrine (NE) supplying various cortical and subcortical areas that are affected in AD. The spread of Tau deposits is first initiated in the LC and is transported in a stepwise manner from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus and then to associative regions of the neocortex as the disease progresses. Most recently, we reported that the NE metabolite DOPEGAL activates delta-secretase (AEP, asparagine endopeptidase) and triggers pathological Tau aggregation in the LC, providing molecular insight into why LC neurons are selectively vulnerable to developing early Tau pathology and degenerating later in the disease and how δ-secretase mediates the spread of Tau pathology to the rest of the brain. This review summarizes our current understanding of the crucial role of δ-secretase in driving and spreading AD pathologies by cleaving multiple critical players, including APP and Tau, supporting that blockade of δ-secretase may provide an innovative disease-modifying therapeutic strategy for treating AD.Subject terms: Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer''s disease     

交联1,4—顺式聚丁二烯的取向结晶

用ＷＡＸＤ和ＳＡＸＳ研究交联１，４－顺式聚丁二烯的取向结晶。结果表明：该试样在拉伸状态时，形成折叠链片晶，而不是伸直链纤维晶。片晶之间断产生新的片晶，使长周期减小，并且片晶的横向尺寸不断增大，由此导致结晶度增大。     

Self-assembled biotinylated disulfide derivative monolayer on gold electrode for immobilizing enzymes

Based on self-assembled biotinylated disulfide derivative monolayer on gold electrode, the sensors immobilized monolayer or multilayer membranes composed of avidin and biotinlabeled glucose oxidase (B.GOD) or of avidin-B.GOD complex (ABC) and B.COD were prepared. The present technique may be useful for controlling the enzyme content of the sensors in molecular level by repeating the deposition of enzyme layers. The sensors have the characteristics of shorter response time, higher sensitivity. The linear range is from 6.0 x 10(-6) - 5.0 x 10(-3) M. The sensor can be used for more than 1 month and can be reactivated. The sensor was used to determine glucose in human blood serum, and the results are satisfactory.     

A model for short alpha-neurotoxin bound to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica: comparison with long-chain alpha-neurotoxins and alpha-conotoxins

Short-chain alpha-neurotoxins from snakes are highly selective antagonists of the muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Although their spatial structures are known and abundant information on topology of binding to nAChR is obtained by labeling and mutagenesis studies, the accurate structure of the complex is not yet known. Here, we present a model for a short alpha-neurotoxin, neurotoxin II from Naja oxiana (NTII), bound to Torpedo californica nAChR. It was built by comparative modeling, docking and molecular dynamics using 1H NMR structure of NTII, cross-linking and mutagenesis data, cryoelectron microscopy structure of Torpedo marmorata nAChR [Unwin, N., 2005. Refined structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at 4A resolution. J. Mol. Biol. 346, 967-989] and X-ray structures of acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) with agonists [Celie, P.H., van Rossum-Fikkert, S.E., van Dijk, W.J., Brejc, K., Smit, A.B., Sixma, T.K., 2004. Nicotine and carbamylcholine binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as studied in AChBP crystal structures. Neuron 41 (6), 907-914] and antagonists: alpha-cobratoxin, a long-chain alpha-neurotoxin [Bourne, Y., Talley, T.T., Hansen, S.B., Taylor, P., Marchot, P., 2005. Crystal structure of Cbtx-AChBP complex reveals essential interactions between snake alpha-neurotoxins and nicotinic receptors. EMBO J. 24 (8), 1512-1522] and alpha-conotoxin [Celie, P.H., Kasheverov, I.E., Mordvintsev, D.Y., Hogg, R.C., van Nierop, P., van Elk, R., van Rossum-Fikkert, S.E., Zhmak, M.N., Bertrand, D., Tsetlin, V., Sixma, T.K., Smit, A.B., 2005. Crystal structure of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor homolog AChBP in complex with an alpha-conotoxin PnIA variant. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 12 (7), 582-588]. In complex with the receptor, NTII was located at about 30 A from the membrane surface, the tip of its loop II plunges into the ligand-binding pocket between the alpha/gamma or alpha/delta nAChR subunits, while the loops I and III contact nAChR by their tips only in a 'surface-touch' manner. The toxin structure undergoes some changes during the final complex formation (for 1.45 rmsd in 15-25 ps according to AMBER'99 molecular dynamics simulation), which correlates with NMR data. The data on the mobility and accessibility of spin- and fluorescence labels in free and bound NTII were used in MD simulations. The binding process is dependent on spontaneous outward movement of the C-loop earlier found in the AChBP complexes with alpha-cobratoxin and alpha-conotoxin. Among common features in binding of short- and long alpha-neurotoxins is the rearrangement of aromatic residues in the binding pocket not observed for alpha-conotoxin binding. Being in general very similar, the binding modes of short- and long alpha-neurotoxins differ in the ways of loop II entry into nAChR.     

Stability of neutral and charged Si50 cage and stacked structure and in comparison with Si60 structures

We have performed calculations on the fullerene cage and stacked structures of neutral and ionic Si₅₀ cluster by full-potential linear-muffin-tin-orbital molecular-dynamics (FP-LMTO-MD) method. It is found that the neutral and charged fullerene cages relax into distorted structures resembling puckered balls. Their electronic structures are remarkably similar besides their geometrical structures. However, the relaxed cages are still not so stable as the stacked structure built from tricapped trigonal prism. By comparison, for the fullerene cages and stacked structures of neutral and ionic Si₆₀ cluster, similar characteristics are found.     

用双表面活性剂为共模板合成中孔分子筛MCM-48

利用水热法以非离子表面活性剂聚乙二醇辛基苯基醚和阳离子表面活性剂十六烷基三甲基溴化铵为共模板合成了中孔分子筛MCM-48.实验中发现利用较强的范德华力和氢键,聚乙二醇辛基苯基醚可在很大程度上降低合成MCM-48所需阳离子表面活性剂的用量,且利于制备有序性好、骨架聚合度高、稳定性好的MCM-48.通过调节聚乙二醇辛基苯基醚与十六烷基三甲基溴化铵的比例,可得到不同物相结构的分子筛.     

The extended negative factor counting method for tridiagonal block matrices with cross links

The NFC (negative factor counting) method ws extended to solve the eigenvalue problem of tridiagonal block matrices with elements corresponding to cross links which may be derived from the quantum-chemical calculation on a native protein molecule. The mathematical proof of the necessary theorem is given in detail.     

Tuning the Hybridization of Local Exciton and Charge-Transfer States in Highly Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Cells

Decreasing the energy loss is one of the most feasible ways to improve the efficiencies of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Recent studies have suggested that non-radiative energy loss ( ) is the dominant factor that hinders further improvements in state-of-the-art OPV cells. However, there is no rational molecular design strategy for OPV materials with suppressed . Herein, taking molecular surface electrostatic potential (ESP) as a quantitative parameter, we establish a general relationship between chemical structure and intermolecular interactions. The results reveal that increasing the ESP difference between donor and acceptor will enhance the intermolecular interaction. In the OPV cells, the enhanced intermolecular interaction will increase the charge-transfer (CT) state ratio in its hybridization with the local exciton state to facilitate charge generation, but simultaneously result in a larger . These results suggest that finely tuning the ESP of OPV materials is a feasible method to further improve the efficiencies of OPV cells.     

Highly stable olefin-Cu(I) coordination oligomers and polymers

Highly stable Cu(I)-olefin coordination oligomers and polymers have been successfully prepared and applied to construct metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with interesting physical and chemical functions in recent years. In this review, we present the olefin-Cu(I) coordination oligomers and polymers and their novel physical properties. From structure to functions, particular emphasis is placed on the coordination and organometallic chemistry of olefin-Cu(I) coordination oligomers and polymers, their structures and potential applications as solids possessing unusual physical functional properties such as electrochemical, chiral separation, fluorescent sensing and ferroelectricity.