Intriguing self-assembly of large granules of F-actin facilitated by gelsolin and alpha-actinin

We report microscopic observations and a structural determination of actin granules self-assembled in concentrated solutions of actin filaments (F-actin). Optical microscopy shows reproducible formation of numerous and stable granules of densely packed F-actin of variable sizes on the order of 10 microm. These granules coexist with a uniform network of F-actin of a lower concentration. The microscopic segregation of F-actin into two distinct states is assisted by an actin cross-linking protein, alpha-actinin. The rapid on and off rates and temperature sensitivity of the alpha-actinin/F-actin interaction facilitate the formation of multi-micrometer-sized granules of well-defined shapes. Additional physical factors such as the excluded volume effect and the minimization of surface energy act in concert with the specific molecular interactions to define the intriguing granular formation. Both the biochemical specificity of alpha-actinin and the thermodynamics of phase transitions are required for understanding such large scale self-assembly.     

Neuronal activation by GPI-linked neuroligin-1 displayed in synthetic lipid bilayer membranes

We have characterized, in vitro, interactions between hippocampal neuronal cells and silica microbeads coated with synthetic, fluid, lipid bilayer membranes containing the glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-linked extracellular domain of the postsynaptic membrane protein neuroligin-1. These bilayer-neuroligin-1 beads activated neuronal cells to form presynaptic nerve terminals at the point of contact in a manner similar to that observed for live PC12 cells, ectopically expressing the full length neuroligin-1. The synthetic membranes exhibited biological activity at neuroligin-1 densities of approximately 1 to 6 proteins/microm(2). Polyolycarbonate beads with neuroligin-1 covalently attached to the surface failed to activate neurons despite the fact that neuroligin-1 binding activity is preserved. This implies that a lipid membrane environment is likely to be essential for neuroligin-1 activity. This technique allows the study of isolated proteins in an environment that has physical properties resembling those of a cell surface; proteins can diffuse freely within the membrane, retain their in vivo orientations, and are in a nondenatured state. In addition, the synthetic membrane environment affords control over both lipid and protein composition. This technology is easily implemented and can be applied to a wide variety of cellular studies.     

Thiazole orange-peptide conjugates: sensitivity of DNA binding to chemical structure

[structure: see text] Derivatives of the highly fluorescent and DNA-binding dye thiazole orange (TO) are described that feature appended peptides. Functionalization of TO can be achieved at either of the endocyclic nitrogens, and the photophysical properties and DNA-binding modes are sensitive to the position of the tethered peptide. A series of TO-peptide conjugates are described, demonstrating the utility of a solid-phase synthesis approach to their preparation and illustrating how the photophysical and DNA-binding properties of the compounds are influenced by chemical structure.     

Synthesis,stereochemistry and pharmacological activity of rac.-cis-tetrahydro-6-hydroxy-7-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,4-thiazepin-5(2H)-ones

Reaction of 2-aminoethanethiol ( 3 ) with trans-3-(p-methoxyplienyl)glycidate ( 4 ) gave the rac.-cis-1,4-thiazepinone 5 and a by-product 6 . The structure of 5 was proven by X-ray crystallography. The X-ray data revealed that this compound adopts the chair conformation in the solid state and the heterocyclic ring is sevenmembered. The structure of the by-product 6 was elucidated on the basis of spectral data. Compounds 9 and 10 were inactive as calcium channel blocking agents.     

Consistent treatment of inter- and intramolecular polarization in molecular mechanics calculations

A protocol is described for the treatment of molecular polarization in force field calculations. The resulting model is consistent in that both inter- and intramolecular polarization are handled within a single scheme. An analytical formula for removing intramolecular polarization from a set of atomic multipoles for an arbitrary static structure or conformation is given. With the help of the intramolecular polarization, these permanent atomic multipoles can then be applied in modeling alternative conformations of a molecule. Equipped with this simple technique, one can derive transferable electrostatic parameters for peptides and proteins using flexible model compounds such as dipeptides. The proposed procedure is tested for its ability to describe the electrostatic potential around various configurations of the N-methylacetamide dimer. The effect of different intramolecular polarization schemes on the accuracy of a force field model of the electrostatic potential of alanine dipeptide is investigated. A group-based scheme for including direct intramolecular polarization is shown to be most successful in accounting for the conformational dependence of electrostatic potentials.     

Inner-sphere electron-transfer reorganization energies of zinc porphyrins

Inner-sphere electron-transfer reorganization energies of Zn(protoporphyrin IX) and Zn(octaethylporphyrin) are determined from band-shape analyses of the first ionization obtained by gas-phase valence photoelectron spectroscopy. The experimentally determined total inner-sphere reorganization energies for self-exchange (120-140 meV) indicate that structural changes upon oxidation are largely confined to the porphyrin ring, and substituents on the ring or solvent and other environmental factors make smaller contributions. Computational estimates by different models vary over a wide range and are sensitive to numerical precision factors for these low reorganization energies. Of current computational models that are widely available and practical for molecules of this size, functionals that contain a mixture of Hartree-Fock exchange and DFT exchange-correlation appear to be the most applicable.     

Living polymerization of aryl substituted acetylenes by MoCl5 and WCl6 based initiators: The ortho phenyl substituent effect

The polymerization of phenylacetylene initiated by MoCl₅ and WCl₆ based initiators was monitored directly in the NMR sample tube and demonstrated the presence of backbiting and intramolecular cyclization reactions. It was shown that the ratio of cis to trans structural units obtained by isomerization prior to double bond formation dictates the degree of backbiting and intramolecular cyclization reactions. This cis–trans ratio determines the length of cis–transoidal sequences present in the polymer backbone which are available for both backbiting and intrachain cyclization reactions. The cyclic trimers obtained in the metathesis polymerization of phenylacetylene are formed only through the cis–cisoidal-induced backbiting and/or intramolecular reactions. The o-trimethylsilylphenylacetylene follows a living mechanism of polymerization. This is due to the fact that the size of the ortho substituent suppresses the cis–transoidal to cis–cisoidal isomerization reactions and therefore eliminates the backbiting reactions. The steric hindrance provided by the size of the ortho substituent also eliminates interchain and intrachain reactions.     

Synthesis of Unsubstituted and 4,4′-Substituted Oligobipyridines as Ligand Strands for Helicate Self-Assembly

A general strategy for the synthesis of oligobipyridine ligands 2 – 5 containing from two to five 2,2′-bipyridine subunits, for helical metal complexes is described (sec Scheme). Both the unsubstituted parent strands ( a series) as well as their derivatives bearing fester or amide functions in the 4,4′-positions of the bipyridine moieties ( b – d series) have been obtained.     

Autocorrelation Functions as Translation Invariants in L1 and L2

The Adler-Konheim theorem [Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 13 (1962), 425-428] states that the collection of nth-order autocorrelation functions is a complete set of translation invariants for real-valued L¹ functions on a locally compact abelian group. It is shown here that there are proper subsets of that also form a complete set of translation invariants, and these subsets are characterized. Specifically, a subset is complete if and only if it contains infinitely many even-order autocorrelation functions. In addition, any infinite subset of is complete up to a sign. While stated here for functions on the proofs presented hold for functions on any locally compact abelian group that is not compact, in particular, on and the integer lattice