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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Analysis Of Single-Site Cysteine Mutation, I412c, In Human A Glycine Receptor States To Further Refine Structure And Allostery, Leah Engquist
Analysis Of Single-Site Cysteine Mutation, I412c, In Human A Glycine Receptor States To Further Refine Structure And Allostery, Leah Engquist
Honors Theses
The glycine receptor (GlyR) is the major inhibitory receptor in the brain and spinal cord. A member of the pentameric ligand gated ion channel superfamily, crystal structures are available but there are still unresolved areas, specifically the C-terminal tail and TM3-TM4 intracellular loop. Further refinement can provide deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism and allow the creation of novel therapeutics to modulate its function. We propose to insert a single cysteine mutation, I412C, into a Cys null background (C41S/C290A/C345S) to study non- conducting states (resting, desensitized) or with F207G/A288G mutations to study the open state. Purified, reconstituted GlyR is crosslinked …
Chemical And Co-Solute Effects Of Polyethylene Glycol On I-Motif Formation, Lindsey Rutherford
Chemical And Co-Solute Effects Of Polyethylene Glycol On I-Motif Formation, Lindsey Rutherford
Honors Theses
DNA typically forms Watson and Crick double helix structures in which adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine pair with their complimentary DNA base. However, DNA i-motif structures can form in cytosine rich DNA, typically under slightly acidic conditions (~pH 6). DNA i-motifs are four stranded secondary structures in which cytosine pairs with cytosine to form a quadruplex. The i-motifs are typically formed in acidic conditions because of the protonation in the C•C base pair between one of the three hydrogen bases. Recent studies have suggested i-motifs can also form under neutral conditions, which is more realistic for a cell. It is …
Effects Of Crowding Agents On I-Motif Dna, Hayden Brines
Effects Of Crowding Agents On I-Motif Dna, Hayden Brines
Honors Theses
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a well-known double stranded, helical, biological molecule. In addition to its more commonly known structure, DNA can also form more complicated structures like G-quadruplexes and i-motifs (iM). The iMs are formed by cytosine rich DNA and are a four stranded structure that is typically looped around itself. The iM formation is typically pH-dependent and is favored in more acidic conditions; the pKa value is approximately 6.5. This pKa value allows for potential in vivo formation, since the cells have a pH of approximately 7.3. Due to this, iMs are thought to be powerful, innovative molecules for …
Engineering Src Homology 2 Domains With Improved Specificity For Sulfotyrosine, Anya Morozov
Engineering Src Homology 2 Domains With Improved Specificity For Sulfotyrosine, Anya Morozov
Honors Theses
Protein tyrosine O-sulfation (PTS) is a common post-translational modification that has been implicated in a variety of biological processes and human illnesses. Despite continued progress in the field of sulfoproteomics, the extent and function of sulfated tyrosine (sulfotyrosine) residues is a topic of ongoing research. Previous work in the Guo Lab has identified Src Homology-2 (SH2) mutants that have a high affinity for sulfotyrosine along with retained high affinity for their natural ligand, phosphorylated tyrosine (phosphotyrosine). In this thesis, I attempted to generate SH2 mutants that have high affinity and specificity for sulfotyrosine over phosphotyrosine. While I successfully generated …