Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Structure And Function Of Frataxin, Krisztina Z. Bencze, Kalyan C. Kondapalli, Jeremy D. Cook, Stephen Mcmahon, César Millán-Pacheco, Nina Pastor, Timothy L. Stemmler
The Structure And Function Of Frataxin, Krisztina Z. Bencze, Kalyan C. Kondapalli, Jeremy D. Cook, Stephen Mcmahon, César Millán-Pacheco, Nina Pastor, Timothy L. Stemmler
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications
Frataxin, a highly conserved protein found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, is required for efficient regulation of cellular iron homeostasis. Humans with a frataxin deficiency have the cardio- and neurodegenerative disorder Friedreich’s ataxia, commonly resulting from a GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion in the frataxin gene. While frataxin’s specific function remains a point of controversy, a general consensus is the protein assists in controlling cellular iron homeostasis by directly binding iron. This review focuses on the structural and biochemical aspects of iron binding by the frataxin orthologs and outlines molecular attributes that may help explain the protein’s role in different cellular pathways.
Three-Dimensional Structure Of The Bacterial Cell Wall Peptidoglycan, Samy O. Meroueh, Krisztina Z. Bencze, Dusan Hesek, Mijoon Lee, Timothy L. Stemmler, Shahriar Mobashery
Three-Dimensional Structure Of The Bacterial Cell Wall Peptidoglycan, Samy O. Meroueh, Krisztina Z. Bencze, Dusan Hesek, Mijoon Lee, Timothy L. Stemmler, Shahriar Mobashery
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications
The 3D structure of the bacterial peptidoglycan, the major constit- uent of the cell wall, is one of the most important, yet still unsolved, structural problems in biochemistry. The peptidoglycan comprises alternating N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmu- ramic disaccharide (NAM) saccharides, the latter of which has a peptide stem. Adjacent peptide stems are cross-linked by the transpeptidase enzymes of cell wall biosynthesis to provide the cell wall polymer with the structural integrity required by the bacte- rium. The cell wall and its biosynthetic enzymes are targets of antibiotics. The 3D structure of the cell wall has been elusive because of its …