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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Deciphering The Catalytic Mechanism Of Human Manganese Superoxide Dismutase, Jahaun Azadmanesh Dec 2020

Deciphering The Catalytic Mechanism Of Human Manganese Superoxide Dismutase, Jahaun Azadmanesh

Theses & Dissertations

The livelihood of human cells is heavily dependent on the ability to modulate the presence of highly reactive oxygen-based molecules termed reactive oxygen species (ROS). In excess, ROS facilitate oxidative damage to the macromolecules of cellular life. SODs are the major family of antioxidant proteins that prevent the buildup of overwhelming amounts of ROS within cells. Sometimes dubbed the “first line of defense” against oxidative damage, SODs defend against the harmful accumulation of ROS by eliminating superoxide. Superoxide is a ROS itself that is also a precursor to much more harmful ROS molecules. MnSOD is the manganese containing form of …


Structural And Functional Characterization Of Cazyme And Cazyme-Related Proteins From: Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron And Porphyromonas Gingivalis: Two Abundant Colonizers Of The Human Microbiome, James Stevenson Jan 2020

Structural And Functional Characterization Of Cazyme And Cazyme-Related Proteins From: Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron And Porphyromonas Gingivalis: Two Abundant Colonizers Of The Human Microbiome, James Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The human body consists of approximately 30 trillion cells, while non-human microbes that reside on and within the body outnumber human somatic cells by a factor of 1.3 – 2.3. The interplay between our cells and those of the colonizing microorganisms affect physiology in a multitude of ways, both beneficial and detrimental. Microbes found in the oral cavity, such as the Red Complex member Porphyromonas gingivalis, are associated with pathology, namely periodontal diseases including gum deterioration, tooth decay, and loss of underlying alveolar bone. At the other end of the gastrointestinal tract, microbes such as Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron are found …


The Distinctive Regulatory Mechanisms Of Bacterial Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase, Alexandra Leigh Evans Sep 2018

The Distinctive Regulatory Mechanisms Of Bacterial Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase, Alexandra Leigh Evans

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Metabolic Regulation is a complex system used to control cellular metabolism in response to conditions in the cell’s environment. For most enzymes, the cell can rely upon a minimal amount of regulation; however, critical enzymes, such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase, must be regulated at multiple levels. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase catalyzes the first committed step in fatty acid synthesis. In bacteria, acetyl-CoA carboxylase forms a complex of three subunits–biotin carboxylase, biotin carboxyl carrier protein, and carboxyltransferase–which catalyze the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA via two half-reactions. In the first half-reaction, biotin covalently linked to biotin carboxyl carrier protein is carboxylated by biotin …


The N-Terminal Methyltransferase Homologs Nrmt1 And Nrmt2 Exhibit Novel Regulation Of Activity Through Heterotrimer Formation., Jon David Faughn Aug 2018

The N-Terminal Methyltransferase Homologs Nrmt1 And Nrmt2 Exhibit Novel Regulation Of Activity Through Heterotrimer Formation., Jon David Faughn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein, DNA, and RNA methyltransferases have an ever-expanding list of novel substrates and catalytic activities. Even within families and between homologs, it is becoming clear the intricacies of methyltransferase specificity and regulation are far more diverse than originally thought. In addition to specific substrates and distinct methylation levels, methyltransferase activity can be altered through formation of complexes with close homologs. This work involves the N-terminal methyltransferase homologs NRMT1 and NRMT2. NRMT1 is a ubiquitously expressed distributive trimethylase. NRMT2 is a monomethylase expressed at low levels and in a tissue-specific manner. They are both nuclear methyltransferases with overlapping target consensus sequences …