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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

An Approach To Developing Benchmark Datasets For Protein Secondary Structure Segmentation From Cryo-Em Density Maps, Thu Nguyen, Yongcheng Mu, Jiangwen Sun, Jing He Jan 2023

An Approach To Developing Benchmark Datasets For Protein Secondary Structure Segmentation From Cryo-Em Density Maps, Thu Nguyen, Yongcheng Mu, Jiangwen Sun, Jing He

Computer Science Faculty Publications

More and more deep learning approaches have been proposed to segment secondary structures from cryo-electron density maps at medium resolution range (5--10Å). Although the deep learning approaches show great potential, only a few small experimental data sets have been used to test the approaches. There is limited understanding about potential factors, in data, that affect the performance of segmentation. We propose an approach to generate data sets with desired specifications in three potential factors - the protein sequence identity, structural contents, and data quality. The approach was implemented and has generated a test set and various training sets to study …


Multiple Cytosolic Dna Sensors Bind Plasmid Dna After Transfection, Nina Semenova, Masa Bosnjak, Katarina Znidar, Maja Cemazar, Loree Heller Nov 2019

Multiple Cytosolic Dna Sensors Bind Plasmid Dna After Transfection, Nina Semenova, Masa Bosnjak, Katarina Znidar, Maja Cemazar, Loree Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Mammalian cells express a variety of nucleic acid sensors as one of the first lines of defense against infection. Despite extensive progress in the study of sensor signaling pathways during the last decade, the detailed mechanisms remain unclear. In our previous studies, we reported increased type I interferon expression and the upregulation of several proposed cytosolic DNA sensors after transfection of several tumor cell types with plasmid DNA (pDNA). In the present study, we sought to reveal the early events in the cytosolic sensing of this nucleic acid in a myoblast cell line. We demonstrated that DNA-dependent activator of interferon …


An Investigation Of Atomic Structures Derived From X-Ray Crystallography And Cryo-Electron Microscopy Using Distal Blocks Of Side-Chains, Lin Chen, Jing He, Salim Sazzed, Rayshawn Walker Jan 2018

An Investigation Of Atomic Structures Derived From X-Ray Crystallography And Cryo-Electron Microscopy Using Distal Blocks Of Side-Chains, Lin Chen, Jing He, Salim Sazzed, Rayshawn Walker

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a structure determination method for large molecular complexes. As more and more atomic structures are determined using this technique, it is becoming possible to perform statistical characterization of side-chain conformations. Two data sets were involved to characterize block lengths for each of the 18 types of amino acids. One set contains 9131 structures resolved using X-ray crystallography from density maps with better than or equal to 1.5 Å resolutions, and the other contains 237 protein structures derived from cryo-EM density maps with 2-4 Å resolutions. The results show that the normalized probability density function of block …


Ticks Elicit Variable Fibrinogenolytic Activities Upon Feeding On Hosts With Different Immune Backgrounds, Ashish Vora, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Durland Fish, Daniel E. Sonenshine, John D. Catravas, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta Mar 2017

Ticks Elicit Variable Fibrinogenolytic Activities Upon Feeding On Hosts With Different Immune Backgrounds, Ashish Vora, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Durland Fish, Daniel E. Sonenshine, John D. Catravas, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks secrete several anti-hemostatic factors in their saliva to suppress the host innate and acquired immune defenses against infestations. Using Ixodes scapularis ticks and age-matched mice purchased from two independent commercial vendors with two different immune backgrounds as a model, we show that ticks fed on immunodeficient animals demonstrate decreased fibrinogenolytic activity in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Reduced levels of D-dimer (fibrin degradation product) were evident in ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Increased engorgement weights were noted for ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on …


An Effective Computational Method Incorporating Multiple Secondary Structure Predictions In Topology Determination For Cryo-Em Images, Abhishek Biswas, Desh Ranjan, Mohammad Zubair, Stephanie Zeil, Kamal Al Nasr, Jing He Jan 2017

An Effective Computational Method Incorporating Multiple Secondary Structure Predictions In Topology Determination For Cryo-Em Images, Abhishek Biswas, Desh Ranjan, Mohammad Zubair, Stephanie Zeil, Kamal Al Nasr, Jing He

Computer Science Faculty Publications

A key idea in de novo modeling of a medium-resolution density image obtained from cryo-electron microscopy is to compute the optimal mapping between the secondary structure traces observed in the density image and those predicted on the protein sequence. When secondary structures are not determined precisely, either from the image or from the amino acid sequence of the protein, the computational problem becomes more complex. We present an efficient method that addresses the secondary structure placement problem in presence of multiple secondary structure predictions and computes the optimal mapping. We tested the method using 12 simulated images from alpha-proteins and …


Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss, Andrew B. Nuss, Jason M. Meyer, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe, Robert M. Waterhouse, David B. Sattelle, Jose De La Fuente, Jose M. Ribeiro, Karine Megy Jan 2016

Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss, Andrew B. Nuss, Jason M. Meyer, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe, Robert M. Waterhouse, David B. Sattelle, Jose De La Fuente, Jose M. Ribeiro, Karine Megy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing ~57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, cuticle …


Rcd+: Fast Loop Modeling Server, José R. López-Blanco, Alejandro J. Canosa-Valis, Yaohang Li, Pablo Chacón Jan 2016

Rcd+: Fast Loop Modeling Server, José R. López-Blanco, Alejandro J. Canosa-Valis, Yaohang Li, Pablo Chacón

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Modeling loops is a critical and challenging step in protein modeling and prediction. We have developed a quick online service (http://rcd.chaconlab.org) for ab initio loop modeling combining a coarse-grained conformational search with a full-atom refinement. Our original Random Coordinate Descent (RCD) loop closure algorithm has been greatly improved to enrich the sampling distribution towards near-native conformations. These improvements include a new workflow optimization, MPI-parallelization and fast backbone angle sampling based on neighbor-dependent Ramachandran probability distributions. The server starts by efficiently searching the vast conformational space from only the loop sequence information and the environment atomic coordinates. The generated closed loop …


Design And Study Of The Efflux Function Of The Egfp Fused Mexab-Oprm Membrane Transporter In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Using Spectroscopy, Feng Ding, Kerry J. Lee, Ardeschir Vahedi-Faridi, Hiroshi Yoneyama, Christopher J. Osgood, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu Jan 2014

Design And Study Of The Efflux Function Of The Egfp Fused Mexab-Oprm Membrane Transporter In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Using Spectroscopy, Feng Ding, Kerry J. Lee, Ardeschir Vahedi-Faridi, Hiroshi Yoneyama, Christopher J. Osgood, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Multidrug membrane transporters (efflux pumps) can selectively extrude a variety of structurally and functionally diverse substrates (e.g., chemotoxics, antibiotics), leading to multidrug resistance (MDR) and ineffective treatment of a wide variety of diseases. In this study, we have designed and constructed a fusion gene (egfp-mexB) of N-terminal mexB with C-terminal egfp, inserted it into a plasmid vector (pMMB67EH), and successfully expressed it in the Δ MexB (MexB deletion) strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosato create a new strain that expresses MexA-(EGFP-MexB)-OprM. We characterized the fusion gene using gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing, and determined its expression in live …


The Path To Preservation: Using Proteomics To Decipher The Fate Of Diatom Proteins During Microbial Degradation, Brook L. Nunn, Ying S. Ting, Lars Malmström, Yihsuan S. Tsai, Angela Aquier, David R. Goodlett, H. Rodger Harvey Jan 2010

The Path To Preservation: Using Proteomics To Decipher The Fate Of Diatom Proteins During Microbial Degradation, Brook L. Nunn, Ying S. Ting, Lars Malmström, Yihsuan S. Tsai, Angela Aquier, David R. Goodlett, H. Rodger Harvey

OES Faculty Publications

We drew upon recent advances in tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses in order to examine the proteins that remain after a diatom bloom enters the stationary phase, precipitates out of the photic zone, and is subjected to microbial degradation over a 23-d period within a controlled laboratory environment. Proteins were identified from tandem mass spectra searched against three different protein databases in order to track proteins from Thalassiosira pseudonana and any potential bacterial contributions. A rapid loss of diatom protein was observed over the incubation period; 75% of the proteins initially identified were not detected after 72 h of exposure …


Physical And In Silico Approaches Identify Dna-Pk In A Tax Dna-Damage Response Interactome, Emad Ramadan, Michael Ward, Xin Guo, Sarah S. Durkin, Adam Sawyer, Marcelo Vilela, Christopher Osgood, Alex Pothen, Oliver J. Semmes Jan 2008

Physical And In Silico Approaches Identify Dna-Pk In A Tax Dna-Damage Response Interactome, Emad Ramadan, Michael Ward, Xin Guo, Sarah S. Durkin, Adam Sawyer, Marcelo Vilela, Christopher Osgood, Alex Pothen, Oliver J. Semmes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: We have initiated an effort to exhaustively map interactions between HTLV-1 Tax and host cellular proteins. The resulting Tax interactome will have significant utility toward defining new and understanding known activities of this important viral protein. In addition, the completion of a full Tax interactome will also help shed light upon the functional consequences of these myriad Tax activities. The physical mapping process involved the affinity isolation of Tax complexes followed by sequence identification using tandem mass spectrometry. To date we have mapped 250 cellular components within this interactome. Here we present our approach to prioritizing these interactions via …


Dietary Supplements And Sports Performance: Amino Acids, Melvin H. Williams Jan 2005

Dietary Supplements And Sports Performance: Amino Acids, Melvin H. Williams

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

This is the third in a series of six articles to discuss the major classes of dietary supplements (vitamins; minerals; amino acids; herbs or botanicals; metabolites, constituents/extracts, or combinations). The major focus is on efficacy of such dietary supplements to enhance exercise or sport performance.