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Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2012

CMMB

Heath Ecroyd

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Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver Dec 2012

The Two-Faced Nature Of Small Heat Shock Proteins: Amyloid Assembly And The Inhibition Of Fibril Formation. Relevance To Disease States, Heath W. Ecroyd, S Meehan, John A. Carver

Heath Ecroyd

The ability of small heat-shock proteins (sHsps) such as alphaB-crystallin to inhibit the amorphous (disordered) aggregation of varied target proteins in a chaperone-like manner has been well described. The mechanistic details of this action are not understood. Amyloid fibril formation is an alternative off-folding pathway that leads to highly ordered beta-sheet-containing aggregates. Amyloid fibril formation is associated with a broad range of protein conformational diseases such as Alzhiemer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's and sHsp expression is elevated in the protein deposits that are characteristic of these disease states. The ability of sHsps to prevent fibril formation has been less well characterised. …


Molecular Dynamics Analysis Of Apolipoprotein-D - Lipid Hydroperoxide Interactions: Mechanism For Selective Oxidation Of Met-93, Aaron J. Oakley, Surabhi Bhatia, Heath Ecroyd, Brett Garner Dec 2012

Molecular Dynamics Analysis Of Apolipoprotein-D - Lipid Hydroperoxide Interactions: Mechanism For Selective Oxidation Of Met-93, Aaron J. Oakley, Surabhi Bhatia, Heath Ecroyd, Brett Garner

Heath Ecroyd

Background: Recent studies suggest reduction of radical-propagating fatty acid hydroperoxides to inert hydroxides by interaction with apolipoprotein-D (apoD) Met93 may represent an antioxidant function for apoD. The nature and structural consequences of this selective interaction are unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings: Herein we used molecular dynamics (MD) analysis to address these issues. Longtimescale simulations of apoD suggest lipid molecules are bound flexibly, with the molecules free to explore multiple conformations in a binding site at the entrance to the classical lipocalin ligand-binding pocket. Models of 5s- 12s- and 15s hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acids were created and the lipids found to wrap around Met93 thus …


Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan Dec 2012

Binding Of The Molecular Chaperone Alphab-Crystallin To Abeta Amyloid Fibrils Inhibits Fibril Elongation, Sarah L. Shammas, Christopher A. Waudby, Shuyu Wang, Alexander K. Buell, Tuomas P. Knowles, Heath W. Ecroyd, Mark E. Welland, John A. Carver, Christopher M. Dobson, Sarah Meehan

Heath Ecroyd

The molecular chaperone αB-crystallin is a small heat-shock protein that is upregulated in response to a multitude of stress stimuli, and is found colocalized with Aβ amyloid fibrils in the extracellular plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. We investigated whether this archetypical small heat-shock protein has the ability to interact with Aβ fibrils in vitro. We find that αB-crystallin binds to wild-type Aβ42 fibrils with micromolar affinity, and also binds to fibrils formed from the E22G Arctic mutation of Aβ42. Immunoelectron microscopy confirms that binding occurs along the entire length and ends of the fibrils. Investigations into the effect …


Nmr Spectroscopy Of 14-3-3zeta Reveals A Flexible C-Terminal Extension: Differentiation Of The Chaperone And Phosphoserine-Binding Activities Of 14-3-3zeta, H Fu, Danielle Williams, Heath Ecroyd, John Carver, Lixin Zhang, Huanqin Dai, Joanna Woodcock, K Goodwin Dec 2012

Nmr Spectroscopy Of 14-3-3zeta Reveals A Flexible C-Terminal Extension: Differentiation Of The Chaperone And Phosphoserine-Binding Activities Of 14-3-3zeta, H Fu, Danielle Williams, Heath Ecroyd, John Carver, Lixin Zhang, Huanqin Dai, Joanna Woodcock, K Goodwin

Heath Ecroyd

Intracellular 14-3-3 proteins bind to many proteins, via a specific phosphoserine motif, regulating diverse cellular tasks including cell signalling and disease progression. The 14-3-3 isoform is a molecular chaperone, preventing the stressinduced aggregation of target proteins in a manner comparable with that of the unrelated sHsps (small heat-shock proteins). 1H-NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of a flexible and unstructured C-terminal extension, 12 amino acids in length, which protrudes from the domain core of 14-3-3 and is similar in structure and length to the C-terminal extension of mammalian sHsps. The extension stabilizes 14-3-3, but has no direct role in chaperone action. …


Enhanced Molecular Chaperone Activity Of The Small Heat-Shock Protein Alphab-Cystallin Following Covalent Immobilization Onto A Solid-Phase Support, V Bellotti, Heath Ecroyd, J Carver, H J Griesser, B Thierry, J G Shapter, S S Griesser, S Giorgetti, M R Nussio, J A Gerrard, J Garvey Dec 2012

Enhanced Molecular Chaperone Activity Of The Small Heat-Shock Protein Alphab-Cystallin Following Covalent Immobilization Onto A Solid-Phase Support, V Bellotti, Heath Ecroyd, J Carver, H J Griesser, B Thierry, J G Shapter, S S Griesser, S Giorgetti, M R Nussio, J A Gerrard, J Garvey

Heath Ecroyd

The well-characterized small heat-shock protein, alphaB-crystallin, acts as a molecular chaperone by interacting with unfolding proteins to prevent their aggregation and precipitation. Structural perturbation (e.g., partial unfolding) enhances the in vitro chaperone activity of alphaB-crystallin. Proteins often undergo structural perturbations at the surface of a synthetic material, which may alter their biological activity. This study investigated the activity of alphaB-crystallin when covalently bound to a support surface; alphaB-crystallin was immobilized onto a range of solid material surfaces, and its characteristics and chaperone activity were assessed. Immobilization was achieved via a plasma-deposited thin polymeric interlayer containing aldehyde surface groups and reductive …