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Myxobacteria Versus Sponge-Derived Alkaloids: The Bengamide Family Identified As Potent Immune Modulating Agents By Scrutiny Of Lc-Ms/Elsd Libraries., Tyler A. Johnson, Johann Sohn, Yvette M Vaske, Kimberly N White, Tanya L Cohen, Helene C Vervoort, Karen Tenney, Frederick A Valeriote, Leonard F Bjeldanes, Phillip Crews Feb 2019

Myxobacteria Versus Sponge-Derived Alkaloids: The Bengamide Family Identified As Potent Immune Modulating Agents By Scrutiny Of Lc-Ms/Elsd Libraries., Tyler A. Johnson, Johann Sohn, Yvette M Vaske, Kimberly N White, Tanya L Cohen, Helene C Vervoort, Karen Tenney, Frederick A Valeriote, Leonard F Bjeldanes, Phillip Crews

Tyler Johnson

A nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) luciferase assay has been employed to identify the bengamides, previously known for their anti-tumor activity, as a new class of immune modulators. A unique element of this study was that the bengamide analogs were isolated from two disparate sources, Myxococcus virescens (bacterium) and Jaspis coriacea (sponge). Comparative LC-MS/ELSD and NMR analysis facilitated the isolation of M. viriscens derived samples of bengamide E (8) and two congeners, bengamide E' (13) and F' (14) each isolated as an insperable mixture of diastereomers. Additional compounds drawn from the UC, Santa Cruz repository allowed expansion of the structure activity relationship …


The Marine Sponge Metabolite Mycothiazole: A Novel Prototype Mitochondrial Complex I Inhibitor., J Brian Morgan, Fakhri Mahdi, Yang Liu, Veena Coothankandaswamy, Mika B Jekabsons, Tyler A. Johnson, Koneni V Sashidhara, Phillip Crews, Dale G Nagle, Yu-Dong Zhou Feb 2019

The Marine Sponge Metabolite Mycothiazole: A Novel Prototype Mitochondrial Complex I Inhibitor., J Brian Morgan, Fakhri Mahdi, Yang Liu, Veena Coothankandaswamy, Mika B Jekabsons, Tyler A. Johnson, Koneni V Sashidhara, Phillip Crews, Dale G Nagle, Yu-Dong Zhou

Tyler Johnson

A natural product chemistry-based approach was applied to discover small-molecule inhibitors of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). A Petrosaspongia mycofijiensis marine sponge extract yielded mycothiazole (1), a solid tumor selective compound with no known mechanism for its cell line-dependent cytotoxic activity. Compound 1 inhibited hypoxic HIF-1 signaling in tumor cells (IC(50) 1nM) that correlated with the suppression of hypoxia-stimulated tumor angiogenesis in vitro. However, 1 exhibited pronounced neurotoxicity in vitro. Mechanistic studies revealed that 1 selectively suppresses mitochondrial respiration at complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase). Unlike rotenone, MPP(+), annonaceous acetogenins, piericidin A, and other complex I inhibitors, mycothiazole is a mixed polyketide/peptide-derived compound …


Chemically Diverse Microtubule Stabilizing Agents Initiate Distinct Mitotic Defects And Dysregulated Expression Of Key Mitotic Kinases., Cristina C Rohena, Jiangnan Peng, Tyler A. Johnson, Phillip Crews, Susan L Mooberry Feb 2019

Chemically Diverse Microtubule Stabilizing Agents Initiate Distinct Mitotic Defects And Dysregulated Expression Of Key Mitotic Kinases., Cristina C Rohena, Jiangnan Peng, Tyler A. Johnson, Phillip Crews, Susan L Mooberry

Tyler Johnson

Microtubule stabilizers are some of the most successful drugs used in the treatment of adult solid tumors and yet the molecular events responsible for their antimitotic actions are not well defined. The mitotic events initiated by three structurally and biologically diverse microtubule stabilizers; taccalonolide AJ, laulimalide/fijianolide B and paclitaxel were studied. These microtubule stabilizers cause the formation of aberrant, but structurally distinct mitotic spindles leading to the hypothesis that they differentially affect mitotic signaling. Each microtubule stabilizer initiated different patterns of expression of key mitotic signaling proteins. Taccalonolide AJ causes centrosome separation and disjunction failure to a much greater extent …


Discovery Of Platelet-Type 12-Human Lipoxygenase Selective Inhibitors By High-Throughput Screening Of Structurally Diverse Libraries., Joshua D. Deschamps, Jeffrey T. Gautschi, Stephanie Whitman, Tyler A. Johnson, Nadine C. Gassner, Phillip Crews, Theodore R. Holman Feb 2019

Discovery Of Platelet-Type 12-Human Lipoxygenase Selective Inhibitors By High-Throughput Screening Of Structurally Diverse Libraries., Joshua D. Deschamps, Jeffrey T. Gautschi, Stephanie Whitman, Tyler A. Johnson, Nadine C. Gassner, Phillip Crews, Theodore R. Holman

Tyler Johnson

Human lipoxygenases (hLO) have been implicated in a variety of diseases and cancers and each hLO isozyme appears to have distinct roles in cellular biology. This fact emphasizes the need for discovering selective hLO inhibitors for both understanding the role of specific lipoxygenases in the cell and developing pharmaceutical therapeutics. To this end, we have modified a known lipoxygenase assay for high-throughput (HTP) screening of both the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the UC Santa Cruz marine extract library (UCSC-MEL) in search of platelet-type 12-hLO (12-hLO) selective inhibitors. The HTP screen led to the characterization of five novel 12-hLO inhibitors …


Genetic And Acute Cpeb1 Depletion Ameliorate Fragile X Pathophysiology, Tsuyoshi Udagawa, Natalie Farny, Mira Jakovcevski, Hanoch Kaphzan, Juan Alarcon, Shobha Anilkumar, Maria Ivshina, Jessica Hurt, Kentaro Nagaoka, Vijayalaxmi Nalavadi, Lori Lorenz, Gary Bassell, Schahram Akbarian, Sumantra Chattarji, Eric Klann, Joel Richter Dec 2015

Genetic And Acute Cpeb1 Depletion Ameliorate Fragile X Pathophysiology, Tsuyoshi Udagawa, Natalie Farny, Mira Jakovcevski, Hanoch Kaphzan, Juan Alarcon, Shobha Anilkumar, Maria Ivshina, Jessica Hurt, Kentaro Nagaoka, Vijayalaxmi Nalavadi, Lori Lorenz, Gary Bassell, Schahram Akbarian, Sumantra Chattarji, Eric Klann, Joel Richter

Natalie G. Farny

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of inherited mental retardation and autism, is caused by transcriptional silencing of FMR1, which encodes the translational repressor fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein (CPEB), an activator of translation, are present in neuronal dendrites, are predicted to bind many of the same mRNAs and may mediate a translational homeostasis that, when imbalanced, results in FXS. Consistent with this possibility, Fmr1(-/y); Cpeb1(-/-) double-knockout mice displayed amelioration of biochemical, morphological, electrophysiological and behavioral phenotypes associated with FXS. Acute depletion of CPEB1 in the hippocampus of adult Fmr1(-/y) mice …


A Conserved Three-Nucleotide Core Motif Defines Musashi Rna Binding Specificity, Nancy Zearfoss, Laura Deveau, Carina Clingman, Eric Schmidt, Emily Johnson, Francesca Massi, Sean Ryder Sep 2015

A Conserved Three-Nucleotide Core Motif Defines Musashi Rna Binding Specificity, Nancy Zearfoss, Laura Deveau, Carina Clingman, Eric Schmidt, Emily Johnson, Francesca Massi, Sean Ryder

Sean P. Ryder

Musashi (MSI) family proteins control cell proliferation and differentiation in many biological systems. They are overexpressed in tumors of several origins, and their expression level correlates with poor prognosis. MSI proteins control gene expression by binding RNA and regulating its translation. They contain two RNA recognition motif (RRM) domains, which recognize a defined sequence element. The relative contribution of each nucleotide to the binding affinity and specificity is unknown. We analyzed the binding specificity of three MSI family RRM domains using a quantitative fluorescence anisotropy assay. We found that the core element driving recognition is the sequence UAG. Nucleotides outside …


Crosstalk Between Brca-Fanconi Anemia And Mismatch Repair Pathways Prevents Msh2-Dependent Aberrant Dna Damage Responses, Min Peng, Jenny X. Xie, Anna J. Ucher, Janet Stavnezer, Sharon B. Cantor Aug 2015

Crosstalk Between Brca-Fanconi Anemia And Mismatch Repair Pathways Prevents Msh2-Dependent Aberrant Dna Damage Responses, Min Peng, Jenny X. Xie, Anna J. Ucher, Janet Stavnezer, Sharon B. Cantor

Janet M. Stavnezer

Several proteins in the BRCA-Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, such as FANCJ, BRCA1, and FANCD2, interact with mismatch repair (MMR) pathway factors, but the significance of this link remains unknown. Unlike the BRCA-FA pathway, the MMR pathway is not essential for cells to survive toxic DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs), although MMR proteins bind ICLs and other DNA structures that form at stalled replication forks. We hypothesized that MMR proteins corrupt ICL repair in cells that lack crosstalk between BRCA-FA and MMR pathways. Here, we show that ICL sensitivity of cells lacking the interaction between FANCJ and the MMR protein MLH1 is …


A Computational Analysis Of The Structural Determinants Of Apobec3'S Catalytic Activity And Vulnerability To Hiv-1 Vif, Shivender Shandilya, Markus-Frederik Bohn, Celia Schiffer Jun 2015

A Computational Analysis Of The Structural Determinants Of Apobec3'S Catalytic Activity And Vulnerability To Hiv-1 Vif, Shivender Shandilya, Markus-Frederik Bohn, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

APOBEC3s (A3) are Zn(2+) dependent cytidine deaminases with diverse biological functions and implications for cancer and immunity. Four of the seven human A3s restrict HIV by 'hypermutating' the reverse-transcribed viral genomic DNA. HIV Virion Infectivity Factor (Vif) counters this restriction by targeting A3s to proteasomal degradation. However, there is no apparent correlation between catalytic activity, Vif binding, and sequence similarity between A3 domains. Our comparative structural analysis reveals features required for binding Vif and features influencing polynucleotide deaminase activity in A3 proteins. All Vif-binding A3s share a negatively charged surface region that includes residues previously implicated in binding the highly-positively …


A Laminin 511 Matrix Is Regulated By Taz And Functions As The Ligand For The Alpha6bbeta1 Integrin To Sustain Breast Cancer Stem Cells, Cheng Chang, Hira Lal Goel, Huijie Gao, Bryan M. Pursell, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Sulev Ingerpuu, Manuel Patarroyo, Shiliang Cao, Elgene Lim, Junhao Mao, Karen Kulju. Mckee, Peter D. Yurchenco, Arthur M. Mercurio May 2015

A Laminin 511 Matrix Is Regulated By Taz And Functions As The Ligand For The Alpha6bbeta1 Integrin To Sustain Breast Cancer Stem Cells, Cheng Chang, Hira Lal Goel, Huijie Gao, Bryan M. Pursell, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Sulev Ingerpuu, Manuel Patarroyo, Shiliang Cao, Elgene Lim, Junhao Mao, Karen Kulju. Mckee, Peter D. Yurchenco, Arthur M. Mercurio

Arthur M. Mercurio

Understanding how the extracellular matrix impacts the function of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a significant but poorly understood problem. We report that breast CSCs produce a laminin (LM) 511 matrix that promotes self-renewal and tumor initiation by engaging the alpha6Bbeta1 integrin and activating the Hippo transducer TAZ. Although TAZ is important for the function of breast CSCs, the mechanism is unknown. We observed that TAZ regulates the transcription of the alpha5 subunit of LM511 and the formation of a LM511 matrix. These data establish a positive feedback loop involving TAZ and LM511 that contributes to stemness in breast cancer.


Quaking Regulates Hnrnpa1 Expression Through Its 3' Utr In Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells, Nancy Zearfoss, Carina Clingman, Brian Farley, Lisa Mccoig, Sean Ryder May 2015

Quaking Regulates Hnrnpa1 Expression Through Its 3' Utr In Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells, Nancy Zearfoss, Carina Clingman, Brian Farley, Lisa Mccoig, Sean Ryder

Sean P. Ryder

In mice, Quaking (Qk) is required for myelin formation; in humans, it has been associated with psychiatric disease. QK regulates the stability, subcellular localization, and alternative splicing of several myelin-related transcripts, yet little is known about how QK governs these activities. Here, we show that QK enhances Hnrnpa1 mRNA stability by binding a conserved 3' UTR sequence with high affinity and specificity. A single nucleotide mutation in the binding site eliminates QK-dependent regulation, as does reduction of QK by RNAi. Analysis of exon expression across the transcriptome reveals that QK and hnRNP A1 regulate an overlapping subset of transcripts. Thus, …


Structure And Function Of Nematode Rna-Binding Proteins, Ebru Kaymak, Liangmeng Wee, Sean Ryder May 2015

Structure And Function Of Nematode Rna-Binding Proteins, Ebru Kaymak, Liangmeng Wee, Sean Ryder

Sean P. Ryder

RNA-binding proteins are critical effectors of gene expression. They guide mRNA localization, translation, and stability, and potentially play a role in regulating mRNA synthesis. The structural basis for RNA recognition by RNA-binding proteins is the key to understand how they target specific transcripts for regulation. Compared to other metazoans, nematode genomes contain a significant expansion in several RNA-binding protein families, including Pumilio-FBF (PUF), TTP-like zinc finger (TZF), and Argonaute-like (AGO) proteins. Genetic data suggest that individual members of each family have distinct functions, presumably due to sequence variations that alter RNA-binding specificity or protein interaction partners. In this review, we …


Argonaute Protein Identity And Pairing Geometry Determine Cooperativity In Mammalian Rna Silencing, Jennifer Broderick, William Salomon, Sean Ryder, Neil Aronin, Phillip Zamore May 2015

Argonaute Protein Identity And Pairing Geometry Determine Cooperativity In Mammalian Rna Silencing, Jennifer Broderick, William Salomon, Sean Ryder, Neil Aronin, Phillip Zamore

Sean P. Ryder

Small RNAs loaded into Argonaute proteins direct silencing of complementary target mRNAs. It has been proposed that multiple, imperfectly complementary small interfering RNAs or microRNAs, when bound to the 3' untranslated region of a target mRNA, function cooperatively to silence target expression. We report that, in cultured human HeLa cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, Argonaute1 (Ago1), Ago3, and Ago4 act cooperatively to silence both perfectly and partially complementary target RNAs bearing multiple small RNA-binding sites. Our data suggest that for Ago1, Ago3, and Ago4, multiple, adjacent small RNA-binding sites facilitate cooperative interactions that stabilize Argonaute binding. In contrast, small RNAs …


Nonenzymatic Glycosylation Of Erythrocyte Membrane Proteins. Relevance To Diabetes, J A. Miller, Ellen M. Gravallese, H F. Bunn Apr 2015

Nonenzymatic Glycosylation Of Erythrocyte Membrane Proteins. Relevance To Diabetes, J A. Miller, Ellen M. Gravallese, H F. Bunn

Ellen M. Gravallese

Nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins of the erythrocyte membrane was determined by incubating erythrocyte ghosts with [3H]borohydride. The incorporation of tritium into protein provides a reliable assay of ketoamine linkages. The membrane proteins from 18 patients with diabetes incorporated twice as much radioactivity as membrane proteins from normal erythrocytes. After acid hydrolysis, amino acid analysis showed that the majority of radioactivity was localized to glucosyllysine. Autoradiograms showed that all of the major proteins of the erythrocyte membrane, separated by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels, contained ketoamine linkages. No protein bands in either normal or diabetic erythrocytes showed significant preferential labeling. …


A Sensitive Assay Using A Native Protein Substrate For Screening Hiv-1 Maturation Inhibitors Targeting The Protease Cleavage Site Between The Matrix And Capsid, Sook-Kyung Lee, Nancy Cheng, Emily Hull-Ryde, Marc Potempa, Celia Schiffer, William Janzen, Ronald Swanstrom Jan 2015

A Sensitive Assay Using A Native Protein Substrate For Screening Hiv-1 Maturation Inhibitors Targeting The Protease Cleavage Site Between The Matrix And Capsid, Sook-Kyung Lee, Nancy Cheng, Emily Hull-Ryde, Marc Potempa, Celia Schiffer, William Janzen, Ronald Swanstrom

Celia A. Schiffer

The matrix/capsid processing site in the HIV-1 Gag precursor is likely the most sensitive target to inhibit HIV-1 replication. We have previously shown that modest incomplete processing at the site leads to a complete loss of virion infectivity. In the study presented here, a sensitive assay based on fluorescence polarization that can monitor cleavage at the MA/CA site in the context of the folded protein substrate is described. The substrate, an MA/CA fusion protein, was labeled with the fluorescein-based FlAsH (fluorescein arsenical hairpin) reagent that binds to a tetracysteine motif (CCGPCC) that was introduced within the N-terminal domain of CA. …


Crystal Structures Of Human Ctbp In Complex With Substrate Mtob Reveal Active Site Features Useful For Inhibitor Design, Brendan Hilbert, Steven Grossman, Celia Schiffer, William Royer Jan 2015

Crystal Structures Of Human Ctbp In Complex With Substrate Mtob Reveal Active Site Features Useful For Inhibitor Design, Brendan Hilbert, Steven Grossman, Celia Schiffer, William Royer

Celia A. Schiffer

The oncogenic corepressors C-terminal Binding Protein (CtBP) 1 and 2 harbor regulatory d-isomer specific 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase (d2-HDH) domains. 4-Methylthio 2-oxobutyric acid (MTOB) exhibits substrate inhibition and can interfere with CtBP oncogenic activity in cell culture and mice. Crystal structures of human CtBP1 and CtBP2 in complex with MTOB and NAD(+) revealed two key features: a conserved tryptophan that likely contributes to substrate specificity and a hydrophilic cavity that links MTOB with an NAD(+) phosphate. Neither feature is present in other d2-HDH enzymes. These structures thus offer key opportunities for the development of highly selective anti-neoplastic CtBP inhibitors. Elsevier B.V. All …


Interview With Celia Schiffer, Celia Schiffer Jan 2015

Interview With Celia Schiffer, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

Celia Schiffer, a Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology; a former Director of UMass Center for AIDS Research; and a Founder and Co-Director for the Institute for Drug Resistance (University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA, USA). Schiffer has an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Chicago, with a PhD in biophysics from University of California, San Francisco (CA, USA). She was a postdoctoral associate first at the ETH in Zurich and then at Genentech in San Francisco. Schiffer has published more than 100 peer reviewed journal articles. Her laboratory primarily uses structural biology, biophysical and chemistry techniques to …


Substrate Envelope-Designed Potent Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors To Avoid Drug Resistance, Madhavi Nalam, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hong Cao, Saima Anjum, Michael Altman, Nese Yilmaz, Bruce Tidor, Tariq Rana, Celia Schiffer Jan 2015

Substrate Envelope-Designed Potent Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors To Avoid Drug Resistance, Madhavi Nalam, Akbar Ali, G. S. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hong Cao, Saima Anjum, Michael Altman, Nese Yilmaz, Bruce Tidor, Tariq Rana, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

The rapid evolution of HIV under selective drug pressure has led to multidrug resistant (MDR) strains that evade standard therapies. We designed highly potent HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) using the substrate envelope model, which confines inhibitors within the consensus volume of natural substrates, providing inhibitors less susceptible to resistance because a mutation affecting such inhibitors will simultaneously affect viral substrate processing. The designed PIs share a common chemical scaffold but utilize various moieties that optimally fill the substrate envelope, as confirmed by crystal structures. The designed PIs retain robust binding to MDR protease variants and display exceptional antiviral potencies against …


Nuclear Transport Of Single Molecules: Dwell Times At The Nuclear Pore Complex, Ulrich Kubitscheck, David Grunwald, Andreas Hoekstra, Daniel Rohleder, Thorsten Kues, Jan Peter Siebrasse, Reiner Peters Nov 2014

Nuclear Transport Of Single Molecules: Dwell Times At The Nuclear Pore Complex, Ulrich Kubitscheck, David Grunwald, Andreas Hoekstra, Daniel Rohleder, Thorsten Kues, Jan Peter Siebrasse, Reiner Peters

David Grünwald

The mechanism by which macromolecules are selectively translocated through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) is still essentially unresolved. Single molecule methods can provide unique information on topographic properties and kinetic processes of asynchronous supramolecular assemblies with excellent spatial and time resolution. Here, single-molecule far-field fluorescence microscopy was applied to the NPC of permeabilized cells. The nucleoporin Nup358 could be localized at a distance of 70 nm from POM121-GFP along the NPC axis. Binding sites of NTF2, the transport receptor of RanGDP, were observed in cytoplasmic filaments and central framework, but not nucleoplasmic filaments of the NPC. The dwell times of …


Intranuclear Binding Kinetics And Mobility Of Single Native U1 Snrnp Particles In Living Cells, David Grunwald, Beatrice Spottke, Volker Buschmann, Ulrich Kubitscheck Nov 2014

Intranuclear Binding Kinetics And Mobility Of Single Native U1 Snrnp Particles In Living Cells, David Grunwald, Beatrice Spottke, Volker Buschmann, Ulrich Kubitscheck

David Grünwald

Uridine-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (U snRNPs) are splicing factors, which are diffusely distributed in the nucleoplasm and also concentrated in nuclear speckles. Fluorescently labeled, native U1 snRNPs were microinjected into the cytoplasm of living HeLa cells. After nuclear import single U1 snRNPs could be visualized and tracked at a spatial precision of 30 nm at a frame rate of 200 Hz employing a custom-built microscope with single-molecule sensitivity. The single-particle tracks revealed that most U1 snRNPs were bound to specific intranuclear sites, many of those presumably representing pre-mRNA splicing sites. The dissociation kinetics from these sites showed a multiexponential decay …


Conversion Of Red Fluorescent Protein Into A Bright Blue Probe, Oksana M. Subach, Illia S. Gundorov, Masami Yoshimura, Fedor V. Subach, Jinghang Zhang, David Grunwald, Ekaterina A. Souslova, Dmitriy M. Chudakov, Vladislav V. Verkhusha Nov 2014

Conversion Of Red Fluorescent Protein Into A Bright Blue Probe, Oksana M. Subach, Illia S. Gundorov, Masami Yoshimura, Fedor V. Subach, Jinghang Zhang, David Grunwald, Ekaterina A. Souslova, Dmitriy M. Chudakov, Vladislav V. Verkhusha

David Grünwald

We used a red chromophore formation pathway, in which the anionic red chromophore is formed from the neutral blue intermediate, to suggest a rational design strategy to develop blue fluorescent proteins with a tyrosine-based chromophore. The strategy was applied to red fluorescent proteins of the different genetic backgrounds, such as TagRFP, mCherry, HcRed1, M355NA, and mKeima, which all were converted into blue probes. Further improvement of the blue variant of TagRFP by random mutagenesis resulted in an enhanced monomeric protein, mTagBFP, characterized by the substantially higher brightness, the faster chromophore maturation, and the higher pH stability than blue fluorescent proteins …


Autonomy And Robustness Of Translocation Through The Nuclear Pore Complex: A Single-Molecule Study, Thomas Dange, David Grunwald, Antje Grunwald, Reiner Peters, Ulrich Kubitscheck Nov 2014

Autonomy And Robustness Of Translocation Through The Nuclear Pore Complex: A Single-Molecule Study, Thomas Dange, David Grunwald, Antje Grunwald, Reiner Peters, Ulrich Kubitscheck

David Grünwald

All molecular traffic between nucleus and cytoplasm occurs via the nuclear pore complex (NPC) within the nuclear envelope. In this study we analyzed the interactions of the nuclear transport receptors kapalpha2, kapbeta1, kapbeta1DeltaN44, and kapbeta2, and the model transport substrate, BSA-NLS, with NPCs to determine binding sites and kinetics using single-molecule microscopy in living cells. Recombinant transport receptors and BSA-NLS were fluorescently labeled by AlexaFluor 488, and microinjected into the cytoplasm of living HeLa cells expressing POM121-GFP as a nuclear pore marker. After bleaching the dominant GFP fluorescence the interactions of the microinjected molecules could be studied using video microscopy …


Nuclear Pore Component Nup98 Is A Potential Tumor Suppressor And Regulates Posttranscriptional Expression Of Select P53 Target Genes, Stephan Singer, Ruiying Zhao, Anthony M. Barsotti, Anette Ouwehand, Mina Fazollahi, Elias Coutavas, Kai Breuhahn, Olaf Neumann, Thomas Longerich, Tobias Pusterla, Maureen A. Powers, Keith M. Giles, Peter J. Leedman, Jochen Hess, David Grunwald, Harmen J. Bussemaker, Robert H. Singer, Peter Schirmacher, Carol Prives Nov 2014

Nuclear Pore Component Nup98 Is A Potential Tumor Suppressor And Regulates Posttranscriptional Expression Of Select P53 Target Genes, Stephan Singer, Ruiying Zhao, Anthony M. Barsotti, Anette Ouwehand, Mina Fazollahi, Elias Coutavas, Kai Breuhahn, Olaf Neumann, Thomas Longerich, Tobias Pusterla, Maureen A. Powers, Keith M. Giles, Peter J. Leedman, Jochen Hess, David Grunwald, Harmen J. Bussemaker, Robert H. Singer, Peter Schirmacher, Carol Prives

David Grünwald

The p53 tumor suppressor utilizes multiple mechanisms to selectively regulate its myriad target genes, which in turn mediate diverse cellular processes. Here, using conventional and single-molecule mRNA analyses, we demonstrate that the nucleoporin Nup98 is required for full expression of p21, a key effector of the p53 pathway, but not several other p53 target genes. Nup98 regulates p21 mRNA levels by a posttranscriptional mechanism in which a complex containing Nup98 and the p21 mRNA 3'UTR protects p21 mRNA from degradation by the exosome. An in silico approach revealed another p53 target (14-3-3sigma) to be similarly regulated by Nup98. The expression …


Structural And Thermodynamic Basis Of Amprenavir/Darunavir And Atazanavir Resistance In Hiv-1 Protease With Mutations At Residue 50, Seema Mittal, Rajintha Bandaranayake, Nancy King, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Madhavi Nalam, Ellen Nalivaika, Nese Yilmaz, Celia Schiffer Jul 2013

Structural And Thermodynamic Basis Of Amprenavir/Darunavir And Atazanavir Resistance In Hiv-1 Protease With Mutations At Residue 50, Seema Mittal, Rajintha Bandaranayake, Nancy King, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Madhavi Nalam, Ellen Nalivaika, Nese Yilmaz, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

Drug resistance occurs through a series of subtle changes that maintain substrate recognition but no longer permit inhibitor binding. In HIV-1 protease, mutations at I50 are associated with such subtle changes that confer differential resistance to specific inhibitors. Residue I50 is located at the protease flap tips, closing the active site upon ligand binding. Under selective drug pressure, I50V/L substitutions emerge in patients, compromising drug susceptibility and leading to treatment failure. The I50V substitution is often associated with amprenavir (APV) and darunavir (DRV) resistance, while the I50L substitution is observed in patients failing atazanavir (ATV) therapy. To explain how APV, …


Advanced Molecular Biologic Techniques In Toxicologic Disease, Jeanine Ward, Gyongyi Szabo, David Mcmanus, Edward Boyer Oct 2012

Advanced Molecular Biologic Techniques In Toxicologic Disease, Jeanine Ward, Gyongyi Szabo, David Mcmanus, Edward Boyer

Gyongyi Szabo

The advancement of molecular biologic techniques and their capabilities to answer questions pertaining to mechanisms of pathophysiologic events have greatly expanded over the past few years. In particular, these opportunities have provided researchers and clinicians alike the framework from with which to answer clinical questions not amenable for elucidation using previous, more antiquated methods. Utilizing extremely small molecules, namely microRNA, DNA, protein, and nanoparticles, we discuss the background and utility of these approaches to the progressive, practicing physician. Finally, we consider the application of these tools employed as future bedside point of care tests, aiding in the ultimate goal of …


Decomposing The Energetic Impact Of Drug-Resistant Mutations: The Example Of Hiv-1 Protease-Drv Binding, Yufeng Cai, Celia Schiffer Oct 2012

Decomposing The Energetic Impact Of Drug-Resistant Mutations: The Example Of Hiv-1 Protease-Drv Binding, Yufeng Cai, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

HIV-1 protease is a major drug target for AIDS therapy. With the appearance of drug-resistant HIV-1 protease variants, understanding the mechanism of drug resistance becomes critical for rational drug design. Computational methods can provide more details about inhibitor-protease binding than crystallography and isothermal titration calorimetry. The latest FDA-approved HIV-1 protease inhibitor is Darunavir (DRV). Herein, each DRV atom is evaluated by free energy component analysis for its contribution to the binding affinity with wild-type protease and ACT, a drug-resistant variant. This information can contribute to the rational design of new HIV-1 protease inhibitors.


Crystal Structure Of Human Thymidylate Synthase: A Structural Mechanism For Guiding Substrates Into The Active Site, Celia Schiffer, Ian Clifton, V. Jo Davisson, Daniel Santi, Robert Stroud Nov 2011

Crystal Structure Of Human Thymidylate Synthase: A Structural Mechanism For Guiding Substrates Into The Active Site, Celia Schiffer, Ian Clifton, V. Jo Davisson, Daniel Santi, Robert Stroud

Celia A. Schiffer

The crystal structure of human thymidylate synthase, a target for anti-cancer drugs, is determined to 3.0 A resolution and refined to a crystallographic residual of 17.8%. The structure implicates the enzyme in a mechanism for facilitating the docking of substrates into the active site. This mechanism involves a twist of approximately 180 degrees of the active site loop, pivoted around the neighboring residues 184 and 204, and implicates ordering of external, eukaryote specific loops along with the well-characterized closure of the active site upon substrate binding. The highly conserved, but eukaryote-specific insertion of twelve residues 90-101 (h117-128), and of eight …


Molecular Basis For Drug Resistance In Hiv-1 Protease, Akbar Ali, Rajintha M. Bandaranayake, Yufeng Cai, Nancy M. King, Madhavi Kolli, Seema Mittal, Jennifer E. Foulkes-Murzycki, Madhavi N. L. Nalam, Ellen A. Nalivaika, Aysegul Ozen, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Kelly Thayer, Celia A. Schiffer Nov 2011

Molecular Basis For Drug Resistance In Hiv-1 Protease, Akbar Ali, Rajintha M. Bandaranayake, Yufeng Cai, Nancy M. King, Madhavi Kolli, Seema Mittal, Jennifer E. Foulkes-Murzycki, Madhavi N. L. Nalam, Ellen A. Nalivaika, Aysegul Ozen, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Kelly Thayer, Celia A. Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

HIV-1 protease is one of the major antiviral targets in the treatment of patients infected with HIV-1. The nine FDA approved HIV-1 protease inhibitors were developed with extensive use of structure-based drug design, thus the atomic details of how the inhibitors bind are well characterized. From this structural understanding the molecular basis for drug resistance in HIV-1 protease can be elucidated. Selected mutations in response to therapy and diversity between clades in HIV-1 protease have altered the shape of the active site, potentially altered the dynamics and even altered the sequence of the cleavage sites in the Gag polyprotein. All …


Association Of A Novel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protease Substrate Cleft Mutation, L23i, With Protease Inhibitor Therapy And In Vitro Drug Resistance, Elizabeth Johnston, Mark Winters, Soo-Yon Rhee, Thomas Merigan, Celia Schiffer, Robert Shafer Nov 2011

Association Of A Novel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protease Substrate Cleft Mutation, L23i, With Protease Inhibitor Therapy And In Vitro Drug Resistance, Elizabeth Johnston, Mark Winters, Soo-Yon Rhee, Thomas Merigan, Celia Schiffer, Robert Shafer

Celia A. Schiffer

We observed a previously uncharacterized mutation in the protease substrate cleft, L23I, in 31 of 4,303 persons undergoing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 genotypic resistance testing. In combination with V82I, L23I was associated with a sevenfold reduction in nelfinavir susceptibility and a decrease in replication capacity. In combination with other drug resistance mutations, L23I was associated with multidrug resistance and a compensatory increase in replication capacity.


Co-Evolution Of Nelfinavir-Resistant Hiv-1 Protease And The P1-P6 Substrate, Madhavi Kolli, Stephane Lastere, Celia Schiffer Nov 2011

Co-Evolution Of Nelfinavir-Resistant Hiv-1 Protease And The P1-P6 Substrate, Madhavi Kolli, Stephane Lastere, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

The selective pressure of the competitive protease inhibitors causes both HIV-1 protease and occasionally its substrates to evolve drug resistance. We hypothesize that this occurs particularly in substrates that protrude beyond the substrate envelope and contact residues that mutate in response to a particular protease inhibitor. To validate this hypothesis, we analyzed substrate and protease sequences for covariation. Using the chi2 test, we show a positive correlation between the nelfinavir-resistant D30N/N88D protease mutations and mutations at the p1-p6 cleavage site as compared to the other cleavage sites. Both nelfinavir and the substrate p1-p6 protrude beyond the substrate envelope and contact …


Substrate Shape Determines Specificity Of Recognition For Hiv-1 Protease: Analysis Of Crystal Structures Of Six Substrate Complexes, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Ellen Nalivaika, Celia Schiffer Nov 2011

Substrate Shape Determines Specificity Of Recognition For Hiv-1 Protease: Analysis Of Crystal Structures Of Six Substrate Complexes, Moses Prabu-Jeyabalan, Ellen Nalivaika, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

The homodimeric HIV-1 protease is the target of some of the most effective antiviral AIDS therapy, as it facilitates viral maturation by cleaving ten asymmetric and nonhomologous sequences in the Gag and Pol polyproteins. Since the specificity of this enzyme is not easily determined from the sequences of these cleavage sites alone, we solved the crystal structures of complexes of an inactive variant (D25N) of HIV-1 protease with six peptides that correspond to the natural substrate cleavage sites. When the protease binds to its substrate and buries nearly 1000 A2 of surface area, the symmetry of the protease is broken, …