Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
Molecular Simulation Of Rna Conformational Dynamics : An Example Of Micro-Rna Targeting Messenger Rna : Mir-34a-Msirt1, Parisa Ebrahimi
Molecular Simulation Of Rna Conformational Dynamics : An Example Of Micro-Rna Targeting Messenger Rna : Mir-34a-Msirt1, Parisa Ebrahimi
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
MicroRNA (miRNA), as a distinct class of biological regulators and a ”guide” member of non-coding RNA-protein complexes (RNPs), regulates more than 60% of protein-coding genes expression through base-pairing with targeted messenger RNA (mRNA) in the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC). Most of miRNAs identified in human, are conserved in other animals, which have preferentially conserved interaction sites particularly in 3’ untranslated regions (3’UTRs) of many human messenger mRNAs.The capability of a single miRNA to target more than hundreds of mRNAs, suggests that miRNAs influence essentially all developmental process and diseases, which also makes them interesting candidates as therapeutics agents. The primary …
Missense Mutations In The Gamma Crystallins And Mechanisms Of Lens Opacity, Wenjuan Hou
Missense Mutations In The Gamma Crystallins And Mechanisms Of Lens Opacity, Wenjuan Hou
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Cataract, or clouding of the ocular lens, among the most common types of eye diseases, is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. With the opacity or clouding of the lens, light incident on the lens is scattered rather than being transmitted and is thus prevented from focusing on the retina. The lens becomes cataractous due to a large number of reasons, among which aging and genetic mutations are two of the most common factors. Clouding of the center of the lens or nuclear opacity, is the most frequently observed type of age-onset cataract, as well as inherited, congenital cataract [1, …
Development Of Chemical Methods For Oligonucleotide Purification, Paramagnetic Labeling And Synthesis Of Dna-Based Advanced Materials, Muhan He
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This thesis describes a chemical method for alternative oligonucleotide purification that is non-chromatographic and gel-free and allows to routinely synthesize and purify long functional RNA strands. The purification of long RNAs is based on the bio-orthogonal inverse electron demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) chemistry between trans-cyclooctene (TCO) and tetrazine (Tz). Target oligonucleotide strands are selectively tagged with Tz and can be captured and purified from the failure sequences with immobilized TCO. RNA strands are synthesized on solid support through a photolabile linker to avoid the loss of Tz tag. Purity of the isolated oligonucleotides was evaluated using gel electrophoresis, HPLC and mass …
Sers For Protein Detection At A Single Molecule Level For Developing A New Medical Diagnostics Platform, Lamyaa Almehmadi
Sers For Protein Detection At A Single Molecule Level For Developing A New Medical Diagnostics Platform, Lamyaa Almehmadi
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
A two-step process of protein detection at a single molecule level using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) was developed as a new platform for medical diagnostics in this proof-of-concept study. First, a protein molecule was bound to a linker in the bulk solution and then this adduct was chemically reacted with the SERS substrate. Traut’s Reagent (TR) was used to thiolate Bovine serum albumin (BSA) in solution followed by chemical cross linking to a gold surface through a sulfhydryl group. A Glycine-TR adduct was used as a control sample to identify the protein contribution to the SER spectra. Gold SERS …
The Dissemination, Regulatory Role, And Evolution Of Mycobacterial Inteins, Danielle Skye Kelley
The Dissemination, Regulatory Role, And Evolution Of Mycobacterial Inteins, Danielle Skye Kelley
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Inteins are intervening protein elements, capable of coordinating escape from a host protein through a self-catalyzed mechanism, called protein splicing. This results in free intein and a mature host protein product. Inteins are also mobile elements and many contain homing endonucleases that enable the targeting to ectopic sites and invasion of novel niches. Inteins have been found across all three domains of life and are often present in replication, recombination, and repair proteins. However, it is unclear if the observed distribution is simply a factor of endonuclease preference or if inteins have been selectively maintained due to an adaptation that …
Study Of Biologically Important Macromolecules By Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Christopher Michael Demott
Study Of Biologically Important Macromolecules By Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Christopher Michael Demott
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Intrinsically disordered proteins or unstructured segments within proteins play an important role in cellular physiology and pathology. A combination of peptide aptamers selected by using the yeast-two-hybrid scheme, and in-cell NMR identified high affinity binders to a transiently structured intrinsically disordered proteins (IDP). This method was validated using the prokaryotic ubiquitin-like protein, Pup, of the Mycobacterium proteasome. We discover two peptide aptamers that bind to opposite sites of a transient helix in Pup, an intrinsically disordered protein, that have vastly different effects on the survival of Mycobacterium bovis BCG.
A Survey Of The Current Drug Screening Techniques To Obtain Rational Design And Study Drug-Target Interactions, Stephen Dansereau
A Survey Of The Current Drug Screening Techniques To Obtain Rational Design And Study Drug-Target Interactions, Stephen Dansereau
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Different techniques have been developed over the years for the purpose of studying proteins and understanding their functions. Early techniques typically employed bioluminescence or fluorescence such such as the firefly protein luciferase and the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP), respectively, to localize proteins within the cell. X-ray crystallography has also provided valuable structural details of many different proteins in vitro. Yet, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy offers the most realistic insight into proteins' physiologic structures and how proteins function in their native, cellular environments.
Novel Nmr Based Technologies To Study Macromolecular Structures, Subhabrata Majumder
Novel Nmr Based Technologies To Study Macromolecular Structures, Subhabrata Majumder
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) is one of the principle tools in structural biology to probe macromolecular structures and interactions. The atomic resolution afforded by this technique has been widely used to probe protein-protein, and protein-ligand interactions in-vitro. However, the natural milieu of the proteins is the living cell and the cellular cytoplasm is extremely heterogeneous. The NMR studies of folded protein in-cell, till now, have been limited by non-specific interactions of the cytosol. This thesis outlays a general methodology to study protein structure/interactions inside the living cells using NMR. In a closely related objective, it also describes the use …
New Tools To Study Amyloid Fibrils And Intrinsically Disordered Proteins In Vitro And In Vivo, Jacqueline D. Washington
New Tools To Study Amyloid Fibrils And Intrinsically Disordered Proteins In Vitro And In Vivo, Jacqueline D. Washington
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Amyloid fibrils are β-sheet-rich protein aggregates commonly found in the organs and tissues of patients with various amyloid-associated diseases. The structure of insulin fibrils was characterized by deep ultraviolet resonance Raman and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy combined with hydrogen-deuterium exchange. Our new approach of combining NMR and Raman spectroscopy with molecular dynamic simulations for characterizing amyloid fibrils provided exclusive knowledge about fibril structure at amino acid residue resolution.
Protein Structures Under Physiological Conditions, Karl Michael Bertrand
Protein Structures Under Physiological Conditions, Karl Michael Bertrand
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
My research focused on the evaluation of protein structures and protein dynamics inside eukaryotic cells under physiological conditions. The primary analyses of my research involved the use of in-cell Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy using Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence experiments. This allowed me to visualize protein structures at an atomic resolution level, as well as, study the interactions of these proteins with small molecules.
Structural Interactions And Dynamics Of Disease Related Proteins By Using Nmr Spectroscopy, Shadakshara Swamy Puttamadappa
Structural Interactions And Dynamics Of Disease Related Proteins By Using Nmr Spectroscopy, Shadakshara Swamy Puttamadappa
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful spectroscopic technique to study the structure, molecular interactions, and dynamics of proteins. Modern NMR instrumentation, advancements in experimental techniques and revolutionary developments in recombinant DNA technology have made NMR a versatile and very convenient tool for biomolecule characterization.
Elucidating The Structure Of Protein Aggregates By Raman Spectroscopy, Ludmila A. Popova
Elucidating The Structure Of Protein Aggregates By Raman Spectroscopy, Ludmila A. Popova
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The structures and properties of amyloid fibrils are of considerable interest due to their associations with numerous neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopaties (prion diseases). Understanding fibrillogenesis at a molecular level requires detailed structural characterization of amyloid fibrils. However amyloid fibrils are difficult objects to study due to their non-crystalline and insoluble nature. These properties make the application of classical tools of structural biology, such as X-Ray crystallography and solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, impractical for structural characterization of protein fibrils.