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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Characterization Of The Catalytic Ck2 Subunits With Substitutions At Residues Involved In Inhibitor Binding, Paul Desormeaux
Characterization Of The Catalytic Ck2 Subunits With Substitutions At Residues Involved In Inhibitor Binding, Paul Desormeaux
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
CK2 is a constitutively active, ubiquitously expressed and pleiotropic serine/threonine protein kinase that is implicated in many cellular functions including tumorigenesis. CK2 has two catalytic subunits, CK2a and CK2a’, that carry out its function in the cell. Previous studies have indicated that inhibitor-refractory mutants have been effective in recovering residual CK2 activity, in the presence of inhibitors, when compared to wild type CK2. Based on these observations, inhibitor-refractory mutants were created for both CK2a and CK2a’ and tested with various concentrations with two CK2-specific inhibitors, CX-4945 and inhibitor VIII. The CK2a triple mutant (V66A/I174A/H160D) was tested in inducible U2OS Flp-In …
Insights Into Chibby's Structural Elements And Their Interplay In Wnt Signaling Protein-Protein Interactions, Ryan C Killoran
Insights Into Chibby's Structural Elements And Their Interplay In Wnt Signaling Protein-Protein Interactions, Ryan C Killoran
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway is critical to embryonic development and adult tissue homeostasis. Mutations to Wnt signaling components can cause dysregulation of the pathway, leading to various human diseases such as cancer. The partially disordered protein Chibby (Cby) is a conserved nuclear protein that acts as an antagonist in the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway. Cby’s antagonism is accomplished via two mechanisms. First, by competing with the Tcf/Lef family of transcription factors, Cby abrogates the b-catenin-mediated transcription of Wnt signaling genes. Moreover, upon phosphorylation on serine 20 by the kinase Akt, Cby forms a complex with the protein 14-3-3 to facilitate the …
Structural And Functional Studies Of The Heptose Modifying Enzymes That Play A Role In Campylobacter Jejuni Virulence., Heba Soliman Barnawi
Structural And Functional Studies Of The Heptose Modifying Enzymes That Play A Role In Campylobacter Jejuni Virulence., Heba Soliman Barnawi
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of gastroenteritis in humans. The capsule of some species contains unique modified heptoses. Heptose modification was elucidated for C. jejuni NCTC11168 and 18-176, and novel epimerases and reductases essential for the heptose modification were identified. We hypothesized that heptose modifying enzymes in C. jejuni have specific catalytic residues that allow for substrate and product specificity. Substrate synthesis, structural modeling, point mutations, and enzymatic analysis have been applied to map the active sites. Putative catalytic residues showed substrate and/or product specificity. The epimerases structures were solved by crystallography done by our collaborator. We also hypothesized …