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Full-Text Articles in Other Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Conformational Flexibility And Local Frustration In The Functional States Of The Sars-Cov-2 Spike B.1.1.7 And B.1.351 Variants: Mutation-Induced Allosteric Modulation Mechanism Of Functional Dynamics And Protein Stability, Gennady M. Verkhivker Jan 2022

Conformational Flexibility And Local Frustration In The Functional States Of The Sars-Cov-2 Spike B.1.1.7 And B.1.351 Variants: Mutation-Induced Allosteric Modulation Mechanism Of Functional Dynamics And Protein Stability, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Structural and functional studies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins have recently determined distinct functional states of the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 spike variants, providing a molecular framework for understanding the mechanisms that link the effect of mutations with the enhanced virus infectivity and transmissibility. A detailed dynamic and energetic analysis of these variants was undertaken in the present work to quantify the effects of different mutations on functional conformational changes and stability of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We employed the efficient and accurate coarse-grained (CG) simulations of multiple functional states of the D614G mutant, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 spike variants to characterize …


Allosteric Mechanism Of The Circadian Protein Vivid Resolved Through Markov State Model And Machine Learning Analysis, Hongyu Zhou, Zheng Dong, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Brian D. Zoltowski, Peng Tao Feb 2019

Allosteric Mechanism Of The Circadian Protein Vivid Resolved Through Markov State Model And Machine Learning Analysis, Hongyu Zhou, Zheng Dong, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Brian D. Zoltowski, Peng Tao

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The fungal circadian clock photoreceptor Vivid (VVD) contains a photosensitive allosteric light, oxygen, voltage (LOV) domain that undergoes a large N-terminal conformational change. The mechanism by which a blue-light driven covalent bond formation leads to a global conformational change remains unclear, which hinders the further development of VVD as an optogenetic tool. We answered this question through a novel computational platform integrating Markov state models, machine learning methods, and newly developed community analysis algorithms. Applying this new integrative approach, we provided a quantitative evaluation of the contribution from the covalent bond to the protein global conformational change, and proposed an …


Curcumin Potentiates The Function Of Human Α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Expressed In Sh-Ep1 Cells, Eslam El Nebrisi, Lina T. Al Kury, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Petrilla Jayaprakash, Frank Christopher Howarth, Nadine Kabbani, Murat Oz Jan 2018

Curcumin Potentiates The Function Of Human Α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Expressed In Sh-Ep1 Cells, Eslam El Nebrisi, Lina T. Al Kury, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Petrilla Jayaprakash, Frank Christopher Howarth, Nadine Kabbani, Murat Oz

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Effects of curcumin, a biologically active ingredient of turmeric, were tested on the Ca2+transients induced by the activation of α7 subunit of the human nicotinic acetylcholine (α7nACh) receptor expressed in SH-EP1 cells. Curcumin caused a significant potentiation of choline (1 mM)-induced Ca2+ transients with an EC50 value of 133 nM. The potentiating effect of curcumin was not observed in Ca2+ transients induced by high K+ (60 mM) containing solutions or activation of α4β2 nACh receptors and the extent of curcumin potentiation was not altered in the presence of …