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Medical Biochemistry Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Medical Biochemistry

Cofactor Molecules Maintain Infectious Conformation And Restrict Strain Properties In Purified Prions, Nathan R. Deleault, Daniel J. Walsh, Justin R. Piro, Fei Wang, Xinhe Wang, Jiyan Ma, Judy R. Rees, Surachai Supattapone Jun 2012

Cofactor Molecules Maintain Infectious Conformation And Restrict Strain Properties In Purified Prions, Nathan R. Deleault, Daniel J. Walsh, Justin R. Piro, Fei Wang, Xinhe Wang, Jiyan Ma, Judy R. Rees, Surachai Supattapone

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Isolation Of Phosphatidylethanolamine As A Solitary Cofactor For Prion Formation In The Absence Of Nucleic Acids, Nathan R. Deleault, Justin R. Piro, Daniel J. Walsh, Fei Wang, Jiyan Ma, James C. Geoghegan, Surachai Supattapone May 2012

Isolation Of Phosphatidylethanolamine As A Solitary Cofactor For Prion Formation In The Absence Of Nucleic Acids, Nathan R. Deleault, Justin R. Piro, Daniel J. Walsh, Fei Wang, Jiyan Ma, James C. Geoghegan, Surachai Supattapone

Dartmouth Scholarship

Infectious prions containing the pathogenic conformer of the mammalian prion protein (PrP(Sc)) can be produced de novo from a mixture of the normal conformer (PrP(C)) with RNA and lipid molecules. Recent reconstitution studies indicate that nucleic acids are not required for the propagation of mouse prions in vitro, suggesting the existence of an alternative prion propagation cofactor in brain tissue. However, the identity and functional properties of this unique cofactor are unknown. Here, we show by purification and reconstitution that the molecule responsible for the nuclease-resistant cofactor activity in brain is endogenous phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Synthetic PE alone facilitates conversion of …


Rho Activation Of Mdia Formins Is Modulated By An Interaction With Inverted Formin 2 (Inf2), Hua Sun, Johannes S. Schlondorff, Elizabeth J. Brown, Henry N. Higgs, Martin R. Pollak Feb 2011

Rho Activation Of Mdia Formins Is Modulated By An Interaction With Inverted Formin 2 (Inf2), Hua Sun, Johannes S. Schlondorff, Elizabeth J. Brown, Henry N. Higgs, Martin R. Pollak

Dartmouth Scholarship

Inverted formin 2 (INF2) encodes a member of the diaphanous subfamily of formin proteins. Mutations in INF2 cause human kidney disease characterized by focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. Disease-causing mutations occur only in the diaphanous inhibitory domain (DID), suggesting specific roles for this domain in the pathogenesis of disease. In a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified the diaphanous autoregulatory domains (DADs) of the mammalian diaphanous-related formins (mDias) mDia1, mDia2, and mDia 3 as INF2_DID-interacting partners. The mDias are Rho family effectors that regulate actin dynamics. We confirmed in vitro INF2_DID/mDia_DAD binding by biochemical assays, confirmed the in vivo interaction of these …


Superparamagnetic Nanoparticle Capture Of Prions For Amplification, Michael B. Miller, Surachai Supattapone Jan 2011

Superparamagnetic Nanoparticle Capture Of Prions For Amplification, Michael B. Miller, Surachai Supattapone

Dartmouth Scholarship

Prion diseases are associated with the presence of PrP(Sc), a disease-associated misfolded conformer of the prion protein. We report that superparamagnetic nanoparticles bind PrP(Sc) molecules efficiently and specifically, permitting magnetic separation of prions from a sample mixture. Captured PrP(Sc) molecules retain the activity to seed protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) reactions, enabling the rapid concentration of dilute prions to improve detection. Furthermore, superparamagnetic nanoparticles clear contaminated solutions of PrP(Sc). Our findings suggest that coupling magnetic nanoparticle capture with PMCA could accelerate and improve prion detection. Magnetic nanoparticles may also be useful for developing a nontoxic prion decontamination method for biologically …


Proliferation Of Aneuploid Human Cells Is Limited By A P53-Dependent Mechanism, Sarah L. Thompson, Duane A. Compton Jan 2010

Proliferation Of Aneuploid Human Cells Is Limited By A P53-Dependent Mechanism, Sarah L. Thompson, Duane A. Compton

Dartmouth Scholarship

Most solid tumors are aneuploid, and it has been proposed that aneuploidy is the consequence of an elevated rate of chromosome missegregation in a process called chromosomal instability (CIN). However, the relationship of aneuploidy and CIN is unclear because the proliferation of cultured diploid cells is compromised by chromosome missegregation. The mechanism for this intolerance of nondiploid genomes is unknown. In this study, we show that in otherwise diploid human cells, chromosome missegregation causes a cell cycle delay with nuclear accumulation of the tumor suppressor p53 and the cyclin kinase inhibitor p21. Deletion of the p53 gene permits the accumulation …


Prion Protein Glycosylation Is Not Required For Strain-Specific Neurotropism, Justin R. Piro, Brent T. Harris, Koren Nishina, Claudio Soto, Rodrigo Morales, Judy R. Rees, Surachai Supattapone Jun 2009

Prion Protein Glycosylation Is Not Required For Strain-Specific Neurotropism, Justin R. Piro, Brent T. Harris, Koren Nishina, Claudio Soto, Rodrigo Morales, Judy R. Rees, Surachai Supattapone

Dartmouth Scholarship

In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the glycosylation of the pathogenic isoform of the prion protein (PrPSc) might encode the selective neurotropism of prion strains. We prepared unglycosylated cellular prion protein (PrPC) substrate molecules from normal mouse brain by treatment with PNGase F and used reconstituted serial protein cyclic misfolding amplification reactions to produce RML and 301C mouse prions containing unglycosylated PrPSc molecules. Both RML- and 301C-derived prions containing unglycosylated PrPSc molecules were infectious to wild-type mice, and neuropathological analysis showed that mice inoculated with these samples maintained strain-specific patterns of PrP …


Endogenous No Regulates Superoxide Production At Low Oxygen Concentrations By Modifying The Redox State Of Cytochrome C Oxidase, Miriam Palacios-Callender, Marisol Quintero, Veronica S. Hollis, Roger J. Springett, Salvador Moncada May 2004

Endogenous No Regulates Superoxide Production At Low Oxygen Concentrations By Modifying The Redox State Of Cytochrome C Oxidase, Miriam Palacios-Callender, Marisol Quintero, Veronica S. Hollis, Roger J. Springett, Salvador Moncada

Dartmouth Scholarship

We have investigated in whole cells whether, at low oxygen concentrations ([O(2)]), endogenous nitric oxide (NO) modulates the redox state of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC), and whether such an action has any signaling consequences. Using a polarographic-and-spectroscopic-coupled system, we monitored redox changes in the ETC cytochromes b(H), cc(1), and aa(3) during cellular respiration. The rate of O(2) consumption (VO(2)) remained constant until [O(2)] fell below 15 microM, whereas the onset of reduction of cytochromes aa(3), part of the terminal ETC enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, occurred at approximately 50 microM O(2). Incubation of the cells with an inhibitor of …


The Tumor Suppressor Lkb1 Kinase Directly Activates Amp-Activated Kinase And Regulates Apoptosis In Response To Energy Stress, Reuben J. Shaw, Monica Kosmatka, Nabeel Bardeesy, Rebecca L. Hurley, Lee A. Witters, Ronald A. Depinho, Lewis C. Cantley Mar 2004

The Tumor Suppressor Lkb1 Kinase Directly Activates Amp-Activated Kinase And Regulates Apoptosis In Response To Energy Stress, Reuben J. Shaw, Monica Kosmatka, Nabeel Bardeesy, Rebecca L. Hurley, Lee A. Witters, Ronald A. Depinho, Lewis C. Cantley

Dartmouth Scholarship

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a highly conserved sensor of cellular energy status found in all eukaryotic cells. AMPK is activated by stimuli that increase the cellular AMP/ATP ratio. Essential to activation of AMPK is its phosphorylation at Thr-172 by an upstream kinase, AMPKK, whose identity in mammalian cells has remained elusive. Here we present biochemical and genetic evidence indicating that the LKB1 serine/threonine kinase, the gene inactivated in the Peutz-Jeghers familial cancer syndrome, is the dominant regulator of AMPK activation in several mammalian cell types. We show that LKB1 directly phosphorylates Thr-172 of AMPKalpha in vitro and activates its …


Mammalian Erv46 Localizes To The Endoplasmic Reticulum–Golgi Intermediate Compartment And To Cis-Golgi Cisternae, Lelio Orci, Mariella Ravazzola, Gary J. Mack, Charles Barlowe, Stefan Otte Apr 2003

Mammalian Erv46 Localizes To The Endoplasmic Reticulum–Golgi Intermediate Compartment And To Cis-Golgi Cisternae, Lelio Orci, Mariella Ravazzola, Gary J. Mack, Charles Barlowe, Stefan Otte

Dartmouth Scholarship

Yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER) vesicle protein Erv46p is a novel membrane protein involved in transport through the early secretory pathway. Investigation of mammalian Erv46 (mErv46) reveals that it is broadly expressed in tissues and protein-secreting cells. By immunofluorescence microscopy, mErv46 displays a crescent-shaped perinuclear staining pattern that is characteristic of the Golgi complex. Quantitative immunoelectron microscopy indicates that mErv46 is restricted to the cis face of the Golgi apparatus and to vesicular tubular structures between the transitional ER and cis-Golgi. Minor amounts of mErv46 reside in ER membranes and later Golgi cisternae. On Brefeldin A treatment, mErv46 redistributes to punctate …


Identification Of Sequences In The Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene Required For Efficient Processing And Polyadenylation., Charles N. Cole, Terryl P. Stacy Aug 1985

Identification Of Sequences In The Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase Gene Required For Efficient Processing And Polyadenylation., Charles N. Cole, Terryl P. Stacy

Dartmouth Scholarship

The herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 thymidine kinase gene (tk) was resected from its 3' end with BAL 31 exonuclease. Two sets of plasmids were isolated that lacked information distal to the two copies of the hexanucleotide 5'-AATAAA-3' located at the 3' end of the HSV tk gene. The presence of a simian virus 40 origin of DNA replication in each plasmid facilitated analysis of patterns of transcription in transfected Cos-1 monkey cells. Transcription analyses were performed with an S1 nuclease protection assay. Efficient processing and polyadenylation at the normal site still occurred when all sequences more than 44 …