Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Mutational Analysis Of The Rotavirus Nsp4 Enterotoxic Domain That Binds To Caveolin-1, Judith M. Ball, Megan E. Schroeder, Cecelia V. Williams, Friedhelm Schroeder, Rebecca D. Parr

Faculty Publications

Background: Rotavirus (RV) nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) is the first described viral enterotoxin, which induces early secretory diarrhea in neonatal rodents. Our previous data show a direct interaction between RV NSP4 and the structural protein of caveolae, caveolin-1 (cav-1), in yeast and mammalian cells. The binding site of cav-1 mapped to the NSP4 amphipathic helix, and led us to examine which helical face was responsible for the interaction.

Methods: A panel of NSP4 mutants were prepared and tested for binding to cav-1 by yeast two hybrid and direct binding assays. The charged residues of the NSP4 amphipathic helix were changed …

A Supramolecular Strategy To Assemble Multifunctional Viral Nanoparticles, Limin Chen, Xia Zhao, Yuan Lin, Yubin Huang, Qian Wang

Faculty Publications

Using a one-pot approach driven by the supramolecular interaction between β-cyclodextrin and adamantyl moieties, multifunctional viral nanoparticles can be facilely formulated for biomedical applications.

Chelation Therapy For The Management Of Diabetic Complications: A Hypothesis And A Proposal For Clinical Laboratory Assessment Of Metal Ion Homeostasis In Plasma, Norma Frizzell, John W. Baynes

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Expansion Of Breast Cancer Stem Cells With Fibrous Scaffolds, Sheng Feng, Pang-Kuo Lo, Shou Liu, Xinfeng Liu, Hexin Chen, Qian Wang

Faculty Publications

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are hypothesized as tumor-initiating cells within tumors and main contributors of tumor growth, metastasis and recurrence. Mammary cancer cells, MCF-7 cells, were cultured on 3D polycaprolactone (PCL) fibrous scaffolds, showing an increased proportion of CSCs. The expression of stem cell markers, including OCT3/4 and SOX2, and breast CSC-specific markers, SOX4 and CD49f, was significantly upregulated, and the mammosphere-forming capability in cells cultured on PCL fibrous scaffolds increased. The fibrous scaffolds also induced the elongation of MCF-7 cells and extended cell proliferation. The increase of CSC properties after being cultured on fibrous scaffolds was further confirmed with …

Ammonium Sulfate Precipitation Combined With Liquid Chromatography Is Sufficient For Purification Of Bovine Serum Albumin That Is Suitable For Most Routine Laboratory Applications, Odutayo O. Odunuge, Alina Shazhko

Faculty Publications

The use of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in routine biochemical assays such as restriction enzyme digestion and immunodetection is plagued largely by two common contaminants, DNase and immunoglobulins G (IgGs). Acetylation of BSA to inactivate DNase limits its use as a protein standard due to interference with color development in assays such as Lowry’s. In spite of the availability of inexpensive BSA, its purification involves several cumbersome and time-consuming steps. In this work, we employed a modified strategy of ammonium sulfate precipitation coupled with liquid chromatography to purify BSA that is free of DNase and IgGs. Purified BSA tested negative …

A Dft Study Of Vibrational Spectra And Mutagenicity Predictions Of Mononitrated Fluoranthenes [Abstract], Kefa Karimu Onchoke, Jorge Ojeda

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tnt1 Retrotransposon Mutagenesis: A Tool For Soybean Functional Genomics, Yaya Cui, Shyam Barampuram, Minviluz G. Stacey, C. Nathan Hancock, Seth Findley, Melanie Mathieu, Zhanyuan Zhang, Wayne A. Parrott, Gary Stacey

Faculty Publications

Insertional mutagenesis is a powerful tool for determining gene function in both model and crop plant species. Tnt1, the transposable element of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cell type 1, is a retrotransposon that replicates via an RNA copy that is reverse transcribed and integrated elsewhere in the plant genome. Based on studies in a variety of plants, Tnt1 appears to be inactive in normal plant tissue but can be reactivated by tissue culture. Our goal was to evaluate the utility of the Tnt1 retrotransposon as a mutagenesis strategy in soybean (Glycine max). Experiments showed that the …

An Acid Catalyzed Reversible Ring-Opening/Ring-Closure Reaction Involving A Cyano-Rhodamine Spirolactam, H. Li, H. Guan, X. Duan, J. Hu, Guiren Wang, Qian Wang

Faculty Publications

Cyanamide was introduced into the rhodamine spirolactam framework to produce a colorless and non-fluorescent compound RBCN. It shows a reversible ring-opening/ring-closure process in response to the solution pH, which exhibits an “ON/OFF” switching in its fluorescence. Different from other rhodamine-type dyes, the ring-open form of RBCN is stable in protic solvents under neutral, near neutral and basic conditions, showing a pink color and very strong fluorescence. We also demonstrated the potential of RBCN in live cell imaging.