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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry
Investigation Of A Mycobacteriophage Transcription Repressor, Kathryn Orban
Investigation Of A Mycobacteriophage Transcription Repressor, Kathryn Orban
Honors Thesis
Mycobacteriophage HelDan is a lysogenic, or temperate, phage (virus) of the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis, which is a fast-growing, close relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. The phage replication cycle is dependent on time-coordinated gene expression events. In order to study the regulation of gene expression during phage replication, HelDan protein gp73, a putative transcriptional repressor, was studied. Characterization of gp73 structure and function, such as DNA binding activity and affinity, was done using both bioinformatics and biochemical analyses. To this end, the gene encoding gp73 was cloned and the ability of the recombinant gp73 protein …
Zn(Ii), Cu(Ii), Sn(Ii), And Ni(Ii) And Other Metal Cations Do Not Prevent The Aggregation Of Hiapp, Charles Hoying
Zn(Ii), Cu(Ii), Sn(Ii), And Ni(Ii) And Other Metal Cations Do Not Prevent The Aggregation Of Hiapp, Charles Hoying
Honors Thesis
The Zn(II) metal ion has been shown to interact with Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (IAPP), a protein implicated in the progression of Type II Diabetes Mellitus, in such a way as to prevent the protein from aggregating into toxic fibers. We set out to find whether other metal ions might similarly prevent IAPP aggregation. Using Thioflavin T (ThT) spectroscopic assays, which measure fluorescence of ThT upon binding to aggregated IAPP, we observed a decrease in aggregation when incubated with Zn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Sn(II). Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), which can visualize fibril formation, revealed that the metals were not inhibiting IAPP …