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Biochemistry Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry

Dissecting Molecular Pathways That Ensure Proper Chromosome Segregation And Cell Division, Anna Ye Nov 2017

Dissecting Molecular Pathways That Ensure Proper Chromosome Segregation And Cell Division, Anna Ye

Doctoral Dissertations

Equal segregation of the genome is a prerequisite for cell survival. During cell division the duplicated DNA is compacted into chromosomes and a multi-protein macrostructure, known as the kinetochore (Kt), is assembled on each copy of compacted DNA. Simultaneously, the mitotic spindle, which is made up of microtubules (MTs), is built to facilitate the equal distribution of the chromosomes between the resulting daughter cells. Kinetochores mediate the interaction between the MTs and the chromosomes, properly positioning them for segregation. To ensure that the DNA is equally divided in every cell division, cells have built a surveillance system to detect any …


Fret-Based Investigations Of The Structure-Function Relationships In The Nmda Receptor, Drew M. Dolino May 2017

Fret-Based Investigations Of The Structure-Function Relationships In The Nmda Receptor, Drew M. Dolino

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is one member of a class of proteins known as the ionotropic glutamate receptors. Ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate the majority of excitatory neurotransmission in the central nervous system, with the NMDA receptor standing out among these receptors for its requirement of a co-agonist, its magnesium-block-based coincidence detection, its slow kinetics, its calcium permeability, its allosteric modulation, and its especially important functional roles in synaptic plasticity, excitotoxicity, and more. In recent years, a wealth of structural information has come about describing endpoint structures to high resolution, but such structures are unable to fully resolve the movements …


Illuminate The Pathway Of Membrane Protein Association And Degradation, Zhaoshuai Wang Jan 2017

Illuminate The Pathway Of Membrane Protein Association And Degradation, Zhaoshuai Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Escherichia coli transporter protein AcrB and its homologues are the inner membrane components of the Resistance-Nodulation-Division (RND) family efflux pumps in Gram-negative bacteria. It is well accepted that soluble proteins are only marginally stable, but such insight is missing for membrane proteins. The lack of stability data, including thermodynamic stability and oligomer association affinity is a result of intrinsic difficulties in working with membrane proteins. In addition, the degradation of soluble proteins in E. coli has been extensively studied whereas the degradation process of membrane proteins remains unclear. A focus of my thesis is the validation and development of methods …