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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry
Chemical And Co-Solute Effects Of Polyethylene Glycol On I-Motif Formation, Lindsey Rutherford
Chemical And Co-Solute Effects Of Polyethylene Glycol On I-Motif Formation, Lindsey Rutherford
Honors Theses
DNA typically forms Watson and Crick double helix structures in which adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine pair with their complimentary DNA base. However, DNA i-motif structures can form in cytosine rich DNA, typically under slightly acidic conditions (~pH 6). DNA i-motifs are four stranded secondary structures in which cytosine pairs with cytosine to form a quadruplex. The i-motifs are typically formed in acidic conditions because of the protonation in the C•C base pair between one of the three hydrogen bases. Recent studies have suggested i-motifs can also form under neutral conditions, which is more realistic for a cell. It is …
Effects Of Crowding Agents On I-Motif Dna, Hayden Brines
Effects Of Crowding Agents On I-Motif Dna, Hayden Brines
Honors Theses
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a well-known double stranded, helical, biological molecule. In addition to its more commonly known structure, DNA can also form more complicated structures like G-quadruplexes and i-motifs (iM). The iMs are formed by cytosine rich DNA and are a four stranded structure that is typically looped around itself. The iM formation is typically pH-dependent and is favored in more acidic conditions; the pKa value is approximately 6.5. This pKa value allows for potential in vivo formation, since the cells have a pH of approximately 7.3. Due to this, iMs are thought to be powerful, innovative molecules for …
Nucleic Acids Promote Oligomerization Of Immunoglobulin G, Alexa Gomez
Nucleic Acids Promote Oligomerization Of Immunoglobulin G, Alexa Gomez
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Nucleic acids have been found to prevent aggregation as chaperones, as well as act as co-factors and promote aggregation of amyloidogenic proteins leading to various diseases. Immunoglobulin G, IgG, are prone to aggregate as therapeutic proteins, and light chains of IgG can form amyloid fibrils, causing a disease known as light chain amyloidosis. Here we discuss the effect nucleic acids have on full-length immunoglobulin G aggregation. Our results show G-quadruplex DNA, and bulk DNA lead to oligomerization of full-length IgG, and induce increases in secondary structure. Tryptophan fluorescence indicates structural changes are occurring in the presence of DNA. Additionally, IgG …