Correction: Dynein and Dynactin Leverage Their Bivalent Character to Form a High-Affinity Interaction.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Characterization of resistance to a potent D-peptide HIV entry inhibitor.

Background: PIE12-trimer is a highly potent D-peptide HIV-1 entry inhibitor that broadly targets group M isolates. It specifically binds the three identical conserved hydrophobic pockets at the base of the gp41 N-trimer with sub-femtomolar affinity. This extremely high affinity for the transiently exposed gp41 trimer provides a reserve of binding energy (resistance capacitor) to prevent the viral resistance pathway of stepwise accumulation of modest affinity-disrupting mutations.

Evaluation of the efficiency of human immune system reconstitution in NSG mice and NSG mice containing a human HLA.A2 transgene using hematopoietic stem cells purified from different sources.

Severely immunodeficient mice such as the NOD/SCID/IL2rγ(null) (NSG) strain can be engrafted with human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), resulting in chimeric mice containing many components of the human immune system (Human Immune System mice or HIS mice). HIS mice can both support the replication of and recapitulate much of the immunological response to a variety of pathogens, including ones with strict human tropism, such as HIV-1. In an effort to develop a better mouse model for human infectious pathogen infection and possible immune resolution, we compared the human immune system reconstitution of NSG mice following injection with human CD34(+) HSCs purified from either fetal liver (FL) or umbilical cord blood (UCB).

Dynein and dynactin leverage their bivalent character to form a high-affinity interaction.

Cytoplasmic dynein and dynactin participate in retrograde transport of organelles, checkpoint signaling and cell division. The principal subunits that mediate this interaction are the dynein intermediate chain (IC) and the dynactin p150(Glued); however, the interface and mechanism that regulates this interaction remains poorly defined. Herein, we use multiple methods to show the N-terminus of mammalian dynein IC, residues 10-44, is sufficient for binding p150(Glued).

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of protein complexes.

Protein-protein interactions are vital for many biological processes. These interactions often result in the formation of protein assemblies that are large in size, insoluble, and difficult to crystallize, and therefore are challenging to study by structure biology techniques, such as single crystal X-ray diffraction and solution NMR spectroscopy. Solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy is emerging as a promising technique for studies of such protein assemblies because it is not limited by molecular size, solubility, or lack of long-range order.

Functional interaction between dynein light chain and intermediate chain is required for mitotic spindle positioning.

Cytoplasmic dynein is a large multisubunit complex involved in retrograde transport and the positioning of various organelles. Dynein light chain (LC) subunits are conserved across species; however, the molecular contribution of LCs to dynein function remains controversial. One model suggests that LCs act as cargo-binding scaffolds.

Disease-associated mutations in the p150(Glued) subunit destabilize the CAP-gly domain.

Point mutations within the CAP-gly domain of the p150(Glued) subunit of the dynactin complex have been identified in patients with distal spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (dSBMA) and Perry's syndrome. Herein, we show by CD and NMR experiments that each mutated CAP-gly domain is folded but less stable than the wild-type (WT) domain. We also demonstrate that the domains harboring these mutations bind to microtubules but fail to bind to EB1.

Solid-state and solution NMR studies of the CAP-Gly domain of mammalian dynactin and its interaction with microtubules.

Microtubules (MTs) and microtubule binding proteins (MTBPs) play fundamental physiological roles including vesicle and organelle transport, cell motility, and cell division. Despite the importance of the MT/MTBP assemblies, there remains virtually no structural or dynamic information about their interaction at the atomic level due to the inherent insolubility and lack of long-range order of MTs. In this study, we present a combined magic angle spinning solid-state and solution NMR study of the MTBP CAP-Gly domain of mammalian dynactin and its interaction with paclitaxel-stabilized microtubules.