Mitotic-dependent phosphorylation of leukemia-associated RhoGEF (LARG) by Cdk1.

Rho GTPases are integral to the regulation of actin cytoskeleton-dependent processes, including mitosis. Rho and leukemia-associated Rho guanine-nucleotide exchange factor (LARG), also known as ARHGEF12, are involved in mitosis as well as diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Since LARG has a role in mitosis and diverse signaling functions beyond mitosis, it is important to understand the regulation of the protein through modifications such as phosphorylation.

The regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) domain of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 5 (GRK5) regulates plasma membrane localization and function.

The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) kinases (GRKs) phosphorylate activated GPCRs at the plasma membrane (PM). Here GRK5/GRK4 chimeras and point mutations in GRK5 identify a short sequence within the regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) domain in GRK5 that is critical for GRK5 PM localization. This region of the RGS domain of GRK5 coincides with a region of GRK6 and GRK1 shown to form a hydrophobic dimeric interface (HDI) in crystal structures.

The amino acid motif L/IIxxFE defines a novel actin-binding sequence in PDZ-RhoGEF.

PDZ-RhoGEF is a member of the regulator family of G protein signaling (RGS) domain-containing RhoGEFs (RGS-RhoGEFs) that link activated heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunits of the G12 family to activation of the small GTPase RhoA. Unique among the RGS-RhoGEFs, PDZ-RhoGEF contains a short sequence that localizes the protein to the actin cytoskeleton. In this report, we demonstrate that the actin-binding domain, located between amino acids 561 and 585, directly binds to F-actin in vitro.

Predicting crystal structure by merging data mining with quantum mechanics.

Modern methods of quantum mechanics have proved to be effective tools to understand and even predict materials properties. An essential element of the materials design process, relevant to both new materials and the optimization of existing ones, is knowing which crystal structures will form in an alloy system. Crystal structure can only be predicted effectively with quantum mechanics if an algorithm to direct the search through the large space of possible structures is found.

Palmitoylation and plasma membrane targeting of RGS7 are promoted by alpha o.

Regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins modulate G protein signaling by acting as GTPase-activating proteins for G protein alpha-subunits. RGS7 belongs to a subfamily of RGS proteins that exist as dimers with the G protein beta(5)-subunit. In this report, we addressed the mechanisms of plasma membrane localization of beta(5)RGS7.

Combining mutations in HIV-1 protease to understand mechanisms of resistance.

HIV-1 develops resistance to protease inhibitors predominantly by selecting mutations in the protease gene. Studies of resistant mutants of HIV-1 protease with single amino acid substitutions have shown a range of independent effects on specificity, inhibition, and stability. Four double mutants, K45I/L90M, K45I/V82S, D30N/V82S, and N88D/L90M were selected for analysis on the basis of observations of increased or decreased stability or enzymatic activity for the respective single mutants.