Publications by authors named "Cy M Jeffries"

Article Synopsis
  • Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a technique utilized in various scientific fields to analyze the structure of non-crystalline samples, with a focus on proteins and biomacromolecules in solution.
  • The review discusses different advanced techniques for interpreting SAXS data and building models, including rigid body modelling and molecular dynamics, especially for both ideal and more complex polydisperse samples.
  • It emphasizes the potential of solution SAXS combined with innovative data analysis methods to expand our understanding of protein structures and their dynamic behaviors beyond traditional approaches.
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IHMCIF (github.com/ihmwg/IHMCIF) is a data information framework that supports archiving and disseminating macromolecular structures determined by integrative or hybrid modeling (IHM), and making them Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). IHMCIF is an extension of the Protein Data Bank Exchange/macromolecular Crystallographic Information Framework (PDBx/mmCIF) that serves as the framework for the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to archive experimentally determined atomic structures of biological macromolecules and their complexes with one another and small molecule ligands (e.

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Free-electron lasers (FEL) are revolutionizing X-ray-based structural biology methods. While protein crystallography is already routinely performed at FELs, Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) studies of biological macromolecules are not as prevalent. SAXS allows the study of the shape and overall structure of proteins and nucleic acids in solution, in a quasi-native environment.

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Article Synopsis
  • Characterizing post-translational modifications in acidic variants of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is complex and remains a key research area.
  • This study explored the idea that chromatographically separated acidic fractions of an IgG1 mAb could signify conformational variants by employing a refolding process.
  • Findings showed that while the stepwise refolding increased the presence of acidic variants, small-angle X-ray scattering indicated minor overall conformational changes, primarily localized around aromatic amino acid regions.
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Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are essential for membrane receptor regulation but often remain unresolved in structural studies. TRPV4, a member of the TRP vanilloid channel family involved in thermo- and osmosensation, has a large N-terminal IDR of approximately 150 amino acids. With an integrated structural biology approach, we analyze the structural ensemble of the TRPV4 IDR and the network of antagonistic regulatory elements it encodes.

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An unambiguous description of an experiment, and the subsequent biological observation, is vital for accurate data interpretation. Minimum information guidelines define the fundamental complement of data that can support an unambiguous conclusion based on experimental observations. We present the Minimum Information About Disorder Experiments (MIADE) guidelines to define the parameters required for the wider scientific community to understand the findings of an experiment studying the structural properties of intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs).

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The nucleocapsid protein (N) of SARS-CoV-2 plays a pivotal role during the viral life cycle. It is involved in RNA transcription and accounts for packaging of the large genome into virus particles. N manages the enigmatic balance of bulk RNA-coating versus precise RNA-binding to designated cis-regulatory elements.

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This study combines molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements to investigate the range of conformations that can be adopted by a pH/ionic strength (IS) sensitive protein and to quantify its distinct populations in solution. To explore how the conformational distribution of proteins may be modified in the environmental niches of biological media, we focus on the periplasmic ferric binding protein A (FbpA) from Haemophilus influenzae involved in the mechanism by which bacteria capture iron from higher organisms. We examine iron-binding/release mechanisms of FbpA in varying conditions simulating its biological environment.

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The cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM, L1 in short) plays crucial roles during neural development, regeneration after injury, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity and tumor cell migration. L1 belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily and comprises in its extracellular part six immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains and five fibronectin type III homologous repeats (FNs). The second Ig-like domain has been validated for self- (so-called homophilic) binding between cells.

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In 2017, guidelines were published for reporting structural modelling of small-angle scattering (SAS) data from biomolecules in solution that exemplified best-practice documentation of experiments and analysis. Since then, there has been significant progress in SAS data and model archiving, and the IUCr journal editors announced that the IUCr biology journals will require the deposition of SAS data used in biomolecular structure solution into a public archive, as well as adherence to the 2017 reporting guidelines. In this context, the reporting template tables accompanying the 2017 publication guidelines have been reviewed with a focus on making them both easier to use and more general.

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Oxalyl-CoA synthetase from is one of the most abundant peroxisomal proteins in yeast and hence has become a model to study peroxisomal translocation. It contains a C-terminal Peroxisome Targeting Signal 1, which however is partly dispensable, suggesting additional receptor bindings sites. To unravel any additional features that may contribute to its capacity to be recognized as peroxisomal target, we determined its assembly and overall architecture by an integrated structural biology approach, including X-ray crystallography, single particle cryo-electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering.

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Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) with contrast variation (CV) is a valuable technique in the structural biology toolchest. Accurate structural parameters-e.g.

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Type IIB receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases are cell surface transmembrane proteins that engage in cell adhesion via their extracellular domains (ECDs) and cell signaling via their cytoplasmic phosphatase domains. The ECDs of type IIB receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases form stable, homophilic, and trans interactions between adjacent cell membranes. Previous work has demonstrated how one family member, PTPRM, forms head-to-tail homodimers.

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Small angle scattering affords an approach to evaluate the structure of dilute populations of macromolecules in solution where the measured scattering intensities relate to the distribution of scattering-pair distances within each macromolecule. When small angle neutron scattering (SANS) with contrast variation is employed, additional structural information can be obtained regarding the internal organization of biomacromolecule complexes and assemblies. The technique allows for the components of assemblies to be selectively 'matched in' and 'matched out' of the scattering profiles due to the different ways the isotopes of hydrogen-protium H, and deuterium H (or D)-scatter neutrons.

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Through an expansive international effort that involved data collection on 12 small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and four small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instruments, 171 SAXS and 76 SANS measurements for five proteins (ribonuclease A, lysozyme, xylanase, urate oxidase and xylose isomerase) were acquired. From these data, the solvent-subtracted protein scattering profiles were shown to be reproducible, with the caveat that an additive constant adjustment was required to account for small errors in solvent subtraction. Further, the major features of the obtained consensus SAXS data over the q measurement range 0-1 Å are consistent with theoretical prediction.

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This structural study exploits the possibility to use modular protein deuteration to facilitate the study of ubiquitin signalling, transfer, and modification. A protein conjugation reaction is used to combine protonated E2 enzyme with deuterated ubiquitin for small angle X-ray and neutron scattering with neutron contrast variation. The combined biomolecules stay as a monodisperse system during data collection in both protonated and deuterated buffers indicating long stability of the E2-Ub conjugate.

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Article Synopsis
  • Long-distance RNA transport in plants via the phloem is essential for communication between plant tissues, helping them respond to stress and coordinate reproduction.
  • Recent research indicates that specific RNAs may play a role as information transmitters in this process, although the mechanisms of their entry, transport, and release in the phloem are still unclear.
  • This study focuses on two RNA chaperone-like proteins (PARCL) from Arabidopsis and Brassica, demonstrating their ability to bind various RNAs, form condensates within cells, and outlining how mutations and phosphorylation can independently influence their RNA-binding and condensate-forming functions.
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Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 dramatically alters the architecture and protein composition of cellular membranes during infection, but its effects upon membrane lipid composition remain unclear. HSV-1 pUL21 is a virus-encoded protein phosphatase adaptor that promotes dephosphorylation of multiple cellular and virus proteins, including the cellular ceramide (Cer) transport protein CERT. CERT mediates nonvesicular Cer transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the trans-Golgi network, whereupon Cer is converted to sphingomyelin (SM) and other sphingolipids that play important roles in cellular proliferation, signaling, and membrane trafficking.

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Regulation of enzyme activity is vital for living organisms. In metalloenzymes, far-reaching rearrangements of the protein scaffold are generally required to tune the metal cofactor's properties by allosteric regulation. Here structural analysis of hydroxyketoacid aldolase from Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 (SwHKA) revealed a dynamic movement of the metal cofactor between two coordination spheres without protein scaffold rearrangements.

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In the last decades Acinetobacter baumannii developed into an increasingly challenging nosocomial pathogen. A. baumannii ATCC 17978 harbors a DNA-(adenine N6)-methyltransferase termed AamA.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is used for analyzing the structure of biological macromolecules in solution, and techniques that couple SAXS with chromatography (like SEC and IEC) have become increasingly popular.
  • - These inline chromatography setups help isolate components in a sample for clearer SAXS data, but overlapping elution peaks can complicate data interpretation by mixing signals.
  • - To address this issue, a computer program called EFAMIX has been developed to analyze scattering profiles and separate components using evolving factor analysis (EFA), available to academic users through ATSAS 3.1.
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The herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 protein pUL21 is essential for efficient virus replication and dissemination. While pUL21 has been shown to promote multiple steps of virus assembly and spread, the molecular basis of its function remained unclear. Here we identify that pUL21 is a virus-encoded adaptor of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1).

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