Plakoglobin as a regulator of desmocollin gene expression.

Desmosomes are cell adhesion junctions required for the normal development and maintenance of mammalian tissues and organs such as the skin, skin appendages, and the heart. The goal of this study was to investigate how desmocollins (DSCs), transmembrane components of desmosomes, are regulated at the transcriptional level. We hypothesized that differential expression of the Dsc2 and Dsc3 genes is a prerequisite for normal development of skin appendages.

The structure of a DnaB-family replicative helicase and its interactions with primase.

Helicases are essential enzymes for DNA replication, a fundamental process in all living organisms. The DnaB family are hexameric replicative helicases that unwind duplex DNA and coordinate with RNA primase and other proteins at the replication fork in prokaryotes. Here, we report the full-length crystal structure of G40P, a DnaB family helicase.

Phosphoinositide, phosphopeptide and pyridone interactions of the Abl SH2 domain.

Signaling proteins are localized and regulated by Src homology 2 domains which recognize phosphotyrosine-containing sequences. Recently, noncanonical ligands have been proposed for Src homology 2 domains including that of Abl and its breakpoint cluster region fusion, which causes chronic myelogenous leukemia. Here, the Abl Src homology 2 domain's binding sites and affinities for phosphotyrosine- and phosphoserine-containing motifs, phosphoinositides as well as a pyridone-based peptidomimetic inhibitor were determined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in order to define their roles.