Publications by authors named "Milko Velarde"

4-Hydroxybutyrate CoA-transferases (4-HB-CoAT) takes part in the fermentation of 4-aminobutyrate to ammonia, acetate, and butyrate in anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium aminobutyricum and Porphyromonas gingivalis or facultative anaerobic bacteria such as Shewanella oneidensis. Site-directed mutagenesis of the highly active enzyme has identified the catalytic glutamate residue as E238. Crystal structure of this enzyme has been determined at a resolution of 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • 3-Methylitaconate-Delta-isomerase (Mii) is an enzyme in Eubacterium barkeri that catalyzes the conversion of (R)-3-methylitaconate to 2,3-dimethylmaleate and can also isomerize itaconate to citraconate, albeit less efficiently.
  • The gene for Mii was successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, producing a protein with activity comparable to the natural enzyme, and its crystal structure revealed a tetrameric arrangement with distinct conformations.
  • The enzyme features an active site with residues Lys62, Cys96, and others that play key roles in its function, showing structural
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Homotypic interactions of death domains (DD) mediate complex formation between MyD88 and IL-1 receptor-associated kinases (IRAKs). A truncated splice variant of MyD88, MyD88s, cannot recruit IRAK-4 and fails to elicit inflammatory responses. We have generated recombinant DD of MyD88 and IRAK-4, both alone and extended by the linkers to TIR or kinase domains.

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Atomic resolution structures of the pseudoazurin (PAZ) variant into which the shorter ligand-containing loop of amicyanin (AMI) is introduced have been determined. The mutated loop adopts a different conformation in PAZAMI than in AMI. The copper site structure is affected, with the major influence being an increased axial interaction resulting in the shortest Cu(II)-S(Met) bond observed for the cupredoxin family of electron-transfer proteins.

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Atypical protein kinases C (aPKCs) play critical roles in signaling pathways that control cell growth, differentiation and survival. Therefore, they constitute attractive targets for the development of novel therapeutics against cancer. The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of atypical PKCiota in complex with the bis(indolyl)maleimide inhibitor BIM1 has been determined at 3.

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Umecyanin (UMC) is a type 1 copper-containing protein which originates from horseradish roots and belongs to the stellacyanin subclass of the phytocyanins, a ubiquitous family of plant cupredoxins. The crystal structures of Cu(II) and Cu(I) UMC have been determined at 1.9 and 1.

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