Membrane-Induced Folding of the Plant Stress Dehydrin Lti30.

Dehydrins are disordered proteins that are expressed in plants as a response to embryogenesis and water-related stress. The molecular function and structural action of the dehydrins are yet elusive, but increasing evidence points to a role in protecting the structure and functional dynamics of cell membranes. An intriguing example is the cold-induced dehydrin Lti30 that binds to membranes by its conserved K segments.

Structural insights into the DNA-binding specificity of E2F family transcription factors.

The mammalian cell cycle is controlled by the E2F family of transcription factors. Typical E2Fs bind to DNA as heterodimers with the related dimerization partner (DP) proteins, whereas the atypical E2Fs, E2F7 and E2F8 contain two DNA-binding domains (DBDs) and act as repressors. To understand the mechanism of repression, we have resolved the structure of E2F8 in complex with DNA at atomic resolution.

Simultaneous Fitting of Absorption Spectra and Their Second Derivatives for an Improved Analysis of Protein Infrared Spectra.

Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful tool in protein science due to its sensitivity to changes in secondary structure or conformation. In order to take advantage of the full power of infrared spectroscopy in structural studies of proteins, complex band contours, such as the amide I band, have to be decomposed into their main component bands, a process referred to as curve fitting. In this paper, we report on an improved curve fitting approach in which absorption spectra and second derivative spectra are fitted simultaneously.

Use of creatine kinase to induce multistep reactions in infrared spectroscopic experiments.

An extension of current approaches to trigger enzymatic reactions in reaction-induced infrared difference spectroscopy experiments is described. A common procedure is to add a compound that induces a reaction in the protein of interest. To be able to induce multistep reactions, we explored here the use of creatine kinase (CK) for the study of phosphate transfer mechanisms.

Detection of ligand binding to proteins through observation of hydration water.

Drug development is impeded by the need to design for each drug target a test that detects the binding of drug candidate molecules to the target protein. Therefore, a general method to detect ligand binding is highly desirable. Here, we present an observation toward developing such a method, which is based on monitoring a change in water absorption by infrared spectroscopy.

Formation of oligomers in the early phase of pH-induced aggregation of the Alzheimer Aβ(12-28) peptide [corrected].

The early phase in the aggregation process of the Alzheimer's peptide Aβ(12-28) with both protected and unprotected ends was studied by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Aggregation in the time-resolved experiments was initiated by a rapid pH drop caused by the photolysis of 1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethyl sulfate (caged sulfate). The infrared spectra indicate aggregates from both versions of the Aβ(12-28) peptide.

Coumarin-based octopamine phototriggers and their effects on an insect octopamine receptor.

We have developed and characterized efficient caged compounds of the neurotransmitter octopamine. For derivatization, we introduced [6-bromo-8-(diethylaminomethyl)-7-hydroxycoumarin-4-yl]methoxycarbonyl (DBHCMOC) and {6-bromo-7-hydroxy-8-[(piperazin-1-yl)methyl]coumarin-4-yl}methoxycarbonyl (PBHCMOC) moieties as novel photo-removable protecting groups. The caged compounds were functionally inactive when applied to heterologously expressed octopamine receptors (AmOctα1R).