Solution structure and molecular interactions of lamin B receptor Tudor domain.

Lamin B receptor (LBR) is a polytopic protein of the nuclear envelope thought to connect the inner nuclear membrane with the underlying nuclear lamina and peripheral heterochromatin. To better understand the function of this protein, we have examined in detail its nucleoplasmic region, which is predicted to harbor a Tudor domain (LBR-TD). Structural analysis by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy establishes that LBR-TD indeed adopts a classical β-barrel Tudor fold in solution, which, however, features an incomplete aromatic cage.

Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement to improve sensitivity of fast NMR methods: application to intrinsically disordered proteins.

We report enhanced sensitivity NMR measurements of intrinsically disordered proteins in the presence of paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) agents such as Ni(2+)-chelated DO2A. In proton-detected (1)H-(15)N SOFAST-HMQC and carbon-detected (H-flip)(13)CO-(15)N experiments, faster longitudinal relaxation enables the usage of even shorter interscan delays. This results in higher NMR signal intensities per units of experimental time, without adverse line broadening effects.

Identification of distinct SET/TAF-Ibeta domains required for core histone binding and quantitative characterisation of the interaction.

Background: The assembly of nucleosomes to higher-order chromatin structures is finely tuned by the relative affinities of histones for chaperones and nucleosomal binding sites. The myeloid leukaemia protein SET/TAF-Ibeta belongs to the NAP1 family of histone chaperones and participates in several chromatin-based mechanisms, such as chromatin assembly, nucleosome reorganisation and transcriptional activation. To better understand the histone chaperone function of SET/TAF-Ibeta, we designed several SET/TAF-Ibeta truncations, examined their structural integrity by circular Dichroism and assessed qualitatively and quantitatively the histone binding properties of wild-type protein and mutant forms using GST-pull down experiments and fluorescence spectroscopy-based binding assays.

The impact of intravenous fat emulsion administration in acute lung injury.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of parenteral nutrition containing medium- and long-chain triglycerides on the function of the respiratory system and to investigate mechanisms involved in this process. We studied 13 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 8 receiving lipid and 5 placebo, and 6 without ARDS, receiving lipid. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed before and 1 hour after administration of lipid or placebo.