Toxicant exposure during pregnancy increases protective proteins in the dam and a sexually dimorphic response in the fetus.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that alter endocrine system function, induce birth defects, and a myriad of other negative health outcomes. Although the mechanism of toxicity of many EDCs have been studied in detail, little work has focused on understanding the mechanisms through which pregnant dams and fetuses protect themselves from EDCs, or if those protective mechanisms are sexually dimorphic in fetuses. In this study, we examined proteomic alterations in the livers of mouse dams and their male and female fetuses induced by vinclozolin, a model antiandrogenic EDC.

Machine Learning Reveals Protein Signatures in CSF and Plasma Fluids of Clinical Value for ALS.

We use shotgun proteomics to identify biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic value in individuals diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Matched cerebrospinal and plasma fluids were subjected to abundant protein depletion and analyzed by nano-flow liquid chromatography high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Label free quantitation was used to identify differential proteins between individuals with ALS (n = 33) and healthy controls (n = 30) in both fluids.

Exposure to BMAA mirrors molecular processes linked to neurodegenerative disease.

The goal of this study is to investigate the molecular pathways perturbed by in vitro exposure of beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) to NSC-34 cells via contemporary proteomics. Our analysis of differentially regulated proteins reveals significant enrichment (p < 0.01) of pathways related to ER stress, protein ubiquitination, the unfolded protein response, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

The brassinosteroid insensitive1-like3 signalosome complex regulates Arabidopsis root development.

Brassinosteroid (BR) hormones are primarily perceived at the cell surface by the leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase brassinosteroid insensitive1 (BRI1). In Arabidopsis thaliana, BRI1 has two close homologs, BRI1-LIKE1 (BRL1) and BRL3, respectively, which are expressed in the vascular tissues and regulate shoot vascular development. Here, we identify novel components of the BRL3 receptor complex in planta by immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis.

Peptide aptamers that bind to geminivirus replication proteins confer a resistance phenotype to tomato yellow leaf curl virus and tomato mottle virus infection in tomato.

Geminiviruses constitute a large family of single-stranded DNA viruses that cause serious losses in important crops worldwide. They often exist in disease complexes and have high recombination and mutation rates, allowing them to adapt rapidly to new hosts and environments. Thus, an effective resistance strategy must be general in character and able to target multiple viruses.

Functional analysis of a novel motif conserved across geminivirus Rep proteins.

Members of the Geminiviridae have single-stranded DNA genomes that replicate in nuclei of infected plant cells. All geminiviruses encode a conserved protein (Rep) that catalyzes initiation of rolling-circle replication. Earlier studies showed that three conserved motifs-motifs I, II, and III-in the N termini of geminivirus Rep proteins are essential for function.

Isolation of Peptide aptamers to target protein function.

Peptide aptamers are small recombinant proteins typically inserted into a supportive protein scaffold. These short peptide domains can bind to their target proteins with high specificity and affinity, often resulting in an altered target protein. We describe high-throughput protocols that facilitate the selection and characterization of peptide aptamers from yeast dihybrid libraries.