Conjugation with the Carrier Helped to Reveal acidification-Induced Structural Shift in the Peptide from Phospholipase Domain of Parvovirus B19.

Spectroscopic studies on domains and peptides of large proteins are complicated because of the tendency of short peptides to form oligomers in aquatic buffers, but conjugation of a peptide with a carrier protein may be helpful. In this study we approved that a fragment of SK30 peptide from phospholipase A2 domain of VP1 Parvovirus B19 capsid protein (residues: 144-159; 164; 171-183; sequence: SAVDSAARIHDFRYSQLAKLGINPYTHWTVADEELLKNIK) turns from random coil to alpha helix in the acidic medium only in case if it had been conjugated with BSA (through additional N-terminal Cys residue, turning it into CSK31 peptide, and SMCC linker) according to CD-spectroscopy results. In contrast, unconjugated SK30 peptide does not undergo such shift because it forms stable oligomers connected by intermolecular antiparallel beta sheet, according to IR-spectroscopy, CD-spectroscopy, blue native gel electrophoresis and centrifugal ultrafiltration, as, probably, the whole isolated phospholipase domain of VP1 protein does.

Structural Shifts of the Parvovirus B19 Capsid Receptor-binding Domain: A Peptide Study.

Background: Binding appropriate cellular receptors is a crucial step of a lifecycle for any virus. Structure of receptor-binding domain for a viral surface protein has to be determined before the start of future drug design projects.

Objectives: Investigation of pH-induced changes in the secondary structure for a capsid peptide with loss of function mutation can shed some light on the mechanism of entrance.

Mechanism of curaxin-dependent nucleosome unfolding by FACT.

Human FACT (FACT) is a multifunctional histone chaperone involved in transcription, replication and DNA repair. Curaxins are anticancer compounds that induce FACT-dependent nucleosome unfolding and trapping of FACT in the chromatin of cancer cells (c-trapping) through an unknown molecular mechanism. Here, we analyzed the effects of curaxin CBL0137 on nucleosome unfolding by FACT using spFRET and electron microscopy.

Germline mutations directions are different between introns of the same gene: case study of the gene coding for amyloid-beta precursor protein.

Amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is highly conserved in mammals. This feature allowed us to compare nucleotide usage biases in fourfold degenerated sites along the length of its coding region for 146 species of mammals and birds in search of fragments with significant deviations. Even though cytosine usage has the highest value in fourfold degenerated sites in APP coding region from all tested placental mammals, in contrast to marsupial mammals with the bias toward thymine usage, the most frequent germline and somatic mutations in human APP coding region are C to T and G to A transitions.

Diaminopelargonic acid transaminase from Psychrobacter cryohalolentis is active towards (S)-(-)-1-phenylethylamine, aldehydes and α-diketones.

Substrate and reaction promiscuity is a remarkable property of some enzymes and facilitates the adaptation to new metabolic demands in the evolutionary process. Substrate promiscuity is also a basis for protein engineering for biocatalysis. However, molecular principles of enzyme promiscuity are not well understood.