To construct a new model of the propagation mechanism of infectious scrapie-type prion protein (PrP(Sc)), here we conducted a disruption simulation of a PrP(Sc) nonamer using structure-based molecular dynamics simulation method based on a hypothetical PrP(Sc) model structure. The simulation results showed that the nonamer disrupted in cooperative manners into monomers via two significant intermediate states: (1) a nonamer with a partially unfolded surface trimer and (2) a hexamer and three monomers. Dimers and trimers were rarely observed. Then, we propose a new PrP(Sc) propagation mechanism where a hexamer plays an essential role as a minimum infectious unit.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.07.103 | DOI Listing |
Cell Calcium
December 2024
Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, 89557, USA. Electronic address:
Interstitial cells of Cajal in the plane of the myenteric plexus (ICC-MY) serve as electrical pacemakers in the stomach and small intestine. A similar population of cells is found in the colon, but these cells do not appear to generate regular slow wave potentials, as characteristic in more proximal gut regions. Ca handling mechanisms in ICC-MY of the mouse proximal colon were studied using confocal imaging of muscles from animals expressing GCaMP6f exclusively in ICC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Yunnan Key Laboratory of Internal Combustion Engine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
Ammonia is a highly promising carbon-neutral fuel. The use of ammonia as a fuel for internal combustion engines can reduce fossil energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the high ignition energy required for ammonia and the slow flame propagation rate result in low combustion efficiency when ammonia is used directly in internal combustion engines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirology
December 2024
Departments of Surgery & Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA. Electronic address:
The sphingolipid network is sustained principally by the balance of bioactive sphingolipid molecules and their regulation by sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes. The components in the lipid system display key functions in numerous cellular and disease conditions including virus infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a fruitful effort to use an inhibitor that blocks the activity of sphingosine kinase (SphK) 2 to cure the devastating disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirology
December 2024
The Centre for Infection and Immunity Studies, School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518107, China. Electronic address:
The knowledge on the life cycle of flaviviruses is still incomplete, and no direct-acting antivirals against their infections are clinically available. Herein, by screening via a Zika virus (ZIKV) replicon assay, we found that the N-terminus of NS2A exhibited great tolerance to the insertions of different split fluorescent proteins (split-FPs). Furthermore, both ZIKV and dengue virus encoding a split-FP-tagged NS2A propagated efficiently, and the split-FP-tagged ZIKVs had good genetic stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell
December 2024
Key Laboratory Experimental Teratology of the Ministry of Education, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Advanced Medical Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address:
Animals have evolved pH-sensing membrane receptors, such as G-protein-coupled receptor 4 (GPR4), to monitor pH changes related to their physiology and generate adaptive reactions. However, the evolutionary trajectory and structural mechanism of proton sensing by GPR4 remain unresolved. Here, we observed a positive correlation between the optimal pH of GPR4 activity and the blood pH range across different species.
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