We report isolation, sequencing, and electrophysiological characterization of OSK3 (α-KTx 8.8 in Kalium and Uniprot databases), a potassium channel blocker from the scorpion Orthochirus scrobiculosus venom. Using the voltage clamp technique, OSK3 was tested on a wide panel of 11 voltage-gated potassium channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, and was found to potently inhibit Kv1.2 and Kv1.3 with IC values of ~331nM and ~503nM, respectively. OdK1 produced by the scorpion Odontobuthus doriae differs by just two C-terminal residues from OSK3, but shows marked preference to Kv1.2. Based on the charybdotoxin-potassium channel complex crystal structure, a model was built to explain the role of the variable residues in OdK1 and OSK3 selectivity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbapap.2017.02.001 | DOI Listing |
Langmuir
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has emerged as a potent tool for probing chiral small-molecule ligand exchange on natively achiral quantum dots (QDs). In this study, we report a novel approach to identifying QD-biomolecule interactions by inducing chirality in CdS QDs using thermoresponsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) engineered with C-terminal cysteine residues. Our method is based on a versatile two-step ligand exchange process starting from monodisperse oleate-capped QDs in nonpolar media and proceeding through an easily accessed achiral glycine-capped QD intermediate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biol Chem
December 2024
Department of Biosystems Science, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan; Department of Mammalian and Regulatory Networks, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan; Department of Homeostatic Medicine, Medical Research Laboratory, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo, Yushima Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan. Electronic address:
Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), a circulating serine protease inhibitor, is an acute inflammatory response protein with anti-inflammatory functions. The C-terminal peptides of AAT are found in various tissues and have been proposed as putative bioactive peptides with multiple functions, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. We previously reported that a mouse AAT C-terminal peptide of 35 amino acids (mAAT-C) penetrates plasma membrane and associates guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit alpha 13 (Gα13).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
December 2024
Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 170 Albany Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
The SARS-CoV-2 E protein conducts cations across the cell membrane to cause pathogenicity to infected cells. The high-resolution structures of the E transmembrane domain (ETM) in the closed state at neutral pH and in the open state at acidic pH have been determined. However, the ion conduction mechanism remains elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiophys Chem
December 2024
School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, VPO Kamand, Himachal Pradesh, India. Electronic address:
Despite being mostly neglected in structural biology, the C-terminal Regions (CTRs) are studied to be multifunctional in humans as well as in viruses. Previously, SARS-CoV-2 Spike and NSP1 proteins' CTRs are observed to be disordered, and experimental evidence showed a gain of structure properties in different physiological environments. In this line, we have investigated the structural dynamics of CTR (residues 38-61) of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 protein, disrupting bidirectional transport between the nucleus and cytoplasm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Environ Microbiol
December 2024
Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, Tianjin, China.
Unlabelled: As toxic pollutants, -alkanes are pervasively distributed in most environmental matrices. Although the alkane monooxygenase AlmA plays a critical role in the metabolic pathway of solid long-chain -alkanes (≥C) that are extremely difficult to degrade, the mechanism regulating this process remains unclear. Here, we characterized the function of AlmA in RAG-1, which was mainly involved in the degradation of long-chain -alkanes (C-C), among which, -C induced the promoter activity most.
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