Protein and Peptide Letters - Volume 19, Issue 10, 2012

Gram negative bacteria have evolved many mechanisms of attaching to and invading host epithelial and immune cells. In particular, many outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are involved in this initial interaction between the pathogen and their host. This review focuses on a number of small pore-forming OMPs that are all composed of eightstranded β- barrel proteins and include members of the OmpA, OmpW and OmpX fa Read More

Resuscitation promoting factors (Rpf) are a family of proteins secreted by actively growing actinobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Experimental evidence suggests that Rpfs play a distinct role in bacterial resuscitation and re-growth as well as reactivation of chronic tuberculosis in mice. The striking similarity of the Rpfs structure to cell wall hydrolysing enzymes has provided a basis for the development of novel l Read More

Among the few well characterized virulence factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the heparinbinding hemagglutinin (HBHA). HBHA is a 21-kDa protein that localizes to the mycobacterial surface where it can interact with host components. Interaction with epithelial cells and components of the extracellular matrix is mediated by the methylated lysine-rich C-terminal domain of the protein. The N-terminal end of HBHA cont Read More

This mini-review gives a structural view on the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), the endotoxin from Gram negative bacteria, paying attention on the features that are relevant for their activity as elicitors of the innate immune system of humans, animals and plants.

The immunoglobulin fold (Ig-fold) is a widespread structural motif that is detected in a variety of proteins involved in diversified biological processes. The Ig-fold contains 70-110 residues that are assembled in a characteristic sandwich-like structure formed by two facing β-sheets each made of antiparallel β-strands. A number of variations on this common theme have been detected and described (Ig-like fold). One of th Read More

NBCe1-A is an integral membrane protein that cotransports Na+ and HCO3 - ions across the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule. It is essential for maintaining a homeostatic balance of cellular and blood pH. In X-ray diffraction studies, we reported that the cytoplasmic, N-terminal domain of NBCe1-A (NtNBCe1-A) is a dimer. Here, biophysical measurements show that the dimer is in a concentration-dependent dyna Read More

Avian β-defensin 6 (AvBD-6) is an antimicrobial peptide that plays significant roles in the innate immunity of chickens. To explore the effects of disulfide bonds on antimicrobial activity of AvBD-6, two peptides with or without Cys residues were designed and expressed in Pichia Pastoris. The peptide AvBD-6-B was obtained by removing six Cys residues of AvBD-6. According to the codon bias of Pichia Pastoris, the genes of AvB Read More

The study of DNA-binding proteins is crucial in understanding gene regulatory networks. We developed a new method for the enrichment of DNA-binding proteins based on the variability of DNA-protein complexes' solubility in different ionic strength solutions. 0.14M sodium chloride was determined as the most efficient extraction concentration to precipitate DNA-binding proteins. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that some hi Read More

CAMA-syn, a hybrid composed of N-terminal α-helical segment of Cecropin A(amino acid 1-8) and Magainin 2 (amino acid 1-12), is a novel small peptide with the potent antibacterial and synergistic activity without cytotoxicity. In order to test the antibacterial function of CAMA-syn produced in mammalian cells, several vectors containing the synthesized CAMA-syn DNA fragment were constructed and transfected into recipient c Read More

This work aimed at describing the first biochemical and structural data of a lectin belonging to Swartzieae, a primitive Legume Taxa. A lactose-binding seed lectin (SLL) was purified by affinity chromatography of crude saline extracts of Swartzia laevicarpa on immobilized lactose. The SLL agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes but not rat or human (A, B, O) erythrocytes. Lectin activity was retained after heating at 100 °C for 15 Read More

Self-organized criticality (SOC) is a popular concept that has been the subject of more than 3000 articles in the last 25 years. The characteristic signature of SOC is the appearance of self-similarity (power-law scaling) in observable properties. A characteristic observable protein property that describes protein-water interactions is the water-accessible (hydropathic) interfacial area of compacted globular protein networks. Here Read More

Human endophilin 1 (hEndo1) is a multifunctional protein that was found to bind a wide spectrum of prolinerich endocytic proteins through its Src homology 3 (SH3) domain. In order to elucidate the unknown biological functions of hEndo1, it is essential to find out the cytoplasmic components that hEndo1 recognizes and binds. However, it is too time-consuming and expensive to synthesize all peptide candidates found in the hu Read More

Buffalo milk safety was highlighted with the increase in dietary consumption, and a little information is available on buffalo milk allergy except for cross-reactivity between buffalo and cow milk. In this work, linear epitopes and critical amino acids of buffalo β-lactoglobulin were defined by 4 rabbit's sera using SPOTTM peptide arrays approach based on the defined mimotopes. The eight epitopes on buffalo β-lactoglobulin wer Read More

The anti-angiogenic, carboxy terminal non-collagenous domain (NC1) derived from human Collagen type IV alpha 6 chain, [α6(IV)NC1] or hexastatin, was earlier obtained using different recombinant methods of expression in bacterial systems. However, the effect of L-arginine mediated renaturation in enhancing the relative yields of this protein from bacterial inclusion bodies has not been evaluated. In the pres Read More

Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) of the M1 family is a broad specificity enzyme that is intimately involved in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. Asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) is a tumor-homing tripeptide, which can selectively combine with APN/CD13 that is overexpressed on the surface of some tumor cells. Various anti-tumor drugs can be conjugated to NGR to improve selectivity, efficacy, and to decrease drug toxicity. I Read More