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Multicellular organisms consist of cells that interact via elaborate adhesion complexes. Desmosomes are membrane-associated adhesion complexes that mechanically tether the cytoskeletal intermediate filaments (IFs) between two adjacent cells, creating a network of tough connections in tissues such as skin and heart. Desmoplakin (DP) is the key desmosomal protein that binds IFs, and the DP-IF association poses a quandary: desmoplakin must stably and tightly bind IFs to maintain the structural integrity of the desmosome. Yet, newly synthesized DP must traffick along the cytoskeleton to the site of nascent desmosome assembly without sticking to the IF network, implying weak or transient DP--IF contacts. Recent work reveals that these contacts are modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs) in DPs C-terminal tail. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we have elucidated the structural basis of these PTM-induced effects. Our simulations, nearing 2 microseconds in aggregate, indicate that phosphorylation of S2849 induces an arginine claw in desmoplakins C-terminal tail (DPCTT). If a key arginine, R2834, is methylated, the DPCTT preferentially samples conformations that are geometrically well-suited as substrates for processive phosphorylation by the cognate kinase GSK3. We suggest that DPCTT is a molecular switch that modulates, via its conformational dynamics, DPs efficacy as a substrate for GSK3. Finally, we show that the fluctuating DPCTT can contact other parts of DP, suggesting a competitive binding mechanism for the modulation of DP--IF interactions.
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) do not possess well-defined three-dimensional structures in solution under physiological conditions. We develop all-atom, united-atom, and coarse-grained Langevin dynamics simulations for the IDP alpha-synucle
The prion protein (PrP) binds Cu2+ ions in the octarepeat domain of the N-terminal tail up to full occupancy at pH=7.4. Recent experiments show that the HGGG octarepeat subdomain is responsible for holding the metal bound in a square planar coordinat
Cellulosomes are complex multi-enzyme machineries which efficiently degrade plant cell-wall polysaccharides. The multiple domains of the cellulosome proteins are often tethered together by intrinsically disordered regions. The properties and function
There is an urgent need of biosynthetic bone grafts with enhanced osteogenic capacity. In this study, we describe the design of hierarchical meso-macroporous 3D-scaffolds based on mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), enriched with the peptide osteost
The chaperonin GroEL-GroES, a machine which helps some proteins to fold, cycles through a number of allosteric states, the $T$ state, with high affinity for substrate proteins (SPs), the ATP-bound $R$ state, and the $R^{primeprime}$ ($GroEL-ADP-GroES