Spin-Labeling Study of the Structure and Function of Leucine Aminopeptidase

1992 ◽  
pp. 389-403
Author(s):  
Werner Damerau ◽  
Siegfried Fittkau
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elka R. Georgieva

AbstractCellular membranes and associated proteins play critical physiological roles in organisms from all life kingdoms. In many cases, malfunction of biological membranes triggered by changes in the lipid bilayer properties or membrane protein functional abnormalities lead to severe diseases. To understand in detail the processes that govern the life of cells and to control diseases, one of the major tasks in biological sciences is to learn how the membrane proteins function. To do so, a variety of biochemical and biophysical approaches have been used in molecular studies of membrane protein structure and function on the nanoscale. This review focuses on electron paramagnetic resonance with site-directed nitroxide spin-labeling (SDSL EPR), which is a rapidly expanding and powerful technique reporting on the local protein/spin-label dynamics and on large functionally important structural rearrangements. On the other hand, adequate to nanoscale study membrane mimetics have been developed and used in conjunction with SDSL EPR. Primarily, these mimetics include various liposomes, bicelles, and nanodiscs. This review provides a basic description of the EPR methods, continuous-wave and pulse, applied to spin-labeled proteins, and highlights several representative applications of EPR to liposome-, bicelle-, or nanodisc-reconstituted membrane proteins.


2011 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 144a
Author(s):  
Dawn Z. Herrick ◽  
Weiwei Kuo ◽  
Jeffrey F. Ellena ◽  
David S. Cafiso

Parasitology ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Öhman

The biology and life cycle of Apatemon gracilis minor is briefly described.The morphology of the cup–shaped forebody with the small lappets, the pear-shaped subcuticular cells and the very flexible finger–like adhesive organ lobes is considered in some detail.An extensive description of the body musculature is given and the mode of attachment of the parasite to the host mucosa is studied.The main results of the histochemical tests are: (a) a relative absence of enzymes in the adhesive organ and a greater activity in the lappets; (b) the presence of two types of esterase, a non-specific esterase of B-type in the caecal cells and a non-specific esterase of resistant type, possibly a non-specific cholinesterase, in the rest of the reacting sites in the parasite; (c) a relatively small activity for leucine aminopeptidase; (d) the presence of RNA at all sites of enzyme formation; and finally, (e), the presence of enzymes and carbohydrates in the cuticle.The activities of the parasite result in a local disruption of the host intestinal mucosa at the site of attachment. It is suggested that this is a result of the activities of the enzymes secreted by the parasite.The absorption of nutrients and the circulatory function of the excretory system are discussed.I should like to express my sincere thanks to Dr D. A. Erasmus for helpful discussions and advice during the progress of the work and to Professor J. Brough for giving me the opportunity to work in his department. The study was conducted during the tenure of a grant from Svenska Vetenskapliga Centralrådet i Finland.


Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


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