Pinning Down the Mechanism of Transport: Probing the Structure and Function of Transporters Using Cysteine Cross-Linking and Site-Specific Labeling

Author(s):  
Christopher Mulligan ◽  
Joseph A. Mindell
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Boll ◽  
Pia Jensen ◽  
Veit Schwämmle ◽  
Martin R. Larsen

AbstractSynaptic transmission leading to release of neurotransmitters in the nervous system is a fast and highly dynamic process. Previously, protein interaction and phosphorylation have been thought to be the main regulators of synaptic transmission. Here we show a novel potential modulator of synaptic transmission, sialylation of N-linked glycosylation. The negatively charged sialic acids can be modulated, similarly to phosphorylation, by the action of sialyltransferases and sialidases thereby changing local structure and function of membrane glycoproteins. We characterized site-specific alteration in sialylation on N-linked glycoproteins in isolated rat nerve terminals after brief depolarization using quantitative sialiomics. We identified 1965 formerly sialylated N-linked glycosites in synaptic proteins and found that the abundances of 430 glycosites changed after five seconds depolarization. We observed changes on essential synaptic proteins such as synaptic vesicle proteins, ion channels and transporters, neurotransmitter receptors and cell adhesion molecules. This study is to our knowledge the first to describe ultra-fast site-specific modulation of the sialiome after brief stimulation of a biological system.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1254-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C Brazner ◽  
Danny K Tanner ◽  
Naomi E Detenbeck ◽  
Sharon L Batterman ◽  
Stacey L Stark ◽  
...  

The relative importance of regional, watershed, and in-stream environmental factors on fish assemblage structure and function was investigated in western Lake Superior tributaries. We selected 48 second- and third-order watersheds from two hydrogeomorphic regions to examine fish assemblage response to differences in forest fragmentation, watershed storage, and a number of other watershed, riparian, and in-stream habitat conditions. Although a variety of regional, fragmentation, and storage-related factors had significant influences on the fish assemblages, water temperature appeared to be the single most important environmental factor. We found lower water temperatures and trout–sculpin assemblages at lower fragmentation sites and higher temperatures and minnow–sucker–darter assemblages as storage increased. Factors related to riparian shading and flow separated brook trout streams from brown trout (Salmo trutta) – rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) streams. Functionally, fish assemblages at lower fragmentation sites were dominated by cold-water fishes that had low silt tolerance and preferred moderate current speeds, while fishes with higher silt tolerances, warmer temperature preferences, and weaker sustained swimming capabilities were most common at higher storage sites. Our results suggest that site-specific environmental conditions are highly dependent on regional- and watershed-scale characters and that a combination of these factors operates in concert to influence the structure and function of stream fish assemblages.


1996 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Aizawa ◽  
K Sutoh ◽  
I Yahara

Cofilin is a low molecular weight actin-modulating protein whose structure and function are conserved among eucaryotes. Cofilin exhibits in vitro both a monomeric actin-sequestering activity and a filamentous actin-severing activity. To investigate in vivo functions of cofilin, cofilin was overexpressed in Dictyostelium discoideum cells. An increase in the content of D. discoideum cofilin (d-cofilin) by sevenfold induced a co-overproduction of actin by threefold. In cells over-expressing d-cofilin, the amount of filamentous actin but not that of monomeric actin was increased. Overexpressed d-cofilin co-sedimented with actin filaments, suggesting that the sequestering activity of d-cofilin is weak in vivo. The overexpression of d-cofilin increased actin bundles just beneath ruffling membranes where d-cofilin was co-localized. The overexpression of d-cofilin also stimulated cell movement as well as membrane ruffling. We have demonstrated in vitro that d-cofilin transformed latticework of actin filaments cross-linked by alpha-actinin into bundles probably by severing the filaments. D. discoideum cofilin may sever actin filaments in vivo and induce bundling of the filaments in the presence of cross-linking proteins so as to generate contractile systems involved in membrane ruffling and cell movement.


1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Filipowicz ◽  
P Pelczar ◽  
V Pogacic ◽  
F Dragon

Maturation of pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) in eukaryotic cells takes place in the nucleolus and involves a large number of cleavage events, which frequently follow alternative pathways. In addition, rRNAs are extensively modified, with the methylation of the 2'-hydroxyl group of sugar residues and conversion of uridines to pseudouridines being the most frequent modifications. Both cleavage and modification reactions of pre-rRNAs are assisted by a variety of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), which function in the form of ribonucleoprotein particles (snoRNPs). The majority of snoRNAs acts as guides directing site-specific 2'-O-ribose methylation or pseudouridine formation. Over one hundred RNAs of this type have been identified to date in vertebrates and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This number is readily explained by the findings that one snoRNA acts as a guide usually for one or at most two modifications, and human rRNAs contain 91 pseudouridines and 106 2'-O-methyl residues. In this article we review information about the biogenesis, structure and function of guide snoRNAs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 1619-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina V. Vinogradova

AbstractThis review summarizes the history and recent developments of the field of organometallic chemical biology with a particular emphasis on the development of novel bioconjugation approaches. Over the years, numerous transformations have emerged for biomolecule modification with the use of organometallic reagents; these include [3+2] cycloadditions, C–C, C–S, C–N, and C–O bond forming processes, as well as metal-mediated deprotection (“decaging”) reactions. These conceptually new additions to the chemical biology toolkit highlight the potential of organometallic chemistry to make a significant impact in the field of chemical biology by providing further opportunities for the development of chemoselective, site-specific and spatially resolved methods for biomolecule structure and function manipulation. Examples of these transformations, as well as existing challenges and future prospects of this rapidly developing field are highlighted in this review.


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