Amphipathic Bax core dimer forms part of apoptotic pore wall in the mitochondrial membrane

SummaryBax proteins form pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane to initiate apoptosis. They may embed in the cytosolic leaflet of the lipid bilayer generating tension to induce a lipid pore with radially arranged lipids forming the wall. Alternatively, they may comprise part of the pore wall. However, there is no unambiguous structural evidence for either hypothesis. Using NMR, we determine a high-resolution structure of the Bax core region that forms a dimer with the nonpolar surface covering the lipid bilayer edge and the polar surface exposed to water. The dimer tilts from the bilayer normal, not only maximizing nonpolar interactions with lipid tails but creating polar interactions between charged residues and lipid heads. Structure-guided mutations demonstrate the importance of both protein-lipid interactions in Bax pore assembly and core dimer configuration. Therefore, the Bax core dimer forms part of the proteolipid pore wall to permeabilize mitochondria.

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High-resolution structure determination by ALCHEMI

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100074707 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. 178-181 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter G. Self ◽

Peter R. Buseck

Keyword(s):

Site Occupancy ◽

Real Space ◽

Unit Cell ◽

Bragg Angle ◽

Electron Current ◽

High Resolution Structure ◽

Beam Incident ◽

Crystallographic Planes ◽

Electron Beam Incident ◽

Resolution Structure

ALCHEMI (Atom Location by CHanneling Enhanced Microanalysis) enables the site occupancy of atoms in single crystals to be determined. In this article the fundamentals of the method for both EDS and EELS will be discussed. Unlike HRTEM, ALCHEMI does not place stringent resolution requirements on the microscope and, because EDS clearly distinguishes between elements of similar atomic number, it can offer some advantages over HRTEM. It does however, place certain constraints on the crystal. These constraints are: a) the sites of interest must lie on alternate crystallographic planes, b) the projected charge density on the alternate planes must be significantly different, and c) there must be at least one atomic species that lies solely on one of the planes.An electron beam incident on a crystal undergoes elastic scattering; in reciprocal space this is seen as a diffraction pattern and in real space this is a modulation of the electron current across the unit cell. When diffraction is strong (i.e., when the crystal is oriented near to the Bragg angle of a low-order reflection) the electron current at one point in the unit cell will differ significantly from that at another point.

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Cathodoluminescence of Catalyst Crystallites

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100055667 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 664-665

Author(s):

E.D. Boyes ◽

P.L. Gai ◽

D.B. Darby ◽

C. Warwick

Keyword(s):

Defect Density ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Semiconductor Materials ◽

Environmental Cell ◽

High Resolution Structure ◽

Commercially Important ◽

Crystallographic Defects ◽

Resolution Structure

The extended crystallographic defects introduced into some oxide catalysts under operating conditions may be a consequence and accommodation of the changes produced by the catalytic activity, rather than always being the origin of the reactivity. Operation without such defects has been established for the commercially important tellurium molybdate system. in addition it is clear that the point defect density and the electronic structure can both have a significant influence on the chemical properties and hence on the effectiveness (activity and selectivity) of the material as a catalyst. SEM/probe techniques more commonly applied to semiconductor materials, have been investigated to supplement the information obtained from in-situ environmental cell HVEM, ultra-high resolution structure imaging and more conventional AEM and EPMA chemical microanalysis.

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