Glutamate Receptor-interacting Protein 1 Protein Binds to the Microtubule-associated Protein

To identify the interaction proteins for the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptor subunit glutamate receptor-interacting protein 1 (GRIP1), GRIP1 interactions with microtubule-associated protein (MAP)-1B light chain (LC) were investigated. GRIP1 interacts with MAP-1A and MAP-1B in the yeast two-hybrid assay, as is indicated also by glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation with MAP-1B LC antibody in brain fractions. These results suggest a novel mechanism for localizing AMPA receptors to synaptic sites.     

植物磷胁迫蛋白和铁胁迫蛋白研究进展

综述了近十年来国内外有关研究植物磷胁迫蛋白和铁胁迫蛋白的文献。着重阐述了磷胁迫和铁胁迫条件下的植物蛋白质变化,如新的蛋白和新的多肽的特异产生,以及相关的分子生物学进展。     

植物磷胁迫蛋白和铁胁迫蛋白研究进展

综述了近十年来国内外有关研究植物磷胁迫蛋白和铁胁迫蛋白的文献,着重阐述了磷胁迫和铁胁迫条件下的植物蛋白质变化,如新的蛋白和新的多肽的特异产生,以及相关的分子生物学进展。     

运动神经元生存蛋白SMN与Sm蛋白的结合作用

脊髓性肌萎缩症（spinal muscular atrophy,SMA）是一类与运动神经元存活基因（survival of motor neurons gene,SMN gene）突变有关的神经系统变性疾病,而SMN基因的转录产物即为SMN蛋白（survival of motorneurons protein,SMN protein）。SMN蛋白与多种蛋白结合后发挥作用,如SMN-Sm蛋白的相互作用在富含尿嘧啶的小核核糖核蛋白体（uridine—richsmallribonucleo—proteins,UsnRNPs）转运装配中有重要意义。SMN蛋白是通过其Tudor结构域与剪接体sm蛋白的二甲基化修饰的富含精氨酸一氨基乙酸域（ar—ginineandglycine—rich,RG）结合。     

丝裂原活化蛋白激酶激活蛋白激酶(MK)研究进展

丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(MAPK)信号通路介导多种重要的细胞生理反应.对下游蛋白激酶的磷酸化是MAPK家族成员发挥生理作用的重要方式.在MAPK的下游存在3个结构上相关的MAPK激活蛋白激酶(MAPKAPKorMK),即MK2,MK3和MK5.在被MAPK激活后,MK可将信号传递至细胞内不同靶标,从而在转录和翻译水平调节基因表达,调控细胞骨架和细胞周期,介导细胞迁移和胚胎发育.最近,在基因敲除研究的基础上,不同MK亚族成员之间的功能区分已经逐渐明晰,使我们对于MK的认识有了长足的进步.     

规模化蛋白质相互作用的研究技术

蛋白质相互作用既是蛋白质执行功能的主要方式,也是细胞功能调控网络的结构基础。蛋白质间异常的相互作用及其连锁网络的紊乱是引起许多病理改变的原因。作为功能基因组和蛋白质组研究的重要内容,规模化蛋白质相互作用研究已成为近年国际上研究的热点之一。文章综述了当前规模化蛋白质相互作用研究中的常用技术和常用蛋白质相互作用数据库,研究者可根据研究需要和技术特点利用这些资源。     

Protein Solubility and Protein Homeostasis: A Generic View of Protein Misfolding Disorders

According to the “generic view” of protein aggregation, the ability to self-assemble into stable and highly organized structures such as amyloid fibrils is not an unusual feature exhibited by a small group of peptides and proteins with special sequence or structural properties, but rather a property shared by most proteins. At the same time, through a wide variety of techniques, many of which were originally devised for applications in other disciplines, it has also been established that the maintenance of proteins in a soluble state is a fundamental aspect of protein homeostasis. Taken together, these advances offer a unified framework for understanding the molecular basis of protein aggregation and for the rational development of therapeutic strategies based on the biological and chemical regulation of protein solubility.Virtually every complex biochemical process taking place in living cells depends on the ability of the molecules involved to self-assemble into functional structures (Dobson 2003; Robinson et al. 2007; Russel et al. 2009), and a sophisticated quality control system is responsible for regulating the reactions leading to this organization within the cellular environment (Dobson 2003; Balch et al. 2008; Hartl and Hayer-Hartl 2009; Powers et al. 2009; Vendruscolo and Dobson 2009). Proteins are the molecules that are essential for enabling, regulating, and controlling almost all the tasks necessary to maintain such a balance. To function, the majority of our proteins need to fold into specific three-dimensional structures following their biosynthesis in the ribosome (Hartl and Hayer-Hartl 2002). The wide variety of highly specific structures that results from protein folding, and which serve to bring key functional groups into close proximity, has enabled living systems to develop an astonishing diversity and selectivity in their underlying chemical processes by using a common set of just 20 basic molecular components, the amino acids (Dobson 2003). Given the central importance of protein folding, it is not surprising that the failure of proteins to fold correctly, or to remain correctly folded, is at the origin of a wide variety of pathological conditions, including late-onset diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (Dobson 2003; Chiti and Dobson 2006; Haass and Selkoe 2007). In many of these disorders proteins self-assemble in an aberrant manner into large molecular aggregates, notably amyloid fibrils (Chiti and Dobson 2006; Ramirez-Alvarado et al. 2010).     

p53相关蛋白激酶结合蛋白CGI-121

利用酵母双杂交技术从人的睾丸cDNA文库中鉴定得到p53相关蛋白激酶(PRPK)结合蛋白CGI-121,体外实验表明,重组CGI-121能抑制PRPK磷酸化p53第15位的Ser,未磷酸化p53进入泛素蛋白酶体途径,导致细胞增殖或肿瘤发生;然而,体内过表达CGI-121并没有显著的抑制PRPK磷酸化p53.Michael Downey等在研究cdcl3基因缺陷型酿酒酵母中筛选得到cdcl3-1突变体的抑制基因CGI-121,CGI-121是真核生物一个新的保守复合物--KEOPS复合物组成之一.KEOPS复合物具有促进端粒延伸和使端粒拆开的功能.CGI-121突变体在热敏感cdcl3-1酵母突变株中可以减少ssDNA的积累和缩短端粒;同时,在端粒功能异常芽殖酵母中CGI-121和piD261/Bud32促进端粒的拆开.然而,基因调控自身表达的机制以及在PRPK信号途径和KEOPS复合物中的扮演的角色有待于进一步研究.     

绿色荧光蛋白在蛋白质研究中的应用

绿色荧光蛋白（green fluorescent protein,GFP）自发现以来,由于具有自发荧光等特性,在分子生物学和细胞生物学领域得到广泛应用。GFP作为一种报道分子,在研究蛋白质相互作用和构象变化、检测蛋白质表达、蛋白质和细胞荧光示踪中,起到了重要的作用。该文通过对绿色荧光蛋白特性的分析．介绍其作为荧光标记在蛋白质研究中的应用,并展望进一步的研究前景。     

Protein quantification

Protein quantification is an integral part of any investigation related to protein isolation, purification, characterization, and analysis. Although the methods considered in this lecture have multi-year history and applied widely in the laboratory practice, there are some crucial points, which must be taken into consideration while choosing the method permitting reliably and with a high specificity and reproducibility to quantify protein.     

WD-重复蛋白

 WD基元又称Trp-ASP或WD40,由40个左右的氨基酸残基组成,具有保守的GH和WD序列.WD基元存在于很多具有调控功能的蛋白质中,介导蛋白质之间的相互作用,在信号转导、蛋白运输、染色体修饰、转录或RNA加工等过程中具有重要作用.WD重复蛋白(WD-repeat protein)是含有多个保守的WD基元的蛋白质.近年发现,WD-repeat基因突变与人的几种疾病相关.本文对真核生物WD-重复蛋白的研究进展进行了综述,阐明了WD 重复蛋白的β-propeller结构特征及其作用机制,并对WD-重复蛋白的未来研究方向进行展望.     

肌动蛋白集束调控因子及G蛋白信号转导通路

细胞骨架由微丝、微管及中等纤维组成受不同蛋白因子调控以不同方式组装成不同直径的纤维 ,遍布于一切细胞 ,决定细胞的形状 ,赋予其抗压强度 ,对细胞器及大分子进行空间组织 ,实现胞内的能量转换。在肌动蛋白 (ａｃｔｉｎ)组装成张力纤维和张力纤维解离成肌动蛋白单体过程中有多种蛋白因子参与调控 ,从而使细胞骨架处于一个生理的动态平衡中 ,执行和完成不同的生化反应。在众多的调控蛋白中 ,肌动蛋白集束调控蛋白因子 (ａｃｔｉｎｂｕｎｄｌｉｎｇｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ)不仅参与肌动蛋白结构调节 ,还与细胞内信号传导有密切关系。已发现的肌动蛋…     

Protein modules

As the database of protein sequences grows it is becoming apparent that many proteins are constructed from relatively few modular units that appear many times. Determination of the three-dimensional structure of such modules by NMR has been possible due to their production in relatively large quantities by recombinant DNA techniques. The knowledge gained about the structure of individual modules can then be used to predict their properties in a variety of intact proteins.     

Protein Production

Cover illustration: Focus on Protein Production. Cover illustration by Dr. Roland Wohlgemuth (Buchs, Switzerland), related to his contribution on p. 202 of this issue [1] on “Process analysis of macrotetrolide biosynthesis during fermentation by means of direct infusion LC-MS”. This BTJ issue with a special focus on Protein Production is edited by Professor Alois Jungbauer (Vienna, Austria) and highlights a variety of aspects between molecular and macroscopic protein engineering, from diseases of protein aggregation to protein recovery from inclusion bodies and protein biosynthesis analytical techniques.