Single batrachotoxin-activated sodium channels from rat brain were modified by trimethyloxonium (TMO) after incorporation in planar lipid bilayers. TMO modification eliminated saxitoxin (STX) sensitivity, reduced the single channel conductance by 37%, and reduced calcium block of inward sodium currents. These effects always occurred concomitantly, in an all-or-none fashion. Calcium and STX protected sodium channels from TMO modification with potencies similar to their affinities for block. Calcium inhibited STX binding to rat brain membrane vesicles and relieved toxin block of channels in bilayers, apparently by competing with STX for the toxin binding site. These results suggest that toxins, permeant cations, and blocking cations can interact with a common site on the sodium channel near the extracellular surface. It is likely that permeant cations transiently bind to this superficial site, as the first of several steps in passing inward through the channel. 相似文献
We have developed a new approach to the measurement of phylogenetic signal
in character state matrices called relative apparent synapomorphy analysis
(RASA). RASA provides a deterministic, statistical measure of natural
cladistic hierarchy (phylogenetic signal) in character state matrices. The
method works by determining whether a measure of the rate of increase of
cladistic similarity among pairs of taxa as a function of phenetic
similarity is greater than a null equiprobable rate of increase. Our
investigation of the utility and limitations of RASA using simulated and
bacteriophage T7 data sets indicates that the method has numerous
advantages over existing measures of signal. A first advantage is
computational efficiency. A second advantage is that RASA employs known
methods of statistical inference, providing measurable sensitivity and
power. The performance of RASA is examined under various conditions of
branching evolution as the number of characters, character states per
character, and mutations per branch length are varied. RASA appears to
provide an unbiased and reliable measure of phylogenetic signal, and the
general approach promises to be useful in the development of new techniques
that should increase the rigor and reliability of phylogenetic estimates.
相似文献
Analysis of the heat-shock proteins (hsps) of six closely related species
of Poeciliopsis demonstrated the existence of biochemical diversity in the
hsp100, hsp70, hsp60, and hsp30 protein families among species. Each
species expressed five to seven hsp70-related isoforms. Constitutive 70-kD
isoforms were identical among species, but four different patterns of
heat-inducible isoforms were seen in these six species. Members of the
hsp70 family of molecular chaperones are included among the most highly
conserved proteins known, and the possibility of variation in hsp70 among
closely related species has rarely been addressed. The hsp30 family is
known to be less conserved than the hsp70 family, and, as expected, the
Poeciliopsis hsp30 patterns showed more variation. Most of the hsp30
isoforms characteristic of a particular species were unique to that
species. Hsp100 and hsp60 were identical in five of the species, but
alternate isoforms were found in P. monacha. The small size and limited
geographical distribution of the P. monacha population have probably
contributed to the uniqueness of the monacha pattern. Two of the species
were shown to acquire thermotolerance, the ability to withstand normally
lethal temperatures when subjected to a gradual temperature increase.
Rapid-heating protocols commonly used to establish critical thermal maxima
of organisms do not include this inducible component of thermoresistance
and therefore do not adequately assess an organism's capacity to withstand
thermal stress.
相似文献
The 70-kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp70) family of molecular
chaperones, which contains both stress-inducible and normally abundant
constitutive members, is highly conserved across distantly related taxa.
Analysis of this protein family in individuals from an outbred population
of tropical topminnows, Poeciliopsis gracilis, showed that while
constitutive hsp70 family members showed no variation in protein isoforms,
inducibly synthesized hsp70 was polymorphic. Several species of
Poeciliopsis adapted to desert environments exhibited lower levels of
inducible hsp70 polymorphism than the tropical species, but constitutive
forms were identical to those in P. gracilis, as they were in the
confamilial species Gambusia affinis. These differences suggest that
inducible and constitutive members of this family are under different
evolutionary constraints and may indicate differences in their function
within the cell. Also, northern desert species of Poeciliopsis synthesize a
subset of the inducible hsp70 isoforms seen in tropical species. This
distribution supports the theory that ancestral tropical fish migrated
northward and colonized desert streams; the subsequent decrease in
variation of inducible hsp70 may have been due to genetic drift or a
consequence of adaptation to the desert environment. Higher levels of
variability were found when the 30- kilodalton heat shock protein (hsp30)
family was analyzed within different strains of two desert species of
Poeciliopsis and also in wild-caught individuals of Gambusia affinis. In
both cases the distribution of hsp30 isoform diversity was similar to that
seen previously with allozyme polymorphisms.
相似文献
In this paper we demonstrate the use of network analysis to characterise patterns of clustering in spatio-temporal events. Such clustering is of both theoretical and practical importance in the study of crime, and forms the basis for a number of preventative strategies. However, existing analytical methods show only that clustering is present in data, while offering little insight into the nature of the patterns present. Here, we show how the classification of pairs of events as close in space and time can be used to define a network, thereby generalising previous approaches. The application of graph-theoretic techniques to these networks can then offer significantly deeper insight into the structure of the data than previously possible. In particular, we focus on the identification of network motifs, which have clear interpretation in terms of spatio-temporal behaviour. Statistical analysis is complicated by the nature of the underlying data, and we provide a method by which appropriate randomised graphs can be generated. Two datasets are used as case studies: maritime piracy at the global scale, and residential burglary in an urban area. In both cases, the same significant 3-vertex motif is found; this result suggests that incidents tend to occur not just in pairs, but in fact in larger groups within a restricted spatio-temporal domain. In the 4-vertex case, different motifs are found to be significant in each case, suggesting that this technique is capable of discriminating between clustering patterns at a finer granularity than previously possible. 相似文献
Introduction: Epigenetic dysregulation drives or supports numerous human cancers. The chromatin landscape in cancer cells is often marked by abnormal histone post-translational modification (PTM) patterns and by aberrant assembly and recruitment of protein complexes to specific genomic loci. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses can support the discovery and characterization of both phenomena.
Areas covered: We broadly divide this literature into two parts: ‘modification-centric’ analyses that link histone PTMs to cancer biology; and ‘complex-centric’ analyses that examine protein–protein interactions that occur de novo as a result of oncogenic mutations. We also discuss proteomic studies of oncohistones. We highlight relevant examples, discuss limitations, and speculate about forthcoming innovations regarding each application.
Expert commentary: ‘Modification-centric’ analyses have been used to further understanding of cancer’s histone code and to identify associated therapeutic vulnerabilities. ‘Complex-centric’ analyses have likewise revealed insights into mechanisms of oncogenesis and suggested potential therapeutic targets, particularly in MLL-associated leukemia. Proteomic experiments have also supported some of the pioneering studies of oncohistone-mediated tumorigenesis. Additional applications of proteomics that may benefit cancer epigenetics research include middle-down and top-down histone PTM analysis, chromatin reader profiling, and genomic locus-specific protein identification. In the coming years, proteomic approaches will remain powerful ways to interrogate the biology of cancer. 相似文献
We have cloned and overexpressed a truncated, recombinant form of beta-carbonic anhydrase from Arabidopsis thaliana. The wild-type enzyme and two site-directed variants, H216N and Y212F, have been kinetically characterized both at steady state by stopped-flow spectrophotometry and at chemical equilibrium by (18)O isotope exchange methods. The wild-type enzyme has a maximal k(cat) for CO2 hydration of 320 ms(-1) and is rate limited by proton transfer involving two residues with apparent pK(a) values of 6.0 and 8.7. The mutant enzyme H216N has a maximal k(cat) at high pH that is 43% that of wild type, but is only 5% that of wild type at pH 7.0. (18)O exchange studies reveal that the effect of the mutations H216N or Y212F is primarily on proton transfer steps in the catalytic mechanism and not in the rate of CO2-HCO3- exchange. These results suggest that residues His-216 and Tyr-212 are both important for efficient proton transfer in A. thaliana carbonic anhydrase. 相似文献