Nine minima were found on the intermolecular potential energy surface for the ternary system HNO3(CH3OH)2 at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory. The cooperative effect, which is a measure of the hydrogen-bonding strength, was probed in these nine conformations of HNO3…(CH3OH)2. The results are discussed here in terms of structures, energetics, infrared vibrational frequencies, and topological parameters. The cooperative effect was observed to be an important contributor to the total interaction energies of the cyclic conformers of HNO3…(CH3OH)2, meaning that it cannot be neglected in simulations in which the pair-additive potential is applied.
Subunit α of the Escherichia coli F1FO ATP synthase has been produced, and its low-resolution structure has been determined. The monodispersity of α allowed the studies of nucleotide-binding and inhibitory effect of 4-Chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) to ATP/ADP-binding. Binding constants (Kd) of 1.6 μM of bound MgATP-ATTO-647N and 2.9 μM of MgADP-ATTO-647N have been determined from fluorescence correlation spectroscopy data. A concentration of 51 μM and 55 μM of NBD-Cl dropped the MgATP-ATTO-647N and MgADP-ATTO-647N binding capacity to 50% (IC50), respectively. In contrast, no effect was observed in the presence of N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. As subunit α is the homologue of subunit B of the A1AO ATP synthase, the interaction of NBD-Cl with B of the A-ATP synthase from Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 has also been shown. The data reveal a reduction of nucleotide-binding of B due to NBD-Cl, resulting in IC50 values of 41 μM and 42 μM for MgATP-ATTO-647N and MgADP-ATTO-647N, respectively. 相似文献
The dissolved CO 2 concentration of stream waters is an important component of the terrestrial carbon cycle and an important pathway for release
of CO2 to the atmosphere. This study uses data from the UK's largest groundwater monitoring network to estimate the importance of
groundwater in contributing excess dissolved CO2 to the atmosphere. The study shows that:
(i)
the arithmetic mean concentration of excess dissolved CO2 in the groundwater was 4.99 mg C/I with a standard deviation of 2.53
(ii)
for the groundwater composition of excess dissolved CO2 analysis shows no statistical difference between years but does show a significant intra-annual effect and a significant
difference between aquifers
(iii)
A weighted average of the estimate the areal export of excess dissolved CO2 from the groundwater of the catchment is between 1.4 and 2.9 t C/km2
(iv)
the flux of excess dissolved CO2 at the catchment outlet over the period between 1975 and 2002 averages 1.79 kt C/year.
If this were replicated across the UK then the flux of CO2 from rivers would be 0.65 Mt C/year. 相似文献
PROSTAGLANDIN (PG) F2αhas antifertility effects in many species1–3 but there are conflicting suggestions as to its mechanism of action. For example, it may cause the degeneration of the corpus luteum by decreasing blood flow in the uteroovarian vein4; alternatively, its action may be due to a hypersecretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) by the pituitary3,5. I have investigated the effects of PGF2α, E2 and E1 on pregnancy in mice and examined the mechanism of action of PGF2α. 相似文献
STUDIES of adult1 and foetal2 haemoglobin from the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) have shown that the amino-acid compositions of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides of the α, β and γ-chains are indistinguishable from those of man. The primary structures of chimpanzee α, β and γ-chains are therefore almost certainly identical to the homologous human chains. The two types of γ-chains found in man3, Gγ and Aγ, with glycine and alanine in position γ136, respectively, are likewise present in the chimpanzee2. 相似文献
Ab initio calculations have been performed using the complete basis set model (CBS-QB3) to study the reaction mechanism of
butane radical (C4H9•) with oxygen (O2). On the calculated potential energy surface, the addition of O2 to C4H9• forms three intermediates barrierlessly, which can undergo subsequent isomerization or decomposition reaction leading to
various products: HOO• + C4H8, C2H5• + CH2CHOOH, OH• + C3H7CHO, OH• + cycle-C4H8O, CH3• + CH3CHCHOOH, CH2OOH• + C3H6. Five pathways are supposed in this study. After taking into account the reaction barrier and enthalpy, the most possible
reaction pathway is C4H9• + O2 → IM1 → TS5 → IM3 → TS6 → IM4 → TS7 → OH• + cycle-C4H8O. 相似文献
THE urate-binding α1–α2 globulin has been isolated from human plasma in a highly purified state1. The protein was purified by DEAE-‘Sephadex’, ammonium sulphate precipitation and semi-preparative Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The urate-binding α1–α2 globulin is a rod-shaped glycoprotein, containing 12.1% carbohydrate, with an isoelectric point of 4.6 and a molecular weight of 67,000 ± 4,000. Amino-acid analysis indicated an unknown basic compound which appeared as an extra peak just in front of lysine1. To identify this compound, high voltage paper electrophoresis has been carried out on a plate electrophoresis apparatus in pyridine-acetate buffer pH 3.5. A spot separated out corresponding to ornithine. Amino-acid analysis on a BC-200 automatic analyser (Bio-Cal Instruments Co., West Germany), with a 54 cm column at 55° C and with 0.35 M sodium citrate buffer, pH 5.28, as elution buffer at a flow-rate of 150 ml./h, showed that ornithine was present. The presence of ornithine in the protein hydrolysate was also verified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry2. 相似文献
The nucleation, ice crystal shapes and thermodynamic stability of polar stratospheric clouds particles are interesting concerns owing to their implication in the ozone layer destruction. Some of these particles are formed by conformers of H2O, HNO3, and H2SO4. We carried out calculations using density functional theory (DFT) to obtain optimized structures. Several stable trimers are achieved —divided in two groups, one with HNO3 moiety, second with H2SO4 moiety— after pre-optimization at B3LYP/6-31G and subsequently optimization at B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. For both most stable conformers five H2O molecules are added to their optimized trimers to calculate hydrated geometries. The OH stretching harmonic frequencies are provided for all aggregates. The zero-point energy correction (ZEPC), relative electronic energies (?E), relative reaction Gibbs free energies ?(?G)k-relative, and cooling constant (Kcooling) are reported at three temperatures: 188 K, 195 K, and 210 K. Shapes given in our calculations are compared with various experimental shapes as well as comparisons with their thermo-stabilities.
Graphical Abstract Facet shapes and thermo-stabilities of H2SO4?HNO3 hydrates involved in polar stratospheric clouds. IR spectrum of WNS-1+5W structure and its circular facet
Different subtypes of opioid receptors (OR) were activated in rats in vivo to study the activation effect on the heart’s resistance to ischemia and reperfusion. It has been established that administration of deltorphin II, a selective δ2-OR agonist, lowered the infarct size/area at risk index (IS/AAR) by 23%. Naltrexone, naloxone methiodide (an OR inhibitor not penetrating the blood-brain barrier (BBB)), and naltriben (δ2-antagonist) eliminated the cardioprotective effect of deltorphin II, while BNTX (a δ1-antagonist) produced no effect on the cardioprotective action of the δ2-agonist. The infarct-reducing effect of deltorphin II was eliminated by administration of chelerythrine (a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor), glibenclamide (a KATP-channels inhibitor), and 5-hydroxydecanoate (a mitochondrial KATP-channel blocker). Administration of other opioids did not reduce the IS/AAR index. It has been established that all the deltorphins manifest antiarrhythmic potency. Other opioids do not produce any effect on the incidence of arrhythmia occurrences. The antiarrhythmic effect of deltorphin II was eliminated by preliminary administration of naltrexone, naloxone methiodide, and naltriben, but BNTX did not affect the δ2-agonist’s anti-arrhythmic effect. The preliminary administration of chelerythrine, a PKC inhibitor, eliminated the δ2 agonist’s antiarrhythmic action. However, glibenclamide and 5-hydroxydecanoate did not alter the antiarrhythmic effect by deltorphin II. Therefore, activation of the peripheral δ2-ORs reduces the infarct size and prevents the onset of arrhythmias. The antiarrhythmic effect of the δ2-OR stimulation is mediated by activating PKC and opening the mitochondrial KATP-channels. PKC participates in the antiarrhythmic effect of the δ2-OR activation, but this effect does not depend on the condition of KATP-channels. 相似文献
Utilizing first-principles calculations, we studied the electronic and optical properties of C24, C12X6Y6, and X12Y12 fullerenes (X?=?B, Al; Y?=?N, P). These fullerenes are energetically stable, as demonstrated by their negative cohesive energies. The energy gap of C24 may be tuned by doping, and the B12N12 fullerene was found to have the largest energy gap. All of the fullerenes had finite optical gaps, suggesting that they are optical semiconductors, and they strongly absorb UV radiation, so they could be used in UV light protection devices. They could also be used in solar cells and LEDs due to their low reflectivities.
While ~30% of the human genome encodes membrane proteins, only a handful of structures of membrane proteins have been resolved to high resolution. Here, we studied the structure of a member of the Cys-loop ligand gated ion channel protein superfamily of receptors, human type A γ2α1β2α1β2 gamma amino butyric acid receptor complex in a lipid bilayer environment. Studying the correlation between the structure and function of the gamma amino butyric acid receptor may enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of ion channel dysfunctions linked with epilepsy, ataxia, migraine, schizophrenia and other neurodegenerative diseases. The structure of human γ2α1β2α1β2 has been modeled based on the X-ray structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans glutamate-gated chloride channel via homology modeling. The template provided the first inhibitory channel structure for the Cys-loop superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels. The only available template structure before this glutamate-gated chloride channel was a cation selective channel which had very low sequence identity with gamma aminobutyric acid receptor. Here, our aim was to study the effect of structural corrections originating from modeling on a more reliable template structure. The homology model was analyzed for structural properties via a 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) study. Due to the structural shifts and the removal of an open channel potentiator molecule, ivermectin, from the template structure, helical packing changes were observed in the transmembrane segment. Namely removal of ivermectin molecule caused a closure around the Leu 9 position along the ion channel. In terms of the structural shifts, there are three potential disulfide bridges between the M1 and M3 helices of the γ2 and 2 α1 subunits in the model. The effect of these disulfide bridges was investigated via monitoring the differences in root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) of individual amino acids and principal component analysis of the MD trajectory of the two homology models—one with the disulfide bridge and one with protonated Cys residues. In all subunit types, RMSF of the transmembrane domain helices are reduced in the presence of disulfide bridges. Additionally, loop A, loop F and loop C fluctuations were affected in the extracellular domain. In cross-correlation analysis of the trajectory, the two model structures displayed different coupling in between the M2–M3 linker region, protruding from the membrane, and the β1-β2/D loop and cys-loop regions in the extracellular domain. Correlations of the C loop, which collapses directly over the bound ligand molecule, were also affected by differences in the packing of transmembrane helices. Finally, more localized correlations were observed in the transmembrane helices when disulfide bridges were present in the model. The differences observed in this study suggest that dynamic coupling at the interface of extracellular and ion channel domains differs from the coupling introduced by disulfide bridges in the transmembrane region. We hope that this hypothesis will be tested experimentally in the near future. 相似文献
Cell scattering is a physiological process executed by stem and progenitor cells during embryonic liver development and postnatal
organ regeneration. Here, we investigated the genomic events occurring during this process induced by functional blockade
of α5β1 integrin in liver progenitor cells. 相似文献
Molecular docking simulations were performed in this study to investigate the importance of both structural and catalytic zinc ions in the human alcohol dehydrogenase beta(2)beta(2) on substrate binding. The structural zinc ion is not only important in maintaining the structural integrity of the enzyme, but also plays an important role in determining substrate binding. The replacement of the catalytic zinc ion or both catalytic and structural zinc ions with Cu(2+) results in better substrate binding affinity than with the wild-type enzyme. The width of the bottleneck formed by L116 and V294 in the substrate binding pocket plays an important role for substrate entrance. In addition, unfavorable contacts between the substrate and T48 and F93 prevent the substrate from moving too close to the metal ion. The optimal binding position occurs between 1.9 and 2.4 A from the catalytic metal ion. 相似文献
INTRODUCTION: We hypothesize that adenosine and PGE(2) could have a complementary immunosuppressive effect that is mediated via common cAMP-PKA signaling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To test this hypothesis, the effect of adenosine and PGE(2) on the cytotoxic activity and cytokine production of lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells was investigated. RESULTS: PGE(2) and adenosine inhibited LAK cells cytotoxic activity and production of INF-gamma, GM-CSF and TNF-alpha. In combination they showed substantially higher inhibition than each modality used alone. Using agonists and antagonists specific for PGE(2) and adenosine receptors we found that cooperation of PGE(2) and adenosine in their inhibitory effects are mediated via EP(2) and A(2A) receptors, respectively. LAK cells have 35-fold higher expression of EP(2) than A(2A). Combined PGE(2) and adenosine treatment resulted in augmentation of cAMP production, PKA activity, CREB phosphorylation and inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. Wortmannin and LY294002 enhanced the suppressive effects of adenosine and PGE(2). In contrast, Rp-8-Br-cAMPS, an inhibitor of PKA type I blocked their immunosuppressive effects, suggesting that the inhibitory effects of PGE(2) and adenosine are mediated via common pathway with activation of cAMP-PKA and inhibition of Akt. CONCLUSION: In comparison to other immunosuppressive molecules (TGF-beta and IL-10), adenosine and PGE(2) are unique in their ability to inhibit the executive function of highly cytotoxic cells. High intratumor levels of adenosine and PGE(2) could protect tumor from immune-mediated destruction by inactivation of the tumor infiltrating functionally active immune cells. 相似文献
The ATP synthase is a ubiquitous nanomotor that fuels life by the synthesis of the chemical energy of ATP. In order to synthesize ATP, this enzyme is capable of rotating its central rotor in a reversible manner. In the clockwise (CW) direction, it functions as ATP synthase, while in counter clockwise (CCW) sense it functions as an proton pumping ATPase. In bacteria and mitochondria, there are two known canonical natural inhibitor proteins, namely the ε and IF1 subunits. These proteins regulate the CCW F1FO-ATPase activity by blocking γ subunit rotation at the αDP/βDP/γ subunit interface in the F1 domain. Recently, we discovered a unique natural F1-ATPase inhibitor in Paracoccus denitrificans and related α-proteobacteria denoted the ζ subunit. Here, we compare the functional and structural mechanisms of ε, IF1, and ζ, and using the current data in the field, it is evident that all three regulatory proteins interact with the αDP/βDP/γ interface of the F1-ATPase. In order to exert inhibition, IF1 and ζ contain an intrinsically disordered N-terminal protein region (IDPr) that folds into an α-helix when inserted in the αDP/βDP/γ interface. In this context, we revised here the mechanism and role of the ζ subunit as a unidirectional F-ATPase inhibitor blocking exclusively the CCW F1FO-ATPase rotation, without affecting the CW-F1FO-ATP synthase turnover. In summary, the ζ subunit has a mode of action similar to mitochondrial IF1, but in α-proteobacteria. The structural and functional implications of these intrinsically disordered ζ and IF1 inhibitors are discussed to shed light on the control mechanisms of the ATP synthase nanomotor from an evolutionary perspective. 相似文献
The N-termini of E and H of A1AO ATP synthase have been shown to interact and an NMR structure of N-terminal H1–47 has been solved recently. In order to understand the E-H assembly and the N-terminal structure of E, the truncated construct E1–52 of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii A1AO ATP synthase was produced, purified and the solution structure of E1–52 was determined by NMR spectroscopy. The protein is 60.5 Å in length and forms an α helix between the residues 8–48. The molecule is amphipathic with a strip of hydrophobic residues, discussed as a possible helix-helix interaction with neighboring subunit H. 相似文献
Aimed at achieving a good understanding of the 3-dimensional structures of human α1A-adrenoceptor (α1A-AR), we have successfully developed its homology model based on the crystal structure of β2-AR. Subsequent structural refinements were performed to mimic the receptor’s natural membrane environment by using molecular
mechanics (MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the GBSW implicit membrane model. Through molecular docking and
further simulations, possible binding modes of subtype-selective α1A-AR antagonists, Silodosin, RWJ-69736 and (+)SNAP-7915, were examined. Results of the modeling and docking studies are qualitatively
consistent with available experimental data from mutagenesis studies. The homology model built should be very useful for designing
more potent subtype-selective α1A-AR antagonists and for guiding further mutagenesis studies.
Figure The superposition of β2-AR crystal structure (gold ribbons) and α1A-AR homology model (blue ribbons) 相似文献
MHC class I molecules are heterotrimeric complexes composed of heavy chain, 2-microglobulin (2m) and short peptide. This trimeric complex is generated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where a peptide loading complex (PLC) facilitates transport from the cytosol and binding of the peptide to the preassembled ER resident heavy chain/2m dimers. Association of mouse MHC class I heavy chain with 2m is characterized by allelic differences in the number and/or positions of amino acid interactions. It is unclear, however, whether all alleles follow common binding patterns with minimal contributions by allele-specific contacts, or whether essential contacts with 2m are different for each allele. While searching for the PLC binding site in the 3 domain of the mouse MHC class I molecule H-2Db, we unexpectedly discovered a site critical for binding mouse, but not human, 2m. Interestingly, amino acids in the corresponding region of another MHC class I heavy chain allele do not make contacts with the mouse 2m. Thus, there are allelic differences in the modes of binding of 2m to the heavy chain of MHC class I. 相似文献