Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jiansheng Jiang, Daniel K. Taylor, Ellen J. Kim, Lisa F. Boyd, Javeed Ahmad, Michael G. Mage, Hau Truong, Claire H. Woodward, Nikolaos G. Sgourakis, Peter Cresswell, David H. Margulies, Kannan Natarajan
Summary: This study provides crystal structures that offer insights into the molecular mechanism of tapasin-mediated peptide exchange, shedding light on the process of tapasin-assisted peptide loading onto MHC-I molecules.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Elizabeth R. Webster, Katherine N. Liu, Robert J. Rawle, Steven G. Boxer
Summary: This study investigates the impact of receptor length and rigidity on the mechanism of influenza virus entry. The results suggest that shorter and more flexible receptors increase the binding rate of the virus, while longer and more rigid receptors decrease the efficiency of lipid and content mixing.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mayuko Itaya, Taiki Miyazawa, Saoussane Khalifa, Naoki Shimizu, Kiyotaka Nakagawa
Summary: The study found that some food compounds binding stronger to albumin than curcumin can enhance the physiological activity of curcumin. Experimental results confirmed this hypothesis, providing insights into enhancing the physiological activities of various food compounds by focusing on their interaction with albumin.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Derek C. K. Chan, Lori L. Burrows
Summary: Thiopeptides were previously thought to be inactive against Gram-negative bacteria due to their inability to cross the outer membrane, but recent research has shown that some thiopeptides, such as thiostrepton, exhibit antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This highlights the potential for thiopeptides as antipseudomonal antibiotics.
JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kunal Dutta, Ammar D. Elmezayen, Anas Al-Obaidi, Wei Zhu, Olga Morozova, Sergey Shityakov, Ibrahim Khalifa
Summary: At the beginning of the new decade, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected modern human societies, but scientists have discovered three new antiviral peptides to combat SARS-CoV-2. These peptides can block the virus from binding to human cells, potentially serving as effective tools in fighting against the virus in the future.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Novalia Pishesha, Thibault J. Harmand, Hidde L. Ploegh
Summary: This article provides an overview of antigen processing and presentation pathways, explaining how antigenic peptides are loaded onto MHC molecules for detection by T cells. These pathways are essential for adaptive immunity and involve several steps for acquiring and presenting antigens for T cell recognition.
NATURE REVIEWS IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Blessings H. Likoswe, Edward J. M. Joy, Fanny Sandalinas, Suzanne Filteau, Kenneth Maleta, John C. Phuka
Summary: This study investigated the impact of inflammation on Retinol Binding Protein (RBP) and serum retinol (SR), aiming to redefine the population-specific cut-off for vitamin A deficiency among pre-school children in Malawi. Despite applying various methods to correct for inflammation, the initial association between RBP and SR concentrations remained poor. Applying the World Health Organization's recommended threshold to the RBP concentrations showed a vitamin A deficiency prevalence of 24%, which decreased to 10% after adjustments for inflammation using methods developed by BRINDA. Further research is needed to understand why SR and RBP had a weak association in this population, and future Micronutrient Surveys will need to consider the impact of inflammation on RBP to accurately assess the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in Malawi.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yi Sun, Georgia F. Papadaki, Christine A. Devlin, Julia N. Danon, Michael C. Young, Trenton J. Winters, George M. Burslem, Erik Procko, Nikolaos G. Sgourakis
Summary: Immunological chaperones tapasin and TAP binding protein, related (TAPBPR) play key roles in antigenic peptide optimization and quality control of nascent class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) molecules. The polymorphic nature of MHC-I proteins leads to a range of allelic dependencies on chaperones for assembly and cell-surface expression, limiting chaperone-mediated peptide exchange to a restricted set of human leuko-cyte antigen (HLA) allotypes. By studying a chicken TAPBPR ortholog and its interactions with a repertoire of HLA allotypes, this study discovers that TAPBPR orthologs have broader allele specificity in recognizing empty MHC-I and facilitate peptide exchange by maintaining a reservoir of receptive molecules. Mutations in human TAPBPR resembling the chicken sequence are found to enhance HLA-A*01:01 expression and promote peptide exchange. These findings suggest the possibility of engineering polymorphic sites on MHC-I and chaperone surfaces to manipulate their interactions and enable chaperone-mediated peptide exchange on disease-relevant HLA alleles.
Review
Immunology
David H. Margulies, Daniel K. Taylor, Jiansheng Jiang, Lisa F. Boyd, Javeed Ahmad, Michael G. Mage, Kannan Natarajan
Summary: The recognition of cell surface MHC molecules by T lymphocytes and NK cells is crucial for immune recognition. This article focuses on the role of MHC I molecules in presenting peptides on the cell surface. It discusses the peptide loading pathway and the chaperone proteins TAPBPR and tapasin, which facilitate peptide loading and stabilize MHC molecules.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Linda Voogd, Paula Ruibal, Tom H. M. Ottenhoff, Simone A. Joosten
Summary: HLA-E is a monomorphic human antigen presentation molecule that can be targeted to develop vaccines regardless of genetic diversity. Predictive models for HLA-E peptide binding have been improved, allowing for the discovery of more peptide binders. HLA-E is capable of binding structurally divergent peptides of both self and microbial origin.
TRENDS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael Katz, Jonathan Weinstein, Maayan Eilon-Ashkenazy, Katrin Gehring, Hadas Cohen-Dvashi, Nadav Elad, Sarel J. Fleishman, Ron Diskin
Summary: Lassa virus, a human pathogen, has a spike complex on its surface that facilitates cell entry. The structure of the spike complex reveals the role of the signal peptide in stabilizing the complex and provides insights into the mechanism of binding with the host cell.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sarah Rundell, Oliver Munyaradzi, Dennis Bong
Summary: The study found that tuning the thymine-uracil substitutions and backbone structure can significantly improve the binding ability of bifacial peptide nucleic acids (bPNAs) to DNA and RNA, with a higher selectivity towards DNA. By improving backbone conformation and enhancing base stacking, the targeting ability of bPNAs to DNA and RNA substrates can be enhanced.
Review
Immunology
Esam Abualrous, Jana Sticht, Christian Freund
Summary: MHC loci are highly diverse in vertebrate genomes, with thousands of gene variants existing in the human population. Understanding the unique peptide binding profiles of MHC alleles and their interactions with regulators can lead to personalized immune modulation strategies for HLA-associated diseases.
CURRENT OPINION IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Michel Bteich, Patrick Poulin, Sami Haddad
Summary: The study identified protein-mediated hepatic uptake for two drugs and aimed to predict CLh to address the impact of plasma protein-mediated hepatic uptake. The new approach showed significant improvement, particularly for FLU with the highest degree of ALB-mediated uptake.
JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alex Moon-Walker, Zeli Zhang, Dawid S. Zyla, Tierra K. Buck, Haoyang Li, Ruben Diaz Avalos, Sharon L. Schendel, Kathryn M. Hastie, Shane Crotty, Erica Ollmann Saphire
Summary: This study presents the cryo-EM structure of the LCMV surface glycoprotein (GP) in its trimeric pre-fusion assembly and reveals its interaction with a neutralizing antibody. The research also demonstrates the potential therapeutic application of the antibody in preventing or treating LCMV infection.
CELL CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)