Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sushmita Basu, Tamas Hegedus, Lukasz Kurgan
Summary: In this study, we propose an accurate sequence-based predictor for membrane-binding MoRFs and demonstrate its effectiveness. The tool will contribute to future studies on the abundance, cellular functions, and roles of MemMoRFs in pathological phenomena.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sudeep Karki, Matti Javanainen, Shahid Rehan, Dale Tranter, Juho Kellosalo, Juha Huiskonen, Lotta Happonen, Ville Paavilainen
Summary: This study reveals the mechanism by which TRAP assists in polypeptide translocation by presenting the structure of the core Sec61/TRAP complex bound to a mammalian ribosome using cryo-EM.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yun Xiang, Rui Lyu, Junjie Hu
Summary: Membrane curvature is generated by constructing a curved oligomeric scaffold formed by endoplasmic reticulum tubule-forming proteins. The mechanism of curvature generation remains elusive.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Xu Wang, Janine H. Peterson, Harris D. Bernstein
Summary: This study identified two parallel mechanisms for the assembly of outer membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria, involving the beta signal and SurA. It challenges the view that periplasmic chaperones are redundant, suggesting they have specialized roles in OMP targeting and quality control.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Antonio B. Oliveira, Xingcheng Lin, Prakash Kulkarni, Jose N. Onuchic, Susmita Roy, Vitor B. P. Leite
Summary: The newly developed energy landscape visualization method ELViM is applied to explore the frustrated energy landscapes of the intrinsically disordered protein PAGE4. Analysis of atomistic trajectories and energy landscapes using ELViM reveals how phosphorylation affects the conformational diversity and functional mechanisms of different phosphoforms of PAGE4, shedding light on their interactions with proteins such as c-Jun.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stephan J. Sigrist, Volker Haucke
Summary: Membrane compartmentalization is important for controlling cellular physiology, and it involves the exchange of material through vesicles and membrane contact sites. This process is mediated by proteins with intrinsically disordered regions, and dysfunction of these proteins can lead to disease.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chandra Has, P. Sivadas, Sovan Lal Das
Summary: Cellular membranes are highly dynamic in shape, and the protein's ability to sense membrane curvature is essential for various biological events. While established mechanisms rely on proteins with specific structural features, recent discoveries have shown that disordered proteins and regions can also serve as potent sensors and inducers of membrane curvatures. This article outlines the basic features of disordered proteins and regions, their role in membrane remodeling, and the assays used to investigate curvature sensing and generation.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Huizhen Zheng, Yang Huang, Jie Jiang, Yanxia Pan, Wei Li, Hui Wang, Lihao Su, Xi Liu, Meng Gao, Weili Wang, Jia Li, Xiaoming Cai, Xuehua Li, Jingwen Chen, Ruibin Li
Summary: The steric restriction-induced emission (SRIE) effect enables the illumination of invisible nanoscale insulators, such as boron nitride (BN) nanosheets, using fluorogenic probes. This effect results in significantly increased photoluminescence intensity and allows for quantitative analysis and single-particle detection. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the hydrophobic and electron-resistant surfaces of BN nanosheets restrict the movement of fluorogenic molecules and promote radiative electron transition. The lighted BN nanosheets can be successfully visualized in complex biological contexts.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yiyang Jiang, Thomas L. Benz, Stephen B. Long
Summary: The study provides structural insights into the mechanism by which HHAT facilitates the palmitoylation of Hedgehog proteins, and may contribute to the development of cancer inhibitors. The structures reveal how HHAT deals with substrates of different properties to catalyze the reaction, and have implications for related enzymes catalyzing acylation of other molecules.
Review
Plant Sciences
Linhui Yu, Chao Zhou, Jilian Fan, John Shanklin, Changcheng Xu
Summary: Lipid remodeling, defined as post-synthetic modifications of membrane lipids, plays a crucial role in regulating cellular membrane properties and functions. Processes affected by lipid remodeling include lipid metabolism, membrane repair, cellular homeostasis, fatty acid trafficking, cellular signaling, and stress tolerance. Recent research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of membrane lipid remodeling, particularly the enzymes involved in modifying major membrane lipids such as phosphatidylcholine and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zongcheng Lin, Fei Xie, Marina Trivino, Tao Zhao, Frederik Coppens, Lieven Sterck, Maurice Bosch, Vernonica E. Franklin-Tong, Moritz K. Nowack
Summary: In this study, the researchers identified the key role of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) in self-incompatibility (SI) in plants. They discovered the HLD1/AtPGAP1 gene as a critical component required for SI response and demonstrated its function as a GPI-inositol deacylase.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Moritz Schaeffler, Mohammed Khaled, Birgit Strodel
Summary: The structural heterogeneity and dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) present a challenge for their characterization solely by experimental techniques. Molecular dynamics simulations offer a powerful complement to experimental approaches. In this study, the construction of transition networks from MD trajectories is demonstrated as a means to reveal the configurational ensemble and structural interconversions of IDPs, using amyloid-beta peptide as an example.
Article
Biophysics
Jannik Buhr, Florian Franz, Frauke Graeter
Summary: Focal adhesions (FAs) play a crucial role in mediating the interaction between the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix. Talin is a key regulator and mechano-sensor of FA complexes. Through molecular dynamics simulations, we discovered that an unstructured loop of the FERM domain of talin-1 interacts strongly with phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) membrane, serving as a flexible membrane anchor that facilitates membrane contacts. We identified key residues that mediate the dynamic talin-membrane interaction, suggesting that the intrinsically disordered loop is a key recognition site for talin and potentially other PIP2-binding mechano-proteins.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mussie K. Araya, Yong Zhou, Alemayehu A. Gorfe
Summary: The plasma membrane is a dynamic structure that undergoes constant changes in morphology and composition. Membrane proteins interact with membrane lipids to carry out their functions, and can also remodel the membrane's composition and curvature. This review focuses on the role of membrane proteins containing intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in remodeling the plasma membrane.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Atsuko Honda, Motohiro Nozumi, Yasuyuki Ito, Rie Natsume, Asami Kawasaki, Fubito Nakatsu, Manabu Abe, Haruki Uchino, Natsuki Matsushita, Kazutaka Ikeda, Makoto Arita, Kenji Sakimura, Michihiro Igarashi
Summary: This study reveals the importance of synthesizing very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) in brain development and neuronal polarity determination. Knockout mice of the GPSN2 enzyme, responsible for VLCFA synthesis, showed abnormal neuronal networks. The study also identified specific changes in lipid synthesis and the role of lipid rafts in neuronal development.