98%
921
2 minutes
20
We have reprogrammed the stimulus-responsive conformational change property of a virus nanoparticle (VNP) to enable the surface exposure of metal binding motifs upon activation with heat. The VNP is based on the widely investigated adeno-associated virus (AAV). An intrinsic bioactive functionality of AAV was genetically replaced with a hexahistidine (His) tag. The peptide domain with the inserted His tag is normally inaccessible. Upon external stimulation with heat, the VNP undergoes a conformational change, resulting in externalization of His tag-containing domains and the conferred ability to bind metal. We show that beyond this newfound functionality of the capsid, the VNPs maintain many of the wild-type capsid properties. Our work lays the groundwork for developing stimulus-responsive VNPs that can be used as "smart" building blocks for the creation of higher order structures.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bm200225x | DOI Listing |
Dalton Trans
September 2025
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, India.
Motivated by copper's essential role in biology and its wide range of applications in catalytic and synthetic chemistry, this work aims to understand the effect of heteroatom substitution on the overall stability and reactivity of biomimetic Cu(II)-alkylperoxo complexes. In particular, we designed a series of tetracoordinated ligand frameworks based on iso-BPMEN = (,-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-','-dimethylethane-1,2-diamine) with varying the primary coordination sphere using different donor atoms (N, O, or S) bound to Cu(II). The copper(II) complexes bearing iso-BPMEN and their modified heteroatom-substituted ligands were synthesized and structurally characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTop Magn Reson Imaging
October 2025
BIOSPACE LAB, Nesles-la-Vallée, France.
Aims: Cardiac tumors are aggressive and asymptomatic in early stages, causing late diagnosis and locoregional metastasis. Currently, the standard of care uses gadolinium-based contrast agents for MRI, and the associated hypersensitivity reactions are a significant concern, such as gadolinium deposition disease. In addition, the proximity of cardiac lesions closer to vital structures complicates surgical interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagn Reson Lett
February 2025
State Key Laboratory of Elemento-organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
Rat sarcoma virus oncogene (RAS) proteins are of crucial oncogenic proteins and are involved in several essential intracellular processes. The RAS protein has an intrinsic metal binding site for Mg, which is important for the conformational stability of the active site. Recently, it was reported that a second metal ion binding site, located further from the active site in HRAS (Harvey RAS homolog), binds Ca with millimolar affinity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
September 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
Iron homeostasis is essential for the virulence of the opportunistic fungal pathogen . The cytosolic monothiol glutaredoxin GrxD was recently shown to play a critical role in iron metabolism via regulation of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) binding iron-responsive transcription factors and interaction with components of the cytosolic Fe-S cluster assembly pathway. Interestingly, the putative copper-binding metallothionein CmtA was also identified as a binding partner for GrxD; however, the metal-binding properties of both proteins and the nature of their interactions were unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Pharmacol Sin
September 2025
State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430207, China.
Negative-stranded segmented RNA viruses (NSVs) employ a cap-snatching mechanism for transcription, which makes cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN) an attractive target for drug development. Pathogenic arenaviruses pose a serious threat to humans, yet no approved treatments exist, underscoring the importance of discovering novel compounds targeting arenaviral CENs. Therefore, this study aimed to identify novel CEN inhibitors for arenaviruses and investigate their antiviral mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF