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Homooligomerization of proline utilization A (PutA) bifunctional flavoenzymes is intimately tied to catalytic function and substrate channeling. PutA from Bradyrhizobium japonicum (BjPutA) is unique among PutAs in that it forms a tetramer in solution. Curiously, a dimeric BjPutA hot spot mutant was previously shown to display wild-type catalytic activity despite lacking the tetrameric structure. These observations raised the question of what is the active oligomeric state of BjPutA. Herein, we investigate the factors that contribute to tetramerization of BjPutA in vitro. Negative-stain electron microscopy indicates that BjPutA is primarily dimeric at nanomolar concentrations, suggesting concentration-dependent tetramerization. Further, sedimentation-velocity analysis of BjPutA at high (micromolar) concentration reveals that although the binding of active-site ligands does not alter oligomeric state, reduction of the flavin adenine dinucleotide cofactor results in dimeric protein. Size-exclusion chromatography coupled with multiangle light scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering analysis also reveals that reduced BjPutA is dimeric. Taken together, these results suggest that the BjPutA oligomeric state is dependent upon both enzyme concentration and the redox state of the flavin cofactor. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of redox-linked oligomerization in the PutA family.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2018.04.046 | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
September 2025
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China.
Delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains a major challenge in ischemic stroke therapy. Ischemic stroke induces upregulation of various inflammatory membrane receptors on brain endothelial cells, offering potential entry points for receptor-mediated transcytosis. This study proposes a universal targeting strategy by employing inflammatory pathway antagonists as targeting ligands, which broadens the spectrum of available ligands beyond traditional receptor-binding molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
September 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America.
Anti-Aβ antibodies are important tools for identifying structural features of aggregates of the Aβ peptide and are used in many aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. Our laboratory recently reported the generation of a polyclonal antibody, pAb2AT-L, that is moderately selective for oligomeric Aβ over monomeric and fibrillar Aβ and recognizes the diffuse peripheries of Aβ plaques in AD brain tissue but does not recognize the dense fibrillar plaque cores. This antibody was generated against 2AT-L, a structurally defined Aβ oligomer mimic composed of three Aβ-derived β-hairpins arranged in a triangular fashion and covalently stabilized with three disulfide bonds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedComm (2020)
September 2025
The activation of nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family, pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. The natural product oridonin possesses a novel mechanism for NLRP3 inhibition and a unique binding mode with NLRP3, but its poor anti-inflammatory activity limits further application. After virtual screening of diverse natural product libraries, dehydrocostus lactone (DCL) was considered as a potential NLRP3 inhibitor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJBMR Plus
October 2025
Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) relevant to osteoporosis have identified hundreds of loci; however, understanding how these variants influence the phenotype is complicated because most reside in non-coding DNA sequence that serves as transcriptional enhancers and repressors. To advance knowledge on these regulatory elements in osteoclasts (OCs), we performed Micro-C analysis, which informs on the genome topology of these cells and integrated the results with transcriptome and GWAS data to further define loci linked to BMD. Using blood cells isolated from 4 healthy participants aged 31-61 yr, we cultured OC in vitro and generated a Micro-C chromatin conformation capture dataset.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Adv Res
September 2025
National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) Key Laboratory for Safety Evaluation of Cosmetics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: huangzhenlie85825
Introduction: The increasing use of biodegradable plastics has led to the inevitable human consumption of biodegradable microplastics (MPs). These MPs can be degraded and absorbed into various organs and tissues via the gastrointestinal tract, with the liver being the primary target for digestion and absorption.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the toxic effects and mechanisms of biodegradable MPs on the liver following gastrointestinal degradation.