• 제목/요약/키워드: Biophysics

검색결과 563건 처리시간 0.028초

Actin Engine in Immunological Synapse

  • Piragyte, Indre;Jun, Chang-Duk
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
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    • 제12권3호
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    • pp.71-83
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    • 2012
  • T cell activation and function require physical contact with antigen presenting cells at a specialized junctional structure known as the immunological synapse. Once formed, the immunological synapse leads to sustained T cell receptor-mediated signalling and stabilized adhesion. High resolution microscopy indeed had a great impact in understanding the function and dynamic structure of immunological synapse. Trends of recent research are now moving towards understanding the mechanical part of immune system, expanding our knowledge in mechanosensitivity, force generation, and biophysics of cell-cell interaction. Actin cytoskeleton plays inevitable role in adaptive immune system, allowing it to bear dynamic and precise characteristics at the same time. The regulation of mechanical engine seems very complicated and overlapping, but it enables cells to be very sensitive to external signals such as surface rigidity. In this review, we focus on actin regulators and how immune cells regulate dynamic actin rearrangement process to drive the formation of immunological synapse.

Effect of Cationic and Anionic Porphyrins on the Structure and Activity of Adenosine Deaminase

  • Ajloo, Davood;Hajipour, Samaneh;Saboury, Ali Akbar;Zakavi, Saeed
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • 제32권9호
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    • pp.3411-3420
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    • 2011
  • Kinetic and structural studies have been carried out on the effects of meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)-porphyrin ($H_2TPPS_4$) as an anionic and meso-tetrakis(3-N-methyl-pyridyl)porphyrin ($H_2TMPYP$) as a cationic porphyrin with adenosine deaminase (ADA) in 25 mM citrate/phosphate buffer, pH = 4-8, at $37^{\circ}C$ using UVvis spectrophotometry, circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence spectrophotometry as well as molecular dynamics (MD) and molecular docking. Kinetic results showed that the two porphyrins are non-competitive inhibitors. Increasing pH, increases $K_I$ and cationic porphyrin has a higher $K_I$ and lower binding constant ($K_b$) at all pH ranges. Analyzing the secondary structure revealed that both ligands decrease the secondary structure and that the anionic porphyrin is more effective.

Cholesterol, Statins, and Brain Function: A Hypothesis from a Molecular Perspective

  • Shin, Yeon-Kyun
    • Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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    • 제1권1호
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    • pp.2.1-2.3
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    • 2009
  • There is evidence that cholesterol in the brain plays an important role in the neurotransmitter release. A decrease of the cholesterol level severely hampers the activity of the membrane fusion machinery, thereby inhibiting the release. Meanwhile, the results from several clinical studies suggest that a low cholesterol level is linked to the dysfunction of some brain activities. Because the neurotransmitter release underlies the basic brain function, the combined results lead to a testable hypothesis that the cholesterol-lowering drugs may inhibit the neurotransmitter release at the synapse. Such inhibition of the release could result in impaired brain function for a limited group of people. A molecular basis for the hypothesis is discussed.

Epigenetic Regulation of Plant Reproductive Development

  • Vyskot, Boris
    • 식물조직배양학회지
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    • 제27권5호
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    • pp.359-366
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    • 2000
  • Epigenetics represents a chromatin-mediated transcriptional repression which plays a control role in both animal and plant development. A number of different mechanisms have been described to be involved in the formation of chromatin structure: especially DNA methylation, nucleosomal histone modification, DNA replication timing, and binding of chromatin remodelling proteins. Epigenetic phenomena include genomic imprinting, dosage compensation of X-chromosome linked genes, mutual allelic interactions, paramutation, transvection, silencing of invasive DNA sequences, etc. They are often unstable and inherited in a non-Mendelian way. A number of epigenetic defects has been preferentially described in floral development. Here, epigenetic phenomena in model angiosperm plants and their corresponding mechanisms are reviewed.

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C. M. Guzay의 Quadrant Theorem에 대한 고찰 (C. M. Guzay and the Quadrant Theorem)

  • 인창식;이영준
    • 턱관절균형의학회지
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    • 제2권1호
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    • pp.13-16
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    • 2012
  • Objectives: The quadrant theorem is a theorem proposed by C. M. Guzay in the field of functional, holistic dentistry. There are not much of scientific literature on the quadrant theorem. This study briefly reviewed basic concepts of quadrant theorem. Methods: A publication by Guzay and research articles were searched and reviewed. The quadrant theorem is depicted as a series of illustrations and accompanied explanations. Results: The primary concept of the quadrant theorem was presented in 1952. Based on geometric biophysics of the occlusion and related anatomical functions, physiological pivotal axis of the mandible is analyzed to occurs at the dens (the sub-atlas area). Composite muscular activity links the mandibular posture with C1-C2, which is then linked with the spinal posture. Twenty illustrations are progressively presented on the physiognomy, occlusion, and analysis of anatomical functions. The balanced distribution of the forces gives the durability of the functions in life. Conclusions: The quadrant theorem provides a functional linkage between the mandibular posture and the upper cervical vertebrae.

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Effects of Barbiturates on the Rotational Relaxation Time of 1, 6-Diphenyl-1, 3, 5-hexatriene in Native and Model Membranes

  • Chung, Yong-Za;Shin, Yong-Hee;Choi, Chang-Hwa;Park, Hyung-Sook;Koh, Yeong-Sim;Yun, Il
    • Archives of Pharmacal Research
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    • 제15권4호
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    • pp.298-303
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    • 1992
  • Synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) were isolated from fresh bovine cerebral cortex. The effects of barbiturates on the rotational relaxation time of 1.6-diphenyl-1, 3, 5-hexatriene (DPH) in intact SPMV and model membranes of total lipids (SPMVTL) and phosphlipids (SPMVPL) extracted from SPMV were examined. Barbiturates decreased the rotational relaxation time of DPH in intact SPMV in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, they did not affect the rotational relaxation time of DPH in SPMVTL and even dose-dependently increased the rotational relaxation time of DPH in SPMVPL.

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Demonstration of Two Independent Dextranase and Amylase Active Sites on a Single Enzyme Elaborated by Lipomyces starkeyi KSM 22

  • LEE, SO-YOUNG;JIN-HA LEE;JOHN F. ROBYT;EUN-SEONG SEO;HYEN-JOUNG PARK;DOMAN KIM
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • 제13권2호
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    • pp.313-316
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    • 2003
  • Lipomyces starkeyi KSM 22 elaborates an enzyme that has both dextranase and amylase activities in a single protein of 100 kDa. Competition studies, using different amounts of dextran and starch as substrates, gave a competition plot consistent with the hypothesis that the hydrolysis of dextran and starch occurs at two independent active sites, each specific for starch and dextran, respectively.

Preparation and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Characterization of DNA Scaffolds as a Template for Protein Immobilization

  • Kim, Hyeran;Lee, Hyun Uk;Lee, Jouhahn
    • 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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    • pp.411.2-411.2
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    • 2014
  • The design of DNA nanostructures is of fundamental importance, the intrinsic value of DNA as a building-block material lies in its ability to organize other bio-molecules with nanometer-scale spacing. Here, we report the fabrication of DNA scaffolds with nano-pores (<10 nm size) that formed easily without the use of additives (i.e., avidin, biotin, polyamine, or inorganic materials) into large-scale structures by assembling DNA molecules at near room temperature ($30^{\circ}C$) and low pH (~5.5). Protein immobilization results also confirmed that a fibronectin (FN) proteins/large scale DNA scaffolds/aminopropylytriethoxysilane (APS)/SiO2/Si substrate with high sensitivity formed in a well-defined manner. The DNA scaffolds can be applied for use with DNA-based biochips, biophysics, and cell biology.

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Assessing the Nano-Dynamics of the Cell Surface

  • Bae, Chil-Man;Park, Ik-Keun;Butler, Peter J.
    • 비파괴검사학회지
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    • 제32권3호
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    • pp.263-268
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    • 2012
  • It is important to know the mechanism of cell membrane fluctuation because it can be readout for the nanomechanical interaction between cytoskeleton and plasma membrane. Traditional techniques, however, have drawbacks such as probe contact with the cell surface, complicate analysis, and limit spatial and temporal resolution. In this study, we developed a new system for non-contact measurement of nano-scale localized-cell surface dynamics using modified-scanning ion-conductance microscopy. With 2 nm resolution, we determined that endothelial cells have local membrane fluctuations of ~20 nm, actin depolymerization causes increase in fluctuation amplitude, and ATP depletion abolishes all membrane fluctuations.

A Thermodynamic Study on the Binding of Cobalt Ion with Myelin Basic Protein

  • Behbehani, G. Rezaei;Saboury, A.A.;Baghery, A. Fallah
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • 제29권4호
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    • pp.736-740
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    • 2008
  • The interaction of myelin basic protein (MBP) from bovine central nervous system with divalent calcium ion was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry at 27 ${^{\circ}C}$ in aqueous solution. The extended solvation model was used to reproduce the enthalpies of $Co^{2+}$-MBP interaction over the whole $Co^{2+}$ concentrations. The solvation parameters recovered from the solvation model were attributed to the structural change of MBP due to the metal ion interaction. It was found that there is a set of three identical and noninteracting binding sites for $Co^{2+}$ ions. The association equilibrium constant is 0.015 ${\mu}M^{-1}$. The molar enthalpy of binding is $\Delta$H = −14.60 kJ $mol^{-1}$.