scholarly journals Conserved Disruptions in the Predicted Coiled-Coil Domains of Eukaryotic SMC Complexes: Implications for Structure and Function

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1201-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Beasley
eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa E Kursel ◽  
Henry D Cope ◽  
Ofer Rog

Functional requirements constrain protein evolution, commonly manifesting in a conserved amino acid sequence. Here, we extend this idea to secondary structural features by tracking their conservation in essential meiotic proteins with highly diverged sequences. The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a ~100-nm-wide ladder-like meiotic structure present in all eukaryotic clades, where it aligns parental chromosomes and regulates exchanges between them. Despite the conserved ultrastructure and functions of the SC, SC proteins are highly divergent within Caenorhabditis. However, SC proteins have highly conserved length and coiled-coil domain structure. We found the same unconventional conservation signature in Drosophila and mammals, and used it to identify a novel SC protein in Pristionchus pacificus, Ppa-SYP-1. Our work suggests that coiled-coils play wide-ranging roles in the structure and function of the SC, and more broadly, that expanding sequence analysis beyond measures of per-site similarity can enhance our understanding of protein evolution and function.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhanendra Tomar ◽  
Manfred Thomas ◽  
Joanne Garbincius ◽  
Devin Kolmetzky ◽  
Oniel Salik ◽  
...  

Background: MICU1 is an EF-hand domain containing Ca 2+ -sensor regulating the mitochondrial Ca 2+ uniporter channel and mitochondrial Ca 2+ uptake. MICU1-null mouse and fly models display perinatal lethality with disorganized mitochondrial architecture. Interestingly, these phenotypes are distinct from other mtCU loss-of-function models ( MCU, MICU2, EMRE, MCUR1 ) and thus are likely not explained solely by changes in matrix Ca 2+ content. Using size-exclusion proteomics and co-immunofluorescence, we found that MICU1 localizes to mitochondrial complexes lacking MCU. These observations suggest that MICU1 may have additional cellular functions independent of the MCU. Methods: Biotin-based proximity labeling and proteomics, protein biochemistry, live-cell Ca 2+ imaging, electron microscopy, confocal and super-resolution imaging were utilized to identify and validate MICU1 novel functions. Results: The expression of a MICU1-BioID2 fusion protein in MCU +/+ and MCU -/- cells allowed the identification of the total vs. MCU-independent MICU1 interactome. LC-MS analysis of purified biotinylated proteins identified the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) components Mitofilin (MIC60) and Coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil helix domain containing 2 (CHCHD2) as MCU independent novel MICU1 interactors. We demonstrate that MICU1 is essential for proper organization of the MICOS complex and that MICU1 ablation results in altered cristae organization, mitochondrial ultrastructure, mitochondrial membrane dynamics, membrane potential, and cell death signaling. We hypothesize that MICU1 is a MICOS Ca 2+ - sensor since perturbing MICU1 is sufficient to modulate cytochrome c release independent of Ca 2+ uptake across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Conclusions: Here, we provide the first experimental evidence of an intermembrane space Ca 2+ - sensor regulating mitochondrial membrane dynamics, independent of changes in matrix Ca 2+ content. This study provides a novel paradigm to understand Ca 2+ -dependent regulation of mitochondrial structure and function and may help explain the mitochondrial remodeling reported to occur in numerous disease states.


Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 1994 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Jürgen Engel ◽  
Vladimir P. Efimov ◽  
Patrik Maurer

The astonishing diversity in structure and function of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins originates from different combinations of domains. These are defined as autonomously folding units. Many domains are similar in sequence and structure indicating common ancestry. Evolutionarily homologous domains are, however, often functionally very different, which renders function prediction from sequence difficult. Related and different domains are frequently repeated in the same or in different polypeptide chains. Common assembly domains include α-helical coiled-coil domains and collagen triple helices. Other domains have been shown to be involved in assembly to other ECM proteins or in cell binding and cell signalling. The function of most of the domains, however, remains to be elucidated. ECM proteins are rather recent `inventions', and most occur either in plants or mammals but not in both. Their creation by domain shuffling involved a number of different mechanisms at the DNA level in which introns played an important role.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Xuyan Li ◽  
Tianfei Yu ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Youqi Wang ◽  
Bo Meng ◽  
...  

Human fetal scleral fibroblasts (HFSFs) are components of the sclera and play important roles in its structure and function. In myopia, scleral remodeling reduces collagen fibers and the sclera begins to thin. NANOG is a key transcription factor essential for pluripotent and self-renewing phenotypes of undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. To determine whether NANOG improves human fetal scleral fibroblast quality and the underlying mechanisms in these cells, we established stable NANOG-overexpressing HFSFs. We studied type I collagen (COL1A 1) and Rho-associated coiled-coil protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) expression in transfected cells. We also investigated POU5F1, SOX2, KLF4, MYC and SALL4 expression in NANOG stably-overexpressed fibroblasts. Our data show that NANOG expression increased proliferation rates in fibroblasts. When compared to controls, expression of COL1A 1 in transfected fibroblasts was increased and the expression of ROCK1 was decreased. Similarly, the expression of POU5F1, SOX2 and KLF4 was downregulated, the expression of MYC was upregulated and there was no significant change in the expression of SALL4 in transfected fibroblasts. Our results suggest that in fibroblasts, NANOG regulates ROCK1 expression and improves COL1A 1 expression to delay scleral remodeling.


Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


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