No abstract

The Kv7 subfamily of voltage-dependent potassium channels, distinct from other subfamilies by dint of its large intracellular COOH terminus, acts to regulate excitability in cardiac and neuronal tissues. KCNQ1 (Kv7.1), the founding subfamily member, encodes a channel subunit directly implicated in genetic disorders, such as the long QT syndrome, a cardiac pathology responsible for arrhythmias. We have used a recombinant protein preparation of the COOH terminus to probe the structure and function of this domain and its individual modules. The COOHterminal proximal half associates with one calmodulin constitutively bound to each subunit where calmodulin is critical for proper folding of the whole intracellular domain. The distal half directs tetramerization, employing tandem coiled-coils. The firstcoiled-coilcomplexisdimericandundergoesconcentrationdependent self-association to form a dimer of dimers. The outer coiled-coil is parallel tetrameric, the details of which have been elucidated based on 2.0 Å crystallographic data. Both coiledcoils act in a coordinate fashion to mediate the formation and stabilization of the tetrameric distal half. Functional studies, including characterization of structure-based and long QT mutants, prove the requirement for both modules and point to complex roles for these modules, including folding, assembly, trafficking, and regulation.

No abstract

Binding of the complement regulatory protein, factor H, to C-reactive protein has been reported and implicated as the biological basis for association of the H402 polymorphic variant of factor H with macular degeneration. Published studies utilize solid-phase or fluid-phase binding assays to show that the factor H Y402 variant binds C-reactive protein more strongly than H402. Diminished binding of H402 variant to C-reactive protein in retinal drusen is posited to permit increased complement activation, driving inflammation and pathology. We used well validated native human C-reactive protein and pure factor H Y402H variants to test interactions. When factor H variants were incubated with C-reactive protein in the fluid phase at physiological concentrations, no association occurred. When C-reactive protein was immobilized on plastic, either non-specifically by adsorption in the presence of Ca 2؉ to maintain its native fold and pentameric subunit assembly or by specific Ca 2؉ -dependent binding to immobilized natural ligands, no specific binding of either factor H variant from the fluid phase was observed. In contrast, both factor H variants reproducibly bound to C-reactive protein immobilized in the absence of Ca 2؉ , conditions that destabilize the native fold and pentameric assembly. Both factor H variants strongly bound C-reactive protein that was denatured by heat treatment before immobilization, confirming interaction with denatured but not native C-reactive protein.We conclude that the reported binding of factor H to C-reactive protein results from denaturation of the C-reactive protein during immobilization. Differential binding to C-reactive protein, thus, does not explain association of the Y402H polymorphism with macular degeneration.

The interactions of simple carbohydrates with aromatic moieties have been investigated experimentally by NMR spectroscopy. The analysis of the changes in the chemical shifts of the sugar proton signals induced upon addition of aromatic entities has been interpreted in terms of interaction geometries. Phenol and aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan) have been used. The observed sugar-aromatic interactions depend on the chemical nature of the sugar, and thus on the stereochemistries of the different carbon atoms, and also on the solvent. A preliminary study of the solvation state of a model monosaccharide (methyl beta-galactopyranoside) in aqueous solution, both alone and in the presence of benzene and phenol, has also been carried out by monitoring of intermolecular homonuclear solvent-sugar and aromatic-sugar NOEs. These experimental results have been compared with those obtained by density functional theory methods and molecular mechanics calculations.

No abstract

The Mesoproterozoic Kibaran belt in southwest Rwanda (Central Africa) consists of two contrasting metamorphic sequences. The first is essentially composed of weakly deformed, low-grade pelitic rocks with many quartzitic intercalations and some volcano-sedimentary sequences. The second consists of medium-to high-grade metamorphic metasediments and gneisses, intruded by sheared granitoids. Existing geological maps are of limited use in understanding the evolution of this part of the Kibaran belt. A combination of airborne γ-spectrometry data with Landsat TM imagery readily distinguishes known lithologies, and in particular detects two distinct granite types. Trace element data for one granite type does not correspond with known petrochemical trends of Kibaran granites, and may belong to a pre-Kibaran basement. The combining of these data with a recently published schematic geological map of the northeast Kibaran belt and re-interpreted field structural data, suggests a model for the Kibaran orogenic evolution in terms of extensional detachment tectonics and associated metamorphic core complexes.

N-glycosylation of eukaryotic proteins is widespread and vital to survival. The pentasaccharide unit −Man3GlcNAc2– lies at the protein-junction core of all oligosaccharides attached to asparagine side chains during this process. Although its absolute conservation implies an indispensable role, associated perhaps with its structure, its unbiased conformation and the potential modulating role of solvation are unknown; both have now been explored through a combination of synthesis, laser spectroscopy, and computation. The proximal −GlcNAc-GlcNAc– unit acts as a rigid rod, while the central, and unusual, −Man-β-1,4-GlcNAc– linkage is more flexible and is modulated by the distal Man-α-1,3– and Man-α-1,6– branching units. Solvation stiffens the ‘rod’ but leaves the distal residues flexible, through a β-Man pivot, ensuring anchored projection from the protein shell while allowing flexible interaction of the distal portion of N-glycosylation with bulk water and biomolecular assemblies.