Protein prize up for grabs after retraction

sumsung submitted, created time 10 months 3 weeks (www.nature.com)

A retraction of a paper by a high-profile chemist has left a prize on the table in the protein-design field, and now, another scientist is poised to grab the limelight. On 1 February, Homme Hellinga and two former students retracted a June 2004 paper that had been lauded as a breakthrough in the field of protein design. A mistake in the experimental procedure meant that their conclusion wasn't valid

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Genetic culprit for familial leukemia (CLL)

addict submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.cell.com)

"In causing disease, pathogens outmaneuver host defenses through a dedicated arsenal of virulence determinants that specifically bind or modify individual host molecules. This dedication limits the intruder to a defined range of hosts. Newly emerging diseases mostly involve existing pathogens whose arsenal has been altered to allow them to infect previously inaccessible hosts. We have emulated this chance occurrence by extending the host range accessible to the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes by the intestinal route to include the mouse. "

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Dosage compensation distinguish the sex chromosomes will not a mystery.

DanyC submitted, created time 1 year 10 months (genomebiology.com)

“How the mechanisms of dosage compensation distinguish the sex chromosomes from the autosomes has been something of a mystery. A recent study in Caenorhabditis elegans has identified clusters of two common DNA motifs as a cis-acting code for the recruitment of the DCC, the protein complex that mediates dosage compensation.”

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: protein-DNA interactions Protein design amyloid precursor protein dna replication

HIV relation protein news:structural basis for viral late-domain binding to Alix

nomad submitted, created time 1 year 10 months (www.nature.com)

The modular protein Alix is a central node in endosomal-lysosomal trafficking and the budding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1. The Gag p6 protein of HIV-1 contains a LYPxnLxxL motif that is required for Alix-mediated budding and binds a region of Alix spanning residues 360–702. The structure of this fragment of Alix has the shape of the letter 'V' and is termed the V domain. The V domain has a topologically complex arrangement of 11 -helices, with connecting loops that cross three times between the two arms of the V

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Alix HIV Gag p6 Alix V domain Protein design protein structure and function HIV infection protein association protein folding

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii hydin is a central pair protein required for flagellar motility

Reviver submitted, created time 1 year 10 months (www.jcb.org)

“Mutations in Hydin cause hydrocephalus in mice, and HYDIN is a strong candidate for causing hydrocephalus in humans. The gene is conserved in ciliated species, including Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. An antibody raised against C. reinhardtii hydin was specific for an 540-kD flagellar protein that is missing from axonemes of strains that lack the central pair (CP). The antibody specifically decorated the C2 microtubule of the CP apparatus

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COMPUTER-BASED DESIGN OF NOVEL PROTEIN STRUCTURES