Fred Peterson Interview, 2022

During this interview, Fred Peterson discusses his time as art faculty at the University of Minnesota Morris. He discusses the creation of the art discipline curriculum, the art gallery on campus, the changes after the Humanities Fine Arts Building was constructed, and his publications and research on vernacular architecture.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/stories/1087/thumbnail.jp

Vicky Demos Interview, 2022

In this oral history, Vicky Demos discusses her time as a sociology faculty member at the University of Minnesota Morris. She discusses her research in sociology and the creation of the Women\u27s Studies minor. She discusses her colleagues at the University of Minnesota Morris and her time at the institution.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/stories/1088/thumbnail.jp

Campus Stories: Reflections on the Early Years

Join Stephen Gross, associate professor of history, in a conversation with Jim Togeas, professor emeritus of chemistry; Keith Davison, a retired judge and member of the West Central Educational Development Association; Jim Olson, professor emeritus of chemistry; and alumna Mary Klauda ’77, all of whom have unique UMN Morris stories. Through their stories, learn more about the early vision for our campus and how that vision speaks to us today. This event took place as part of the Homecoming 2020: Looking Back, Leading Forward events.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/special_events/1010/thumbnail.jp

Rotation of Lipids in Membranes: Molecular Dynamics Simulation, 31P Spin-Lattice Relaxation, and Rigid-Body Dynamics

Molecular dynamics simulations and 31P-NMR spin-lattice (\documentclass[10pt]{article} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pmc} \usepackage[Euler]{upgreek} \pagestyle{empty} \oddsidemargin -1.0in \begin{document} \begin{equation*}R_{1}\end{equation*}\end{document}) relaxation rates from 0.022 to 21.1 T of fluid phase dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers are compared. Agreement between experiment and direct prediction from simulation indicates that the dominant slow relaxation (correlation) times of the dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy spin-lattice relaxation are ∼10 ns and 3 ns, respectively. Overall reorientation of the lipid body, consisting of the phosphorus, glycerol, and acyl chains, is well described within a rigid-body model. Wobble, with \documentclass[10pt]{article} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pmc} \usepackage[Euler]{upgreek} \pagestyle{empty} \oddsidemargin -1.0in \begin{document} \begin{equation*}D_{{\bot}}=\end{equation*}\end{document} 1–2 × 108 s−1, is the primary component of the 10 ns relaxation; this timescale is consistent with the tumbling of a lipid-sized cylinder in a medium with the viscosity of liquid hexadecane. The value for \documentclass[10pt]{article} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pmc} \usepackage[Euler]{upgreek} \pagestyle{empty} \oddsidemargin -1.0in \begin{document} \begin{equation*}D_{{\Vert}},\end{equation*}\end{document} the diffusion constant for rotation about the long axis of the lipid body, is difficult to determine precisely because of averaging by fast motions and wobble; it is tentatively estimated to be 1 × 107 s−1. The resulting D‖/D⊥ ≈ 0.1 implies that axial rotation is strongly modulated by interactions at the lipid/water interface. Rigid-body modeling and potential of mean force evaluations show that the choline group is relatively uncoupled from the rest of the lipid. This is consistent with the ratio of chemical shift anisotropy and dipolar correlation times reported here and the previous observations that 31P-NMR lineshapes are axially symmetric even in the gel phase of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine

Phospholipid Reorientation at the Lipid/Water Interface Measured by High Resolution 31P Field Cycling NMR Spectroscopy

The magnetic field dependence of the 31P spin-lattice relaxation rate, R1, of phospholipids can be used to differentiate motions for these molecules in a variety of unilamellar vesicles. In particular, internal motion with a 5- to 10-ns correlation time has been attributed to diffusion-in-a-cone of the phosphodiester region, analogous to motion of a cylinder in a liquid hydrocarbon. We use the temperature dependence of 31P R1 at low field (0.03–0.08 T), which reflects this correlation time, to explore the energy barriers associated with this motion. Most phospholipids exhibit a similar energy barrier of 13.2 ± 1.9 kJ/mol at temperatures above that associated with their gel-to-liquid-crystalline transition (Tm); at temperatures below Tm, this barrier increases dramatically to 68.5 ± 7.3 kJ/mol. This temperature dependence is broadly interpreted as arising from diffusive motion of the lipid axis in a spatially rough potential energy landscape. The inclusion of cholesterol in these vesicles has only moderate effects for phospholipids at temperatures above their Tm, but significantly reduces the energy barrier (to 17 ± 4 kJ/mol) at temperatures below the Tm of the pure lipid. Very-low-field R1 data indicate that cholesterol inclusion alters the averaged disposition of the phosphorus-to-glycerol-proton vector (both its average length and its average angle with respect to the membrane normal) that determines the 31P relaxation

Molecular Determinants of Phospholipid Synergy in Blood Clotting*

Many regulatory processes in biology involve reversible association of proteins with membranes. Clotting proteins bind to phosphatidylserine (PS) on cell surfaces, but a clear picture of this interaction has yet to emerge. We present a novel explanation for membrane binding by GLA domains of clotting proteins, supported by biochemical studies, solid-state NMR analyses, and molecular dynamics simulations. The model invokes a single “phospho-l-serine-specific” interaction and multiple “phosphate-specific” interactions. In the latter, the phosphates in phospholipids interact with tightly bound Ca2+ in GLA domains. We show that phospholipids with any headgroup other than choline strongly synergize with PS to enhance factor X activation. We propose that phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin (the major external phospholipids of healthy cells) are anticoagulant primarily because their bulky choline headgroups sterically hinder access to their phosphates. Following cell damage or activation, exposed PS and phosphatidylethanolamine collaborate to bind GLA domains by providing phospho-l-serine-specific and phosphate-specific interactions, respectively

Modulation of Bacillus thuringiensis Phosphatidylinositol-specific Phospholipase C Activity by Mutations in the Putative Dimerization Interface*

Cleavage of phosphatidylinositol (PI) to inositol 1,2-(cyclic)-phosphate (cIP) and cIP hydrolysis to inositol 1-phosphate by Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C are activated by the enzyme binding to phosphatidylcholine (PC) surfaces. Part of this reflects improved binding of the protein to interfaces. However, crystallographic analysis of an interfacially impaired phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase (W47A/W242A) suggested protein dimerization might occur on the membrane. In the W47A/W242A dimer, four tyrosine residues from one monomer interact with the same tyrosine cluster of the other, forming a tight dimer interface close to the membrane binding regions. We have constructed mutant proteins in which two or more of these tyrosine residues have been replaced with serine. Phospholipid binding and enzymatic activity of these mutants have been examined to assess the importance of these residues to enzyme function. Replacing two tyrosines had small effects on enzyme activity. However, removal of three or four tyrosine residues weakened PC binding and reduced PI cleavage by the enzyme as well as PC activation of cIP hydrolysis. Crystal structures of Y247S/Y251S in the absence and presence of myo-inositol as well as Y246S/Y247S/Y248S/Y251S indicate that both mutant proteins crystallized as monomers, were very similar to one another, and had no change in the active site region. Kinetic assays, lipid binding, and structural results indicate that either (i) a specific PC binding site, critical for vesicle activities and cIP activation, has been impaired, or (ii) the reduced dimerization potential for Y246S/Y247S/Y248S and Y246S/Y247S/Y248S/Y251S is responsible for their reduced catalytic activity in all assay systems