Effect of amino acids and amino acid derivatives on crystallization of hemoglobin and ribonuclease A

The effect of the addition of amino acids and amino acid derivatives on the crystallization of hemoglobin and ribonuclease A has been evaluated. The results showed that certain types of additives expand the concentration conditions in which crystals are formed

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray structural studies of human prouroguanylin. Corrigendum

A corrigendum to the article by Ito et al. [Acta Cryst. (2008). F64, 531–532]

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Mitochondrial HSP90 Paralog TRAP1: Structural Dynamics, Interactome, Role in Metabolic Regulation, and Inhibitors

The HSP90 paralog TRAP1 was discovered more than 20 years ago; yet, a detailed understanding of the function of this mitochondrial molecular chaperone remains elusive. The dispensable nature of TRAP1 in vitro and in vivo further complicates an understanding of its role in mitochondrial biology. TRAP1 is more homologous to the bacterial HSP90, HtpG, than to eukaryotic HSP90. Lacking co-chaperones, the unique structural features of TRAP1 likely regulate its temperature-sensitive ATPase activity and shed light on the alternative mechanisms driving the chaperone’s nucleotide-dependent cycle in a defined environment whose physiological temperature approaches 50 °C. TRAP1 appears to be an important bioregulator of mitochondrial respiration, mediating the balance between oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, while at the same time promoting mitochondrial homeostasis and displaying cytoprotective activity. Inactivation/loss of TRAP1 has been observed in several neurodegenerative diseases while TRAP1 expression is reported to be elevated in multiple cancers and, as with HSP90, evidence of addiction to TRAP1 has been observed. In this review, we summarize what is currently known about this unique HSP90 paralog and why a better understanding of TRAP1 structure, function, and regulation is likely to enhance our understanding of the mechanistic basis of mitochondrial homeostasis

Comparative analysis of amino acids and amino-acid derivatives in protein crystallization

New types of aggregation suppressors, such as amino acids and their derivatives, were focused on as fourth-component additives. Data were obtained that indicated that the additives promote protein crystallization

Amino acids and glycine ethyl ester as new crystallization reagents for lysozyme

During the past two decades, amino acids and amino-acid derivatives have been applied in various fields of protein chemistry. The potential use of amino acids and their derivatives as new precipitating agents is described