Recodable surfaces based on switchable hydrogen bonds

International audienceWe introduce recodable surfaces solely based on reversible artificial hydrogen bonding interactions. We show that a symmetrical oligoamide (SOA) attached to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) can be repeatedly immobilized and cleaved off spatially defined surface domains photochemically functionalized with asymmetric oligoamides (AOAs). The spatially resolved recodability is imaged and quantified via ToF-SIMS

Recodable surfaces based on switchable hydrogen bonds

International audienceWe introduce recodable surfaces solely based on reversible artificial hydrogen bonding interactions. We show that a symmetrical oligoamide (SOA) attached to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) can be repeatedly immobilized and cleaved off spatially defined surface domains photochemically functionalized with asymmetric oligoamides (AOAs). The spatially resolved recodability is imaged and quantified via ToF-SIMS

CMG2 Expression Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients

The capillary morphogenesis gene 2 (CMG2), also known as the anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2), is a transmembrane protein putatively involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion and tissue remodeling. CMG2 promotes endothelial cell proliferation and exhibits angiogenic properties. Its downregulation is associated with a worsened survival of breast carcinoma patients. Aim of this study was to analyze the CMG2 mRNA and protein expression in soft tissue sarcoma and their association with patient outcome. CMG2 mRNA was measured in 121 tumor samples of soft tissue sarcoma patients using quantitative real-time PCR. CMG2 protein was evaluated in 52 tumor samples by ELISA. CMG2 mRNA was significantly correlated with the corresponding CMG2 protein expression (rs = 0.31; p = 0.027). CMG2 mRNA expression was associated with the mRNA expressions of several ECM and tissue remodeling enzymes, among them CD26 and components of the uPA system. Low CMG2 mRNA expression was correlated with a worsened patients’ disease-specific survival in Kaplan-Meier analyses (mean patient survival was 25 vs. 96 months; p = 0.013), especially in high-stage tumors. A decreased CMG2 expression is a negative prognostic factor for soft tissue sarcoma patients. CMG2 may be an interesting candidate gene for the further exploration of soft tissue sarcoma genesis and progression

Lighting Up Nobel Prize-winning Studies with Protein Intrinsic Disorder

Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs and IDRs) and their importance in biology are becoming increasingly recognized in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and chemistry textbooks, as well as in current protein science and structural biology curricula. We argue that the sequence → dynamic conformational ensemble → function principle is of equal importance as the classical sequence → structure → function paradigm. To highlight this point, we describe the IDPs and/or IDRs behind the discoveries associated with 17 Nobel Prizes, 11 in Physiology or Medicine and 6 in Chemistry. The Nobel Laureates themselves did not always mention that the proteins underlying the phenomena investigated in their award-winning studies are in fact IDPs or contain IDRs. In several cases, IDP- or IDR-based molecular functions have been elucidated, while in other instances, it is recognized that the respective protein(s) contain IDRs, but the specific IDR-based molecular functions have yet to be determined. To highlight the importance of IDPs and IDRs as general principle in biology, we present here illustrative examples of IDPs/IDRs in Nobel Prize-winning mechanisms and processes