Browsing by Subject "Crystallization"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Fluorescently conjugated annular fibrin clot for multiplexed real-time digestion analysis
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021-12) Zeng, Ziqian; Nallan Chakravarthula, Tanmaye; Muralidharan, Charanya; Hall, Abigail; Linnemann, Amelia K.; Alves, Nathan J.; Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
    Impaired fibrinolysis has long been considered as a risk factor for venous thromboembolism. Fibrin clots formed at physiological concentrations are promising substrates for monitoring fibrinolytic performance as they offer clot microstructures resembling in vivo. Here we introduce a fluorescently labeled fibrin clot lysis assay which leverages a unique annular clot geometry assayed using a microplate reader. A physiologically relevant fibrin clotting formulation was explored to achieve high assay sensitivity while minimizing labeling impact as fluorescence isothiocyanate (FITC)-fibrin(ogen) conjugations significantly affect both fibrin polymerization and fibrinolysis. Clot characteristics were examined using thromboelastography (TEG), turbidity, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy. Sample fibrinolytic activities at varying plasmin, plasminogen, and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) concentrations were assessed in the present study and results were compared to an S2251 chromogenic assay. The optimized physiologically relevant clot substrate showed minimal reporter-conjugation impact with nearly physiological clot properties. The assay demonstrated good reproducibility, wide working range, kinetic read ability, low limit of detection, and the capability to distinguish fibrin binding-related lytic performance. In combination with its ease for multiplexing, it also has applications as a convenient platform for assessing patient fibrinolytic potential and screening thrombolytic drug activities in personalized medical applications.
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    Influence of Sequence Changes and Environment on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
    (PLOS, 2009-09-04) Mohan, Amrita; Uversky, Vladimir N.; Radivojac, Predrag; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Many large-scale studies on intrinsically disordered proteins are implicitly based on the structural models deposited in the Protein Data Bank. Yet, the static nature of deposited models supplies little insight into variation of protein structure and function under diverse cellular and environmental conditions. While the computational predictability of disordered regions provides practical evidence that disorder is an intrinsic property of proteins, the robustness of disordered regions to changes in sequence or environmental conditions has not been systematically studied. We analyzed intrinsically disordered regions in the same or similar proteins crystallized independently and studied their sensitivity to changes in protein sequence and parameters of crystallographic experiments. The observed changes in the existence, position, and length of disordered regions indicate that their appearance in X-ray structures dramatically depends on changes in amino acid sequence and peculiarities of the crystallographic experiment. Our study also raises general questions regarding protein evolution and the regulation of protein structure, dynamics, and function via variations in cellular and environmental conditions.
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    Microstructural evolution and physical behavior of a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic
    (2014) Lien, Wen; Chu, Tien-Min Gabriel; Platt, Jeffrey A., 1958-; Levon, John A.; Brown, David T.; Xie, Dong
    Background: Elucidating the lithium disilicate system like the popular IPS e.max® CAD (LS2), made specifically for Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM), as a function of temperature unravels new ways to enhance material properties and performance. Objective: To study the effect of various thermal processing on the crystallization kinetics, crystallite microstructure, and strength of LS2. Methods: The control group of the LS2 samples was heated using the standard manufacturer heating-schedule. Two experimental groups were tested: (1) an extended temperature range (750-840 °C vs. 820-840 °C) at the segment of 30 °C/min heating rate, and (2) a protracted holding time (14 min vs. 7 min) at the isothermal temperature of 840 °C. Five other groups of different heating schedules with lower-targeted temperatures were evaluated to investigate the microstructural changes. For each group, the crystalline phases and morphologies were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) respectively. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used to determine the activation energy of LS2 under non-isothermal conditions. A MTS universal testing machine was used to measure 3-point flexural strength and fracture toughness, and elastic modulus and hardness were measured by the MTS Nanoindenter® XP. A one-way ANOVA/Tukey was performed per property (alpha = 0.05). Results: DSC, XRD, and SEM revealed three distinct microstructures during LS2 crystallization. Significant differences were found between the control group, the two aforementioned experimental groups, and the five lower-targeted-temperature groups per property (p<0.05). The activation energy for lithium disilicate growth was 667.45 (± 28.97) KJ/mole. Conclusions: Groups with the extended temperature range (750-840 °C) and protracted holding time (820-840 °C H14) produced significantly higher elastic-modulus and hardness properties than the control group but showed similar significant flexural-strength and fracture-toughness properties with the control group. In general, explosive growth of lithium disilicates occurred only when maximum formation of lithium metasilicates had ended.
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    Redox Switch for the Inhibited State of Yeast Glycogen Synthase Mimics Regulation by Phosphorylation
    (ACS Publications, 2017-01-10) Mahalingan, Krishna K.; Baskaran, Sulochanadevi; DePaoli-Roach, Anna A.; Roach, Peter J.; Hurley, Thomas D.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Glycogen synthase (GS) is the rate limiting enzyme in the synthesis of glycogen. Eukaryotic GS is negatively regulated by covalent phosphorylation and allosterically activated by glucose-6-phosphate (G6P). To gain structural insights into the inhibited state of the enzyme, we solved the crystal structure of yGsy2-R589A/R592A to a resolution of 3.3 Å. The double mutant has an activity ratio similar to the phosphorylated enzyme and also retains the ability to be activated by G6P. When compared to the 2.88 Å structure of the wild-type G-6-P activated enzyme, the crystal structure of the low-activity mutant showed that the N-terminal domain of the inhibited state is tightly held against the dimer-related interface thereby hindering acceptor access to the catalytic cleft. Based on these two structural observations, we developed a reversible redox regulatory feature in yeast GS by substituting cysteine residues for two highly conserved arginine residues. When oxidized, the cysteine mutant enzyme exhibits activity levels similar to the phosphorylated enzyme, but cannot be activated by G-6-P. Upon reduction, the cysteine mutant enzyme regains normal activity levels and regulatory response to G-6-P activation.