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Description
Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is a cyanobacterial lectin with potent anti-HIV activity, mediated by binding to the N-linked oligosaccharide moiety of the envelope protein gp120. CVN offers a scaffold to develop multivalent carbohydrate-binding proteins with tunable specificities and affinities. I present here biophysical calculations completed on a monomeric-stabilized mutant of cyanovirin-N, P51G-m4-CVN,

Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is a cyanobacterial lectin with potent anti-HIV activity, mediated by binding to the N-linked oligosaccharide moiety of the envelope protein gp120. CVN offers a scaffold to develop multivalent carbohydrate-binding proteins with tunable specificities and affinities. I present here biophysical calculations completed on a monomeric-stabilized mutant of cyanovirin-N, P51G-m4-CVN, in which domain A binding activity is abolished by four mutations; with comparisons made to CVNmutDB, in which domain B binding activity is abolished. Using Monte Carlo calculations and docking simulations, mutations in CVNmutDB were considered singularly, and the mutations E41A/G and T57A were found to impact the affinity towards dimannose the greatest. 15N-labeled proteins were titrated with Manα(1-2)Manα, while following chemical shift perturbations in NMR spectra. The mutants, E41A/G and T57A, had a larger Kd than P51G-m4-CVN, matching the trends predicted by the calculations. We also observed that the N42A mutation affects the local fold of the binding pocket, thus removing all binding to dimannose. Characterization of the mutant N53S showed similar binding affinity to P51G-m4-CVN. Using biophysical calculations allows us to study future iterations of models to explore affinities and specificities. In order to further elucidate the role of multivalency, I report here a designed covalent dimer of CVN, Nested cyanovirin-N (Nested CVN), which has four binding sites. Nested CVN was found to have comparable binding affinity to gp120 and antiviral activity to wt CVN. These results demonstrate the ability to create a multivalent, covalent dimer that has comparable results to that of wt CVN.

WW domains are small modules consisting of 32-40 amino acids that recognize proline-rich peptides and are found in many signaling pathways. We use WW domain sequences to explore protein folding by simulations using Zipping and Assembly Method. We identified five crucial contacts that enabled us to predict the folding of WW domain sequences based on those contacts. We then designed a folded WW domain peptide from an unfolded WW domain sequence by introducing native contacts at those critical positions.
ContributorsWoodrum, Brian William (Author) / Ghirlanda, Giovanna (Thesis advisor) / Redding, Kevin (Committee member) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
An animal's ability to produce protein-based silk materials has evolved independently in many different arthropod lineages, satisfying various ecological necessities. However, regardless of their wide range of uses and their potential industrial and biomedical applications, advanced knowledge on the molecular structure of silk biopolymers is largely limited to those produced

An animal's ability to produce protein-based silk materials has evolved independently in many different arthropod lineages, satisfying various ecological necessities. However, regardless of their wide range of uses and their potential industrial and biomedical applications, advanced knowledge on the molecular structure of silk biopolymers is largely limited to those produced by spiders (order Araneae) and silkworms (order Lepidoptera). This thesis provides an in-depth molecular-level characterization of silk fibers produced by two vastly different insects: the caddisfly larvae (order Trichoptera) and the webspinner (order Embioptera).

The molecular structure of caddisfly larval silk from the species Hesperophylax consimilis was characterized using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ss-NMR) and Wide Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD) techniques. This insect, which typically dwells in freshwater riverbeds and streams, uses silk fibers as a strong and sticky nanoadhesive material to construct cocoons and cases out available debris. Conformation-sensitive 13C chemical shifts and 31P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) information strongly support a unique protein motif in which phosphorylated serine- rich repeats (pSX)4 complex with di- and trivalent cations to form rigid nanocrystalline β-sheets. Additionally, it is illustrated through 31P NMR and WAXD data that these nanocrystalline structures can be reversibly formed, and depend entirely on the presence of the stabilizing cations.

Nanofiber silks produced by webspinners (order Embioptera) were also studied herein. This work addresses discrepancies in the literature regarding fiber diameters and tensile properties, revealing that the nanofibers are about 100 nm in diameter, and are stronger (around 500 MPa mean ultimate stress) than previous works suggested. Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), NMR and WAXD results find that approximately 70% of the highly repetitive glycine- and serine-rich protein core is composed of β-sheet nanocrystalline structures. In addition, FT-IR and Gas-chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) data revealed a hydrophobic surface coating rich in long-chain lipids. The effect of this surface coating was studied with contact angle techniques; it is shown that the silk sheets are extremely hydrophobic, yet due to the microstructural and nanostructural details of the silk surface, are surprisingly adhesive to water.
ContributorsAddison, John Bennett (Author) / Yarger, Jeffery L (Thesis advisor) / Holland, Gregory P (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Ros, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a class of complex biomolecules comprised of linear, sulfated polysaccharides whose presence on cell surfaces and in the extracellular matrix involve them in many physiological phenomena as well as in interactions with pathogenic microbes. Decorin binding protein A (DBPA), a Borrelia surface lipoprotein involved in the infectivity

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a class of complex biomolecules comprised of linear, sulfated polysaccharides whose presence on cell surfaces and in the extracellular matrix involve them in many physiological phenomena as well as in interactions with pathogenic microbes. Decorin binding protein A (DBPA), a Borrelia surface lipoprotein involved in the infectivity of Lyme disease, is responsible for binding GAGs found on decorin, a small proteoglycan present in the extracellular matrix. Different DBPA strains have notable sequence heterogeneity that results in varying levels of GAG-binding affinity. In this dissertation, the structures and GAG-binding mechanisms for three strains of DBPA (B31 and N40 DBPAs from B. burgdorferi and PBr DBPA from B. garinii) are studied to determine why each strain has a different affinity for GAGs. These three strains have similar topologies consisting of five α-helices held together by a hydrophobic core as well as two long flexible segments: a linker between helices one and two and a C-terminal tail. This structural arrangement facilitates the formation of a basic pocket below the flexible linker which is the primary GAG-binding epitope. However, this GAG-binding site can be occluded by the flexible linker, which makes the linker a negative regulator of GAG-binding. ITC and NMR titrations provide KD values that show PBr DBPA binds GAGs with higher affinity than B31 and N40 DBPAs, while N40 binds with the lowest affinity of the three. Work in this thesis demonstrates that much of the discrepancies seen in GAG affinities of the three DBPAs can be explained by the amino acid composition and conformation of the linker. Mutagenesis studies show that B31 DBPA overcomes the pocket obstruction with the BXBB motif in its linker while PBr DBPA has a retracted linker that exposes the basic pocket as well as a secondary GAG-binding site. N40 DBPA, however, does not have any evolutionary modifications to its structure to enhance GAG binding which explains its lower affinity for GAGs. GMSA and ELISA assays, along with NMR PRE experiments, confirm that structural changes in the linker do affect GAG-binding and, as a result, the linker is responsible for regulating GAG affinity.
ContributorsMorgan, Ashli M (Author) / Wang, Xu (Thesis advisor) / Allen, James (Committee member) / Yarger, Jeffery (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
The physiological phenomenon of sensing temperature is detected by transient

receptor (TRP) ion channels, which are pore forming proteins that reside in the

membrane bilayer. The cold and hot sensing TRP channels named TRPV1 and TRPM8

respectively, can be modulated by diverse stimuli and are finely tuned by proteins and

lipids. PIRT (phosphoinositide interacting

The physiological phenomenon of sensing temperature is detected by transient

receptor (TRP) ion channels, which are pore forming proteins that reside in the

membrane bilayer. The cold and hot sensing TRP channels named TRPV1 and TRPM8

respectively, can be modulated by diverse stimuli and are finely tuned by proteins and

lipids. PIRT (phosphoinositide interacting regulator of TRP channels) is a small

membrane protein that modifies TRPV1 responses to heat and TRPM8 responses to cold.

In this dissertation, the first direct measurements between PIRT and TRPM8 are

quantified with nuclear magnetic resonance and microscale thermophoresis. Using

Rosetta computational biology, TRPM8 is modeled with a regulatory, and functionally

essential, lipid named PIP2. Furthermore, a PIRT ligand screen identified several novel

small molecular binders for PIRT as well a protein named calmodulin. The ligand

screening results implicate PIRT in diverse physiological functions. Additionally, sparse

NMR data and state of the art Rosetta protocols were used to experimentally guide PIRT

structure predictions. Finally, the mechanism of thermosensing from the evolutionarily

conserved sensing domain of TRPV1 was investigated using NMR. The body of work

presented herein advances the understanding of thermosensing and TRP channel function

with TRP channel regulatory implications for PIRT.
ContributorsSisco, Nicholas John (Author) / Van Horn, Wade D (Thesis advisor) / Mills, Jeremy H (Committee member) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Yarger, Jeff L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are long chains of negatively charged sulfated polysaccharides. They are often found to be covalently attached to proteins and form proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Many proteins bind GAGs through electrostatic interactions. GAG-binding proteins (GBPs) are involved in diverse physiological activities ranging from bacterial infections to cell-cell/cell-ECM

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are long chains of negatively charged sulfated polysaccharides. They are often found to be covalently attached to proteins and form proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Many proteins bind GAGs through electrostatic interactions. GAG-binding proteins (GBPs) are involved in diverse physiological activities ranging from bacterial infections to cell-cell/cell-ECM contacts. This thesis is devoted to understanding how interactions between GBPs and their receptors modulate biological phenomena. Bacteria express GBPs on surface that facilitate dissemination and colonization by attaching to host ECM. The first GBP investigated in this thesis is decorin binding protein (DBP) found on the surface of Borrelia burgdorferi, causative pathogens in Lyme disease. DBPs bind GAGs of decorin, a proteoglycan in ECM. Of the two isoforms, DBPB is less studied than DBPA. In current work, structure of DBPB from B. burgdorferi and its GAG interactions were investigated using solution NMR techniques. DBPB adopts a five-helical structure, similar to DBPA. Despite similar GAG affinities, DBPB has its primary GAG-binding site on the lysine-rich C terminus, which is different from DBPA. Besides GAGs, GBPs in ECM also interact with cell surface receptors, such as integrins. Integrins belong to a big family of heterodimeric transmembrane proteins that receive extracellular cues and transmit signals bidirectionally to regulate cell adhesion, migration, growth and survival. The second part of this thesis focuses on αM I-domain of the promiscuous integrin αMβ2 (Mac-1 or CD11b/CD18) and explores the structural mechanism of αM I-domain interactions with pleiotrophin (PTN) and platelet factor 4 (PF4), which are cationic proteins with high GAG affinities. After completing the backbone assignment of αM I-domain, paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) experiments were performed to show that both PTN and PF4 bind αM I-domain using metal ion dependent adhesion site (MIDAS) in an Mg2+ independent way, which differs from the classical Mg2+ dependent mechanism used by all known integrin ligands thus far. In addition, NMR relaxation dispersion analysis revealed unique inherent conformational dynamics in αM I-domain centered around MIDAS and the crucial C-terminal helix. These dynamic motions are potentially functionally relevant and may explain the ligand promiscuity of the receptor, but requires further studies.
ContributorsFeng, Wei (Biologist) (Author) / Wang, Xu (Thesis advisor) / Yarger, Jeff L (Committee member) / Ghirlanda, Giovanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Cancer is a major public health challenge and the second leading cause of death in the United States. Large amount of effort has been made to achieve sensitive and specific detection of cancer, and to predict the course of cancer. Glycans are promising avenues toward the diagnosis and prognosis of

Cancer is a major public health challenge and the second leading cause of death in the United States. Large amount of effort has been made to achieve sensitive and specific detection of cancer, and to predict the course of cancer. Glycans are promising avenues toward the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer, because aberrant glycosylation is a prevalent hallmark of diverse types of cancer. A bottom-up “glycan node analysis” approach was employed as a useful tool, which captures most essential glycan features from blood plasma or serum (P/S) specimens and quantifies them as single analytical signals, to a lung cancer set from the Women Epidemiology Lung Cancer (WELCA) study. In addition, developments were performed to simplify a relatively cumbersome step involved in sample preparation of glycan node analysis. Furthermore, as a biomarker discovery research, one crucial concern of the glycan node analysis is to ensure that the specimen integrity has not been compromised for the employed P/S samples. A simple P/S integrity quality assurance assay was applied to the same sample set from WELCA study, which also afford the opportunity to evaluate the effects of different collection sites on sample integrity in a multisite clinical trial.

Here, 208 samples from lung cancer patients and 207 age-matched controls enrolled in the WELCA study were analyzed by glycan node analysis. Glycan features, quantified as single analytical signals, including 2-linked mannose, α2‐6 sialylation, β1‐4 branching, β1‐6 branching, 4-linked GlcNAc, and outer-arm fucosylation, exhibited abilities to distinguish lung cancer cases from controls and predict survival in patients.

To circumvent the laborious preparation steps for permethylation of glycan node analysis, a spin column-free (SCF) glycan permethylation procedure was developed, applicable to both intact glycan analysis or glycan node analysis, with improved or comparable permethylation efficiency relative to some widely-used spin column-based procedures.

Biospecimen integrity of the same set of plasma samples from WELCA study was evaluated by a simple intact protein assay (ΔS-Cysteinylated-Albumin), which quantifies cumulative exposure of P/S to thawed conditions (-30 °C). Notable differences were observed between different groups of samples with various initial handling/storage conditions, as well as among the different collection sites.
ContributorsHu, Yueming (Ph.D.) (Author) / Borges, Chad R (Thesis advisor) / Ros, Alexandra (Committee member) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
The primary carbon fixing enzyme Rubisco maintains its activity through release of trapped inhibitors by Rubisco activase (Rca). Very little is known about the interaction, but binding has been proposed to be weak and transient. Extensive effort was made to develop Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based assays to understand

The primary carbon fixing enzyme Rubisco maintains its activity through release of trapped inhibitors by Rubisco activase (Rca). Very little is known about the interaction, but binding has been proposed to be weak and transient. Extensive effort was made to develop Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based assays to understand the physical interaction between Rubisco and Rca, as well as understand subunit exchange in Rca.

Preparations of labeled Rubisco and Rca were utilized in a FRET-based binding assay. Although initial data looked promising, this approach was not fruitful, as no true FRET signal was observed. One possibility is that under the conditions tested, Rca is not able to undergo the structural reorganizations necessary to achieve binding-competent conformations. Rca may also be asymmetric, leading to less stable binding of an already weak interaction.

To better understand the structural adjustments of Rca, subunit exchange between different oligomeric species was examined. It was discovered that subunit exchange is nucleotide dependent, with ADP giving the fastest exchange, ATP giving slower exchange and ATPS inhibiting exchange. Manganese, like ADP, destabilizes subunit-subunit interactions for rapid and facile exchange between oligomers. Three different types of assemblies were deduced from the rates of subunit exchange: rigid types with extremely slow dissociation of individual protomers, tight assemblies with the physiological substrate ATP, and loose assemblies that provide fast exchange due to high ADP.

Information gained about Rca subunit exchange can be used to reexamine the physical interaction between Rubisco and Rca using the FRET-binding assay. These binding assays will provide insight into Rca states able to interact with Rubisco, as well as define conditions to generate bound states for structural analysis. In combination with assembly assays, subunit exchange assays and reactivation studies will provide critical information about the structure/function relationship of Rca in the presence of different nucleotides. Together, these FRET-based assays will help to characterize the Rca regulation mechanism and provide valuable insight into the Rubisco reactivation mechanism.
ContributorsForbrook, Dayna S (Author) / Wachter, Rebekka M. (Thesis advisor) / Allen, James (Committee member) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate various of physiologicalactivities which makes them significant drug targets. Determination of atomic level structure of GPCRs facilitates the structure-based drug design. The most widely used method currently for solving GPCR structure is still protein crystallography especially lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization. LCP could mimic the native environment of

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate various of physiologicalactivities which makes them significant drug targets. Determination of atomic level structure of GPCRs facilitates the structure-based drug design. The most widely used method currently for solving GPCR structure is still protein crystallography especially lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization. LCP could mimic the native environment of membrane protein which stable the membrane proteins. Traditional synchrotron source requires large size large size protein crystals (>30 micron) due to the radiation damage during data collection. However, acquiring large sized protein crystals is challenging and not guaranteed practically. In this study, a novel method was developed which combined LCP technology and micro-electron diffraction (MicroED) technology. LCP-MicroED technology was able to collect complete diffraction data sets from serval submicron protein crystals and deliver high resolution protein structures. This technology was first confirmed with soluble protein crystals, proteinase K and small molecule crystals, cholesterol. Furthermore, this novel method was applied to a human GPCR target, Î22- adrenergic receptor (Î22AR). The structure model was successfully built which proved the feasibility of applying LCP-MicroED method to GPCRs and other membrane proteins. Besides, in this research, a novel human GPCR target, human histamine 4 receptor(H4R) was studied. Different constructs were expressed, purified, and characterized. Some key residuals that affect ligand binding were confirmed.
ContributorsJing, Liang (Author) / Mazor, Yuval (Thesis advisor) / Mills, Jeremy (Committee member) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Description
Spatial resolved detection and quantification of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules in single cell is crucial for the understanding of inherent biological issues, like mechanism of gene regulation or the development and maintenance of cell fate. Conventional methods for single cell RNA profiling, like single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) or single-molecule fluorescent

Spatial resolved detection and quantification of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules in single cell is crucial for the understanding of inherent biological issues, like mechanism of gene regulation or the development and maintenance of cell fate. Conventional methods for single cell RNA profiling, like single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) or single-molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization (smFISH), suffer either from the loss of spatial information or the low detection throughput. In order to advance single-cell analysis, new approaches need to be developed with the ability to perform high-throughput detection while preserving spatial information of the subcellular location of target RNA molecules.

Novel approaches for highly multiplexed single cell in situ transcriptomic analysis were developed by our group to enable single-cell comprehensive RNA profiling in their native spatial contexts. Reiterative FISH was demonstrated to be able to detect >100 RNA species in single cell in situ, while more sophisticated approaches, consecutive FISH (C-FISH) and switchable fluorescent oligonucleotide based FISH (SFO-FISH), have the potential for whole transcriptome profiling at the single molecule sensitivity. The introduction of a cleavable fluorescent tyramide even enables sensitive RNA profiling in intact tissues with high throughput. These approaches will have wide applications in studies of systems biology, molecular diagnosis and targeted therapies.
ContributorsXiao, Lu, Ph.D (Author) / Guo, Jia (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Transient receptor potential vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) is a membrane protein ion channel that functions as a heat and capsaicin receptor. In addition to activation by hot temperature and vanilloid compounds such as capsaicin, TRPV1 is modulated by various stimuli including acidic pH, endogenous lipids, diverse biological and synthetic chemical

Transient receptor potential vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1) is a membrane protein ion channel that functions as a heat and capsaicin receptor. In addition to activation by hot temperature and vanilloid compounds such as capsaicin, TRPV1 is modulated by various stimuli including acidic pH, endogenous lipids, diverse biological and synthetic chemical ligands, and modulatory proteins. Due to its sensitivity to noxious stimuli such as high temperature and pungent chemicals, there has been significant evidence that TRPV1 participates in a variety of human physiological and pathophysiological pathways, raising the potential of TRPV1 as an attractive therapeutic target. However, the polymodal nature of TRPV1 function has complicated clinical application because the TRPV1 activation mechanisms from different modes have generally been enigmatic. Consequently, tremendous efforts have put into dissecting the mechanisms of different activation modes, but numerous questions remain to be answered.

The studies conducted in this dissertation probed the role of the S1-S4 membrane domain in temperature and ligand activation of human TRPV1. Temperature-dependent solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for thermodynamic and mechanistic studies of the S1-S4 domain. From these results, a potential temperature sensing mechanism of TRPV1, initiated from the S1-S4 domain, was proposed. Additionally, direct binding of various ligands to the S1-S4 domain were used to ascertain the interaction site and the affinities (Kd) of various ligands to this domain. These results are the first to study the isolated S1-S4 domain of human TRPV1 and many results indicate that the S1-S4 domain is crucial for both temperature-sensing and is the general receptor binding site central to chemical activation.
ContributorsKim, Minjoo (Author) / Van Horn, Wade D (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xu (Committee member) / Liu, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019