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LYPLAL1
Lysophospholipase-like 1 is a protein in humans that is encoded by the LYPLAL1 gene. The protein is a α/β-hydrolase of uncharacterized metabolic function. Genome-wide association studies in humans have linked the gene to fat distribution and waist-to-hip ratio. The protein's enzymatic function is unclear. LYPLAL1 was reported to act as a triglyceride lipase in adipose tissue and another study suggested that the protein may play a role in the depalmitoylation of calcium-activated potassium channels. However, LYPLAL1 does not depalmitoylate the oncogene Ras and a structural and enzymatic study concluded that LYPLAL1 is generally unable to act as a lipase and is instead an esterase that prefers short-chain substrates, such as acetyl groups. Structural comparisons have suggested that LYPLAL1 might be a protein deacetylase, but this has not been experimentally tested. Relationship to acyl-protein thioesterases Sequence conservation and structural homology suggest a close relatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha/beta Hydrolase Superfamily
The alpha/beta hydrolase superfamily is a superfamily of hydrolytic enzymes of widely differing phylogenetic origin and catalytic function that share a common fold. The core of each enzyme is an alpha/beta-sheet (rather than a barrel), containing 8 beta strands connected by 6 alpha helices. The enzymes are believed to have diverged from a common ancestor, retaining little obvious sequence similarity, but preserving the arrangement of the catalytic residues. All have a catalytic triad, the elements of which are borne on loops, which are the best-conserved structural features of the fold. The alpha/beta hydrolase fold includes proteases, lipases, peroxidases, esterases, epoxide hydrolases and dehalogenases. Database The ESTHER database provides a large collection of information about this superfamily of proteins. Subfamilies * 3-oxoadipate enol-lactonase Human proteins containing this domain ABHD10; ABHD11; ABHD12; ABHD12B; ABHD13; ABHD2; ABHD3; ABHD4; ABHD5; ABHD6; A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esterase
An esterase is a hydrolase enzyme that splits esters into an acid and an alcohol in a chemical reaction with water called hydrolysis. A wide range of different esterases exist that differ in their substrate specificity, their protein structure, and their biological function. EC classification/list of enzymes * ''EC 3.1.1'': Carboxylic ester hydrolases ** Acetylesterase (EC 3.1.1.6), splits off acetyl groups *** Cholinesterase **** Acetylcholinesterase, inactivates the neurotransmitter acetylcholine **** Pseudocholinesterase, broad substrate specificity, found in the blood plasma and in the liver ** Pectinesterase (EC 3.1.1.11), clarifies fruit juices * ''EC 3.1.2'': Thiolester hydrolases ** Thioesterase *** Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 * ''EC 3.1.3'': Phosphoric monoester hydrolases ** Phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.x), hydrolyses phosphoric acid monoesters into a phosphate ion and an alcohol *** Alkaline phosphatase, removes phosphate groups from many types of molecules, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acyl Group
In chemistry, an acyl group is a moiety derived by the removal of one or more hydroxyl groups from an oxoacid, including inorganic acids. It contains a double-bonded oxygen atom and an alkyl group (). In organic chemistry, the acyl group (IUPAC name: alkanoyl) is usually derived from a carboxylic acid, in which case it has the formula , where R represents an alkyl group that is linked to the carbon atom of the group by a single bond. Although the term is almost always applied to organic compounds, acyl groups can in principle be derived from other types of acids such as sulfonic acids and phosphonic acids. In the most common arrangement, acyl groups are attached to a larger molecular fragment, in which case the carbon and oxygen atoms are linked by a double bond. Compounds Well-known acyl compounds are the acyl chlorides, such as acetyl chloride (CH3COCl) and benzoyl chloride (C6H5COCl). These compounds, which are treated as sources of acylium cations, are good reagents for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Substrate (chemistry)
In chemistry, the term substrate is highly context-dependent. Broadly speaking, it can refer either to a chemical species being observed in a chemical reaction, or to a surface on which other chemical reactions or microscopy are performed. In the former sense, a reagent is added to the ''substrate'' to generate a product through a chemical reaction. The term is used in a similar sense in synthetic and organic chemistry, where the substrate is the chemical of interest that is being modified. In biochemistry, an enzyme substrate is the material upon which an enzyme acts. When referring to Le Chatelier's principle, the substrate is the reagent whose concentration is changed. ;Spontaneous reaction : :*Where S is substrate and P is product. ;Catalysed reaction : :*Where S is substrate, P is product and C is catalyst. In the latter sense, it may refer to a surface on which other chemical reactions are performed or play a supporting role in a variety of spectroscopic and microsco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Secondary Structure
Protein secondary structure is the three dimensional form of ''local segments'' of proteins. The two most common secondary structural elements are alpha helices and beta sheets, though beta turns and omega loops occur as well. Secondary structure elements typically spontaneously form as an intermediate before the protein folds into its three dimensional tertiary structure. Secondary structure is formally defined by the pattern of hydrogen bonds between the amino hydrogen and carboxyl oxygen atoms in the peptide backbone. Secondary structure may alternatively be defined based on the regular pattern of backbone dihedral angles in a particular region of the Ramachandran plot regardless of whether it has the correct hydrogen bonds. The concept of secondary structure was first introduced by Kaj Ulrik Linderstrøm-Lang at Stanford in 1952. Other types of biopolymers such as nucleic acids also possess characteristic secondary structures. Types The most common secondary structures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrophobic Effect
The hydrophobic effect is the observed tendency of nonpolar substances to aggregate in an aqueous solution and exclude water molecules. The word hydrophobic literally means "water-fearing", and it describes the segregation of water and nonpolar substances, which maximizes hydrogen bonding between molecules of water and minimizes the area of contact between water and nonpolar molecules. In terms of thermodynamics, the hydrophobic effect is the free energy change of water surrounding a solute. A positive free energy change of the surrounding solvent indicates hydrophobicity, whereas a negative free energy change implies hydrophilicity. The hydrophobic effect is responsible for the separation of a mixture of oil and water into its two components. It is also responsible for effects related to biology, including: cell membrane and vesicle formation, protein folding, insertion of membrane proteins into the nonpolar lipid environment and protein-small molecule associations. Hence the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Family
A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be confused with Family (biology), family as it is used in taxonomy. Proteins in a family descend from a common ancestor and typically have similar protein structure, three-dimensional structures, functions, and significant Sequence homology, sequence similarity. The most important of these is sequence similarity (usually amino-acid sequence), since it is the strictest indicator of homology and therefore the clearest indicator of common ancestry. A fairly well developed framework exists for evaluating the significance of similarity between a group of sequences using sequence alignment methods. Proteins that do not share a common ancestor are very unlikely to show statistically significant sequence similarity, making sequence alignment a powerf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acyl-protein Thioesterase
Acyl-protein thioesterases are enzymes that cleave off lipid modifications on proteins, located on the sulfur atom of cysteine residues linked via a thioester bond. Acyl-protein thioesterases are part of the α/β hydrolase superfamily of proteins and have a conserved catalytic triad. For that reason, acyl-protein thioesterases are also able to hydrolyze oxygen-linked ester bonds. Function Acyl-protein thioesterases are involved in the depalmitoylation of proteins, meaning they cleave off palmitoyl modifications on proteins' cysteine residues. Cellular targets include trimeric G-alpha proteins, ion channels and GAP-43. Moreover, human acyl-protein thioesterases 1 and 2 have been identified as major components in controlling the palmitoylation cycle of the oncogene Ras. Depalmitoylation of Ras by acyl-protein thioesterases potentially reduces Ras' affinity to endomembranes, allowing it to be palmitoylated again at the Golgi apparatus and to be directed to the plasma membr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Structure
Protein structure is the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in an amino acid-chain molecule. Proteins are polymers specifically polypeptides formed from sequences of amino acids, the monomers of the polymer. A single amino acid monomer may also be called a ''residue'' indicating a repeating unit of a polymer. Proteins form by amino acids undergoing condensation reactions, in which the amino acids lose one water molecule per reaction in order to attach to one another with a peptide bond. By convention, a chain under 30 amino acids is often identified as a peptide, rather than a protein. To be able to perform their biological function, proteins fold into one or more specific spatial conformations driven by a number of non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, Van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic packing. To understand the functions of proteins at a molecular level, it is often necessary to determine their three-dimensional structure. This is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conserved Sequence
In evolutionary biology, conserved sequences are identical or similar sequences in nucleic acids ( DNA and RNA) or proteins across species ( orthologous sequences), or within a genome ( paralogous sequences), or between donor and receptor taxa ( xenologous sequences). Conservation indicates that a sequence has been maintained by natural selection. A highly conserved sequence is one that has remained relatively unchanged far back up the phylogenetic tree, and hence far back in geological time. Examples of highly conserved sequences include the RNA components of ribosomes present in all domains of life, the homeobox sequences widespread amongst Eukaryotes, and the tmRNA in Bacteria. The study of sequence conservation overlaps with the fields of genomics, proteomics, evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, bioinformatics and mathematics. History The discovery of the role of DNA in heredity, and observations by Frederick Sanger of variation between animal insulins in 1949, prompt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acetyl Group
In organic chemistry, acetyl is a functional group with the chemical formula and the structure . It is sometimes represented by the symbol Ac (not to be confused with the element actinium). In IUPAC nomenclature, acetyl is called ethanoyl, although this term is barely heard. The acetyl group contains a methyl group () single-bonded to a carbonyl (). The carbonyl center of an acyl radical has one nonbonded electron with which it forms a chemical bond to the remainder ''R'' of the molecule. The acetyl moiety is a component of many organic compounds, including acetic acid, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, acetyl-CoA, acetylcysteine, acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol), and acetylsalicylic acid (also known as aspirin). Acetylation In nature The introduction of an acetyl group into a molecule is called acetylation. In biological organisms, acetyl groups are commonly transferred from acetyl-CoA to other organic molecules. Acetyl-CoA is an intermediate both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
