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Pentameric Protein
A pentameric protein is a quaternary protein structure that consists of five protein subunits. Examples Ligand-gated ion channels Five sub-units come together to form a channel. Each channel consist of two alpha chain, one beta, one gamma and one delta chain. These five chains assemble together (along with certain receptors like protons or acetylcholine) forming the structure of the channel. A ligand-gated ion channel on the post-synaptic junction of the muscle-end plate is an example of such a channel. They are acetylcholine-operated ion channels, which means that acetylcholine brings about a conformational change. The channel allows the free movement of the cations like Na and K when acetylcholine binds to its receptors. Viral capsids Many viral capsids are formed by hexameric and pentameric proteins. Such capsids are assigned a triangulation number (T-number) which describe relation between the number of pentagons and hexagons. Carboxysomes Protein enclosing bacterial organe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quaternary Protein Structure
Protein quaternary structure is the fourth (and highest) classification level of protein structure. Protein quaternary structure refers to the structure of proteins which are themselves composed of two or more smaller protein chains (also referred to as subunits). Protein quaternary structure describes the number and arrangement of multiple folded protein subunits in a multi-subunit complex. It includes organizations from simple dimers to large homooligomers and complexes with defined or variable numbers of subunits. In contrast to the first three levels of protein structure, not all proteins will have a quaternary structure since some proteins function as single units. Protein quaternary structure can also refer to biomolecular complexes of proteins with nucleic acids and other cofactors. Description and examples Many proteins are actually assemblies of multiple polypeptide chains. The quaternary structure refers to the number and arrangement of the protein subunits wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein Subunit
In structural biology, a protein subunit is a polypeptide chain or single protein molecule that assembles (or "''coassembles''") with others to form a protein complex. Large assemblies of proteins such as viruses often use a small number of types of protein subunits as building blocks. A subunit is often named with a Greek or Roman letter, and the numbers of this type of subunit in a protein is indicated by a subscript. For example, ATP synthase has a type of subunit called α. Three of these are present in the ATP synthase molecule, leading to the designation α3. Larger groups of subunits can also be specified, like α3β3-hexamer and c-ring. Naturally-occurring proteins that have a relatively small number of subunits are referred to as oligomeric.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises a small plurality of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of lower relative molecular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpha Chain
The term alpha chain is normally used to indicate one of the subunits of a multi-subunit protein. The term "chain" is a general term given to any peptide sequence. It can often refer more specifically to mean: * a part of the T-cell receptor, * the fibrinogen alpha chain, * the integrin alpha chain, * Hemoglobin, alpha 1 It should be distinguished from the term alpha helix, which refers to one of the common secondary structures found in proteins, along with beta sheet. See also * Fibrinogen * Peptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A ... References Protein structure {{molecular-biology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine (ACh) is an organic chemical that functions in the brain and body of many types of animals (including humans) as a neurotransmitter. Its name is derived from its chemical structure: it is an ester of acetic acid and choline. Parts in the body that use or are affected by acetylcholine are referred to as cholinergic. Substances that increase or decrease the overall activity of the cholinergic system are called cholinergics and anticholinergics, respectively. Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular junction—in other words, it is the chemical that motor neurons of the nervous system release in order to activate muscles. This property means that drugs that affect cholinergic systems can have very dangerous effects ranging from paralysis to convulsions. Acetylcholine is also a neurotransmitter in the autonomic nervous system, both as an internal transmitter for the sympathetic nervous system and as the final product released by the parasymp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ligand-gated Ion Channel
Ligand-gated ion channels (LICs, LGIC), also commonly referred to as ionotropic receptors, are a group of transmembrane ion-channel proteins which open to allow ions such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, and/or Cl− to pass through the membrane in response to the binding of a chemical messenger (i.e. a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter. When a presynaptic neuron is excited, it releases a neurotransmitter from vesicles into the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitter then binds to receptors located on the postsynaptic neuron. If these receptors are ligand-gated ion channels, a resulting conformational change opens the ion channels, which leads to a flow of ions across the cell membrane. This, in turn, results in either a depolarization, for an excitatory receptor response, or a hyperpolarization, for an inhibitory response. These receptor proteins are typically composed of at least two different domains: a transmembrane domain which includes the ion pore, and an extracellular domain wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conformational Change
In biochemistry, a conformational change is a change in the shape of a macromolecule, often induced by environmental factors. A macromolecule is usually flexible and dynamic. Its shape can change in response to changes in its environment or other factors; each possible shape is called a conformation, and a transition between them is called a ''conformational change''. Factors that may induce such changes include temperature, pH, voltage, light in chromophores, concentration of ions, phosphorylation, or the binding of a ligand. Transitions between these states occur on a variety of length scales (tenths of Å to nm) and time scales (ns to s), and have been linked to functionally relevant phenomena such as allosteric signaling and enzyme catalysis. Laboratory analysis Many biophysical techniques such as crystallography, NMR, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) using spin label techniques, circular dichroism (CD), hydrogen exchange, and FRET can be used to study macrom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viral Capsid
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The proteins making up the capsid are called capsid proteins or viral coat proteins (VCP). The capsid and inner genome is called the nucleocapsid. Capsids are broadly classified according to their structure. The majority of the viruses have capsids with either helical or icosahedral structure. Some viruses, such as bacteriophages, have developed more complicated structures due to constraints of elasticity and electrostatics. The icosahedral shape, which has 20 equilateral triangular faces, approximates a sphere, while the helical shape resembles the shape of a spring, taking the space of a cylinder but not being a cylinder itself. The capsid faces may consist of one or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carboxysome
Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) consisting of polyhedral protein shells filled with the enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO)—the predominant enzyme in carbon fixation and the rate limiting enzyme in the Calvin cycle—and carbonic anhydrase. Carboxysomes are thought to have evolved as a consequence of the increase in oxygen concentration in the ancient atmosphere; this is because oxygen is a competing substrate to carbon dioxide in the RuBisCO reaction. To overcome the inefficiency of RuBisCO, carboxysomes concentrate carbon dioxide inside the shell by means of co-localized carbonic anhydrase activity, which produces carbon dioxide from the bicarbonate that diffuses into the carboxysome. The resulting concentration of carbon dioxide near RuBisCO decreases the proportion of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate oxygenation and thereby avoids costly photorespiratory reactions. The surrounding shell provides a barrier to carbon dioxid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MHC Multimer
MHC multimers are oligomeric forms of MHC molecules, designed to identify and isolate T-cells with high affinity to specific antigens amid a large group of unrelated T-cells. Multimers generally range in size from dimers to octamers; however, some companies use even higher quantities of MHC per multimer. Multimers may be used to display class 1 MHC, class 2 MHC, or nonclassical molecules (e.g. CD1d) from species such as monkeys, mice, and humans. Background Since T-cell receptors have a low affinity for their MHC counterparts, it was historically problematic to label T cells effectively using single MHC-T-cell interactions. However, in 1996 it was proposed by John Altman to use a complex of multiple MHC molecules to form a more stable bond between corresponding T-cells.Bakker, Arnold; Schumacher, Tom. "MHC Multimer Technology: Current Status and Future Prospects," ''Current Opinion in Immunology'', Vol. 17, No. 4 (August 2005), pp. 428-433. Production The most commonly used M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coiled-coil
A coiled coil is a structural motif in proteins in which 2–7 alpha helix, alpha-helices are coiled together like the strands of a rope. (Protein dimer, Dimers and Protein trimer, trimers are the most common types.) Many coiled coil-type proteins are involved in important biological functions, such as the regulation of gene expression — e.g., transcription factors. Notable examples are the oncoproteins c-Fos and c-Jun, as well as the muscle protein tropomyosin. Discovery The possibility of coiled coils for α-keratin was initially somewhat controversial. Linus Pauling and Francis Crick independently came to the conclusion that this was possible at about the same time. In the summer of 1952, Pauling visited the laboratory in England where Crick worked. Pauling and Crick met and spoke about various topics; at one point, Crick asked whether Pauling had considered "coiled coils" (Crick came up with the term), to which Pauling said he had. Upon returning to the United States, Paul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fluorophore
A fluorophore (or fluorochrome, similarly to a chromophore) is a fluorescent chemical compound that can re-emit light upon light excitation. Fluorophores typically contain several combined aromatic groups, or planar or cyclic molecules with several π bonds. Fluorophores are sometimes used alone, as a tracer in fluids, as a dye for staining of certain structures, as a substrate of enzymes, or as a probe or indicator (when its fluorescence is affected by environmental aspects such as polarity or ions). More generally they are covalently bonded to a macromolecule, serving as a marker (or dye, or tag, or reporter) for affine or bioactive reagents (antibodies, peptides, nucleic acids). Fluorophores are notably used to stain tissues, cells, or materials in a variety of analytical methods, i.e., fluorescent imaging and spectroscopy. Fluorescein, via its amine-reactive isothiocyanate derivative fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), has been one of the most popular fluorophores. Fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pentamer
A pentamer is an entity composed of five sub-units. In chemistry, it applies to molecules made of five monomers. In biochemistry, it applies to macromolecules, in particular to pentameric proteins, made of five proteic sub-units. In microbiology, a pentamer is one of the proteins composing the polyhedral protein shell that encloses the bacterial micro-compartments known as carboxysomes. In immunology, an MHC pentamer is a reagent used to detect antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. See also * penta prefix * -mer suffix * ''Pentamerous Metamorphosis'', an album by Global Communication * Pentamery (botany), having five parts in a distinct whorl of a plant structure * Pentamerous can also refer to animals, such as crinoids Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea. Crinoids that are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk in their adult form are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, which are ... Oligomer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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