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Two-pore Channel
Two-pore channels (TPCs) are eukaryotic intracellular voltage-gated and ligand gated cation selective ion channels. There are two known paralogs in the human genome, TPC1s and TPC2s. In humans, TPC1s are sodium selective and TPC2s conduct sodium ions, calcium ions and possibly hydrogen ions. Plant TPC1s are non-selective channels. Expression of TPCs are found in both plant vacuoles and animal acidic organelles. These organelles consist of endosomes and lysosomes. TPCs are formed from two transmembrane non-equivalent tandem Shaker-like, pore-forming subunits, dimerized to form quasi-tetramers. Quasi-tetramers appear very similar to tetramers, but are not quite the same. Some key roles of TPCs include calcium dependent responses in muscle contraction(s), hormone secretion, fertilization, and differentiation. Disorders linked to TPCs include membrane trafficking, Parkinson's disease, Ebola, and fatty liver. As implied by their name, TPC channels possess two pores and were named ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Two-pore-domain Potassium Channel
The two-pore-domain or tandem pore domain potassium channels are a family of 15 members that form what is known as leak channels which possess Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz (open) rectification. These channels are regulated by several mechanisms including signaling lipids, oxygen tension, pH, mechanical stretch, and G-proteins . Their name is derived from the fact that the α subunits consist of four transmembrane segments, and each pair of transmembrane segments contains a pore loop between the two transmembrane segments. Thus, each subunit has two pore loops. As such, they structurally correspond to two inward-rectifier α subunits and thus form dimers in the membrane (whereas inward-rectifier α subunits form tetramers). Each single channel does ''not'' have two pores; the name of the channel comes from the fact that ''each subunit'' has two P (pore) domains in its primary sequence. To quote Rang and Dale (2015), "The nomenclature is misleading, especially when they are incorrectly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms become more common. The most obvious early symptoms are tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty with walking. Cognitive and behavioral problems may also occur with depression, anxiety, and apathy occurring in many people with PD. Parkinson's disease dementia becomes common in the advanced stages of the disease. Those with Parkinson's can also have problems with their sleep and sensory systems. The motor symptoms of the disease result from the death of cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain, leading to a dopamine deficit. The cause of this cell death is poorly understood, but involves the build-up of misfolded proteins into Lewy bodies in the neurons. Collectively, the main motor symptoms are also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C-terminus
The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein or polypeptide), terminated by a free carboxyl group (-COOH). When the protein is translated from messenger RNA, it is created from N-terminus to C-terminus. The convention for writing peptide sequences is to put the C-terminal end on the right and write the sequence from N- to C-terminus. Chemistry Each amino acid has a carboxyl group and an amine group. Amino acids link to one another to form a chain by a dehydration reaction which joins the amine group of one amino acid to the carboxyl group of the next. Thus polypeptide chains have an end with an unbound carboxyl group, the C-terminus, and an end with an unbound amine group, the N-terminus. Proteins are naturally synthesized starting from the N-terminus and ending at the C-terminus. Function C-terminal retention signals While the N-terminus of a protein often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-terminus
The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amine group is bonded to the carboxylic group of another amino acid, making it a chain. That leaves a free carboxylic group at one end of the peptide, called the C-terminus, and a free amine group on the other end called the N-terminus. By convention, peptide sequences are written N-terminus to C-terminus, left to right (in LTR writing systems). This correlates the translation direction to the text direction, because when a protein is translated from messenger RNA, it is created from the N-terminus to the C-terminus, as amino acids are added to the carboxyl end of the protein. Chemistry Each amino acid has an amine group and a carboxylic group. Amino acids link to one another by peptide bonds which form through a dehydration reaction that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EF Hand
The EF hand is a helix–loop–helix structural domain or ''motif'' found in a large family of calcium-binding proteins. The EF-hand motif contains a helix–loop–helix topology, much like the spread thumb and forefinger of the human hand, in which the Ca2+ ions are coordinated by ligands within the loop. The motif takes its name from traditional nomenclature used in describing the protein parvalbumin, which contains three such motifs and is probably involved in muscle relaxation via its calcium-binding activity. The EF-hand consists of two alpha helices linked by a short loop region (usually about 12 amino acids) that usually binds calcium ions. EF-hands also appear in each structural domain of the signaling protein calmodulin and in the muscle protein troponin-C. Calcium ion binding site The calcium ion is coordinated in a pentagonal bipyramidal configuration. The six residues involved in the binding are in positions 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12; these residues are denoted by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phosphatidylinositol
Phosphatidylinositol (or Inositol Phospholipid) consists of a family of lipids as illustrated on the right, where red is x, blue is y, and black is z, in the context of independent variation, a class of the phosphatidylglycerides. In such molecules the isomer of the inositol group is assumed to be the myo- conformer unless otherwise stated. Typically phosphatidylinositols form a minor component on the cytosolic side of eukaryotic cell membranes. The phosphate group gives the molecules a negative charge at physiological pH. The form of phosphatidylinositol comprising the isomer ''muco''-inositol acts as a sensory receptor in the taste function of the sensory system. In this context it is often referred to as PtdIns, but that does not imply any molecular difference from phosphatidylinositols comprising the myo- conformers of inositol. The phosphatidylinositol can be phosphorylated to form phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PI-4-P, referred to as PIP in close context or informa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fluorescence Microscope
A fluorescence microscope is an optical microscope that uses fluorescence instead of, or in addition to, scattering, reflection, and attenuation or absorption, to study the properties of organic or inorganic substances. "Fluorescence microscope" refers to any microscope that uses fluorescence to generate an image, whether it is a simple set up like an epifluorescence microscope or a more complicated design such as a confocal microscope, which uses optical sectioning to get better resolution of the fluorescence image. Principle The specimen is illuminated with light of a specific wavelength (or wavelengths) which is absorbed by the fluorophores, causing them to emit light of longer wavelengths (i.e., of a different color than the absorbed light). The illumination light is separated from the much weaker emitted fluorescence through the use of a spectral emission filter. Typical components of a fluorescence microscope are a light source (xenon arc lamp or mercury-vapor lamp ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patch Clamp
The patch clamp technique is a laboratory technique in electrophysiology used to study ionic currents in individual isolated living cells, tissue sections, or patches of cell membrane. The technique is especially useful in the study of excitable cells such as neurons, cardiomyocytes, muscle fibers, and pancreatic beta cells, and can also be applied to the study of bacterial ion channels in specially prepared giant spheroplasts. Patch clamping can be performed using the voltage clamp technique. In this case, the voltage across the cell membrane is controlled by the experimenter and the resulting currents are recorded. Alternatively, the current clamp technique can be used. In this case, the current passing across the membrane is controlled by the experimenter and the resulting changes in voltage are recorded, generally in the form of action potentials. Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann developed the patch clamp in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This discovery made it possibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electrophysiology
Electrophysiology (from Greek , ''ēlektron'', "amber" etymology of "electron"">Electron#Etymology">etymology of "electron" , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia'') is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage changes or electric current or manipulations on a wide variety of scales from single ion channel proteins to whole organs like the heart. In neuroscience, it includes measurements of the electrical activity of neurons, and, in particular, action potential activity. Recordings of large-scale electric signals from the nervous system, such as electroencephalography, may also be referred to as electrophysiological recordings. They are useful for electrodiagnosis and monitoring. Definition and scope Classical electrophysiological techniques Principle and mechanisms Electrophysiology is the branch of physiology that pertains broadly to the flow of ions (ion current) in biolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabidopsis Thaliana
''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter annual with a relatively short lifecycle, ''A. thaliana'' is a popular model organism in plant biology and genetics. For a complex multicellular eukaryote, ''A. thaliana'' has a relatively small genome around 135 megabase pairs. It was the first plant to have its genome sequenced, and is a popular tool for understanding the molecular biology of many plant traits, including flower development and light sensing. Description ''Arabidopsis thaliana'' is an annual (rarely biennial) plant, usually growing to 20–25 cm tall. The leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant, with a few leaves also on the flowering stem. The basal leaves are green to slightly purplish in color, 1.5–5 cm long, and 2–10 mm broad, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicotinic Acid Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate
Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate, (NAADP), is a Ca2+-mobilizing second messenger synthesised in response to extracellular stimuli. Like its mechanistic cousins, IP3 and cyclic adenosine diphosphoribose ( Cyclic ADP-ribose), NAADP binds to and opens Ca2+ channels on intracellular organelles, thereby increasing the intracellular Ca2+ concentration which, in turn, modulates sundry cellular processes (see Calcium signalling). Structurally, it is a dinucleotide that only differs from the house-keeping enzyme cofactor, NADP by a hydroxyl group (replacing the nicotinamide amino group) and yet this minor modification converts it into the most potent Ca2+-mobilizing second messenger yet described. NAADP acts across phyla from plants to humans. Discovery In their landmark 1987 paper, Hon Cheung Lee and colleagues discovered not one but two Ca2+-mobilizing second messengers, cADPR and NAADP from the effects of nucleotides on Ca2+ release in sea urchin egg homogenates. It turns ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
