Biomedical subjects

Ning Wu

Publications and source records attributed to Ning Wu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

miR-2116-5p functions as a tumor suppressor in lung adenocarcinoma by targeting ADAM12 and serves as a prognostic biomarker.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs play key roles in tumor progression. miR-2116-5p is downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and this study investigated its prognostic value and functional role in the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 125 LUAD patients contributed tissue samples. miR-2116-5p and ADAM12 expression in tissues and cell lines were detected by RT‑qPCR. Clinicopathological correlations of miR-2116-5p were analyzed using the chi-square test. Kaplan‑Meier and Cox regression were employed to assess prognostic significance. CCK‑8, Transwell, and dual‑luciferase reporter assays were performed to investigate miR‑2116-5p function and its targeting of ADAM12. Rescue experiments validated the functional involvement of ADAM12. RESULTS: Significant downregulation of miR-2116-5p was observed in LUAD tissues and cell lines. Low expression was markedly linked to lymph node metastasis (P = 0.013) and advanced TNM stage (P = 0.002). Patients exhibiting reduced miR-2116-5p levels showed worse overall survival, and it was identified as an independent prognostic factor (HR = 2.521, 95% CI: 1.129-5.628, P = 0.020). Functional experiments showed that increasing miR-2116-5p expression suppressed LUAD cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, whereas its knockdown promoted these processes. ADAM12 was confirmed as a direct target, with expression inversely correlated in LUAD tissues (r = -0.749, P < 0.001). ADAM12 overexpression effectively counteracted the ability of miR-2116-5p to suppress proliferation, migration, and invasion. CONCLUSION: miR‑2116-5p suppresses LUAD progression by targeting ADAM12, suggesting it may serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

Systematic mining and quantification reveal the dominant contribution of non-HLA variations to acute graft-versus-host disease.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) disparity between donors and recipients is a key determinant triggering intense alloreactivity, leading to a lethal complication, namely, acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), after allogeneic transplantation. Moreover, aGVHD remains a cause of mortality after HLA-matched allogeneic transplantation. Protocols for HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haploHCT) have been established successfully and widely applied, further highlighting the urgency of performing panoramic screening of non-HLA variations correlated with aGVHD. On the basis of our time-consecutive large haploHCT cohort (with a homogenous discovery set and an extended confirmatory set), we first delineated the genetic landscape of 1366 samples to quantitatively model aGVHD risk by assessing the contributions of HLA and non-HLA genes together with clinical factors. In addition to identifying multiple loss-of-function (LoF) risk variations in non-HLA coding genes, our data-driven study revealed that non-HLA genetic variations, independent of HLA disparity, contributed the most to the occurrence of aGVHD. This unexpected major effect was verified in an independent cohort that received HLA-identical sibling HCT. Subsequent functional experiments further revealed the roles of a representative non-HLA LoF gene and LoF gene pair in regulating the alloreactivity of primary human T cells. Our findings highlight the importance of non-HLA genetic risk in the new era of transplantation and propose a new direction to explore the immunogenetic mechanism of alloreactivity and to optimize donor selection strategies for allogeneic transplantation.

Humans↗

PubMed2005

IRAS, a candidate for I1-imidazoline receptor, mediates inhibitory effect of agmatine on cellular morphine dependence.

Agmatine, an endogenous ligand for the I1-imidazoline receptor, has previously been shown to prevent morphine dependence in rats and mice. To investigate the role of imidazoline receptor antisera-selected protein (IRAS), a strong candidate for I1R, in morphine dependence, two CHO cell lines were created, in which mu opioid receptor (MOR) was stably expressed alone (CHO-mu) or MOR and IRAS were stably co-expressed (CHO-mu/IRAS). After 48 h administration of morphine (10 microM), naloxone induced a cAMP overshoot in both cell lines, suggesting cellular morphine dependence had been produced. Agmatine (0.1-2.5 microM) concentration-dependently inhibited the naloxone-precipitated cAMP overshoot when co-pretreated with morphine in CHO-mu/IRAS, but not in CHO-mu. Agmatine at 5-100 microM also inhibited the cAMP overshoot in CHO/mu and CHO-mu/IRAS. Efaroxan, an I1R-preferential antagonist, completely blocked the effect of agmatine on the cAMP overshoot at 0.1-2.5 microM in CHO-mu/IRAS, while partially reversing the effects of agmatine at 5-100 microM. L-type calcium channel blocker nifedipine entirely mimicked the effects of agmatine at high concentrations on forskolin-stimulated cAMP formation in CHO-mu and naloxone-precipitated cAMP overshoot in morphine-pretreated CHO-mu. Therefore, IRAS, in the co-transfected CHO-mu/IRAS cell line, appears necessary for low concentrations of agmatine to cause attenuation of cellular morphine dependence. An additional effect of agmatine at higher concentrations seems to relate to both transfected IRAS and some naive elements in CHO cells, and L-type voltage-gated calcium channels are not ruled out. This study suggests that IRAS mediates agmatine's high affinity effects on cellular morphine dependence and may play a role in opioid dependence.

Agmatine↗

PubMed2005

Rotationally invariant pattern recognition by use of linear and nonlinear cascaded filters.

We discuss the merits of using single-layer (linear and nonlinear) and multiple-layer (nonlinear) filters for rotationally invariant and noise-tolerant pattern recognition. The capability of each approach is considered with reference to a two-class, rotation-invariant, character recognition problem. The minimum average correlation energy (MACE) filter is a linear filter that is generally accepted to be optimal for detecting signals that are free from noise. Here it is found that an optimized MACE filter cannot differentiate between the characters E and F in a rotation-invariant manner. We have found, however, that this task is possible when a single optimized linear filter is used to achieve the required response when a nonlinear threshold function is included after the filter. We show that this structure can be cascaded to form a multiple-layer, cascaded filter and that the capability of such a system is enhanced by its increased noise tolerance in the character recognition problem. Finally, we show the capability of a two-layer cascade as a means to detect different species of bacteria in images obtained from a phase-contrast microscope.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

The C2 domain of PKCdelta is a phosphotyrosine binding domain.

In eukaryotic cells, the SH2 and PTB domains mediate protein-protein interactions by recognizing phosphotyrosine residues on target proteins. Here we make the unexpected finding that the C2 domain of PKCdelta directly binds to phosphotyrosine peptides in a sequence-specific manner. We provide evidence that this domain mediates PKCdelta interaction with a Src binding glycoprotein, CDCP1. The crystal structure of the PKCdelta C2 domain in complex with an optimal phosphopeptide reveals a new mode of phosphotyrosine binding in which the phosphotyrosine moiety forms a ring-stacking interaction with a histidine residue of the C2 domain. This is also the first example of a protein Ser/Thr kinase containing a domain that binds phosphotyrosine.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Mathematical modeling and in vitro study of controlled drug release via a highly swellable and dissoluble polymer matrix: polyethylene oxide with high molecular weights.

A mathematical model is developed to describe the transport phenomena of a water-soluble small molecular drug (caffeine) from highly swellable and dissoluble polyethylene oxide (PEO) cylindrical tablets. Several important aspects in drug release kinetics were taken into account simultaneously in this theoretical model: swelling of the hydrophilic matrix and water penetration, three-dimensional and concentration-dependent diffusion of drug and water, and polymer dissolution. The moving boundary conditions are explicitly derived, and the resulting coupled partial differential equations are solved numerically. In vitro study of swelling, dissolution behavior of PEOs with different molecular weights and drug release are also carried out. When compared with experimental results, this theoretical model agrees with the water uptake, dimensional change and polymer dissolution profiles very well for pure PEO tablets with two different molecular weights. Drug release profiles using this model are predicted with a very good agreement with experimental data at different initial loadings. The overall drug release process is found to be highly dependent on the matrix swelling, drug and water diffusion, polymer dissolution and initial dimensions of the tablets. Their influences on drug release kinetics from PEO with two different molecular weights are also investigated.

Delayed-Action Preparations↗

PubMed2005

Impact of cognitive function on assessments of nursing home residents' pain.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the impact of residents' cognitive function on the quality of Minimum Data Set (MDS) pain data using the latent variable approach. RESEARCH DESIGN: Using the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) protocol, nursing home (NH) staff and well-trained study nurses independently assessed 3736 NH residents. MEASURES: Inter-rater agreement of pain ratings between NH staff and study nurses was quantified by weighted kappas and polychoric correlations and compared among groups of residents with no/mild, moderate, and severe cognitive impairment. Probit models were built to examine the effect of residents' cognitive function on thresholds raters used to rate pain. RESULTS: Of 3736 residents, 40.4% had no/mild, 35.9% moderate, and 23.7% severe cognitive impairment. Both NH staff and study nurses recorded less frequent and less severe pain for residents with more severe cognitive impairment. The inter-rater agreement on pain ratings between NH staff and study nurses was good-weighted kappas were greater than 0.5 and polychoric correlations greater than 0.7. The thresholds raters used to record pain were similar for NH staff and study nurses and progressively increased when raters recorded pain for residents with more severe cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Given the RAI protocols, the quality of MDS pain data collected by NH staff was similar to that of well-trained nurses regardless of residents' cognitive function. Our results strongly support the notion that specialized pain assessment instruments are needed to adequately detect pain for the large proportion of cognitive impaired NH residents.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

The quality of the quality indicator of pain derived from the minimum data set.

OBJECTIVE: To examine facility variation in data quality of the level of pain documented in the minimum data set (MDS) as a function of level of hospice enrollment in nursing homes (NHs). DATA SOURCE: Clinical assessments on 3,469 nonhospice residents from 178 NHs were merged with On-line Survey Certification and Reporting data of 2000, Medicare Claims data of 2000 and the MDS of 2000-2002. STUDY DESIGN: Using the same assessment protocol, NH staff and study nurses independently assessed 3,469 nonhospice residents. Study nurses' assessments being gold standard, we quantified and compared quality of NH staff's pain rating across NHs with high, medium, or low hospice use. Multilevel models were built to assess the effect of NH hospice use levels on the occurrence of false positive (FP) and false negative (FN) errors in NH-rated "severe pain." PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of 178 NHs, 25 had medium and 41 high hospice use. NHs with higher hospice use had lower sensitivities. In multilevel analysis, we found a significant facility-level variation in the probability of FP and FN errors in facility-rated "severe pain." Resident characteristics only explained 4 and 0 percent of the facility variation in FP and FN, respectively; characteristics and locations (state) of NHs further explained 53 and 52 percent of the variance. After controlling for resident and NH characteristics, staff in NHs with medium or high hospice use were less likely to have FP or FN errors in their MDS documentation of pain than were staff in NHs with low or no hospice use. CONCLUSIONS: The examination of data quality of pooled MDS data from multiple NHs is insufficient. Multilevel analysis is needed to elucidate sources of heterogeneity in the quality of MDS data across NHs. Facility characteristics, e.g., hospice use or NH location, are systematically associated with overrated/underrated pain and may bias pain quality indicator (QI) comparisons. To ensure the integrity of QI comparison in the NH setting, the government may need to institute regular audits of MDS data quality.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

[Effects of ligustrazine on expression of VCAM-1/VLA-4 in syngenic bone marrow transplantation of mice].

To explore the effect of ligustrazine on the expression of adherent molecule VCAM-1/VLA-4 of bone marrow cells in syngenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) mice, the mice were divided into 3 groups: normal group (which received no treatment), BMT control group and ligustrazine-treated groups. BMT mouse models were established. The BMT control group and the ligustrazine-treated group were orally administered 0.2 ml saline per mouse and 2 mg ligustrazine per mouse, respectively, twice a day. On the day 7, 14, 21, 28 after BMT, mice were respectively killed. Bone marrow nucleated cells were detected, and then the expression of VCAM-1/VLA-4 was assayed by immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The results showed that in ligustrazine-treated group, the accounts of bone marrow nucleated cells on the day 7, 14, 21, 28 after BMT were all higher than that in BMT control group. The expression level in the ligustrazine-treated group was significantly higher than that in the BMT control group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). It is concluded that ligustrazine can enhance VCAM-1/VLA-4 expression in bone marrow after syngenic bone marrow transplantation in mice, which may be related to the mechanisms underlying the ligustrazine accelerating hematopoietic reconstitution in allogenic bone marrow transplantation.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Inhibitory effect of agmatine on proliferation of tumor cells by modulation of polyamine metabolism.

AIM: To assess the inhibitory effect of agmatine on tumor growth in vivo and tumor cell proliferation in vitro. METHODS: The transplanted animal model, [3H]thymidine incorporation assay,3-[4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium assay, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay were performed. RESULTS: Agmatine, at doses of 5-40 mg/kg, suppressed the S180 sarcoma tumor growth dose-dependently in mice in vivo and the highest inhibitory ratio reached 31.3% in Kunming mice and 50.0% in Balb/c mice, respectively. Similar results were obtained in the transplanted B16 melanoma tumor model. Agmatine (1-1000 micromol/L) was able to attenuate the proliferation of cultured MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro in a concentration-dependent manner and the highest inhibitory ratio reached 50.3% in the [3H]thymidine incorporation assay. Additionally, in the LDH release assay, spermine (20 micromol/L) and spermidine (20 micromol/L) increased the LDH release significantly, but agmatine (1-1000 micromol/L) did not, indicating that the inhibitory effect of agmatine on the proliferation of MCF was not related to cellular toxicity. In the [3H]thymidine incorporation assay, putrescine (12.5-100.0 micromol/L) could reverse the inhibitory effect of agmatine on the proliferation of MCF concentration-dependently, suggesting that the inhibitory effect of agmatine on the proliferation of MCF might be associated with a decreased level of the intracellular polyamines pool. CONCLUSION: Agmatine had significant inhibitory effect on transplanted tumor growth in vivo and proliferation of tumor cells in vitro, and the mechanism might be a result of inducing decrease of intracellular polyamine contents.

Agmatine↗

PubMed2005

[Sabina przewalskii community structure in the upper reaches of Minjiang River].

In this paper, the physiognomy and the structure of Sabina przewalskii community were studied by sample plot method. The results showed that in the life spectrum of the community, hemicryptophyte was dominated, but therophytes also occurred frequently, which presented some features of temperate vegetation. The vertical structure of the community was quite simple, consisting of tree layer, shrub layer and herb layer, and there were no interstratum plants and ground layer. Sabina przewalskii was the only species in the tree layer. In fruticose stratum, the important value of Spiraea alpina was 153.3, ranking the first; while in herb layer, the important value of Carex caespifosa ranked the first, amounting to 36.8. Among the three plot groups on different slopes, spiny-shrubs such as Berberis wilsonae and Caragana erinacea grown on small slope were more than those on bigger slope, so did unpalatable grasses such as Pedicularis axillaries and Artemisia tauguticat, which mainly owed to retrogressive succession caused by frequently grazing. The age and height structures of Sabina przewalskii population indicated a declining trend, and the community would develop retrogressively if disturbances (e.g., grazing) could not be reduced. The disturbance caused by livestock was more obvious in the plot group on small slope than on bigger slope, and livestock mainly destroyed seedlings and small trees, which made tree population be impossible to regenerate. The coverage of upper layers had a notable impact on the lower layers, and there wasn't any correlation between coverage and diversity index (Shannon-Wiener Index) in each layer.

Ecosystem↗

PubMed2005

[The diagnostic value of dynamic CT in solitary pulmonary nodules: a prospective study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate imaging features of benign and malignant solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) using dynamic computed tomography (dCT) to improve the accuracy of radiological diagnosis. METHODS: Fifty-one patients with SPN were studied by dCT. In this procedure, a bolus of 100 ml contrast medium was administrated intravenously at a rate of 4 ml/sec. The same-located dynamic scans were carried out from 15 sec to 120 sec following the injection. Time-attenuation curves (TAC) were created according to circular or oval ROI drawn over nodules. Histopathological diagnosis was considered as the golden standard in all patients. Double-blind examination and evaluation were carried out and the data were analyzed statistically with Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Thirty eight cases were diagnosed to be malignant SPN (mSPN) and 13 cases to be benign SPN (bSPN). The benign SPN were further divided into two groups, bSPN(1) consisting 6 cases with chronic pneumonitis, nodular tuberculosis or sclerosing hemangioma and bSPN(2) consisting 7 cases with tuberculoma, pulmonary cyst, pulmonary sequestration or mycosis ball. There were statistically significant differences between mSPN and bSPN(2) in peak heights of enhancement (87.6 HU vs. 57.8 HU, P < 0.01), enhancement values (peak heights- unenhanced CT values, 59.6 HU vs. 11.1 HU, P < 0.01). However, no statistically significant differences of those two values existed between mSPN and bSPN(1). TAC of mSPN reached to peak height more rapidly and remained a plateau. TAC of bSPN(1)s showed similar changes to that of mSPN despite a delayed reach to a peak height or even a descending branch. TAC of the bSPN(2)s was lower and flatter without peak height. If a threshold of 20 HU was taken for dCT, the lesions with < or = 20 HU were diagnosed as benign, and the lesions with > 20 HU were diagnosed as malignant, with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 54.0% and an accuracy of 88.4%. CONCLUSION: (1) Absence of the marked enhancement (< or = 20 HU) in dynamic CT is strongly predictive of benignancy. (2) The peak height and enhancement value of dCT are helpful to differentiate malignant SPNs from benign ones. (3) The TAC configuration is helpful in differentiating malignant SPNs from benign ones. Descending branches could be found in some benign lesions, but not in the malignant ones. The TAC of tuberculoma and mycosis ball is usually relatively low and flat without any peak height.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2005

[The value of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein in evaluating disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis].

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or C-reactive protein (CRP) is more appropriate in measuring the disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: We studied 126 consecutive patients with AS. The external criteria for disease activity were Cowling clinical assessment of disease activity and the Bath AS disease activity index (BASDAI). In each measure we defined 3 levels of disease activity i.e. no activity, ambiguous activity and definite activity. The patients with AS were divided into 2 groups: those with spinal involvement only and those with peripheral arthritis as well. For each criterion of disease activity, the patients without activity and with definite activity were included in receiver operating characteristic curve, which was used to determine cutoff values with the highest sensitivity and specificity. We also calculated Spearman correlation. RESULTS: The median ESR and CRP were 25.3 mm/1 h and 11.1 mg/L in the spinal group and 30.0 mm/1 h and 15.0 mg/L in the peripheral group. In both groups the Spearman correlation coefficients between ESR and CRP were around 0.30. There was no correlation between ESR, CRP, and the 2 disease activity variables (0.027-0.282). Sensitivity for both ESR and CRP was between 39.4 %and 81.3% for Cowling assessment of disease activity and the BASDAI, while specificity was between 40.0% and 86.7% for all disease activity measures. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that neither ESR nor CRP is superior for assessing disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A genetically encoded photocaged amino acid.

We have developed a second orthogonal tRNA/synthetase pair for use in yeast based on the Escherichia coli tRNALeu/leucyl tRNA-synthetase pair. Using a novel genetic selection, we have identified a series of synthetase mutants that selectively charge the amber suppresor tRNA with the C8 amino acid, alpha-aminocaprylic acid, and the photocaged amino acid, o-nitrobenzyl cysteine, allowing them to be inserted into proteins in yeast in response to the amber nonsense codon, TAG.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2004

Validation and application of an automated 96 -well solid-phase extraction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of SCH 201781 in human plasma.

SCH 201781 is a direct thrombin inhibitor recently under study in clinical trials to determine its safety and efficacy for the treatment of venous and arterial thrombosis. In aqueous solution, SCH 201781 exists as three forms, a ring-opened hydrated form and two ring-closed diastereomers. An automated solid-phase extraction LC-MS/MS method that chromatographically separates and measures each form was developed and validated from 1 to 1000 ng/mL in human plasma. For calibration curve standards, within- and between-run precision (%CV) ranged from 0.6 to 13.7%, while accuracy (%bias) ranged from -4.8 to 13.1%. For quality control samples, within- and between-run %CV ranged from 1.5 to 9.9% while %bias ranged from -9.1 to 4.9%. The method requires a sample volume of 0.8 ml and utilizes 2H6-labeled SCH 201781 as the internal standard. For sample processing, an Isolute C-8 96-well solid phase extraction plate and a Tomtec Quadra 96 sample processor is employed. Separation of the three forms of SCH 201781 is achieved using a 5 microm, 2 mm x 100 mm Asahipak C8 HPLC column and gradient elution. A Sciex API 365 equipped with a turbo ionspray source is used in the selected reaction monitoring mode for detection. The validated method was used to support clinical studies.

Antithrombins↗

PubMed2004

The site-specific incorporation of p-iodo-L-phenylalanine into proteins for structure determination.

A recently developed method makes it possible to genetically encode unnatural amino acids with diverse physical, chemical or biological properties in Escherichia coli and yeast. We now show that this technology can be used to efficiently and site-specifically incorporate p-iodo-L-phenylalanine (iodoPhe) into proteins in response to an amber TAG codon. The selective introduction of the anomalously scattering iodine atom into proteins should facilitate single-wavelength anomalous dispersion experiments on in-house X-ray sources. To illustrate this, we generated a Phe153 --> iodoPhe mutant of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme and determined its crystal structure using considerably less data than are needed for the equivalent experiment with cysteine and methionine. The iodoPhe residue, although present in the hydrophobic core of the protein, did not perturb the protein structure in any meaningful way. The ability to selectively introduce this and other heavy atom-containing amino acids into proteins should facilitate the structural study of proteins.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed2004

An expanded genetic code with a functional quadruplet codon.

With few exceptions the genetic codes of all known organisms encode the same 20 amino acids, yet all that is required to add a new building block are a unique tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair, a source of the amino acid, and a unique codon that specifies the amino acid. For example, the amber nonsense codon, TAG, together with orthogonal Methanococcus jannaschii or Escherichia coli tRNA/synthetase pairs have been used to genetically encode a variety of unnatural amino acids in E. coli and yeast, respectively. However, the availability of noncoding triplet codons ultimately limits the number of amino acids encoded by any organism. Here, we report the design and generation of an orthogonal synthetase/tRNA pair derived from archaeal tRNA(Lys) sequences that efficiently and selectively incorporates an unnatural amino acid into proteins in response to the quadruplet codon, AGGA. Frameshift suppression with L-homoglutamine (hGln) does not significantly affect protein yields or cell growth rates and is mutually orthogonal with amber suppression, permitting the simultaneous incorporation of two unnatural amino acids, hGln and O-methyl-L-tyrosine, at distinct positions within myoglobin. This work suggests that neither the number of available triplet codons nor the translational machinery itself represents a significant barrier to further expansion of the genetic code.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2004

Anabaena circadian clock proteins KaiA and KaiB reveal a potential common binding site to their partner KaiC.

The cyanobacterial clock proteins KaiA and KaiB are proposed as regulators of the circadian rhythm in cyanobacteria. Mutations in both proteins have been reported to alter or abolish circadian rhythmicity. Here, we present molecular models of both KaiA and KaiB from the cyanobacteria Anabaena sp PCC7120 deduced by crystal structure analysis, and we discuss how clock-changing or abolishing mutations may cause their resulting circadian phenotype. The overall fold of the KaiA monomer is that of a four-helix bundle. KaiB, on the other hand, adopts an alpha-beta meander motif. Both proteins purify and crystallize as dimers. While the folds of the two proteins are clearly different, their size and some surface features of the physiologically relevant dimers are very similar. Notably, the functionally relevant residues Arg 69 of KaiA and Arg 23 of KaiB align well in space. The apparent structural similarities suggest that KaiA and KaiB may compete for a potential common binding site on KaiC.

Amino Acid Sequence↗