Biomedical subjects

Shenlin Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Shenlin Wang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2024

Advances in solid-state NMR methods for studying RNA structures and dynamics.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) structures and dynamics play a crucial role in elucidating RNA functions and facilitating the design of drugs targeting RNA and RNA-protein complexes. However, obtaining RNA structures using conventional biophysical techniques, such as X-ray crystallography and solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), presents challenges due to the inherent flexibility and susceptibility to degradation of RNA. In recent years, solid-state NMR (SSNMR) has rapidly emerged as a promising alternative technique for characterizing RNA structure and dynamics. SSNMR has several distinct advantages, including flexibility in sample states, the ability to capture dynamic features of RNA in solid form, and suitability to character RNAs in various sizes. Recent decade witnessed the growth of 1H-detected SSNMR methods on RNA, which targeted elucidating RNA topology and base pair dynamics in solid state. They have been applied to determine the topology of RNA segment in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) genome and the base pair dynamics of riboswitch RNA. These advancements have expanded the utility of SSNMR techniques within the RNA research field. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of recent progress in 1H-detected SSNMR investigations into RNA structure and dynamics. We focus on the established 1H-detected SSNMR methods, sample preparation protocols, and the implementation of rapid data acquisition approaches.

Dynamics↗

PubMed2006

Human Sco1 functional studies and pathological implications of the P174L mutant.

The pathogenic mutant (P174L) of human Sco1 produces respiratory chain deficiency associated with cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) assembly defects. The solution structure of the mutant in its Cu(I) form shows that Leu-174 prevents the formation of a well packed hydrophobic region around the metal-binding site and causes a reduction of the affinity of copper(I) for the protein. K(D) values for Cu(I)WT-HSco1 and Cu(I)P174L-HSco1 are approximately 10(-17) and approximately 10(-13), respectively. The reduction potentials of the two apo proteins are similar, but slower reduction/oxidation rates are found for the mutant with respect to the WT. The mitochondrial metallochaperone in the partially oxidized Cu(1)(I)Cox17(2S-S) form, at variance with the fully reduced Cu(4)(I)Cox17, interacts transiently with both WT-HSco1 and the mutant, forming the Cox17/Cu(I)/HSco1 complex, but copper is efficiently transferred only in the case of WT protein. Cu(1)(I)Cox17(2S-S) indeed has an affinity for copper(I) (K(D) approximately 10(-15)) higher than that of the P174L-HSco1 mutant but lower than that of WT-HSco1. We propose that HSco1 mutation, altering the structure around the metal-binding site, affects both copper(I) binding and redox properties of the protein, thus impairing the efficiency of copper transfer to CcO. The pathogenic mutation therefore could (i) lessen the Sco1 affinity for copper(I) and hence copper supply for CcO or (ii) decrease the efficiency of reduction of CcO thiols involved in copper binding, or both effects could be produced by the mutation.

Copper↗

PubMed2006

A hint for the function of human Sco1 from different structures.

The solution structures of apo, Cu(I), and Ni(II) human Sco1 have been determined. The protein passes from an open and conformationally mobile state to a closed and rigid conformation upon metal binding as shown by electrospray ionization MS and NMR data. The metal ligands of Cu(I) are two Cys residues of the CPXXCP motif and a His residue. The latter is suitably located to coordinate the metal anchored by the two Cys residues. The coordination sphere of Ni(II) in solution is completed by another ligand, possibly Asp. Crystals of the Ni(II) derivative were also obtained with the Ni(II) ion bound to the same His residue and to the two oxidized Cys residues of the CPXXCP motif. We propose that the various structures solved here represent the various states of the protein in its functional cycle and that the metal can be bound to the oxidized protein at a certain stage. Although it now seems reasonable that Sco1, which is characterized by a thioredoxin fold, has evolved to bind a metal atom via the di-Cys motif to act as a copper chaperone, the oxidized form of the nickel-bound protein suggests that it may also maintain the thioredoxin function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

An atomic-level investigation of the disease-causing A629P mutant of the Menkes protein, ATP7A.

Menkes disease is a fatal disease that can be induced by various mutations in the ATP7A gene, leading to unpaired uptake of dietary copper. The ATP7A gene encodes a copper(I)-translocating ATPase. Here the disease-causing A629P mutation, which occurs in the last of the six copper(I)-binding soluble domains of the ATPase (hereafter MNK6), was investigated. To understand why this apparently minor amino acid replacement is pathogenic, the solution structures and dynamics on various time-scales of wild-type and A629P-MNK6 were determined both in the apo- and copper(I)-loaded forms. The interaction in vitro with the physiological ATP7A copper(I)-donor (HAH1) was additionally studied. The A629P mutation makes the protein beta-sheet more solvent accessible, possibly resulting in an enhanced susceptibility of ATP7A to proteolytic cleavage and/or in reduced capability of copper(I)-translocation. A small reduction of the affinity for copper(I) is also observed. Both effects could concur to pathogenicity.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗