Taken together, these results illustrate how the simultaneous determination of ground and excited states of macromolecular complexes reveals functional and regulatory mechanisms. This analysis leads to the identification of positions where phosphorylation and acetylation events have destabilising effects, which we validate by using site-specific post-translationally modified tau variants obtained by chemical mutagenesis. An analysis of the interactions in these states of structures reveals positions in the tau sequence that are important to determine the overall stability of the tau-microtubule complex.
#In invisible emmie the author uses different perspectives series#
We thus identify the ground state of the complex and a series of excited states of lower populations. Here, we use the metainference cryo-electron microscopy approach to determine an ensemble of structures representing the structure and dynamics of a tau-microtubule complex comprising an extended microtubule-binding region of tau (residues 202-395). The affinity of tau for microtubules is modulated by post-translational modifications, and the dysregulation of these events has been associated with the aberrant aggregation of tau in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that regulates the stability of microtubules.
These results underline the opportunities offered by the determination of the structures of the intermediate states populated during the dynamics of proteins to allow the therapeutic targeting of otherwise invisible cryptic binding sites. We then identify compounds that bind the cryptic pocket by screening a library of repurposed drugs. The knowledge of the structures of the intermediate states of spike along these opening pathways enables us to identify a cryptic pocket that is not exposed in the open and closed states. Here we use a metainference cryo-electron microscopy approach to determine the opening pathway that brings spike from its inactive (closed) conformation to its active (open) one. In order to develop therapeutic interventions against this condition, one promising strategy is to target spike, the trimeric transmembrane glycoprotein that the virus uses to recognise and bind its host cells. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of COVID19, a highly infectious disease that is severely affecting our society and welfare systems.
0 kommentar(er)
