261734-91-2Relevant academic research and scientific papers
Solvent-mediated morphological transformations in peptide-based soft structures
Ghosh, Surajit,Verma, Sandeep
, p. 6202 - 6208 (2008)
Self-assembly is routinely used for the design and fabrication of new and advanced materials. Biological building blocks such as short peptides undergo self-assembly to reveal a variety of hierarchical structures such as nanotubes, fibers, and spherical structures. Peptide-based soft spherical structures are potentially useful for a variety of applications including vehicles for drug delivery and biological molecules. This report describes a tripalmitoylated triskelion ditryptophan peptide conjugate (5) that self-assembles to form hollow spheres along with pores on the surface when higher concentration of the dichloromethane was used, but forms fiber structures when heated in toluene solvent.
Membrane protein oxidation determines neuronal degeneration
Hajieva, Parvana,Bayatti, Nadhim,Granold, Matthias,Behl, Christian,Moosmann, Bernd
, p. 352 - 367 (2015/04/22)
Oxidative stress is an early hallmark in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. However, the critical biochemical effector mechanisms of oxidative neurotoxicity have remained surprisingly elusive. In screening various peroxides and potential substrates of oxidation for their effect on neuronal survival, we observed that intramembrane compounds were significantly more active than aqueous or amphiphilic compounds. To better understand this result, we synthesized a series of competitive and site-specific membrane protein oxidation inhibitors termed aminoacyllipids, whose structures were designed on the basis of amino acids frequently found at the protein-lipid interface of synaptic membrane proteins. Investigating the aminoacyllipids in primary neuronal culture, we found that the targeted protection of transmembrane tyrosine and tryptophan residues was sufficient to prevent neurotoxicity evoked by hydroperoxides, kainic acid, glutathione-depleting drugs, and certain amyloidogenic peptides, but ineffective against non-oxidative inducers of apoptosis such as sphingosine or Akt kinase inhibitors. Thus, the oxidative component of different neurotoxins appears to converge on neuronal membrane proteins, irrespective of the primary mechanism of cellular oxidant generation. Our results indicate the existence of a one-electron redox cycle based on membrane protein aromatic surface amino acids, whose disturbance or overload leads to excessive membrane protein oxidation and neuronal death.
