Structural biology: a solution to the telomerase puzzle.

Published in Nature

Mechanical unfolding of human telomere G-quadruplex DNA probed by integrated fluorescence and magnetic tweezers spectros...

Published in Nucleic acids research

Single-molecule techniques facilitate analysis of mechanical transitions within nucleic acids and proteins. Here, we describe an integrated fluorescence and magnetic tweezers instrument that permits detection of nanometer-scale DNA structural rearrangements together with the application of a wide range of stretching forces to individual DNA molecul...

Coordination of copper to the membrane-bound form of α-synuclein.

Published in Biochemistry

Aggregation of the 140-amino acid protein α-synuclein (α-syn) is linked to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). α-Syn is a copper binding protein with potential function as a regulator of metal-dependent redox activity. Epidemiological studies suggest that human exposure to excess copper increases the incidence of PD. α-Syn exists in both s...

Kinetic partitioning modulates human telomere DNA G-quadruplex structural polymorphism.

Published in PloS one

Telomeres are specialized chromatin structures found at the end of chromosomes and are crucial to the maintenance of eukaryotic genome stability. Human telomere DNA is comprised of the repeating sequence (T2AG3)n, which is predominantly double-stranded but terminates with a 3' single-stranded tail. The guanine-rich tail can fold into secondary stru...

Antagonism between MES-4 and Polycomb repressive complex 2 promotes appropriate gene expression in C. elegans germ cells...

Published in Cell reports

The Caenorhabditis elegans MES proteins are key chromatin regulators of the germline. MES-2, MES-3, and MES-6 form the C. elegans Polycomb repressive complex 2 and generate repressive H3K27me3. MES-4 generates H3K36me3 on germline-expressed genes. Transcript profiling of dissected mutant germlines revealed that MES-2/3/6 and MES-4 cooperate to prom...

Inverse association of intellectual function with very low blood lead but not with manganese exposure in Italian adolesc...

Published in Environmental research

Pediatric lead (Pb) exposure impacts cognitive function and behavior and co-exposure to manganese (Mn) may enhance neurotoxicity. To assess cognitive and behavioral function in adolescents with environmental exposure to Pb and Mn. In this cross sectional study, cognitive function and behavior were examined in healthy adolescents with environmental ...

H4K20me1 contributes to downregulation of X-linked genes for C. elegans dosage compensation.

Published in PLoS genetics

The Caenorhabditis elegans dosage compensation complex (DCC) equalizes X-chromosome gene dosage between XO males and XX hermaphrodites by two-fold repression of X-linked gene expression in hermaphrodites. The DCC localizes to the X chromosomes in hermaphrodites but not in males, and some subunits form a complex homologous to condensin. The mechanis...

Three routes to suppression of the neurodegenerative phenotypes caused by kinesin heavy chain mutations.

Published in Genetics

Kinesin-1 is a motor protein that moves stepwise along microtubules by employing dimerized kinesin heavy chain (Khc) subunits that alternate cycles of microtubule binding, conformational change, and ATP hydrolysis. Mutations in the Drosophila Khc gene are known to cause distal paralysis and lethality preceded by the occurrence of dystrophic axon te...

Defining MC1R regulation in human melanocytes by its agonist α-melanocortin and antagonists agouti signaling protein and...

Published in The Journal of investigative dermatology

The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), a G(s) protein-coupled receptor, has an important role in human pigmentation. We investigated the regulation of expression and activity of the MC1R in primary human melanocyte cultures. Human β-defensin 3 (HBD3) acted as an antagonist for MC1R, inhibiting the α-melanocortin (α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MS...