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PubMed1979

Structural changes of Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites and cysts following therapy with sulfamethoxypyrazine-pyrimethamine: studies by light and electron microscopy. Consequences for chemotherapy.

Mastomys natalensis chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii strain ALT over two months were treated with sulfamethoxypyrazine-pyrimethamine for 10 and 25 days. 72 hours after discontinuation of therapy the animals were sacrificed. The brains were removed and, following corresponding preparation, studied for the presence of the parasite and structural changes of cysts by light and transmission electron microscopy. More or less pronounced structural changes could be found in cyst walls, bradyzoites, and in particular in the endodyogeny stages. The degree of damage proved to be proportional to the intensity of the bradyzoite metabolism. The combination of drugs used was capable of passing the cyst membrane as long as the bradyzoites maintained their metabolism irrespective of its intensity. In cysts with a largely dormant metabolism that had been subject to therapy, no micromorphological differences of the ultrastructure could be recognized when compared with untreated controls of identical age; these cysts could not be influenced by treatment.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Colicin Ia inserts into negatively charged membranes at low pH with a tertiary but little secondary structural change.

Colicin Ia, a member of the channel-forming family of colicins, inserts into model membranes in a pH- and lipid-dependent fashion. This insertion occurs with single-hit kinetics, requires negatively charged lipids in the target membrane, and increases in rate as the pH is reduced below 5.2. The low-pH requirement does not act by inducing a secondary structural change in colicin Ia, which remains 66% +/- 4% alpha-helical between pHs 7.3 and 3.1 as determined by circular dichroism. The secondary structure also remains unchanged between pHs 7.3 and 4.2 in the hydrophobic environment provided by the detergent octyl beta-D-glucopyranoside (beta-OG). However, at pH 3.1 in the presence of beta-OG, an 11% +/- 3% decrease in the alpha-helical content is observed. Further, beta-OG induces a change in tryptophan fluorescence and an altered pattern of proteolytic digestion, indicative of a tertiary structural changes. This suggests that colicin Ia undergoes a tertiary but little or no secondary structural change in its transition from a soluble to a transmembrane protein.

Chromatography, Gel↗

PubMed2007

Myocardial structural changes in long-term human severe sepsis/septic shock may be responsible for cardiac dysfunction.

The present investigation sought to determine the cellular mechanisms directly dependent on long-term severe sepsis/septic shock that could lead to myocardial structural changes in humans. Human hearts from eight cases of long-term severe sepsis/septic shock arising from infection, as defined by the ACCP/SCCM Consensus Conference; eight cases of acute necrotizing pancreatitis and acute lung injury, a noninfectious pathologic cause of systemic inflammatory response; and three cases of accidental death without thoracic injury selected from autopsies were studied. Transmural blocks of myocardial tissue were excised from the middle portion of the left ventricular free wall and were fixed in formalin or were frozen. Histochemical and immunohistochemical methods were used to evaluate the cross-striations of the myocardial cells, the number and size of interstitial macrophages, the intracardiomyocyte accumulation of lipid, the actin/myosin contractile apparatus, and the expression of iNOS, nitrotyrosine, and TNF-alpha in the myocardia of septic and control hearts. Greater interstitial cellular infiltration composed of larger and elongated macrophages and TNF-alpha protein expression in myofibers, interstitial macrophage cell types, and smooth muscle cells and endothelial cell in the vessels; intracardiomyocyte lipid accumulation; scattered foci of actin/myosin contractile apparatus disruption; and increased expression for iNOS and nitrotyrosine in myocytes and interstitial macrophage cell types could be observed in long-term human septic myocardium as compared with normal and acute pancreatitis control myocardia. These findings give support to an opinion that structural changes could be responsible for long-term sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction. The higher number of macrophages, most of them with morphological features of "activation," and TNF-alpha protein expression could favor the reduction of cardiac function in septic hearts. The intramyocyte lipid accumulation in these hearts very likely reflects myocardium ventricular contractile dysfunction. In addition, the increased expression of iNOS and the evidence for the significant presence of peroxynitrite in cardiomyocytes and interstitial macrophage cell types suggest that oxidative damage may play a role in actin/myosin disruption in the hearts of septic patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Water structural changes at the proton uptake site (the Thr46-Asp96 domain) in the L intermediate of bacteriorhodopsin.

Fourier transform infrared spectra of the L intermediate of light-adapted bacteriorhodopsin were examined for recombinant proteins with amino acid substitutions at Thr46 and Asp96. Two O-H stretching vibrational bands of water, at 3607 and 3577 cm-1, change into stronger H-bonding states in L of the wild type. Thr46-->Val substitution abolished these bands in spite of the fact that [3-18O]threonine-labeling did not shift them, indicating that they correspond to coordination of the water with Thr46. The two water bands were restored, although with changed frequencies, by an additional Asp96-->Asn substitution in Thr46-->Val/Asp96-->Asn. A single Asp96-->Asn substitution abolished the 3607 cm-1 band. Thus, Asp96 also takes part in structural changes in water. The perturbations of these water molecules in the L intermediate displayed a weak correlation with the ratio of intensity change in the two vibrational bands of the Schiff base mode at 1312 and 1301 cm-1 and the rate for the deprotonation of the Schiff base at the L-to-M reaction of the photocycle. We find, therefore, that the water molecules in the cytoplasmic Asp96-Thr46 domain, which comprises the site of proton uptake after formation of the M intermediate, undergo structural changes in the L intermediate already. These changes are transmitted to the extracellular domain and affect interaction of the Schiff base with Asp85, that is far removed from this region.

Aspartic Acid↗

PubMed2006

Temperature-induced structural changes in glassy, supercooled, and molten silica from 77 to 2150 K.

In situ polarized and depolarized Raman spectra of glassy, supercooled, and molten SiO2 have been measured over the broad temperature range 77-2150 K in an effort to examine possible structural changes caused by temperature variation. A new experimental setup using a CO2 laser for heating the sample has been designed allowing measurement with controllable blackbody radiation background at temperatures up to 2200 K. Careful and systematic relative intensity measurements and the use of the isotropic and anisotropic Raman representation of the spectra revealed hidden bands in the bending mode region and resolved bands in the stretching region of the spectra. Overall the spectra behavior shows similarities with the spectra of the recently studied tetrahedral glasses/melts of ZnCl2 and ZnBr2. Increasing temperature causes subtle changes of the relative intensities within the silicon-oxygen stretching region at approximately 750-850 cm(-1) and gives rise to a new band at approximately 930 cm(-1). The spectral behavior is interpreted to indicate that the "SiO42" tetrahedra are bound to each other to form the network by apex-bridging and partly by edge-bridging oxygens. The network structure of the glass/melt is formed by mixing a variety of tetrahedra participating in "open" (cristobalitelike), "cluster" (supertetrahedra), and "chain" edge-bridged substructures bound to each other by bridging oxygens. A weak in intensity but strongly polarized composite band is resolved at approximately 1400 cm(-1) and is assigned to Si[Double Bond]O terminal bond frequency. Temperature rise increases the concentration of the terminal bonds by breaking up the network. These structural changes are reminiscent of the polyamorphic transformations occurring in silica as has recently been predicted by computer simulations. At low frequencies the Raman spectra reveal the presence of the Boson peak at approximately 60 cm(-1) which is well resolved even above melting temperature up to 2150 K.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1980

Proton magnetic resonance study of p-mercuribenzoate binding and structural changes in methemoglobin.

Interaction of human adult methemoglobin with p-mercuribenzoate (pMB) was examined at 21 degrees C by monitoring the hyperfine-shifted proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of several high- and low-spin derivatives. The NMR spectra show that the heme methyl proton resonances from the beta subunits in methemoglobin were selectively affected by the binding of pMB regardless of whether the heme iron was saturated with high-spin or low-spin ligand. This observation suggests that the binding of pMB to methemoglobin induces a localized tertiary structural change around the beta heme, leaving the alpha heme unaffected. The structural change of the beta subunit was correlated with an increase in the high-spin character of the beta heme iron. A model study of the azide-methemoglobin complex suggested that the increase of the high-spin character of the beta heme iron is due to a conformational change of the proximal histidine which weakens the interaction between the heme iron and the proximal base. A similar and more pronounced spectral change due to binding of pMB was observed for the isolated beta subunit. The NMR spectral change in the isolated beta subunit also suggests that the binding of pMB to methemoglobin induces a localized conformational change within the beta subunit.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Crystallographic analysis of synechocystis cyanoglobin reveals the structural changes accompanying ligand binding in a hexacoordinate hemoglobin.

The crystal structures of cyanide and azide-bound forms of the truncated hemoglobin from Synechocystis are presented at 1.8 angstroms resolution. A comparison with the structure of the endogenously liganded protein reveals a conformational shift unprecedented in hemoglobins, and provides the first picture of a hexacoordinate hemoglobin in both the bis-histidyl and the exogenously coordinated states. The structural changes between the different conformations are confined to two regions of the protein; the B helix, and the E helix, including the EF loop. A molecular "hinge" controlling movement of the E helix is observed in the EF loop, which is composed of three principal structural elements: Arg64, the heme-d-propionate, and a three-residue extension of the F helix. Additional features of the structural transition between the two protein conformations are discussed as they relate to the complex ligand-binding behavior observed in hexacoordinate hemoglobins, and the potential physiological function of this class of proteins.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗

PubMed1984

Electron-transfer kinetics in photosynthetic reaction centers cooled to cryogenic temperatures in the charge-separated state: evidence for light-induced structural changes.

We have compared the electron-transfer kinetics in reaction centers (RCs) cooled in the dark with those cooled under illumination (i.e., in the charge-separated state). Large differences between the two cases were observed. We interpreted these findings in terms of light-induced structural changes. The kinetics of charge recombination D+QA-----DQA in RCs containing one quinone were modeled in terms of a distribution of donor-acceptor electron-transfer distances. For RCs cooled under illumination the distribution broadened and shifted to larger distances compared to the distribution for RCs cooled in the dark. The model accounts for the nonexponential decay observed at low temperatures [McElroy, J. D., Mauzerall, D. C., & Feher, G. (1974) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 333, 261-277; Morrison, L.E., & Loach, P.A. (1978) Photochem. Photobiol. 27, 751-757]. A possible physiological role of the structural changes is an enhanced charge stabilization. For RCs with two quinones, the recombination kinetics D+QAQB-----DQAQB were found to be strongly temperature dependent. This was interpreted in terms of temperature-dependent transitions between structural states [Agmon, N., & Hopfield, J.J. (1983) J. Chem. Phys. 78, 6947-6959]. This interpretation requires that these transitions occur at cryogenic temperatures on a time scale t greater than or approximately 10(3) s. The electron transfer from QA- to QB was found to not take place in RCs cooled in the dark (tau ABdark greater than 10(-1) s). In RCs cooled under illumination, we found tau ABlight less than 10(-3) s. We suggest the possibility that the drastic decrease in tau AB observed in RCs cooled under illumination is due to the trapping of a proton near QB-.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2005

Sevoflurane-induced structural changes in a four-alpha-helix bundle protein.

The mechanisms whereby volatile general anesthetics reversibly alter protein function in the central nervous system remain obscure. Using three different spectroscopic approaches, evidence is presented that binding of the modern general anesthetic sevoflurane to the hydrophobic core of a model four-alpha-helix bundle protein results in structural changes. Aromatic residues in the hydrophobic core reorient into new environments upon anesthetic binding, and the protein as a whole becomes less dynamic and exhibits structural tightening. Comparable structural changes in the predicted in vivo protein targets, such as the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, may underlie some, or all, of the behavioral effects of these widely used clinical agents.

Circular Dichroism↗

PubMed1984

Local structural changes in tropomyosin detected by a trypsin-probe method.

Structural changes in tropomyosin from rabbit skeletal muscle were studied by the tryptic digestion method, which is an application of the quantitative enzyme-probe method recently developed by Ueno and Harrington [Ueno, H., & Harrington, W.F. (1984) J. Mol. Biol. 173, 35-61]. Effects of ionic strength, temperature, and an interchain disulfide bond at Cys-190 on the structure of tropomyosin were examined. A region of high susceptibility to trypsin was found to be localized in the middle portion of the molecule, and its susceptibility increased on lowering ionic strength and/or raising temperature. With the introduction of a disulfide bond at Cys-190, cleavage on the N-terminal side of Cys-190 was accelerated. The results suggest that skeletal muscle tropomyosin is flexible in the middle of the molecule in contrast to the flanking N- and C-terminal trypsin-resistant segments.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Structural changes induced by ultrasound during aging of the boehmite phase.

Structural changes induced by ultrasound during the aging of the aluminum monohydroxide (boehmite) were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption. The BET surface area and the pore volume of the ultrasound stimulated hydroxide (HU) are about 40% less than those of the non-stimulated one (HS). The mean pore size practically does not change, while the mean crystallite size (L) is about 25% greater in the HU system. The increase of L alone is not enough to account for the surface area diminution, suggesting that the sonication also induces compaction by elimination of some porosity. The sonication of the precursor hydroxide does not seem to play an apparent role in the structural properties of the resulting calcinated gamma-alumina.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

In vivo selective inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 in rabbit experimental osteoarthritis is associated with a reduction in the development of structural changes.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to investigate, using an experimental rabbit model of osteoarthritis (OA), the effect of a selective mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 (MEK-1/2) inhibitor, PD 198306, on the development of structural changes. Additional aims were to assess the effects of the inhibitor on levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (phospho-ERK-1/2) and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1; collagenase 1) in OA chondrocytes. METHODS: After surgical sectioning of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee joint, rabbits with OA were separated into 3 experimental groups: oral treatment with placebo or with PD 198306 at a therapeutic concentration of 10 mg/kg/day or 30 mg/kg/day. Each treatment started immediately after surgery. The animals were killed 8 weeks after surgery. Macroscopic and histologic studies were performed on the cartilage and synovial membrane. The levels of phospho-ERK-1/2 and MMP-1 in OA cartilage chondrocytes were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Normal, untreated rabbits were used as controls. RESULTS: OA rabbits treated with the highest dosage of MEK-1/2 inhibitor showed decreases in the surface area (size) of cartilage macroscopic lesions (P < 0.002) and in osteophyte width on the lateral condyles (P = 0.05). Histologically, the severity of synovial inflammation (villous hyperplasia) was also reduced (P < 0.02). In cartilage from placebo-treated OA rabbits, a significantly higher percentage of chondrocytes in the superficial layer stained positive for phospho-ERK-1/2 and MMP-1 compared with normal controls. Rabbits treated with the highest dosage of PD 198306 demonstrated a significant and dose-dependent reduction in the level of phospho-ERK-1/2 and a lower level of MMP-1. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that, in vivo, PD 198306, a selective inhibitor of MEK-1/2, can partially decrease the development of some of the structural changes in experimental OA. This effect was associated with a reduction in the level of phospho-ERK-1/2 in OA chondrocytes, which probably explains the action of the drug.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Structural changes during heat-induced gelation of globular protein dispersions.

Macroscopic and molecular structural changes during heat-induced gelation of beta-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, and alpha-lactalbumin aqueous dispersions were probed by the mechanical and CD spectroscopy, respectively. Aqueous solutions of the native globular proteins, except for alpha-lactalbumin, exhibited solid-like mechanical spectra-namely, the predominant storage modulus G' over the loss modulus G" in the entire frequency range examined (0.1-100 rad/s), suggesting that these protein solutions were highly structured even before gelation, possibly due to strong repulsions among protein molecules. Such solid-like structures were susceptible to nonlinearly large shear but recovered almost immediately at rest. During gelation by isothermal heating, major changes in the secondary structure of the globular proteins completed within a few minutes, while values of the modulus continued to develop for hours with maintaining values of tandelta (= G"/G') less than unity. As a result, a conventional criterion for mechanically defining the gelation point, such as a crossover between G' and G", was inapplicable to these globular protein systems. beta-Lactoglobulin gels that had passed the gelation point satisfied power laws (G' approximately G" approximately omega(n)) believed to be valid only at the gelation point, suggesting that fractal gel networks, similar to those of critical gels (i.e., gels at the gelation point), were formed.

Circular Dichroism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Structural change in muscles of the dystrophic chicken. II. Progression of the histopathology in the pectoralis muscle.

Dystrophic (D) and normal (N) chicken pectoral muscle was analysed for histopathological differences from the embryo (day 20) through to the mature adult stage. A variety of indices of structural changes were used, to express the progression quantitatively. At the embryonic stage, fibroblast numbers (but not satellite cell numbers) are increased in D. D shows fibre hypertrophy discernible from about 4 days after hatching. Other abnormalities of fibre size and shape appear in D from about 2 weeks onwards. Nuclei numbers and location change characteristically in D, compared to N, from about 4 days, and these differences subsequently become very prominent. Fibre splitting and phagocytosis become significant in D from about 2 weeks onwards and increase noticeably thereafter. The later stages in D, with gross loss of muscle fibres, are also described, in the pectoral and posterior latissimus dorsi muscles. The analyses show that some of the structural changes in D precede the discernible difference in fibre type composition which develops between D and N. The changes in the muscle used provide a basis for assessing the effects of drug treatments at various stages, including the early post-hatch period.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Fluoroalcohol-induced structural changes of proteins: some aspects of cosolvent-protein interactions.

The conformational transitions of bovine beta-lactoglobulin A and phosphoglycerate kinase from yeast induced by hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and trifluoroethanol (TFE) have been studied by dynamic light scattering and circular dichroism spectroscopy in order to elucidate the potential of fluoroalcohols to bring about structural changes of proteins. Moreover, pure fluoroalcohol-water mixed solvents were investigated to prove the relation between cluster formation and the effects on proteins. The results demonstrate that cluster formation is mostly an accompanying phenomenon because important structural changes of the proteins occur well below the critical concentration of fluoroalcohol at which the formation of clusters sets in. According to our light scattering experiments, the remarkable potential of HFIP is a consequence of extensive preferential binding. Surprisingly, preferential binding seems to play a vanishing role in the case of TFE. However, the comparable Stokes radii of both proteins in the highly helical state induced by either HFIP or TFE point to a similar degree of solvation in both mixed solvents. This shows that direct binding or an indirect mechanism must be equally taken into consideration to explain the effects of alcohols on proteins. The existence of a compact helical intermediate with non-native secondary structure on the transition of beta-lactoglobulin A from the native to the highly helical state is clearly demonstrated.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Crystal structure of anti-Hen egg white lysozyme antibody (HyHEL-10) Fv-antigen complex. Local structural changes in the protein antigen and water-mediated interactions of Fv-antigen and light chain-heavy chain interfaces.

In order to address the recognition mechanism of the fragments of antibody variable regions, termed Fv, toward their target antigen, an x-ray crystal structure of an anti-hen egg white lysozyme antibody (HyHEL-10) Fv fragment complexed with its cognate antigen, hen egg white lysozyme (HEL), was solved at 2.3 A. The overall structure of the complex is similar to that reported in a previous article dealing with the Fab fragment-HEL complex (PDB ID code,). However, the areas of Fv covered by HEL upon complex formation increased by about 100 A(2) in comparison with the Fab-HEL complex, and two local structural differences were observed in the heavy chain of the variable region (VH). In addition, small but significant local structural changes were observed in the antigen, HEL. The x-ray data permitted the identification of two water molecules between the VH and HEL and six water molecules retained in the interface between the antigen and the light chain complementarity determining regions (CDRs) 2 and 3 (CDR-L2 and CDR-L3). These water molecules bridge the antigen-antibody interface through hydrogen bond formation in the VL-HEL interface. Eleven water molecules were found to complete the imperfect VH-VL interface, suggesting that solvent molecules mediate the stabilization of interaction between variable regions. These results suggest that the unfavorable effect of deletion of constant regions on the antigen-antibody interaction is compensated by an increase in favorable interactions, including structural changes in the antigen-antibody interface and solvent-mediated hydrogen bond formation upon complex formation, which may lead to a minimum decreased affinity of the antibody Fv fragment toward its antigen.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1983

Morphometric study of structural changes in the mesenteric blood vessels of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Structural changes of three categories of mesenteric arteries (representing elastic, muscular and arteriolar vessels) from 10- to 12-week-old and 28-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were studied morphometrically at the light microscope level, and the results compared with age-matched Wistar-Kyoto normotensive rats. In 10- to 12-week-old SHR, hypertrophy of the vessel wall occurred only in the muscular and arteriolar vessels. At 28 weeks, further thickening of the vessel wall occurred in the muscular and arteriolar vessels, and the superior mesenteric artery (elastic vessel) was also thickened in the SHR. There was no evidence that the wall of the relaxed hypertrophied vessels encroached upon the lumen of the vessel. The structural basis for the increase in the vessel wall thickness varied with vessel type. In the superior mesenteric artery, increase in the media at 28 weeks of age would be consistent with hypertrophy of the smooth muscle cells. In the large muscular arteries, at 10-12 weeks of age, increase in medial mass occurred with increase in the number of the smooth muscle cell layers whereas at 28 weeks further increase in media could be due to hypertrophy of the smooth muscle cells. In the small arteriolar vessels, medial enlargement was due at all ages to an increase in the number of smooth muscle layers. Our results show that in the SHR hypertrophy of the media occurs not only in the small arteriolar vessels, but also in large elastic and muscular arteries.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

G proteins (Gi, Go) in the medial temporal lobe in schizophrenia: preliminary report of a neurochemical correlate of structural change.

We have measured the amount of Gi (the inhibitory G-protein) or Go (a similar G-protein of unknown function) in 5 areas of the medial temporal lobe of control and schizophrenic brains utilizing pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation. The material used has previously been shown to have asymmetrical structural abnormalities of the ventricular system. The amount of Gi or Go was reduced on the left side in the hippocampus, amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus, the difference reaching significance in the hippocampus. This data is the first report of a neurochemical correlate of the structural change in the brains of patients with schizophrenia. Decreased Gi or Go in hippocampus may relate to other reported neurochemical deficits or other transmembrane signalling abnormalities. Further investigations of these indices of secondary messenger function in relation to structural changes are indicated.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗