Refine
Document Type
- Article (4)
Language
- English (4)
Has Fulltext
- yes (4)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (4)
Keywords
- OD approach (1)
- X-ray powder diffraction (1)
- complexity (1)
- crystal structure determination (1)
- denisovite (1)
- disorder (1)
- electron crystallography (1)
- electron diffraction tomography (1)
- fibrous materials (1)
- framework-structured solids (1)
Institute
- Biochemie und Chemie (4) (remove)
Background: Nitric oxide (NO) is an essential vasodilator. In vascular diseases, oxidative stress attenuates NO signaling by both chemical scavenging of free NO and oxidation and down-regulation of its major intracellular receptor, the alpha/beta heterodimeric heme-containing soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). Oxidation can also induce loss of sGC's heme and responsiveness to NO.
Results: sGC activators such as BAY 58-2667 bind to oxidized/heme-free sGC and reactivate the enzyme to exert disease-specific vasodilation. Here we show that oxidation-induced down-regulation of sGC protein extends to isolated blood vessels. Mechanistically, degradation was triggered through sGC ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. The heme-binding site ligand, BAY 58-2667, prevented sGC ubiquitination and stabilized both alpha and beta subunits.
Conclusion: Collectively, our data establish oxidation-ubiquitination of sGC as a modulator of NO/cGMP signaling and point to a new mechanism of action for sGC activating vasodilators by stabilizing their receptor, oxidized/heme-free sGC.
Denisovite is a rare mineral occurring as aggregates of fibres typically 200–500 nm diameter. It was confirmed as a new mineral in 1984, but important facts about its chemical formula, lattice parameters, symmetry and structure have remained incompletely known since then. Recently obtained results from studies using microprobe analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), electron crystallography, modelling and Rietveld refinement will be reported. The electron crystallography methods include transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), high-angle annular dark-field imaging (HAADF), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), precession electron diffraction (PED) and electron diffraction tomography (EDT). A structural model of denisovite was developed from HAADF images and later completed on the basis of quasi-kinematic EDT data by ab initio structure solution using direct methods and least-squares refinement. The model was confirmed by Rietveld refinement. The lattice parameters are a = 31.024 (1), b = 19.554 (1) and c = 7.1441 (5) Å, β = 95.99 (3)°, V = 4310.1 (5) Å3 and space group P12/a1. The structure consists of three topologically distinct dreier silicate chains, viz. two xonotlite-like dreier double chains, [Si6O17]10−, and a tubular loop-branched dreier triple chain, [Si12O30]12−. The silicate chains occur between three walls of edge-sharing (Ca,Na) octahedra. The chains of silicate tetrahedra and the octahedra walls extend parallel to the z axis and form a layer parallel to (100). Water molecules and K+ cations are located at the centre of the tubular silicate chain. The latter also occupy positions close to the centres of eight-membered rings in the silicate chains. The silicate chains are geometrically constrained by neighbouring octahedra walls and present an ambiguity with respect to their z position along these walls, with displacements between neighbouring layers being either Δz = c/4 or −c/4. Such behaviour is typical for polytypic sequences and leads to disorder along [100]. In fact, the diffraction pattern does not show any sharp reflections with l odd, but continuous diffuse streaks parallel to a* instead. Only reflections with l even are sharp. The diffuse scattering is caused by (100) nanolamellae separated by stacking faults and twin boundaries. The structure can be described according to the order–disorder (OD) theory as a stacking of layers parallel to (100).
First crystal structure of a Pigment Red 52 compound: DMSO solvate hydrate of the monosodium salt
(2021)
Pigment Red 52, Na2[C18H11ClN2O6S], is an industrially produced hydrazone-laked pigment. It serves as an intermediate in the synthesis of the corresponding Ca2+ and Mn2+ salts, which are used commercially for printing inks and lacquers. Hitherto, no crystal structure of any salt of Pigment Red 52 is known. Now, single crystals have been obtained of a dimethyl sulfoxide solvate hydrate of the monosodium salt of Pigment Red 52, namely, monosodium 2-[2-(3-carboxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydronaphthalen-1-ylidene)hydrazin-1-yl]-5-chloro-4-methylbenzenesulfonate dimethyl sulfoxide monosolvate monohydrate, Na+·C18H12ClN2O6S−·H2O·C2H6OS, obtained from in-house synthesized Pigment Red 52. The crystal structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 173 K. In this monosodium salt, the SO3− group is deprotonated, whereas the COOH group is protonated. The residues form chains via ionic interactions and hydrogen bonds. The chains are arranged in polar/non-polar double layers.
The translation eukaryotic elongation factor 1alpha (eEF1A) is a monomeric GTPase involved in protein synthesis. In addition, this protein is thought to participate in other cellular functions such as actin bundling, cell cycle regulation, and apoptosis. Here we show that eEF1A is associated with the alpha2 subunit of the inhibitory glycine receptor in pulldown experiments with rat brain extracts. Moreover, additional proteins involved in translation like ribosomal S6 protein and p70 ribosomal S6 protein kinase as well as ERK1/2 and calcineurin were identified in the same pulldown approaches. Glycine receptor activation in spinal cord neurons cultured for 1 week resulted in an increased phosphorylation of ribosomal S6 protein. Immunocytochemistry showed that eEF1A and ribosomal S6 protein are localized in the soma, dendrites, and at synapses of cultured hippocampal and spinal cord neurons. Consistent with our biochemical data, immunoreactivities of both proteins were partially overlapping with glycine receptor immunoreactivity in cultured spinal cord and hippocampal neurons. After 5 weeks in culture, eEF1A immunoreactivity was redistributed to the cytoskeleton in about 45% of neurons. Interestingly, the degree of redistribution could be increased at earlier stages of in vitro differentiation by inhibition of either the ERK1/2 pathway or glycine receptors and simultaneous N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation. Our findings suggest a functional coupling of eEF1A with both inhibitory and excitatory receptors, possibly involving the ERK-signaling pathway.