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Elife 2021 May 4;10. Epub 2021 May 4.

Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, United States.

Membrane fusion requires R-, Qa-, Qb-, and Qc-family SNAREs that zipper into RQaQbQc coiled coils, driven by the sequestration of apolar amino acids. Zippering has been thought to provide all the force driving fusion. Sec17/aSNAP can form an oligomeric assembly with SNAREs with the Sec17 C-terminus bound to Sec18/NSF, the central region bound to SNAREs, and a crucial apolar loop near the N-terminus poised to insert into membranes. Read More

J Phys Chem B 2021 Apr 7;125(15):3830-3842. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

Human ferritin is regarded as an attractive and promising vaccine platform because of its uniform structure, good plasticity, and desirable thermal and chemical stabilities. Besides, it is biocompatible and presumed safe when used as a vaccine carrier. However, there is a lack of knowledge of how different antigen insertion sites on the ferritin nanocage impact the resulting protein stability and performance. Read More

eNeuro 2021 Mar-Apr;8(2). Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Department, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48202

Spontaneous synaptic transmission is regulated by the protein complexin (Cpx). Cpx binds the SNARE complex, a coil-coiled four-helical bundle that mediates the attachment of a synaptic vesicle (SV) to the presynaptic membrane (PM). Cpx is thought to clamp spontaneous fusion events by stabilizing a partially unraveled state of the SNARE bundle; however, the molecular detail of this mechanism is still debated. Read More

Elife 2021 Mar 4;10. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada.

Class I Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are master regulators of cellular functions, with the class IB PI3K catalytic subunit (p110γ) playing key roles in immune signalling. p110γ is a key factor in inflammatory diseases and has been identified as a therapeutic target for cancers due to its immunomodulatory role. Using a combined biochemical/biophysical approach, we have revealed insight into regulation of kinase activity, specifically defining how immunodeficiency and oncogenic mutations of R1021 in the C-terminus can inactivate or activate enzyme activity. Read More

J Cell Sci 2021 Mar 26;134(6). Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Bateson Centre and Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.

In vertebrate photoreceptors, opsins are highly concentrated in a morphologically distinct ciliary compartment known as the outer segment (OS). Opsin is synthesized in the cell body and transported to the OS at a remarkable rate of 100 to 1000 molecules per second. Opsin transport defects contribute to photoreceptor loss and blindness in human ciliopathies. Read More