高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附与解吸附的波动特性

基于扩散动力学,建立理论模型研究高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附与解吸附的动力学特性,理论模型考虑高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附/解吸附势垒,以及蛋白质的扩散效应.研究发现,在高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附/解吸附过程中,高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附/解吸附动力学呈现了波动特性,这是由于高分子刷对蛋白质的吸附-解吸附动态转换,决定了高分子刷对蛋白质的...     

催化剂再生原子转移自由基聚合法合成吸附树脂接枝聚合物刷类材料

旨在通过催化剂再生原子转移自由基聚合(ARGET-ATRP)反应,控制单体分子以"从表面接枝"的方式,在高交联大孔树脂表面上接枝甲基丙烯酸羟乙酯的聚合物刷结构;藉此制备了一种新型吸附材料。对接枝聚合反应的影响因素进行了讨论。建立了用反应时间来控制聚合物刷层厚度的方法,确立并优化了反应温度等工艺条件。借助FTIR、SEM、TEM和物理化学吸附/脱附仪等手段对接枝产物的化学结构、微观形貌和孔结构行了表征,获得了聚合物刷层厚度等信息,并对合成的聚合物刷的构象进行了表征。     

蛋白质和带电聚合物刷吸附行为的分子动力学模拟

通过分子动力学模拟了蛋白质与带电聚合物刷的吸附过程,研究了蛋白质带电密度、聚合物链的吸附密度,以及盐溶液对吸附的影响.模拟验证了实验结论:蛋白质产生吸附的条件,首先是其表面带电密度要足够大到在其表面产生离子凝聚,其次聚合物链的吸附密度要使得带电聚合物刷处在最有利于吸附产生的渗透区域,而随着盐离子的加入,吸附的蛋白质开始释放.     

亲水性聚合物刷通过原子转移自由基聚合以化学键接方式接枝在单晶硅表面（Ⅰ）

实现在Si-H表面用UV辐照将4-氯代乙烯基苯(4-vinylbenzyl chloride,VBC)的单分子层以共价键的方式连接在硅片上形成Si-VBC表面;利用苄基氯引发原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)反应接枝亲水性2-羟乙基甲基丙烯酸酯(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate,HEMA)聚合物刷,形成亲水的Si-VBC-g-P(HEMA)表面.用X射线光电子能谱(XPS)表征接枝有亲水聚合物刷硅表面的化学组成,并对其动力学进行研究.     

蛋白质折叠与力学传感的单分子磁镊操纵研究进展

蛋白质的折叠与相互作用是物理、生物等多学科交叉领域关注的基本问题.力生物学的前沿研究表明，一系列对力敏感的蛋白质在机械力作用下的去折叠与复折叠动力学及相互作用调控，是实现其力感知的物理机制.前沿单分子操纵技术的发展使得在单分子水平定量探究蛋白质的折叠与细胞力学传感的分子机制成为可能.本文重点介绍近年来蛋白质折叠与力学传感的单分子磁镊操纵研究进展，包括单结构域蛋白质的折叠-去折叠动力学、自由能曲面的构造，及细胞黏着斑与胞间连接的力敏感蛋白行使生物功能的分子机制.     

锌指蛋白去折叠的全原子模拟

锌指蛋白是一种广泛存在于真核细胞的转录蛋白,在生命过程中扮演着重要作用,通过锌离子与特定残基的绑定来维持结构的稳定.作为一种重要的功能结构,锌指蛋白为研究锌离子参与的蛋白质折叠/去折叠问题提供了一个极好的模型.对锌指蛋白去折叠过程进行了原子层次的统计分析.研究发现,锌离子不仅能够稳定蛋白质的天然结构,而且参与了整个去折叠过程;此外,也发现Trp7在残基解离次序方面起着重要的作用.在去折叠的过程中,水分子与去折叠过程的耦合关系表现为驱逐机制.该研究也揭示了金属离子相关蛋白质去折叠过程的一般机制.     

伸展态β-乳球蛋白重折叠过程的动力学特性

从蛋白质变性的渐变模型及构象态渐变的观点出发 ,对伸展态 β -乳球蛋白的重折叠过程进行了分析 ,发现蛋白质分子从伸展态到最终折叠态历经一系列中间稳定态 .尿素浓度梯度电泳实验结果显示 ,存在两条不同的折叠途径 .在不同的尿素浓度范围内 ,蛋白质分子的折叠过程具有不同的动力学特性     

二元混合高分子刷溶剂响应特性的分子机制——密度泛函理论

采用加权密度近似密度泛函理论研究了二元混合接枝高分子刷在不同性质溶剂诱导下的垂直相分离情况。计算发现,对于具有一定相容性的等链长和等链节间相互作用能的二元混合接枝高分子刷,在非选择性溶剂中,不良溶剂使得高分子刷收缩,良溶剂使得高分子刷溶胀,但不会发生垂直的相分离;在选择性溶剂中,混合高分子刷可以在溶剂诱导下发生垂直相分离,亲溶剂的高分子链出现在高分子刷的表层,憎溶剂的高分子链蜷曲于高分子刷的底层,接枝高分子刷表现为亲溶剂性质;溶剂的选择性越大,两种接枝高分子链的相容性越差,越容易分层。     

从序列预测蛋白质折叠速率

基于序列预测二级结构的蛋白质折叠速率的成功预测暗示着折叠速率能够单独从序列中预测出来.为了追踪这一问题,提出了从序列预测折叠速率的一种方法,而不需要任何二级结构和拓扑的信息.残基对折叠速率的影响与氨基酸的性质有密切的关系.对双态和多态蛋白质实验测定的折叠速率的相关性达到了82.9%,这意味着蛋白质的氨基酸序列是决定折叠速率和机理的重要因素.     

核磁共振波谱研究蛋白质三维结构及功能

文中总结了中国科学技术大学生命科学学院核磁共振波谱实验室十多年来的工作.我们的研究主要集中于研究人和其他真核生物基因表达调控相关蛋白质以及细胞连接处相关蛋白质.在这两个体系中许多蛋白质与人类健康及疾病相关,有的可能是潜在的药物作用靶标.我们主要关注用核磁共振波谱方法研究蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的结构基础.核磁共振适合研究在接近生理条件下的分子相互作用,特别是适合研究低亲和力的瞬态的复合物.它可以提供蛋白质相互作用界面,复合物结构,以及蛋白质相互识别过程动力学的信息.文中给出了一些例子.我们也研究蛋白质内部动力学,包括皮秒-纳秒时间尺度,与毫秒-微秒时间尺度的动力学.与圆二色谱及荧光光谱结合,核磁共振可以详细表征蛋白质的折叠与去折叠.文中给出的核磁共振应用的最后一个例子是用计算机虚拟筛选,核磁筛选,我们发现了一个人的双功能的磷酸酶的一种新类型的抑制剂,并研究了该抑制剂对细胞功能的影响.这一策略有可能用于早期药物的发现.     

Mechanical unfolding intermediates in titin modules

The modular protein titin, which is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscle, is subjected to stretching forces. Previous work on the experimental elongation of single titin molecules has suggested that force causes consecutive unfolding of each domain in an all-or-none fashion. To avoid problems associated with the heterogeneity of the modular, naturally occurring titin, we engineered single proteins to have multiple copies of single immunoglobulin domains of human cardiac titin. Here we report the elongation of these molecules using the atomic force microscope. We find an abrupt extension of each domain by approximately 7 A before the first unfolding event. This fast initial extension before a full unfolding event produces a reversible 'unfolding intermediate' Steered molecular dynamics simulations show that the rupture of a pair of hydrogen bonds near the amino terminus of the protein domain causes an extension of about 6 A, which is in good agreement with our observations. Disruption of these hydrogen bonds by site-directed mutagenesis eliminates the unfolding intermediate. The unfolding intermediate extends titin domains by approximately 15% of their slack length, and is therefore likely to be an important previously unrecognized component of titin elasticity.     

Multiple conformations of a protein demonstrated by magnetization transfer NMR spectroscopy

It is generally accepted that a globular protein in its native state adopts a single, well-defined conformation. However, there have been several reports that some proteins may exist in more than one distinct folded form in equilibrium. In the case of staphylococcal nuclease, evidence for multiple conformations has come from electrophoretic and NMR studies, although there has been some controversy as to whether these are actually interconvertible forms of the same molecular species. Recently, magnetization transfer (MT)-NMR has been developed as a means of studying the kinetics of conformational transitions in proteins. In the study reported here, this approach has been extended and used to demonstrate the presence of at least two native forms of nuclease in equilibrium and to study their interconversion with the unfolded state under the conditions of the thermal unfolding transition. The experiments reveal that two distinct native forms of the protein fold and unfold independently and that these can interconvert directly as well as via the unfolded state. The spectra of the different forms suggest that they are structurally similar but the MT experiments show that the kinetics of folding and unfolding are quite different. Characterization of this behaviour will, therefore, have important implications for our understanding of the relationship between structure and folding kinetics.     

不同折叠类型蛋白中基于密码子的二级结构偏向性分析

在传统的Chou-Fasman蛋白质二级结构预测方法的基础上引入同义密码子使用的信息,计算了200个蛋白(49种全α结构蛋白,69种全β结构蛋白,38种仅α β结构蛋白,44种α/β结构蛋白)中不同密码子对应的氨基酸形成不同二级结构(α：螺旋,β：折叠,C：卷曲)的偏向性参数．通过对这些密码子对应氨基酸二级结构偏向性的分析,得到了氨基酸二级结构偏向性分析中所忽略的同义密码子的蛋白结构信息．这些新的信息量对于指导蛋白质设计以及提高蛋白质二级结构预测的准确率有着一定的作用．     

Folding-driven synthesis of oligomers.

The biological function of biomacromolecules such as DNA and enzymes depends on their ability to perform and control molecular association, catalysis, self-replication or other chemical processes. In the case of proteins in particular, the dependence of these functions on the three-dimensional protein conformation is long known and has inspired the development of synthetic oligomers and polymers with the capacity to fold in a controlled manner, but it remains challenging to design these so-called 'foldamers' so that they are capable of inducing or controlling chemical processes and interactions. Here we show that the stability gained from folding can be used to control the synthesis of oligomers from short chain segments reversibly ligated through an imine metathesis reaction. That is, folding shifts the ligation equilibrium in favour of conformationally ordered sequences, so that oligomers having the most stable solution structures form preferentially. Crystallization has previously been used to shift an equilibrium in order to indirectly influence the synthesis of small molecules, but the present approach to selectively prepare macromolecules with stable conformations directly connects folding and synthesis, emphasizing molecular function rather than structure in polymer synthesis.     

Mimicking unfolding motion of a beetle hind wing

This paper presents an experimental research aiming to realize an artificial hind wing that can mimic the wing unfolding motion of AIIomyrina dichotoma, an insect in coleopteran order. Based on the understanding of working principles of beetle wing folding/unfolding mechanisms, the hind wing unfolding motion is mimicked by a combination of creative ideas and state-of-art artificial muscle actuator. In this work, we devise two types of artificial wings and the successfully demonstrate that they can be unfolded by actuation of shape memory alloy wires to provide actuation force at the wing base and along the leading edge vein. The folding/unfolding mechanisms may provide an insight for portable nano/micro air vehicles with morphing wings.     

A 'molten-globule' membrane-insertion intermediate of the pore-forming domain of colicin A

The 'molten' globular conformation of a protein is compact with a native secondary structure but a poorly defined tertiary structure. Molten globular states are intermediates in protein folding and unfolding and they may be involved in the translocation or insertion of proteins into membranes. Here we investigate the membrane insertion of the pore-forming domain of colicin A, a bacteriocin that depolarizes the cytoplasmic membrane of sensitive cells. We find that this pore-forming domain, the insertion of which depends on pH, undergoes a native to molten globule transition at acidic pH. The variation of the kinetic constant of membrane insertion of the protein into negatively charged lipid vesicles as a function of the interfacial pH correlates with the appearance of the acidic molten globular state, indicating that this state could be an intermediate formed during the insertion of colicin A into membranes.     

Characterization of the Partially Folded Monomeric Intermediate of Creatine Kinase

IntroductionRecent studies of the protein folding pathway andintermediate states in vitro and in vivo haveinduced much interest in the importance ofunderstanding the propertiesof partially structuredintermediates[1 7] . Studies have suggested thatintermed…     

基因组信息、密码进化、折叠动力学和熵产生——理论生物学的几个基本问题

 数千个基因组的测序完成,海量资料数据呼唤着生命科学的理性和实证性更完美地结合。基因组信息学是理论生物学的龙头。本文遵循生命信息运行的密码—序列—结构—功能的主线,论述了生命科学的理性化途径,讨论了若干基因组生物学的基本问题。着重总结了理论生物学领域的部分工作,包括：① 基因组序列识别码的形成和构建,一组描述碱基分布和碱基关联的统计量集合可作为基因组的识别码;② 基因组的进化方向和最大信息原理,提出基因组序列的编码信息量在进化中随时间增长的规律,指出DNA序列局部片段遵循最大信息原理;③ 遗传密码的适应性进化,证明普适标准密码表是突变危险性的适应性极小码,论证了遗传密码既具有稳定性,又具有可进化性;④ 基于量子跃迁的蛋白质折叠动力学,用量子跃迁的观点和理论研究如何处理从序列到结构,导出蛋白质折叠速率公式,解释了现有各种速率实验;⑤ 细胞开关相变和熵产生,研究了最简单生命噬菌体的溶原态/裂解态转变动力学,得到了此类细胞开关中熵产生的特异性规律。