SCIENCE AT THE EDGE SEMINAR

QB/GEDD

Friday, March 2 at 11:30am

Room 1400 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Bldg.

Refreshments at 11:15

Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy

Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, The University of Michigan

 

 

Dynamical Structures of Membrane Proteins

by NMR Spectroscopy

 

Membrane proteins are an exciting class of biomacromolecules and play important roles in a variety of biological processes that are directly linked to major diseases including cancer, aging-related diseases, and infectious diseases. A complete understanding of their function can only be accomplished using high-resolution structures. In spite of recent developments in structural biology, membrane proteins continue to pose tremendous challenges to most biophysical techniques. A major area of research in my group is focused on the development of NMR techniques to study the dynamic structures of membrane bound proteins such as cytochrome b5, cytochrome P450 and cytochrome P450-reductase. In my talk, I will present strategies to study the structure and dynamics of these challenging systems and also on the electron transfer mechanism that enables the enzymatic function of P450. Atomic-level resolution NMR structures of amyloidogenic proteins revealing the misfolding pathway and early intermediates that play key roles in amyloid toxicity will also be presented.

 

References:

Yamamoto et al, Fast NMR Data Acquisition From Bicelles Containing a Membrane-Associated Peptide at Natural-Abundance. J. Phys. Chem. B. 115, 12448-12455 (2011).

Dürr et al, The cytochrome P450 and b5 and their reductases – Promising targets for structural studies by advanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy, BBA Biomembranes 1768, 3235-3259 (2007).

DeToma et al, Misfolded proteins in Alzheimer's disease and type II diabetes, Chem. Soc. Rev. 41, 608-621 (2012).

 

 

Helen Geiger, Administrative Assistant

Quantitative Biology Graduate Program and

Gene Expression in Development and Disease

Biochemistry

603 Wilson Road, Room 212

East Lansing, MI   48824

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Phone:  517-432-9895

QB Website: http://www.qbi.msu.edu/

GEDD Website: http://www.gedd.msu.edu/