The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.

wikigene or wiki gene protein drug chemical gene disease author authorship tracking collaborative publishing evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration genes proteins drugs chemicals diseases compound
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 

Evidence for cobinding of self- and allopeptides to human class II major histocompatibility antigen DR1 by energy transfer.

Purified human class II major histocompatibility antigen HLA-DR1 was subjected to high-performance gel filtration with fluorescence detection to investigate simultaneous binding of two classes of peptides: the N-terminally fluoresceinated allopeptides fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated DR1 beta-(66-78) and FITC-conjugated DR3 beta-(66-78), derived from the third hypervariable region of the beta chain of DR1 and DR3, respectively, and the DR1-associated self-peptide SP3, carrying the fluorophor 7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin-3-acetic acid (AMCA) at the N terminus. By analyzing the dimer-associated fluorescence signals, we measured an interpeptide energy transfer AMCA-->FITC that proved to be peptide-specific: it did not occur after replacement of the allopeptide by the DR1-restricted peptide IM-(18-29) from influenza matrix protein, whereas it was restored by SP3, due to the high homology of SP3 and allopeptide. Transfer analyses with truncated AMCA-SP3 and AMCA-IM-(18-29) are consistent with Leu-3 being a common anchor residue of both peptides that allows an interaction with the hydrophobic specifity pocket around Ala-37 of the alpha 1 domain. This interaction is mirrored by the intrinsic fluorescence of neighboring Trp-43: we found the protein-peptide transfer Trp(DR1)-->AMCA with AMCA-SP3 but with none of the allopeptides. Since each energy transfer affords close proximity of two fluorophors, the following picture emerges: self- or foreign peptides bind to the DR1 binding cleft by occupation of previously described specificity pockets. Simultaneously, allopeptides of the third hypervariable region or homologous peptides may occupy a cryptic binding site by displacing the beta 1-helix that normally lines the binding groove. Thus, the described complexes raise additional possibilities for the molecular basis of auto- or alloreactivity.[1]

References

 
WikiGenes - Universities