School of Systems Biology

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Oxidized Extracellular DNA as a Stress Signal in Human Cells
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2013-01) Ermakov, Aleksei V.; Konkova, Marina S.; Kostyuk, Svetlana V.; Izevskaya, Vera L.; Baranova, Ancha; Veiko, Natalya N.
The term “cell-free DNA” (cfDNA) was recently coined for DNA fragments from plasma/serum, while DNA present in in vitro cell culture media is known as extracellular DNA (ecDNA). Under oxidative stress conditions, the levels of oxidative modification of cellular DNA and the rate of cell death increase. Dying cells release their damaged DNA, thus, contributing oxidized DNA fragments to the pool of cfDNA/ecDNA. Oxidized cell-free DNA could serve as a stress signal that promotes irradiation-induced bystander effect. Evidence points to TLR9 as a possible candidate for oxidized DNA sensor. An exposure to oxidized ecDNA stimulates a synthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that evokes an adaptive response that includes transposition of the homologous loci within the nucleus, polymerization and the formation of the stress fibers of the actin, as well as activation of the ribosomal gene expression, and nuclear translocation of NF-E2 related factor-2 (NRF2) that, in turn, mediates induction of phase II detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes. In conclusion, the oxidized DNA is a stress signal released in response to oxidative stress in the cultured cells and, possibly, in the human body; in particular, it might contribute to systemic abscopal effects of localized irradiation treatments.
Knowledge-Based Identification of Soluble Biomarkers: Hepatic Fibrosis in NAFLD as an Example
(Public Library of Science, 2013-02-06) Page, Sandra; Birerdinc, Aybike; Estep, Michael; Stepanova, Maria; Afendy, Arian; Petricoin, Emanuel; Younossi, Zobair; Chandhoke, Vikas; Baranova, Ancha
The discovery of biomarkers is often performed using high-throughput proteomics-based platforms and is limited to the molecules recognized by a given set of purified and validated antigens or antibodies. Knowledge-based, or systems biology, approaches that involve the analysis of integrated data, predominantly molecular pathways and networks may infer quantitative changes in the levels of biomolecules not included by the given assay from the levels of the analytes profiled. In this study we attempted to use a knowledge-based approach to predict biomarkers reflecting the changes in underlying protein phosphorylation events using Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) as a model. Two soluble biomarkers, CCL-2 and FasL, were inferred in silico as relevant to NAFLD pathogenesis. Predictive performance of these biomarkers was studied using serum samples collected from patients with histologically proven NAFLD. Serum levels of both molecules, in combination with clinical and demographic data, were predictive of hepatic fibrosis in a cohort of NAFLD patients. Our study suggests that (1) NASH-specific disruption of the kinase-driven signaling cascades in visceral adipose tissue lead to detectable changes in the levels of soluble molecules released into the bloodstream, and (2) biomarkers discovered in silico could contribute to predictive models for non-malignant chronic diseases.
Functional Genomic Analyses of Two Morphologically Distinct Classes of Drosophila Sensory Neurons: Post-Mitotic Roles of Transcription Factors in Dendritic Patterning
(Public Library of Science, 2013-08-15) Iyer, Eswar Prasad R.; Iyer, Srividya Chandramouli; Sullivan, Luis; Wang, Dennis; Meduri, Ramakrishna; Graybeal, Lacey L.; Cox, Daniel N.
Background Neurons are one of the most structurally and functionally diverse cell types found in nature, owing in large part to their unique class specific dendritic architectures. Dendrites, being highly specialized in receiving and processing neuronal signals, play a key role in the formation of functional neural circuits. Hence, in order to understand the emergence and assembly of a complex nervous system, it is critical to understand the molecular mechanisms that direct class specific dendritogenesis. Methodology/Principal Findings We have used the Drosophila dendritic arborization (da) neurons to gain systems-level insight into dendritogenesis by a comparative study of the morphologically distinct Class-I (C-I) and Class-IV (C-IV) da neurons. We have used a combination of cell-type specific transcriptional expression profiling coupled to a targeted and systematic in vivo RNAi functional validation screen. Our comparative transcriptomic analyses have revealed a large number of differentially enriched/depleted gene-sets between C-I and C-IV neurons, including a broad range of molecular factors and biological processes such as proteolytic and metabolic pathways. Further, using this data, we have identified and validated the role of 37 transcription factors in regulating class specific dendrite development using in vivo class-specific RNAi knockdowns followed by rigorous and quantitative neurometric analysis. Conclusions/Significance This study reports the first global gene-expression profiles from purified Drosophila C-I and C-IV da neurons. We also report the first large-scale semi-automated reconstruction of over 4,900 da neurons, which were used to quantitatively validate the RNAi screen phenotypes. Overall, these analyses shed global and unbiased novel insights into the molecular differences that underlie the morphological diversity of distinct neuronal cell-types. Furthermore, our class-specific gene expression datasets should prove a valuable community resource in guiding further investigations designed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying class specific neuronal patterning.
Sequence and structure based models of HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase drug resistance
(BioMed Central, 2013-10-01) Masso, Majid; Vaisman, Iosif I.
Background Successful management of chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection with a cocktail of antiretroviral medications can be negatively affected by the presence of drug resistant mutations in the viral targets. These targets include the HIV-1 protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) proteins, for which a number of inhibitors are available on the market and routinely prescribed. Protein mutational patterns are associated with varying degrees of resistance to their respective inhibitors, with extremes that can range from continued susceptibility to cross-resistance across all drugs. Results Here we implement statistical learning algorithms to develop structure- and sequence-based models for systematically predicting the effects of mutations in the PR and RT proteins on resistance to each of eight and eleven inhibitors, respectively. Employing a four-body statistical potential, mutant proteins are represented as feature vectors whose components quantify relative environmental perturbations at amino acid residue positions in the respective target structures upon mutation. Two approaches are implemented in developing sequence-based models, based on use of either relative frequencies or counts of n-grams, to generate vectors for representing mutant proteins. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported study on structure- and sequence-based predictive models of HIV-1 PR and RT drug resistance developed by implementing a four-body statistical potential and n-grams, respectively, to generate mutant attribute vectors. Performance of the learning methods is evaluated on the basis of tenfold cross-validation, using previously assayed and publicly available in vitro data relating mutational patterns in the targets to quantified inhibitor susceptibility changes. Conclusion Overall performance results are competitive with those of a previously published study utilizing a sequence-based strategy, while our structure- and sequence-based models provide orthogonal and complementary prediction methodologies, respectively. In a novel application, we describe a technique for identifying every possible pair of RT inhibitors as either potentially effective together as part of a cocktail, or a combination that is to be avoided.
Knowledge-based compact disease models identify new molecular players contributing to early-stage Alzheimer’s disease
(BioMed Central, 2013-11-07) Mayburd, Anatoly; Baranova, Ancha
Background High-throughput profiling of human tissues typically yield as results the gene lists comprised of a mix of relevant molecular entities with multiple false positives that obstruct the translation of such results into mechanistic hypotheses. From general probabilistic considerations, gene lists distilled for the mechanistically relevant components can be far more useful for subsequent experimental design or data interpretation. Results The input candidate gene lists were processed into different tiers of evidence consistency established by enrichment analysis across subsets of the same experiments and across different experiments and platforms. The cut-offs were established empirically through ontological and semantic enrichment; resultant shortened gene list was re-expanded by Ingenuity Pathway Assistant tool. The resulting sub-networks provided the basis for generating mechanistic hypotheses that were partially validated by literature search. This approach differs from previous consistency-based studies in that the cut-off on the Receiver Operating Characteristic of the true-false separation process is optimized by flexible selection of the consistency building procedure. The gene list distilled by this analytic technique and its network representation were termed Compact Disease Model (CDM). Here we present the CDM signature for the study of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The integrated analysis of this gene signature allowed us to identify the protein traffic vesicles as prominent players in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s. Considering the distances and complexity of protein trafficking in neurons, it is plausible that spontaneous protein misfolding along with a shortage of growth stimulation result in neurodegeneration. Several potentially overlapping scenarios of early-stage Alzheimer pathogenesis have been discussed, with an emphasis on the protective effects of AT-1 mediated antihypertensive response on cytoskeleton remodeling, along with neuronal activation of oncogenes, luteinizing hormone signaling and insulin-related growth regulation, forming a pleiotropic model of its early stages. Alignment with emerging literature confirmed many predictions derived from early-stage Alzheimer’s disease’ CDM. Conclusions A flexible approach for high-throughput data analysis, the Compact Disease Model generation, allows extraction of meaningful, mechanism-centered gene sets compatible with instant translation of the results into testable hypotheses.
Four-body atomic potential for modeling protein-ligand binding affinity: application to enzyme-inhibitor binding energy prediction
(BioMed Central, 2013-11-08) Masso, Majid
Background : Models that are capable of reliably predicting binding affinities for protein-ligand complexes play an important role the field of structure-guided drug design. Methods : Here, we begin by applying the computational geometry technique of Delaunay tessellation to each set of atomic coordinates for over 1400 diverse macromolecular structures, for the purpose of deriving a four-body statistical potential that serves as a topological scoring function. Next, we identify a second, independent set of three hundred protein-ligand complexes, having both high-resolution structures and known dissociation constants. Two-thirds of these complexes are randomly selected to train a predictive model of binding affinity as follows: two tessellations are generated in each case, one for the entire complex and another strictly for the isolated protein without its bound ligand, and a topological score is computed for each tessellation with the four-body potential. Predicted protein-ligand binding affinity is then based on an empirically derived linear function of the difference between both topological scores, one that appropriately scales the value of this difference. Results : A comparison between experimental and calculated binding affinity values over the two hundred complexes reveals a Pearson's correlation coefficient of r = 0.79 with a standard error of SE = 1.98 kcal/mol. To validate the method, we similarly generated two tessellations for each of the remaining protein-ligand complexes, computed their topological scores and the difference between the two scores for each complex, and applied the previously derived linear transformation of this topological score difference to predict binding affinities. For these one hundred complexes, we again observe a correlation of r = 0.79 (SE = 1.93 kcal/mol) between known and calculated binding affinities. Applying our model to an independent test set of high-resolution structures for three hundred diverse enzyme-inhibitor complexes, each with an experimentally known inhibition constant, also yields a correlation of r = 0.79 (SE = 2.39 kcal/mol) between experimental and calculated binding energies. Conclusions : Lastly, we generate predictions with our model on a diverse test set of one hundred protein-ligand complexes previously used to benchmark 15 related methods, and our correlation of r = 0.66 between the calculated and experimental binding energies for this dataset exceeds those of the other approaches. Compared with these related prediction methods, our approach stands out based on salient features that include the reliability of our model, combined with the rapidity of the generated predictions, which are less than one second for an average sized complex.
The Role of IKKβ in Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Infection
(Public Library of Science, 2014-02-19) Amaya, Moushimi; Voss, Kelsey; Sampey, Gavin; Senina, Svetlana; de la Fuente, Cynthia; Mueller, Claudius; Calvert, Valerie; Kehn-Hall, Kylene; Carpenter, Calvin; Kashanchi, Fatah; Bailey, Charles; Mogelsvang, Soren; Petricoin, Emanuel; Narayanan, Aarthi
Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) belongs to the genus Alphavirus, family Togaviridae. VEEV infection is characterized by extensive inflammation and studies from other laboratories implicated an involvement of the NF-κB cascade in the in vivo pathology. Initial studies indicated that at early time points of VEEV infection, the NF-κB complex was activated in cells infected with the TC-83 strain of VEEV. One upstream kinase that contributes to the phosphorylation of p65 is the IKKβ component of the IKK complex. Our previous studies with Rift valley fever virus, which exhibited early activation of the NF-κB cascade in infected cells, had indicated that the IKKβ component underwent macromolecular reorganization to form a novel low molecular weight form unique to infected cells. This prompted us to investigate if the IKK complex undergoes a comparable macromolecular reorganization in VEEV infection. Size-fractionated VEEV infected cell extracts indicated a macromolecular reorganization of IKKβ in VEEV infected cells that resulted in formation of lower molecular weight complexes. Well-documented inhibitors of IKKβ function, BAY-11-7082, BAY-11-7085 and IKK2 compound IV, were employed to determine whether IKKβ function was required for the production of infectious progeny virus. A decrease in infectious viral particles and viral RNA copies was observed with inhibitor treatment in the attenuated and virulent strains of VEEV infection. In order to further validate the requirement of IKKβ for VEEV replication, we over-expressed IKKβ in cells and observed an increase in viral titers. In contrast, studies carried out using IKKβ−/− cells demonstrated a decrease in VEEV replication. In vivo studies demonstrated that inhibitor treatment of TC-83 infected mice increased their survival. Finally, proteomics studies have revealed that IKKβ may interact with the viral protein nsP3. In conclusion, our studies have revealed that the host IKKβ protein may be critically involved in VEEV replication.
Multi-Faceted Proteomic Characterization of Host Protein Complement of Rift Valley Fever Virus Virions and Identification of Specific Heat Shock Proteins, Including HSP90, as Important Viral Host Factors
(Public Library of Science, 2014-05-08) Nuss, Jonathan E.; Kehn-Hall, Kylene; Benedict, Ashwini; Costantino, Julie; Ward, Michael; Peyser, Brian D.; Retterer, Cary J.; Tressler, Lyal E.; Wanner, Laura M.; McGovern, Hugh F.; Zaidi, Anum; Anthony, Scott M.; Kota, Krishna P.; Bavari, Sina; Hakami, Ramin M.
Rift Valley fever is a potentially fatal disease of humans and domestic animals caused by Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). Infection with RVFV in ruminants can cause near 100% abortion rates and recent outbreaks in naïve human populations have suggested case fatality rates of greater than thirty percent. To elucidate the roles that host proteins play during RVFV infection, proteomic analysis of RVFV virions was conducted using complementary analytical approaches, followed by functional validation studies of select identified host factors. Coupling the more traditional Gel LC/MS/MS approach (SDS PAGE followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry) with an alternative technique that preserves protein complexes allowed the protein complement of these viral particles to be thoroughly examined. In addition to viral proteins present within the virions and virion-associated host proteins, multiple macromolecular complexes were identified. Bioinformatic analysis showed that host chaperones were among over-represented protein families associated with virions, and functional experiments using siRNA gene silencing and small molecule inhibitors identified several of these heat shock proteins, including heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), as important viral host factors. Further analysis indicated that HSP inhibition effects occur during the replication/transcription phase of the virus life cycle, leading to significant lowering of viral titers without compromising the functional capacity of released virions. Overall, these studies provide much needed further insight into interactions between RVFV and host cells, increasing our understanding of the infection process and suggesting novel strategies for anti-viral development. In particular, considering that several HSP90 inhibitors have been advancing through clinical trials for cancer treatment, these results also highlight the exciting potential of repurposing HSP90 inhibitors to treat RVF.
Whole Proteome Analysis of Mouse Lymph Nodes in Cutaneous Anthrax
(Public Library of Science, 2014-10-20) Popova, Taissia G.; Espina, Virginia; Zhou, Weidong; Mueller, Claudius; Liotta, Lance; Popov, Serguei G.
This study aimed to characterize a soluble proteome of popliteal lymph nodes during lymphadenitis induced by intradermal injection of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores in mice using tandem LC-MS/MS and reverse-phase protein microarray with antibodies specific to epitopes of phosphorylated proteins. More than 380 proteins were detected in the normal intra-nodal lymph, while the infectious process resulted in the profound changes in the protein abundances and appearance of 297 unique proteins. These proteins belong to an array of processes reflecting response to wounding, inflammation and perturbations of hemostasis, innate immune response, coagulation and fibrinolysis, regulation of body fluid levels and vascular disturbance among others. Comparison of lymph and serum revealed 83 common proteins. Also, using 71 antibodies specific to total and phosphorylated forms of proteins we carried initial characterization of circulating lymph phosphoproteome which brought additional information regarding signaling pathways operating in the lymphatics. The results demonstrate that the proteome of intra-nodal lymph serves as a sensitive sentinel of the processes occurring within the lymph nodes during infection. The acute innate response of the lymph nodes to anthrax is accompanied by cellular damage and inflammation with a large number of up- and down-regulated proteins many of which are distinct from those detected in serum. MS data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001342.
Cranberry proanthocyanidins have anti-biofilm properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(BioMed Central, 2014-12-16) Ulrey, Robert K.; Barksdale, Stephanie M.; Zhou, Weidong; van Hoek, Monique L.
Background Bacteria within a biofilm are phenotypically more resistant to antibiotics, desiccation, and the host immune system, making it an important virulence factor for many microbes. Cranberry juice has long been used to prevent infections of the urinary tract, which are often related to biofilm formation. Recent studies have found that the A-type proanthocyanidins from cranberries have anti-biofilm properties against Escherichia coli. Methods Using crystal violet biofilm staining, resazurin metabolism assays, and confocal imaging, we examined the ability of A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) to disrupt the biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We used mass spectrometry to analyze the proteomic effects of PAC treatment. We also performed synergy assays and in vitro and in vivo infections to determine whether PACs, alone and in combination with gentamicin, could contribute to the killing of P. aeruginosa and the survival of cell lines and G. mellonella. Results Cranberry PACs reduced P. aeruginosa swarming motility. Cranberry PACs significantly disrupted the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. Proteomics analysis revealed significantly different proteins expressed following PAC treatment. In addition, we found that PACs potentiated the antibiotic activity of gentamicin in an in vivo model of infection using G. mellonella. Conclusions Results suggest that A-type proanthocyanidins may be a useful therapeutic against the biofilm-mediated infections caused by P. aeruginosa and should be further tested.
Age-Independent Rise of Inflammatory Scores May Contribute to Accelerated Aging in Multi-Morbidity
(Impact Journals, LLC, 2015-02-10) Stepanova, Maria; Rodriguez, Edgar; Birerdinc, Aybike; Baranova, Ancha
Aging is associated with an increase in a chronic, low-grade inflammation. This phenomenon, termed “inflammaging” is also a risk factor for both morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Frequent co-occurrence of chronic diseases, known as multi-morbidity, may be explained by interconnected pathophysiology of these conditions, most of which depend on its inflammatory component. Here we present an analysis of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected between 1999 and 2008, for the presence, and the number, of chronic diseases along with HDL-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, lymphocyte percent, monocyte percent, segmented neutrophils percent, eosinophils percent, basophils percent, and glycohemoglobin levels. Importantly, even after adjustment for age and BMI, many inflammatory markers continued to be associated to multi-morbidity. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) were most dramatically increased in parallel with an accumulation of chronic diseases, and may be utilized as multi-morbidity predictors. These observations point at background inflammation as direct, age-independent contributor to an accumulation of the disease burden. Our findings also suggest a possibility that systemic inflammation associated with chronic diseases may explain accelerated aging phenomenon previously observed among the patients with heavy disease burden.
Host response during Yersinia pestis infection of human bronchial epithelial cells involves negative regulation of autophagy and suggests a modulation of survival-related and cellular growth pathways
(Frontiers Media, 2015-02-13) Alem, Farhang; Yao, Kuan; Lane, Douglas; Calvert, Valerie; Petricoin, Emanuel F.; Kramer, Liana; Hale, Martha L.; Bavari, Sina; Panchal, Rekha G.; Hakami, Ramin M.
Yersinia pestis (Yp) causes the re-emerging disease plague, and is classified by the CDC and NIAID as a highest priority (Category A) pathogen. Currently, there is no approved human vaccine available and advances in early diagnostics and effective therapeutics are urgently needed. A deep understanding of the mechanisms of host response to Yp infection can significantly advance these three areas. We employed the Reverse Phase Protein Microarray (RPMA) technology to reveal the dynamic states of either protein level changes or phosphorylation changes associated with kinase-driven signaling pathways during host cell response to Yp infection. RPMA allowed quantitative profiling of changes in the intracellular communication network of human lung epithelial cells at different times post infection and in response to different treatment conditions, which included infection with the virulent Yp strain CO92, infection with a derivative avirulent strain CO92 (Pgm-, Pst-), treatment with heat inactivated CO92, and treatment with LPS. Responses to a total of 111 validated antibodies were profiled, leading to discovery of 12 novel protein hits. The RPMA analysis also identified several protein hits previously reported in the context of Yp infection. Furthermore, the results validated several proteins previously reported in the context of infection with other Yersinia species or implicated for potential relevance through recombinant protein and cell transfection studies. The RPMA results point to strong modulation of survival/apoptosis and cell growth pathways during early host response and also suggest a model of negative regulation of the autophagy pathway. We find significant cytoplasmic localization of p53 and reduced LC3-I to LC3-II conversion in response to Yp infection, consistent with negative regulation of autophagy. These studies allow for a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis mechanisms and the discovery of innovative approaches for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of plague.
Chemokine-Releasing Nanoparticles for Manipulation of the Lymph Node Microenvironment
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2015-03-05) Popova, Taissia G.; Teunis, Allison; Magni, Ruben; Luchini, Alessandra; Espina, Virginia; Liotta, Lance A.; Popov, Serguei G.
Chemokines (CKs) secreted by the host cells into surrounding tissue establish concentration gradients directing the migration of leukocytes. We propose an in vivo CK gradient remodeling approach based on sustained release of CKs by the crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel open meshwork nano-particles (NPs) containing internal crosslinked dye affinity baits for a reversible CK binding and release. The sustained release is based on a new principle of affinity off-rate tuning. The NPs with Cibacron Blue F3G-A and Reactive Blue-4 baits demonstrated a low-micromolar affinity binding to IL-8, MIP-2, and MCP-1 with a half-life of several hours at 37 °C. The capacity of NPs loaded with IL-8 and MIP-1α to increase neutrophil recruitment to lymph nodes (LNs) was tested in mice after footpad injection. Fluorescently-labeled NPs used as tracers indicated the delivery into the sub-capsular compartment of draining LNs. The animals administered the CK-loaded NPs demonstrated a widening of the sub-capsular space and a strong LN influx of leukocytes, while mice injected with control NPs without CKs or bolus doses of soluble CKs alone showed only a marginal neutrophil response. This technology provides a new means to therapeutically direct or restore immune cell traffic, and can also be employed for simultaneous therapy delivery.
BRCA1 functions as a novel transcriptional cofactor in HIV-1 infection
(BioMed Central, 2015-03-06) Guendel, Irene; Meltzer, Beatrix W.; Baer, Alan; Dever, Seth M.; Valerie, Kristoffer; Guo, Jia; Wu, Yuntao; Kehn-Hall, Kylene
Background Viruses have naturally evolved elegant strategies to manipulate the host’s cellular machinery, including ways to hijack cellular DNA repair proteins to aid in their own replication. Retroviruses induce DNA damage through integration of their genome into host DNA. DNA damage signaling proteins including ATR, ATM and BRCA1 contribute to multiple steps in the HIV-1 life cycle, including integration and Vpr-induced G2/M arrest. However, there have been no studies to date regarding the role of BRCA1 in HIV-1 transcription. Methods Here we performed various transcriptional analyses to assess the role of BRCA1 in HIV-1 transcription by overexpression, selective depletion, and treatment with small molecule inhibitors. We examined association of Tat and BRCA1 through in vitro binding assays, as well as BRCA1-LTR association by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results BRCA1 was found to be important for viral transcription as cells that lack BRCA1 displayed severely reduced HIV-1 Tat-dependent transcription, and gain or loss-of-function studies resulted in enhanced or decreased transcription. Moreover, Tat was detected in complex with BRCA1 aa504-802. Small molecule inhibition of BRCA1 phosphorylation effector kinases, ATR and ATM, decreased Tat-dependent transcription, whereas a Chk2 inhibitor showed no effect. Furthermore, BRCA1 was found at the viral promoter and treatment with curcumin and ATM inhibitors decreased BRCA1 LTR occupancy. Importantly, these findings were validated in a highly relevant model of HIV infection and are indicative of BRCA1 phosphorylation affecting Tat-dependent transcription. Conclusions BRCA1 presence at the HIV-1 promoter highlights a novel function of the multifaceted protein in HIV-1 infection. The BRCA1 pathway or enzymes that phosphorylate BRCA1 could potentially be used as complementary host-based treatment for combined antiretroviral therapy, as there are multiple potent ATM inhibitors in development as chemotherapeutics.
The Needs of the Few
(2018-12) Smith, Alexander
In silico prediction of phosphorylation of NS3 as an essential mechanism for Dengue virus replication and the antiviral activity of Quercetin
(Biology, 2019) Alomair, Lamya Abdulaziz; Almsned, Fahad; Ullah, Aman; Jafri, M. Saleet
Infection by Dengue virus is a global health problem for which there have been challenges to obtaining a cure. Current vaccines can only be narrowly applied in ongoing clinical trials. We employed computational methods to predict therapeutic efficacy based on structure-function relationships between human host kinases and viral Nonstructural Protein 3(NS3) in an effort to understand the therapeutic effect of inhibitors of viral replication. Phosphorylation at each of two most evolutionarily conserved sites, S137 and T189 compared to the unphosphorylated state were studied with molecular dynamics and docking simulations. The simulations suggested that phosphorylation at S137 caused a greater structural change than phosphorylation at T189. Docking studies supported the idea that phosphorylation at S137 increased the binding affinity between NS3 and NS5,whereas, phosphorylation at T189 decreased it. The interaction of NS3 and NS5is essential for viral replication. Docking studies with the antiviral plant flavonoid Quercetin with NS3 indicated that Quercetin physically occluded theS137 phosphorylation site. Taken together these findings suggest a specific site and mechanism by which Quercetin inhibits Dengue and possible other flaviviruses.
X-ROS Signaling Depends on Length-Dependent Calcium Buffering by Troponin
(2021) Limbu, Sarita; Prosser, Benjamin L.; Lederer, W. Jonathan; Ward, Christopher W.; Jafri, M. Saleet
Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Drug and Ligand Binding in BCL-2 Variants Through Molecular Dynamics
(2021) Hamre, John III; Klimov, Dimitri K.; McCoy, Mathew D.; Jafri, M. Saleet
Literature Review of Cellular Relatedness in Toxin and Toxin-Like Nicotinic Receptor Targeting Proteins
(2021-05) Voloshyna-Farber, Elizabeth; Kabbani, Nadine
This project compares venomous and non-venomous snake toxins in their binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) using a literature search and supporting the use of bioinformatics tools. A clear evolutionary functional and structural similarity between venomous toxins such as snake α-neurotoxins and human prototoxins as lynx is documented. This project builds on existing knowledge in disparate fields to bridge knowledge across domains of biology from evolutionary to medical study. In the process of researching and writing this project, the author conducted a literature search and reviewed the previous work on toxins and toxin-like related proteins. This project is slated to be a reference and resource for future studies and hypotheses on toxin proteins and their evolutionary effects on nAChRs.

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