Structure and function of the contactin-associated protein family in myelinated axons and their relationship with nerve diseases

The contactin-associated protein （Caspr） family participates in nerve excitation and conduction, and neurotransmitter release in myelinated axons. We analyzed the structures and functions of the Caspr family- CNTNAP1 （Casprl）, CNTNAP2 （Caspr2）, CNTNAP3 （Caspr3）, CNTNAP4 （Caspr4） and CNTNAP5 （Caspr5）, Casprl-5 is not only involved in the formation of myelinated axons, but also participates in maintaining the stability of adjacent connections. Casprl participates in the formation, differentiation, and proliferation of neurons and astrocytes, and in motor control and cognitive function. We also analyzed the relationship between the Caspr family and neurodegenerative diseases, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune encephalitis. However, the effects of Caspr on disease course and prognosis remain poorly understood. The effects of Caspr on disease diagnosis and treatment need further investigation.

Changes of structure and functional properties of rice protein in the fresh edible rice during the seed development

It has been reported that fresh edible rice has more bioactive compounds and its protein is easier to digest and has lower hypoallergenic than mature rice. In this paper, the changes in structure and functional properties of proteins at five different stages, including early milky stage(EMS), middle milky stage(MMS), late milky stage(LMS), waxy ripe stage(WS)and ripening stage(RS), during the seed development were investigated. It was found that with the seed developing, the molecular weight of fresh rice protein gradually become larger while the secondary structure changed from the highest content of disordered structure at MMS to the highest content of ordered structure at RS, which affect the surface hydrophobicity and then the functional properties of proteins, including foaming properties, emulsifying properties and oil holding capacity. Fresh rice protein at MMS has the strongest surface hydrophobicity while fresh edible rice protein at RS has the strongest oil holding capability. The results of our study can provide a theoretical basis for the application of fresh rice protein in the food industry and help to develop new fresh edible rice food.

Structure-function Relationships in Human Hypoxanthine-guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase(HGPRT) by Random Mutagenesis

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase （ HGPRT, EC 2.4.2.8） is a key enzyme of the purine salvage pathway, which allows recycling of purine bases into DNA and RNA. It is widely distributed in nature and has been studied both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In humans, a complete lack of HGPRT activity causes the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, which is characterized by hyperuricaemia and neural disorders,

Molecular characteristics and structure–activity relationships of food-derived bioactive peptides

Peptides are functional active fragments of proteins which can provide nutrients needed for human growth and development,and they also have unique physiological activity characteristics relative to proteins.Bioactive peptides contain a great deal of development potential.More specifically,food-derived bioactive peptides have the advantages of a wide variety of sources,unique structures,high efficiency and safety,so they have broad development prospects.This review provides an overview of the current advances regarding the preparation,functional characteristics,and structure–activity relationships of food-derived bioactive peptides.Moreover,the prospects for the future development and application of food-derived bioactive peptides are discussed.This review may provide a better understanding of foodderived bioactive peptides,and some constructive inspirations for further research and applications in the food industry.

Relationship of quantitative structure and pharmacokinetics in fluoroquinolone antibacterials

AIM： To study the relationship between quantitative structure and pharmacokinetics （QSPkR） of fluorocluinolone antibacterials.METHODS： The pharmacokinetic （PK） parameters of oral fluoroquinolones were collected from the literature. These pharmacokinetic data were averaged, 19 compounds were used as the training set, and 3 served as the test set. Genetic function approximation （GFA） module of Cerius2 software was used in QSPkR analysis.RESULTS： A small volume and large polarizability and surface area of substituents at C-7 contribute to a large area under the curve （AUC） for fluoroquinolones. Large polarizability and small volume of substituents at N-1 contribute to a long half life elimination.CONCLUSION： QSPkR models can contribute to some fluoroquinolones antibacterials with excellent pharmacokinetic properties.

Structural changes of proteins in liver cirrhosis and consequential changes in their function

The liver is the site of synthesis of the majority of circulating proteins.Besides initial polypeptide synthesis,sophisticated machinery is involved in the further processing of proteins by removing parts of them and/or adding functional groups and small molecules tailoring the final molecule to suit its physiological purpose.Posttranslational modifications(PTMs)design a network of molecules with the common protein ancestor but with slightly or considerably varying activity/localization/purpose.PTMs can change under pathological conditions,giving rise to aberrant or overmodified proteins.Undesired changes in the structure of proteins most often accompany undesired changes in their function,such as reduced activity or the appearance of new effects.Proper protein processing is essential for the reactions in living beings and crucial for the overall quality control.Modifications that occur on proteins synthesized in the liver whose PTMs are cirrhosis-related are oxidation,nitration,glycosylation,acetylation,and ubiquitination.Some of them predominantly affect proteins that remain in liver cells,whereas others predominantly occur on proteins that leave the liver or originate from other tissues and perform their function in the circulation.Altered PTMs of certain proteins are potential candidates as biomarkers of liver-related diseases,including cirrhosis.This review will focus on PTMs on proteins whose structural changes in cirrhosis exert or are suspected to exert the most serious functional consequences.

PHYLETIC RELATIONSHIP OF PROTEIN STRUCTURES BASED ON SPATIAL PREFERENCE OF RESIDUES

A distance measure that infers to indicate the evolutionary relationship of protein structures has been developed based on spatial preference factors of residues. The spatial preference factor is a reflection of the environment of residues in tertiary structure. Compared with the phyletic relationships derived from sequence homologies and three-dimensional structures, we find that the two lines of evolution are similar in general. This approach is applied to a group of glins here.

Disorder structural predictions of the native EWS and its oncogenic fusion proteins in rapport with the function

The Intrinsic structural disorder (ISD) of native EWS and its fusion oncogenic proteins, including EWS/FliI, EWS/ATF1 and EWS/ZSG, was estimated by different Predictors. The ISD difference between the wild type and the oncogenic fusions found in the CTD is due to the fusion partner, usually a transcription factor (TF). A disordered region was found in the sequence (AA 132 - 156) of the NTD (EAD) of EWS, consisting of the longest region free of Y motifs. The IQ domain (AA 258 - 280), a Y-free region, flanked by two Y-boxes, is also disordered by all used Predictors. The EWS functional regions RGG1, RGG2 and RGG3 are predominantly disordered. A strong dependence was found between the structure of EWS protein and its oncogenic fusions, and their estimated ISD. The oncogenic function of the fusions is related to a decreased ISD in the CTD, due to the fused TF. The Predictors shown that the different isoforms have similar profiles, shifted with some amino acids, due to the translocations. On the bases of the prediction results, an analysis was made of the EWS sequence and its functional regions with increased ISD to make a relationship sequence-disorder-function that could be helpful in the design of antitumor agents against the corresponding malignances.

Structure-activity correlationship and folding of recombinant Escherichia coli dihydro folate reductase (DHFR) enzyme through biochemical and biophysical approaches

The design of any antagonist or inhibitor for any enzyme requires the knowledge of structure- function relationship of the protein and the optimum conformational states for maximum and minimum activities. Furthermore, designing of the inhibitors or drugs against an enzyme becomes easier if there is information available about various well characterized intermediate conformation of the molecule. In vivo folding pathway of any recombinant protein is an important parameter for understanding its ability to fold by itself inside the cell, which always dictates the downstream processing for the purification. In the present manuscript we have discussed about the in vivo and in vitro folding, and structure-function relationship of Dihydrofolate reductase enzyme. This is an important enzyme involved in the cell growth and hence inhibition or inactivation of the enzyme may reduce the cell growth. It was observed that the equilibrium unfolding transition of DHFR proceeds through the formation of intermediates having higher exposed surface hydrophobicity, unchanged enzymatic activity and minimum changes in the secondary structural elements. Because of enhanced surface hydrophobicity, and unchanged enzymatic activity, these intermediates could be a nice target for designing drugs against DHFR.

A study on deep structure using teleseismic receiver function in Western Yunnan

s Western Yunnan is located at the boundary of collision or underthrusting zone of Eurasian plate and is influenced by many times tectonic movements. With very complex geological environment and tectonic background, it is one of the seismically active areas. In the paper, the teleseismic records were selected from 16 national, local and mo-bile stations, including 4 very-wide-band mobile stations of PASSCAL. And nearly 2 000 receiver functions were extracted. Two measuring lines are 650 km and 450 km, respectively and across some major tectonic units in Western Yunnan. It is indicated that Nujiang might be a seam characterized by underthrusting. The western and eastern boundaries of Sichuan-Yunnan rhombus block, i.e., Honghe and Xiaojiang faults, might be an erection seam or collision belt. Panxi tectonic zone still has the characteristics of continental rift valley, that is, the surface is hollow and the upper mantle is upwarping. The tectonic situation in Western Yunnan is of certain regulation with the interlacing distribution of orogenic zone and seam. The crustal thickness decreases gradually from the north to the south and the S wave velocity is globally lower here.

Function S-Rough sets and its applications

Based on S-rough sets（singular rough sets）, this paper presents function S-rough sets （function singular rough sets）and its mathematical structures and features. Function S-rough sets has two forms： function one direction S-rough sets （function one direction singular rough sets） and function two direction S-rough sets （function two direction singular rough sets）. This paper advances the relationship theorem of function S-rough sets and S-rough sets. Function S-rough sets is the general form of S-rough sets, and S-rough sets is the special ease of function S-rough sets. In this paper, applications of function S-rough sets in rough law mining-discovery of system are given. Function S-rough sets is a new research direction of rough sets and rough system.

Function S-rough sets and mining-discovery of rough law in systems

Function S-rough sets （function singular rough sets） is defined on a -function equivalence class [u]. Function S-rough sets is the extension form of S-rough sets. By using the function S-rough sets, this paper gives rough law generation model of a-function equivalence class, discussion on law mining and law discovery in systems, and application of law mining and law discovery in communication system. Function S-rough sets is a new theory and method in law mining research.

A study on deep structure using teleseismic receiver function in Western Yunnan

s Western Yunnan is located at the boundary of collision or underthrusting zone of Eurasian plate and is influenced by many times tectonic movements. With very complex geological environment and tectonic background, it is one of the seismically active areas. In the paper, the teleseismic records were selected from 16 national, local and mo-bile stations, including 4 very-wide-band mobile stations of PASSCAL. And nearly 2 000 receiver functions were extracted. Two measuring lines are 650 km and 450 km, respectively and across some major tectonic units in Western Yunnan. It is indicated that Nujiang might be a seam characterized by underthrusting. The western and eastern boundaries of Sichuan-Yunnan rhombus block, i.e., Honghe and Xiaojiang faults, might be an erection seam or collision belt. Panxi tectonic zone still has the characteristics of continental rift valley, that is, the surface is hollow and the upper mantle is upwarping. The tectonic situation in Western Yunnan is of certain regulation with the interlacing distribution of orogenic zone and seam. The crustal thickness decreases gradually from the north to the south and the S wave velocity is globally lower here.

High density lipoprotein and cardiovascular diseases

Several epidemiological studies have clearly shown that low plasma levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) represent a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. However, it is unclear if there is a causal association between HDL-C concentration and CVD. A recent study published in the Lancet, which performed two Mendelian randomization analyses, showed that increased HDL-C levels were not associated with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction. These findings, together with the termination of the niacin-based AIM-HIGH trial and the discontinuation of cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor dalcetrapib, challenge the concept that raising of plasma HDL-C will uniformly translate into reductions in CVD risk. HDL particles exhibit several anti-atherosclerotic properties, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities and cellular cholesterol efflux activity. Furthermore, HDL particles are very heterogeneous in terms of size, structure, composition and metabolism. HDL functionality may be associated more strongly with CVD risk than the traditional HDL-C levels. More research is needed to assess the association of the structure of HDL particle with its functionality and metabolism.

Protein structural codes and nucleation sites for protein folding

One of the long-standing controversial arguments in protein folding is Levinthal＇s paradox. We have recently proposed a new nucleation hypothesis and shown that the nucleation residues are the most conserved sequences in protein. To avoid the complicated effect of tertiary interactions, we limit our search for structural codes to the nucleation residues. Starting with the hypotheses of secondary structure nucleation and conservation of residues important for folding, we have analysed 762 folds classified as unique by SCOP. Segments of 17 residues around the top 20% conserved amino acids are analysed, resulting in approximately 100 clusters each for the main secondary structure classes of helix, sheet and coil. Helical clusters have the longest correlation range, coils the shortest （four residues）. Strong specific sequence-structure correlation is observed for coil but not for helix and sheet, suggesting a mapping relationship between the sequence and the structure for coil. We propose that the central sequences in these clusters form ＇structural codes＇, a useful basis set for identifying nucleation sites, protein fragments stable in isolation, and secondary structural patterns in proteins （particularly turns and loops）.

Telomere and SARS-CoV-2: A Correlation between Them

This article briefly reviews the history of coronavirus detection and states the structural characteristics and pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 strain. Following the conclusion that cellular senescence is thought to contribute to SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility, this article continues to review the structure and function of telomeres. Finally, it briefly states the link between COVID-19 and telomeres caused by the SARS-CoV-2 strain.

Correlation between Chromatograph Capacity Factors and Structural Parameters of Indole Derivatives

Sixteen indole derivatives have been computed at B3LYP/6-31 IG^＊＊ level using density functional theory （DFF）. Based on linear solvation energy theory, the structural parameters were employed to present correlation between the parameters of chromatograph capacity factor （CCF） and molecular structural parameters. As a result, the correlation equation of the reversed phased high performance liquid chromatograph capacity factor to the intercept lgk＇w and slope S of CCF were obtained, from which the correlation coefficients of lgk＇w to the structural parameters are r^2 = 0.9596 and q^2 = 0.9262. While the correlation coefficients of the parameter S r^2 q^2 with structures are = 0.9750 and = 0.9252. Moreover, the effect of water as solvent on the present two models was also considered using SCRF method, and the result shows that the predicting capacity of correlation equation of lgkw＇ increases, while that of the model for S decreases slightly. Both two correlation equations achieved in this work are more advantageous than those using theoretical descriptors from molecular connectivity indices.

Quantitative Structure-activity Relationship Models of Monomer Reactivity

The reactivity parameters,Q and e,in the Q-e scheme reflect the reactivities of a monomer(or a radical)in free-radical copolymerizations.By applying multiple linear regression(MLR)analysis,the optimal quantitative structure-activity relationship(QSAR)model for the reactivity parameter lnQ was developed based on five descriptors(NAF,NOF,EαLUMO,EβHOMO,and EβLUMO)and 69 monomers with the root mean square(rms)error of 0.61.The optimal MLR model of the parameter e obtained from five descriptors(TOcl,NpN,NSO,EαHOMO and DH)and 68 monomers produced rms error of 0.42.Compared with previous models,the two optimal MLR models in this paper show satisfactory statistical characteristics.The feasibility of combining 2D descriptors obtained from the monomers and 3D descriptors calculated from the radical structures(formed from monomers+H )to predict parameters Q and e has been demonstrated.

Structure-activity relationships regarding the antioxidant effects of the flavonoids on human erythrocytes

The effects of eleven flavonoids on lipid peroxidation, protein degradation, deformability and osmotic fragility of human erythrocytes exposed in vitro to 10 mM H2O2 for 60 min at 37 oC have been studied. The following flavonoids;quercetin, rutin and morin significantly protected eryt-hrocytes against lipid peroxidation caused by H2O2. This inhibition of lipid peroxidation could be explained by the presence of at least two hydroxyl groups in ring B of the flavonoid structure, regardless of their positions. However, the flavonoids;quercetin, 3,5,7-trihy- droxy-4'-methoxy flavone-7-rutinoside and 3- hydroxy flavone significantly protected eryt-hrocytes against protein degradation. This inhibition could also be explained by the presence of a hydroxyl group at C-3 in ring C of the flavonoid structure. Quercetin and 3,5,7-trihydroxy-4'- methoxy flvone-7-rutinoside significantly protected erythrocytes against loss of deformability and increased osmotic fragility, indicating that the loss of erythrocyte deformability and the increase in osmotic fragility of erythrocytes exposed to H2O2 are related to protein degradation rather than to lipid peroxidation. The other flavonoids (chrysin, 2-carboxy ethyl dihydroxy flavone, apigenin, cirsimaritin, α-naphto flavone and flavanone) failed to protect erythrocytes against the observed oxidative damages. The results demonstrate the importance of the chemical groups substituted on the basic skeleton of the flavonoids in dictating the type of antioxidant activity, and also demonstrate the hemorheological potentials of flavonoids that have particular protein-antioxidant activities.