( define the dynamic structural details o...)Scripps research study reveals structural dynamics of single prion molecules

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer is a highly sensitive tool used to measure molecular structure and dynamics such as in single proteins at the angstrom level, a measurement unit used to define molecular distances (a 10th of a millionth of a millimeter). Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is a high resolution technique that measures time fluctuations in fluorescent emissions from tagged proteins, which provided information about changes in shape of Sup35 taking place on the nanosecond timescale (billionths of seconds).

A third technology, single molecule fluorescence coincidence, was used in an unusual way-to prove that the protein species under scrutiny were not oligomeric (consisting of multiple proteins in an aggregate). The technology, based on measuring fluorescence bursts from individual tagged proteins, enabled the scientists to determine that the proteins being studied were, in fact, single monomers and not aggregates.

Deniz said that future work with yeast prion mutants might resolve some of the questions that remain unanswered. "Our laboratory has spent a great deal of time in improving these techniques, and we have used them to uncover some very intriguing information about this particular monomer," he said. "This combination of techniques can now be used to study other amyloidogenic proteins, including prions, particularly small assemblies and intermediate stages of the aggregation process. These are currently considered the most toxic forms of amyloid-disease associated proteins."

While mammalian prion proteins are different from those of yeast in their amino acid sequence, they do share some basic features, including their ability to catalyze the conversion to a
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Source:Scripps Research Institute
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