docking 2 1

Tag: "docking" at biology news

Protein helps regulate the genes of embryonic stem cells

... model is that methylation on histones serves as a docking site for proteins that "read" this histone modification, and it's those proteins that directly have an impact on gene expression - either by activating or silencing a gene. "Diversity is determined by different types of chemical modifications and al...

Hopkins scientists uncover 'tags' that force proteins to cell surface

...nel that lets heart cells contract on cue, and the docking point that allows HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, into cells, the researchers discovered. Because proteins on the cell surface are "lock-on" sites for drugs and other molecules, as well as triggers of immune reactions, the findings, described in th...

Several minute intermediate stage in virus-cell fusion discovered; opportunity for drug development

... infect the cell at all. "It's like a space craft docking on a space station," said Young. "If you try to open the inner door before the pressures have equalized, you can tease it open a little bit but it keeps closing on you until there's enough pressure in the airlock to allow it to open all the way." Me...

Immune system has evolved to prevent autoimmune disease

...nsequently, there are about one trillion potential docking sites, or epitopes, where antibodies could mistakenly attach themselves to proteins in a healthy cell. The mutation response method employed by our adaptive immune system seems keyed to this number, producing antibodies that are statistically likely ...

Mouse study: New muscle-building agent beats all previous ones

... trials. The new agent is a version of a cellular docking point for the muscle-limiting protein myostatin. I...pected." ACVR2B is the business end of a cellular docking point for the myostatin protein, and it probably works in part by mopping up myostatin so it can't e...

'Computer-chemistry' yields new insight into a puzzle of cell division

... puzzle-fit to regulate cell division. Solving the docking puzzle could lead to anticancer drugs to block the...onal Institutes of Health. Detailed study of such docking is important because uncontrolled overreaction of the Cdc25 family of enzymes has been associated wi...

Waking a sleeping virus

...specific strings of chemical "letters" in the DNA, docking onto them and allowing the information to be read and transformed into raw materials to make new viruses. "A good strategy in fighting viruses is to block the activation of viral genes," says Patrice Morand, a physician at the University hospital a...

Study finds how organs monitor themselves during early development

...cked with epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, docking ports for signaling molecules. Dr. Gilboa found th... the EGF receptors on the intermingled cells. That docking activates the intermingled cells and is important for their survival. Spitz acts a bit like a vol...

Unusual mechanism keeps repair protein accurate

...first thought it did nothing more than connect the docking region of the protein with regions three and four,...ey tested a version of the protein that lacked the docking region. This shortened molecule also accurately made DNA. "To find that the proline-rich domain w...

Think fast! Rice undergrad unlocks nerve speed secret

...lease shipments of chemical freight. SNAREs form a docking bay for cartons of chemicals encased in their own fatty membranes. "Nerve cells are one of the few cells in our bodies in which vesicles are prepositioned at the cell membrane, because they have to be ready to release neurotransmitter to the next n...

Meth promotes spread of virus in HIV-infected users

...as "speed" or "crystal," increases production of a docking protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected users. The investigators found that meth increases expression of a receptor called DC-SIGN, a "virus-attachment factor," allowing more of the virus to invade the immune system. ...

Molecular 'on/off switch' controls immune defenses against viruses

...nd LGP2 each contain a repressor domain, a sort of docking site that controls the actions of each protein. The domain is the key site that regulates the ability of RIG-I to bind to its signaling partners, including LGP2, acting as a switch for controlling immune response, Dr. Gale said. "Hepatitis C and o...

Changing length of days reverses how estrogen affects aggressiveness in mice

...d estrogen receptor beta. These receptors are like docking stations that send signals from the estrogen molecules into the cells. One hypothesis had been that one type of receptor was important in winter-like short days, and the other receptor in summer-like long days ?which could help begin to explain wh...

Researchers find docking sites for glucocorticoid receptor and Hsp90

...gest that Hsp90 binds GR with the help of specific docking sites in the C-terminal domain of Hsp90," she said. "This finding opens the possibility to develop small molecules that block specific Hsp90-client protein interactions. As part of our work, we also have identified GR mutants that are able to bind ho...

Squid-inspired design could mean better handling of underwater vehicles

...search aimed at benefiting humanity. "Reliable docking mechanisms are essential for the operation of unde...rently, many designers are trying to devise better docking systems for underwater vehicles, but Mohseni said he and his collaborators wanted to improve the wat...

Chemical switch triggers critical cell activities

...andoff to work, E2 must first insert itself into a docking site on E1, next to E1's left hand, so it can grab NEDD8, Schulman explained. However, the E2 docking site is initially turned away from E1: so if E2 hopped into the docking site at that point, it would...

'Personality-gene' makes songbirds curious

...tions for a receptor in the brain, which forms the docking station for the neurotransmitter dopamine. Birds with a specific variant of this dopamine receptor D4 gene show a stronger exploratory behaviour than individuals with other variants (Proceedings of the Royal Society London B, 2 May 2007). There is...

Experimental gene therapy 'abolishes' arthritis pain and lessens joint damage

...nto the receptor like a ship coming into port. The docking changes the shape of the dock to set off chain reactions inside the cell, enabling it to respond to the signal. On nerve cells for instance, certain receptors are shaped to accept naturally occurring painkillers called opioids, which when they dock, ...

Cellular message movement captured on video

...While researchers showed that paxillin serves as a docking station for a variety of signaling and structural proteins, they have been limited to visualizing paxillin with dyes that stain cells rigidly attached to microscope slides. Those snapshots of fixed cells can’t reveal paxillin movement. “We can now...

1