No abstract

We characterized the structure, organization, and expression of genes that encode the soybean glycinins, a family of storage proteins synthesized exclusively in seeds during embryogenesis. Five genes encode the predominant glycinin subunits found in soybeans, and they have each been cloned, sequenced, and compared. The five genes have diverged into two subfamilies that are designated as Group-I and Group-II glycinin genes. Each glycinin gene contains four exons and three introns like genes that encode related proteins in other legumes. Two other genes have been identified and designated as "glycinin-related" because they hybridize weakly with the five glycinin genes. Although not yet characterized, glycinin-related genes could encode other glycinin subunit families whose members accumulate in minor amounts in seeds. The three Group-I glycinin genes are organized into two chromosomal domains, each about 45 kilobase pairs in length. The two domains have a high degree of homology, and contain at least five genes each that are expressed either in embryos or in mature plant leaves. Gel blot studies with embryo mRNA, as well as transcription studies with 32P-RNA synthesized in vitro from purified embryo nuclei, indicate that glycinin and glycinin-related genes become transcriptionally activated in a coordinated fashion early in embryogenesis, and are repressed coordinately late in seed development. In addition to transcriptional control processes, posttranscriptional events also are involved in regulating glycinin and glycinin-related mRNA levels during embryogenesis.

The fibril structure formed by the amyloidogenic fragment SNNFGAILSS of the human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is determined with 0.52 A resolution. Symmetry information contained in the easily obtainable resonance assignments from solid-state NMR spectra (see picture), along with long-range constraints, can be applied to uniquely identify the supramolecular organization of fibrils.

Die Fibrillenstruktur, die das amyloidogene Fragment SNNFGAILSS des menschlichen Insel‐Amyloid‐Polypeptids (hIAPP) bildet, wurde mit einer Auflösung von 0.52 Å bestimmt. Aus den Festkörper‐NMR‐Spektren einfach erhältliche Symmetrieinformationen (siehe Bild) können zusammen mit langreichweitigen Randbedingungen genutzt werden, um die supramolekulare Organisation von Fibrillen eindeutig zu identifizieren.magnified image

Uncontrolled misfolding of proteins leading to the formation of amyloid deposits is associated with more than 40 types of diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases and type-2 diabetes. These irreversible amyloid fibrils typically assemble in distinct stages. Transitions among the various intermediate stages are the subject of many studies but are not yet fully elucidated. Here, we combine high-resolution atomic force microscopy and quantitative nanomechanical mapping to determine the self-assembled structures of the decapeptide hIAPP [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] , which is considered to be the fibrillating core fragment of the human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) involved in type-2 diabetes. We successfully follow the evolution of hIAPP 20-29 nanostructures over time, calculate the average thickening speed of small ribbon-like structures, and provide evidence of the coexistence of ribbon and helical fibrils, highlighting a key step within the self-assembly model. In addition, the mutations of individual side chains of wide-type hIAPP 20-29 shift this balance and destabilize the helical fibrils sufficiently relative to the twisted ribbons to lead to their complete elimination. We combine atomic force microscopy structures, mechanical properties, and solid-state NMR structural information to build a molecular model containing β sheets in cross-β motifs as the basis of selfassembled amyloids.μFS | mutants | nanomechanical map | self-assembly nanostructure P rotein aggregation and amyloid deposits (1, 2) are associated with more than 40 different diseases (3) ranging from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (4) and Parkinson disease (5) to systemic amyloidosis, such as type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) (6). Over the last few decades, amyloid structures and amyloid assembly have been extensively studied using a variety of diffraction techniques such as X-ray scattering and electron diffraction. However, these methods only provide average structures (7). Many structures have also been resolved in great detail by solid-state NMR spectroscopy (8, 9), which mainly represents end-point structures and, unless specifically trapping intermediates, typically does not provide a clear picture of the transient structures formed during the fibrillation process. However, it is very important to resolve the dynamics of the nanostructures of amyloids at various steps during self-assembly to understand the mechanics behind amyloid initialization, formation, growth, and maturation as well as for the design of potential drugs. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is capable of obtaining nanoscale resolution of individual molecules or supermolecular structures. This method also allows for the analysis of the selfassembly mechanism and the driving force of aggregation (10-14). Importantly, AFM, furthermore, provides the possibility to follow the dynamics to obtain a detailed picture of the amyloid assembly process (15).In the case of T2D, amyloid deposits, composed mainly of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIA...