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  Our new paper discussing the role of modern solid-state NMR in integrated structural biology is now published in Emerging Topics in Life Sciences. It provides a review of a selection of recent solid-state NMR studies from (mostly) the last decade. Not only does it give a review of notable 3D structures obtained by solid-state NMR, but it also examines contributions going beyond static protein structures. This includes the characterization of biologically relevant dynamics, and the pinpointing of crucial intermolecular interactions. Reference: Patrick C.A. van der Wel (2018) “New applications of solid-state NMR in structural biology.” Emerging Topics in Life […]

Congratulations to collaborator Giorgio Cavigiolio, his group at CHORI (Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute), and Jennifer Boatz on the publication of our new collaborative paper. It reports functional and structural studies of the effect of oxidation on apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1), using a variety of experiments and assays – including solid-state NMR. Oxidation of the protein causes it to become more monomeric and also less stably folded. As a consequence it becomes prone to aggregation into amyloid-like fibrils. Interestingly, these oxidized aggregates are able to subvert non-oxidized protein into an amyloidogenic (i.e. aggregation-prone) state. Another interesting aspect of these aggregated proteins […]

Congratulations to our collaborators for the new collaborative paper on the characteristic twisting of amyloid fibril filaments, which has just appeared online as accepted for publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. The paper, titled “Energetics Underlying Twist Polymorphisms in Amyloid Fibrils“, describes molecular dynamics simulations of the twisting of amyloid-like structures of the GNNQQNY peptide fragment from the yeast prion protein Sup35p. This particular peptide has developed into an essential model system for studies of the structure and formation of amyloid fibrils, and (for instance) how they differ from crystalline assemblies formed by these and other polypeptides [1-3]. […]

Our new review article summarizing recent findings on protein aggregation enabled by solid-state NMR is now online. This “Trends” article will appear in the journal Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Nov. 2017 (DOI 10.1016/j.ssnmr.2017.10.001). In the paper we examine and summarize some of the exciting new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind protein misfolding and aggregation that have been enabled by a range of recent ssNMR studies. This includes the various new amyloid structures deposited in the PDB, with links to these entries provided below: 5OQV 2M5N 2LNQ 2MVX 2MXU 5KK3 2NAO 2M4J 5W3N 2N1E 2N0A Reference: [1] Van der Wel, […]

Congratulations to lab alum Dr. Hsiang-Kai Lin, graduate student Jennifer Boatz, and our collaborators locally and abroad! Our new publication describing the structure and properties of mutant huntingtin exon 1 fibrils has been published in the journal Nature Communications. The paper describes our ongoing studies of the mutant protein behind the devastating neurodegeneration in Huntington’s Disease. Biochemical and structural experiments show that mutant huntingtin exon 1 forms at least two types of neurotoxic aggregates with different internal structures.  Through the use of solid-state NMR spectroscopy and electron microscopy we look at the molecular details of these structural differences. Various other disease-related amyloid proteins have a similar tendency […]

Congratulations to Jennifer Boatz, Dr. Mingyue Li and our collaborators in the Gronenborn lab for the publication of our new paper on cataract-related protein aggregation. Our newly published report in Nature Communications looks at the structure of a mutant protein (P23T γD crystallin) associated with inherited cataract disease, when it is aggregated. Interestingly, the same protein forms very different kinds of deposits depending on the conditions under which it aggregates: a common type of aggregate “polymorphism”. In many studies of protein aggregation, the protein of interest is made to form aggregates by exposure to acidic conditions. This cataract protein also aggregates well under such […]

Congratulations to Abhishek and Jennifer on having our new paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomolecular NMR. In it Abhishek describes the use of custom-built ultracentrifuge sample packing devices for the preparation of solid-state NMR samples. Publication info: On the use of ultracentrifugal devices for routine sample preparation in biomolecular magic-angle-spinning NMR. Mandal, A., Boatz, J.C., Wheeler, T., and Van der Wel, P.C.A. (2017) J. Biomol. NMR in press. DOI Access it via this sharing link: http://rdcu.be/px5r