Month: December 2016

Defining NADH-Driven Allostery Regulating Apoptosis-Inducing Factor

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is critical for mitochondrial respiratory complex biogenesis and for mediating necroptotic parthanatos; these functions are seemingly regulated by enigmatic allosteric switching driven by NADH charge-transfer complex (CTC) formation. In this paper the authors define molecular pathways linking AIF’s active site to allosteric switching regions by characterizing dimer-permissive mutants using small-angle X-ray scattering…
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SAXS used to elucidate mechanism of inner-ear mechanotransduction

Tip link filaments convey force and gate inner-ear hair-cell transduction channels to mediate perception of sound and head movements. Cadherin-23 and protocadherin-15 form tip links through a calcium-dependent interaction of their extracellular domains made of multiple extracellular cadherin (EC) repeats. These repeats are structurally similar, but not identical in sequence, often featuring linkers with conserved…
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