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Force Spectroscopy (force + spectroscopy)
Selected AbstractsStaphylococcus aureus SigB activity promotes a strong fibronectin,bacterium interaction which may sustain host tissue colonization by small-colony variants isolated from cystic fibrosis patientsMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Gabriel Mitchell Summary Genes encoding cell-surface proteins regulated by SigB are stably expressed in Staphylococcus aureus small-colony variants (SCVs) isolated from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Our hypothesis is that CF-isolated SCVs are locked into a colonization state by sustaining the expression of adhesins such as fibronectin-binding proteins (FnBPs) throughout growth. Force spectroscopy was used to study the fibronectin,FnBPs interaction among strains varying for their SigB activity. The fibronectin,FnBPs interaction was described by a strength of 1000 ± 400 pN (pulling rate of 2 ,m s,1), an energetic barrier width of 0.6 ± 0.1 Å and an off-rate below 2 × 10,4 s,1. A CF-isolated SCV highly expressed fnbA throughout growth and showed a sustained capacity to bind fibronectin, whereas a prototypic strain showed a reduced frequency of fibronectin-binding during the stationary growth phase when its fnbA gene was down-regulated. Reduced expression of fnbA was observed in sigB mutants, which was associated with an overall decrease adhesion to fibronectin. These results suggest that the fibronectin,FnBPs interaction plays a role in the formation of a mechanically resistant adhesion of S. aureus to host tissues and supports the hypothesis that CF-isolated SCVs are locked into a colonization state as a result of a sustained SigB activity. [source] Protein-Enabled Synthesis of Monodisperse Titania Nanoparticles On and Within Polyelectrolyte MatricesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 14 2009Eugenia Kharlampieva Abstract Here, the results of a study of the mechanism of bio-enabled surface-mediated titania nanoparticle synthesis with assistance of polyelectrolyte surfaces are reported. By applying atomic force microscopy, surface force spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and in situ attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, structural changes of rSilC-silaffin upon its adsorption to polyelectrolyte surfaces prior to and during titania nanoparticle growth are revealed. It is demonstrated that the adhesion of rSilC-silaffin onto polyelectrolyte surfaces results in its reorganization from a random-coil conformation in solution into a mixed secondary structure with both random coil and , -sheet structures presented. Moreover, the protein forms a continuous molecularly thin layer with well-defined monodisperse nanodomains of lateral dimensions below 20,nm. It is also shown that rSilC embedded inside the polylelectrolyte matrix preserves its titania formation activity. It is suggested that the surface-mediated, bio-enabled synthesis of nanostructured materials might be useful to develop general procedures for controlled growth of inorganic nanomaterials on reactive organic surfaces, which opens new perspectives in the design of tailored, in situ grown, hybrid inorganic,organic nanomaterials. [source] Force Spectroscopic Investigations During the Local Oxidation of n -Octadecyltrichlorosilane Monolayers,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 1 2006S. Hoeppener Abstract Scanning force spectroscopy (SFS) is a powerful tool for investigating surface properties with high precision. Unlike most common spectroscopic techniques, information about local properties can also be obtained from surface areas with nanometer dimensions. This makes SFS a useful investigative tool for small lithographic structures. We apply the continuous recording of force curves to extract valuable information about the local oxidation of a monolayer of n -octadecyltrichlorosilane molecules self-assembled on silicon. The oxidation is carried out while simultaneously recording the force curves during the application of a bias voltage to the tip. The dynamics of the induced surface modifications and changes in the surface properties are followed by analyzing specific spots in the force curves. [source] Interaction of p53 with Mdm2 and azurin as studied by atomic force spectroscopyJOURNAL OF MOLECULAR RECOGNITION, Issue 4 2010Gloria Funari Abstract Azurin, a bacterial protein, can be internalized in cancer cells and induce apoptosis. Such anticancer effect is coupled to the formation of a complex with the tumour-suppressor p53. The mechanism by which azurin stabilizes p53 and the binding sites of their complex are still under investigation. It is also known that the predominant mechanism for p53 down-regulation implies its association to Mdm2, the main ubiquitin ligase affecting its stability. However, the p53/Mdm2 interaction, occurring at the level of both their N-terminal domains, has been characterized so far by experiments involving only partial domains of these proteins. The relevance of the p53/Mdm2 complex as a possible target of the anticancer therapies requires a deeper study of this complex as made up of the two entire proteins. Moreover, the apparent antagonist action of azurin against Mdm2, with respect of p53 regulation, might suggest the possibility that azurin binds p53 at the same site of Mdm2, preventing in such a way p53 and Mdm2 from association and thus p53 from degradation. By following the interaction of the two entire proteins by atomic force spectroscopy, we have assessed the formation of a specific complex between p53 and Mdm2. We found for it a binding strength and a dissociation rate constant typical of dynamical protein,protein interactions and we observed that azurin, even if capable to bind p53, does not compete with Mdm2 for the same binding site on p53. The formation of the p53/Mdm2/azurin ternary complex might suggest an alternative anti-cancer mechanism adopted by azurin. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A comparative molecular force spectroscopy study of homophilic JAM-A interactions and JAM-A interactions with reovirus attachment protein ,1JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR RECOGNITION, Issue 4 2008Sri Ram Krishna Vedula Abstract JAM-A belongs to a family of immunoglobulin-like proteins called junctional adhesion molecules (JAMs) that localize at epithelial and endothelial intercellular tight junctions. JAM-A is also expressed on dendritic cells, neutrophils, and platelets. Homophilic JAM-A interactions play an important role in regulating paracellular permeability and leukocyte transmigration across epithelial monolayers and endothelial cell junctions, respectively. In addition, JAM-A is a receptor for the reovirus attachment protein, ,1. In this study, we used single molecular force spectroscopy to compare the kinetics of JAM-A interactions with itself and ,1. A chimeric murine JAM-A/Fc fusion protein and the purified ,1 head domain were used to probe murine L929 cells, which express JAM-A and are susceptible to reovirus infection. The bond half-life (t1/2) of homophilic JAM-A interactions was found to be shorter () than that of ,1/JAM-A interactions (). These results are in accordance with the physiological functions of JAM-A and ,1. A short bond lifetime imparts a highly dynamic nature to homophilic JAM-A interactions for regulating tight junction permeability while stable interactions between ,1 and JAM-A likely anchor the virus to the cell surface and facilitate viral entry. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Probing DNA,peptide interaction forces at the single-molecule levelJOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE, Issue 12 2006Norbert Sewald Abstract The versatility of chemical peptide synthesis combined with the high sensitivity of AFM single-molecule force spectroscopy allows us to investigate, quantify, and control molecular recognition processes (molecular nanotechnology), offering a tremendous potential in chemical biology. Single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments are able to detect fast intermediate transition states, details of the energy landscape, and structural changes, while avoiding multiple binding events that can occur under ensemble conditions. Dynamic force spectroscopy (DFS) is even able to provide data on the complex lifetime. This minireview outlines the biophysical methodology, discusses different experimental set-ups, and presents representative results in the form of two case studies, both dealing with DNA-binding peptides. They may serve as model systems, e.g., for transcription factors or gene transfection agents. Copyright © 2006 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Single-molecule pair studies of the interactions of the ,-GalNAc (Tn-antigen) form of porcine submaxillary mucin with soybean agglutininBIOPOLYMERS, Issue 9 2009Marit Sletmoen Abstract Mucins form a group of heavily O -glycosylated biologically important glycoproteins that are involved in a variety of biological functions, including modulating immune response, inflammation, and adhesion. Mucins are also involved in cancer and metastasis and often express diagnostic cancer antigens. Recently, a modified porcine submaxillary mucin (Tn-PSM) containing GalNAc,1- O -Ser/Thr residues was shown to bind to soybean agglutinin (SBA) with ,106 -fold enhanced affinity relative to GalNAc,1- O -Ser, the pancarcinoma carbohydrate antigen. In this study, dynamic force spectroscopy is used to investigate molecular pairs of SBA and Tn-PSM. A number of force jumps that demonstrate unbinding or rebinding events were observed up to a distance equal to 2.0 ,m, consistent with the length of the mucin chain. The unbinding force increased from 103 to 402 pN with increasing force loading rate. The position of the activation barrier in the energy landscape of the interaction was 0.1 nm. The lifetime of the SBA,TnPSM complex in the absence of applied force was determined to be in the range 1.3,1.9 s. Kinetic parameters describing the rate of dissociation of other sugar lectin interactions are in the range 3.3 × 10,3,2.5 × 10,3 s. The long lifetime of the SBA-TnPSM complex is compatible with a binding model in which lectin molecules "bind and jump" from ,-GalNAc residue to ,-GalNAc residue along the polypeptide chain of Tn-PSM before dissociating. These findings have important implications for the molecular recognition properties of mucins. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 91: 719,728, 2009. This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The "Published Online" date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com [source] | ||||||||||