Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P02794 (ferritin)
 17,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Studies employing mRNA transfection are currently limited by a lack of transcription vectors for generating a long poly(A) tail-containing mRNA and published methods for efficient mRNA transfection. We have constructed a transcription vector containing firefly luciferase gene (pBS-FLuc-A100) to generate luciferase mRNA with A100 tail followed by no heterologous sequence. The pBS-FLuc-A100 was propagated in XL1-Blue, in which the plasmid was more stable than in other bacterial strains. Optimal mRNA transfection conditions were determined using TransMessenger Transfection Reagent (Qiagen) and yeast tRNA as a carrier. Firefly luciferase expression, which peaked at about 12 h post-transfection, was detected with as little as 5 ng mRNA and was linear with mRNA amount up to 100 ng. When cells were transfected with luciferase mRNA containing different lengths of poly(A) tail, luciferase expression increased proportionally with poly(A) tail length up to 60A residues and then declined. Cell lines from monkey, mouse, and rat were transfected efficiently by this method. Like cellular ferritin heavy chain mRNA, which contains an iron response element in its 5'UTR, translation of transfected luciferase mRNA containing the 5'UTR of ferritin mRNA was iron-dependent. Our results demonstrate that the poly(A) vector and the transcription method described will be useful to study the regulation of gene expression at the mRNA level by UTRs.
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PMID:Optimized transfection of mRNA transcribed from a d(A/T)100 tail-containing vector. 1580 89

The main objective of this work was to characterize VA binding sites in multiple anesthetic target proteins. A computational algorithm was used to quantify the solvent exclusion and aliphatic character of amphiphilic pockets in the structures of VA binding proteins. VA binding sites in the protein structures were defined as the pockets with solvent exclusion and aliphatic character that exceeded minimum values observed in the VA binding sites of serum albumin, firefly luciferase, and apoferritin. We found that the structures of VA binding proteins are enriched in these pockets and that the predicted binding sites were consistent with experimental determined binding locations in several proteins. Autodock3 was used to dock the simulated molecules of 1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoroethane, difluoromethyl 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethyl ether, and sevoflurane and the isomers of halothane and isoflurane into these potential binding sites. We found that the binding of the various VA molecules to the amphiphilic pockets is driven primarily by VDW interactions and to a lesser extent by weak hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. In addition, the trend in Delta G binding values follows the Meyer-Overton rule. These results suggest that VA potencies are related to the VDW interactions between the VA ligand and protein target. It is likely that VA bind to sites with a high degree of solvent exclusion and aliphatic character because aliphatic residues provide favorable VDW contacts and weak hydrogen bond donors. Water molecules occupying these sites maintain pocket integrity, associate with the VA ligand, and diminish the unfavorable solvation enthalpy of the VA. Water molecules displaced into the bulk by the VA ligand may provide an additional favorable enthalpic contribution to VA binding. Anesthesia is a component of many health related procedures, the outcomes of which could be improved with a better understanding of the molecular targets and mechanisms of anesthetic action.
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PMID:Volatile anesthetic binding to proteins is influenced by solvent and aliphatic residues. 1880 6